The Legend of the Seven Sisters

The Saga of the Helgeland Mountains:

Seven Sisters, Helgeland

Fifteen minutes after our ship departed from Sandnessjøen, we see the mountain range referred to as the “Seven Sisters”. In summer, the waterfalls in the Geirangerfjord are the most photographed as no less than seven waterfalls descend into the fjord. The falls are more visible in May-July during the major snow melting period and can be best observed by taking a boat trip to the Geirangerfjord, a world heritage site.

Apart from the sheer beauty of the mountains and the waterfalls, the Seven Sisters tell a tale of trolls and how they were turned to stone.

As the Legend Goes..

The story starts with Vågekallen, who lived in Lofoten and who was spurned by women in the south. One female by the name of Lekamøya even called him simpleton. One evening when Lekamøya had gone to Tjøtta to make unleavened bread, seven beautiful unmarried sisters escaped from their father, the King of Sulitjelma. When Vågekallen saw the seven sisters dancing naked in the fjord, the temptation proved too great for him. He mounted his horse and rode south in pursuit of the seven sisters.

From Tjøtta where she was baking, Lekamøya heard the huge commotion, dropped her rolling pin, peel and pastry board and rushed home to Leka. Hestmannen, who was woken by the noise, shot an arrow south. However, the King of Brønnøy Island (Skarvågsgubben) saw this and threw his hat up to intercept the arrow which landed in the sea.

At this point, all the individuals were turned into stone as they had forgotten the golden rule. According to Norwegian folk tales, trolls are turned to stone if they do not hide before the sun rises.

In Tjøtta today are three stone monuments which are said to represent the rolling pin, peel and pastry board, on Torget Island in Brønnøy municipality, the Torghatten mountain has a hole in the center where the arrow shot through and Lekamøya stands at Leka.

As with all legends, each version is embellished upon by storytellers, but in spite of the different versions, they nevertheless give a colourful folkloric background as to how this mountain range came about.