on the
Northern Islands. On the other hand the dance is often the spontaneous
outcome of the desire of the moment, "as much to keep themselves warm
as for the sake of entertainment." Thus after a whale-hunt the men
sometimes dance in their wet, bloody clothes, singing the popular
ballad of the ca'ing whale with the refrain:

To us bold men great joy it is
To slay a whale!

The dance is always accompanied by song, but instrumental music has
never been in use on the Faroes. The time and character of the dance
are indicated at the beginning of the ballad by the precentor. This
post of honour was originally much sought after and some precentors
were famous over the islands for their special rendering of certain
ballads, some of which were family possessions in the old days.

When a ballad is concluded, one of those who are taking part
straightway begins on a new one, the dance frequently continuing
uninterrupted, even when the song is ended. The precentor must have
a strong voice and great powers of endurance as the ballads are often
very long. He is generally of a lively disposition with some dramatic
power, so that by imitating his gesticulations the dancers give
character and individuality to the ballad. Thus in the refrain to the
_Death-Song of Ragnar Loethbrok_:

_We struck with the sword_

the dancers stamp on the floor and clap hands together; but they are
solemn and silent during the singing of a sorrowful ballad such as

Queen Dagmar lies sick, etc.

With the ballad dances of the Faroes it is interesting to compare the
ballad dances of the Ukraine and also the choral dances of a community
so far removed as the Torres Straits. Of these latter Dr Haddon
writes[15]:

The dancing-ground was an oblong space.... The drummer with
the singers generally struck up a song, but sometimes the
dancers sang a refrain or called for a song by name. Each song
seemed to be associated with its own particular dance and
to be _accompanied by some story or incident_ which was
illustrated by the movements of the dancers.

A much closer parallel, however, is furnished by the [Cyrillic:
Khorovod] or choral dance of Little Russia. The [Cyrillic: Khorovod],
according to the account of an eye witness[16], is not only a song
sung to the accompaniment of a dance; but the song is narrative
in form and answers in all respects to the ballad of North Western
Europe. The dancers join hands and dance in a c