Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.02.2005, Síða 30

THE WESTMAN ISLANDS:
The Atlantic Stopover for
Puffins, Pirates and
Superstar Killer Whales
The Westman Islands are
Iceland’s frontier to the south.
The island of Heimaey is the
largest populated island off
the coast of Iceland, and has a
thriving community of almost
5000 people. This manages to
support two local papers and
even a TV station. It takes half
an hour by plane to get there
from Reykjavík, or almost
three hours with the ferry
Herjólfur from Þorlákshöfn on
the southern coast. A tunnel
is planned to finally end their
relative isolation, although a
group of enterprising university
students suggested a zeppelin
might be more economical.
OUTSIDE REYKJAVÍK
The Westman Islands often seem
far away from mainland Iceland,
and while Iceland was for most
of its history peaceful if poor, the
Westmans have another story to tell.
English and Turk Invaders
The islands first appear in written
history when the first settler of
Iceland, Ingólfur Arnarson, chased
runaway slaves there. The rebellious
slaves had killed his blood-brother
Hjörleifur, and Ingólfur slaughtered
them to a man. As the slaves came
from Ireland in the west, they were
called Westmen, and the islands still
bear their name.
The islands are also the only part
of Iceland to have endured violent
foreign invasion. In the 15th century,
the English came to Iceland to
trade and occasionally to raid. They
kidnapped one governor of Iceland
and killed another, and bought local
children, which gave rise to the
contemporary legend that Icelanders
gave away their children but sold
their dogs dearly. Their headquarters
were on Heimaey, where they built
the fortress Skansinn which still
remains. But after a war with the
Danes and the Hanseatic League in
1468-73, the English withdrew.
A more violent invasion was
the “The Turkish Raid” in 1627.
Actually, this was launched by
Algerians, Moroccan-converted
Europeans and commanded by
a Dutchman. But as the captives
were taken to Algeria, then a
suzerainty of the Ottoman Sultan
in Constantinople, the raid was
blamed on the Turks. It was not
until the 1970s that a contemporary
law stating that any Turk found in
Iceland should be killed on sight
was withdrawn. Thankfully, this was
never enforced.
The Turks killed and captured
some 400 people, most of these
from Heimaey, and burned down
the church and the warehouse. Ten
years later, 27 of the captives were
ransomed back to Iceland. The place
where the Turks came ashore is still
called “Ræningjatangi”, or robber’s
peninsula.
Volcanoes and Flying Spiders
The next tragedy to befall the
island was in 1973, when a sudden
earthquake devastated the town.
Fortunately, the fishing fleet had
remained in port the night before
due to bad weather, and all but one
of the inhabitants, who decided
to break into the pharmacy rather
than flee, managed to escape to the
mainland. When the lava cooled it
had increased the island in size by
more than 2 square kilometres, and
the town was quickly rebuilt. The
remains of the ruined houses are
borne witness by the odd chimney
sticking out of the lava hills here
and there. In some places the lava is
still warm enough to bake bread on,
and this is occasionally done for the
benefit of visitors.
An earlier ocean bed eruption in
1963 created the island of Surtsey,
the world’s youngest island, just off
the coast of Heimaey. Few human
beings are allowed there as geologists
are studying its development for
clues to the origin of life on earth. Its
first permanent settlers were spiders
who apparently glided to the island
on their cobweb parachutes.
Puffins and Celebrity Killer Whales
The most famous animals to inhabit
the Westman Islands, however, are
the puffins, which migrate to the
islands every spring to breed. They
are considered a delicacy and are
hunted by brave cliff-hangers, whose
tiny summer cabins are visible on
the cliffs. But the puffins are dear
to the heart as well as the belly of
islanders. Pufflings who get lost
as they try to migrate south in the
autumn are helped in finding their
way, and the Aquarium also doubles
as a puffin hospital in the summer.
The aquarium itself is small but well
worth a visit.
But all other attractions were briefly
overshadowed by the appearance
of Keiko the killer whale, star of
the Free Willy movies. Originally
born in these waters before he went
off to Hollywood and stardom,
he was escorted back home in a
USAF Hercules upon retiring
from the movie industry. After
scientists had spent considerable
time trying to teach him to hunt
fish, he was released into the wild
and immediately headed for Norway,
where he died, as so many stars do,
at the age of 27.
Death and Religion
Perhaps it is history that leads to
the close relationship the islanders
seem to have with death, or perhaps
it’s just the fact that death is an
inherent part of any seafaring
community. The Westman islanders
still account for about 15% of
the fishing of most of the major
species found in the waters around
Iceland. On the day that I was there
this January, an exhibition about
funerals, presented by the town
priest, was opening in the Landlyst
museum. Afterwards, the attendants
retreated to the church to watch
a documentary on photographing
corpses. The church in question is
a replica of a Norwegian wooden
church, presented by the people of
Norway in 2000, celebrating the
1000th anniversary of Christianity in
Iceland.
Religion has long been a big part of
island life. Mormonism caught on
here in the late 19th century, and
around 200 Mormons eventually
immigrated to Utah. A monument
in Herjólfsdalur valley was later built
in their honour.
More recently, in the 1990s the
Christian group Betel gained
notoriety throughout Iceland for
its burning of rock CDs, but not
everyone was convinced of the
group’s merits, and their leader
emigrated north.
And Finally, A Good Party
But the islanders also know how to
party. In 1874, they were unable,
due to bad weather, to attend the
celebration held at Þingvellir when
Iceland received its first constitution.
Instead, they held their own shindig,
which has been reprised every year
since and has become the country’s
biggest outdoor festival, attracting
thousands of people from all over
Iceland and the country’s biggest
live acts the first weekend of every
August.
At the opposite end of the year,
in January, a smaller festival called
“Allra veðra von” (“Expect Any Kind
of Weather”), is held indoors. It is a
battle of the bands in which aspiring
rockers from all over Iceland and the
Faroe Islands compete. This year, it
was won by a group called Armæða,
although two girl bands, one from
Kópavogur, and the other a local
group called “Sigyn” (named after
Norse demon Loki’s wife), also put
in a strong showing.
The day after a good night out on
the island, you can go for some hair
of the dog and a pizza at local chain
Pizza 67, Thai at Prófasturinn or
Balkan at Lanterna. Or you can
punish yourself some more with a
“djúpsteiktur Akureyringur”, a deep
fried hot dog and fries with cheese
on top, all served in a bun. As you
wander about town, you’ll see all
the friendly faces you saw the night
before, most of them seemingly in
the same state as yourself. And you’ll
feel a part of these fair islands.
by Valur Gunnarsson
30