Acta Medica Sesndinnvica. Vol. CXL, fusc. [V, 1961.

Medical Investigations in North Greenland 1945-1949. 1.

BY

M. CH. EHRSTROMT. Helsingfors, Finland.

(Submitted for publication December 4, 1950.)

General Introduction.

This investigation is intended to contribute t o the knowledge of the etiological factors responsible for psycho-somatic disorders, allergy, ulcers, gall bladder diseases, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, pulmonary emphysema and rheumatic diseases and was carried out during the winter of 1948-1949 in Umanak in North Greenland.

These diseases have, more or less correctly, been called ))diseases of civilization)), i. e. it has been considered tha t etiological factors characteristic of western civiliza- tion influence their development. A population which includes individuals influ- enced by western civilization as well as people a t a more primitive stage are re- quired for studies of the conditioiis mentioned. The Umanak district in North Greenland offers satisfac1,ory possibilities in this respect.

The Journey. My wife, Inga Ehrstrom', was the only European with me. She took part in the in-

vestigation as my assistant and was in charge of the card index. Her help was invaluable for it was she who established contact with the natives; this is of great importance in studies of primitive peoples.

Financial aid for the expedition was given by the Sigrid Juselius Foundation, the Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation, the Ministry for Education (State Lottery Fund), and A. B. Medica 0. Y. The following firms gave discounts on purchases: Stockmann, Victor Ek, Finska hgfar tygs Aktiebolaget, Karl Fazer, Christian Nissen, Kontstic- keriet and N. Makinen (Furrier). Goran Ehrnrooth, Manager of Nordiska Forenings- banken, and Miss Naemi Packalh assisted me in arranging favourable loans.

The Council of Greenland gave me information and aided me in planning the expedi-

1 Mrs Inga Ehrstrom, Majorsgatan 15, Stockholm. 16-522567. Actn med. Sctrndinnu. V o l . C S L .

240 M cu. EIIRSTROM.

tion, and its Chief, Mr. Eske Brun, helped me personally in every possible way. The ))Peter Fleischer House, in Umanak was placed at my disposal.

The district Medical Officer, C. F. Ollegaard, kindly permitted me to work at the Umanak Hospital and to use the card index of the population of Umanak compiled in 1932 by Gudrun Christiansen, district Medical Officer at that time, and since then kept strictly up to date. This was an invaluable help in my investigations.

The former Medical Advisor to the Greenland Council, Dr. Alfred Bertelsen, was staying in Umanak. He gave me the benefit of his great experience regarding tho con- ditions and medicines used in Greenland and I came to regard him as an exceptionally fine and clever man.

To one and all who have helped me in various ways I offer my very sincere thanks, not forgetting the Superintendents, catechizers and midwives who helped me in my work and offered me hospitality. My dog sleigh drivers, the hunter-fishermen Bernhard Ludvigsen and Peter Sigurdsen who drove us about 1,500 km I remember with gratitude. Finally, I wish to thank Mr. Axel Bollstrom of the Sports Department of Stockmann's Stores for selecting and arranging the hunting equipment with skill and care - it gave us great pleasure and proved most useful.

We left Copenhagen on October 15, 1948 by the MIS G. C. Andrup, arriving in Umanak on November 6. Owing to transportation difficulties we were not able to settle t o our work until the beginning of December.

When the ice was impassable the time was spent in orientation work, copying the card index, and studying the native language. The ice of the inner part of the Umanak Fiord was not passable until the beginning of January and the settle- ments (utsted) and dwelling-places were not reached until the end of that month, but finally all of them were visited. The field work - including studies of the people of the colony - lasted from January to the end of April. I n May the Uv- kusigssat settlement was visited a second time and in June the allergy tests were concluded.

On June 30th we left for Sukkertopperi by the MIS Mariadan, continuing by the MIS Kaskelot t o Copenhagen on July 14th, arriving on July 30th) 1949.

The Field of Investigation.

The Umanalz district lies on the west coast of North Greenland between Lat. 70 and 72 N. and Long. 50 and 56 W. and measures 220 km from north to south and 270 kin from west to east. I t s surface is 60,000 sq.km which is almost equiv- alent t o the total area of the provinces of Nyland, Abo-Bjorneborg and Tavaste- hus in Finland (61,954 sq.km). One-fifth - 11,760 sq.km - of the land is free from ice (equal to the surface area of the province of Nyland), one-fourth is co- vered by inland ice and the remainder consists of fiords and seas. (Map 1 & 2 . )

This part of Greenland is famous for its wonderful alpine scenery, its deep fiords and numerous calving glaciers, ice bergs and bird rocks. Pig. 1.

