Barnedåb og andet om Grønlandsk kultur

I går var der barnedåb i kirken. Da vi ankom kl. 09:50, var jeg forundret, at vi var de første (havde jeg ikke lært noget fra oplevelsen ved festen i Maniitsoq...?!). Jeg havde regnet med, at der ville komme flere til dåben end de syv, der var til gudstjenesten den første gang jeg var i kirken. De kom også ... midtvejs i gudstjenesten kom dåbsfamilien og mange andre, sådan at kirken blev fyldt. Jeg syntes det var lidt uhøfligt efter (nord-)Europæiske normer. Men mange ting er mere afslappet her – så tager lærere såvel som forældrene eksempelvis også bare telefonen midt i et møde på skolen og snakker foran alle andre... Men det var i hvert fald dejligt at se den farverige Grønlandske nationaldragt taget på i virkeligheden. Det bliver desværre ikke til noget med at købe en til mig selv, da man nemt kan give 45.000kr for en. Alt er hjemmelavet, fra tørring og farvning af sælskind til perlesyning og mange og flere timers arbejde går i fremstillingen af en dragt. Så var det lidt underligt, at der ikke var noget musikledsagelse, men jeg gjorde mit bedste for at synge med. Det gik fint, selvom de eneste ord jeg forstod var ’Jiisusi’ og ’Guuti’. 

Lørdag aften hængede jeg ud hos Tele og Ujuana igen og hørte ved denne lejlighed nogle spændende historier fra Grønland. Jeg har lært, at hvalrosser er meget farlige og bedst kan fanges med en harpun, som er forbundet med en ballon lavet af sælskind. Så synker hvalrossen ikke. Så hørte jeg nogle skræmmende historier om selvmord og misbrug, som er lidt stereotypiske. Det er slet ikke mit indtryk, at det præger billedet her i Atammik, men det findes altså... Derudover fortælte de om mange overnaturlige begivenheder her i Atammik, om bord der bevæger sig, hjemsøgte huse og ting, der pludselig forsvinder og dukker op et andet sted.  Men det mest uhyggelige historier handler om ’qivittoq’ (eneboer eller fjeldgænger på dansk). De findes over hele Grønland og vælger et liv udenfor samfundet som nomader, hvor de lever 100% af naturen. Det lyder lidt romantisk indtil man hører om, at de kan svæve, pludselig dukke op out of nowhere og angreber bygdebeboerne. Folk har meget respekt for dem... Jeg synes vejen hjem alene i den forladte bygd med en stærk snestorm blev en lille smule uhyggelig. Og en lidt mere sjovt fact: Grønlændere kan ret præcist gætte hinandens alder på afstand mellem øjnene og længden på sidehoved. Men vores Europæiske hovedform gav dem hovedpine, normerne passede ikke – mit hoved viser åbenbart, at jeg er 29, Andrei er over 40. :D

Baptism and more about Greenlandic culture

Yesterday there was a baptism at the church. I was surprised that we were the first ones to arrive at 09:50 (have I learnt nothing from the party in Maniitsoq…?!). I had expected that there would be more than the seven that came the first time I went to the service. They did show up eventually… halfway through the service the family of honor and many more came. I thought that was a bit impolite – judging by (northern) European standards. But things are more relaxed here. It also seems totally fine to answer a call during a meeting at the school, teachers as well as parents do it all the time… Anyways, it was pretty awesome to see the traditional, colorful Greenlandic national costume worn for real. But I’m not gonna be able to buy one for myself, because they can easily cost more than 45.000kr. (7000 Euro). They make everything themselves, from drying and coloring the sealskin to sewing the pretty pearl-patters for the scarf and many and many more hours of work go into the making of one costume. It was a bit weird that there was no organ or key board to accompany our singing, but I did my best to sing along. That went well, even though the only words I could understand were ‘Jiisusi’ and ‘Guuti’.

Saturday night I hung out with Tele and Ujuana again and heard a lot of interesting stories about Greenland. I have learnt that walruses are dangerous and best caught with a traditional harpune that has a balloon out of sealskin attached to it. That way the walrus won’t float away. I also heard some dreadful stories about suicides and abuse, which are a bit stereotypical of Greenland. It’s not my impression that these stereotypes are all that present, at least here in Atammik, but things happen… especially ‘behind the scenes’. They also told stories about supernatural activities in Atammik: tables that move in the room, haunted houses and things that disappear and reappear in a different place. But the scariest stories are about ‘qivittoq’ ('mountain wanderer' or hermit). As nomads they live all over Greenland, far away from society, all by themselves, only living off what nature can supply them with. It sounds a bit romantic at first, but only until you hear about them soaring, appearing out of nowhere and attacking inhabitants from the settlements. There is some kind of fearful respect for them… I thought the walk back home, alone through the empty settlement in the middle of a snowstorm got a little scary to be honest.

One more fun fact: Greenlandic people can quite accurately guess each other’s age by looking at the distance between the eyes and the length of the side of the head. Our European headshapes were giving them a headache though, they couldn’t figure out our ages. Seems like my head shows that I am 29 and Andrei is over 40. :D