Parrot Time

The Thinking of Speaking Issue #11 September / October 2014

Special CCoommiinngg HHoommee ttoo FFaarrooeessee The Why and How of Faroe Learning a Small Language Islands Issue FFaarrooeess:: RReevviissiitteedd Excerpt from the 1875 book "An American in Iceland "

DDaanniisshh aanndd FFaarrooeessee:: AA BBiiooggrraapphhyy Two languages fight it out in Faroese history and daily life.

TThhee FFaarrooeessee FFeessttiivvaall SSuummmmeerr Ólavsøka and the G! Festival

TThhee GGrriinndd:: WWhhyy tthhee FFaarrooeessee HHuunntt WWhhaalleess A look at the controversial grindadráp LLooookk bbeeyyoonndd wwhhaatt yyoouu kknnooww

Parrot Time is your connection to languages, linguistics and culture from the Parleremo community. Expand your understanding. Never miss an issue. Contents Parrot Time

Parrot Time is a magazine covering language, linguistics Features and culture of the world around us. 6 Coming Home to Faroese It is published by Scriveremo Why learn the language of a remote archipelago? Miranda Publishing, a division of Parleremo, the language learning Metheny explains why she learned Faroese and how it added community. immeasurable richness to her summer on the islands – and her life. Join Parleremo today. Learn a language, make friends, have fun. 1 6 Danish and Faroese: A Biography The primary language of a country is not always easily decided upon; sometimes, two languages compete for dominance. In the Faroe Islands, historically under Danish rule, the languages of Danish and Faroese have been been in this situation for centuries. Editor: Erik Zidowecki Email: [email protected] 38 Revisited The Faroe Islands Published by Scriveremo Publish- The is a reprint of a chapter from "An American in Iceland", ing, a division of Parleremo. when the author visted Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the Orkney This issue is available online from Islands, and the Shetland Islands in 1874. http://www.parrottime.com The editor reserves the right to edit all material submitted. Views expressed in Parrot Time are not 52 The Grind: Why the Faroese Hunt Whales necessarily the official views of Whale hunting, called grindadráp, is an important part of the Parleremo. All rights of reproduc- lifestyle of the Faroe Islands. For some, it is also very tion, translation and adaptation re- controversial. We take a look at the discussion from the served for all countries, except perspective of two Faroe Islanders. where noted otherwise. All copy- right material posted in the public- ation retains all its rights from the original owner. Parrot Time, Par- leremo, officers and administra- tion accept no responsibility collectively or individually for the Departments service of agencies or persons ad- vertised or announced in the pages of this publication.

05 Letter From The Editor

20 At the Cinema Ludo

22 Basic Guide to Faroese

26 Celebrations The Faroese Festival Summer

46 Word on the Streets Famous Faroe Islanders Cover: The village of Norðragøta is a fine example of the typical Faroese vil lage, situated on a narrow shelfofal 49 Where Are You? mostflat land between the mountains and the sea. The sea; the beach and the harbour; the turfroofed church 58 The Scottish Princess and houses old and new; the infield; the outfield; the cliffs; the mountain top fog; the sky — are all stacked like 60 Faroese Ballads (Kvæði) layers of coloured sand in a jar.

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 3 Learnalanguage, Makefriends, Havefun!

PPaarrlleerreemmoo wwwwww..ppaarrlleerreemmoo..oorrgg Letter From The Editor World Ambassadors

One of the main reasons for learning another language is to explore another country and culture. Language is your passport to the world. People who learn a language and travel to another country (or travel to another country and learn the language there) have a chance to become something more: world ambassadors.

These individuals have the unique opportunity to expand our world by sharing their experiences with us, and they have been doing it for thousands ofyears, with so much ofour knowledge of earlier civilizations recorded by them in the form of travelogues.

One of these world ambassadors is Miranda Metheny, who wrote an article for this magazine about her recent experience living in the Faroe Islands.O Now, what I know ofthe Faroe Islands could fill a glass ofwater without first removing the water. I figured many other people might be similarly knowledge challenged, so I proposed to her that we do a special issue ofthe magazine based around the Faroe Islands, and she kindly agreed. The result of that is what you are currently holding in your virtual hands.

The Faroe Islands is an autonomous country comprised of 18 closely spaced islands. These islands, which can be found about halfway between Iceland and Norway, are currently under the control of the Kingdom of Denmark although the inhabitants, around 50,000 people, have made some pushes towards independence. The Faroe Islands cover an area of around 1,399 square kilometres (540 sq. mi). Although they are surrounded by the open ocean, the islands have no major lakes or rivers.

The name for the islands comes from an old map from 1280, where they are labelled “farei”. This is most likely based on the Old Norse fár, meaning “livestock”, and so they became known as fær-øer, or “sheep islands”. The 18 main islands are: Borðoy, Eysturoy, Fugloy, Hestur, Kalsoy, Koltur, Kunoy, Lítla Dímun, Mykines, Nólsoy, Sandoy, Skúvoy, Stóra Dímun, Streymoy, Suðuroy, Svínoy, Vágar, and Viðoy. Tórshavn is the capital and largest city ofthe Faroe Islands, located in the southern part of the largest island, Streymoy. The smallest island, Lítla Dímun, is the only one which is uninhabited.

Icelandic sagas tell us that the Norse had colonized the Faroe Islands before the first Millennium, with some historical superstars like Leif Erikson spending time there. The islands became part ofthe Kingdom ofNorway in 1035 and were under its control until 1380, at which time they became part of the dual monarchy Denmark–Norway.

For centuries, Danish was the main language ofthe islands, spoken in church, school, and business; Faroese was the secondary language, spoken in the homes and fields. This ended with the passing ofthe Act ofFaroese Home Rule in 1948, which among other things named Faroese the official language while Danish was relegated to secondary language status. The Faroese flag was also recognized by Danish authorities. When Denmark joined the EU in 1973, the Faroe Islands refused to join to preserve their fishing rights, as fishing had become their major industry.

Those are the basics. Now you can properly begin exploring the Faroes with us! Erik Zidowecki ERIK ZIDOWECKI EDITOR IN CHIEF

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 5 CCoommiinngg HHoommee ttoo FFaarrooeessee

by Miranda Metheny ince I first became interested in learning the Faroese language, I’ve heard a lot oftwo questions from friends and family: “Why?” and “How?” It was bad enough with Norwe gian. They used to laugh and say, “Wow, that’s useful! Now you can talk to a whole five million people, in one country, who already speak English!” They’ve stopped laughing, and now they’re just confused. Faroese, with its 65,000 speakers mostly gathered in a remote ar chipelago and a small district of Copenhagen, makes Norwegian look dead useful in comparison. But that’s not why I learned Faroese. I don’t deceive myself that Faroese is going to unlock job op portunities for me, or help me to travel wide swaths ofthe globe. I’m The Why and not going around recommending it to any friends. But that doesn’t mean it’s been a waste oftime – far How ofLearninga from it. Faroese has enriched my life, and I can’t ask for more than that. Choosing any language has to Small Language come down to personal motivation. It all depends on what you’re look ing for. When I first heard Faroese, I liked the sound ofit. I was thrilled by its echoes to the older form of Norwegian, intrigued by the chanted melodies of the ring dance, amused by the vocalic offglides and consonant clusters. Yes, it started out as a purely linguistic love af fair. I wouldn’t judge anyone for learning a language just on the merits of liking its sounds. What people do with their free time is up to them, and I can’t see how learn ing even a random language is more wasteful than spending just as many hours catching up on Netflix. But as I delved a bit deeper into Faroese, and realized that it was a pretty tricky language – highly inflected, highly irregular, loads of inflections – my motivation waned. I didn’t know when or how I’d ever do more with the language

Miranda Metheny is the Petite Polyglottal American who travels the world in search oflanguage, culture, and interesting stories. Coming Home to Faroese

than study it out ofthe dusty, outdated books I’d found in the university library. So as the go ing got rough, I shifted my atten tion to other things. Then I visited the Faroe Is lands. My curiosity, and my cor respondence with a Faroese friend online, had outlasted my studies and compelled me to spend a long Easter vacation there. I love it. The islands were beautiful and exotic and wild, just mountains rising from the sea, with cirques and hanging valleys and other features my Midwestern vocabulary didn’t even have words for. I loved the cozy, modern homes tucked un A child plays on the Johanna TG 326 during the celebration of the boat’s 130th birthday in der brightly painted concrete Vágur, Suðuroy. Although children in the Faroes start learning English in primary school, I and turfroofed exteriors, the was still grateful I could speak Faroese with the youngest ones. drying sheds stocked with wind cured meat, the undauntable groups. Once I really got going, I But not everyone is equally sheep crossing the highways... was able to find all the resources linguistically talented, or lin and most ofall, the people. I I needed. guistically bold – especially in have received warm welcomes in Though at first I could only older generations. Speaking to many countries, but no one speak slowly and poorly, I de such people in their native lan could ever outdo the Faroese. I veloped enough of a knowledge guage puts them at ease, makes have never felt so safe or so wel of vocabulary, pronunciation, them feel more comfortable ex come. During my short stay, I and grammar that when I ar pressing themselves. Young was invited into so many homes rived in the Faroe Islands and children, who haven’t yet been to for tea, cake, and often, gifts of immersed myself, I was able to school, would have been a com woolen slippers and scarves, progress rapidly. I was having plete mystery to me had I not that I completely lost count. halting conversations within the learned Faroese. Proficiency also If love of the language had week, and managing a certain made me more independent and not been enough, falling in love sort of rough fluency after a informed in every aspect of my with the land and the people month. life there – I could read signs, listen to the radio, and watch It was as if by saying “Hvussu hevur tú tað?” I was performances without demand actually saying, “I'm one of you, though not by birth. I ing and waiting on translations. know something about this place and I'm eager to Most importantly, perhaps, learn more, I love this country and I respect you all. ” Faroese people speak Faroese amongst themselves. To do oth erwise is unnatural and uncom themselves proved much better Those who argue that a lan fortable for most. Not learning for my motivation. I made plans guage is not worth knowing the language, then, sets you to return to the Faroes for a when “everyone already speaks apart from social gatherings, whole summer, and set to work English” are, I think, missing lively discussions, and even learning the language in prepar part of the joy of learning a lan Facebook conversations. Learn ation. In the intervening time, a guage. Sure, most Faroese speak ing it means you can slip right modern textbook and grammar English to some degree, and all in. There is also the simple mat book had been published, and speak a more general Scand ter ofrespect – ofnot expecting an excellent dictionary made inavian language I can under or wanting everyone in your host available online. I also collected stand through Norwegian. country to pander to you and a few Faroese books and movies, Simple communication, there your linguistic limitations at started reading the news and fol fore, would hardly compel me to every turn... no matter how will lowed various Faroese Facebook learn their language. ingly.

8 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 Coming Home to Faroese

Wearing the Faroese national dress on Ólavsøka was an amazing experience that I will never forget. It was beautiful – and heavy! – and really made me feel a part of the culture and celebration.

