Nuussuarmiut : hunting families on the big headland : demography, subsistence and material culture in Nuussuaq, Upernavik, Northwest Greenland / Keld Hansen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hansen, Keld, 1938- author.

Series:

Meddelelser om Grønland. Man & society ; 35.

Meddelelser om Grønland. Man & Society, 0106-1062 ; 35

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hunting--Greenland--Upernavik.

Hunting.

Upernavik (Greenland)--Social life and customs.

Upernavik (Greenland).

Upernavik (Greenland)--Population.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (239 pages)

Place of Publication:

Copenhagen, Denmark : Museum Tusculanum Press, 2008.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

text file

Summary:

This book describes life in a small hunting community in Northwest Greenland. It is based on fieldwork carried out by the author from 1966 to 1968 and documents in detail the traditional material culture, ways of hunting and fishing, daily life and festive occasions of an Inuit society not yet influenced by European culture. The historical background of the settlement from the establishment in 1923 is outlined, and some indication of what has happened to the small society after the study period is given. Daily life in the settlement itself and out on the hunting grounds is followed day by day through a whole year and all processes are documented in the many original photographs. The book demonstrates a surprising stability in the life of the hunting families, not due to conservatism but because experience has shown them that this way of living is the most suited to the given conditions. At the time of the field study, new tools and a number of other items had been introduced, but these were only adopted when more efficient than those already in use. In a large number of cases they are used in conjunction with the traditional tools. was from 1964-76 associated with the Ethnographic Collection at the national Museum in Copenhagen, interrupted by fieldwork in Upernavik from 1966-69. He served as a curator at the Greenland National Museum from 1984-88, and as a curator at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde from 1988-2003. He is the editor of the journal Grønland since 1974.

Contents:

Foreword: acknowledgements

Introduction: fieldwork and methods

chapter 1. Upernavik district

chapter 2. Nuussuaq

chapter 3. The ecosystem

chapter 4. The annual cycle

chapter 5: Materials and tools

chapter 6. Transport

chapter 7. Clothing - atisat

chapter 8. Hunting and fishing

chapter 9. Women's work and equipment

chapter 10. Houses

chapter 11. Sports, games and pastimes

chapter 12. Conclusion

Bibliography

Appendix 1. Some examples of hunting trips

Appendix 2. Examples of polar bear hunts

Appendix 3. Two examples of walrus attacks on kayak hunters

Appendix 4. Women as hunters

Appendix 5. List of Greenlandic words in the text.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

"Published in collaboration with the National Museum of Denmark" .

Includes bibliographical references.

CC BY-NC-ND

Description based on print record, CIP data from the publisher, and e-publication e-publication, viewed on Feb 25, 2021.

ISBN:

9788763510844

8763510847

Publisher Number:

10.26530/OAPEN_342366