The White Falcon - 17.09.1993, Page 7

Kindur koma Herna!
This page, clockwise from top left: A large flock of sheep
descend a mountain side, their constant bleeting sounded
like the roar of a crowd in afootball stadium. A localfarmer
observes the procession with keen interest. Three sheep
followed by a horse and its rider have no place to go but
forward. (Photos by PHI (AW) Mark Kettenhofen)
Story by J02 Carlos Bongioanni
It was already past midnight. In a few short
hours, farmers from all over the Skagafjordur
area in northern Iceland would ride their
horses to surrounding mountain passes and
gather their flocks. It was time again for
Iceland’s annual sheep roundup.
Although the day would be long and tire-
some, few were sleeping the night before the
big day. Many gathered with friends to cele-
brate the upcoming adventure. Some were
still preparing their fields for the sheep’s
return.
The summer in northern Iceland had been
unusually cold and wet. So, farmers tried to
let the grass dry out by waiting as long as pos-
sible to gather the winter’s supply of hay. At
2 a.m., tractors were still rolling, as one ton-
size bale after another was wrapped in white
plastic and piled for storage.
At 5:30, as the early morning rays began to
filter over the mountains, some of those same
farmers, who had worked through the night,
were now mounted on horses galloping into
the mountains.
Each summer in June, Icelandic farmers
release their sheep to graze in the mountains.
This allows farmers to cultivate their own
fields while giving the sheep some freedom
before being locked up in the winter. After
just three months, the weather begins to turn
again, andfarmers must bring the sheep home.
“We have to get the sheep before winter
comes, or else the sheep will be buried under
the snow and die,” said Haraldur P6r
Jdhannsson, a farmer from the Skagafjordur
area.
Jdhannsson and other farmers in the area
worked together gathering their flocks, since
all their sheep shared the same land during
the summer. All those who had sheep to be
collected, had to supply a certain amount of
workers who, on this occasion, had to cover
roughly 200 square miles of land. Most of the
mountain peaks rose to heights of at least
3,000 feet and were attainable only by foot.
Since the sheep tended to graze at high al-
titudes in clusters of twos and threes, the
roundup took a considerable amount of time.
It also took a concerted effort by everyone
present to direct the sheep down into the
valley. The fanners had to shout, run and
wave their hands to get the sheep to go in the
right direction. The ones hardest to get to
were at the top of dangerously steep moun-
tains.
“There isn’t much grass up top, but what is
there must be very good to eat, because all the
sheep like to go up there,” noted Krfstjdn
Haraldursson, a farm hand in the area. Har-
aldursson spent approximately seven hours
walking across the shear cliffs, high above
the valley, driving the sheep downward.
Progress was slow but steady, and the
small trickle finally became a flow of activity
as sheep from three separate valleys were
funneled into one main valley.
From there, farm hands on horseback di-
rected nearly 4,000 sheep to a corral about
five miles away. The progression resemble
that of refugees being driven from their
homeland. Those injured or too tired to go
further were carried by a tractor-drawn cart.
Once inside the corral, the day seemed
almost complete, but it wasn’t. Residents
from nearby farms and towns now had the
task of separating the flocks. Sheep were
identified by the markings on their ears.
For several hours, young and old alike
made the most out of the event by turning an
otherwise arduous day into a community
celebration. “This is probably one of the most
fun days of the year for us, because every-
body comes out and works together to get the
job done,” said Dogg Jonsddttir, a 16-year
old farm hand who had her hands full wres-
tling with dozens of frightened sheep.
The fun and excitement experi-
enced in Skagafjordur was typical of
sheep roundups all over Iceland,
which generally occur in different lo-
cations each weekend in September.
Anyone wishing to attend such an
event should call Einar at ext. 4401
for an extensive listing of upcoming
roundups.
This page from top to bottom: An Icelandic boy has to muster all his strength to haul a sheep into its proper
pen. Haraldur Jdhannsson and Vilhjdlmur Svansson, a veterinarian, discuss the best approach in rounding
up the sheep. A number of surprised sheep get a much needed bath as they're driven across a river.
Editor‘s note: The White Falcon
would like to thank the Icelandic
Agricultural Information Service
and Einar Thordarsson of the
Family Service Center for making
the necessary arrangements which
allowed us to cover the sheep
roundup.
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The White Falcon
September 17,1993
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