Most ofthe above is true for The bøur, the field near the vil right spot, a fisherman depends any language on earth. But lage, is fenced in, safe, almost on taking his bearings on fea small languages, for all their ex home. The hagi is beyond... wild, tures ashore – the view from his tra challenges, also come with rough, even mysterious – the perspective. What a joy to dis extra rewards. The Faroese are realm of the mythical “hidden cover all these little things! fiercely proud of and interested people.” The Faroese speak of “at fara in their language. Linguistic top At trola in Faroese means to niður” (to go “down” – to Den ics occur with astonishing regu trawl, in a fishing boat out at mark) and “at koma heim” (to larity in their television sea. They also use it for the act come “home” – to the Faroes), programs, debates and everyday of running after girls. The and that doesn’t only apply to conversations. Even with a Faroese word for perspective is locals. I had to smile the first few translator, a nonspeaker would sjónarmið, where sjón means times I was asked when I would miss out on a full understanding sight, and mið means fishing be going down and whether I of this whole element of their ground. This baffled me, until I would be coming home again culture. came to understand that mið are soon. And languages are, of small fishing grounds, in sight of I discovered that speaking course, intimately tied to culture land. To make sure he’s in the Faroese, even badly, worked as a and place. Faroese is so well ad sort of shibboleth on the islands. apted to its own tiny, beautiful Though the Faroese are welcom world that even translating it for Those who argue that a ing to start with, I couldn’t help my friends back home can be a language is not worth but feel as though it opened struggle. Eiði is isthmus, but I knowing when “everyone even more doors for me. It was a didn’t use that word once grow already speaks English” conversation starter parexcel ing up – in the Faroes, it fea are, I think, missing part lence, and a sign that I was tak tured frequently in directions ofthe joy oflearning a ing my work there seriously. I and place names. Bøur and found that I could wave offa Hagi, infield and outfield, mean language. wide range ofconcerns – that I just that – but so much more. might not know how to walk

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 9 The natural harbour of Gjógv, on Eysturoy. Fishing boats in Klaksvík, on Borðoy. Coming Home to Faroese

I met these lovely ladies outside of the Faroese government buildings, and they told me stories about their time working there as secretaries. When they heard me speak Faroese, they opened up to me right away.

safely on the seaside cliffs, that I made some friends and had a Danes and other foreigners that might be a hassle to deal with, nice time, undoubtably. passed were none the wiser that that I might be an undercover But Faroese is there, in something didn’t add up, that I antiwhaling activist (a major many ofmy fondest memories. I was an imposter, that I didn’t concern) – with just a short remember walking downtown belong. In a way I did. In that demonstration of my Faroese one summer night, and a man moment, I felt I could just speaking abilities. bursting out onto his balcony as glimpse, just taste, that feeling It was as ifby saying we passed to belt out the first ofbeing a part ofsomething... “Hvussu hevur tú tað?” (How are stanza of the ballad, Ormurin smaller. Something more intim you?) I was actually saying, “I’m Langi, and how it felt to be able ate. Ofwhat it meant to know one ofyou, though not by birth. to join in the singing as we sang just from a language that you I know something about this the next few stanzas back and were home. place and I’m eager to learn continued singing all the way more, I love this country and I down to Tórshavn. I remember “Why would you learn such respect you all. ” evenings spent with my Faroese a tiny language?” they ask. Had I not learned Faroese, I family, laughing about the news imagine my summer in the is and world events and my life “Do you have sixty thousand lands would still have gone well. there, how nice it was to catch friends?” I reply. I could have done my work, most ofthe jokes and how happy though maybe not as thor they were to explain the new “Uhhh.... no?” oughly, not with such a diverse ones to me. group of informants. I suppose I remember how it felt to “Well, to speak Faroese is to the bird cliffs would have been speak Faroese down in Copen feel that you do...” PT just as high and majestic, the hagen, to navigate through the cured lamb just as delightful, crowded city and yet feel as ifI the music just as hauntingly had never left the islands when I beautiful in the cool blue mist of heard the language I had midsummer nights. I would have learned to love so well. The

12 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 Coming Home to Faroese

A mother and child walk up from the natural harbour of Gjógv, on Eysturoy.

A small concert in Tutl, the main Faroese record company, during the Faroese culture night.

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 13

A Biography of Danish

DDaanniisshh aanndd FFaarrooeessee:: AA BBiiooggrraapphhyy bbyy UUnnii JJoohhaannnneesseenn

an you please hand me to imitate those television voices. can be seen practically 24/7 on the spake?” I’m sure I had a thick accent and satellite TV! Many other shows That’s more or less how it made other mistakes, but the and movies come in English, would have sounded when I Danes always seemed to under with Danish subtitles. asked a Danish boy that ques stand what I was trying to say. And it’s not only television tion. I was around six years old, Growing up in the Faroe Is that comes to us in Danish. playing out on the street on a lands, one is exposed to a lot of More books are published in summer trip in Denmark. I had Danish. There are a handful of Faroese per speaker than almost spoken in Danish, ofcourse — Faroesemade or, more com any other language, but our lib or at least in what I thought was monly, Faroesedubbed chil raries and bookstores are still Danish. But as his face twisted dren’s shows, but they are only full of Danish titles. The operat in confusion, I realized that he broadcast on the national televi ing system on our computers, didn’t understand the word sion channel, KVF, for about the apps on our smartphones, “spake,” which I had apparently halfan hour a day. But chil the instructions on our washing invented by saying the Faroese dren’s programming in Danish machines... everything is in word for spade with Danish pro nunciation. For the first time, I became aware of a definite distinction between Faroese and Danish. I remember how shocked I was at the inconsistency this incident revealed. Up until that point, I did not know exactly where the borders lay between the two lan guages. From what I can recall from the early years of my life, I did change the way I spoke when I was speaking “Danish,” but I would just transform my Faroese words into Danishsounding equivalents. I had picked up many ofthe sounds and pat terns from watching children’s shows in Danish, so I would try

Uni Johannesen is a 22-year-old Faroe Islander from the village of Norðragøta who is interested in The Løgting building, parliament of the Faroe Islands, in the 1950s. The Home Rule Act was science and languages. signed into law here in 1948, making Faroese the primary language of the islands.

16 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 A Biography of Danish

Danish, right down to the small stickers on the cheese and chicken at the grocery store. I completely understand why this happens, and that it would only make it more expensive for me, the consumer, to have everything relabelled and rewrit ten in Faroese. But still, it is a nice thought — to see the name ofeverything spelled out in my mother tongue. Danish is not only in our everyday lives, but also in our school system. We start learning Danish in the third grade, and The author, Uni Johannsen, in Þingvellir, Iceland, 2012. most of us already understand and speak a little before those would even sit down and trans Faroese well enough to determ classes start. Until 9th grade, we late the entire text into Faroese, ine if I had answered correctly. have regular Danish classes, but so that I would understand it There were also cases in the most of the other school material thoroughly. It is hard to always 1970’s in which students re is in Faroese. read technical words in a foreign fused to speak Danish at their In upper secondary school, language, and then to have to oral exams in civics, which the the situation is reversed. A lot of express them in Faroese. Many school required of them since work has gone into creating students use more international the examiner did not understand Faroese material for primary Faroese words, which are impor Faroese. Because of this, the school children so that they can ted and therefore closer to their students did not officially gradu start out learning in their moth Danish equivalents, but I like to ate, but were later allowed to er tongue. But once we reach use our own native words, which continue into higher education upper secondary school, pretty complicates matters. because of their special circum much everything is in Danish, stances. except for Faroese class, of They wrote in Danish, However, we have not al course. Some teachers were but spoke Faroese in ways had the legal write to use Faroese, others were Danish, Faroese. Danish was for many but although most ofthem un their homes and fields years the language ofthe ad derstood Faroese, the course and other interactions with ministration — legislative, eccle work was only available in their countrymen. siastic, judicial and commercial Danish. Therefore I would study — and of the entire educational biology, chemistry, physics, his system. The language of the tory, religion, mathematics, geo The Home Rule Act of1948 Church became Danish after the graphy, English — and, of made Faroese the main language Reformation in 1537, in spite of course, Danish — all in Danish. of the Faroe Islands, although the core Protestant belief that All ofthis exposure to Danish Danish was also to be learnt well the word ofGod should be told meant that we were exempted by all. Because ofthis, we to people in their native lan from a whole year ofDanish should all have the legal right to guage. The Faroe Islanders, class the first year ofupper sec write our exams in Faroese or however, were told that God did ondary school, and still ended Danish, according to our prefer not understand Faroese. up with the exact same Danish ence. But sometimes matters are Despite all ofthis, the degree as our counterparts not as black and white as the Faroese maintained their own studying in Denmark. letters ofthe law. When I wrote language in their everyday lives. Although we were spared a my exams in chemistry and They wrote in Danish, but spoke year ofDanish classes, I think mathematics, I was told that it Faroese in their homes and what we gave up was even great was safer for me to write my an fields and other interactions er. I remember how frustrating it swers in Danish, since they with their countrymen. Of was to do readings in Danish, would be graded in Denmark course, the language was pro knowing that I would be present and there was no guarantee that foundly affected by years of ing in Faroese! Sometimes I the graders would understand formal disuse and heavy contact

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 17 A Biography of Danish

that naturally leaves less time and energy for our own. And studies have indicated that if we were to isolate ourselves, only speaking Faroese, the language would likely be in a worse state than it is in now. We need to be able to speak some other lan guages if we want to have op portunities in life and a diversity of experiences. It would be quite boring to spend all ofour days in the Faroes and talk only to the same 50,000 souls our entire lives, wouldn’t it? For my own sake, I am very happy to be able to speak Dan ish. It has brought me the joys and opportunities of easy com munication with all of our Scandinavian neighbours. I ima Road sign in the Faroe Islands, written in Faroese. gine it as a kind ofbond, bring with Danish. But at the begin and English follows closely be ing the Faroes closer to our ning ofthe 20th century, some hind as the third. Many students relatives in Norway and Sweden schools began to offer Faroese even study an additional lan as well as Denmark. The classes, and Faroese gained guage, such as German, Span Icelanders have abandoned equal rights with Danish in ish, or French. learning any mainland Scand schools and churches in 1939. I sometimes wish that inavian language well, and they Finally, the Home Rule Act as Faroese had an even higher pri are drifting farther and farther sured Faroese its official and ority in our schools. Ifwe cannot from the others as a result... dominant status within the is speak and write our own mother something I hope will never hap lands. With the help ofthe na tongue flawlessly, how can we pen here. Ifthe talk ofsecession tionalist movement, which expect to master any other lan ever becomes reality, I won’t started at the end ofthe 19th guages? A survey from 2004 mind if we learn Norwegian or century, and the Faroese Lan shows that Faroese secondary Swedish, or even a panScand guage Committee, established in school students have serious di inavian mixture of all three, in 1985, the Danish influence has fficulties with normative Faroese stead ofDanish — as long as been gradually lessened in fa grammar and spelling, so it the old ties to the rest ofour re vour ofa more Faroese style and might be best to focus a bit more gion are preserved. A deep con vocabulary. on Faroese. nection to our linguistic and After all of this language But because the Faroe Is cultural past will give us strong conflict, we still learn Danish in lands is such a small nation, we roots as we move towards a school. Faroese is now the first really do need to be able to Faroese future. PT priority, Danish is the second, speak other languages — and

18 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014

At the Cinema - Ludo AAtt tthhee CCiinneemmaa LLUUDDOO reeviewed by Mirandaa Meethenny

udo is the first feature film to mother far more than they know. come out ofthe Faroe Islands in The movie is heavy with symbol fifteen years – and it's a dark one. It ism. We see toys scattered throughout was written and directed by Katrin Ot the house (including an eerie doll tarsdóttir, who is also behind the whose eyes open and close on their roadtrip movie Bye Bye Bluebird own), birds (mostly ravens crying and (1999) and the sliceoflife relay At a dead chick the girl finds on the lantic Rhapsody (1989), as well as sev mountain), waves, knives, blood, the eral shorter movies and child's voice singing her own lullaby... documentaries. As the movie continues, the shots of Ludo takes us into the home ofa these symbols come faster and more small family living in a beautiful frequently, repeating themselves in a house by the sea. A woman struggles way that makes us feel disoriented Ludo with mental illness, her husband won and trapped in a cycle. The director's 71 min ders how to handle the difficult and purpose, I feel, is to make viewers not Drama escalating situation, and their eleven sympathize but empathize with the 11 September 2014 (Faroe yearold daughter sings herself to situation. The scary music and the Islands) sleep at night over the sounds ofher mother's moans are unpleasant on Country: Faroe Islands mother's wailing. multiple levels, and the knife sounds The movie opens with a rare and were sometimes so sharp that I felt Language: Faroese beautiful summer day promising to let they were coming through my speak a little fresh air into the gloomy house. ers and cutting my skin. Father and daughter conspire to get Throughout the movie, we find the mother in a good mood, bringing ourselves perched uneasily between her breakfast in bed to try to persuade the mother's hallucinationfueled her to go out with them on a walk in anxiety and her husband and daugh the hills. At first, she readily agrees, ter's attempts to say and do just the The game they even chastising them for thinking they right things to keep her happy. But play in the dark needed to do so much to convince her. house is one But she soon changes her mind none ofthem can without cause, telling them icily to go win. on without her. The young girl hesitates. She knows her mother, and its clear to everyone that the mother doesn't mean what she says. But her father begs, unwilling to let the fine weather slip away, and finally they go on out “ for a pleasant hike that will upset The father and daughter, trying to remain cheerful

