2978) Cairn, Faroe Islands: Posta (Faroese Post) has issued a postage stamp of 100.00 DKK (Danish Kroners) celebrating the significance of cairns all over the Faroe Islands: Date of Stamp issue: 10.08.2023:
What is a Cairn?
A Cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic.
Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes.
In prehistory, they were raised as markers, as memorials and as burial monuments (some of which contained chambers).
In the modern era, cairns are often raised as landmarks, especially to mark the summits of mountains. Cairns are also used as trail markers.
They vary in size from small stone markers to entire artificial hills, and in complexity from loose conical rock piles to elaborate megalithic structures. Cairns may be painted or otherwise decorated, whether for increased visibility or for religious reasons.
A variant is the inuksuk (plural "inuksuit"), used by the Inuit and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America:
The Cairn in the Faroe Islands:
The Cairn is a cone-shaped landmark or sun marker, made up of a mound of rough stones piled up by human hands. Since ancient times, cairns have been found all over the Nordic region as signposts and landmarks. The town name Varde in Denmark is indeed derived from this landmark.
In the Faroe Islands, cairns are always connected to the old village paths.
It is ”Gonguvarðar” ( cairns serving as guideposts).
Some cairns also mark the world corners of a settlement, such as "Vesturvarði" (West Cairn), "Norðurvarði" (North Cairn) and "Suðurvarði" (South Cairn) or cairns scoring the position of the sun.
They are found in place names such as "Middagavarði" (Midday Cairn) or "Nónvarði" (nón = 3 p.m.). Cairns, in their monumental form, thus serve both as signposts and fixed points.
"Kongavarðarnir" (King’s Cairns), which today refer to the neighbourhood building "Undir Kongavarða" close to Tórshavn, were built in 1907, on the occasion of King Frederik the 8th’s visit to the Faroe Islands.
From ancient times, the Faroe Islands have been a rural community where the settlement itself is surrounded by the infield (Faroese: "bøur").
Outside the settlement, separated by stone fences, lies the outfield (Faroese: "hagi").
Ordinarily, people stayed within the fence between the outfield and the infield.
If one went outside, one had some particular purpose in mind. It was frowned upon, and even forbidden, for unauthorised persons to enter the outfield.
However, shepherds and bird catchers were allowed to make their way to the mountains to catch birds.
Exceptions were also made for people bringing peat from the peat stores in the outback, and in the summer, and, of course, for milkmaids who went out to milk the free-ranging cows.
They did not want the sheep to be disturbed. If one went into outfield without a purpose, one might be suspected of being a sheep thief. If a sheep thief was caught, the punishment was severe. Meeting them could be dangerous, and lonely hikers walking their legal paths would avoid that.
The cairns marked the legal paths from one settlement to the other. On these paths one could feel reasonably safe from sheep thieves and supernatural beings.
Hog errands could lead to one meeting the hidden people, e.g., the nymph sitting outside her mound spinning and wishing for a man to approach.
If a man joined her, he was offered a drink of nectar, a magical potion. If he forgot to blow off the foam, she attacked him.
The water kelpie, a supernatural creature, lived in lakes and larger streams. The kelpie could transform into a cute dog or a beautiful horse, trying to lure children and adults to its lake. If they touched it, the kelpie caught them by its tail and dragged them into the lake’s depths.
The outfield was thus a dangerous area, where one preferably only went in daylight, but something might prevent one's departure, and then leave too late.
Everything became more sinister in the dusk and the darkness, and supernatural forces approached the wayfarer.
The light of the moon could also show eerie formations in the landscape.
Even in daylight, one was not out of danger. The fog could become so dense that you couldn’t even see your hands, so the only trail available was the old, well-trodden path.
There are stories of milkmaids who lost their way in the fog and strayed right into the abyss.
It could even get worse in the cold and snow of winter, and then the best advice was to stick to the cairn you had reached without sitting down to rest. There are stories of men who kept awake by dismantling and rebuilding a cairn. They did this even several times to stay awake and keep warm. If they sat down, they fell into a deadly sleep.
Thus, the cairns showed the right way and became invaluable guides for people in the dangerous outback days of old. It was not until modern times, with a different perception of nature and wanting to experience nature, that people created problems for themselves when walking in the countryside.
The cairn has gained importance as a monumental symbol in Faroese history, but also as a fixed point in people’s lives and as a symbol of prominent people.
The first Faroese Literary Society, which since 1921 has published the literary magazine "Varðin" (The Cairn), implying a variety of meanings.
It is also no coincidence that one of the largest business and shipping companies in the Faroe Islands, established in the settlement of Gøta in 1985, took the time-honoured and symbolic name, "Varðin".
About The Cairn Stamp:
This postage stamp is the mirror of the nation. It is a small glimpse into the soul of the country, its appearance, history, flora, fauna, life and manners.
On 10.08.2023, Posta Faroe Islands had issued this stamp at the Great American Stamp Show (GASS) 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
The Faroese artist Edward Fuglø designed and illustrated the beautiful Miniature Sheet (MS) with a cairn motif in its center.
The Miniature Sheet (MS) depicts a cairn in the outback on a summer evening. A summer atmosphere surrounds the cairn with seasonal plants, birds and animal life.
Supernatural beings, fairies and water kelpies are also part of the picture.
As mentioned, a cairn can have different symbolic meanings – it can serve both as a signpost and a fixed point.
The Stamp no. 1000 (Special Folder) is a small culture bearer that reaches far beyond national frontiers, right into the remotest corners of the globe.