The climate is arctic, the annual mean temperature being - 8.6" C. In the coldest month, Pebruary, the mean temperature is - 23.2" C and in July and August, the warmest months, + 4.9" C.

The great changes in temperature which may occur once or twice a month are characteristic. The warm and dry Fohn is then reflected down from the inland ice.

MEDICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN NORTH QREESLAND 1948-1949. 241

Map 1. &p of Greenland with the Umanak district marked with dotted lines.

Within a few hours the temperature may rise by 20" to 30" C and the barometer registers a fall.

The rainfall is scanty, the lowest in the whole of Greenland. In 1938 it wa8 168 mm (in Denmark 630 mm, in the south of Finland 750 mm). There are about 5 storrny days (Beaufort Scale 9 to 12) and about 100 calrn days a year.

242 br. cEr. EIIRSTROAI.

Map 2. The Umanak district.

The dark period is reckoned from November 23 to January 21. The n,idtzight Sun is visible from May 15 to July 31.

Census.

On December 31 1948 the population was 1,500: Men Women

Married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 Married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 Widowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Widows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Unmarried . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 807 Unmarried . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432

Total 1,500

Children undcr 6 years of age were not included in the investigation (146 boys and 125 girls, total 271). A total of 1,073 people were examined, i. e. 532 wotneii and 541 men, from the Umanak colony, 7 settlements and 5 dwelling-places.

The Danish Government resides in Umanak and the Danish colonial officer is the Governor. He is assisted by three Danish civil servants. There is a hospital

~.

MEDICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN NORTH OREENLAXD 1948-1949. 243

Fig. 1. The Igncrit glacier moving down from the inland ice. Photo: Christman EhrstrBm.

Fig. 4. The scttlement Xugatsiaq lies in the Karrnt ice fiord surrounded by five calving glaciers. Photo: M. Ch. Ehrstrom.

with 33 beds and a children's sanatorium with 25 beds. A Danish physician and three Danish nurses are attached to the hospitals. I n 1949 the adult Danish po- pulation numbered 14. The settlements have one shop, managed by either a Greenlander or a Superintendent. The dwelling-placss have no shops, they belong to the nearest settlement. In the settlements and large dwelling-places the church and the school are housed in a single building. It is here the catechizer works. Pig. 2 .

Race.

The present population is the result of intermarriage between pure Eskimos and Europeans, mainly Danes. Up to 1901 ))pure)) and ))mixed)) Eskimos were

244 M . CIL EIIRSTKOM.

Fig. 3. rl’ure) Eskimo women from Ratut. Photo: M. Ch. Ehrstrom.

Pig. 4. Superintendent of rmixedr race. Photo: Inga Ehrstrom.

distinguished in the census, but this was abandoned owing to the difficulty of determining the racial purity and for psychological reasons. The term ))Green-

250 M. CB. BURSTROM.

in the past or the future. The Eskimo dialect, as spoken in Umanak, is polysyn- thetic and more than 10 affixes can be added to the word-stem. It is rich in nuan- ces but lacks expressions for abstract conceptions and abstractions, like most primitive languages. The train of thought is narrower than among people of wes- tern civilization. They seldom launch out upon lengthy explanations or whain- tautologies)), particularly regarding emotional ))causes)).

If someone were to he asked why he was afraid he would consider the question idiotic and reply by grinning or by saying that he was terrified. (The words hnilanganeq and nungiuriaeq are almost synonymous.) If the Greenlander is fond of someone or approves of something he uses the word ajungilnq (opposite: ajornod) but gives no further ex- planation, comparison or evaluation. If he owants to go home)) and is asked why, he will reply: because he ))would like to go home)). In similar circumstances the Westerner will generally ))explain)) why he wants to go home - for instance, ))because niy family is expecting me and I am very fond of my family and I don't want to give my family any cause for anxiety)) - but in fact these ))explanations)) are nothing but a collection of words meaning ))I should like too.

The partly trained individuals who have been influenced by western civilization have more knowledge, a wider world of thought and manner of thinking. Their use of words is more akin to that of the Westerner.

The difficulty of creating something new and taking a deeper interest in a sub- ject, described by Bertelsen, is evidenced in their hunting and fishing methods. Everything is run in the traditional manner. For instance, if no sharks are caught on the usual banks no one will think of trying his luck in another place to which an alteration in the current may have taken the sharks. Similar observations were made by Steffanson among the Eskimos on the islands of the north coast of Canada, and similar instances are found among the Scandinavian fishing people.

