Festival for the Souls of Dead Whales – December 10, 2024

History of Festival for the Souls of Dead Whales

Whaling refers to whale hunting for food and other whale products, such as blubber. While the exact origin of whaling is unknown, records show that humans have been hunting whales for thousands of years. In fact, it is second nature to most people living in aquatic regions. While it is a cultural norm for most countries, it’s also well known as one of the leading causes of whale deaths.

Four thousand years ago, aboriginal communities in Norway spearheaded whaling for food and oil. People discovered that every part of the whale is usable — from its meat, skin, and blubber to its organs, which are a good source of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fats. Whaling quickly rose to prominence as other neighboring regions started adopting it. In warmer climates, the whale’s baleen was used for roofs, and the bones were repurposed into carving tools. From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, the entire northern European region adopted whaling. Whalebones were primarily used for corsets and hoop skirts, and whale oil was extracted from blubber and head cavities. These were deemed valuable commodities and spiked the country’s economy. At this point, whaling became a lucrative industry.

During the mid-1700s, searching whales in the Atlantic region became increasingly difficult. Americans would expand their whaling operations through the whale-rich ocean waters of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. By the 1800s, whaling peaked in the U.S. following advancements in whale-hunting technology, including steamships with gun-loaded harpoons. By the early 1900s, whaling had become a multimillion-dollar industry. It wasn’t until 1971 that the U.S. outlawed whaling after deeming eight whales as endangered species. Nowadays, the act is considered illegal in most countries.