Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1999, Page 126

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THE BROTHER OF THE SNAKE AND FISH AS KINGS
rect. They were eels, which are found not
only in lakes and running water, but also in
the Baltic Sea, as well as in the seas that
surround all the Nordic countries. To erase
prejudice has always been an important
task for inspectors of fisheries. To study
traditional knowledge and the conscious
use of various animal and plant species,
however, is the task of an ethnobiologist.
Intemationally, ethnobiology is on the
verge of developing into its own discipline.
Ethnobiology incorporates elements of
both cultural studies and science. Research
aimed at saving remaining traditional ani-
mal and plant knowledge is given a high
priority. The approach of contemporary
ethnobiology is highly interdisciplinary.
Of particular interest to the ethnobiologist
are the cultural domains where human rela-
tionships operate in a creative process with
other organisms. The scope of ethnobiolo-
gy includes all complex relationships be-
tween human beings and other living or-
ganisms (Castetter, 1944; Olsen and Svan-
berg, 1998; Svanberg, 1998a: 9-43; 1998b:
81-83; Svanberg and Tunón, 1999).
The Eel - a Strange Fish
According to European folk beliefs, the eel
is a strange fish. It điffers in many ways
from other fish species, a condition that has
contributed to a hesitant attitude towards it.
Strindberg’s story alludes to a prejudice
found throughout the Nordic countries. For
instance, J.C. Svabo (1959: 71), writing in
the 1780’s in the Faroe Islands, noted that
farmers preferred not to eat it. According
to the Faroese people, it had too many simi-
larities with the snake. The same expres-
sion is recorded in Norway in a contempo-
rary local description. In the Norwegian
Telemark, H.J. Wille (1786: 158) writes
that peasants do not eat eel since it is re-
garded as the brother of the snake. Actual-
ly, records from Norway and the Faroe Is-
lands already exist in Peder Claussøn Friis’
(1632: 120, 153) writings from the tum of
the 17th century. This information dates
back to the 1590’s when Friis interviewed a
Faroese student in Copenhagen. According
to this informant, the Faroese people, in
contrast to foreigners in the archipelago, do
not eat eel. He says the former call the eel
‘the Brother of the Snake’. Also Thomas
Tamovius (1950: 64), probably with Friis
as his source, writes in 1669 that the Faroe
Islanders have a strong aversion against the
eel, because it ‘... er i slect med ormene oc
snogene’ [is related to the snakes and the
grass snakes]. Similar statements are to be
found in contemporary oral tradition from
the mid-20th century recorded in central
Sweden (ULMA 26 902; ULMA 27 095).
People of the Nordic countries have al-
ways been aware of the fact that the eel dif-
fers in many ways from other fish species.
This has contributed to numerous beliefs
about the eel and many popular and schol-
arly opinions are the result of its behaviour
and biology.
It was not only the behaviour of the eel
that was confusing. Its reproductive biolo-
gy has not only been a mystery for re-
searchers, but also for the Nordic peasantry,
which remained uncertain about this
strange fish. The lack of observations of its
reproductive behaviour created a hotbed for
many speculations. Around 1730, clergy-