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Trúgv og siðir í sambandi við neyt
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SUMMARY
Folk beliefs and customs concerning cattle in the Faroe Islands.
This article is mainly based on records of tradition at the Faroese Museum and
the Faroese Academy as well as information from topographical literature. Most
of the tradition material was colleced in 1967 and 1968. As in many other com-
munities bound by tradition, many unknown factors are connected with cattle
breeding. The traditional thoughts constantly revolved around good and bad luck.
Magic practices and various customs were aimed at averting bad luck and securing,
or even improving luck with the cattle.
The article contains many quotations and is centred on topics such as the
covering of the cow, calving, troll-rides and other supernatural beings, the first
days of the spring when the cow was driven out into the fields, and finally on
the milk.
The magic practice in connection with the covering was to ensure successful
fertilization. Here, as on many other occasions, the evil eye and the evil tongue
might have a bad influence. Auguries were taken to discover whether it would
be a bull or a cow calf, the latter being the most desirable with a view to the
milk production. The calving was by its nature a risky event; the first eight
days after the calving were considered to be especially critical, and the cow
was said to stand »á oskbási«. The first syllable is probably derived from the
Old Norse word »háski« meaning »danger«. So the cow was subject to danger
during these days. This meant that a number of taboo rules had to be observed
not to challenge the milking luck.
Whereas the tradition of trolls milking the cow and riding on it were prac-