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Karasjok (Norway)
Karasjok, Kárásjoga
Last modified: 2002-10-26 by elias granqvist
Keywords: karasjok | karasjoga | flame | fire |
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by Jan Oskar Engene, 27 April 2002
Approved on 27 June 1986.
See also:
About the Flag
On 27 June 1986 a Royal resolution approved arms and flag for Karasjok/Kárásjoga municipality in Finnmark county. The flag is defined as "In red three yellow flames with five tongues, two over one." According to [cjo87] flames were chosen as charge because fire is an important condition for sustaining life, especially on a mountain plateau like the one Karasjok/Kárásjoga is situated in and where a significant part of the population long had a nomadic way of life, partly still sustained by Saami reindeer herders. The fire is also the point around which people gather and it is a guard against dangers. According to [cjo87] the flag contains three flames, not only to fill out the field as is required by the norms of heraldry, but also to suggest that Karasjok/Kárásjoga is a place where three peoples live: the Saami, Norwegians and Finns. This is also partly reflected in the name of the municipality: The name is Karasjok in Norwegian and Kárásjoga in Saami, both versions are official.
Jan Oskar Engene, 27 April 2002
[gsa95] gives Kárájohka/Karasjok. Could Karasjohka be the Finnish name of the municipality, or is it a former Saami name now superseded by Karasjoga? (Or is it a mistake in [gsa95]?)
Ivan Sache, 27 April 2002
I do not believe Karasjohka is the Finnish form of the name. It is a Saami name. Though I am not sure, I believe there may have been a change in spelling at some point and that the spelling is now Kárásjoga.
Jan Oskar Engene, 28 April 2002
Blazon
Official blazon in Norwegian: "I rřdt tre femtungede gule flamer, 2-1."
Blazoned in English: "Gules three five-tongued flames or two and one."
English blazon by Joe McMillan, 30 July 2002