468 



W. Thalbitzer 



rolls of dried caplin, to keep against the hard times of winter. In 

 sewing together the fish a special kind of bone-needle is used (kapor- 

 taat, fig. 234). 



So far as known, this kind of dip-net fishing Ms not different from that 

 practised on the west coast of Greenland and mentioned by the older 

 authors, for example H. Egede: "They capture the caplin with a net tied 

 together with reindeer sinews," i) Paul Egede: "A 'Hov' (dip-net) is an instru- 

 ment by means of which the Greenlanders capture the small fish which are 

 called 'Lodder' [caphns]; it is composed of small pieces of wood, covered 

 with a net, and has the form and shape of a papal hood." 2) Glahn: "Between 

 half-ebb and half-flood (the best time for the caplins) it is possible with two 

 or three dip-nets to get the boat 'U to Ч2 full; this is considered to be good 



fishing" (Glahn critic- 

 izes here the exagger- 

 ated statement of Cranz, 

 that "the Greenlanders 

 with a net can scoop 

 up whole boat-loads in 

 a few hours") ^). O. 

 Fabricius distinguishes 

 between two kinds of 

 fishing: the caplins are 

 caught either from the 

 boats (umiaks) or from 

 the shore : "the bucket- 

 scoop or dip-net is 

 placed in front of the 

 shoal (of fish), which 

 thus of themselves 

 swim into it — — — . 

 This net is composed 

 of meshes of braided 

 sinew-threads and is 

 attached to a shaft, 

 which is longer when 

 used from land (from 

 the shore), but shorter 

 when used in the boat."*) He gives the further information, that only the 

 women take part in the fishing (this is in West Greenland) and that the 

 women of the different families share the fish captured, but not before it is 

 dried by being spread on the rocks, a work that must be taken part in by 

 all; then the dried 'fish is packed into skin-bags, each person has his own 

 bag; the owner of the boat does not obtain any special payment for its loan. 

 — H. Rink outlines the caplin fishing in a similar manner; each district has 

 its own, so-called "angmagsat places," to which the umiaks sail in the months 

 of May and June and where young and old take part in this merry fishing 

 and live in the superabundance of this time. The fish in the fresh condition 



a 



Fig. 175. Bird snares. (Holm coll.). 



1) H. Egede (1729) p. 32. 



•-) P. Egede (Journal) p. 28. 



■■') H. Glahn a771) p. 127. 



■•) Fabricius (1812) p. 268. 



