The White Falcon - 13.10.1962, Qupperneq 5

Saturday, October 13, 1962
WHITE FALCON
5
Sheep
lime
ad
After the sheep have been separated from the herd the farmer drives his flock.
are published regularly in a book
for each county.
Late in June, early in July,
depending on' the weather, the
flocks are driven up to the sum-
mer grazing ranges in the interior
of Iceland where they spend the
summer unattended as there are
no predatory animals, (except a
few foxes) or other danger to
contend with. There the lambs
grow almost as big as their moth-
ers in' 8 to 10 weeks.
The round-ups are carefully
planned on a district basis and
coordinated with neighbouring dis-
tricts. Each farmer supplies men
in accordance with the size of his
flock.
In the areas where it takes the
longest time, up to 10 days, the
first men ride off around the 10th
of September but most of the
“rettir” or corraling-days are in!
the period from 18th-25th of Sep-
tember.
of overland transportation until
the automobile came along; there-
fore it is not surprising that
horses and sheep still remain top
favorites of the farmer.
Riding off on a favorite horse
to the highlands for the sheep
roundup is an event looked for-
ward to by every man and boy in'
rural Iceland. And the day the
flocks of sheep are brought to
corral and sorted out is the fiesta
day of the year on the farm.
During winter the sheep are
kept in pens on the farms, fed
and put to grazing when possible.
The lambing season is in' April-
May and towards end of June the
ewes are shorn and the lambs ear-
marked. Each farmer has his re-
gistered cut or brand and these
Wool to Wool carpeting ....
these sheep have been separat-
ed and are waiting for the
drive back to their own farm.
In the fore-ground sheep-headers, who have been on the trail for ten days, greet their families. In the
background a herd of more than 5,000 sheep bed down for the night.
Each day of the round-up a
specified area is combed for sheep
and the flocks gradually move
down towards the lowlands. At
the head of each district group is
the “fjallkongur”' or Mountain
King whose word is law. This
job carries heavy responsibility,
especially in bad weather when
men and animals are often' in
danger.
On these long round-ups the
men sleep in huts that have been
specially built for this purpose.
In former days they were built
of stones and turf and were leaky
and drafty but nobody complain'ed.
Now most of the huts have been
replaced with substantial houses.
When the great flocks have been
brought down they are usually
rested overnight and the next day
is corraling day or “rettir”. Now
the Mountain King lays down his
crown an'd the Corral King takes
over. He is also an undisputed
ruler and it is his job to see to it
that the sorting out is done in an
orderly and speedy manner.
The herd is driven into a com-
mon corral and then the farmers
an'd farmfolk wade through the
flock and find their sheep and
take them to smaller enclosures
alloted to the individual farmer.
Everybody young and old takes
part in this exciting work. There
is great hilarity and noise espec-
ially as the days wears on as
many come supplied with refresh-
ments and pause with their friends
for a fortifying draught.
Formerly there were often
dances at the corral when the
coralling was completed but now
the flocks are driven home to the
farms and then farm families and
guests gather at the community
hall for the dance. Here everybody
rejoices over strenous work well
done and give thanks that the fat
and healthy flocks are back ort
home grounds.
A young Icelandic farm girl checks the brand on a sheep. The sheep
are branded by slitting their ears.