Sumba (Settlement) and Sumbiar Municipality

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur

Contemporary colour scheme of *neyst* (boathouses) in the village of Sumba. Boathouse end walls have often been used as an expression in recent Faroese architecture. MARTIN N. JOHANSEN/BIOFOTO/RITZAU SCANPIX, 2018

Sumba has 252 inhabitants and covers 64 merkur. Of this area, 23 merkur is copyhold land soil and 41 merkur is freehold land. The land is divided between nine copyhold tenants. The sheep herd consists of 2,706 animals.

The villages of Sumba, Lopra, Akrar, Víkarbyrgi, Hamrabyrgi and Akraberg belong to Sumbiar Kommuna. The name Sumba has its origins in the Norse words suður, south, and bær, infield. In addition to sheep farming and fishing, bird hunting has also been very important. At 469 m, Beinisvørð is Suðuroy’s highest bird cliff.

Sumba has had a church since way back. The current one was built in 1877 in stone and concrete.

The village’s first school dates from 1889. It was rebuilt and expanded in 1965 and again in 2005. The children attend the first seven grades at the school and then continue at Vágs Skúli. Since 2005, the municipality has had its own day care scheme, while in the areas of schools, day care centres and elderly care, it cooperates with the other municipalities on Suðuroy.

The village’s inhabitants have a very distinctive dialect, and Sumba is known for its ballad tradition and traditional chain dance. There has been a road to Sumba for several years, and in 1997 a tunnel was inaugurated, making traffic to Sumba faster and safer.

The poet Poul F. Joensen was born in Sumba but lived most of his life in Froðba.

Dance, ballad and shrovetide

Men from Sumba dancing with some visiting dancers from other villages at Geilarfløtti in Sumba on Whit Monday, 24 May 1926. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF DENMARK

Sumba is known for having held on to its dance and ballad tradition. In 1976, the village’s dancing club was awarded the Europapreis für Volkskunst. The biggest event of the year is the legendary Shrovetide celebrations, and fellowtownspeople from near and far flock to Sumba to hit the cat out of the barrel and dance until dawn.

The ballad singer and dancer Hans Meinhard Djurhuus also wrote ballads, including Vigars Kvæði of 115 verses when he was 17 years old. The ballad is still popular among Faroese dancers

Dance, ballad and shrovetide

Further reading