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ESKIMO LIFE
ESKIMO LIFE
BY THE SAME AUTHOR THE FIRST CROSSING OF GREENLAND With numerous Illustrations and a Map Cheap Edition. Crown 8vo. 7 s. 6 d. London: LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. and NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET A HUNTER, HIS WIFE, AND A YOUNG GIRL (WEST COAST OF GREENLAND)...
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ESKIMO LIFE
ESKIMO LIFE
BY FRIDTJOF NANSEN AUTHOR OF ‘THE FIRST CROSSING OF GREENLAND’ TRANSLATED BY WILLIAM ARCHER WITH ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16 th STREET 1893...
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TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE.
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE.
Before placing his ‘Eskimoliv’ in my hands for translation, Dr. Nansen very carefully revised the text, and made numerous excisions and additions. Thus the following pages will be found to differ in several particulars from the Norwegian original. I also requested and received Dr. Nansen’s permission to suppress one or two especially nauseous details of Eskimo manners, which seemed to have no particular ethnological significance. The excisions made on this score, however, probably do not amount
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AUTHOR’S PREFACE.
AUTHOR’S PREFACE.
For one whole winter we were cut off from the world and immured among the Greenlanders. I dwelt in their huts, took part in their hunting, and tried, as well as I could, to live their life and learn their language. But one winter, unfortunately, is far too short a time in which to attain a thorough knowledge of so peculiar a people, its civilisation, and its ways of thought—that would require years of patient study. Nevertheless, I have tried in this book to record the impressions made upon me b
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CHAPTER I
CHAPTER I
GREENLAND AND THE ESKIMO Greenland is in a peculiar manner associated with Norway and with the Norwegians. Our forefathers were the first Europeans who found their way to its shores. In their open vessels the old Vikings made their daring voyages, through tempests and drift-ice, to this distant land of snows, settled there throughout several centuries, and added it to the domain of the Norwegian crown. After the memory of its existence had practically passed away, it was again one of our country
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CHAPTER II
CHAPTER II
APPEARANCE AND DRESS As I now sit down to describe these people, at such a distance from them and from the scenery amid which we lived together, how vividly my first meeting with them, upon the east coast of Greenland, stands before my mind’s eye! I see two brown laughing countenances, surrounded by long, coal-black hair, beaming, even amid the ice, with bright contentment both with themselves and the world, and full of the friendliest good-humour, mingled with unaffected astonishment at the app
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CHAPTER III
CHAPTER III
THE ‘KAIAK’ AND ITS APPURTENANCES A superficial examination of certain details in the outward life of the Eskimo might easily lead to the erroneous conclusion that he stands at a low grade of civilisation. When we take the trouble to look a little more closely at him, we soon see him in another light. Many people nowadays are vastly impressed with the greatness of our age, with all the inventions and the progress of which we daily hear, and which appear indisputably to exalt the highly gifted wh
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CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER IV
THE ESKIMO AT SEA One often hears the Eskimo accused of cowardice. This is no doubt mainly due to the fact that his accusers have seen him only on land, or in fine weather at sea; and then he is too good-natured and easy-going to show any courage. It may be, too, they have not taken the trouble to place themselves in sympathy with his view of life; or else they may have called upon him to do things which he neither understood nor cared about. If by courage we understand the tigerish ferocity whi
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CHAPTER V
CHAPTER V
WINTER-HOUSES, TENTS, WOMAN-BOATS, AND EXCURSIONS. In winter the Greenlanders live in houses built of stones and turf. They rise only from four to six feet (one and a half to two metres) above the level of the ground, and the floor is sunk somewhat beneath it. The roof is flat or slightly arched. From outside, the whole structure generally looks like an insignificant mound of earth. There is only one room in these houses, and in it several families generally live together—men and women, young an
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CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VI
COOKERY AND DAINTIES One feature of the Greenlanders’ daily life, which to us seems strange enough, is that they have no fixed meal-times; they simply eat when they are hungry, if there is anything to be had. As already mentioned, the hunters often go the whole day without anything to eat. They have a remarkable power of doing without food, but to make up for this they can consume at a sitting astonishing quantities of meat, blubber, fish, &c. Their cookery is simple and easy to learn. M
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CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VII
CHARACTER AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS When I see all the wrangling and all the coarse abuse of opponents which form the staple of the different party newspapers at home, I now and then wonder what these worthy politicians would say if they knew anything of the Eskimo community, and whether they would not blush before the people whom that man of God, Hans Egede, characterises as follows:—‘These ignorant, cold-blooded creatures, living without order or discipline, with no knowledge of any sort of worshi
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CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER VIII
