Finnur Justinussen
Faroese chain dancing.
The language and the dance INTRODUCTION and themes: THE LANGUAGE AND THE DANCE
The Faroese language has its roots in Old Norse from the Viking age.
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The Vikings, who came mainly from Norway, sailed westwards looking for new land and reached the coasts of Scotland, Shetland, Orkney, the Hebrides, the Faroes and Iceland. At that time Viking culture was uniform and there were few linguistic differences.
In due course, the various countries developed their own culture and Old Norse split into different dialects, dying out completely in some places. The Faroese language survived as an independent language, but was threatened with extinction. After the reformation, Danish became the language of the church, also the written language and was eventually used in all official matters. When the first research into the Faroese language was started at the end of the 18th century, its aim was to collect and document the remains of the old language. But research revealed an overwhelming collection of old words and sayings, established turns of speech, legends and ballads. The ancient and heroic ballads alone numbered 70,000 verses, all of which had been handed down orally from generation to generation.
How could this be, in a population that for hundreds of years had numbered between 4,000 and 5,000 people? An important part of the answer lies in the renowned Faroese dance, for which it is necessary to learn and remember a long story. This dance is a direct continuation of the medieval ring dance that began in France and spread throughout Europe. The ring dance went out of fashion or was forbidden by the authorities, but lived on in the Faroes. The special features of the Faroese dance are the song and story. There is no instrumental accompa足 niment, only the voices and feet are heard. While a single or a few singers lead the song, the others take part with their dance steps and by singing the refrain after each verse. There is a live bond between the story of the ballad and the mood of the dance. The dance steps are always the same; if the story is a sad one, the steps are soft; if dramatic, the feet tramp hard. If it is a ballad that makes fun of something, the rhythm is springy and light. It is a dance where many take part, faces pass