20 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 At the Cinema - Ludo

are quick to say that, for better or for worse, everyone there knows everyone else's business. While I was in the Faroes, more than one per son told me life could be difficult there for people with any sort ofpsychiatric disorder due to the scarcity of specialized treatment in a remote and small society. In an odd coincidence, I also saw a striking similarity between the family in Ludo and the one readers meet in the first part of Lognbrá, by Heðin Brú – a famous Faroese novelist and Ot tarsdóttir's grandfather. Both works explore the The mother, warning the daughter about lying world of a young child caught between a mother's depressive instability and a kind but meek father. sometimes it seems impossible, as when the father In a small community, the family gains even asks the girl to lie so as not to unnecessarily upset more importance as the basic building block of so the mother, but the mother seems to see right ciety. There are fewer distractions from the crucial through it and ominously warns her about what and complex interpersonal relationships of the happens to “little girls who lie to their mothers.” home. “Coziness” is often cited as a fundamental Three times, we see the mother try to turn aspect of Scandinavian culture, when everyone over a new leaf. She initially agrees to go for a celebrates togetherness and the glowing warmth of walk. She sings and makes a batch ofpancakes on being inside together despite darkness and bad their return. Finally, she eagerly suggests a family weather just beyond the door. But what happens game ofLudo. But the game they play in the dark when you find yourself shut in with mental ill house is one none ofthem can win. ness? As night falls on the house and a storm Ottarsdóttir writes that the topics of the movie rises on the sea, Ludo's small family gathers have also appeared in her other work, but in Ludo around a board game in what feels like a corrup she wanted to go all the way with them. She tion of the very concept of coziness. stresses that mental illness is a problem that is “The Faroe Islands can be quite eerie, can't urgent for everyone, no matter where in the world they?” commented my friend who watched the they are. Certainly it is true that mental illness is movie with me, “In your pictures, they look so a worldwide concern and that the movie could be beautiful, but I think they would also be a great appreciated by an international audience, even setting for a horror film. You could really play with without any other knowledge of the setting in the the feeling of being trapped.” Faroe Islands. With a short 70minute runtime, I think Ottarsdóttir already has. the director is quite busy with her artistic and Language learners will be happy to know that thematic goals, and exploring Faroese culture is the movie takes place entirely in Faroese. The not one ofthem. There is, in fact, a noticeable lack cinematography and quality of the acting are im ofproper nouns in the film; neither the places, nor pressive, especially considering the constraints the characters, are named – giving it a certain placed on the production by the tight budget and sense of anonymity. small pool ofFaroese actors. It's well worth a But the movie is set in the Faroe Islands, and watch for those interested in the topic, artistic setting is more than a backdrop. The movie and films, or Faroese cinema. PT the story it tells would be slightly different in an other place. The family lives on the island ofSan doy, which is one ofthe more remote ofthe Faroese islands as it is not connected by road to the others. While the father and daughter are out walking, they happen to run into the local doctor and his wife, who know them well and inquire after their family. The mother later watches the couple walk past her window, gossiping and star ing, and is convinced that everyone in the village is talking about her. Of course, gossip, anxiety about gossip, and the coincidence of happening upon people you know on a hike happen everywhere, but certainly more frequently in a small island vil lage like Sandur than in a large city. The Faroese The family, playing a game of Ludo

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 21 Basic Guide to Faroese Basic Guide to Faroese

Faroese is a very cool language. Make sure you don’t miss out on its coolness. We are presenting a list of simple words and phrases in Faroese to help you show your coolness.

Good morning. Góðan morgun. (go-wan mor-gun)

Good day. Góðan dag(in). (go-wan dya-(in))

Good evening. Gott kvøld. (gott kvuhld)

Good night. Góða nátt. (go-wa nawt)

Hello. Halló. (hah-loww)

Hello/Hi/Hey. Hey. (hey)

How are you? Hvussu gongur? (kvuss-u gong-ur)

Fine, thank you. Væl, takk. (Ve-al, tahk)

What is your name? Hvussu eita tygum? (kvuss-u oyt-a tee-yoon?)

What is your name? Hvussu eitur tú? (kvuss-u oyt-ur tew?)

My name is ______. Eg eiti ______. (ey oyt-i _____ .)

Nice to meet you. Stuttligt at hitta teg. (stut-leegt at heett-a teyh)

Goodbye Farvæl. (far-vell)

Yes Ja. (ya)

No Nei. (noy)

Please. Vinarliga (veen-ar-lee-ya)

Thank you. Takk fyri. (takk fee-rih)

22 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 Basic Guide to Faroese

Thanks. Takk. (takk)

You're welcome. Einki at takka fyri. (oyn-chih at takka fi-ree)

I don't understand. Eg skilji ikki. (ey shil-yi ich-e)

Where is the toilet? Hvar er vesið? (kvar er ve-see?)

Excuse me. Orsaka. (or-sha-ka) (getting attention)

Excuse me. Umskylda. (um-shil-da) (begging pardon)

I can't speak Faroese [well]. Eg dugi ikki [so væl] at tosa (ey doo-ih ih-chih [soh vell] at føroyskt. toh-suh fur-ist)

Do you speak English? Dugir tú eingilskt? (doo-urr too oyn-jillst?)

Is there someone here who Dugir nakar her eingilskt? (doo-urr nak-ar hair oyn-jillst?) speaks English?

Help! Hjálp! (yolp!)

Look out! Ansa tær! (an-sa te-ar!)

This is a really nice Hetta er eitt ordiliga gott blað. (hett-ah air oytt ord-ill-lee-yuh magazine. gott blaah.)

You should tell all your Tú skuldi sagt øllum vinunum (too skull-dih sagt udd-lunn friends about it. frá tí. vee-nuh-nunn fraw tui)

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 23

The Faroese Festival Summer

The Ólavsøka National Holiday and G! Music Festival

by Miranda Metheny ummer in the Faroe Islands is short but exquisite. The grass glows a vibrant green, flowers bloom, and the sun doesn't set long enough for darkness to take hold. Even at midnight, the sky glows a beautiful blue and calls you to enjoy every hour. It's no wonder that the Faroese want to fit as much fun into the summer as possible. June, July, and August offer a huge variety of festivals and other activities.

The most traditional are the local festivals, or “stevna,” which feature rowing competitions, sports, activities for children and of course dancing and partying in the evenings. There are also many other types of local festivals and events. The last and greatest of the annual stevna is Ólavsøka, in Tórshavn, which is also the national cultural, political, and religious holiday of the Faroe Islands.

In recent years, music has also become a crucial part of the Faroese summer. Each summer features a calendar of concerts spread evenly through the summer months, different genres, and unique venues ranging from cafes in downtown Tórshavn to churches on remote outer islands. There are also several huge music festivals, including the magical G! Festival in the village of Gøta. Celebrations - The Faroese Festival Summer

After the rowing competition, young men play in the Tórshavn harbor.

One of the centerpoints of Ólavsøka is the Ólavsøka – History rowing competition. At the various stevna Ólavsøka is the national holiday of the Faroe throughout the summer, regional teams have Islands, and is a religious, political, cultural and sporting high point in the year. The competed in rowing, but the finals are held at Faroese parliament, or løgting, opens at this Ólavsøka. There are also various folk con time. Historically, this was the time of the certs, chain dancing, performances, a carnival year that the most people from the various for children and a variety of processions. Faroese villages and islands would crowd into A typical Ólavsøka celebration involves the capital to socialize, trade, and celebrate. wearing traditional Faroese dress as you Ólavsøka means “St. Olaf's Wake.” Like wander from event to event, meeting people the smaller holiday of Olsok in Norway, you know and sharing pictures and conver Ólavsøka commemorates the death of the sations with them. There are many restaur Norwegian King Olaf II Haraldsson, who is ants selling delicious Faroese food here and credited with bringing Christianity to Norway. King Olafdied on the 29th ofJuly 1030 at the Battle of Stiklestad. However, the Faroese Many people wear Faroese national dress to the parliament predates this, so although the date Ólavsøka festivities. has been changed, the origin ofthe holiday is even older. Ólavsøka – Festivities Ólavsøka traditionally takes place over two days, Ólavsøka eve on July 28th and Ólavsøka proper on the 29th. However, in re cent years some events have in fact started on the 27th, with concerts and the Faroese gay pride festival taking place before the main holiday.

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Some of the major Festival Summer events (Late May – August):

Norðoyarstevna – The stevna of the northern islands (Klaksvík)

Mentanarnáttin – An event celebrating both modern and traditional Faroese culture, with a huge schedule of varied events. Some call it “the little Ólavsøka.” (Tórshavn)

Eystanstevna – The stevna of Eysturoy (Runavík)

Sundalagsstevna – The stevna of The Sound (alternates Kollafjørður, Hosvík and Hvalvík)

Voxbotn Music Festival – Music festival with local and international bands (Tórshavn)

Jóansøka – Midsummer and the stevna of Suðuroy (alternates Tvøroyri and Vágur)

Varmakeldustevna – A local festival (Fuglafjørður)

Útoyggjastevna – The stevna of the outer islands (location alternates greatly)

Fjarðastevna – A local festival (alternates Vestmanna, Skáli and Strendur)

Vestanstevna – The stevna of Vágur (alternates Sandavágur, Miðvágur and Sandavágur)

G! Festival – A magical summer music festival showcasing Faroese and international Music (Gøta)

Ólavsøka – The national cultural, political, and religious holiday of the Faroe Islands (Tórshavn)

Summer Festival – A huge summer music festival (Klaksvík)

Ovastevna – A festival celebrating local rowing hero Ove Joensen (Nólsoy) there. At night, ifyou like, you can change that brings together the most traditional and out ofthe Faroese dress and go out on the beautiful elements of Faroese culture. town, as the bars and clubs are bustling. The ending of Ólavsøka is perhaps its most distinctive moment. Thousands of Thousands gather for the sing-along that marks the people gather in the square for an Allsong, or end of the official public singalong. Faroese and a few tourists Ólavsøka festivities. alike all join together to sing about twenty Faroese songs from a printed booklet. This is the official end of the festival, but then, as everyone prepares to go home, a different sort ofsong starts coming over the speakers – a Faroese kvæði, or ballad. Everyone then links arms and starts dancing to the ancient Faroese ringdance. It's a magical moment

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 29 Scenes from the Summer

Top left: Hanus G. Johansen and Cantabile perform at Ólavsøka.

Middle left: The crowd at Voxbotn is in high spirits despite a drizzle of rain.

Bottom left: Delicious Faroese langoustine is grilled and sold on the street. Scenes from the Summer

Top Right: The Faroese parliament's first session is open to the public.

Middle Right: Beautiful Faroese national clothing at Ólavsøka. This woman inherited her home-made and unique whale-bone jewelry from her mother.

Bottom Right: The Faroese national dress can come in many colors, with green and red the most traditional but blue, purple, and other colors also appearing. Celebrations - The Faroese Festival Summer

G! – History Greta Svabo Bech, who has worked with Deadmau5 and hit the Billboard Top 100, The G! Festival is widely con performs at G! sidered to be the most im portant musical event in the Faroe Islands, and is, togeth er with Summarfestivalurin one ofthe Faroes two biggest music festivals. Remarkably, this event takes place in the tiny fjordside village of Gøta, where an astonishing per centage of Faroese musical talent originates. G! Was founded by two locals, Sólarn Solmunde and Jón Tyril, whose goal was to change the Faroese musical landscape. The first year was 2002, and the lineups and Danish pop singer Nabiha lights up the attendance have been grow beach stage at the G! Festival. ing steadily since then. It has been estimated that up to one fifth of the Faroese popula tion attends the G! Festival, and it is a veritable who's who of Faroese cultural icons.

G! – Festivities G! takes place each year over the course ofthree days in July, a few weeks before Ólavsøka. The venues are built around the village of Gøta – on the beach, on the playground, in an old build ing foundation by the shore, Festival-goers gather to hear acapella choir and even in private homes. Xperiment sing “Í Gøtu ein dag” (One day in Gøta sits at the end ofa long Gøta), a Faroese ballad. fjord, ringed by high green mountains almost like a nat ural amphitheater. As the festival begins, boats fill up the cozy harbor or sit out in the sparkling fjord, campers race to get the best spots in a huge party field, and the little village lights up with the wonderful energy that comes from music and togetherness.

People ofall ages and in terests flock to G! There is a

32 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 Celebrations - The Faroese Festival Summer

Modern Faroese Music

Faroese music has a rich heritage A variety of Faroese artists come together for including not only the unique bal the big sing-along at G! lads, but also several other types of traditional church and secular mu sic. Today, the Faroese have an as tonishing number of musicians per capita, and you can find Faroese music in any genre, ranging from heavy metal to experimental, pop to country (oddly enough, several Faroese artists record in Nashville, Tennessee!)