THE POSITION AND WORK OF WOMEN Many leading thinkers have remarked that the social position occupied by its women affords the best criterion of a people’s place in the scale of civilisation. I am not entirely convinced that this is always the case; but if it is, I think we have here another indication that the Eskimo must be allowed to have reached a pretty high level of development. For the Eskimo woman plays no insignificant part in the life of the community. It is true that, according to the
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CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER IX
LOVE AND MARRIAGE Love, that power which permeates all creation, is by no means unknown in Greenland; but the Greenland variety of it is a simple impulse of nature, lacking the many tender shoots and intricate blossoms of the hot-house plant which we know by this name. It does not make the lover sick of soul, but drives him to sea, to the chase; it strengthens his arm and sharpens his sight; for his one desire is to become an expert hunter, so that he can lead his Naia home as his bride, and sup
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CHAPTER X
CHAPTER X
MORALS The Eskimo has, of course, like every other race of men, his virtues and his foibles; possibly with this difference from the civilised European, that the former are more numerous in proportion to the latter. But, on the other hand, neither his virtues nor his foibles are found in such high development. Even the earliest accounts of Greenland, however, such as Egede’s, Cranz’s, Dalager’s, and others, show clearly enough the falsity of the frequent assertion that the Eskimo stands upon a lo
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CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XI
JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS—DRUM-DANCES AND ENTERTAINMENTS I have again and again sought to impress upon the reader that the Eskimos are a peaceable and kindly race. There is no more striking proof of this, I think, than their primitive judicial process. It is a mistake to suppose that the heathen Eskimos had no means of submitting any wrong they had suffered to the judgment of their fellows. Their judicial process, however, was of a quite peculiar nature, and consisted of a sort of duel. It was not fo
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CHAPTER XII
CHAPTER XII
MENTAL GIFTS—ART—MUSIC—POETRY—ESKIMO NARRATIVES The Greenlanders are endowed with good mental faculties and great inventiveness. Their implements and weapons, as we have seen, afford a striking proof of this. The missionaries, too, especially at first, found only too ample opportunity to judge of the keenness of their understanding, when they were so foolish as to let themselves be drawn into discussions with the heathen angekoks. When the missionaries were cornered, however, they had often argu
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CHAPTER XIII
CHAPTER XIII
RELIGIOUS IDEAS Religion and religious ideas are among the most remarkable products of the human spirit. With all their reason-defying assertions and astounding incongruities, they seem at first sight inexplicable. Time out of mind, therefore, men have found it difficult to conceive them as having arisen otherwise than through a supernatural or divine revelation, which, it would follow, must originally have been imparted to all men alike. But gradually, as people became acquainted with the more
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CHAPTER XIV
CHAPTER XIV
THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY All this superstition of which I have been speaking of course seems to us mere meaningless confusion, the extirpation of which must be an unmixed advantage. But if we place ourselves at their point of view, is it so much more meaningless for them than our Christian dogmas, which lead them into a world entirely foreign to them? In order to understand these dogmas, they had first to transpose them into their own key of thought, or, in other words, they had to make
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CHAPTER XV
CHAPTER XV
EUROPEANS AND NATIVES The relation of the Europeans to the Greenlanders is in many respects unique, for the Eskimos have been treated more tenderly than any other primitive people which has been subjected to our experiments in civilisation. The Danish Government certainly deserves the highest respect for its action in this matter, and it were much to be desired that other States would follow the example here given them. Care for the true welfare of the natives has been largely operative in their
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CHAPTER XVI
CHAPTER XVI
WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED? The purpose of our mission and of our work of civilisation in Greenland was, in the first place, to win honour for ourselves before God and man, and secure our own salvation in the other world; and, in the second place, to benefit the natives. But what have we done? Let us first look at the purely material side. It might seem at first sight as if we ought to have been able to bring to a people like this, living practically in the Stone Age, many things that would aid them
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CHAPTER XVII
CHAPTER XVII
CONCLUSION Let us cast a backward glance over the foregoing chapters, and mark what lesson they teach us. They show us a people, highly gifted by nature, which used to live happily, and, in spite of its faults, stood at a high moral standpoint. But our civilisation, our missions, and our commercial products have reduced its material conditions, its morality, and its social order to a state of such melancholy decline that the whole race seems doomed to destruction. And yet, as we have seen, it ha
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August, 1893 A Classified Catalogue OF WORKS IN GENERAL LITERATURE
August, 1893 A Classified Catalogue OF WORKS IN GENERAL LITERATURE
LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET...
