Let us pay tribute to the dictionary once again, and use this beautiful word: icon. Not for speaking of religious representations, nor as it is commonly associated with someone who "has become a symbol or representative of something." No. Let’s use the meaning, from semiotics, that says "sign that maintains a relationship of similarity with the represented object." Welcome to a new Saga, this time we will delve into the details of the images that surround everyday life in Iceland. And what better way to start this new series of articles, than with where I can now call my (new) home: Kópavogur.
But why images?
Since I was a child, the images that surrounded me caught my attention, specifically, the images of coats of arms and logos of my, then, Distrito Federal. Mexico City has its beautiful coat of arms (which has been replaced by the logo of each administration), as well as each town hall (?), has its own image referring to some particularity of the area or the name, that is, they graphically symbolize the meaning of the area they represent. For example, the alcaldía of Tlalpan is represented with a circle that has eight circles inside that surrounds a footprint. To know what it means, we have to make some notes:
- The word Tlalpan could be translated as "place of solid ground (mainland)", since its geography differed from other nearby areas, such as Xochimilco.
- The concept of "solid ground" is represented by the footprint. Let us remember that Tlalpan is on the south of what used to be Lake Texcoco and, in pre-Hispanic times, the use of chinampas was customary in other areas of the region. The Tlalpenses (habitants of Tlalpan), unlike other inhabitants of Mexico-Tenochtitlán, lived on "the mainland" so it was peculiar and a characteristic of the area, despite the fact that today it is not the only alcaldía that could be described as a "place of solid ground".
- One version, perhaps the most appropriate, points out that the eight circles that surround the foot represent the original communities of the area.
As you can read, with just one image we are able to know many details, both, about the geography of Tlalpan as well as the historical and cultural aspects of the place. They say "a picture is worth a thousand words", but sometimes we need a bit more information to understand an image, or give a more appropriate interpretation. This fascination accompanies me to this day, here are the fruits of my curiosity.
Kópavogur: the bay of seal pups
Kópavogur comes from the words kópur, which means "seal pup", and vogur which means "bay or inlet". The geographical area of Kópavogur is highlighted by a small bay that outlines the areas where the first settlements in the region began. Its coat of arms is made up of the silhouette of the facade of the Kópavogur church, and a figure -which looks more like a doodle - of a baby seal. In 1963, a competition was held for the design of the municipality's logo, by the then mayor, Hjálmar Ólafsson. Some of the proposals were quite similar, using the figure of seals as reference, but many others show other ways of understanding and representing the municipality, some of which are rather funny. In the end, they were left with what they considered the best six options, which they could vote for, and this is how today's coat of arms represents the second most populous municipality in Iceland.
Now, I have to make a clarification. To date I have not found the reason why the seals (other than the name, of course) are associated with the region. But, I have to tell you that this territory, unlike many areas in the country, is made up of granite, which is said to be at least 100,000 years old. Studies of this land shows signs of the existence of ice age glaciers. However, the oldest human settlements that are recorded date from the 9th century, it should be noted that for a long time there were only farms and small summer houses in what would be in the future the municipality. With all this I want to say that, although today, the only record I found about the animals and their relationship with Kópavogur was an article from 2014 about a seal that, after getting lost, was stuck on a rock, growling at people who walked nearby, surely in other -antediluvians- times, these happy (?) creatures brought their little offspring for a walk around the church and to enjoy what is now the Sky Lagoon.
