WHALE HUNTING
Umiak was usually rowed by women and used as a means of transport.
During whale hunting they were rowed by men.
The drawing shows hunting of whales and seals 100 years ago. Write, draw or record a story where you participate in a hunt in either umiak or kayak.
My story:
When the fjord freezes over quickly narwhals and beluga whales may be unable to make it to the open sea.
They then gather in holes in the ice. Here they break the thin ice when they need to breathe.
Several hundred whales can be caught in such a hole. This is called a sassat. Once the hunt begins it is a dramatic bloodshed.
Narwhals caught in a hole in the ice (sassat) at Qeqertarsuaq, 1912
Today sassat occurs rarely. Climate changes have given warmer weather, and so the Icefjord does not freeze over that often.
What does sassat mean?
With what did the hunters kill the whales? See p. 40 in the book.
In the next slide you see a picture of a narwhal. Guess how long it is.
My guess:
For more than four thousand years whales have been hunted in the Disko Bay.
Everything of the whale was utilised. The meat was eaten The bones were used for tools and roof structures of winter houses. The baleens were used as fishing lines and nets. The blubber, train oil, was used for heating and lighting.
Whalers from Europe came to the Disko Bay in the 17th century. The train oil from the whales they sold on their return. It was used to light the streets of European cities.
Umiak was usually rowed by women and used as a means of transport.
During whale hunting they were rowed by men.
The drawing shows hunting of whales and seals 100 years ago. Write, draw or record a story where you participate in a hunt in either umiak or kayak.
My story:
When the fjord freezes over quickly narwhals and beluga whales may be unable to make it to the open sea.
They then gather in holes in the ice. Here they break the thin ice when they need to breathe.
Several hundred whales can be caught in such a hole. This is called a sassat. Once the hunt begins it is a dramatic bloodshed.
Narwhals caught in a hole in the ice (sassat) at Qeqertarsuaq, 1912
Today sassat occurs rarely. Climate changes have given warmer weather, and so the Icefjord does not freeze over that often.
What does sassat mean?
With what did the hunters kill the whales? See p. 40 in the book.
In the next slide you see a picture of a narwhal. Guess how long it is.
My guess:
For more than four thousand years whales have been hunted in the Disko Bay.
Everything of the whale was utilised. The meat was eaten The bones were used for tools and roof structures of winter houses. The baleens were used as fishing lines and nets. The blubber, train oil, was used for heating and lighting.
Whalers from Europe came to the Disko Bay in the 17th century. The train oil from the whales they sold on their return. It was used to light the streets of European cities.