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History, Politics, Polity, and Political Memoirs.
History, Politics, Polity, and Political Memoirs.
Abbott. — A History of Greece. By Evelyn Abbott , M.A., LL.D. Acland and Ransome. — A Handbook in Outline of the Political History of England to 1890. Chronologically Arranged. By the Right Hon. A. H. Dyke Acland , M.P., and Cyril Ransome , M.A. Crown 8vo., 6 s. ANNUAL REGISTER, (THE). A Review of Public Events at Home and Abroad, for the year 1892. 8vo., 18 s. Volumes of the Annual Register for the years 1863-1891 can still be had. 18 s. each. Armstrong. — Elizabeth Farnese ; The Termagant of S
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Biography, Personal Memoirs, &c.
Biography, Personal Memoirs, &c.
Armstrong. — The Life and Letters of Edmund J. Armstrong. Edited by G. F. Armstrong . Fcp. 8vo., 7 s. 6 d. Bacon. — Letters and Life, including all his Occasional Works. Edited by J. Spedding . 7 vols. 8vo., £4 4 s. Bagehot. — Biographical Studies. By Walter Bagehot . 8vo., 12 s. Boyd. — Twenty-five Years of St. Andrews, 1865-1890. By A. K. H. Boyd , D.D., Author of ‘Recreations of a Country Parson,’ &c. 2 vols. 8vo. Vol. I., 12 s. Vol. II. 15 s. Carlyle. — Thomas Carlyle : a History of
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Travel and Adventure.
Travel and Adventure.
Arnold. — Seas and Lands. By Sir Edwin Arnold , K.C.I.E., Author of ‘The Light of the World,’ &c. Reprinted letters from the ‘Daily Telegraph’. With 71 Illustrations. Crown 8vo., 7 s. 6 d. Baker. —Works by Sir Samuel White Baker . Eight Years in Ceylon. With 6 Illustrations. Crown 8vo., 3 s. 6 d. The Rifle and the Hound in Ceylon. 6 Illustrations. Crown 8vo., 3 s. 6 d. Bent. — The Ruined Cities of Mashonaland : being a Record of Excavation and Exploration in 1891. By J. Theodore Bent , F
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Sport and Pastime.
Sport and Pastime.
AMERICAN WHIST, Illustrated: containing the Laws and Principles of the Games, the Analysis of the New Play and American Leads, and a series of Hands in Diagram, and combining Whist Universal and American Whist. By G. W. P. Fcp. 8vo. 6 s. 6 d. Campbell-Walker. — The Correct Card : or, How to Play at Whist; a Whist Catechism. By Major A. Campbell-Walker , F.R.G.S. Fcp. 8vo., 2 s. 6 d. Chetwynd. — Racing Reminiscences and Experiences of the Turf. By Sir George Chetwynd , Bart. 2 vols. 8vo., 21 s. D
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THE BADMINTON LIBRARY.
THE BADMINTON LIBRARY.
Edited by the Duke of Beaufort , K.G., assisted by Alfred E. T. Watson . Athletics and Football. By Montague Shearman . With 51 Illustrations. Crown 8vo., 10 s. 6 d. Big Game Shooting. By C. Phillipps-Wolley , W. G. Littledale , Colonel Percy , Fred. Jackson , Major H. Percy , W. C. Oswell , Sir Henry Pottinger , Bart., and the Earl of Kilmorey . With Contributions by other Writers. With Illustrations by Charles Whymper and others. 2 vols. [ In the Press. Boating. By W. B. Woodgate . With an I
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Mental, Moral and Political Philosophy.
Mental, Moral and Political Philosophy.
LOGIC, RHETORIC, PSYCHOLOGY, ETC. Abbott. — The Elements of Logic. By T. K. Abbott , B.D. 12mo., 3 s. Aristotle. —Works by. The Politics : G. Bekker’s Greek Text of Books I., III., IV. (VII.), with an English Translation by W. E. Bolland , M.A.; and short Introductory Essays by A. Lang , M.A. Crown 8vo., 7 s. 6 d. The Politics : Introductory Essays. By Andrew Lang (from Bolland and Lang’s ‘Politics’). Crown 8vo., 2 s. 6 d. The Ethics : Greek Text, Illustrated with Essay and Notes. By Sir Alexand
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MANUALS OF CATHOLIC PHILOSOPHY. (Stonyhurst Series).
MANUALS OF CATHOLIC PHILOSOPHY. (Stonyhurst Series).
