Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1995, Page 73

THE FAROESE WHALE NAMES
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the Killer Whale, see under VAGN. At the
same time, certain aspects of the behaviour
of the Dolphin (cf. quotation below) could
suggest the Killer and lead to terminologi-
cal confusion. The next reports are from
Svabo, e.g. Dict.fær. 458 Kvessingur
‘Springer, en Art Marsviin’.
Tuming to the etymology, we first quote
from Dýralæra 117: Undir Føroyum síggj-
ast teir (i.e. Bottlenose Dolphins) at siga
ikki uttan saman við grind...Teir eru kimi-
ligir og bragdligir; grindahvalur sæst
sjáldan leypa leyst úr sjónum, hvessingur
loypur ofta — og tað høgt uppúr... I rakstri
fara teir ofta langtfram um grindina, men
venda so sjálvir aftur til hennara, og harð-
rendir sum teir eru, leypa teir ofta støkk í
hana. Men at teir bíta grindahval, man
vera pátrúgv.
From the foregoing we see two pattems
of behaviour, either of which could engen-
der a name. The habit of leaping clear of the
water does not seem to be involved, for then
a meaning ‘leaper’ would require the root
seen in leypa ‘to leap’. On the other hand,
the practice of leaving the grind, but rash-
ing back to it, scaring it with sudden move-
ments, as though biting it (as some imag-
ine), vividly recalls meanings present in
hvessa, lit. ‘to sharpen’, but figuratively in
such examples as hann gongur og hvessir
‘kommer med pludselige mishagsytringer
og udfald’ (Orðabók), hvessa í '(om hund)
snappe’ (Eykabind). So, without a doubt,
this apparently vicious behaviour led to the
creation of the name; we might translate it,
literally, as ‘Snapper’. The name is evident-
ly a product of the local environment and as
such uniquely Faroese.
KJAFTHVÍTI m. Killer Whale = BÓG-
HVÍTUHVALUR. A usage known only
from Svabo, Indb. 73: Kjaftkvujti skal være
en Art af Sildreken, og hvid om Kæbeme.
1782 vare 3 eller 4 Stykker in Flok, tæt ved
landet, ved Bøjdelavet paa Skuøen, hvor
man saae dem, efter Beretning, at sluge
nogle Ederfugle. Identification could not be
more certain: not a group of rorquals relat-
ed to the Minke Whale, as Svabo had been
informed, but a marauding company of
Killer Whales, for which ‘White Jaw’ is an
acceptable designation. Cf.ÆÐUHVALUR.
On ‘Sildreken’ see SILDREKI.
KOBBAHVALUR Killer Whale = BÓG-
HVÍTUHVALUR. Formed with kobbi
»seal«, a purely Faroese name reported, in
Danish dress, by Chr. Fr. Liitken, Vidensk.
Selskabs Skrifter, 6te Række (1887) 370:
»Spækhuggere... ofte komme Kysterne og
Klippeme forbavsende nær for at snappe
Sælerne eller Edderfuglene, hvorfor de
hyppigt benævnes »Edderfuglehval« (see
ÆÐUHVALUR) eller »Kobbehval«.
KÚLUBAKUR m„ KÚLUBØKA f.
Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangli-
ae). The record begins with Svabo who,
however, cites only the masculine variant:
Fiskakvæði 22: Kúlubeákar (pl.), Indb. 73:
Kúlubeákur, Dict.fær. 450: en Hval-Art...
verosimile...Isl. hnúfubakr. M. á Ryggi,
Varðin III (1923) 59, introduced the now
current form KÚLUBØKA matching the
traditional whale name SLÆTTIBØKA.
The Faroese name is a loan translation of
Eng. humpback. English whalers were
leaders in the 18th century and the name