The main Faroese record label, Tutl, has given most Faroese musi cians their start. They organize many concerts in a huge variety of Faroese venues, and also operate a store in Tórshavn which is the best starting place for any visitor inter ested in learning more about Faroese music. The head of Tutl, Kristian Blak, is himself a notable composer and musician, and the founder of the Nordic ensemble Yg gdrasil.

Here are some ofthe biggest names in Faroese music:

Eivør Pálsdóttir – From her birth Eivør Pálsdóttir performs at an intimate living place ofGøta, the home ofthe G! room concert during the G!! Festival.. Festival, Eivør has brought her unique voice and incredible stage presence to a huge variety ofgenres, from folk to rock, pop, and experimental music. She has recorded songs in Faroese, Danish and English as well as Icelandic.

Teitur Lassen – Generally considered to be the most worldfamous of all Faroese musi cians, Teitur's popular Englishlanguage music has brought him a global following.

Frændur – This band, which was formed in the town ofKlaksvík in the 1980's, has pro duced some ofthe most famous and beloved ofall Faroese songs, without which no Faroese party is complete.

Annika Hoydal – Recording most ofher work in both Faroese and Danish, Hoydal is known as an actress and a singersongwriter who records traditional and children's music.

Orka – Famous for building their own instruments and constantly experimenting, Orka started out with acoustic vocal songs in Faroese and has since delved into dark electronic and atmospheric music.

Byrta – One ofthe newest and hottest Faroese bands on the scene right now, Byrta's elec tropop sound was influenced by eighties music. The duo performs in Faroese and is rap idly gaining popularity in the Faroes and Iceland.

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Viking village for children, Children play on the beach during G! – the festival little restaurants set up on grounds are open and free each day, before closing to the spot to serve Faroese sea ticket-holders for the headline evening concerts. food and other delicacies, hot tubs and saunas by the ocean, and other attrac tions... but the focus is al ways on the music. Each year, musicians from both all around the Faroe Islands and all around the world converge there for unforgettable con certs that go late into the eternally lit nordic nights. When the weather is good, Syðrugøta at G!time might be the finest place on earth, as the fjord sparkles in the sunlight and the land Hot-pots and a sauna are set up on the beach during G!, scape seems too verdant and and small restaurants selling sushi, snacks, gourmet spectacular to be real. Even food, and alcohol fill the small village. when the weather is bad (it's the Faroes, after all, and it's been known to rain, storm, and even flood the stages) the spirits of the Faroese seem unquenchable, and the party continues. PT

34 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014

Being a foreigner is a lot like being a child. Everything is fresh, new, exciting, fun… and humbling. - Miranda Metheny

EExxpplloorree tthhee FFaarrooee IIssllaannddss Flag of the Faroe Islands flying at Funningur, Eysturoy, Faroe Islands Revisited - The Faroe Islands Revisited

TThhee FFaarrooee IIssllaannddss

The is a reprint ofa chapter from the occasionally lifting fog en ropes from the cliffs. It is a great “An American in Iceland”, written abled us to get glimpses of. As place for the breeding of sea by Samuel Kneeland and pub- usual, we got lost in the fog, and birds, whose young and eggs lished in 1875. The author visted had to feel our way very slowly supply a large part ofthe food Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the among these dangerous rocks, consumed there. Orkney Islands, and the Shet- knowing that the strong cur The mountains were, at land Islands in 1874. rents must have taken us some least, halfa mile high, and the what out ofour course. We cliffs with their base in the sea ur pilot left us in about two finally were cheered by the sight and their summits in the clouds, hours, to pursue our un of the greater Diman, a melan with precipitous sides rent by erring course, thanks to deep and narrow chasms, ten good seamanship and the power Though nominally sub- anted by innumerable sea birds, of steam, through fog and wind ject to Norway, they whose harsh voices were louder and storm, to the Faroes, distant were practically inde- than those ofthe wind and one hundred and eightyfive waves, were singularly grand miles in a northwesterly direc pendent, refusing to pay and picturesquely dreary. tion. Darkness was not added to tribute, and apparently The Faroe Islands, as far as the other dangers, a sort of for a long time forgotten coast scenery and people are semitwilight, in spite of the by the mother country. concerned, are a sort of Iceland misty clouds, lasting all night. in miniature. Settled by the The sea was very rough, and cholylooking rock, about a mile same fierce Northmen who were most ofus paid tribute to Nep long by halfa mile wide, one of driven from Norway by Harald, tune, who moreover asserted his the most inaccessible of the the Fairhaired, their greater victory over me by making me group; even this rocky monster distance from Great Britain, and thoroughly uncomfortable; I was had a pleasant look, as it told us their consequently more isolated very glad that no importunate just where we were. The shore is situation, in connection with the newspapers were looking to me so steep that no boat can be difficulty and danger of reaching for a hurried account ofthe kept there, and the wretched in them in the foggy and stormy strange things we saw. In the af habitants are almost shut off northern ocean, have given them ternoon we came in sight ofthe from their kind; the clergyman, a peculiar character, very differ southern island of the group, who visits them once or twice a ent from the poetic and literary passing some fine scenery which year, has to be pulled up by Icelanders ofthe olden time. I

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 39 Revisited - The Faroe Islands

say ofthe olden time, as at the present day, poetry, literature, and even ordinary energy have ceased to be characteristic of the downtrodden, too much gov erned, Iceland. The name is de rived from faer, a sheep. The group rises from the ocean, between 61° and 62° N. lat, with high perpendicular cliffs of the wildest character, indented by deep gulfs or bays, and fash ioned into the most fantastic forms, tenanted by innumerable birds. About twenty out of thirty five small islands are inhabited, the rest being naked rocks, inac cessible, except to seabirds, and daring bird and egg hunters. The extent ofopen sea in all direc The Løgting, parliament of the Faroe Islands, 1864 tions, three hundred and twenty miles to Iceland and over four dependent, refusing to pay trib character ofthe soil, most ofthe hundred to Norway, exposes ute, and apparently for a long cultivation must be done with them always to the fury ofthe time forgotten by the mother the hoe instead ofthe plough. waves, which dash, even in calm country, their fierce manners be Beside the pursuit ofthe cod weather, with violence against ing rendered more peaceful by and herring fisheries, the taking the rocks; the water is very deep Catholic Christianity. ofseals and whales is an im close to the shore, and the cur From their exposed situation portant industry. When a school rents are very strong and dan they were frequently plundered ofdolphins is in sight, the joyful gerous in the fogs which there by pirates, English, French, and news is communicated by signal abound. The climate is not Turkish, though afterwards pro fires, and the boats, to the num severe, being tempered by the tected by Denmark, when this ber of several hundred, soon ocean; grass grows at an eleva country was united to Norway. form a huge semicircle around tion of2000 feet, though the During our revolutionary war, the prey, driving them into shal mountain tops, some 900 feet much of our colonial produce low water with shouts and higher, are perfectly barren; the found its way there, whence it blows, where they are quickly absence oftrees here, as well as was smuggled into Scotland. Be killed by the excited crowd. The in Iceland, is due to the high ing wholly unprotected, during flesh is eaten fresh and dried, winds and the salt mist, and not the wars ofthe northern na and the blubber, is converted to excess ofcold. Barley, the tions, they suffered great priva only grain which will grow in tions from the interruption of Faroe, ripens at elevations vary trade, to such an extent that ing from 80 to 400 feet, accord England, in 1809 to 1811, al ing to northern or southern lowed them to trade with some exposure. of her ports, as strangerfriends, The Faroese, though belong too feeble to act as enemies and ing to the same stock as the powerless as friends. This will Icelanders, were never, like account for the extent to which them, a literary people, prob the English language is spoken ably, because the population by the old traders at Tórshavn. was a very fluctuating one with In 1 81 4, the peace restored decided piratical tendencies, them to Denmark, which has most of the early colonists hav monopolized the small trade ever ing come from the Loffoden Is since, with the usual oppression lands, off the coast of Norway. of monopolies. Though nominally subject to Their agricultural products Norway, they were practically in are small, as, from the rocky From the book of this article, circa 1875

40 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 Revisited - The Faroe Islands

walls and roofs overgrown with grassbearing turf, hardly dis tinguishable from the ground about them except for the wreaths of smoke and the flags. It being quite light we went ashore soon after coming to an chor. The town is situated on the rocky hills surrounding two ex posed bays separated by a pen insula; the houses are placed in utter confusion, wherever inter vals between the black rocks or any level surface will permit. This, while it adds in one sense to the picturesqueness as seen from the sea, makes getting about in any definite direction very difficult. There can hardly be said to be any streets, but Tórshavn, the capital of Faroe Islands, in the morning of 11 August 2003 steep, irregular, narrow, stone into trainoil for food and vari majesty, just arrived from paved lanes, sometimes in front ous uses. Almost all kinds of Copenhagen on their way to at and sometimes in the rear ofthe seafowl, the gulls and cormor tend the Iceland millennial cel houses, and often admitting only ants excepted, are eaten, fresh, ebration; they had put in for the persons going in single file; the salted, or dried, as, also, are double purpose of taking on coal pavements were slippery from their eggs. They raise many and of visiting this distant de fishskin and refuse, and the cattle, ponies, and sheep, for pendency. sides redolent offish and the which the fields are well calcu slops ofthe houses; it reminded lated; from the latter, as in Ice This gentle-mannered me ofsome ofthe streets in New land, the wool is pulled instead race seemed out of York near the wharves and mar of being shorn, the portions kets. The houses were generally ready to fall being taken at each place amid the rugged small and miserable, made of time. The people are healthy and scenery, bleak rocks, wood, tarred to preserve them long lived, but do not increase howling winds, and from dampness, with sod rapidly. stormy seas of the covered roofs; the fronts and It was 9pm when we reached Faroes. projecting corners were adorned the capital, Tórshavn, on the by strings offish in every stage principal island, Stromoe, which of decomposition, the attempt at contains about one hundred and We saw the flag ofDenmark, drying them in such a moist air fortythree square miles, being a white cross on a scarlet being, according to my nasal or on an average about twentysix ground, floating from the masts gans, often a decided failure. miles long and nearly six miles of two menofwar, from several The odors offish and oil pre wide. These islands were known smaller vessels in the harbor, dominated everywhere, and the to the Norwegian rovers before and from numerous points on interior of the houses betokened the settlement of Iceland, this shore, which we at first took for discomfort, dampness, close last having been discovered by grassy hillocks, but afterward ness, and want of cleanliness, the former toward the end of the discovered to be roofs of turf which must be a fruitful source ninth century; they were not covered houses. We had left Brit of disease and premature death, chosen for fixed habitations till ish waters, and were anchored especially in children. It was a the wars of Harald drove the in the seas once ploughed by the dismal day, and it was to me chiefs and their followers from Scandinavian seakings. We impossible to associate any idea Norway to the northern islands. here first came into contact with ofhome with such dwellings. In They are now the property of a pure Norse people, and first some ofthe better houses, oftwo Denmark, and at Tórshavn we saw the form ofhouse almost or more stories, lace curtains found the ships ofhis Danish universal in Iceland, with low and flowers gave a cheerful look

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 41 Revisited - The Faroe Islands

raising their Phrygian caps as we passed, and bidding us good evening. The men wore breeches of woollen material, of their own manufacture, buttoned below the knee, and upper garments like northern fishermen; long woollen stockings and sealskin shoes, kept from the wet pave ment by clattering wooden clogs, completed their attire. I saw nothing peculiar about the fe male costume; the inevitable shawl around the shoulders, and a headdress consisting of a blacksilk handkerchief tied be hind with a point toward the Two girls in Faroese costume forehead, were not at all becom ing. to the windows, and evidences of Just before our arrival the woman’s taste. Though night by king had made his official entry, the clock, it was light, and the and the harbor was still gay with Old postcard of Tórshavn shows the port shops were open and crowded. flags and rushing boats, and the from 1910 We went into one pestiferous streets were spanned with from the arch ofwelcome on the place, through a dark, illpaved, arches and strewed with flowers. shore had been strewn with and winding alley, where we The people in gala dress were flowers. His officers were dis found men drinking in one quietly watching the proces posed in the houses ofthe prin corner, and in another some wo sions, and the petty officials cipal residents, to a degree that men buying gewgaws for the were strutting around with all the operations of the postoffice, morrow’s celebration with all the the pomp and feathers ofone of the schools, and the courts of eagerness, chatter, and apparent our militia trainings. Such an justice, were practically suspen satisfaction of a shopper on important event as the landing ded. Broadway. The odor was over ofa king, for the first time since Passing the night on board powering from reeking garments, their occupation by Denmark, our steamer, as we always did wet shoes, unclean bodies, and was deemed worthy of a formal when in port, we retired at the organic and inorganic stock address by the mayor, but so 11pm, it still being quite light. upon the shelves; any thing overpowered was he by the We went ashore the next day, could be procured here from a grandeur of the occasion, that Sunday, to attend church, needle to an iron chain, from a his loyal heart could not bear whither the king and his party bit ofcandy to a pound ofsnuff, the emotion, and he fell dead at went to participate in a simple, from a keg offish to a bottle of the very feet ofthe king. This, of tedious medley of inaudible brandy. course, gave a tone ofsadness to prayer, poor singing, and a prosy The Norse characteristics of what otherwise would have been sermon in the Danish language. the people were evident at a universal rejoicing. The wash of the waves made a glance; the abundant light hair The town, named after the landing difficult on the slippery and beard, blue eyes, ruddy god Thor, ordinarily contains rocks, the only wharves being ir complexion, tall stature, and about eight hundred inhabit regular heaps ofstones; it re stalwart form, revealed the old ants, many ofwhom are Danes, quired considerable dexterity to Viking race. The physical ap and this element of the popula avoid getting wet feet and being pearance and dress ofthe people tion was very demonstrative for thrown down; but friendly hands were much like those of the Nor obvious reasons; the place was were extended to save us, and wegians, and their habits those now crowded with strangers we landed in good condition. of fishing communities in high from all parts ofthe island to see Our boats carried the American latitudes; a very little agricul the king, who had been expected and English flags, which the ture, a little grazing, and a great the day before. His majesty oc people seemed to look at with deal of fishing, are their occupa cupied the governor’s house on more enthusiasm than at the tions. They were very respectful, the hill, and the road thereto Danish.

