Iceland / Farming Community in Arnes / Arnes region / Gulli searching for his sheep to bring them back home for winter. He thinks they might have got on the cliff. / 10.2010
Iceland, the Icelandic Sheep, Icelanders, and the Farming Community at Arnes in Strandir.
It is very appropriate that Iceland is shaped lika a sheep, lying stoically in the field, minding her own business, because it has been remarked on numerous occasions thea the Icelandic sheep has kept the country´s nation alive throughout the centuries. That this short footed animal is to thank for Icelanders surviving hardship and cold, hunger and misery, stuck on a rocky outcrop in the middle of an ocean in the middle of nowhere.The Icelandic sheep, this hardy beast, can endure freezing temperatures and long standing hunger. She´s tougher and more stubborn than your average animal.Some say the Icelandic mentality is not that different from that of our sheep.How do we define ourselves, we precious few individuals roaming our little island? Yes, we are strong, up for anything, don´t take no for an answer, we give in to no-one, as confident as anyone.The lack of size and numbers is what makes us large.Iceland´s head, the West Fjords, differ from other parts of the country in that the mountains are higher, the fjords deeper and some say the people are a strange breed, even having magical powers.Where the wind stirs the woolly tuft at the back of Iceland´s head, that´s where you´ll find the countrie´s remotest dwellings, the Arnes region. There you´ll find a small community of farmers who have chosen to farm sheep only. The people live off the land, as Icelanders have done for hundreds of years.Far from bright lights and big cities, people in the Arnes region live surrounded by steep mountains and the waves crashing on the shore.In Arnes 38 people live in 15 homes all year round.In the whole area there are more than 2700 sheep.Life in Arnes is pretty set, every season has its tasks and chores. Everything runs on the everlasting circle of life.In the spring there is lambing season, in summer, tourists and haymaking, autumn brings sheep gathering and slaughtering, and the sheep are locked up for the winter, the wool is sheared in november and mating season is around Christmas. From January till March the roads sometimes close for days or even weeks due to heavy snow. And clearing them is considered necessary by the powers that be.A small plane lands at the airport in Gjögur twice a week, weather permitting.Life sure slows down in the darkest months.Together they endure the winter, the people and sheep in Arnes.And then it is spring again. The circle of life continues.
Writer: KristÃn Heiða Kristinsdóttir
Translation: Ingunn Snædal
© Jan Brykczynski