Inuit whaling

Traditional whaling
The Inuits who emigrated from Canada to Greenland at the turn of the last millennium were specialised in the hunting of marine mammals. Since the majority of animals in Greenland are found in the sea, the Inuits’ hunting culture meant that they were able to survive in Greenland even in times of major climatic change. This situation contrasted sharply with all previous immigrations, where land-based hunting was the chief method of procuring food.



	Traditional whaling at Qaanaaq

The Inuits first and foremost hunted seals, but were also dependent on narwhals, beluga whales and not least the enormous bowhead whales that swam so slowly that it was possible to harpoon them from large rowing boats covered with hide - umiaqs, as they are called in Greenlandic.

Food and materials from whales
A bowhead whale – which today is a fully protected species – could provide as much as 50 tonnes (110,000 lbs) of meat and more than 1 km. (3300 feet) of whalebone. The whale meat was shared out at the settlement and a large percentage was dried and stored as winter supplies. The skin, which is particularly rich in vitamin C, was eaten, the blubber was used as fuel for heating, the teeth as tools, and the whalebone used as rope and cordage. Rope made of whalebone was exceptionally strong and therefore a highly valuable commodity which was used when bartering with both the Viking settlers and later with European whalers.

The majority of urban museums in Greenland house collections of kayaks or umiaks. The museums also have exhibitions showing where the Inuits emigrated from and how they lived and hunted.