A Manual of Political Economy. By C. S. Devas , M.A. Crown 8vo., 6 s. 6 d. First Principles of Knowledge. By John Rickaby , S.J. Crown 8vo., 5 s. General Metaphysics. By John Rickaby , S.J. Crown 8vo., 5 s. Logic. By Richard F. Clarke . S.J. Crown 8vo., 5 s. Moral Philosophy (Ethics and Natural Law). By Joseph Rickaby , S.J. Crown 8vo., 5 s. Natural Theology. By Bernard Boedder , S.J. Crown 8vo., 6 s. 6 d. Psychology. By Michael Maher , S.J. Crown 8vo., 6 s. 6 d....
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History and Science of Language, &c.
History and Science of Language, &c.
Davidson. — Leading and Important English Words : Explained and Exemplified. By William L. Davidson , M.A. Fcp. 8vo., 3 s. 6 d. Farrar. — Language and Languages : By F. W. Farrar , D.D., F.R.S. Crown 8vo., 6 s. Graham. — English Synonyms , Classified and Explained: with Practical Exercises. By G. F. Graham . Fcp. 8vo., 6 s. Max Müller. —Works by F. Max Müller . Selected Essays on Language, Mythology, and Religion. 2 vols. Crown 8vo., 16 s. The Science of Language , Founded on Lectures delivered
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Political Economy and Economics.
Political Economy and Economics.
Ashley. — English Economic History and Theory. By W. J. Ashley , M.A. Crown 8vo., Part I., 5 s. Part II. 10 s. 6 d. Bagehot. —Works by Walter Bagehot . Crump. — An Investigation into the Causes of the Great Fall in Prices which took place coincidently with the Demonetisation of Silver by Germany. By Arthur Crump . 8vo., 6 s. Devas. — A Manual of Political Economy. By C. S. Devas , M.A. Crown 8vo., 6 s. 6 d. ( Manuals of Catholic Philosophy. ) Dowell. — A History of Taxation and Taxes in England
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Evolution, Anthropology, &c.
Evolution, Anthropology, &c.
Clodd. — The Story of Creation : a Plain Account of Evolution. By Edward Clodd . With 77 Illustrations. Crown 8vo., 3 s. 6 d. Huth. — The Marriage of Near Kin , considered with Respect to the Law of Nations, the Result of Experience, and the Teachings of Biology. By Alfred Henry Huth . Royal 8vo., 21 s. Lang. — Custom and Myth : Studies of Early Usage and Belief. By Andrew Lang , M.A. With 15 Illustrations. Crown 8vo., 3 s. 6 d. Lubbock. — The Origin of Civilisation and the Primitive Condition o
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Classical Literature.
Classical Literature.
Abbott. — Hellenica. A Collection of Essays on Greek Poetry, Philosophy, History, and Religion. Edited by Evelyn Abbott , M.A., LL.D. 8vo., 16 s. Æschylus. — Eumenides of Æschylus. With Metrical English Translation. By J. F. Davies . 8vo., 7 s. Aristophanes. — The Acharnians of Aristophanes , translated into English Verse. By R. Y. Tyrrell . Crown 8vo., 1 s. Becker. —Works by Professor Becker . Gallus : or, Roman Scenes in the Time of Augustus. Illustrated. Post 8vo., 7 s. 6 d. Charicles : or, I
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Poetry and the Drama.
Poetry and the Drama.
Allingham. —Works by William Allingham . Irish Songs and Poems. With Frontispiece of the Waterfall of Asaroe. Fcp. 8vo., 6 s. Laurence Bloomfield. With Portrait of the Author. Fcp. 8vo., 3 s. 6 d. Flower Pieces; Day and Night Songs; Ballads. With 2 Designs by D. G. Rossetti . Fcp. 8vo., 6 s. ; large paper edition, 12 s. Life and Phantasy : with Frontispiece by Sir J. E. Millais , Bart., and Design by Arthur Hughes . Fcp. 8vo., 6 s. ; large paper edition, 12 s. Thought and Word, and Ashby Manor :
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Works of Fiction, Humour, &c.
Works of Fiction, Humour, &c.
ATELIER (THE) DU LYS: or, an Art Student in the Reign of Terror. Crown 8vo., 2 s. 6 d. By the same Author. Mademoiselle Mori : a Tale of Modern Rome. Crown 8vo., 2 s. 6 d. That Child. Illustrated by Gordon Browne . Crown 8vo., 2 s. 6 d. Under a Cloud. Crown 8vo., 2 s. 6 d. The Fiddler of Lugau. With Illustrations by W. Ralston . Crown 8vo., 2 s. 6 d. A Child of the Revolution. With Illustrations by C. J. Staniland . Crown 8vo., 2 s. 6 d. Hester’s Venture : a Novel. Crown 8vo., 2 s. 6 d. I
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Popular Science (Natural History, &c.).