The inability of the Greenlander to plan for the future means that i t is impos- sible for him to provide for his own needs. Europeans visiting North Greenland are shocked by their extreme poverty. In general the families possess nothing but their hunting arid fishing equipment and a few primitive pots and pans. The father of the family may be well equipped with furs, but his wife and children may be seen in 30" of cold clad in cotton rags and cracked sealskin pants with no fur. In 1926 Bertelsen found that among the 508 people in Umanak under the age of 15, 56 or 11 per cent were so miserably dressed that they would not be out-of-doors in winter. They look after their houses, tackle and boats very badly.

The great poverty is mainly due to the Greenlander's habit of selling almost everything he catches to the shop (Den Gronlandska Handeln) and then using more than one-third of his money for coffee and tobacco (Bertelsen), another part for sugar, malt and chocolate, and with the remaining money he buys shark- meat and blubber for himself or for his dogs. I actually saw one of two brothers selling seal blubber to the shop a t the purchase-price and the second one buying it from the shop a t the selling-price.

In addition to these observations, based more or less on ))impressions)), one or two intelligence tests may be described.

In 1946 Bertelsen examined 500 school children from the colonies Julianehaab, Sukkertoppen, Godhavn, Christianshaab, and Upernavik, and the settlements

24 G 11. CB. E H R S T R ~ ~ M .

Fig. 6. Kayaks on trestles for winter storage. Photo: Inga Ehrstrom.

Fig. 6. Cracks in the ice are forced by dog teams. Photo: M. Ch. Ehrstrom.

Iii 1947 the followiiig figures for home products a i d imported commodities relating to the whole district were obtained:

Home products: Meat of sea mammals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300,000 kg F i s h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200,000 H Game (appr.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,000 H

Wheat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,000 kg Rye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80,000 ))

Barley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,000 H Oats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,000 o

Imports:

MEDICAL INVES'I'IGATIONS IN NORTH QREENLAND 1048-1 949. 247

Kice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,000 kg Biscuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,000 H Sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,000 D

The daily consumption of the population of 1,500 was thus: Protein Fot Carbo-hydrate Cnlories eoo g 100-160 g 300 g 3,500

Bertelsen's figures for the average daily consumption in \Vest Greenland are similar:

During the senl-hunting season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 g 104 g 457 g 3,526 B )) fi4iing b e a w n . . .................... 306 g 37 6 437 g 3,563

Although these figures are approximate i t may be said that the population of the Umanak district lives on a diet rich in proteins and fat and the consumption of carbo-hydrates and especially sugar (30 kg per head/year) is large.

The Eskimos' native food was estimated to contain 3 to 5 g NaCl per day. It is higher now but still not as high as in Europe. The calcium required is obtained by mixing normal calcium phosphate into the flour in the ratio of 6 parts per 1,000.

The vitamin A and D content of the diet is high and the vitamin B and C con- tent satisfactory (Bertelsen, Hlaygaard).

The permitted limit of the consumption of alcoholic drinks is very low (there is no alcoholism). The sale of coffee and tobacco is not restricted but owing to the shortage of money the consumption is much lower than in Europe.

Protein Fat Carbo-hydrates Calories

Length of Life and Mortality Rate.

The length of life of the population is extremely low by coniparison with Euro- pean countries. The latest official figures available date back to the years 1901- 1930 and have scarcely changed since:

A v r r a g r lrngth of Zijr ,Wen IVomen

Denmark 1926-1930 ................................... 50 n 54 b Umanak 1901 - 1930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 years 27 years

The low average age at death is not due to infant or child mortality but to tu- berculosis, acute infections, and especially to accidents which frequently occur in the lowest adult age-groups. Geographical and climatic conditions affect the general health and travelling by kayak and on the ice is a constant source of danger. The mortality rate in Greenland is 15 times greater than in Denmark, i . e. 30 against 2 per 10,000. Bertelsen gives the following figures for the years 1934-1932:

Cause of death Greenland 'ruherculosis ............................. 36.0 9; Infectious diseases ....................... 26.0 R

Accidents ............................... 12.0 n

Cancer .................................. 2.0 B

Suicide ................................. 0.2 D (Other causes) ........................... 19.1 n

Old age ................................. 4.4 D

Denmark 5.0 yo

17.0 8 2.0 0

17.5 D 14.0 *

1.0 D 43.5 B

248 M. CII. EIIRSTRGM.

The following fatal accidents occurred in North Greenland: Drowning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Yo Accidentally shot . . . . . . . . . . 5 ))

Frozen to death . . . . . . . . . . . 4 H Falls ..................... 2 ))

Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 H

In the summer of 1947 the population of the Korpo District in the southwest of Fin- land, a total of 867 people between the ages of 6 and 90 years, were examined on the initiative of Samfuiidet Folkhilsan i Svenska Finland (The Society for Public Health 11 Swedish Finland).

