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Title: Farfars kistalarika

Author: Astrid Väring

Illustrator: Carl-Magnus Lindqvist

Release Date: January 04, 2021 [eBook #64209]

Language: Swedish

Character set encoding: UTF-8

Produced by: Jens Sadowski and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
             https://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FARFARS KISTALARIKA ***




                         Farfars "kistalarika"


                           Av Astrid Väring.

Jag fann den på vinden efter fars död. Långt inne i en skum vrå. Den
stod där så grå och liten under bjälkarna, så fattig och trängd bland
kistor och koffertar, gamla möbler och kläder, bland allt, som samlas i
ett hem genom decennierna.

Allt detta skulle nu skingras för alla vindar, väljas ut eller ratas,
komma fram ur sin glömska till ny heder eller säljas på auktionen för en
spottstyver till en likgiltig främling. En svår sak detta, att upplösa
ett gammalt hem -- som att hugga en levande kropp i stycken. Allt hör så
oupplösligt tillsammans, också det bortglömda bråtet på vinden. Även det
söndriga och bortkastade är ju en del av ens liv, som nu skall gå
obönhörligt till spillo.

Ett vemodigt arbete att gå där och gallra och välja! Det är en sak, som
måste tas med ro, stilla och varsamt. Man får icke gå som en eldbrand
genom sina barndomsminnen.

Så gick jag där och stökade för mig själv, men med mig gingo de gångna
åren och tassade och viskade i vrårna. Det var då jag fann den lilla grå
kistan, farfars gamla kista.

Liten och nött, med oansenliga beslag och bortfallen målning stod den
där och lät sig glömmas. Intet namn eller årtal stod på locket.

Jag drog fram den i ljuset och blåste dammet av den. Så öppnade jag
locket på kistan. Den var inte rädd om sina hemligheter heller, det
gamla låset var trasigt och sönderrostat. I det svaga ljuset från
vindsgluggen såg jag, att den var full av gamla papper.

Glömda voro nu vindens alla andra lockande hemligheter. Med min nyfunna
skatt i famnen -- större var den inte -- gick jag varsamt ner för
trappan till det fulla dagsljuset i mitt rum.

Och så började jag titta igenom papperen. Det första jag fann var en
konstlöst hopsatt bok av vanligt skrivpapper, men med läderrygg --
farfars dagbok. Skriven de sista åren av hans liv, med ojämn och hackig
gammalmansstil. Det var så jag fick veta, att den lilla kistan varit
hans.

Vad hade den väl en gång gömt? Kanske hans tarvliga utrustning, när han
som fattig men strävsam bondpojke från Innertavle kom in till Umeå för
att där söka sin lycka som borgare och handelsman? Kanske hade den lilla
"kistalarikan" -- trasig också den -- en gång gömt farmors förtorkade
brudkrona och farfars brudgumshandskar.

Nu gömde både den och hela kistan papper och åter papper, fragment av en
släkts liv genom tre generationer. Ja, vad allt fanns här inte! Där
fanns farmors fars testamente, skrivet med darrande och slingrig piktur.
Farmors far! Vad visste jag om honom förut? Ej ens hans bild fanns
någonstädes. Men med den döda och högtidliga rösten ur graven steg han
med ens som en personlighet in i de kända släktleden. Och här och där
såg jag glimtar av hans livsmiljö, det var auktionsprotokoll och
lagfartsbevis, köpehandlingar och kontrakt.

Om farfarsfar däremot ej ett ord. Det var nog en man, som hade föga med
papper att skaffa, sitt livsord ristade han med plogen i den
västerbottniska jorden.

Klart trädde farfars egen enkla och strävsamma tillvaro i ljuset med
sina fröjder och bekymmer, utom dagboken fanns det brev och handlingar.
En skymt gavs också av fars barndomsår, till den tid, då han med
bröderna satt på den lilla vindskammaren och tog itu med studierna.

Allt detta gömde den oansenliga lilla kistan, detta och mycket mer. Ty
med släktkrönikan trädde också något av det gamla Umeå och det gamla
Västerbotten i ljuset med nya sidor och detaljer. Ty varje borgare måste
ju på något sätt gripa in i hemstadens liv, så mycket mer på denna tid,
då man levde hela livet ut i sin stad.

Så läser jag t. ex. på ett gulnat papper om när farfar år 1865 till
byggnadskommittén för flickskolebyggnaden "upplät och försålde sin
bodtomt, belägen å öppna planen emellan Kyrkotorget och Rådman Schildts
trädgård å ena sidan samt sjögatan och elfven å andra emot en
öfverenskommen köpeskilling av Femtio Rdr. Rmt." Huru många gånger
sprang jag ej i min barndom med fläta och bokväska över den tomten utan
att ana, att jag gick på farfars gamla mark! Men det var i tonåren, då
man liksom ej tror sig född ur det förgångna, utan skapad och fri, utan
rot och utan krona. Om släktens djupa liv i var individ anar man intet.