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The crowds were well The audience were quiet and dressed, and every thing, as yes devotional, joining in the hymns terday, had a gala look, on land with fervent but unmusical and water, as far as flags could voices. The women looked care make it. We visited various pub worn and prematurely old, and I lic buildings and private resid saw no signs ofbeauty. There ences, but could not get access was no pretension to dress, to any officials as all were busy though upstairs I caught a at breakfast with their stranger glimpse of some Parislooking guests. While waiting for the hats, doubtless accompanied by opening of the church, after threebutton gloves. looking at the tombstones in the As in Iceland, the people neat churchyard, we ascended here are all Lutherans; but the a hill behind the useless fort, the altar, the burning candles, and only decent walk in the place, the dress, attitudes, and tones of and thence had a fine view ofthe the clergyman, gave a semi town, its harbor, the gardens Romish character to the service, and fields of grass and hardy ve at variance with the independ getables, and the mist covered ent, intelligent character of the mountains in the distance. audience. I think all were glad Skansin, the old fort of Tórshavn, Faroe At 11am we went to the when the ceremony was over, as Islands, 1899 church, where seats had been neither fresh ideas nor fresh air After the service the king reserved for us; it was ofthe were supplied during its con and his party returned to the plainest description, with un tinuance. The clergyman was en frigate to dinner, to which many cushioned seats innocent of closed in a boxlike pulpit on one ofthe people had been invited; paint, accommodating a few side, high above the heads ofhis the vessel was about two miles hundred persons on the floor congregation; he looked very from shore, and the sea quite and small gallery. The altar, over queer with his stiff, plaited Eliza rough, yet boatload after boat which was a faded picture ofthe bethan ruff about his neck. The load, including many ladies, entombment of Christ, was at royal party seemed bored by the went to and fro all the afternoon the rear ofa space raised a few platitudes of the sermon, and, at and late into the night. Some of inches above the floor, and in the close ofthe services, depar the guests, high in church and this space seats had been ar ted, before the audience, with state, are currently reported to ranged for the king and his great alacrity. have imbibed more stimulating suite. Soon the bells began to ring, the great doors were thrown open, and the king entered, quietly walking with the prince Waldemar to his seat, bowing on each side as he passed along. He was simply dressed in the Danish naval uni form with a few decorations; his appearance was dignified, his expression kind and genial, with an entire absence of that hauteur and formality which some potentates think indicate the divinity of royalty. Indeed, had he made a display, in pro portion to that of some of his fol lowers, the islanders would have liked it better, as most ofthem looked upon the visit as a mere pageant, without any political significance or possible benefit to them. Tórshavn Cathedral (Havnar Kirkja) and harbourside buildings, Faroe Islands

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 43 Revisited - The Faroe Islands

most contempt for royalty, as such, was publicly manifest; they had nothing to ask, and it never entered their heads that a king ofDenmark, the first that ever visited these islands, had the inclination, if he had the power, to grant them any polit ical favors. His visit they attrib uted to curiosity, and they gratified their own at the same time at his expense. The day had been windy and rainy, and the night was un promising; we could see that the waves outside were dashing with violence against the rocky shores, and we retired, hoping for a calmer sea the next day. Early the next morning we sailed, in advance of the royal Interior of the Havnar Kirkja in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands vessels, for Iceland, 320 miles to drinks than were consistent with seemed out ofplace amid the the northwest, which we ought Sunday gravity or steady loco rugged scenery, bleak rocks, to reach, wind and weather per motion; judging from the hilar howling winds, and stormy seas mitting, in about forty hours. ity, and evident disarrangement of the Faroes; we should rather The Faroese are longlived, of ruffs, epaulettes, and hats, have expected a coarse, bold, and the climate, notwithstand this may safely be set down as a semisavage horde, as the legit ing its occasional severity and fact. imate descendants of the Vikings sudden changes, must be a The people were admitted to of old. healthy one, or, as in Iceland, see the tables and the cabins, The king was everywhere sa the race would long ago have the former rich with gold and sil luted with respect, but not with been exterminated by the utter ver, and the latter gaily fur enthusiasm, except by his Dan absence of all sanitary precau nished; the ship was, however, ish subjects; the same indiffer tions to prevent disease. PT of the oldfashioned type, slow, ence I noticed in Iceland. The old with many hundred tons ofold Scandinavian independence, al iron in the shape ofcannon, whose space on such a long and rough voyage had much better have been occupied by coal, sav ing thereby much labor and time. Among other places, we vis ited the school, occupied then by the guests, and were pleased to see in this distant island modern apparatus for physical outdoor exercise. Living as they do chiefly on barley meal, milk, sheep, fish, and seafowl and their eggs, the health of the chil dren is often affected by the foul air ofthe houses; the school, therefore, not only educates the mind, but does much to invigor ate the body. This gentlemannered race Eystaravág, the eastern bay in the harbour of Tórshavn, Faroe Islands.

44 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014

Word on the Streets FFaammoouuss FFaarrooee IIssllaannddeerrss

Thee streets off Parleremo are named after ffamous writers for the languaage of each quarteer.. This is where we take a qquick loookk aat wwhy thhey arree famous.. Word on the Streets - Famous Faroe Islanders

Heðingerði Heðin Brú 17August1901 - 18 May1987

Hans Jakob Jacobsen was Sons”, 1940), which became his most famous born 17 August 1901 in work. It has been translated into other lan Sk levig, Faroe Islands. He guages, first Danish in 1962 (Fattigmand- was a great Faroese novel sære), then into German in 1966 (Des armen ist and translator who was Mannes Ehre), and finally into English in best known by his pen 1 970 (The Old Man and his Sons). It was his name Heðin Brú. He is first novel to be translated into English. The considered to be the most novel tells the story of the transformation important Faroese writer of his generation from a rural society into a modern one of and he helped establish Faroese as a literary fisheries, highlighting the conflicts between language. the generations that occur.

Before his rise to fame, Brú started out at the This was not his only theme, however. Brú’s age of14 as a fisherman. He studied agricul 1963 novel _Leikum fagurt_ satirised the ture in Denmark for several years in the Faroese politics of the interwar period. He 1920s and when he returned to the Faroe Is wrote about Faroese villages in both Men livið lands he became an agricultural adviser to lær (1 970) and Tað stóra takið (1 972). the Faroese government in 1928. This job al lowed him to travel to all parts ofthe country, Brú also wrote three collections of novellas as during which time he made many contacts well as translating two Shakespeare plays, with ordinary village people. He began writing Hamlet and The Tempest. He published a six about what he saw in the form ofnovels. volume collection of Faroese fairy tales, Æv- intýr I – VI, between 1959 and 1974. His first two novels, Longbrá (“Mirage”), pub lished in 1930 and Fastatøkur (“Firm Grip”), Besides writing, Brú was the coeditor of the published in 1937, focused around the chan literary periodical Vardin and a member ofthe ging way of Faroese life as farming gave way Faroese Scientific Society. He continued writ to the fishing industry. ing and also translated many works of world literature into Faroese up until his death in A similar theme was presented in his 1940 1 987. novel Fedgar á ferd (“The Old Man and His

Bibliography Poetry and poems: Novels: • 1934 Snípan • 1930 Lognbrá (Mirage) • 1953 Ásannað • 1935 Fastatøkur (Firm Grip) • 1956 Fedrarnir • 1940 Feðgar á ferð (The Old Man and His Sons) • 1961 Tey sjúku við strondina • 1963 Leikum fagurt (Let's Play Nicely) • 1970 Men lívið lær (But Life Laughs) • 1972 Tað stóra takið (The Big Take)

Collection of short stories: • 1936 Fjallaskuggin (The Mountain Shadow) • 1948 Fólkatrøll • 1966 Purkhús • 1971 Búravnurin

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 47 Word on the Streets - Famous Faroe Islanders

Mariannasgøta Marianna Debes Dahl 24 November 1947 -

Marianna Debes Dahl is a In 1978 she received the Barnamentanarheiðursløn Faroese writer. She was born Tórshavnar býráðs, which is a children’s cultural in 1947 in Vestmanna and prize of Tórshavn City Council, given out annually. grew up in Tórshavn. She started attending a Danish She held the position of president for the Associ boarding school when she ation ofWriters ofthe Faroe Islands from 1980 to was 12, then later spent a 1981, becoming the first woman to do so. Dahl has year as an exchange student also been chair of the association of writers, and in the USA. From there, she studied literature at from 1983 to 1993 was a critic for the communist the University of Copenhagen, then became quali newspaper Fríu Føroyar. fied to teach on the Faroe Islands in 1975. Dahl’s first book was a children’s book, Burtur á She worked for a few years as a school teacher, a heiði, which she wrote for a competition and won. college teacher, and a museum instructor at the It focused on the contrast between rural and urb Faroe Island’s nature museum, the Føroya Náttur- an life, a theme she focused on in later works. Her ugripasavn. main publications are Lokkalogi, published in 1 984, Onglalag (1 986), and Faldalín (1988). Dahl’s Dahl started writing in 1975, creating works in a historical novel, Vívil (1992), focused on the norms variety of different genres. She has written for all of capitalist society confronting socialist and fe ages, from small children to adults, in the forms of male cultural values. short stories, novels, plays, travelogues, and translations of other works. She has also worked Dahl is the first women to write an autobiography with the national Faroese Broadcasting company, in Faroese, Úti á leysum oyggjum (“Out on loose is Kringvarp Føroya, producing radio broadcasts lands“), which was published in 1997. She is along with translating and editing materials. married to a college teacher, editor, and textbook author, and has two children.

Bibliography • 1984 Hanna og Hóri Novels • 1986 Hóri letur upp • 1984 Lokkalogi • 1985 Sturli súkklar • 1986 Onglalag • 1986 Alvi er og ferðast • 1988 Faldalín • 1990 Tunnuflakin • 1992 Vívil Picture books Autobiographies • 1990 Sonurin • 1997 Úti á leysum oyggjum Books for teaching in the Faroese language for Short stories children • 1978 Millumleikur • 1983 Ása fer í skúla • 1978 Fløkjan • 1980 Lepar Travelogues • 1980 Síðsta skúlaárið • 1982 Latið altíð sólina skína

Children's books Plays • 1975 Burtur á heiði • 1979 Skálatoftir (written together with J.S. Hansen) • 1979 Dirdri • 1990 Bardagabørn • 1981 Skilnaður Translations Books for small children • 1982 Uppreisnin (stories from South Africa ) • 1983 Bjarta og snigilin • 1984 Døgg er dottin

48 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 Where Are You? Where Are You? During medieval times, this village was the episcopal centre of the region, but it is now composed of just a few houses made of stone and wood, with the majority of the older houses having been washed away by a fierce storm in the 16th century.

