Sepac 2023: Barter Exchanges – Traditional markets 

Traditional trade markets are the theme of this year's SEPAC issue.

In an island and mountain landscape with rushing ocean currents such as the Faroe Islands, it was formerly only possible to travel by sea or on foot. These conditions and the small population gave no leeway for local markets, as commonly seen on the European mainland. In the Faroe Islands, it was vitally important to keep as much food as possible in the “hjallur”, the Faroese variant of a pantry. The farms produced their own foodstuffs, mainly products of sheep, cattle, sea birds, pilot whales and fish. The food was fermented and dried. In practice, these products only included food, down and woollen goods.

Opportunities for hunting birds and pilot whales varied between settlements, but according to special rules since ancient times, everyone was entitled to a portion of both meat and blubber from pilot whales. All the settlements engaged in sheep and cattle farming. Those who had plentiful access to birds and down could, through personal connections, engage in barter for goods that were more plentiful in other settlements. No market was required for such exchange, but the situation was somewhat different in the capital, Tórshavn.

The Monopoly Trade in Tórshavn, the Faroe Islands' only trading place in earlier times that ended in 1856, is the sole enterprise that can be compared to a traditional market. Islanders travelled to Tórshavn on business trips a few times a year, most often in connection with St Olaf's Day, the Faroese National Day. They did their shopping for a few days and participated in the festivities held in the capital on July 29. The Løgting, the parliament of the Faroe Islands, went into session, and the clergy from the islands convened for Mass. This market-like phenomenon continued after free trade had been established. Gradually, St Olaf’s Day became a public holiday with sporting events and cultural activities. Sale stalls and dispensing outlets of various kinds also characterize this festival, and the centre of Tórshavn buzzes with colourful events and crowds of people.

In the past, the population of Tórshavn was mainly made up of landless poor people earning wages by manual labour. But it was also inhabited by better-off citizens and civil servants. Tórshavn was in need of products from the settlements. Thus, an annual event occurred in autumn when some settlements brought live steers from far-away islands to the merchants in Tórshavn. They had the steers slaughtered and sold the meat to the population. It was also common for boats from settlements in the strait between Streymoy and Eysturoy to arrive with blue mussels, which were sold in Tórshavn. When whaling ships in the Faroes started catching large whales around the turn of the 20th century, boats were commonly sent from the whaling stations with whale meat for sale, not only in Tórshavn but also in other settlements. This was in line with the fact that people in Tórshavn used to buy fish directly from fishing boats arriving from fishing grounds. This tradition has been preserved in Tórshavn.  In the very busy port area of Vágsbotnur, Tórshavn Municipality has set up a small roofed-over marketplace where you can buy fish and fish products, and also, on special days, locally grown vegetables and other home-made products of various kinds.

Also, in summer, annual salmon and sales market has been organized for the last ten years in the town of Runavík, where you can taste various salmon products for free from, among others, the local salmon producer Bakkafrost. On these market days, you can also buy products from the local home industry, and several cultural events are also held on market days.

Since ancient times, goods have been exchanged on a more personal level, also between the settlements. Today, you will still find households that buy sheep or mutton yearly from the same farmer as they have always done, without any form of barter.

In other countries, people go to the market not only to buy goods but also to establish and maintain connections with other people. In the Faroe Islands, this happened in the annually recurring dancing trips, when people visited each other, usually bringing gifts of food to the host.

Jóan Pauli Joensen,
Dr. Phil. in ethnology