Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1995, Qupperneq 73

THE FAROESE WHALE NAMES
77
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