Men nu, då jag tömde den lilla kistan, då anade och visste jag det. Och
släktens liv blev på ett alldeles nytt sätt levande i mig, med ansvar
och plikt att ta var erfarenhet väl tillvara av vad de gamla lidit och
lärt, drömt och fullbordat.

Och som det väl är grundtanken just i vår västerbottniska
hembygdsförening kom den tanken för mig att i dess bok berätta om vad
jag fann, då jag gick tillbaka till det gamla. En liten omålad kista
bara, men full av en gången tids enkla vardagsliv och strävanden.

Allt bråtet på vinden är skingrat och borta. Men den lilla grå kistan
tog jag till mitt eget hem. Nu har den fått ett nytt lås, ty den får ej
längre visa sitt inre för vem som helst. Men själv skall jag måla den
med västerbottniskt mönster med brokiga blommor och blader. Och den
skall stå på en hedersplats och vara mitt anspråklösa familjearkiv.

Kanske också något mera. Ty bland allt det andra gömmer den även några
gamla papper av mera allmänt intresse. En tjock packe bär utanskriften
"Lambertska arvet" och innehåller några papper, som numera kanske äro
sällsynta nog i Västerbotten. Och några tjocka, grå ark äro fullristade
med sirligt präntad stil. Det är t. ex. protokoll från syneförrättningar
från början av 1800-talet och en del strödda anteckningar, mest uppifrån
lappmarken.

Det tar dryg tid att reda ut alla dessa slingrande, förbleknade
handstilar, en tid, som tyvärr ännu ej stått mig till buds. Men för att
läsaren ej skall finna utbytet av denna lilla hembygdsbit allt för
ringa, få vi väl låsa upp det gamla låset och plocka fram ett av de
nyare papperen för det intresse det nu hava kan.

Det är en kortare anteckning om präst- och skolbordens tillkomst i
Lycksele och lyder in extenso på följande sätt:

"År 1613 förordnades hit första prest på stället och 1632 flyttades
Skytteanska skolan ifrån Piteå hit till Lycksele. Första
nybyggesinrättningen inom Socken skedde uti Örhträsk 1673, således den
äldsta inom Lappmarken. För Prest- och Scholæ-Borden, såsom primis
occupantibus togos utan föregången syn alla i närheten belägna egor uti
besittning och icke förr än den första Augusti 1791 bestämdes genom
Utslag av Konungens Befallningshafvande, hvilka ägor skulle tillhöra
hvardera bostället. År 1800 werkställdes afvittring å boställena och
samma afvittring är fastställd genom Konungens Befallningshavandes
utslag av den 22-de november 1803.

Sådan är i sin helhet den tillförlitliga historien om härvarande Preste-
och Scholæ-Bordens tillkomst."

Ja, detta var ju blott ett litet prov. Mycket mera än så skall jag
säkerligen finna, då jag får tid att närmare genomgå alla papperen.

Vad jag velat säga med min lilla anspråkslösa hembygdsbit är emellertid
följande: det bästa jag fann, det var ej innehållet i de gamla papperen
och urkunderna utan det var en fast och personlig anknytningspunkt till
det gamla och förgångna, ett nytt och levande intresse för allt detta,
som varit och ännu är en del i oss själva.

Och det slog mig med ens, vilken oerhört stor uppgift hembygdsföreningen
verkligen har i att ta vara på våra fäders andliga arv. Hur mycket av
våra kulturella minnen har ej redan förspillts genom våda och brand,
genom fiendens härjningar och genom -- slarv och liknöjdhet! Att det
_finns_ mycket av värde att ta vara på därom vittnar inte minst den för
varje år alltmer svällande hembygdsboken.

Men föreningen ensam kan ej uträtta allt, det är folket självt ute i
bygderna, som skall göra det mesta, inte bara för hembygdsforskningens
skull, utan först och främst för sin egen. Och med min nya erfarenhet
säger jag: sök igenom vindar och bodar, lådor och kistor! Här gick ju
jag i många år och trodde, att jag kände föräldrahemmet utan och innan.
Och så låg en sådan personlig skatt som ens egen farfars dagbok glömd i
en dammig vrå på vinden! Det gamla hade ju ej så stort värde för den
förra generationen som för oss. Hur lätt hade den ej kunnat bli bränd
eller bortkastad!

Kanske skall du finna det du aldrig trodde i brev och gamla handlingar i
någon okänd gömma i ditt hus, om du bara letar fram dem.

Kanske skall du, liksom jag, finna själva hembygdens hjärta i morfars
eller farfars gamla kistalarika!




                              Noteringar:


Källa: Västerbotten. Västerbottens läns hembygdsförenings årsbok
1924-1925. Umeå, 1925, s. 84-87.

Originalets grammatik, stavning och interpunktion har bibehållits. Ett
fåtal uppenbarliga fel har rättats utan notis.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FARFARS KISTALARIKA ***

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