Ethnographical collections from East Greenland. 699 



of them. In South Greenland the traditions have been transmitted verbally 

 through three or four centuries before they were written down between 1800 

 and 1860 by various persons, Greenlanders and Danish officials. These reports 

 are not fiction, for they agree with the historic and geographic conditions that 

 are well-known to us. Read with due criticism the report about Ungortoq, 

 the Eskimo name for one of the last Icelandic chiefs, may undoubtedly be used 

 as our semi-historic source, an assertion I hope to be able to prove. It was 

 first written down among the population round the present Julianehaabsfjord, 

 called Einarsfjord in the middle ages, and tells how a deadly feud had arisen 

 between Ungortoq who lived on the mainland and some Eskimo (KalaaLbit) 

 living on an island opposite, how the latter by stratagem attacked Ungortoq 

 and his men at a place mentioned in the fjord and burnt part of the church in 

 which they had sought refuge; only Ungortoq fled away with his little son on 

 his arm, pursued by one of his enemies until he was caught far southwards and 

 Idlled. 



This event is undoubtedly one of the greatest national events in Green- 

 land and it is quite natural that the memory thereof has still remained on 

 the same coast where it took place and among the descendants of those taking 

 part in it. It is my intention to indicate, if possible, where the event took place 

 and where the Eskimo came from, for there is evidently some disagreement 

 between the historic sources which say from the north and the Eskimo tradi- 

 tions which say from the south. 



This report has been written down in various versions by different persons 

 and at different places. I shall here mention the versions and at the same time 

 the variants of the name of the principal person in each : A Arctander's 

 record about Icjaliko^, В Pingel's report (1838) of various records from Green- 

 land, namely, B^^ about TJngertok (or UngartokYs flight and murder, В 2 fragment 

 of an Eskimo song about Ungartôk, B3 tale about Olavik (or Olave) in the Igaliko 

 Fjord; С various tales written down by the natives at the request of Rink and 

 published as parallel texts in Eskimo and in Danish translation, illustrated by 

 a native of Greenland (1859 — 60), namely, C^ "Oungortoq, the chief of the old 

 Norsemen", narrated by a native of Julianehaab named Samek (baptized Jona- 

 than), C2 "the Greenlanders' first meeting with the old Norsemen" localized in 

 the AmeraHkfjord and dealing with Oungortoq and the maid Navaranak, C^ 

 "about the extinction of the old Norsemen" also taking place at Ameralik and 

 dealing with Oungortoq and Navaranak, both of the latter versions have been 

 related by the people near Kangek, a settlement near the mouth of the Godt- 

 haabsfjord. Finally, there is D Rink's edition of the Greenland tales (1860) 

 among which No. 67 (D^) deals with ungortoq and Kaissafe and No. 68 (Dg) 

 with "Kaladlit's (Eskimo) first meeting with the old Kavdlunaks", thrown to- 

 gether by Rink on the basis of the writings of six of the natives, partly iden- 

 tical with the relaters of the C- versions. Dg is another fragment of the song 

 about Ungortok. Further Rink gives a few other tales about conflicts between 

 the Norsemen (the Icelanders) and the Eskimo but it is easily seen that their 

 historic importance is quite infinitesimal compared with the above-mentioned. 



A in "Samleren" vol. VI (Copenhagen 1793) pp. 1227 — 1229, and also cited in 

 Graah (1832) pp. 45 — 46. В Pingel in "Annaler f. nord. Oldkyndighed" vol. I, 

 (1838—39) pp. 237—243, namely Bi (I.e. pp. 237—241), Вз (p. 241); Вз (p. 242); 

 also partially cited in "Grønl. histor. Mindesmærker" vol. 111(1845) pp. 820—821. 

 C in Kaladlit Okaluktualliait (Grønlandske Folkesagn), edited in Godthaab in 

 South Greenland (1859—60); Ci in vol. I, pp. 1—30; C2 in vol. II, pp. 1-21; C?, 

 in vol. I, pp. 58—69. D Rink, Eskimoiske Eventyr og Sagn, I (1866) with Di 

 (Tale no. 67) and D2 (no. 68); and I.e. II (1871) with Вз (p. 148, no. 149). 



