Greenland myths and legends

The northern lights. Mother of the sea. Qivittoq. Myths played a vital part in the daily life of Greenlanders.

The northern lights. Mother of the sea. The wandering spirit known as qivittoq.

These wonders, myths and characters played a vital part in the daily life of the ancient Greenlanders, who learnt moral code through oral traditions. Today, they are part of the social fabric that ties our people together and you are invited to see their influence in city art today.

NORTHERN LIGHTS, MYTHS AND MORALS

Shimmering over the winter heavens, the northern lights create wonder everywhere it is seen. The people of Greenland in ancient times imagined that the northern lights were dancing each time their ancestors played football with a walrus skull in the sky.

Life and death was closely connected, and death just a transformation from one world to another.

Myths played a vital part in the daily life of the ancient Greenlanders.

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Package Tours

Greenland Tours

Northern Lights & Icebergs

Ilulissat incl. 1 day dog sledding & Northern Lights tour.

FROM €735

Tasermiut Expeditions

Greenland Northern Lights

Admire northern lights from our glacier camp, a place where astronomers come back every year to watch and study them.

FROM €1,995

Icelandic Mountain guides

Dog Sledding and Northern Lights

An 8 day tour travelling on dog sledges that takes you to the magnificent landscape of East Greenland.

FROM €2,600

Icelandic Mountain guides

Icelandic Mountain guides: Ice, Dogs & Northern lights

Dog-sledding discovery tour with breathtaking experiences.

FROM €1,900

Northern lights over mountains. By Mads Pihl

Crafts - Tupilaks made by Otto kilime from Sisimiut in Greenland. By Mads Pihl

'Stone and Man' stone carvings in Qaqortoq. By Camilla Hey

SHE’S ENVISIONED IN ART

Famous artworks of the Mother of the Sea can be found in different towns of Greenland, for example in Qaqortoq and in Nuuk. Many imagined the Nuuk street artwork by Icelandic artist known as Mottan featured Sassuma Arnaa (otherwise known in Canadian Inuit myths as Sedna), the young girl whose father threw overboard one day.

He chopped off her fingers, and then hands, when she attempted to return to the boat. The fingers became the smaller marine life such as seals and fish; the remains of the hands turned into polar bears and whales, and she sank to become the Mother of the Sea. In Baldursson’s art her hands are whole and she uses it to tame a polar bear.

MODERN DAY LEGENDS

If there is one thing that Greenlanders love, it’s a spooky story. Many of today’s stories involve the infamous qivittoq, a wandering spirit who chooses to or is exiled into the nature. It was believed that the exiled people turned into spirits, as they could not survive Greenland’s harsh climate. Don’t be surprised that even in modern day Greenland, a local’s adventure stories into the wild nature will involve sighting a qivittoq. The legends live on!

You can find out more about Greenlandic culture and art in museums, or by joining city or northern light tours in Greenland.

By Tanny Por

As Content Manager, Tanny curates and tells stories about living, travelling (and sometimes surviving!) in Greenland. She also supports and develops Visit Greenland's strategic initiatives across its different media and social platforms.

https://thefourthcontinent.com/