The age distribution in iny material from Denmark compared with that of Korpo is as follows:

ITInanak . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 316 162 139 153 63 42 10 Korpo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 110 87 144 132 140 96 56 211

A 8' 6-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 61-90 -

Disirihution of age qroups in per cent:

Korpo - - - - - Umttnak _______

The percentile age distribution is seen from the curve in Diagr. 1. In Korpo 36.4 per cent of the population was over 50 years of age whilst the corresponding figure in Umanak was only 10.5 per cent and there is no age-group 81-90 years. The age-group 6 to 20 coniprises 46.8 per cent of the total population, whereas in Korpo the corresponding figure is only 21.1 per cent.

MEDICAL INVNSTIQATIONS IN NORTH GREENLAND 1948-1949. 249

Beheviour. (Psychological and social factors.)

Intelligence. Bertelsen writes of the intelligence of Greenlanders: ))Their intellect varies (they

are especially weak in counting and their language includes only 20 numbers - inuk navdlugo - the end of man - i. e. all fingers and toes); they are excellent imitators but lack enterprise and the ability to become engrossed in any subject.

The Danish local government is planning to transform the Eskimos’ mode of life into a European’s pattern but suited to the country and its population, exer- cising great care and consideration. All Greenlanders are now Christians, there are churches and schools. Attendance a t school is compulsory from 7 to 14 years of age and the curriculum includes reading and writing in the Greenland dialect of the Eskimos, some Danish, arithmetic, history, biology and geography.

In addition to this teaching they have an opportunity to be trained or further educated in Greenland or Denmark. Among the 1,073 persons whom I examined in Umanak 66 were specially trained workers, catechizers, teachers, midwives, or civil servants (clerks, shop assistants, telegraphists, etc.) and 9 had been specially trained in Denmark (carpenters, joiners, coopers, mechanics, etc.).

The trained people were mostly of mixed race, generally of good social standing, and considered somewhat superior owing to their having been brought up in a home with a European father. Their start in life was generally better, their chil- dren also benefiting in turn. People in leading positions in the Greenland of to-day are thus generally ))mixed), and in consequence the native population is gradually being pushed into the background. The child mortality rate is lower among the ))mixed)) population and this is a contributory factor (Bertelsen).

The adults whom I examined were probably able to read fairly well but as regards writing, some of them even had difficulty in writing their own Chris- tian names (in many instances they had oforgotten)) their surnames). One of the Superintendents presented me with a bill for dogs’ food, the figures in which bore little resemblance to letters or numbers. Some of the younger generation spoke some Danish and had a fairly good understanding of the language, but in general the older people knew not a word of it. Even among the trained catechizers who taught Danish in the schools, some were barely able to converse in that Ian- guage. My impression is that these children of nature retained only a trace of their school knowledge. There were exceptions of course, but even they would not bear comparison with European children. No daily newspaper is available and this is a great handicap. Very little literature is translated into the Greenland language and is found only in the homes of civil servants. The Radio News Bulletin pub- lished by the Greenland local government was occasionally posted on the shop walls, and 4 or 5 times a year the newspaper avangnarniok, issued in Godhavn, was obtainable.

The knowledge of the average individual is very small and his world of thought extremely limited. His thoughts dwell upon his daily tasks and he takes no interest

250 M. CB. BURSTROM.

in the past or the future. The Eskimo dialect, as spoken in Umanak, is polysyn- thetic and more than 10 affixes can be added to the word-stem. It is rich in nuan- ces but lacks expressions for abstract conceptions and abstractions, like most primitive languages. The train of thought is narrower than among people of wes- tern civilization. They seldom launch out upon lengthy explanations or whain- tautologies)), particularly regarding emotional ))causes)).

If someone were to he asked why he was afraid he would consider the question idiotic and reply by grinning or by saying that he was terrified. (The words hnilanganeq and nungiuriaeq are almost synonymous.) If the Greenlander is fond of someone or approves of something he uses the word ajungilnq (opposite: ajornod) but gives no further ex- planation, comparison or evaluation. If he owants to go home)) and is asked why, he will reply: because he ))would like to go home)). In similar circumstances the Westerner will generally ))explain)) why he wants to go home - for instance, ))because niy family is expecting me and I am very fond of my family and I don't want to give my family any cause for anxiety)) - but in fact these ))explanations)) are nothing but a collection of words meaning ))I should like too.