Popular Science (Natural History, &c.).
Butler. — Our Household Insects. By E. A. Butler . With numerous Illustrations. [ In the Press. Furneaux. — The Outdoor World ; or The Young Collector’s Handbook. By W. Furneaux , F.R.G.S. With numerous Illustrations including 6 Plates in Colours. Crown 8vo., 7 s. 6 d. Hartwig. —Works by Dr. George Hartwig . The Sea and its Living Wonders. With 12 Plates and 303 Woodcuts. 8vo., 7 s. net. The Tropical World. With 8 Plates and 172 Woodcuts. 8vo., 7 s. net. The Polar World. With 3 Maps, 8 Plates
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Works of Reference.
Works of Reference.
Maunder’s (Samuel) Treasuries. Biographical Treasury. With Supplement brought down to 1889. By Rev. James Wood . Fcp. 8vo., 6 s. Treasury of Natural History : or, Popular Dictionary of Zoology. With 900 Woodcuts. Fcp. 8vo., 6 s. Treasury of Geography , Physical, Historical, Descriptive, and Political. With 7 Maps and 16 Plates. Fcp. 8vo., 6 s. The Treasury of Bible Knowledge. By the Rev. J. Ayre , M.A. With 5 Maps, 15 Plates, and 300 Woodcuts. Fcp. 8vo., 6 s. Historical Treasury : Outlines of Un
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Children’s Books.
Children’s Books.
“ Brenda. ”—Works by “ Brenda ”. Old England’s Story in Little Words for Little Children. With 29 Illustrations. Imp. 16mo., 3 s. 6 d. Without a Reference. A Story. Cr. 8vo., 3 s. 6 d. Crake. —Works by Rev. A. D. Crake . Edwy the Fair ; or, The First Chronicle of Æscendune. Crown 8vo., 2 s. 6 d. Alfgar the Dane : or, the Second Chronicle of Æscendune. Cr. 8vo. 2 s. 6 d. The Rival Heirs : being the Third and Last Chronicle of Æscendune. Cr. 8vo., 2 s. 6 d. The House of Walderne. A Tale of the Clo
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The Silver Library.
The Silver Library.
Crown 8vo. 3 s. 6 d. each Volume . Baker’s (Sir S. W.) Eight Years in Ceylon. With 6 Illustrations. 3 s. 6 d. Baker’s (Sir S. W.) Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. With 6 Illustrations. 3 s. 6 d. Baring-Gould’s (Rev. S.) Curious Myths of the Middle Ages. 3 s. 6 d. Baring-Gould’s (Rev. S.) Origin and Development of Religious Belief. 2 vols. 3 s. 6 d. each. Brassey’s (Lady) A Voyage in the ‘Sunbeam’. With 66 Illustrations. 3 s. 6 d. Clodd’s (E.) Story of Creation : a Plain Account of Evolution. With 77 I
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Cookery and Domestic Management.
Cookery and Domestic Management.
Acton. — Modern Cookery. By Eliza Acton . With 150 Woodcuts. Fcp. 8vo., 4 s. 6 d. Bull. —Works by Thomas Bull , M.D. Hints to Mothers on the Management of their Health during the Period of Pregnancy. Fcp. 8vo., 1 s. 6 d. The Maternal Management of Children in Health and Disease. Fcp. 8vo., 1 s. 6 d. De Salis. —Works by Mrs. De Salis . Cakes and Confections à la Mode. Fcp. 8vo., 1 s. 6 d. Dressed Game and Poultry à la Mode. Fcp. 8vo., 1 s. 6 d. Dressed Vegetables à la Mode. Fcp. 8vo., 1 s. 6 d. D
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Miscellaneous and Critical Works.
Miscellaneous and Critical Works.
Armstrong. — Essays and Sketches. By Edmund J. Armstrong . Fcp. 8vo., 5 s. Bagehot. — Literary Studies. By Walter Bagehot . 2 vols. 8vo. 28 s. Baring-Gould. — Curious Myths of the Middle Ages. By Rev. S. Baring-Gould . Crown 8vo., 3 s. 6 d. Boyd (‘A. K. H. B.’). —Works by A. K. H. Boyd , D.D., First Minister of St. Andrews. Autumn Holidays of a Country Parson. Crown 8vo., 3 s. 6 d. Commonplace Philosopher. Crown 8vo., 3 s. 6 d. Critical Essays of a Country Parson. Crown 8vo., 3 s. 6 d. East Coas
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