8/1/25: Nuuk's Greenland National Museum and Archives

 

As I mentioned in the previous post, Steven and I spent a good chunk of August 1st at Nuuk's captivating Greenland National Museum and Archives, which was based in a series of former warehouses from 1936. I hope you will agree that my devoting an entire post to the museum is worth it.

A sign said that the sculpture out front was designed by Naja Rosing-Asvid and was inspired by "the legend of human origin," but I don't know what that meant.

I found it quite unusual that the museum didn't present its information on Greenland's history, starting from the oldest exhibits and the first Inuit. When I grew up in Canada during the 1960s and 1970s, it was acceptable to use the word 'Eskimo' when speaking about our northern neighbors. For many years, however, it has been 'right' or proper to use the word 'Inuit' as Indigenous people in both Canada and Greenland are sensitive about being called an Eskimo and find it insulting. I didn't know until very recently that the singular form of Inuit is Inuk.

The museum began with the Colonial Period, focusing on lifestyle and class distinctions. With the emergence of Christianity in 1721 in Greenland and the colonization of its west coast fifty years later, significant ruptures and lifestyle changes occurred in how the Inuit were treated. They were settled in 'colonies' and trading stations. Christianity, led by the Danish-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede, gradually marginalized the Inuit's perceptions of life and their spiritual beliefs.

The country remained a colony and was kept isolated from the surrounding world until 1953. During the long colonizing period, social and ethnic distinctions were emphasized. The Danish colonizers, described by the museum as a "master race," led and administered as an upper class. At the same time, the Greenlanders were kept subservient in the sealing industry, which guaranteed raw materials for the export monopoly trade. Most 'mixed race' residents became members of the middle class, working in missionary activities or for the KGH, the Royal Greenland Trading Department. It was a Danish state enterprise charged with administering the realm's settlements and trade in Greenland. Though the introduction of new technology required knowledge from the world beyond Greenland, its people could only train as midwives, catechists, carpenters, and similar positions. 

Clothing as markers: Traditional clothes worn by some Inuit signaled their spiritual and religious life. With the changes in society brought on by colonization, there were adaptations in how new clothes were made for those who could afford them. New contacts with foreigners resulted in the opportunity to buy cotton cloth, sewing tools, and even purchase ready-made clothing. However, the latter wasn't always suitable for the climate in Greenland. 

I learned that most Greenlandic towns now have several sewing establishments, inspired by both traditional and modern patterns, adapted to the cold climate. Not all Inuit can afford clothing made from sealskins, however.

External influences changed the original function of skin belts and bags. New demands and needs led to the creation of new objects, which were still made with old techniques and materials. 

Food: Before European food was introduced to the Greenlanders, the Inuit were self-sufficient. Plants, berries, and seaweed were included in their vitamin-rich diet, which was adapted to the cold climate and their hunting life. The people began to enjoy coffee, tea, barley, and sugar starting with the Europeans' arrival in the 18th century. Consumer goods were not purchased until the 19th century in connection with the trading of fox and seal skins. 

As Greenland's population increased, quotas were established for hunted animals like reindeer, salmon, and particular whale species. Though frozen, salted, preserved, and smoked meat and fish are still eaten in most Greenlandic homes, whale skin or mattak, a delicacy for many, has become rare. Sadly, cheap and nutrient-poor fast food has become part of the Inuit's daily diet, leading to a decline in health.

During the 14th-century Thule Inuit culture, dolls were used as amulets and toys, and typically featured a flat face, short legs, and no arms. It was only as outside influences grew that they became more colorful. Some were given traditional clothing, while others had clothes painted on. 

Colonial trade and economy: The basis for Greenland being a colony from 1721 onward was the trading of seals and their by-products, as seal hunting was the primary occupation for most of the people. Once Greenland's trade monopoly was handed over from private companies to KGH, they established a price system where all sale and purchase prices were the same throughout the country. The prices and availability of European goods were managed to facilitate the Greenlandic trade with targeted export markets in Europe.

