Magical thinking, or superstitious thinking,
is the belief that unrelated events are causally connected despite the
absence of any plausible causal link between them, particularly as a
result of supernatural effects.
Examples include the idea that personal thoughts can influence the
external world without acting on them, or that objects must be causally
connected if they resemble each other or have come into contact with
each other in the past. Magical thinking is a type of fallacious thinking and is a common source of invalid causal inferences.Unlike the confusion of correlation with causation, magical thinking does not require the events to be correlated.
The precise definition of magical thinking may vary subtly when
used by different theorists or among different fields of study. In anthropology, the posited causality is between religious ritual, prayer, sacrifice, or the observance of a taboo, and an expected benefit or recompense. In psychology,
magical thinking is the belief that one's thoughts by themselves can
bring about effects in the world or that thinking something corresponds
with doing it.
These beliefs can cause a person to experience an irrational fear of
performing certain acts or having certain thoughts because of an assumed
correlation between doing so and threatening calamities. In psychiatry, magical thinking defines false beliefs about the capability of thoughts, actions or words to cause or prevent undesirable events. It is a commonly observed symptom in thought disorder, schizotypal personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Types
Direct effect
Bronisław Malinowski's Magic, Science and Religion
(1954) discusses another type of magical thinking, in which words and
sounds are thought to have the ability to directly affect the world. This type of wish fulfillment thinking can result in the avoidance of talking about certain subjects ("speak of the devil and he'll appear"), the use of euphemisms
instead of certain words, or the belief that to know the "true name" of
something gives one power over it, or that certain chants, prayers, or
mystical phrases will bring about physical changes in the world. More
generally, it is magical thinking to take a symbol to be its referent or an analogy to represent an identity.
Sigmund Freud believed that magical thinking was produced by cognitive developmental
factors. He described practitioners of magic as projecting their mental
states onto the world around them, similar to a common phase in child
development.
From toddlerhood to early school age, children will often link the
outside world with their internal consciousness, e.g. "It is raining
because I am sad."
Symbolic approaches
Another theory of magical thinking is the symbolic approach. Leading thinkers of this category, including Stanley J. Tambiah,
believe that magic is meant to be expressive, rather than instrumental.
As opposed to the direct, mimetic thinking of Frazer, Tambiah asserts
that magic utilizes abstract analogies to express a desired state, along
the lines of metonymy or metaphor.
An important question raised by this interpretation is how mere
symbols could exert material effects. One possible answer lies in John L. Austin's concept of performativity, in which the act of saying something makes it true, such as in an inaugural or marital rite.
Other theories propose that magic is effective because symbols are able
to affect internal psycho-physical states. They claim that the act of
expressing a certain anxiety or desire can be reparative in itself.
According to theories of anxiety relief and control, people turn to
magical beliefs when there exists a sense of uncertainty and potential
danger, and with little access to logical or scientific responses to
such danger. Magic is used to restore a sense of control over
circumstance. In support of this theory, research indicates that
superstitious behavior is invoked more often in high stress situations,
especially by people with a greater desire for control.
Another potential reason for the persistence of magic rituals is
that the rituals prompt their own use by creating a feeling of
insecurity and then proposing themselves as precautions. Boyer and Liénard propose that in obsessive-compulsive
rituals — a possible clinical model for certain forms of magical
thinking — focus shifts to the lowest level of gestures, resulting in
goal demotion. For example, an obsessive-compulsive cleaning ritual may
overemphasize the order, direction, and number of wipes used to clean
the surface. The goal becomes less important than the actions used to
achieve the goal, with the implication that magic rituals can persist
without efficacy because the intent is lost within the act.
Alternatively, some cases of harmless "rituals" may have positive
effects in bolstering intent, as may be the case with certain pre-game
exercises in sports.
Some scholars believe that magic is effective psychologically. They cite the placebo effect and psychosomatic disease as prime examples of how our mental functions exert power over our bodies. Similarly, Robin Horton
suggests that engaging in magical practices surrounding healing can
relieve anxiety, which could have a significant positive physical
effect. In the absence of advanced health care, such effects would play a
relatively major role, thereby helping to explain the persistence and
popularity of such practices.
Phenomenological approach
Ariel Glucklich tries to understand magic from a subjective perspective, attempting to comprehend magic on a phenomenological, experientially
based level. Glucklich seeks to describe the attitude that magical
practitioners feel what he calls "magical consciousness" or the "magical
experience". He explains that it is based upon "the awareness of the
interrelatedness of all things in the world by means of simple but
refined sense perception."
Another phenomenological model is that of Gilbert Lewis, who
argues that "habit is unthinking". He believes that those practicing
magic do not think of an explanatory theory behind their actions any
more than the average person tries to grasp the pharmaceutical workings
of aspirin.
When the average person takes an aspirin, he does not know how the
medicine chemically functions. He takes the pill with the premise that
there is proof of efficacy. Similarly, many who avail themselves of
magic do so without feeling the need to understand a causal theory behind it.
"associative thinking", the association of entities based upon their resemblance to one another
Prominent Victorian
theorists identified associative thinking (a common feature of
practitioners of magic) as a characteristic form of irrationality. As
with all forms of magical thinking, association-based and
similarities-based notions of causality are not always said to be the
practice of magic by a magician. For example, the doctrine of signatures
held that similarities between plant parts and body parts indicated
their efficacy in treating diseases of those body parts, and was a part
of Western medicine during the Middle Ages. This association-based thinking is a vivid example of the general human application of the representativeness heuristic.
