Source: Whales And Whaling - In The Faroe Islands, published by The Faroe Islands Department of Fisheries, 1993
In Iceland, Shetland, and Norway, for example, pilot whales
used to be herded into bays in basically the same way as is
still done in the Faroe Island today. In Shetland, where pilot
whaling survived until the early part of this century, the
blubber was used commercially for its oil, but the meat was
almost never eaten.
It is most likely that the first Norse settlers who came to
the Faroe Islands brought with them some knowledge of whale
driving techniques from the west coast of Norway. Whale bone
finds at Viking Age archeaological excavation sites suggest
that the pilot whale was already then a part of the diet of
the Faroe Islanders. A legal document for the Faroes from 1298
outlines rights to whales which are both driven in, and which
strand themselves.
Most written sources since the 16th century describing life in
the Faroe Islands mention pilot whaling as a typical element
of traditional Faroese culture, and provide a valuable record
of various cultural aspects of the hunt which no longer
survive in modern pilot whaling.
In old times, when a school of whales was sighted, an
intricate system of smoke signals and sheets spread on
particular points was used to send the message from village to
village and island to island.
The famous Faroese ballad dance, still a vital part of many a
Faroese social event, was once a regular occurrence after a
whale drive. After the hard and cold work of driving and
killing the whales, men would often gather to "dance
themselves warm" as the expression goes, chanting traditional
Faroese ballads, while waiting for their shares of the catch
go be calculated by the local sheriff.
Times have changed. These days radios and telephones send the
message that a school of pilot whales has been sighted,
although the ancient signalling system is acctually still
valid. Faroese ballad dancing after a drive is rare today, as
people can travel home in cars and on ferries to change their
wet clothes and to wait for their shares to be allotted.
Fishing boats are now equipped with outboard motors, and this
makes the work of driving a school of whales less difficult
than in former centuries when men had to rely on their rowing
skills.
Despite the rapid and dramatic changes in our technological
age, pilot whaling in the Faroe Islands has kept its original
function as a communal, non-commercial whale drive for free
food. A pilot whale drive brings people from all levels of the
local community together to take part in the hard work
involved, and to share a successful catch equally among
themselves, without the exchange of money.
Pilot whaling has adapted to change and has included modern
techniques side by side with the best of the traditional
methods and tools. After all, the purpose of pilot whaling is
still the same - to provide Faroe Islanders with a highly-
valued and nutritious supply of whale meat and blubber.