Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.06.2009, Blaðsíða 14

The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 8 — 2009
14
Article | Hildur Knútsdóttir
Too Cute To Eat?
Westman Islands could run out of puffin
Working at a seafood restaurant in
Reykjavík has taught me one thing: a
lot of tourists (and, for some reason,
especially American ones) shudder
at the thought of eating puffin.
The reason? Puffins are cute, and
should therefore not be eaten. Upon
hearing such remarks, we Icelanders
usually shake our heads and mumble
something about our ancestors not
surviving on this barren rock for
a thousand years by limiting their
diet to ugly animals. In the first
place, there really aren’t that many
animals in Iceland. And secondly, is
cuteness really a reason for not eating
something? Lambs are cute. Newly
hatched chickens: also cute. The
cuteness argument resonates with
the arguments that folks use against
whaling. Whales are supposedly highly
intelligent beings and should therefore
not be eaten. But research suggests
that pigs are also quite clever. Smarter
than most dogs, in fact. And piglets are
certainly cute. Anyone seen Babe: The
Movie? And you still eat bacon?
So, brushing off indignant remarks,
Icelanders have continued “hunting”
the charming puffin without reserve
or shame (note that I put hunting
in quotation marks here, for it is not
a very macho affair, involving nets
instead of guns. Perhaps catching
would be a more appropriate term?). Of
course there are also tourists who have
no reservations about ordering a plate
of puffin. And they are quite tasty. The
meat is dark and the f lavour has been
described as “a fishier, gamier version
of chicken”.
Ate them all?
However, our Puffin binge may be
coming to a close. A recent report
shows an alarming 25% decrease
in the Westman Islands' puffin
population over the last four years. And
with the islands being the puffins’
single largest breeding colony in the
world, this is some potentially grave
news. The Westman Islands puffin
even qualifies as an endangered
species now; experts are suggesting a
ban on puffin hunting for some years.
The
Westman
Islanders’ response:
No.
Mind you, it’s
not because of the
fishy, gamy taste. Elliði
Vignisson, mayor of
Westman Islands, is quoted
as saying that although no
one makes a living out of puffin
catching, and it is not about the money,
they still want to keep the tradition
alive, claiming it to a cultural thing.
The local hunters have convened and
graciously offered to cut the hunting
days down to only ten a year, which the
mayor claims to be responsible, and
bordering on self-sustaining. Stopping
altogether seems not to be an option in
the average islander’s view.
The Great Auk, anyone?
Greenlanders have used the cultural
card to justify their whale, polar
bear and seal hunting. But for them,
harvesting the aforementioned
animals happens to be among the
pillars on which their society is based.
And not to mention also making up a
significant portion of their diet.
Cultures change. People evolve. The
Great Auk, a penguin like bird about
80 cm tall, was formerly a traditional
food of Iceland. Right up until it was
hunted to extinction. As far as we
know, the remaining two birds were
killed on Eldey, an island south of
Iceland in 1843.
It basically breaks down to this: stop
killing the puffins for a few years until
the population gets back on its orange
feet. And then we can happily “hunt”
them for as long as we like to the
horror of every sissy American tourist.
It worked with the grouse, whose
population is now reportedly booming
after a couple of years hunting ban!
Despite raging uncertainty, rampant
rumours and lots of mixed messages
from all over, it finally seems clear that,
yes, Iceland Airwaves will happen again
this October and, yes, it will as per
usual feature lots of cool musicians,
a bunch of mediocre ones and a
whole lot of good old-fashioned
drunken debauchery. This is of
course great news: the Iceland
Airwaves festival has provided us with
some truly amazing times over the last
decade, and the awesome music scene
now raging all over the country truly
deserves a festival in its honour.
Initial statements from Mr. Destiny,
the company behind Iceland Airwaves,
indicate that this year’s bash will cut
back a bit in the total number of bands
featured (they were getting too many,
anyway) and focus more extensively
on local acts while maintaining a high
standard for the international ones that
make it over. It’ll take place on October
14-18, so save the dates and book a flight
already.
The following acts had been
confirmed for Iceland Airwaves 2009 at
the time of print:
International:
Micachu And The Shapes, Metronomy,
James Yuill, Thecocknbullkid,
Casio Kids, Golden Filter, Nina Kinerd
& Golden Silvers
Icelandic:
Agent Fresco, Mammút,FM Belfast,
Jeff Who?, Reykjavík!would,
Retro Stefson, Vicky, Cliff Clavin,
Sudden Weather Change, Hjaltalín,
Gus Gus, Eberg, Dikta, Oculus,
Benni Crespo’s Gang, Esja, Ólafur
Arnalds, Æla, Bárujárn, Sykur, Me, The
Slumbering Napoleon, Miri, Swords of
Chaos, Leaves, Dynamo Fog, Langi Seli
& Skuggarnir
Locals should note that tickets to Iceland
Airwaves 2009 will be priced in Euros,
unless you buy them real soon, in which
case you’ll get ‘em at last year’s price.
-HAukuR S MAGNúSSON
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Music
Iceland
Airwaves XI
Great news everyone:
It’s happening!
Lots more to be announced.
Check www.icelandairwaves.com
for updates.