MEDDELELSER OM GRØNLAND Nuussuarmiut – hunting families on the big headland Keld Hansen MAN & SOCIETY 35 · 2008 Nuussuarmiut Hunting families on the big headland Published in collaboration with the National Museum of Denmark There are still millions of people around the world who live this kind of life and treasure it, and to whom nobody can offer anything better. Their existence must not needlessly be sacrificed to urban civilisation. It is simply a question of human rights. Finn Lynge: Arctic Wars 1992 Nuussuarmiut – hunting families on the big headland Demography, subsistence and material culture in Nuussuaq, Upernavik, Northwest Greenland Keld Hansen Meddelelser om Grønland · Man & Society 35 As of 2008 Museum Tusculanum Press has taken over the series Monographs on Greenland | Meddelelser om Grønland. 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In 1979 Monographs on Greenland | Meddelelser om Grønland was developed into a tripartite series consisting of Bioscience (ISSN 0106-1054) Man & Society (ISSN 0106-1062) Geoscience (ISSN 0106-1046) Hence Monographs on Greenland | Meddelelser om Grønland was renumbered in 1979 ending with volume no. 206 and continued with volume no. 1 for each subseries. As of 2008 the original Monographs on Greenland | Meddelelser om Grønland numbering will be continued in addition to the subseries numbering. Further information about the series, including addresses of the scientific editors of the subseries can be found at www.mtp.dk/MoG Keld Hansen: Nuussuarmiut. Hunting families on the big headland. ISBN 978 87 635 1084 4 eISBN 978 87 635 3071 2 © Museum Tusculanum Press, 2009 Series: Monographs on Greenland | Meddelelser om Grønland, vol. 345 ISSN 0025-6676 Series: Man & Society, vol. 35 ISSN 0106-1062 Unchanged version in PDF format of the printed version: Keld Hansen: Nuussuarmiut - hunting families on the big headland. Meddelelser om Grønland, Man & Society Vol. 35. Copenhagen, The Commission for Sientific Research in Greenland, 2008. © 2008 by The Commission for Scientific Research in Greenland No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright owners. Publishing editor Kirsten Caning Printed by Special-Trykkeriet Viborg a-s Cover: A dead harpooned bearded seal is hauled up over a kayak paddle supported on the decksof the two kayaks. Melville Bay, August 1968. Photo by the author. Accepted November 2007 ISSN 0106-1062 ISBN 978-87-635-1084-4 Museum Tusculanum Press :: [email protected] :: www.mtp.dk Contents Foreword 7 February 1968 64 Acknowledgements 7 March 1968 64 April 1968 65 Introduction 9 May 1968 65 Fieldwork and methods 11 June 1968 66 July 1968 66 Chapter 1 August 1968 67 Upernavik district 14 September 1968 67 Geographic location 14 October 1968 67 Place names 16 Hunters in Nuussuaq 1967-68 67 The first people 19 The importance of the weather for hunting 68 The Norse at Upernavik 20 European whaling period 21 Chapter 5 The Dutch 22 Materials and tools 73 English and Scottish whalers 22 Trade with Europeans 23 Chapter 6 The population 25 Transport 78 The climate in Upernavik district 27 Sledges 78 Umiaq 98 Chapter 2 Kayaks 99 Nuussuaq 29 Harpoons 113 Melville Bay – Qimusseriarsuaq 32 Motorboats 122 Climate 33 Firearms 125 Demography 36 Summary 130 Family relationships and meat distribution 39 Summary 42 Chapter 7 Aappilattoq – the settlement by the Red Fell 42 Clothing – atisat 131 Anorak (Parka) – annoraaq 132 Chapter 3 Outer garment of caribou skin – timmiaq 132 The ecosystem 44 Sealskin trousers – qarliit 132 The game animals 44 Bearskin trousers – qarliisat 134 Fish 52 Kamiks – kammit 134 Birds 54 Kayak suit – tuilik 138 Plants 57 Kayak jacket – tuiitsoq (the one without shoulders) 138 Summary 60 Kayak mittens – qajartuutit 138 Summary 138 Chapter 4 The annual cycle 61 Chapter 8 November 1967 62 Hunting and fishing 139 December 1967 62 Hunting methods 139 January 1968 63 Some hunting methods which have gone out of use 149 Keld Hansen: "Nuussuarmiut. Hunting families on the big headland" 5 eISBN 978 87 635 3071 2 :: © Museum Tusculanum Press, 2009 Series: Monographs on Greenland | Meddelelser om Grønland, vol. 345 (ISSN 0025-6676) Series: Man & Society, vol. 35 (ISSN 0106-1062 ) http://www.mtp.hum.ku.dk/details.asp?eln=202836 Museum Tusculanum Press :: [email protected] :: www.mtp.dk Hunting as a risk-filled occupation 151 Chapter 11 Hunting at Nuussuaq 1922-23 to 1932 152 Sports, games and pastimes 