Ingemann
Bianco was born in a small settlement in eastern Greenland in
1928. Today he lives in Tasiilaq, the largest town on the east
coast, but he was raised as a hunter in a village with only
four houses, three made of traditional stone and sod and one
a European-style wooden house. Bianco's ancestors have occupied
the frigid, mountainous coast of this forbidding and isolated
land for thousands of years. They call themselves Inuit, which
means "the people," in their language, Greenlandic.
Apart from two small settlements of Vikings lasting from the
late 10th century to the 14th century, Greenland's Inuit were
completely isolated from the rest of the world until 1721, when
a missionary from Denmark traveled to the Island. Europeans
brought new technologies, such as guns and metal implements.
But even with these influences, Greenland's Inuits continued
to house, cloth, and feed themselves largely with stone age
technologies until the early 20th century. The sparsely populated
eastern coast of Greenland, where Bianco was born and raised,
was the last to be influenced by Europeans. Daniel Grossman
interviewed Bianco about his life at his home in Tasiilaq, where
he has lived since he stopped hunting in 1996. Jens-Peter Davidsen,
a science teacher in Tasiilaq, translated.
Early Childhood
Apart from a few modern implements, Bianco's early life
was hardly different from that of his ancestors for thousands
of years. It wasn't until he was 8 years old that he saw
his first white person or a modern wooden boat. Here he
recalls some early memories.
Seal Hunting
The traditional kayak is made of sealskin and driftwood.
Bianco describes some of his experiences hunting seal in
kayaks.
Strange Seals
Bianco says he has shot 20 polar bears and scores of seals
in his life. In his travels at sea, he has seen many strange
things. Here he talks about a few.
Trip
In Bianco's youth there were no phones and no electricity.
In summer, travel was done exclusively in small kayaks and
larger umiaks. In winter, he traveled by dog sledge (or
sled). The patterns of life were ruled by tradition and
weather. In the small villages where he spent his early
years, the last chance to visit a town for supplies was
in October. After that, 24-hour darkness and rough weather
made long trips impossible for about six months. In the
spring of 1960, Bianco's village ran short of supplies before
the weather cleared. He and several other men made a desperate
sled-dog journey to the nearest town. The men traveled for
200 miles over glaciers, past treacherous crevasses (deep
holes in the ice) and through howling gales. Here Bianco
reminisces about the trip.
Problems
In many ways, life is much easier for the Inuit today
than it was when Bianco was born. People live in wooden
houses, many with indoor plumbing. They have power boats
and skimobiles. But Bianco misses the old ways. He has
regrets about modern life and some of the problems it has
brought.
Jens-Peter Davidsen was born in Tasiilaq. He studied to be
an electrician in Sisimuit, Greenland. Later he traveled to
Demark where he studied to be a teacher. Today he teaches
science in Tasiilaq.
Inuit Language
Greenlandic is an Inuit language that is quite unlike
any other language. Click to listen to several simple
words and phrases spoken by a young Inuit boy.
Tasiilaq
It is largest town in eastern Greenland with a population
of almost 2,000 Inuit. See photos depicting the
life and people of the town.