382 W. Thalbitzer 



rule small kaiaks, built by their father and provided with miniature 

 implements. 



Many of the men have learnt the art of righting themselves, if 

 the kaiak is upset. I saw Qilertaanalik exercising himself in this 

 art at the island Ammain in Sermilik Fjord (fig. 130). Time after 

 time he turned over and raised himself again with the aid of the 

 paddle, so that he and the kaiak made a complete circle in the 

 water. He used several different methods of getting up again, each 

 with its own special name. He could even right himself by means 

 of his throwing stick alone without the help of the paddle. One of 

 the finer tricks consisted in placing the paddle behind the neck and 

 wheeling round with this position as starting point ^). 



I measured the following kaiaks (length from stem to stern 

 along the middle line of the deck; greatest breadth across the deck 

 in front of the man-hole; greatest height in the well from deck to 

 keel the deck arching upwards here; the height given is measured 

 perpendicularly from the gunwale of the kaiak down to the surface 

 on which the boat rested). 



Length of the bent up 

 Length Breadth Height p^^t of the keel 



Attiartertoq's kaiak 5-50 m. 0.445 m. 0196 ш. 094 m. 



Najaajakattaat's do 5-55 - 0458 - 0209 - 1-46 - 



Nujappik s do 5-37- 471- ? - 82- 



The bottom of the kaiak is flat, almost of the same form as 

 the deck in circumference, but much smaller (about ^/2 the length, 

 ^/srds of the breadth of the deck). The bent-up, sharp part of the 

 keel {neetwaia of the usoosclt) is almost equally long fore and aft. 



The breadth of the deck over the place where the keel begins to 

 bend up was 0170 m. in Attiartertoq's kaiak. The breadth noted 

 above for the central part of his kaiak was measured close behind 

 the man-hole. The breadth of the bottom under the same place 

 was 0340 m. A piece of bone tire is nailed (nowadays at all 

 events) both in front and behind along the upward sloping ends of 

 the keel; the one under the front end is the longer (1 to iV^m.) 

 and reaches some distance in on the flat bottom. 



The size of the boat probably stands in relation to the size of 

 the man (necessarily so in regard to the width of the man-hole and 

 the height of the inner space). Qilertaanalik's kaiak was 5*30 m. long, 

 his own height was 162 m. Najaajakattaat's younger brother (not 

 full-grown) had a kaiak 4*90 m. long, 047 m. broad. 



'J Cf. Ryder (1895) pp. 1 30— 137. 