Today, the site also acts as a museum which is open almost daily during the summer months. It is still of interest for some of its more notable buildings. First is a church that was built in 1111 and dedicated to the king.

Here also stands the stone ruins of a great cathedral, which was built around 1300 by a bishop. It was never completed, however, and to this day, it still has no roof. It is the largest and most beautiful medieval building in this region. Even without a roof, it was used until 1538. The stone walls, built with rock taken from the nearby hills, are over 1.5 meters thick and 9 meters high.

Another historical landmark here is at 900 year old farmhouse that has a turf roof. The wood from which the house is made was obtained accidentally when the ship which was carrying the timber to another place sank. The wood washed up on the shore where it was collected and used to construct the farmhouse. The house has been home for 18 generations to the same family line and is one of the oldest wooden houses of the world which is still inhabited.

Can you name this city and country?

Last month's answer: Cinque Terre, Italy

49 Parrot Time | Issue#6 | June2013

The Grind: Why the Faroese Hunt Whales

The Grind: Why the Faroese Hunt Whales

The Faroe Islands are famous worldwide not only for their beauty and culture, but also for the grindadráp, or whale slaughter. In an average year, the Faroese kill approxim- ately 800 pilot whales in order to eat their meat and blub- ber, which is the Faroese national dish. This practice has provoked considerable controversy among anti-whaling or- ganizations. In this article, we will look at the discussion from the perspective of two Faroe Islanders.

52 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 The Grind: Why the Faroese Hunt Whales

Some of the most common arguments against fully monitored) the Faroese have killed 850 pilot Faroese whaling are claims that the pilot whales (in later years around 800) on average a whales are endangered, that it is a tradition year, so that’s a tenth ofa percent (0.1%) ofthe that has no place in the modern world, that pilot whale population only in the North Atlantic, whales are an intelligent species that should which is very far from exceeding the pilot whales’ not be eaten, and that whale meat is contam- reproduction rate at around 2 %. There is nothing inated and unfit for human consumption. to indicate that the pilot whale population is in Faroese journalist Elin Brimheim Heinesen re- decline. As long as the pilot whale is not en sponds to these arguments in excepts taken dangered, this is not a rational argument. So this from her blog (http://heinesen.info/wp/): is a failed argument.

The Faroese should stop killing pilot whales be The Faroese should stop killing pilot whales cause the pilot whales are endangered. because such a tradition doesn’t belong to the The pilot whale is one ofthe most common whale 21st century. They shouldn’t do this just be species in the oceans all over the world, especially cause it is a tradition. the long finned pilot whale. Pilot whales are not People in the Faroe Islands don’t kill pilot whales endangered according to the authorities in this because it is a tradition. They do it for food, as matter. The NAMMCO (North Atlantic Marine they’ve always done. But opponents call this prac Mammal Commission) is the real authority on all tice of getting food ‘a tradition’, because this way matters regarding the North Atlantic pilot whale. of living off of the natural resources of the ocean The NAMMCO base their estimation on sightings – has been common on these islands for more than and they estimate that the number oflong finned 1 ,200 years. pilot whales in the North and East Atlantic is Pilot whale meat and blubber is so common 780.000, and that’s excluding the West Atlantic, and natural for the Faroese to eat that to them so the number might be, even significantly higher. this food is no different than beefor bacon is to The ACS (American Cetacean Society) agrees with people in other countries, where they have a tradi those numbers and the IUCN also agrees that the tion for eating cattle or pig meat. It’s just that you pilot whale hunt is, as they say: ‘probably sustain can’t breed pilot whales in the same manner as able’. The IWC doesn’t consider itself an authority you can breed cattle or pigs. But why would you on small cetaceans, ofwhich the long finned pilot want to do that, ifthere is an abundance ofpilot whale is one. So the pilot whale is not on the list of whales around the islands living free their whole endangered animal species. The Sea Shepherd or life? Why would the Faroese deprive the whales of ganisation stands alone in its claims that the long that privilege and somehow cage them or put them finned pilot whale is endangered. in ocean feed lots? The Faroese have killed pilot whales for at Who’s to decide what belongs to the 21st cen least 1.200 years, so the pilot whales should prob tury or not? Or which traditions are worth keeping ably have been extinct by now, ifthe pilot whaling for the Faroese or not? It is definitely not for in the Faroes was a threat to the population as a people outside the Faroe Islands to decide. The whole. Since 1584 (that is how long it’s been care right word for this is ethnocentrism. That is: judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one’s own culture. The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, espe cially with concern to language, behavior, cus toms, and religion. Ethnocentrism is not rational, so again a failed argument.

The Faroese should stop killing pilot whales because the whales are intelligent, sentient, and sociable. Sea Shepherd founder Capt. Watson claims that it is a sign of highly developed intelligence that the whales have figured out how to live in harmony with nature, unlike us humans, so therefore they are more intelligent than people. Okay, ifthat is his logic, he could just as well claim a squirrel is Pilot whales swimming in the ocean more intelligent than humans. A squirrel also lives

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 53 The Grind: Why the Faroese Hunt Whales

in harmony with nature, and nobody would say that a squirrel is more intelligent than a human being for that reason. Capt. Watson is just being manipulative. There is no doubt that bottlenosed dolphins are some ofthe most intelligent creatures in the animal kingdom. Dolphins are good at learning tricks, especially in captivity – also pilot whales to a degree. Dolphins are proven more intelligent than most other animals, but they are still very far from being as intelligent as people. And not all whales rank that high. The pilot whale is in the dolphin family, but pilot whales are not the most intelligent of the dolphins. Pilot whales are not es What's for dinner? Whale steak and vegetables. pecially intelligent in comparison to many other mammals either. their development. This fact is absolutely relevant Other animal species that humans kill for food and the majority of the Faroese people recognize are also proven highly ‘intelligent’. So this argu this. But the antiwhaling activists often exagger ment is inconsistent, ifthose who claim it is wrong ate the effects of this contamination, which are to kill pilot whales because of their intelligence do more subtle than they let people believe. There not also oppose the killing of other intelligent an has, for instance, not been one single reported imals for food. fatality due to eating pilot whale meat and blub Whether humans should refrain from killing ber, not ever. “intelligent” animals or not is a matter of opinion. The Faroese health authorities recommend And there is no rational reason for claiming that that pregnant women, or women who plan on be one opinion is morally more right than the other. ing pregnant soon, should not eat pilot whale Also: How intelligent should an animal be to ob foods at all, as the critical levels for methyl mer tain a rank between the untouchables? How would cury intoxication of pregnant women and fetuses you measure that to be able to set a border are lower by a factor of2–5 than for the general between highly intelligent and “stupid” animals? population. They do not recommend that pilot Yes, pilot whales are sentient and sociable, whale meat and blubber should be served to that is true. And so are all other animals too, more younger children, while it seems to be within safe or less. Animals, most people in the world eat – limits for the rest ofthe population to eat pilot like cows and pigs, even chickens – are also sen whale meat and blubber once to twice a month. tient and sociable. So you can’t on the one hand The Faroese people are not indifferent to this say that the Faroese shouldn’t kill whales on these unfortunate development. People are taking action grounds, and at the same time accept the killing of personally – many do not serve pilot whale meat other sentient and sociable animals. and blubber to their children any longer, and most If you are against the killing of animals be younger women as well as childbearing women cause they are sentient and sociable, you are in choose not to eat pilot whale meat and blubber at consistent if you don’t include all animals in the all. But as long as the health authorities haven’t equation – that is: you must also oppose the recommended that the Faroese population as a killing of cattle, pigs and chickens, yes, any animal whole completely refrain from eating pilot whale in fact. That is unrealistic. meat and blubber (which, by the way, is the Faroese national dish), and, as long as pilot whal The Faroese should stop killing pilot whales be ing is done in a responsible, sustainable, caretak cause pilot whale meat and blubber are con ing manner, the Faroese see no reason for taminated and it is dangerous for the Faroese stopping pilot whaling altogether. And they think people’s health to eat it. that there is absolutely no valid reason for others The Faroese will likely stop the pilot whaling to interfere in Faroese matters, trying to force the gradually over the coming years, because pilot Faroese not to utilize this natural resource in their whale meat and blubber does contain mer own country. • cury/methyl mercury at levels considered too high. Pilot whales also contain other toxins coming from manmade pollution, like PCB and DTD. And there are indications that exposure to some of these contaminants may affect human fetuses and

54 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 The Grind: Why the Faroese Hunt Whales

The Hunter's Perspective by Morten Ejner Hønge

he Faroe Islands are a small island nation very similar. very bound in deep traditions, with our ring After the whales have been dragged up onto dance, our national costume, and our long history. the beach, the meat is divided among everyone We live very close together, and we still cherish who participated, and who lives in the area. The our values and our heritage as we have done beach is full ofpeople during this process, so it is throughout the centuries. We are descended from a very social event and everyone gets their share. the great Vikings, and it is from them we get our Much ofthe meat also goes to retirement homes, stubbornness. We have eaten pilot whale since we hospitals and the homeless to feed people. None of first arrived on these islands ofthe North Atlantic the meat goes to waste; everything is used. over a thousand years ago, and it is still part ofa Whale meat helps many people who have little daily life: we are not prepared to stop doing this money for food, and it is therefore still a great need because some foreigners disagree. in the Faroe Islands and will probably continue to Whale hunting was very necessary in the old be so for many years yet. Because we are so far days, when hunger was a major problem in the away from the rest ofthe world, our food is very Faroe Islands. Sometimes we had to eat seaweed expensive to import. Fishing is a major part ofthe or worse just to survive, and anyone caught steal general collective Faroese food source, and most ing a sheep received the death penalty, so you can people eat fish here several times a week. imagine how the discovery of the pilots whales We feel it is much better to eat fresh food from seemed like a gift from heaven. The meat would be the sea than meat from factoryfarmed animals. It shared among everyone who had participated in has long been a necessity for us to kill the whale the grind, or whale killing, and everyone who lived and we will continue to do so for many more years, nearby. It was free, good meat from the sea. Whale sticking to our old traditions that have kept us meat still makes up a significant portion ofour alive on these remote islands for many years. We diet today. will never forget these things, because they are Since April 2014, an organization called Sea what makes us Faroese. Shepherd has been in the Faroe Islands. Its mem The Faroe Islands are a great place on earth; a bers have tried everything they can to get the place that must be experienced at least once in a world to hate us for killing whales. In return, we person’s life. Come here and discover some ofthe have treated them like our own people and been traditions we have and enjoy our great hospitality. very nice to them, even ifthey are there to try to We love our nature and take great care ofit. Dis get us to change our way oflife. But we won’t stop, cover an amazing place on earth; come visit the because it is part ofour culture and tradition. For Faroe Islands! • us, the whales have always been a valuable food source for which we have been extremely grateful. The whales are killed in the most humane way possible. We don’t go looking for them, but only drive the whales that have come closer to the shore themselves onto the beach so we can kill them quickly and humanely. A knife called a mønustingarin is struck into the whale near the blowhole, killing it instantly. After the whale is dead, it is cut to allow its blood to flow out. When the whale is bled out, we drag it onto the beach. Morten Ejner Hønge is a grindadráp supporter, The bleeding is done in the water because it is hunter, and founder ofthe "whale wars faroe island cleaner and gets the blood cleansed away quickly. - hvalakríggj í Føroyun" group on Facebook, which This makes the process look messy, because the has people discussing both sides ofthe whaling water is full ofred blood after the killing. But if controversy. you would kill a cow in the ocean instead ofin a https://www.facebook.com/groups/ slaughterhouse, hidden from sight, it would look whalearsfaroeislan/948935571787983

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 55 The Grind: Why the Faroese Hunt Whales

