Fróðskaparrit

						Seyðalitir og gásalitir í Øravfk

A shepherd's Colour Structure for the Identification of Sheep

(and Geese)

Dánjal Jákup Mortensen

Úti í Garði, Øravík

Skipað tilfarið og skrivað inngangin hevur Tollakur Djurhuus

Urtak

Allir seyðalitirnir í "litskipanini" hjá einum seyðamanni.

Áseyðurin í einum hagaparti lýstur við hesum litum (og

øðrum frámerkjum) í hvørjum einstøkum føri. Haraftur-

at yvirlit yvir allar gásalitirnar í bygdini.

Abstract

The overwhelming importance sheep breeding has had

in the Faroes over the centuries has resulted in the shep-

herds having perfected local or individual ways of iden-

tifying each and every sheep. The reason for this exact

identification is due to the shepherds' interest in their

stock, but also due to economic consideration. The ex-

tremely great number of sheep colours is a telling story

to the interest the Faroese shepherds have had in know-

ing their stock intimately. Sheep colours still form an in-

tegral part of the description and identification of the

sheep.

This article is based on the knowledge which the in-

formant Dánjal Jákup Mortensen, born at Øravík in

1921, has on the subjeet, and he is a reliable source with

tremendous experience, because he has been a shepherd

for more than fifty years in the village of Øravík,

Suðuroy. The colours described in this article are his

colours, i. e. the colours used in his village and which he

has got from his forefathers who were also shepherds in

the same village. Other shepherds in other villages have

their own separate colour structures, names, and defini-

tions which differ slightly or widely from the colour

structure described in this article. Even within the vicin-

ity of the village of Øravík the colour structures differ if

only slightly.

In this survey all the colour combinations have been

included which cover a reasonable and workable colour

structure.

It would be wrong to conclude, however, that colours

are the only system applied to the description and iden-

tification of the sheep. Other charateristics are being

used, e. g. the shapes of the horns, the build of the sheep,

and the character of the wool. In order to show the read-

er how the outfield stock is actually being described we

have included a survey of the colour structure used in

the village of Øravík where the informant was a shep-

herd and where his colour structure has been applied.

As an appendix the colour structure for the identifi-

cation of geese has been added the way it has been used

in Øravík. The colour structure of geese is also based on

information supplied by Dánjal Jákup Mortensen.

Inngangur

Tá ið hugsað verður um seyðin og týdning-

in, ið hann í farnum øldum hevur havt fyri

føroyingar at lívbjarga sær í hesum landi, er

sjálvandi, at røktin hevur verið týðandi tátt-

ur fyri at fáa sum mest burturúr. Tann ør-

grynni av seyðalitum sum er, sigur sína

søgu um henda týdning og røktina. Seyða-

litimir vóru ein liður, eitt amboð, í røktini.

Heimildarmaður til seyðalitirnar í hesum

yvirliti, seyðaskipanina í Dalshaga (3

merkur) og gásalitirnar er Dánjal Jákup

Mortensen í Øravík. Hann er føddur í 1921,

Fróðskaparrit 45. bók 1997: 5-23