The People of the Polar North a Record

Downloaded from www.greatestadventurers.com THE PEOPLE OF THE POLAR NORTH /t Downloaded from www.greatestadventurers.com THE PEOPLE OF THE POLAR NORTH A RECORD BY KNUD RASMUSSEN COMPILED FROM THE DANISH ORIGINALS AND EDITED BY G. HERRING ILLUSTRATIONS BY COUNT HARALD MOLTKE LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO. L~ DRYDEN HOUSE, GERRARD STREET, W. 1908 1 )L- Downloaded from www.greatestadventurers.com ~ .?.b0?.. 1(, The n'ghts of translation and of reproduc#on are reserved f r / (If ;i /~ · i ·1' /f Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & Co, At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh Downloaded from www.greatestadventurers.com EDITOR'S PREFACE " THE PEOPLE OF THE PoLAR NORTH " has been compiled from the Danish originals recently published by the author in Copenhagen, under the titles of " New People " and " Under the Lash of the North Wind." It deals with the three distinct Eskimo branches which make up the population of Greenland, that is to say, with the West Greenlanders, the civilised and Christianised inhabitants of South-West and West Greenland ; the East Greenlanders, formerly the in habitants of the South-East coast, which is now quite deserted, except for the area of Angmagssalik, as is also the whole of the East coast ; and with the Polar Eskimos. But, as its title implies, it is first and foremost an account of the most northerly dwelling people in the world, that is to say, of the little Eskimo group of nomads who wander from settlement to settlement between Cape York, North of Melville Bay, and Cape Alexander (approximately therefore between 76° and 78° N. latitude), and who are called in this book the Polar Eskimos. It is more than probable that the traditions and legends of the Eskimos scattered along the North of Canada would have much in common with those of the people whose characteristics and stories are here so faithfully presented, and for that reason the book may prove, and we hope will prove, of wide interest and importance. If Mr. Rasmussen is able to carry out his present intention of making a six years' tour along the whole of the North coast of North America as far as Alaska, with merely the slender Eskimo equipment of kayak and dog-sledge, for the purpose of studying at first hand the still-surviving remnants y Downloaded from www.greatestadventurers.com VI EDITOR'S PREFACE of a once numerous race, there may afterwards be an oppor tunity from his data of making comparisons and reaching definite ethnological conclusions. At present the Eskimos, as a race, are an unexplored and unexploited people, and much of their origin and history is still conjecture, though the proof of the great similarity between the dialects of different tribes would give confirmation to the theory of a common parentage at no remote date. As will be seen in " The People of the Polar North,'' at least three distinct groups, viz. an American Eskimo group, apparently arriving from South Ellesmere Land or perhaps even from Baffin Land, the Cape York Eskimos, and the so-called West Greenlanders, had little or no difficulty in making themselves mutually understood. And it should not be forgotten that w£th£n the memory of man there had been no assoc£at£on between these same groups. The East Greenlanders, whose dialect presents many points of similarity with the rest, might have been mentioned in the list, but I have excluded them, as it is not strictly correct to assert that there has been no association until recent times between them and the West Greenlanders. In June 1902 the " Danish Literary Expedition" 1 left Copenhagen for South-West Greenland, en route for Cape York, the three principal members of it being Mr. L. Mylius-Erichsen (whose interesting diary has not so far been published in English), Mr. Knud Rasmussen, and Lieutenant Count Harald Moltke, the artist. Each was responsible for a special section o( the work, and all of them had had previous experience in Arctic travelling. Mr. Rasmussen was peculiarly fitted to win the confidence and affection of the Eskimos, and to acquire an intimate knowledge 1 This Expedition was originally a private venture, the only public support it received being a donation from the Carlsberg Fund, Copenhagen ; but on its return the importance of its results both from the geographical and ethnological p~ints of view were regarded as so considerable that the expenses incurred were taken over and defrayed by the State. Downloaded from www.greatestadventurers.com EDITOR'S PREFACE Vil of their religious beliefs, their legends, and their personal recollections, because he himself had been born and brought up in Greenland, had spoken the Eskimo language from his babyhood, and could claim racial kinship with the people among whom he was pursuing his investigations. To avoid any misunderstanding that this remark might give rise to, I hasten