608 W. Thalbitzer 



ORNAMENTAL ART AND CARVING. 



Tattooing (pp. 28—29, figs. 11 — 13 and 302). — The woman is 

 tattooed at the age of 13 to 15. Her mother or a friend assists her and 

 by means of an ordinary sewing needle the sooted sinew thread is 

 drawn through the skin of the chin, arms, legs etc. The men are 

 rarely tattooed. The angakoq Mitsuarnianga, when young, himself 

 tattooed 6 black dots on his arm. The Ammassalikers call the tat- 

 tooings kakineen 'stung things, stitches.' I obtained no new informa- 

 tion with regard to the original reasons or explanation of the tat- 

 tooings. Since the arrival of the missionaries this custom has ceased. 



Graah states with regard to the old East Greenland that "the 

 native women are all artificially tattooed on arms, on hands, the 

 chin and breast," Graah also met two men with tattooings on the 

 arms^). With regard to the West Greenlanders the tattooings are 

 mentioned by many of the older authors. Hans Egede mentions the 

 women's "black stripes on the skin between the eyes, on the chin, 

 the cheeks and ears" and adds that "the head of the woman whose 

 face is not ornamented in this way shall after her death become a 

 dripping bowl for seal-oil to be placed under the lamp when she 

 comes to the land of souls." ^) Glahn states that the women in 

 the south are more richly tattooed than those in the north; they are 

 all tattooed on the chin, cheek, hands, knees, feet and here and there 

 on the body they sometimes make a line or circle^). Circles or 

 rather square figures with a dot in the middle are also known 

 among the Ammassalik tattooings. Egede's reference to tattooed lines 

 between the eyes was confirmed by Johan Petersen, who told 

 me that in his youth he had seen an East Greenlander over on the 

 west coast who was tattooed between the eyebrows "in order to 

 prevent a shark he had once harpooned from recognizing and pursu- 

 ing him; in West Greenland namely the shark is considered as a 

 specially sagacious animal."^) 



A detailed description of tattoo markings, seen on the last of the 

 southern East Greenlanders who immigrated to the west coast, has 

 been given by Doctor Meldorf who visited these people (38 individuals 

 in all) to examine their state of health and to vaccinate them-'). 

 8 women out of 16 were tattooed; only one of these was 12 years old. 



1) Graah (1832) p. 119. 



2) H. Egede (1729) p. 30, (1741) p. 74 and (1737 in the mission history) p. 73; 

 Cranz (1770) p. 18.5. 



3) Glahn (1771) p. 193. 



■•) P. Egede (1788) p. 154 mentions an angakoq having a shark as assisting spirit. 

 "•) Meldorf (1902) pp. 32—34. 