The partly trained individuals who have been influenced by western civilization have more knowledge, a wider world of thought and manner of thinking. Their use of words is more akin to that of the Westerner.

The difficulty of creating something new and taking a deeper interest in a sub- ject, described by Bertelsen, is evidenced in their hunting and fishing methods. Everything is run in the traditional manner. For instance, if no sharks are caught on the usual banks no one will think of trying his luck in another place to which an alteration in the current may have taken the sharks. Similar observations were made by Steffanson among the Eskimos on the islands of the north coast of Canada, and similar instances are found among the Scandinavian fishing people.

The inability of the Greenlander to plan for the future means that i t is impos- sible for him to provide for his own needs. Europeans visiting North Greenland are shocked by their extreme poverty. In general the families possess nothing but their hunting arid fishing equipment and a few primitive pots and pans. The father of the family may be well equipped with furs, but his wife and children may be seen in 30" of cold clad in cotton rags and cracked sealskin pants with no fur. In 1926 Bertelsen found that among the 508 people in Umanak under the age of 15, 56 or 11 per cent were so miserably dressed that they would not be out-of-doors in winter. They look after their houses, tackle and boats very badly.

The great poverty is mainly due to the Greenlander's habit of selling almost everything he catches to the shop (Den Gronlandska Handeln) and then using more than one-third of his money for coffee and tobacco (Bertelsen), another part for sugar, malt and chocolate, and with the remaining money he buys shark- meat and blubber for himself or for his dogs. I actually saw one of two brothers selling seal blubber to the shop a t the purchase-price and the second one buying it from the shop a t the selling-price.

In addition to these observations, based more or less on ))impressions)), one or two intelligence tests may be described.

In 1946 Bertelsen examined 500 school children from the colonies Julianehaab, Sukkertoppen, Godhavn, Christianshaab, and Upernavik, and the settlements

MEDICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN NORTH GREENLAND 1048-1049. 231

Qaersut, Satut and Ikerasak, and the dwelling-place Umanstiaq in the Umanak district. In order to avoid language difficulties he used performance-tests which estimated the children’s afttention, memory, ability to plan and to learn readily from experience. He used seven different tests, their aim being to investigate the children’s ))natural intelligence)) and not the wesults of acquirement and up- bringing)).

With a lenient assessmelit, Bertelsen arrived a t the conclusion that the children were on ail average 18 months behind European and Arnericon children of the same age. Not more than one-fourth of the children were on a level with western chil- dren. One-third, between the ages of 7 and 11 years, were 3 or more years behind European and American children.

Bertelsen is now testing adult Greenlanders in a similar way; the results have not yet been published, but he has kindly told me that they will be much the same as in the child material.

In 1938 I ) . M. Carmichael made some physiological tests in the Umanak colony and a t the settlements Igdlorsssuit and Qaersut. The majority of his series were too small to allow of any conclusions being drawn but the investigations covering constructive thinking are statistically reliable. He used the ))incomplete situation)) method. Four tales ))without an endo were read to 100 Greenlanders. They were asked to describe their ideas of the final development of the story and the reason for it. Corresponding investigations with different groups of people in Cambridge were used for comparison.

The results showed tha,t there was no appreciable difference between the two series. In both groups the replies were given promptly, in plain words; they were stereotyped, generalized, or influenced by emotion and one-sided. They made no difference between ))should)), ))ought)), ehad to)) or ))might)) happen, and made the facts fit the final solution instead of leading up t o it. Carmichael therefore con- siders it probable sthat the mental processes involved in dealing with this kind of problem, a t least, are, in each instance, psychologically identical, and that the contentiori that civilized persons strive always to reach a well-balanced coherent conclusion, while the primitive is willing to tolerate incoherence and even con- siderable contradictions and contrasts is, if not unfair to the primitive, a t least highly flattering to ourselves)).

Emotional Life. The Eskimo race is characterized by impulsiveness, suggestibility and instability

according to Bertelsen. The now extinct Eskimo shamanism, angakut, was based on their intense sug-

gestibility. They are still very superstitious, however, and there is a deeply rooted belief in supernatural powers.