Until the 1830s, trade goods were divided into four categories that also determined who could buy them, such as by the Inuit or the Danes in Greenland. Later, most trade goods became available to everyone. 

The KGH also administered various kinds of social relief, such as widow pensions and child support. Later, reward programs for thrifty hunters became part of the colonial economy. These measures helped to counteract poverty and encouraged people to secure a stable economy by hunting and trading.

Kayaks were used for transport, hunting, and fishing. In the ice-free areas of the southwest coast, they were designed for use in open water year-round. In West Greenland, kayaks and umiaks, the boats used by women and children, were brought inland to the summer settlements. In the north and the east, kayaks were brought on land during the winter. Kayaks were considered such an integral part of a man's life that sometimes hunters were buried with their kayak.

Domestic utensils: The Inuit way of life, characterized by their nomadic lifestyle and movement between summer and winter settlements, required that containers and inventory also be moved. Nature was used for storage, with meat and blubber placed in meat graves or caches near the hunting ground or settlement. Soapstone was used for lamps and pots as it quickly absorbed heat and slowly released it.

Containers for water, whale oil, and urine (which was gathered in buckets and used for tanning sealskins and washing hair!), along with dishes and tool boxes, were made from driftwood and assembled with rivets. Wooden buckets were made using a copper technique learned by the Inuit from Alaska. Some cups made from bamboo were found in Ammassalik, an island off eastern Greenland, having come in on drifting ocean currents. Sealskin bags were used to collect and store berries, seaweed, mussels, and moss, which were also used to collect embers for making fires or as toilet paper.

This 36-ft-long umiaq was left in North Greenland in the last part of the 1400s. Made from driftwood, it was lashed with sealskin straps and also covered with sealskin. Its flat keel is a feature that originated in Alaska. In the stern was a piece of oak which must have come from the Norsemen in South Greenland. The small hole in the front seat indicates there was room for a mast. The many holes on the edge of one of the seats showed it was initially a sleigh runner. 

During a journey, the umiaks, used all over Greenland, were paddled by women and could hold the entire settlement, including skins, tents, dogs, sleighs, lamps, and children. Men followed in their kayaks.

The sealskin bench was so soft!

The 'must-see' item in the museum was the Qilakitsoq mummies' grave chamber, which showed the remains of people buried around 1475 and preserved for 550 years, walled up in a dry cave. Six women and two boys spanning three generations with close familial ties were discovered. Though the cause(s) of death haven't been established, they likely died at the same time in the fall, shortly before they arrived outside their winter settlement at Qilakitsoq in West Greenland.

Wrapped in furs and fully dressed, they were carefully prepared for a long journey to the land of the dead according to old rules that were handed down. They were clothed in extra furs and costumes for a safe trip to their afterlife. The five oldest women had almost the same facial tattoos, indicating both kinship and social status. As the youngest at just 20, had no tattoos, she was likely not married or a mother. Tattoos were common among Inuit women for thousands of years, until the beginning of European missionary work. That was presumably because they associated tattoos with pagan faiths and therefore declared them sinful. On and among the bodies were amulets, which the Inuit used to get strength and for protection against evil forces. 

It was extraordinary to see how well preserved the mummies were, and especially how distinct some of their features were!

Chin tattoos were usually the first ones a young Inuit woman would receive, typically as a sign of her maturity, depending on the area, with the average age being between 16 and 20. Specific designs signaled to a community that when a woman married, she now belonged to this new family. Many of these designs apparently resembled the patterns on the Qilakitsoq mummies, but I wasn't able to detect any tattoos. 

These types of finger tattoos correlate directly to Sassuma arnaa, or Mother of the Sea, who, according to myth, had her fingers cut off by her father. To keep her happy and maintain prosperity in hunts, women tattooed themselves in her honor. I read that Greenlandic women of today have finger tattoos because they relate to her tale.

