Ethnographical collections from East Greenland. 349 



one place ^). Since that time the number of the population has been 

 steadily increasing. I may give the following examples according to 

 census'^) from recent years: 



year 



men 



women 



total 



1905 . . . 



.. 233 



268 



501 



1908 . . . 



.. 253 



292 



545 



1909 . . . 



.. 252 



302 



554 



Regarding the distribution in earlier times (about 1885), see G. 

 Holm's summary pp. 26— 27 and for the year 1892 C.Ryder's report 

 in Meddelelser om Grønland XVII, pp. 142—145. With respect to the 

 distribution, number of houses and size etc. in 1905 — 1906 reference 

 may be made to the Table pp. 356 — 357. 



One house at each place is the principle of distribution in these 

 fjords and Rink, with right, regarded this principle as specially cha- 

 racteristic of the social conditions among the Ammassalikers^). Sev- 

 eral of the places, I visited, were however very close to one another 

 (see Chart) e. g. between Sawaranaartik and Ikkatter in Sermilik Fjord 

 there w^as only about ten minutes' walk along the coast. After the 

 Danish station was founded, a small Eskimo village, consisting of 

 four houses, was formed at Taseesaq, on a small bay close to the 

 east of the station. Three of these were built on the ground of ear- 

 lier Eskimo houses. In the year I passed the winter there, one-fifth 

 of the whole population were living at this place, but this condition 

 does not represent the original mode of distribution before the Eu- 

 ropeans came. Nevertheless, at this time more places were occupied 

 over the whole district than in 1884—85, when the Holm Expedi- 

 tion overwintered there (p. 26). 



Names of settlements. — The following 18 places were occu- 

 pied in the winter of 1905—06: 



in the fjord Ammattalik {= W. G. Ammassalik, Angmagsalik) 9 

 places: Taseesaq (Holm's Tasiusak) with 4 houses, Ilerfrit, Eeoquasaait, 

 Quarmeen (Holm's Kumarmiut), Keetwaain, Niinakitsin, Soonaain, Akin- 

 naaitsaait, Poolurtuloq, each with one house; 



in Sermilik Fjord 6 places : Sawaranaartik (Holm's Sivinganarsik), 

 Ikkatter (Holm's Ikatek), Imikeertwaain, Sarpaq, Teeleqiitaaq and Iser- 

 palukitseq; 



south of Sermilik 2 places : Qeertaalaq (W. G. Qeqertaausaq) and 

 Nookunia or Toqqutaq, all with one house only. 



1) Ryberg in Geografisk Tidsskrift XIV, p. 117. 



2) Meddel, fra Direktoratet for den kgl. Grønlandske Handel (1907) p. 15, (1910) 

 p. 138, (1911) p. 238. 



3) Rink (1886) p. 142. 