On a small piece of paper, just a few centimetres across, it is possible to tell the history of many and sundry, and this has always been the aim with Faroese postage stamps.
The Norwegian-Swedish artist and engraver Martin Mörck engraved the cairn and butterfly motifs which are printed in a combination of intaglio and offset. Furthermore, some special varnish effects have been added such as sand, soft-touch and neon orange.
The First Day Cover (FDC)
Technical details:
Issue Date: 10.08.2023
Designer: Edward Fuglø
Printer: La Poste, France
Process: offset + engraving and special varnish such as sand and soft-touch + neon orange
Size:
Stamp Size: 40.00 mm x 60.00 mm,
M/S Size: 70 x 100 mm
Stamp Values: 100.00 DKK
Posts on Aruba on this blog:
Dutch Castles Coin Series:
5) City of Bruges (or Brugge), Belgium: 20 Years as UNENCO World Heritage Site: A 20 Euro Silver Proof Coin issued by the Royakl Dutch Mint under licencing of the Royal Belgian Mint, on behalf of the National Bank of Belgium: Coin issue date: 26.02.2020
6) 100 Years of Nature & Environment Protection, Luxembourg: Commemorating the Centenary Anniversary of the "Letzebuerger Natur a Vulleschutsliga a.s.b.l. (Luxembourg Nature and Bird Protection Society):A 0.80 Euro Stamp issued by Luxembourg Postes (Post): Date of stamp issue: 10.03.2020
7) Celebrating 25 Years of listing on UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Luxembourg: A Commemorative Stamp of 0.80 Euro issued by Luxembourg Postes (Post): Stamp issue date: 10.03.2020
Links:
For other interesting posts on issues from the Royal Dutch Mint, Netherlands and PostNL, please visit the following links:
10) First Atlases, Netherlands: Commemorating 450 Years of the first Atlas (1570-2020) & others: A Stamp Sheet of six stamps depicting the Atlases which were compiled in the Netherlands in the 16th & 17th Centuries AD: Stamp Set issued by POstNL: Date of Stamp Set issue: 23.03.2020
For interesting posts from the Caribbean Netherlands on this blog:
Posts on SEPAC issues on this blog:
Posts on Finland on this Blog:
Posts on Sweden:
Links:
The undernoted two links will take you to our blog "Footloose" for two interesting posts written by me on the Dutch presence in Sadras in the 17th Century AD:
5) City of Bruges (or Brugge), Belgium: 20 Years as UNENCO World Heritage Site: A 20 Euro Silver Proof Coin issued by the Royakl Dutch Mint under licencing of the Royal Belgian Mint, on behalf of the National Bank of Belgium: Coin issue date: 26.02.2020
6) 100 Years of Nature & Environment Protection, Luxembourg: Commemorating the Centenary Anniversary of the "Letzebuerger Natur a Vulleschutsliga a.s.b.l. (Luxembourg Nature and Bird Protection Society):A 0.80 Euro Stamp issued by Luxembourg Postes (Post): Date of stamp issue: 10.03.2020
7) Celebrating 25 Years of listing on UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Luxembourg: A Commemorative Stamp of 0.80 Euro issued by Luxembourg Postes (Post): Stamp issue date: 10.03.2020
16) Ancient Postal Routes - the Postal Boat Race - between Aland and Sweden", Aland, Finland: A EUROPA Postage Stamp of 2.00 Euro issued by Aland Post: Date of Stamp issue: 08.05.2020
Posts on SEPAC issues on this blog:
Links to Posts on Turks and Caicos Islands:
Links to Posts on Curacao on this Blog:
For some other interesting posts on Currencies of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, please visit the following links:
18) Sea Motifs, Bahamas: Gold Bullion Coins in the denominations of 100 Dollars (depicting a Blue Marlin) and 250 Dollars (depicting a Conch Shell): Coins issue date: 03.12.2019
19) A new Generation $100 Polymer Banknote, Trinidad and Tobago with enhanced security features to "raise the bar" for counterfeiters & unscrupulous elements: Banknote circulation date: 09.12.2019:
20) Festival di Tumba (Carnival of Curacao), Curacao: "50th Edition of the Curacao Carnival/Festival" held from 27-31.01.2020: A set of six Commemorative Postage Stamps brought out by Cpost (Curacao Post) on 20.02.2020
21) New Polymer Banknotes, Trinidad and Tobago: The entire series will consist of $100, $50, $20, $10, $5 and $1 denominations: $100 has already been issued on 09.12.2019
23) "Caribbean Sea-Horse", Barbados: $10 (Ten Dollars) 1.0 Oz. Gold Bullion Coins & $1 (One Dollar) 1.0 Oz. Silver Bullion Coins minted by the Scottsdale Mint; Year of issue: 2020
24) Cayman Islands, A British Overseas Territory (BOT): A set of identically numbered Banknotes of the presently circulating Banknotes from the "D" Series of Banknotes
Links to some other interesting posts from South American countries & Mexico:
26) A new 100 Boliviano Banknote from Bolivia: issued by the "Banco Centrale de Bolivia" (Central Bank of Bolivia) on 15.01.2019 under its new 2018 Banknote Series
27) Central Bank of Uruguay ("Banco Centrale del Uruguay"): 50th Anniversary (Golden Jubilee) - 1967-2017 - celebrated with the issue of a 50 Peso Commemorative Banknote on 14.09.2018
Links to Posts on Curacao on this Blog:
Santosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"Thanks for sharing this interesting and informative post. Please keep it up."
Thank you so much, Khanna sahab.
Delete