194 Summary 152 Toys 194 Fishing – aalisarneq 153 Outdoor games 197 The archaeological bone remains 155 Sports competition in Kullorsuaq 24th-26th April 1968, The archaeological bone remains compared with recent temperature −15-−20º C 197 hunting practice 156 Dance in the village hall 1967-68 202 Distribution of the catch 156 Some sayings and phrases 204 Chapter 9 Chapter 12 Women’s work and equipment 159 Conclusion 205 Processing seal skins 159 Dyeing of depilated seal skins 161 Bibliography 207 Skins of other animal species 163 Cutting out of skins – ilisserineq 163 Appendix 1 Women’s equipment 163 Some examples of hunting trips 210 Kammiut 164 Sewing technique 164 Appendix 2 Patterns for the garments 165 Examples of polar bear hunts 221 Skin embroidery – avittat 165 Beads – sapanngaqqat 168 Appendix 3 Twoexamplesofwalrusattacksonkayak Chapter 10 hunters 224 Houses 174 Heating the houses 177 Appendix 4 Changes in houses 180 Women as hunters 225 Location of the houses in Nuussuaq 182 Tents 183 Appendix 5 The household 185 List of Greenlandic words in the text 227 Summary 190 The church 190 The book’s plates show the tools and equipment that were The school 191 used in 1967-68 in Nuussuaq. The tools were measured and drawn on the spot and subsequently commented upon, corrected and approved by the respective users. Keld Hansen: "Nuussuarmiut. Hunting families on the big headland" eISBN 978 87 635 3071 2 :: © Museum Tusculanum Press, 2009 Series: Monographs on Greenland | Meddelelser om Grønland, vol. 345 (ISSN 0025-6676) Series: Man & Society, vol. 35 (ISSN 0106-1062 ) http://www.mtp.hum.ku.dk/details.asp?eln=202836 Museum Tusculanum Press :: [email protected] :: www.mtp.dk Foreword This description of a small hunting community, the prompted many families to give up. That they would settlement of Nuussuaq, Kraulshavn, in the northern have accepted the offer from the authorities to be re- Upernavik district on the west coast of Greenland, is located south to the promised new and better housing based on fieldwork carried out in the period from and with a change in occupation as a consequence. 1966 to 1968. The main emphasis is on events during But the collected evidence demonstrates a surprising the course of the year from November 1967 to October stability. The hunting families have retained a great 1968. During such a ‘case study’, when so many things part of their traditional way of life and the majority of naturally happen in the course of the year, subjective their traditional tools. This is not due to conservatism choices are necessarily made with regard to what to but because experience has shown them that these emphasise and pass on. The Norwegian anthropolo- are the most efficient under the given conditions. As gist Frederik Barth said that “what we empirically obs- will be apparent later, new tools and a number of oth- erve is not ‘customs’ but ‘cases’ of human behaviour, it er items have been introduced in recent times, but seems to me that we cannot escape the concept of these have only been adopted when they proved to be choice in our analyses” (Barth 1966:1). more efficient than those already in use. In a large Daily life in the settlement itself and out on the number of cases they are used in conjunction with the hunting grounds is followed day by day for the year in traditional tools. question. However, when processing the information The fact that, on the periphery of modern Green- collected in the study year, two questions quickly pre- landic society, there are still families who continue to sented themselves: How did these hunting families give the highest priority to this way of life is promising manage in the past and what has happened to them in as it shows that the traditional occupation of hunter is the subsequent 30 years up to the present day? A good not about to die out. impression of their life in the settlements back into the 18th and 19th centuries can be provided by the archaeological evidence. The time from the establish- Acknowledgements ment of the settlement of Nuussuaq in 1923 until the study period and the subsequent period can, on the Now, 40 years after my fieldwork, I owe a great debt of other hand, be traced through church registers, the gratitude to a large number of people and institutions official population and hunting statistics, written and who have made it possible for me to complete this pub- oral information and photographs.