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V.—TRADITIONAL TALES, SCIENCE, AND ARTS.

In the Introduction to the Tales and Traditions which precedes them we shall endeavour to explain the probable origin and the significance of the tales, as representing the science, poetry, and religious doctrines of the nation. While these three elements are generally p. 65 more or less associated, there are many tales in which one of them may be said to predominate, so that these might with propriety be called either religious, historical, or merely amusing tales. Anything traditional, apart from the tales, which could in any sense be called science, is only to be found in the angakok-wisdom, in addition to some trifling knowledge of medicine, of astronomy, and of dividing the year into seasons in conformity with the wanderings of animals, the position of the sun, moon, and stars, and other scanty observations derived from experience. Art, on the contrary, we may properly consider to be separately represented by songs, already mentioned as an entertainment at the festive meetings. In being recited or intoned, it will be remembered that they combined mimicry and music with poetry. To be properly appreciated, even the tales must be heard in Greenland, related by a native raconteur in his own language; but the songs are still more unfit for rendering by writing or translation, the words themselves being rather trifling, the sentences abrupt, and the author evidently presuming the audience to be familiar with the whole subject or gist of the song, and able to guess the greater part of it. Every strophe makes such an abrupt sentence, or consists of single and even abbreviated words, followed by some interjectional words only used for songs and without any particular signification. The gesticulations and declamation, accompanied by the drum, are said to have been very expressive, while the melody itself was rather monotonous and dull. The old mode of singing is now nearly extinct in the Danish districts of Greenland. The author, however, succeeded in collecting several songs which were still remembered, of which the following may serve as samples. The first is given for this purpose in the original language, with the interjectional burden complete as it is said by the natives to have been sung.

p. 66

A NITH-SONG OF KUKOOK,

who was a bad hunter, but anxious to acquire the friendship of the Europeans; sung about sixty years ago at a large meeting in the southernmost part of Greenland.

Translation.

The wicked little Kukook imakayah hayah, imakayah hah—hayah uses to say, . . . . I am going to leave the country . . . . in a large ship . . . . for that sweet little woman. . . . . I'll try to get some beads . . . . of those that look like boiled ones. . . . . Then when I've gone abroad, . . . . I shall return again. . . . . My nasty little relatives . . . . I'll call them all to me . . . . and give them a good thrashing . . . . with a big rope's end. . . . . Then I'll go to marry, . . . . taking two at once. . . . . That darling little creature . . . . shall only wear clothes of the spotted seal-skins, . . . . and the other little pet . . . . shall have clothes of the young hooded seals. . . . .

MUTUAL NITH-SONG BETWEEN SAVDLADT AND PULANGITSISSOK.

(From East Greenland.)

Savdlat. The south, the south, oh the south yonder. . . When settling on the midland coast I met Pulangitsissok, . . . who had grown stout and fat with eating halibut. . . . Those people from the midland coast they don't know speaking, . . . because they are ashamed of their speech. . . . Stupid p. 68 they are besides. . . . Their speech is not alike, . . . some speak like the northern, some like the southern; . . . therefore we can't make out their talk.

Pulangitsissok. There was a time when Savdlat wished that I should be a good kayaker, . . . that I could take a good load on my kayak. . . . Many years ago some day he wanted me to put a heavy load on my kayak. . . . (This happened at the time) when Savdlat had his kayak tied to mine (for fear of being capsized). . . . Then he could carry plenty upon his kayak. . . . When I had to tow thee, and thou didst cry most pitiful, . . . and thou didst grow afeared, . . . and nearly wast upset, . . . and hadst to keep thy hold by help of my kayak strings.

A SONG FRON SANERUT.

(South Greenland.)

I behold yon land of Nunarsuit; . . the mountaintops on its south side are wrapped in clouds; . . it slopes towards the south, . . towards Usuarsuk. . . What couldst thou expect in such a miserable place? . . . All its surroundings being shrouded with ice, . . not before late in the spring can people from there go travelling.

A SONG FROM ARSUT.

(South Greenland.)

The great Koonak mount yonder south, . . I do behold it; . . the great Koonak mount yonder south, . . I regard it; . . the shining brightness (clouds ?) yonder south, . . I contemplate. . . Outside of p. 69 Koonak . . it is expanding, . . the same that Koonak towards the seaside . . doth quite encompass. . . Behold how in the south . . they (clouds ?) shift and change. . . Behold how yonder south . . they tend to beautify each other, . . while from the seaside it (the mountain-top) is enveloped . . in sheets still changing, . . from the seaside enveloped, . . to mutual embellishment.

ANOTHER SONG FROM ARSUT.

Towards the south I ever turn my gaze, . . for at the point of Isua land, . . for near the strand of Isua, . . yonder from the south he will appear; . . that way he certainly will come. . . Korsarak is sure to clear the point, . . no doubt Korsarak will be equal to it (in his kayak). . . But if still he did not happen to come, . . not until the season of the halibuts, . . not before the halibut-fishing begins, . . not until the men are hauling up the halibuts.

These latter songs, of course, like the first, have different interjectional burdens added to the strophes, here only separated by dotted lines.

Lastly, it must be noticed that though the present Greenlanders appear to have a pretty fair talent for drawing and writing, scarcely any traces of the arts of drawing and sculpture belonging to earlier times remain, with the exception of a few small images cut out in wood or bone, which have probably served children as playthings. The western Eskimo, on the other hand, displayed great skill in carving bone ornaments principally on their weapons and tools.

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