422 W. Thalbitzer 



the latter of iron, which is mortised into a ferrule of bone in the butt end of 

 the shaft. — с is still thicker and shorter than either of the other two (length 

 85 cm.) and provided with a bone head with attached iron blade. Here the 

 harpoon line is fixed a little above the middle by means of an eyelet (small 

 bone disc with a hole), which is held in position by a peg on the side of 

 the shaft. The reserve head at the lower end of the line is of quite the same 

 type as the one on the upper end of the shaft. The pick is of iron. 



In the ittuarteq and aarnidrteq hunting a peculiar type of har- 

 poon [ittiiarteen) is used (fig. 118), its toggle head differing from that 

 of the other hunting weapons in being hinged in a fork-shaped 

 groove at the end of a short bone shaft or shank. Tlie latter is 

 pointed below and fits into a socket in the foreshaft. Two small 

 white pieces of bone are bound to the shank as a means of decoying 

 the seal in the water. The wooden main shaft used in this mode 

 of hunting was at Ammassalik from 30 to 40 feet long (composed 

 of several poles) '). 



Technical names: ittuarteen, itcïarteen harpoon for this kind of 

 sealing; isertoraq, isittoraq, isuttoraq the hinged toggle head; ulua its 

 blade (inserted in a narrow groove); tookartaa the shank; qaarqïtaa 

 foreshaft (bone ferrule on upper end of the wюoden shaft). 



Fig. 118 & shows a fixed foreshaft of bone, in which the shank is in- 

 serted. In fig. inb, instead of a bone foreshaft, there is onlj^ a conical 

 widening of the shaft. In the specimen found by Amdrup at the "dead 

 house" (fig. 123) there is a similar expansion, and round it an iron ring. The 

 expansion thus seems characteristic of the Ammassalik type of this weapon. 

 I do not know, how the West Greenland foreshafts of this weapon were 

 formed. 



When this harpoon is used in the aarniarteq (crawling) hunting, 

 it is sighted in a horizontal position instead of vertical, with the 

 front part resting on a small wooden sledge of special construction 

 {qammutaak, fig. 126). The weapon is placed so that the basal hook 

 of the harpoon head looks upward and will move upwards on turn- 

 ing on its axis. To avoid turning it when advancing the hook is 

 held down against the shaft by a small loop (pukkunnuwiäkkitaa) 

 which lies loosely over it and does not slip off until the point has 

 pierced the animal. The under side of the sledge runners is covered 

 with skin with the hair still on, so that the movement over the ice 

 may not frighten the seal. 



This harpoon, as can be seen from the illustrations, is also 

 provided with a harpoon line, which is stretched from a hole in 

 the loose shaft down along the wooden shaft, where it is attached 

 (in fig. 117 b it is fixed by means of a bone eyelet or clasp with 



') Egede (1741, p. 59) gives the length of the same weapon in North-west Green- 

 land as "le to 20 alen." i. с. .'52 to 40 feet. 



