Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1970, Page 144

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Gannet Catching in the Hebrides
is not true, of course, of St Kilda, for which an extensive
literature exists. Moreover, accounts of wild-fowling in this
literature can be checked against the reminiscences of surviving
St Kildans who have first-hand knowledge of the occupation.
Literary references to wild-fowling in other communities, how-
ever, are disappointingly meagre, and oral tradition must be
our main source of information.
Viewed against this background, the one organised wild-fowl
hunt that still survives in a Gaelic speaking community takes
on an increased significance. This is the annual gannet hunt on
the rock of Sulaisgeir, about fifty miles north of the Butt of
Lewis, which is planned and carried out by natives of the
parish of Ness, in the north of the island of Lewis.
The venture has now a commercial dimension in that a certain
proportion of the catch is sold. In former days, in a subsistence
economy, the social organisation involved, the rules of sharing
the catch, and so on, would no doubt have been governed by
different principles. Hence we should not accept a description
of the contemporary hunt as completely typical either of this
particular kind of wild-fowling or even more so of wild-
fowling in general in Gaelic communities. A full account of
this, showing both general and particular features, will be
published when all the available information has been collected
and analysed. The present note is designed to draw attention
to an aspect of social and economic life which is seen both in
Faroese and Gaelic communities. It is especially appropriate
to do so in honouring a scholar who has himself pioneered
the discovery of certain Gaelic — Faroese contacts. The note
is based upon personal fieldwork and first-hand information,
but I am also greatly obliged to my friend Mr. Michael
Robson, who has confirmed or supplemented my own findings.
Sulaisgeir, normally written Sula Sgeir on English maps, is,
as its name implies (<CO.N. Súlusker or Súlnasker) one of
the breeding grounds of the gannet, and from time immemorial,
according to tradition, the men of Ness have each autumn
sailed to Sulaisgeir to kill and bring back the young birds.