If We Lose Our Foods, We Lose Who We Are

by Elin Brimheim Heinesen

Compiled with permission from her blog But things changed. Our fishing became http://heinesen.info/wp/ industrialized. We got money on our hands. And suddenly we were able to import exotic foods from was born in the late 50′s in the Faroe countries far away, like oranges and bananas. Islands. At that time we pretty much had a When I was a teenager in the 70′s, we probably subsistence way of life in this remote place on already ate fiftyfifty, half traditional Faroese food, earth with a hostile climate and an half regular European food. Today the division is environment that humans could never hope to more like eightytwenty, at least for people living in survive in without eating animals. the bigger towns, while people in smaller and less In winter, our region is stormy and dark for affluent villages still try to reduce food costs by months on end, and the summer is very short. holding on to the old traditional diet. There are no trees except some imported trees in But it’s very doubtful whether the modern sheltered areas inside the villages and just a few foods replacing the traditional foods, are any edible plants. And yet, somehow we, the Faroese better or healthier. The opposite is more likely. The people, have survived here for more than a closer people live to towns and the more access thousand years, relying on an intimate knowledge they have to stores and cashpaying jobs, the more and understanding of our environment for our likely they are to have westernized their eating. survival, constantly walking a tightrope between And with westernization comes processed foods life and death. and cheap carbohydrates—soda, cookies, chips, In my childhood we still harvested most ofour pizza, fries and the like. The young and urbanized own food, integrating healthy, wild edibles into our are increasingly into fast food. So much so that diet. Most ofour food supply was right outside our type 2 diabetes, obesity, and other diseases of front door, and we used timetested methods for Western civilization are becoming causes for great living offthe land and the sea. Our people were concern in our country too. unencumbered, only depending on nature’s Well, it seems that there are no essential resources and the skill in our hands. Sudden food foods—only essential nutrients. And humans can cost increases or empty grocery shelves caused by get those nutrients from diverse sources. One turmoil on the international market were not our might, for instance, imagine gross vitamin biggest concerns. The only uncertainties were the deficiencies arising from a diet very scarce on fresh whims of nature. fruits and vegetables. People in southern climes I remember the foods ofmy childhood. We ate derive much of their Vitamin A from colorful plant mostly fish, some sheep meat and quite a lot of whale meat and blubber, served with homegrown Sheep grazing on a hill in the Faroe Islands. potatoes. And afterwards we would have porridge They are part of the Faroese standard diet. made from homegrown rhubarbs, for instance. Our storage ofdry and salted food and our new freezer were filled with fish, sheep meat and whale meat and blubber, my family had provided directly from natures larder. Our dairy products were from local farmers. But the grains, flours and sugar we used for baking bread and cakes were imported. And we only ate vegetables and fruits, ifwe could afford it. They were very expensive, because they came from far away, so they were luxury foods, we could not have everyday.

56 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 The Grind: Why the Faroese Hunt Whales

foods, constructing it from pigmented plant precursors called carotenoids (as in carrots). But vitamin A, which is oil soluble, is also plentiful in the oils ofcoldwater fishes and sea mammals, as well as in the animals’ livers, where fat is processed. These dietary staples also provide vitamin D, another oilsoluble vitamin needed for bones. Those living in temperate and tropical climates, on the other hand, usually make vitamin D indirectly by exposing skin to strong sun—hardly an option in the long and dark winters in the north. Ifyou have some fresh meat in your diet every day and don’t overcook it, there will be enough vitamin C Tvøst og spik - a traditional dish of the islands, consisting of pilot from that source alone to prevent scurvy. whale meat (black), blubber (middle), dried fish (left), and potatoes Traditional Faroese practices like freezing or drying meat and fish and frequently eating them culture and food habits. They are slowly getting raw, conserve vitamin C, which is easily cooked off alienated to our old traditions. However, it is still and lost in food processing, so eating dry fish, not possible, really, to separate the way many of sheep or whale meat and blubber is as good as us still get our food from the way we live in this drinking orange juice. society as a whole. How we get our traditional food is intrinsic to our culture. It’s how we pass on our Fats have been demonized in modern western values and knowledge to the young. When you go cultures. But all fats are not created equal. Wild out with your father, mother, aunts and uncles to animals and / or animals that range freely and eat fish in the sea, to heard the sheep, handle the what nature intended have fat that is far more wool, to gather plants, to hunt birds and other healthful. Less of their fat is saturated, and more animals or catch whales, you learn to smell the ofit is in the monounsaturated form (like olive oil). air, watch the wind, understand the way the What’s more, coldwater fishes and sea mammals currents move and know the land. You get to know are particularly rich in polyunsaturated fats called where to pick which plants and what animals to n3 fatty acids or omega3 fatty acids. These fats take. appear to benefit the heart and vascular system. This way oflife has been an integrated part of But the polyunsaturated fats in most Europeans our culture for so long, and it still is to a degree, and Americans’ diets are the omega6 fatty acids especially in the smaller villages, where people supplied by vegetable oils. By contrast, whale share their food with the community. They show blubber consists of 70 percent monounsaturated respect to their elders and the weak in the society fat and close to 30 percent omega3s. by offering them part of the catch. They give A young woman of childbearing age may thanks to the animals that gave up their life for choose not to eat certain foods that concentrate their sustenance. They get all the physical activity contaminants. As individuals, we do have options. of harvesting their own food, all the social activity And eating our fish, our sheep and our whale meat ofsharing and preparing it, and all the spiritual and blubber might still be a much better option aspects as well. You certainly don’t get all that than pulling something processed that’s full of when you buy prepackaged food from a store. additives off a store shelf. That is why some ofus here in the Faroe How often do you hear someone living in an Islands are working hard to protect what is left of industrial society speak familiarly about “our” food our old way oflife, so that our people can continue animals? How often do people talk of“our pigs” to live and work in our remote villages, as and “our beef?” Most people in the modern world independently as possible from polluting transport are taught to think in boxes and have lost that systems and a fraudfull modern economic sense ofkinship with food sources. But in the infrastructure. Because if we don’t take care of our Faroese hunting and farming village culture the food, it won’t be there for us in the future. And if connectivity between humans, animals, plants, the we lose our foods, we lose who we are. PT land we live on, and the air we share has not been lost––not yet, at least. It is still ingrained in most Faroese people from birth. Elin Brimheim Heinesen is a Faroese journalist and Many ofour young people and people in bigger freelance consultant. For more on this subject and towns are quite influenced by western urbanized her complete blog visit http://heinesen.info/wp/.

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 57 Scottish Princess

The Legend of the Scottish Princess

ith the recent movement by Scotland to become independent from the United Kingdom, there was some talk that someone from the Faroe Islands should be made the new King ofScotland.

This idea seems very farfetched, considering that there doesn’t seem to be any connection between the two islands. The Faroe Islands are under Danish control and have never been under Scottish rule. So how does this claim make any sense?

Well, there is an old legend on the Faroe Islands about a Scottish princess having fled to the islands centuries ago, and that her descendants are now living there. In what was once Kongsdaal, now Korndalur, (“The Corn Valley”), on the island of Nólsoy, the foundations ofa few small huts or cottages can still be found among the hay fields and potatopatches of the village ofEide. One ofthese ruins, which is rather larger than the rest (but still quite small), is known among the islanders as the Prinsessutoftir, or “The Princess’s Ruin”. According to the legend, long ago, a Scottish princess lived here. She was a daughter ofJacobus, King ofScotland, and she married in secret a page named Eric, who came to her father’s Court from abroad. Knowing the King was bound to find this out and would not approve, the princess sailed away with her husband and many followers in a ship. They arrived in the Faroe Islands, on Nólsoy, where the Black Death had recently ravaged the population.

The princess had her servants build her a house in Kongsdaal, where she soon gave birth to a son. Her father eventually found her on the islands, and the first person he saw when he landed on Nólsoy was his little grandson, who happened to be playing on the shore. The boy was so like his mother that the king instantly knew that he was his grandson. The boy’s beauty warmed King Jacobus’s heart, and he forgave the princess and her husband. He begged them to return to Scotland with him, but they declined to do so, and he returned to Scotland without them.

This is all legend, and there is no historical evidence to prove it, but the people ofthe island are sure she was the daughter ofKing James II ofScotland. Since the vote for Scottish independence failed, we didn’t get to see this claim put to the test. Perhaps there will be another chance in a few years. It would make for a very unique connection between the two countries. PT

58 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014

Faroese Ballads NNoorrnnaaggeesstt RRíímmaa

Introduction To The Faroese Ballad Of Nornagest taken from Stories And Ballads OfThe Far Past Translated From The Norse (Icelandic And Faroese) With Introductions And Notes By N. Kershaw, 1921

The Ballad ofNornagest was published for the first time by Lyngbye in 1822 in Færöiske Kvæder om Sigurd Fofnersbane etc. In his visit to the Faroes in 18478, Hammershaimb took down the ballad from oral recitation at Sumbø. He afterwards collated his version carefully with those of Svabo, Schrøter and Lyngbye, and published the result in Færöiske Kvæder, Vol. I, Copenhagen, 1851. This is the version ofthe ballad translated below.

Lyngbye points out that Nornagest has become a wellknown character in modern Faroese legend. We certainly note his popularity in the ballads, which is no doubt due to his associ ation with Sigurth in the original story. In some ballads he appears as a companion in arms of the latter and even as a great warrior himself. He it is who rides with Sigurth and Virgar to meet the giant in Holmgarth (cf. Rísin í Holmgarðum, v. 33), and in Ragnarlikkja (cf. v. 39 ff.) “the fierce Nornagest” sails with Sigurth, Brand, and Virgar to slay the King ofGirtland; and so too in other stories.

Many similar folktales are known from Icelandic and Danish sources as well as from many parts of Europe and Asia.

60 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 Faroese Ballads

1. Eitt er frøðið um Nornagest, 1. It is said about Nornagest, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- refrain 1 : -You need not give any advice in danger- Tílíkum góðum gekk han næst, He was always close to the mighty ones. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- refrain 2: -Do so every swain- Oksar tólv vóru leiddir á torg Twelve oxen were led to the square Og so fram á fríðu borg And to the front ofa fair castle.

2. Hvíta tjald nívir niður frammi. 2. The white tent presses down in front. Enn gellir lúður í stavni, Still resound the trumpets in the stem, Kallur kom heim við ungum syni, The man came home with his young son, Kelling situr so hákonu blíð, The giantess sits as tender as the sandgirl, Hvíta tjald nívur niður frammi. The white tent presses down in front.

3. Kongur ætlar at høgga teir, 3. The King intends to slay them, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Tílíkum góðum gekk tað við gleim. An easy task for such a mighty man. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Kongurin hjó so mikið høgg, The King struck sich a mighty blow, At blóðið dreiv við benjar døgg That the blood and blood poured.

4. Allir duttu teir deyðir niður, 4. All the oxen fell down dead, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Øxin stóð í stokki við. The axe stood firm in the stump. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Allir lovaðu hilmarhøgg, All praised the stroke of the King, Blóðið dreiv um benjardøgg. The blood and blood poured.

5. Har kom kall við høkjur tvær, 5. There came a man with two crutches, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Studdist so fast á báðar tær. He leaned so hard on them both. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Kongurin kvøður kalli blíttt: The King greets him courteously: ”Hví lovar tú ikki høggið mítt” Why do you not praise my stroke?

6. Yvrið harra var høggið títt, 6. Your stroke was firm and eager, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Í forðum sá eg vænari slíkt. But I have seen a better one in the past. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Tá skalv bæði leyv og lund, Leaves and groves were shaking, Sjurður høgg ormin í miðju sundur.” When Sigurd hacked the serpent in two.

7. anst tú siga frá Sjurð svein, 7. You may have heard of bold Sigurd, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Hann var frægur av fornum ein. He alone was the best in the past. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Tað kann eg siga Sjurði frá, I can say this about Sigurd, Tílikan eingin við eygum sá. No one has ever seen such a man.

8. Høgni var ein heiðursmann, 8. Högni was a man ofhonour, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Ljotan av lit so kendi eg hann. But I knew his ugly mien. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Gunnar var so reystur og ríkur, Gunnar was so brave and mighty, Fróður og blíður og Gunhild líkur. wise and friendly and like Gunhild.

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 61 Faroese Ballads

9. Fróður og blíður og Gunhild líkur, 9. Wise and friendly and like Gunhild, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Seint man føðast annar slíkur. His match will never be born again. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Faðir mín átti fríðdligt bú. My father owned a peaceful farm Fjól tað mikið um manga kú. He hosted a lot ofcattle there.

10. Eg sat á skógvi og goymdi hest, 10. I was in the forest herding horses, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Helst tá ið veðurið var best. Especially when the weather was fine. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Riðu teir um dikið heim, They all rode home by the moor, Gunnar og Høgni og Sjúrður svein. Gunnar, Högni and Sigurd swain.

11. Ríðu teir um díkið tá, 1 1 . They all rode around the moor, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Eg var sevin og sá hará. I was a boy and watched them. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Gunnars hestur sprakk um fyrst, Gunnar's horse jumped over first, Gunnar kandi væl tann dyst. Gunnar knew that sport so well.

