374 М. THALBITZER. 
No. 210. The Mermaid’s Reflection. 
Mitsuarnianna. 
This is Mattakotaaq’s song (iwn'e‘n). Kuannia declared that this author 
was the son of his paternal uncle. Mattakotaaq was born at Ammassalik, 
and from here moved later to Ittoluarsiwin, Kuannias birthplace, but later 
on returned to Ammassalik. It is not a song of contest (piseq), but a merrily 
joking drum song, composed by the man for his wife, who has grown old, 
and whose face is compared with that of an ugly lake-spirit, a qo-tsale-taq, 
‘one who smiles.’ Just once she had happened to see such a being in the 
lake, she said, — when she was reflected in it, her husband thinks. 
Refrain: qå”n'a'ja Up there aja 
nuliak:ajinaligen 1 (We were) two spouses of the right kind, 
ertilage stk: an‘ uy 2 That time when we found each other 
precious, 
pin-elare'sik:-dn-uy 3 When we found each other comely. 
ke-sa ke:s[?]ar”inila:”na 4 At last once a face, but not her own, 
tar’ ase ttlerpo:r 5 A reflection she got to see 
imikajyum uno runa 6 In the ugly lake up yonder, she says, 
gernertikajimuns: q 7 In the black lake, she says, 
take” nü arparane n 8 I got to see it, she says, 
qo: tsale- ta: non 9 It was a lake mermaid, it is said, 
saq akaje ane'n 10 An ugly face, it is said, 
at ätiwin:akajik 11 One with many freckles, 
milät twin: akayjik 12 One with many black spots. 
gaga "na takiner'’seq 13 When before has one seen anything like, 
qo'saletamit'e takiner”seg 14 (When before) seen a mermaid ? 
at-erse:tileruna 15 It is a picture for comparison, it, 
un:erline 16 When one tells of it. 
Notes. — 12. Literally in the 3rd person: ‘they were.’ — 4. In the second 
word ke'sa- is, I think, heard wrongly or written down wrongly for ke-a ‘face. 
— 5. -po'r individual for pon. — 7. Here and in the following lines note the 
change between the forms -12`4, mom, nen ‘it is said’ (i.e. ‘she says’). Cf. 
p. 124, § 26. — 8. It is not quite clear whether ‘the one who says’ here is 
the singer himself ог his wife. -пйаг- is probably the epic infix (WGr. -riar- 
‘now came the moment when—’). — 9. 90:- < qonu-; ‘the smiler in the lake’ 
undoubtedly corresponds with the WGr. gonusutariag, a mystical sea or lake 
being who it is insisted has sometimes been seen, calling to mind the Euro- 
pean’s mermaid. — 10. saq:a ‘the foreside, the view side, where the eyes 
are’, said of a being who has not a real human face. 
No. 211. The Wolf-fish. 
Teemiartissaq. 
The singer regarded this song as а song for amusement (without use 
of drum). It has, however, a refrain like a real drum song. Perhaps it is a 
