The Land of the People Without any People
In the Greenlandic language the name for Greenland is Kalaallit Nunaat. “The Land of the People”. But one day around 2000 years ago, Greenland was suddenly without any people and not a single human being could be found anywhere in the country. For a period of nearly 2500 years, shifting waves of nomadic peoples, living off what the land and the sea could offer, had called this country home, but now the largest island in the world no longer had a human population.
Imagine a landmass greater than the combined areas of France, Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium, just left to plants and animals, and you will get an inkling of how huge the landmass was that greeted the immigrating hunters from communities around the Bering Strait, when they arrived around 700 A.D. coming across at Smith Sound close to the present day town of Qaanaaq, in the most northern part of Greenland.
An Inuit Culture Smelling of Forests
Today we know, that the group, now referred to as the Dorset Culture, were the ones who came here, to a land void of humans, 1300 years ago. It seems they may already have been here during an earlier wave of immigration right before the country was depopulated, but in spite of the amount of time they spent in Greenland, the Dorset Culture is shrouded in mystery. Why did they not use kayaks like the groups who came before and after them? How come they did not have dogs and sleds and why are their tools, patterns of habitation and technology so different from other Inuit immigrant groups?
The probable answers have been widely discussed, but the prevailing theory explains them as a group of people arriving here from the Northeast American woodland areas, and that they differ from other groups by “smelling somewhat of forests” as one Danish archeologist put it.
Their origins in this climatic temperate region may explain why they disappeared at the same
time with the onslaught of the Little Ice Age in 1300 A.D. which turned Greenland into a
colder and more inhospitable region.
The Thule People Brought the Sled Dog with Them to Greenland
The harsher climate and the disappointing summers did not seem to bother the Thule people, a group of highly specialized and adaptable nomads, who quickly spread out all along the ice free coast line around 1300 A.D. As with other immigrant groups of Inuit peoples, the Thule people had also gone east, this time crossing the Bering Strait into Greenland. According to legends and folklore they had heard about iron and its wonderful properties as a source for tools, and that the iron could be found in meteorites in Northern Greenland. The Thule people were whale and seal hunters and were most likely the first people to bring dogs into Greenland thus inaugurating the cultural history of dog sledding in Greenland.
They would go on long journeys by dog sled in the areas they were hunting and thus they founded the cultural tradition which in later times has been popularized during the era of expeditions surrounding those by Knud Rasmussen’s travels in Northern Greenland and Arctic Canada, and which today has become an important part of the local culture as well as
in adventure tourism.
Cultural Traditions Live on in the Present
The people of the Thule Culture were using paths and hunting grounds already familiar to other earlier immigrant groups in Greenland, dating back to the very first immigrants 4.500 years ago.
Around the area of Sermermiut by Ilulissat, archeological digs have provided unique insights into the different groups use of the same area for hunting and fishing and from the traces that they have left behind, we know that they travelled along the shores of Greenland as early as 2500 B.C.
Although we have no written accounts from these earlier eras, an abundance of tools and settlements found throughout Greenland has confirmed that the Inuit cultures of the past were characterized by the same adaptability to the prevailing climate and geography as the modern day Greenlandic culture.
We are aware of, that the very first immigrants used vessels resembling kayaks in Greenland and that their clothing were the first glimmerings of a clothing tradition leading right up to today with our colorful national costumes and the winter clothing used by the hunters in Northern Greenland.
Today the kayak is a national symbol in Greenland and the vessel plays an important role as a living part of our cultural history, as well as, in the type of transportation available to adventure expeditions, wanting to explore along our rugged shoreline. Our national costumes are treasured and highly valued and used when we celebrate or commemorate
certain events such as national holy days, special family events or when the Queen comes to visit.
Dwellings of the Inuit Culture – For All Purposes
The Inuits lived in and from their natural surroundings, and this required dwellings that were
easy to build and which were located close to the places where the hunting was good. Right
up until the mid-1950s there were still regions in Greenland where the Inuits lived in rather
primitive, but highly adequate, dwellings.
This is particularly true of the winter dwelling, which was a turf hut, as well as the more
mobile tent made from animal hide, and the igloo, a temporary shelter made of snow.
The Greenlandic Igloo
During the winter it was sometimes necessary to build a temporary home if the hunters were away for longer periods or were caught out by bad weather. In this case the igloo was ideal. The word ‘igloo’ actually means ‘house’, and although it is a somewhat primitive house, the igloo can provide shelter and temperatures adequate for survival.
An igloo is constructed of large blocks of snow that are cut out in different sizes with a special snow knife. The blocks are placed on top of each other in a spiral and form an effective dome-shaped shelter. The igloo was only used in the very north of Greenland, where the sea was frozen in winter.
Greenlandic Turf Huts
Turf huts – or earth huts – are still seen in many towns in Greenland, but mostly in connection with exhibitions at local museums. The turf hut was the most common type of dwelling, as they were so robust and well insulated that they could be lived in more or less permanently.
A typical turf hut was low, square and its walls were made of large stones and turf and the roof was supported by wooden beams made of driftwood. The dwellings were always situated close to the sea so that the hunters could easily get to their kayaks when hunting for seals.
The Inuit’s View of Life
Belief in spirits and myths has permeated the Inuit mindset and has helped sustain life and social order.
This was the answer to the question of life and its many mysteries given by an old man from East Greenland who lived many years ago. An outlook on life that is characteristic of a society and a people who on the one hand had a strong belief in fate and its darker sides and on the other were quick to laugh and found it easy to strike up good friendships.
The Inuit societies had no class structure and there were limited property rights. Everything except personal hunting gear and clothes were regarded as shared property.
Status According to Ability
Some people had a higher status than others, however. The shaman occupied a central role in society. It was he who went on a transmigration of souls to, for example, Asiaq, the Mistress of the Wind, or the Mother of the Sea.
Higher status was also endowed on the fertile woman, the skilled seamstress, the successful hunter and the able fisherman, etc. However, you could not afford to rest on your laurels, but had to constantly demonstrate your ability as long as you did this you also carried greater weight in decisions within the community and thus had greater power.
Great Sense of Responsibility
The older generation would typically take over the role of bringing up the children and transferring their knowledge to the children. The feeling of solidarity and sense of responsibility was very strong.
If hunger and natural disasters hit the settlement, it was expected that the elderly would ‘go walkabout’ and surrender their lives to the elements. It was important not to be a burden on the rest of the community.
Respect for Souls and the Dead
The many commandments and prohibitions that governed life in the settlements were often startling and surprising. There was an unquestioning belief in myths and legends, with their powerful and gruesome creatures, which were regarded as absolutely true and indeed necessary for the maintenance of life and community at the settlement.
Souls could live in people, objects and animals. The body was regarded as a temporary home, and the name given to a newborn child was not unimportant, as it was regarded as the soul name of one of the dead. This respect for deceased ancestors still exists today, as demonstrated by the fact that many Greenlanders are given names that belonged to deceased members of the family.
