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.
Nature Relegion
The Greenlanders lived life according to the law of the gods and nature.
The shaman was a very powerful figure in society, as he interpreted the will of the higher powers. The oral histories passed down from one generation to another often featured a shaman, and moral codes were taught in this manner.
The Mother of the Sea
Take for example the shaman’s relationship with the iconic Mother of the Sea. Mythology says that when an Inuit breaks a taboo in society, the Mother of the Sea’s hair gets filthy and entangles the animals, preventing the hunters from catching any food.
The shaman must then travel over the horizon to the bottom of the ocean to clean her hair and to release the animals. He must talk with her to find out which taboos were broken and communicate these lessons back to society.
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.
Kaassassuk – The Orphan
All Greenlandic children know the myth about the orphan Kaassassuk, who has to endure great suffering.
The Legend of the Orphan who Acquired Great Strength
Once upon a time there was a man and his wife who lost their children immediately after every birth. Finally, one day they had a little boy who survived, and they called him Kaassassuk.
They loved their little boy very much and were happy that the same fate had not befallen him as all their previous children.
Ironically, however, both parents suddenly became ill in the midst of all this happiness and they died shortly afterwards in quick succession.
Ostracized by Society
It wasn’t long before the orphan began creating problems at the settlement. He was therefore pushed out of the community and slept amongst the dogs or in a cramped entrance to a house.
On the rare occasions in which he was invited inside, people gave him tough walrus hide to eat. Kaassassuk was often lifted up by his nostrils as punishment for attempting to dry his boots inside or keeping himself warm at the ventilation outlet in the ceiling. Over time he therefore developed very large nostrils.
Strength from Helpful Spirits
Life continued in this vein for a long time until one day little Kaassassuk with the large nostrils began to go on long hikes. On one of his hikes he met a giant who was flensing his catch. At this point in time the orphan already had spirits that could help him increase the size of the hunk of meat that the giant threw to him.
He ate until he couldn’t eat any more and hid the rest in a dolmen. When during a later hike he tried to locate it again he couldn’t find it. The giant came when he heard Kaassassuk crying and from that day on they became friends.
He kept his enormous strength secret until one day three polar bears were spotted on the ice. The giant gave Kaassassuk the strength to move the large stone and the giant soon realised that they had equal strength. Kaassassuk returned to the settlement to a life he was well used to: being castigated and living on the fringe of society.
Read more in The Legend Literature
You can read about what then happened to Kaassassuk in the literature on Greenlandic myths and legends – or perhaps have the tale told to you next time you come to Greenland. This extract of the legend of Kaassassuk was recounted by Arnarulunnguaq, whom Knud Rasmussen met during one of his sled journeys amongst the Inuits in Canada and Greenland.
The Kaassassuk Sculpture in Nuuk
In front of the Greenland Self Rule buildings in Nuuk a large sculpture of Kaassassuk can be found, and it has become a tradition for newly graduated college students to dance around the sculpture.
The figure has become symbolic of the fact that even if you are alone, you can achieve your goals but at the same time you should take care that your abilities do not go to your head.
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.
Author
