{"id":9013,"date":"2024-05-16T22:05:04","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T21:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heinesen.info\/wp\/?p=9013"},"modified":"2024-07-02T17:54:57","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:54:57","slug":"in-memory-of-my-uncle-joannes-heinesen-sheep-farmer-from-sandavagur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heinesen.info\/wp\/en\/blog\/2024\/05\/16\/in-memory-of-my-uncle-joannes-heinesen-sheep-farmer-from-sandavagur\/","title":{"rendered":"In Memory of My Beloved Uncle J\u00f3annes Heinesen, Sheep Farmer from Sandav\u00e1gur"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"By Elin Brimheim Heinesen<\/em><\/p>\n

J\u00f3annes Heinesen \u2013 also known as J\u00f3annes \u00e1 Lofti or simply Beiggi (Brother) \u2013 was born on 7th April 1930 and passed away at the S\u00fdnini nursing home in Mi\u00f0v\u00e1gur on Sunday, 21st April 2024, exactly two weeks after his family celebrated his 93rd birthday. J\u00f3annes inherited the family farm from his grandfather, Petur Heinesen \u00e1 Lofti, and spent most of his life tending to meadows, mountains, and outfields, as well as keeping sheep and dairy cattle. J\u00f3annes was married to Else Heinesen, and they had a daughter named Katrin, who has three children: S\u00fasanna, J\u00f3hanna, and S\u00e1mal. J\u00f3annes was the brother of the author Jens Pauli Heinesen, my father. In addition, he had siblings Hj\u00f8rdis Johansen, Kl\u00e6mint Heinesen, \u00c1sv\u00f8r Ellefsen, and Hildigunn Heinesen. J\u00f3annes was the eldest of the brothers, just one and three-quarters years older than my father, making them almost pseudo-twins.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

As a little girl, I called my uncle ‘gubbi’ (godfather). But later, I also started saying ‘Beiggi’, like the rest of the family did. Yes, it was actually a bit difficult for me to decide what to call him. I can still have doubts to this day. However, there is no doubt that, no matter what he was called, Beiggi has had a tremendous impact on me personally.<\/p>\n

The Village’s History<\/h4>\n

I have visited the village of Sandav\u00e1gur countless times, spending time with my grandmother and grandfather, Beiggi, and the rest of the family there. Everything Beiggi stood for and taught me as I wandered around the village as a little girl has significantly influenced my worldview ever since. The many walks Beiggi and I took in the mountains are cherished moments etched in my memory. Beiggi would explain everything we saw. To me, his stories were like exciting adventures \u2013 about the sheep and lambs, the cattle we herded out of the farms in the morning and brought back in the evening, the birds and their nests, the mountains and nature, the village\u2019s history and the lives of people in Sandav\u00e1gur over the years. Yes, Beiggi knew every stone, every tuft, every house, and the names of everyone and everything.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, he managed to share this knowledge with us in the documentary work \u201cFrom the Mountain to the Shore,\u201d a two-volume set he published with Heini F. Petersen, which provides a detailed account of all the place names in Sandav\u00e1gur, both in the mountains and by the coast, as well as the houses and families in Sandav\u00e1gur parish. I know he was particularly proud and pleased with this accomplishment. And we, as a family, are as well.<\/p>\n

Respect for the Faroese Language and Culture<\/h4>\n

Beiggi had a special love for the Faroese language. He didn’t hesitate to correct people when they made grammar mistakes or used unnecessary Danish words. However, he did it so charmingly that no one took offence. For example, he disliked it when people said “sandav\u00e1gsjingar.” “Sandav\u00e1gur people!” he would correct immediately. “Oh right,” was the response, and the conversation continued cheerfully, as if nothing had happened.<\/p>\n

Beiggi’s joy and deep respect for nature, village culture, and rural life were contagious and contributed to making Sandav\u00e1gur my childhood paradise. This significantly shaped my view of the life that the Faroese have lived here for centuries, which was often hard and difficult, but also genuine and down-to-earth. For better or worse, one might say.<\/p>\n

I remember once, when I was quite small\u2014perhaps around four or five years old\u2014Beiggi told a story about a lamb he found in the fields. The lamb had fallen into a ditch and couldn’t get out. It had struggled for a long time and was near death. When he helped it out, the mother sheep wouldn’t take it back. Beiggi vividly described how the lamb bleated so heartbreakingly in its loneliness and longing for its mother. But I didn’t like hearing this story. I got a lump in my throat because I felt so sorry for the lamb. Yet, I couldn’t express my feelings. So I said something like, “Don’t tell any more, uncle! It makes my throat hurt!” We’ve often laughed about that since.<\/p>\n

A lot has happened since then. I’ve lived a very different life than Beiggi, who was a farmer and sheep breeder in Sandav\u00e1gur. I spent almost a quarter of a century living in the heart of Copenhagen. It’s fair to say that was a completely different life. But in my heart, I’ve kept everything Beiggi taught me about the relationship between animals, people, and nature.<\/p>\n

