... And religions
Today, the main religion is Protestant Christianity, with most believers belonging to the Lutheran Church of Denmark. There is no official census, but it is estimated that around 63% of the population is Protestant. As in Denmark, there is no separation of church and state, so the government is directly responsible for its funding and administration. Since the 1990s, Greenland has had its own diocese, and the current bishop is a woman (Sofie Petersen). The capital also boasts a Catholic church and a cathedral (Annaassisup Oqaluffia), probably one of the smallest in the world. You'll find churches in every town in the country, sometimes mixed up with schools in the villages. Baptisms, communions and weddings are celebrated here, as Greenlanders have been strongly attached to these practices since colonization. The churches are often very typical, and the mass is very different from the respectful, silent atmosphere of our own churches. The service is a much-awaited social moment, with a lot of singing. Greenlanders come to be together, to catch up on news, to exchange ideas and to show off their traditional festive outfits, which include skinshorts, embroidered fur boots, sumptuous polar bear waders, capes and multicolored beaded necklaces. Mass is usually followed by a snack with cupcakes. Even if you're not a believer, don't miss this typical event.
Greenland is also home to other religious communities, including the Catholic Church, Islam and Judaism. There are also sects, including Jehovah's Witnesses.
Sedna, the goddess of the sea
The Inuit of the Arctic regions have always survived thanks to natural resources, and have thus always been aware of being an integral part of nature. Greenland's most famous legend, Sassumap arnaa , is about the sea goddess who gathers all the sea animals in her tousled hair to punish men for their greed and for breaking the community's rules and prohibitions. While there are many versions scattered across the country, and in every household, the goddess is consistently described as the go-between between the Inuit and Mother Nature. Legend has it that Sedna is angry when the sea gets rough, and that her hair gets tangled up in waves... The natives are thus forced to treat the ocean with immense respect at all times. A shaman is sent to appease the ocean, promising that the men will improve their behavior. He is then allowed to comb his hair in such a way as to allow the animals to escape. Anthropologist Jean-Michel Huctin explains: "Beyond the obvious understanding that their survival depended on this maternal and nurturing nature, this legend expressed their acute awareness of being an integral part of it, and their deep intuition of a complex ecological order (...) This traditional personification of a nature that is both stingy and generous taught the Inuit to respect its hidden laws. They followed certain rituals so as not to offend the seals, whales and bears that came their way. Nothing was wasted: meat was shared between humans and their dogs, skins were used to make the warmest clothes, sinews were used as sewing thread; bones were used to make tools or toys; oil extracted from their fat provided fuel for lamps, and so on. And it was the role of theangakoq (shaman) to appease tormented spirits and restore harmony to the world". At a time when global warming and the threat of pollution from industrialized countries pose a major threat to Arctic flora and fauna, the sea goddess remains more than ever a powerful symbol in the fight to preserve the environment. The popular band Nanook even made a video clip about her. If you'd like to read this tale in full, please note that it has been translated into French from the writings of Knud Rasmussen.
First names
Theateq, literally "name" in Kalaallisut, represented the soul, or rather the personality, of the deceased. In the past, this Inuit belief was an integral part of Greenlandic culture. A kind of spiritual double of each individual, transmitted from the deceased to the newborn, usually a member of the same family, it was a continuity of name survival through character traits rather than total reincarnation. In this way, the deceased continued to live on for a time through his or her descendants. To communicate with these spirits, the shaman(angakoq in Greenlandic) used sacred drums, dances or incantations. Today, although this belief is no longer as strong, it is not uncommon for families to pass on the name of the deceased to their children, seeking to detect in them the personality of the deceased.
