Qillarsuaq

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Qillarsuaq († around 1875 on Ellesmere Island ) was a Canadian Inuk who immigrated to Greenland in the mid-19th century .

Life

Qillarsuaq's life is passed down through oral tradition . Nothing is known about his youth, except that he came from Baffin Island and lived on Cumberland Sound . He was probably born in the early 19th century. He was a shaman ( angakkoq ) and thus a respected leader of his people.

In the 1830s, his friend Uqi murdered another man. To escape his family's revenge, Qillarsuaq and Uqi then also killed his brother Ikieraping. Then they went on the run. In the northern part of Baffin Island near Pond Inlet , however, the family caught up with them, but were able to defend themselves.

Together with around 50 men, they moved further north. They crossed Lancaster Sound on dog sleds and then lived on Devon Island for a few years . In 1853 the group met the British polar explorer Edward Inglefield , who was looking for his missing colleague John Franklin . He told them about the Inughuit living in North Greenland . Five years later, the British polar explorer Francis Leopold McClintock met the group on Davis Island. Qillarsuaq and his people finally set out in 1859 to finally escape the blood revenge. They hiked up the coast of Ellesmere Island . In about 1861 or 1862 the group was on the island of Ingirsarvik , probably Easter Island south of Talbot Inlet , when Uqi became unsure and asked Qillarsuaq to return to Devon Island with half the people. The rest of the group crossed Nares Strait and found traces of settlement in Anoritooq , but no people. It was not until 1863 that they met a person again for the first time at Etah , an Inughuaq named Aqattaq. He showed them the way to the Pitoraarfik residence .

The Inughuit, struggling to survive at the time, had lost knowledge of tools and kayaks and were grateful to Qillarsuaq for showing them. Qillarsuaq was worshiped and the newcomers called allarsuit were integrated into the community. After about seven years he and two companions murdered a friend of the leader Avatannguaq. To escape vengeance, he planned his return to Canada.

Together with 21 people, he began the journey back to their old homeland in 1873. The old leader died on the east coast of Ellesmere Island. The rest of the group moved further south, where they wintered on Makinson Inlet . They couldn't find enough to eat and many died in the process. Murders and cannibalism ensued among the group, and ultimately only five people survived. They made their way back and ended up back in Greenland. Many Inughuit today are descendants of the Allarsuit.

Research history

Oral transmission has given rise to many different versions of the story. Many polar researchers learned about it from survivors and reported later, for example Knud Rasmussen (1905), Hans Peder Steensby (1910), Peter Freuchen (1961), Erik Holtved (1967), Robert Petersen (1967) and Rolf Gilberg (1974/75 ). The most important report comes from Guy Mary-Rousselière (1980). The ethnomusicologist Michael Hauser connected the music of the Inughuit with the immigration of the Allarsuit and suspected Qillarsuaq's origin at Cape Dorset .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kenn Harper: Qillarsuaq . In: Mark Nuttall (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Arctic . Routledge, New York / London 2005, ISBN 978-1-136-78680-8 , pp. 1714 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Qitdlarssuaq in The Canadian Encyclopedia
  3. ↑ a b Qillarsuaq at thefanhitch.org
personal data
SURNAME Qillarsuaq
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Qillaq; Qitdlaq; Qitdlarssuaq
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian Inuk and emigrant
DATE OF BIRTH 19th century
DATE OF DEATH around 1875
Place of death Ellesmere Island