The Eskimos’ instability and inconstancy, is observed in the fact that promises are easily broken, agreements ignored, and posts left on the spur of the moment. Their moods change suddenly. A longing for something new, something never be- fore seen, is a common trait. They submit t o Fate, however hard i t may be.

Their impulsiveness appears in sexual life which is quite unrestrained; sexual

252 M. CH. EHRSTRGM.

intercourse occurs a t an early age and promiscuity is widespread (Bertelsen). Their generosity, helpfulness, hospitality and friendliness toward strangers are signs of impulsive spontaneity in spite of their being very shy and easily depressed, espe- cially the men.

They love their children deeply, no matter whether they number one or ten. The children are brought up in complete freedom and are considered almost in- dependent individuals after confirmation a t the age of 14. They are whipped or beaten occasionally but i t is not a common occurrence. The children dominate the home t o a certain extent, probably because of the persistance of the pagan Eskimo belief that the soul of a deceased relative returns to Earth in the new- born child.

But, on the other hand, adults treat one another with surprising indifference. They are almost inconsiderate in their egoism. They care for their dogs satisfac- torily but have no feeling for animals in general. On two occasions I saw dogs being cruelly treated, but the general opinion was that the men were right in their action, as ))the dogs would not pull)).

Bertelsen maintains that many of the qualities mentioned here seem to agree with those of ))the Aryan race)), they are characteristics of certain psychopaths, and are actually transmitted from a more primitive type of man. In my opinion the Umanak Greenlanders often seemed to be childish Bohemians with all their peculiar charm and failings.

Changes in the social structure due to European contacts have created a sense of inferiority among the people, especially among the ))mixed)) population and the Greenlanders in administrative positions. The closer the contact with European economic life and ways of thinking, the greater the sense of inferiority. It seems as if they hardly ever felt on a level with Europeans (Ole Vindings). The fact that the Danes in Greenland are not true representatives of the Danish people may be LL contributory factor. Those who elect t o make their living in Greenland are often lacking in intellectual and ethical respects.

illode and Rhythwh of Life.

In strange contrast to the coriinionly accepted promiscuity is the fact that the birth of an illegitimate child is merely tolerated yet i t is something to be ashanied of unless the father is a European. In that case it is almost an honour. Early mar- riages are frequent. Interniarriage between close relatives, even cousins, are rare, but marriages within the district are common. In two-thirds of the marriages in Umanak (Bertelsen) both partners belonged to the district.

There are regular working-hours for the minority in the colony: clerks and un- skilled workers; during the six light months they are 8-12 and 13-18 hour8 and during the dark period 10-12 and 13-16 hours. The majority do not keep regular hours. Watches and clocks are luxuries and the time is estimated by the light. During the dark period the hunters and fishermen work in daylight and by moonlight. The Greenlanders sleep a good deal, 8 to 12 hours each day, usually a t night, but there is always a light in some house and people moving about out-

MEDICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN NORTH GREENLAND 1948-1049. 253

side. I n spring and summer when i t is light both day and night the people sleep when it suits them, mostly between 3 and 13 o’clock, however. Children and young people are frequently seen playing about out-of-doors in the early hours of the night.

The hunter-fishermen leave by sleigh or kayak about 10 o’clock in the morning - often without taking any food. Their only daily meal, consisting of enormous quantities of meat and fish, is taken on their return. When the catch is good they may be away for several days and manage almost without food or sleep. When the catch is poor the men are idle and loll about on their sleeping-places.

The Greenlander does not live by the clock like the Westerner. He is not sub- jected to what is called the ))hustle and bustle)) of the time. He takes the day as it comes and - from a European standpoint - has n o cares whatsoever.

The rhythm of life also differs. Regular working-hours, rest and meals which seem to be fundamental necessities in western communities and reflected in the organism’s endogenic assimilation and dissimilation are largely lacking in Green- land.

To the harassed Westerner the life in Greenland seems calm, harmonious and free from conflicts. But i t ishould be remembered that their constant fear of death by misadventure, tuberculosis and epidemics, starvation and privation may cause conflicts. Yurthermore, jeadousy, sterility, sexual anomalies, matrimonial difficul- ties and disagreement among neighbours are no less frequent in Greenland than in Europe.

References.

Bertelsen, A.: Gronlands inedicinsk statistik og nosografi. Meddelelser om Gronland. 117. - Carmichael, U. M.: The Brit. Journ. of Psychol. 30. 295 (1940). - Gronland ‘LOO aar efter Hans Egede. - Statistisbe oplysninger on1 Gronland. - Vindings, 0.: Gronland 1946.