Showed Me Reality as It Was<\/h4>\n

As a little girl, I loved blood pudding. I’ll never forget the day Beiggi told me I should see how my favourite dish was made. I was six years old, and he took me out to the barn where a ram lamb was tied. It was a lamb we had raised at home, one that I had bottle-fed myself.<\/p>\n

Beiggi explained to me that the lamb was to be slaughtered so we could have something good to eat. Even though the situation was new and a bit uncomfortable for me\u2014I did feel compassion for the lamb\u2014I had such great respect for Beiggi that I accepted what was happening. When my godfather said something, that’s just how it was. He acted quickly, took out the knife, and cut the lamb, causing blood to stream from its carotid artery into a bucket, which I was to stir so it wouldn\u2019t clot.<\/p>\n

I remember the lamb kicking its legs, and I began to wonder if it was suffering. But Beiggi assured me that the lamb didn\u2019t feel anything. “It’s just life flowing out of it. This is how it’s supposed to be.” Alright, I thought, and accepted the explanation. A bit later, I went into the kitchen to my grandmother with the bucket full of steaming blood. She showed me how to wash the sheep\u2019s stomach, cut it in pieces, fill the pieces with blood, fat, and raisins, and sew them up. We had a great time making blood pudding, which we ate the next day. I ate with a good appetite. I distinctly remember sitting at the dinner table that day, in my thoughts thanking the lamb for its life so I could have such a good meal.<\/p>\n

Some may think that such things are too intense to show six-year-olds today. However, I am very grateful that Beiggi showed me reality as it was. He didn\u2019t deceive me. He told me things as they were. In other words, he respected my intelligence. Naturally, I was clever enough to understand that this had to happen whether I witnessed it or not.<\/p>\n

The world Beiggi showed me that day was unvarnished and true, but in my view just as magical as the Disney tales children see and hear so much of nowadays, which I often think give a distorted image of what it truly means to be human in this world. Today, children know little to nothing about where the plastic-wrapped meat they eat or the milk in cartons they drink comes from. But I knew because Beiggi showed me.<\/p>\n

Everyone Loved Beiggi<\/h4>\n

Beiggi has always been a naturally fantastic educator without any formal training in pedagogy. He had an exceptional talent for inventing stories and, most importantly, telling them in a way that completely captivated us children. Beiggi also wrote some stories about Troll Grandma, which I read on Children’s Radio, trying to make them as vivid as Beiggi did when he narrated them to me.<\/p>\n

I will never forget the time when we both sat in grandmother’s dining room at the table, which still stands there, and he illustrated a story for me. Beiggi explained something like this: “Once there was a strange man. He had an incredibly long nose…” and then Beiggi drew a little man with a loooong nose, stretching all the way to the other end of the paper. “And this man was married to a woman who had an incredibly long neck,” and then Beiggi drew a woman next to the man with a neck so long it reached the top of the paper. “And then there were the children… One had incredibly long legs, another had incredibly long fingers”… and Beiggi could go on like this \u2013 and I sat there, completely mesmerised, finding it all incredibly exciting.<\/p>\n

So Much to be Grateful For<\/h4>\n

I have always held a great affection for Beiggi\u2014just like everyone else in the family and circle of friends, because he was such a blessedly kind, pure-hearted, and good person. To me, Beiggi has been like a father\u2014an additional father, so to speak. It was so wonderful that he called regularly\u2014at least once a month and sometimes more often\u2014to check on how things were going until he became senile a few years ago. For that, I am extremely grateful. It was also a true pleasure to visit Beiggi and his wife Else at Hammershaimbsvej 21 in Sandav\u00e1gur, as you always felt incredibly welcome there. The hospitality and delicious food that sweet Else always served were unparalleled.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My father \u2013 known as Palli in Sandav\u00e1gur \u2013 was very close to Beiggi. Beiggi was always the first person he asked about when I visited him in the nursing home in his later years. As mentioned, they were close to each other in years. The two shared a special bond as good brothers. They created a beautifully exemplary backdrop in my life, giving me the joy of seeing how much people can care for each other. Thanks to both of them, I have lived a life where \u2013 despite the bumps and bruises \u2013 I have maintained an inherent optimism and a strong belief in the goodness of people.<\/p>\n

Thank you, dear Beiggi (or gubbi), for everything you have given me and all of us who were fortunate to know you. Rest in peace. You will be deeply missed.<\/p>\n

Your niece, Elin Brimheim Heinesen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Elin Brimheim Heinesen J\u00f3annes Heinesen \u2013 also known as J\u00f3annes \u00e1 Lofti or simply Beiggi (Brother) \u2013 was born on 7th April 1930 and passed away at the S\u00fdnini nursing home in Mi\u00f0v\u00e1gur on Sunday, 21st April 2024, exactly two weeks after his family celebrated his 93rd birthday. J\u00f3annes inherited the family farm from … <\/p>\n

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