Spirit and soul: The drum song was used for everything from entertainment to resolving serious interpersonal arguments between individuals or groups. In the song duel, songs are composed and delivered in turns until one of the parties surrenders by running out of arguments. The decision may also be made based on scorn or laughter from the audience. The drum is now considered to be a potent symbol of conflict resolution by the Inuit. Their songs, melodies, dances, and texts are often accompanied by drums and drum rhythms. 

Photo courtesy of TripAdvisor:

Inua: The Inuit believed that everything in nature was animated by an inua, meaning its owner. Things, people, and animals therefore have an inherent owner or a soul, in other words. The inua is the "light, the power, the aura, and the soul of nature."

Amulets: The Inuit used amulets to obtain strength and protection from evil forces and spirits. They provided safety. Nearly everything could be used as an amulet - it just had to be effective in a particular situation. Amulets were well looked after and hidden because they were secret and very personal.

Grave goods: When the Inuit arrived in Greenland, they buried their dead at sea. That changed around 1400 when they started to bury their loved ones on land in caverns or stone-built graves. The dead were appropriately dressed with supplies, such as tools from daily life, and adornments for the afterlife, either in a side chamber or the main chamber. A bucket, a scoop, and needlework supplies were all excavated from a woman's grave in Kangerlussuaq in East Greenland. 

In an adjoining building that was also part of the museum, there were exhibits on transportation methods used by the Inuit. We weren't overly interested in the extensive collection of boats and other items. Still, we learned that wooden boats began to replace sealskin ones before 1920, followed by canvas boats, and finally, motorboats became commonplace around 1940. 

Photo courtesy of TripAdvisor:

The museum's oldest kayak was from the Nuuk area, where Dutch whalers brought it to the Netherlands in the 17th century. As people became more settled in the 1600s, regional types of kayaks that adapted to local customs came into existence. While we might think of kayaks for sport or transport, the Inuit built kayaks solely for hunting.

This umiak was in use until 1966 in Aassiaat, where Steven and I stayed for several days after leaving the ferry.

 The dog sleds dated to 1902. 

The museum's next exhibit returned to an earlier period in the country's history, the Norse Greenlanders who arrived in 1261 under the aegis of the Norwegian king. The purpose of the Western Settlement and the Eastern Settlement was to ensure that the traffic of the merchant ships between Norway and Greenland was maintained, at least for a period of time. However, as connections with the surrounding world dwindled during the late Middle Ages, both settlements were depopulated by the late 1400s. With population numbers likely never rising above 2,000 to 2,500, an economy based on animal husbandry, sealing, reindeer hunting, and hunting journeys to the north required the cooperation of many workers. Even a small migration likely had fatal consequences. 

However, the reasons why the Norse settlements disappeared have been discussed since Hans Egede colonized Greenland in 1721. As I wrote in the first post on Greenland, two conditions are now thought to be the cause of the settlements' demise: changing financial and political conditions in Scandinavia, which meant a declining interest in luxury goods obtained from Greenland, and climate change set in during the 1300s, making farming considerably more difficult.

Unfortunately, our eyes began to glaze over by the time we reached the museum's last building and briefly looked at the exhibits about the Paleo-Inuit culture. There was a reproduction of a tent exterior, along with hunting equipment, including stone tools and reconstructed weapons. We would have liked to explore these more if they had been at the beginning, not the end, of the museum. Another reason we also couldn't explore the Recent Times exhibits in the museum was that we had many more things to explore in Nuuk that afternoon before our ferry left. 

I'd like to commend the staff at the Greenland National Museum and Archives for their honest and unvarnished treatment of how their country's Inuit were treated by the Danish colonizers. I wonder if we were to revisit Copenhagen, we'd find a similarly open discussion at their national history museum.

Photo courtesy of TripAdvisor:

Next post: Meandering by ferry up more of Greenland's West coast.

Posted on October 9th, 2025, on another magical fall day in Denver, where the sun shone, there was no deluge, and the temperature was warm! Wherever you are, make the best of it, and take care of yourself and your loved ones.