94 G. Holm. 



I told him I could not help him with charms, just as little as 

 others could harm him with magic. This he evidently did not be- 

 lieve, but answered that "he would not tell anyone that I had 

 helped him; but I must help him, for he would confide to me that 

 he could not do magic or speak with spirits or heal people. It was 

 all humbug on his part, but he was convinced that others were able 

 to commune with spirits". It was of course under a solemn promise 

 of the profoundest secrecy that he made this confession and revealed 

 to us the angakut's secrets. I had to promise not to tell anyone 

 before I got back to the country beyond the sea. 



Four months later his wife fell ill. He appealed to me to cure 

 her. But, I not being in a position to discover what her ailment 

 was, I was unable to supply him with any remedy. Sanimuinak 

 refused to believe that I had no power over his wife's complaint, 

 and ended by declaring that he would perform angakok incantations, 

 and if his wife recovered, he would believe in them. 



Sanimuinak's brother, Narsingertek, was also an angakok. When 

 I asked him if he was an angakok, he returned the evasive answer 

 that he could perform some arts. I then let fall the remark that 

 his brother Sanimuinak must then be a greater angakok than he. 

 As soon as Narsingertek thought he had perceived that we believed 

 in Sanimuinak's stories and arts, he began to tell us about all his 

 spirit visions. While Sanimuinak initiated me little by little in all 

 that concerned his profession, Narsingertek still perched on his 

 dignity. Although he was not able to perform many tricks, he was 

 nevertheless held in honour as an angakok: for the head of the 

 house, honest old Kutuhik, had once 'with his own eyes seen Nar- 

 singertek out at sea accompanied by his tartok, an Inersuak'. Kutuluk 

 had several times been cured of a bad arm by Narsingertek's arts. 



The flrst thing we heard about the angakut at Angmagsalik 

 was that they were great liars; and indeed many people make fun 

 of them and their doings; but in spite of that even the most sensible 

 people believe in their communion with the spirit world, and the 

 angakut often believe in one another, without knowing in what 

 way their arts work. I therefore consider it by no means improb- 

 able that the people spoke evil of the angakut in order to curry 

 favour with us; for it is quite possible that they may have had 

 wind of the attitude which Europeans on the West coast of Green- 

 land formerly adopted towards the angakut. The angakut are 

 not treated with any respect or reverence by the rest of the people; 

 but the people believe in them out of dread for the harm they 

 may be able to do with their arts. 



It will have been gathered from the foregoing account that the 



