Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.01.1988, Blaðsíða 6

6-ALDARAFMÆLISÁR, FÖSTUDAGUR 15. JANÚAR 1988
Skaprheðin
The mist had risen, clouds obliter-
ated the sun, a gentle breeze rippled
the water surface that lay in the fjord,
back of us the steep mountain rose
high, partly clad in green vegetation,
changing to earthly colours at higher
altitude, with numerous patches of
white snow. In our immediate prox-
imity was a cemetery, no longer in
use, dating back to a distant past,
perhaps several centuries. The farm
house had been abandoned, the dis-
trict was no longer populated, the
road back of us dwindled to a trail,
threading along the mountain side
towards the open sea. It was quiet,
there was no reason to expect any-
one, we were alone Pétur and I, as
we toiled to improve the entrance
gate and approaches to the cemetery.
The toils of long ago were evident, in
the remains of a stone wall that had
protected this plot of land. It is no
longer effective, having sunk and all
but disappeared until now, it is no
more than a slight grass covered rise
in the ground. Sheep were grazing all
around us, down by the water edge,
on the knolls and up in the mountain
sides, several horses roamed at will
in the distance.
It was July 30th, 1982 and the place
Álftamýri in the Arnarfjörð of N.W.
Iceland. A district that had been the
home of generations, dating back to
the years of settlement more than
1,000 years ago. The bounty of the
sea had filled the sheltered fjord with
marine life, that was a source of sus-
tenance and revenue in the form of
fish exports. The grass laced area
reaching from the mountain base to
the waters edge supplied the fodder,
that sustained mainly sheep and to a
lesser degree cattle, which provided
meat, the numerous milk products
and wood for clothing. It was never
a heavily populated area, but the Ar-
narfjörður was fairly comfortable, in
a sheltered position, that was protect-
ed from the more intense ravages of
the sea, as the Atlantic and Artic
oceans vied for dominance, where
they clashed off the N.W. coast of
Iceland.
The sun was reaching up into the
sky, its rays were bringing comfort,
the temperature was rising from an
overnight low of five degrees centi-
grade. Back of us, at the mountain
base, the sheep were moving as peo-
ple could be seen in the distance with
a dog, urging the sheep onward to be
herded together along the shoreline
of the fjord. A second sweep gathered
the strays. By midday they had to all
been herded into a corral in the dis-
tance down by the water edge, it was
sheep shearing time. The neighbours
from distant areas inland and in the
next fjord had come to help Sigga, the
owner of this flock of some 250
sheep. There were a total of 20 peo-
ple involved that included farmers,
their sons and daughters together
with hired help. The shearing ended
at midnight, we had witnessed a
communal cooperative voluntary ef-
fort, whereby humans are cast
together, to create the temporary
manpower required on sheep herd-
ing occasions. There is no accounting
in monetary terms or hours of effort,
simply a voluntary response that is
repaid by neighbours helping neigh-
bours without remuneration.
Who is Sigga? She has lived her
maternal life in the Arnarfjöorð hav-
ing lost her spouse some two years
ago. She continues living alone, on
the farm that she shared with her
husband. Sharing the middle and out-
er reaches of the North shore of Ar-
narfjörð is an individual farmer also
living alone, named Sigurjón.
These two people áre the total
population remaining in a district
that at one time supported a substan-
tial population. It is only further in
from the sea, at the bottom of the
fjord, that a few people reside in
proximity to the birthplace of the
great patriot Jón Sigurðsson, who
with only words of logical persua-
sion, broke the heavy yoke of
despotism by foreign domination,
that led to the independent Repub-
lic of Iceland as we know it today.
During the second sweep of the
herders, I suddenly became aware of
a young native, as his head appeared
above the rise of ground in front of
me, and instinct told me that here
comes an interesting fellow, I was
not to be disappointed. Pétur, my
host and companion, greeted him in
a good Icelandic fashion asking his
name, where he was from and who
his relatives were.
After adding his own comments
and asking us what brought us into
the fjord he was about to leave, when
I decided that I should continue the
conversation. His name was Skar-
pheðin, I was tempted to make the
comment, ''Hey fellow, are you
in the wrong part of the country?'' I
refrained I wanted to camouflage my
Western Icelandic status. The only
reason I thought of posing the ques-
tion was due to the fact that I was
reading a French translation of Njal's
Saga, in which Skarphedin is a
character, that occurred in the South
of Iceland some 1000 years ago, far
from the Arnarfjörð of N. W. Iceland.
He probably would not have ap-
preciated such a question, his mind
was on herding those blasted sheep.
I changed my thoughts and com-
mented that it must be strenuous to
chase all over the mountain sides
herding sheep on foot. He explained
it was not so bad when you're young,
my observation was that old codgers
like myself would not be able to do
it, his reply was, ''Sigga is sixty and
she runs after the sheep regardless of
terrain." I bid him farewell and good
luck before suffering utter defeat in
our conversation, carried out in
Icelandic.
Reading Icelandic sagas in the
French language is hardly a patriotic
act especially while visiting Iceland.
However, it has the advantage of
practising French while becoming
familiar with the greatest Icelandic
Saga. Besides I have a cousin in
Iceland who is doing it, and if she can
do it, I can do it, I mean French, that
is reading Njála in French.
And so we leave the fjord, that is
lying in waste on its Northern por-
tion, gradually erroding the disrup-
tion of mankind over the centuries,
to return to its original state before
the years of settlement. It was an in-
teresting four days of solitude and
companionship with my most Pétur
Magnússon of Reykjavík and foster
brother of my wife Thora.
Einar Arnason
víkingaferð!
Enjoy hospitality and fellowship on a bus tour to the 69th Annual
Convention of the Icelandic National League next March at Innisfail,
Alberta.
The voyage will begin in Winnipeg on March 24th and will make
stops at Brandon, Elfros, and Saskatoon to pick up additional Vikings
travelling to the convention. The tour will overnight in Saskatoon both
ways. The voyage back will begin on March 27th, with an afternoon
and overnight stop at the West Edmonton Mall, arriving back in Win-
nipeg on March 29th.
The fare is $257.00 per person and includes bus travel to and from
Innisfail, with overnight accommodation both ways.
Not Included: — Hotel accommodation at Innisfail (Country Lodge
special convention rate is $43.00 per person for 2 nights, extra person
charge $8.00 per night), convention registration and meals.
A deposit of $50.00 per person is required by JANUARY 12, 1988.
Cancellation and travel health insurance is available on request.
For reservations contact:
STEFAN STEFANSSON I.N.L. OFFICE
Box 125, Gimli R0C 1B0 525 Kylemore Ave.
(204) 642-5693 Winnipeg R3L 1B5
(204) 284-3014
or (204) 488-2160
SUBJECT TO CHANGE - DEPENDING ON RESPONSE
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