to explain that this kinship is tolerably remote, and that Mr Rasmussen is not, as some people have fancied, a civilised savage Eskimo. I believe he really has some Eskimo blood in his veins, and, especially in association with the Polar Eskimos, whom he has studied with such affectionate interest, makes the most of it and half-jestingly claims to be an Eskimo himself, but the actual facts are rather more prosaic. He is the elder son of Pastor Christian Rasmussen, a Danish clergyman who for upwards of twenty years was a missionary in South-West Greenland, and at the age of fourteen he was brought home to Denmark, where he finished his education and graduated at the Copenhagen University. So he is in the fortunate position of being able to make his investigations and observations as it were from the inside and outside at the same time. But he is more than a sympathetic and able student of an interesting group of pagans. The People of the Polar North are " New People," as far as their inner life, beliefs, and traditions are concerned, and in this field Mr. Rasmussen must remain the last as he was the first competent seeker. Never before has there been an Arctic explorer attracted to the far North, not by the magnetic Pole, but by the Polar people, who has at the same time been so admirably equipped for sympathetic research as is Mr. Rasmussen. Even Rink, the well-known author of valuable books on the Eskimos and on Greenland, and whom I have no wish whatever to depreciate, since he brought great sympathy to bear on his inquiries, as Downloaded from www.greatestadventurers.com viii EDITOR'S PREFACE well as much painstaking labour, had not the advantage of knowing the Greenlandic language and consequently could only obtain his information through the medium of three or four interpreters. Such a drawback must almost unavoidably lead, and in his case did lead, to misunderstandings and mistakes. And, just as Mr. Rasmussen was the first man to make thorough and efficient research into the folk-lore treasures of the Polar Eskimos, their traditional·· history and their re ligion, he will probably of necessity be the ·last. When others come, if they do come, they will be too late. The Polar Eskimos are very few in number. ·Tbey are not a fertile race, and year by year, ravaged often by mysterious and perhaps imported sicknesses, and waging a perpetual war with Nature in her harshest mood, they are growing steadily fewer. Soon there may be none of them left; but even though the race survive, their traditions hardly can survive much longer unimpaired. Contact with the white Polar explorers, the communication which the Danish Literary Expedition suc ceeded in opening up between the Cape Yorkers and the West Greenlanders, may be useful to these children of nature, inasmuch as they have already learnt to appreciate some of the advantages of modern civilisation-such as Winchester breech-loaders, ammunition, and matches-which it would be impossible to deprive them of again. But undoubtedly such contact will tend to efface the memory of their legends and their folk-lore, to destroy the continuity of their primitive religious beliefs, and to modify their mode of thought. Such a result is inevitable ; but it is the death-note of their unspoiled individuality. The North American Eskimos of course remain, if there be any who wish to follow in Mr. Rasmussen's footsteps, and do better work than his. But they will find it a difficult task, and I am not in a position Downloaded from www.greatestadventurers.com EJ?ITOR'S PREFACE IX to state that that field of research would prove equally fruitful. Unfortunately, the present volume has not had the advan tage of the author's ow_n revision. He sailed for Greenland in August 1906, to make inquiries and preliminary preparations, previous to starting on the North Canadian tour of exploration alluded to above, and he will not again be within reach of any post until after this book is in print. Before he left Europe, however, he expressed, in a letter to me, his hope that ·an English edition of his book, or books, might appear, and ·he :~ntrusted all arrangements to the joint decision of his friend C01.1rit Harald Moltke and myself. For the editorship, however faulty, I must herewith claim full responsibility, but I should like to take this opportunity of thanking Count Harald Moltke for the loyal and consistent support he has given me throughout, as well as for the unfailing patience and kindness that he has shown me, and without which my editorship of the English edition would have been impossible. There is not a page of it that has not passed under his .critical supervision, the likelihood of error or mis understanding in the translation being thus reduced to a minimum, and I have not once consulted him on any point when his help and advice have not been immediately forth coming.

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