12. Høgna hestur sprakk um tá, 12. Högni's horse jumped over next, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Grani fastur í feni lá. Fast stuck Grani in the fen. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Sjúrðar hestur sprakk um síðst, Sigurd's horse jumped the last, Tá gav Guð mær goðan list. He did so with great joy.

13. Grani fell í fenið fast, 13. Grani fell and stuck in the mud, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Galtagjørðin sundur brast. the saddle girth broke in pieces. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Allir stigu úr søðlum teir, they all jumped from their saddles, Gunnar, Høgni og Sjúrður svein. Gunnar, Högni and Sigurd swain.

14. Allir tuga á dýran hest, 14. They all pulled the precious horse, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Sjúrður tugar á teymar mest. Sigurd pulled the most. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Ofta havi eg um díkið trott I have often walked the moor, Bæði dag og døkka nátt. both by day and the darkest night.

15. Gestur, ger mær viljan ein 15. Gestur, please do me a favour, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Tváa mín góða gangara rein'. Wash my good steed clean. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Sylgjan, íð sundur brast fyri mær, The saddle buckle which broke for me, Hana, Gestur, gevi eg tær. Gestur, I will give to you.

16. Riðu so fram at eina á, 1 6. We rode on to a river, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Eingin kundi til manna sjá. Where no man was in sight. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Eg tváaði hans bróst og bringa rein', I washed his breast and chest, Hans lær og legg og langa bein. His thigh and shin and long leg.

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17. Góðan gangara gjørdi eg rein', 17. I washed the good steed clean, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Síðan hevði meg Sjurður til svein. . Since then I was Sigurd's swain. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Vær ríðum so fram á Fávnis ból, Then we rode to Fafnir's lair, Har skein gull sum geisar av sól. there shone gold like sunbeams.

18. Eg tók eitt hár av sama hesti, 18. I took a hair from the horse's tail, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Tað var sítt og vaxið mest. it was long and grown the most. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Tað var favn og feti sítt. It was a fathom and one feet long, Glógvaði rætt sum silvur hvítt. it shone just like white silver.

19. Eg havi í forðum farið vítt, 19. I travelled far and wide in the past, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Ei funnið ljós og lívið mítt.” Never found my candle nor light of days. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Kongur gav honum skaft og skeið, The king gave him shaft and ship, Og sjálvur segði han kalli leið. and showed the old man the way himself.

20. Í Fraklandi er vatnið vítt, 20. In Land ofthe Franks the water is wide, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- - refrain 1 - Har er ljós og lívið títt. There is the light and your life. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- - refrain 2 - Leingi kavaði kurtis mann, The noble man groped for long, Áður hann beint á blýggið fann. before he found the lead.

21. Kørnar prestur skírði hann, 21. Körnar the priest baptized him, -tú tarvst onki ráð geva í vanda- You need not give any advice in danger Tá leið lív sum ljósið brann. His life lived as the light burned down. -hvør ein sveinur geri so- Do so every swain Tá ið ljós í lyktu var brent, When the light ofthe lantern burned down, Tá var lív og levnað ent. then his live and existence ended.

22. Hvíta tjald nívir niður frammi. 22. The white tent presses down in front. Enn gellir lúður í stavni, Still resound the trumpets in the stem, Kallur kom heim við ungum syni, The man came home with his young son, Kelling situr so hákonu blíð, The giantess sits as tender as the sandgirl, Hvíta tjald nívur niður frammi. The white tent presses down in front.

Nornagestur arrives in the court of King Ólafur Tryggvasvon, who was trying to convert Iceland, Norway and the Faroes to Christianity.

Nornagestur tells the king of his life and his memories ofheroes ofthe past.

At the end ofit, he is baptised, and the flame ofthe candle he is carrying dies, along with Nornagestur. The death of Nornagest, by Gunnar Vidar Forssell

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 63 Faroese Ballads OOrrmmuurriinn LLaannggii

Ormurin Langi

Ormurin Langi is one ofthe most popular ofthe Faroese kvæði, or ballads, though it is a relatively modern one. The early 1800's were a good time for the Faroese ballads, as the people started collecting and celebrating the oldest ones as well as inventing new ones. It was at this time that a farmer named Jens Christian Djurhuus, from the village of Kollafjørður, wrote Ormurin Langi's 86 verses about the Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason and his longship, Ormen Lange – The Long Serpent.

Today, Ormurin Langi is one ofthe best known ofthe Faroese ballads, and even has a Norwegian translation. When the Faroese metal band Týr covered the ballad in 2002, their version became popular throughout the Faroe Islands and Norway.

Here, we are giving just the verses, with translations, used in Týr's version.

1. Viljið tær hoyra kvæði mítt, 1. Will you hear the ballad ofmine, viljð tær orðum trúgva, Will you my words believe, um hann Ólav Trygvason, About Olaf Tryggvasson, hagar skal ríman snúgva. Here's how the rhyme revolves.

[refrain, sang after each verse] [refrain, sang after each verse] Glymur dansur í høll, Raucous dance in the Hall, dans sláið ring Dance, form a ring, Glaðir ríða Noregs menn Gladly ride Norroway's men, til Hildar ting. To the Hild's[War]Gathering. [end ofrefrain] [end ofrefrain]

3. Knørrur varð gjørdur á Noregs landi, 3. A ship was made in Norway's land, gott var í honum evni: Goodly make was she: sjúti alin og fýra til Seventy ells and four lengthwise var kjølurin millum stevni The keel from [prow to] stern

8. Har kom maður oman 8. Here comes a man down [from the hill] við sterkum boga í hendi: With a sturdy bow in hand: “Jallurin av Ringaríki “The Jarl of Ringaríki hann meg higar sendi.” Has here sent me.”

64 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 Faroese Ballads

10. “Einar skalt tú nevna meg, 10. “Einar shall you call me, væl kann boga spenna, Well can I stretch the bow, Tambar eitur mín menski bogi, Tambar hight my manly bow, ørvar drívur at renna.” For striving at shooting arrows.”

11. “Hoyr tú tað, tú ungi maður, 11. “Listen here, young man, vilt tú við mær fara, Will you fare away with me? tú skalt vera mín ørvargarpur You shall be my championarrower, Ormin at forsvara.” The Serpent, [my longship,] to defend.”

12. Gingu teir til strandar oman, 12. They come down on the strand, ríkir menn og reystir, Doughty men and strong, lunnar brustu og jørðin skalv: The rails break and the earth shakes: teir drógu knørr úr neysti. They tug the ship from the shipyard.

71. Einar spenti á triða sinni, 71. Einar drew a third time, Ætlar jall at raka, Meaning to strike the Jarl, tá brast strongur av stáli stinna, Then burst the string ofsturdy steel, í boganum tókst at braka. In the bow it seemed to break.

72. Allir hoyrdi strongin springa, 72. All heard the string snap, kongurin seg undrar: The king said in wonder: “Hvat er tað á mínum skipi, “What's that making my ship, sum ógvuliga dundrar?” Rumble so dreadfully?”

73. Svaraði Einar Tambarskelvir 73. Answered Einar Tambarskelvir kastar boga sín Casting the bow ofhis “Nú brast Noregi úr tínum hondum, “That was Norway breaking from your hand, kongurin, harri mín!” King sire, lord of mine !”

Nú skal lætta ljóðið av Now I will let up this song awhile, eg kvøði ei longur á sinni I'll recount not longer this time nú skal taka upp annan tátt So I shall take up the second tale, dreingir leggi í minnið And may it be remembered far and wide.

Ormen Lange refers to the longship of Olav Trygvasons. Here are two representations of it. The first is an illustration by painter Halfdan Egedius. The second is from a postage date, honoring the saga. The title image is from The Battle of Svolder, by Otto Sinding. It is a representation of a naval battle fought between King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway and an alliance ofhis enemies, the basis for the Ormurin Langi.

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 65 Credits

Letter From the Editor Writer: Erik Zidowecki Images: Petey: Faroe Islands map Coming Home to Faroese The Why and How ofLearning a Small Language Writer: Miranda Metheny Miranda Metheny is the Petite Polyglottal American, who travels the world in search oflanguage, culture, and interesting stories. Images: Miranda Metheny: Miranda on rock (title); child playing on boat; Miranda in native costume; lovely ladies; mother and child at harbour; small concert; natural harbor; fishing boats Danish and Faroese: A Biography Writer: Uni Johannesen Uni Johannesen is a 22-year-old Faroe Islander from the village of Norðragøta who is interested in science and languages. Images: Miranda Metheny: Students on beach (title) John Ubal: Picture ofUni Johan Petur Dam: Road sign in Faroese Petey: The Løgting building, 1950s Edited by Miranda Metheny At The Cinema Ludo Writer: Miranda Metheny Sources: • "Ludo" Internet Movie Database All images are copyright Blue Bird Film Basic Guide to Faroese Writer: Erik Zidowecki, Miranda Metheny, Uni Johannesen, Johan Petur Dam Celebrations The Faroese Festival Summer Writer: Miranda Metheny Images: Miranda Metheny: youth at campgrounds [splash page]; young men play in harbor; women wearing Faroese national dress; Miranda at barn; sing-along; Hanus G. Johansen and Cantabile performing; crowd at Voxbotn; Faroese langoustine grilled and sold; Faroese parliament; Faroese national clothing woman; Miranda in Faroese national dress; Greta Svabo Bech; Danish pop singer Nabiha on beach stage; Festival-goers gathered at stage; variety of Faroese artists; Eivør Pálsdóttir at living room concert; Children playing on the beach; Hot-pots and a sauna; lighthouse [images background] Revisited The Faroe Islands Writer: Samuel Kneeland Images: webmastermarkt: Old postcard of Tórshavn OrbitOne: Pan image ofTórshavn taken from old fort David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada: Interior of the Havnar Kirkja Erik Christensen, Porkeri: Eystaravág, Tórshavn Petey: Eggjarnar [title]; The Løgting, parliament, 1864; Street in Tórshavn from the book; Tórshavn morning; Sheep on a hill; Two girls in Faroese costume; Skansin, old fort ofTórshavn; Tórshavn Cathedral and harbourside buildings; Flag of the Faroe Islands [splash page] Sources: • "The Faroe Islands" An American in Iceland Samuel Kneeland, Boston: Lockwood, Brooks, And Company. 1875

66 Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 Credits

Word on the Streets Famous Faroe Islanders Writer: Sofia Ozols Images: Petey: Brú, Dahl kristen1: Hay drying Sources: • "Heðin Brú" Wikipedia • "Hedin Brú" Encyclopædia Britannica • "Marianna Debes Dahl" Wikipedia • "Marianna Debes Dahl" Famous Fix Where Are You? Writer: Sonja Krüger Images: Erik Christensen, Porkeri: Mystery image The Grind: Why the Faroese Hunt Whales Writer: Elin Brimheim Heinesen, Morten Ejner Hønge, Miranda Metheny Images: EileenSanda: Whale hunt [title] earl53: Pilot whales Miranda Metheny: Whale steak and vegetables Erik Christensen: Sheep, scenery from Hvalba, Faroe Islands Arne List: Tvøst og spik - pilot whale meat Sources: • "IfWe Lose Our Foods, We Lose Who We Are" Elin Brimheim Heinesen, heinesen.info Miranda was the editor for these articles and wrote the introductory paragraphs The Legend of the Scottish Princess Writer: Erik Zidowecki Images: Miranda Metheny: Prinsessutoftir Petey: Nólsoy stamp Faroese Ballads Writer: Miranda Metheny, Erik Zidowecki Images: Erik Christensen: Beinisvørð north of Sumba [title] Petey: Faroe stamp ofthe ballad ofnornagest; The death ofNornagest, by Gunnar Vidar Forssell; Svolder, by Otto Sinding; Illustration for Olav Trygvasons saga; Faroese stamp 555 Ormurin langi Sources: • "Stories And Ballads OfThe Far Past Translated From The Norse (Icelandic And Faroese) With Introductions And Notes" N. Kershaw; Cambridge 1921

Miranda Metheny retains all copyright control over her images. They are used in Parrot Time with her expressed permission.

All images are Copyright - CC BY-SA (Creative Commons Share Alike) by their respective owners, except for Petey, which is Public Domain (PD) or unless otherwise noted.

Parrot Time | Issue #11 | September/October2014 67 DDoonn''tt bbee sshheeeeppiisshh LLeeaarrnn FFaarrooeessee!!