332 W. Thalbitzer 



They are so stupid — 



Their speech is not alike, 



Some speak a northern tongue, others a southern — 



No wonder we cannot understand them!" 



The tales of the East Greenlanders, like those of the West Green- 

 landers, contain many elements which may have come from the 

 time when their forefathers lived along the northern coast of Canada, 

 and had connections, mostly hostile, with the Indians inland. A 

 distinct sign of this is, that they have preserved some of the same 

 names for these, as the Eskimo far to the west, right over to Alaska, 

 still use for their Indian neighbours: Erqitlit, Tornit, Ingalitlit; they 

 regard all these strange people as living in on the inland ice of 

 Greenland^). 



With regard to Europeans, these are identified by existing Green- 

 landers with the Qatlunaait (Kavdlunat) of the tales. Rink states, 

 that this name is known by the Eskimo right over to Alaska but 

 it is used along wdth Tannin and other names for the Europeans ^); 

 it is not quite certain, that it originally meant these. — Of meet- 

 ings with the Europeans in olden times the Ammassalikers only 

 have a dim recollection. From the south they have probably 

 received the historic report about the fights between the ancestors 

 of the South Greenlanders and the Icelandic colonists about the 

 year 1400. The rumour, that the Eskimo burnt down the houses 

 of the Europeans, the Ammassalikers have even localized in their own 

 district^). But they do not know the curious name Kalaatlit, which 

 the South Greenlanders of the west coast say they were called by 

 the Icelanders^) in earlier times. Although they have been without 

 any doubt in indirect, and in part direct, trading connection with 

 the dwellers on the west coast for the last 200 years, they have no 

 inherited reports of their forefathers' journeys round there, at least 

 none of early date. Their historical recollections are of recent date. 

 The question is: is this due to a short memory in these people? or, 

 has their memory been disinclined to incorporate circumstances of 



^j Holm in this volume pp. 83 — 84. In East Greenland Tornit is called Tunirit, 

 see Rink (1866) p. 329, but is only used by the southern eastlandcrs, not at 

 Ammassalik. Regarding Ingalitlit see Holm p. 230. 



-j Rink (1891) p. 29, cf. pp. 64—65; (1887) p. 110. Cf. Murdoch (1892) p. 53. 



■') Holm in this volume pp. 134—135. Cf. (1888) p. 166, (1889) pp. 85-86. 



^) Paul Egede, Dictionarium Grønlandico-Danico Latinum (1750) under Karalek: 

 Groenlandus indigena. Ita vocatos se dictitant a priscis Christianis, terrae 

 hujus quondam incolis. — The letter г in Egedes Karalek is to be understood 

 as an r sound made with the point of the tongue (Norwegian r), not very 

 différent from I. Kleinsciiniidt (1871) spells it thus; Kalålek, plur. Kalcitdlit. 