Edward Burnett Tylor coined the term "associative thinking", characterizing it as pre-logical,
in which the "magician's folly" is in mistaking an imagined connection
with a real one. The magician believes that thematically linked items
can influence one another by virtue of their similarity. For example, in E. E. Evans-Pritchard's account, members of the Azande tribe
believe that rubbing crocodile teeth on banana plants can invoke a
fruitful crop. Because crocodile teeth are curved (like bananas) and
grow back if they fall out, the Azande observe this similarity and want
to impart this capacity of regeneration to their bananas. To them, the
rubbing constitutes a means of transference.
Sir James Frazer (1854–1941) elaborated upon Tylor's principle by dividing magic into the categories of sympathetic and contagious magic. The latter is based upon the law of contagion
or contact, in which two things that were once connected retain this
link and have the ability to affect their supposedly related objects,
such as harming a person by harming a lock of his hair. Sympathetic
magic and homeopathy
operate upon the premise that "like affects like", or that one can
impart characteristics of one object to a similar object. Frazer
believed that some individuals think the entire world functions
according to these mimetic, or homeopathic, principles.
In How Natives Think (1925), Lucien Lévy-Bruhl
describes a similar notion of mystical, "collective representations".
He too sees magical thinking as fundamentally different from a Western
style of thought. He asserts that in these representations, "primitive"
people's "mental activity is too little differentiated for it to be
possible to consider ideas or images of objects by themselves apart from
the emotions and passions which evoke those ideas or are evoked by
them". Lévy-Bruhl explains that the indigenous people commit the post hoc, ergo propter hocfallacy, in which people observe that x is followed by y, and conclude that x has caused y. He believes that this fallacy is institutionalized in native culture and is committed regularly and repeatedly.
Despite the view that magic is less than rational and entails an inferior concept of causality, in The Savage Mind (1966), Claude Lévi-Strauss
suggested that magical procedures are relatively effective in exerting
control over the environment. This outlook has generated alternative
theories of magical thinking, such as the symbolic and psychological
approaches, and softened the contrast between "educated" and "primitive"
thinking: "Magical thinking is no less characteristic of our own
mundane intellectual activity than it is of Zande curing practices."
Cultural differences
Robin Horton maintains that the difference between the thinking of Western and of non-Western peoples is predominantly "idiomatic".
He says that the members of both cultures use the same practical
common-sense, and that both science and magic are ways beyond basic
logic by which people formulate theories to explain whatever occurs.
However, non-Western cultures use the idiom of magic and have community
spiritual figures, and therefore non-Westerners turn to magical
practices or to a specialist in that idiom. Horton sees the same logic
and common-sense in all cultures, but notes that their contrasting ontological
idioms lead to cultural practices which seem illogical to observers
whose own culture has correspondingly contrasting norms. He explains,
"[T]he layman's grounds for accepting the models propounded by the
scientist are often no different from the young African villager's
ground for accepting the models propounded by one of his elders."
Along similar lines, Michael F. Brown argues that the Aguaruna
of Peru see magic as a type of technology, no more supernatural than
their physical tools. Brown says that the Aguaruna utilize magic in an
empirical manner; for example, they discard any magical stones which
they have found to be ineffective. To Brown—as to Horton—magical and
scientific thinking differ merely in idiom. These theories blur the boundaries between magic, science, and religion,
and focus on the similarities in magical, technical, and spiritual
practices. Brown even ironically writes that he is tempted to disclaim
the existence of 'magic.'
One theory of substantive difference is that of the open versus
closed society. Horton describes this as one of the key dissimilarities
between traditional thought and Western science. He suggests that the
scientific worldview is distinguished from a magical one by the scientific method and by skepticism, requiring the falsifiability
of any scientific hypothesis. He notes that for native peoples "there
is no developed awareness of alternatives to the established body of
theoretical texts."
He notes that all further differences between traditional and Western
thought can be understood as a result of this factor. He says that
because there are no alternatives in societies based on magical thought,
a theory does not need to be objectively judged to be valid.
In children
According to Jean Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development,
magical thinking is most prominent in children between ages 2 and 7.
Due to examinations of grieving children, it is said that during this
age, children strongly believe that their personal thoughts have a
direct effect on the rest of the world. It is posited that their minds
will create a reason to feel responsible if they experience something
tragic that they do not understand, e.g. a death. Jean Piaget, a developmental psychologist, came up with a theory of four developmental stages.
Children between ages 2 and 7 would be classified under his preoperational stage of development. During this stage children are still developing their use of logical thinking.
A child's thinking is dominated by perceptions of physical features,
meaning that if the child is told that a family pet has "gone away to a
farm" when it has in fact died, then the child will have difficulty
comprehending the transformation of the dog not being around anymore.
Magical thinking would be evident here, since the child may believe that
the family pet being gone is just temporary. Their young minds in this
stage do not understand the finality of death and magical thinking may
bridge the gap.
Grief
It
was discovered that children often feel that they are responsible for
an event or events occurring or are capable of reversing an event simply
by thinking about it and wishing for a change: namely, "magical
thinking". Make-believe and fantasy are an integral part of life at this age and are often used to explain the inexplicable.
According to Piaget, children within this age group are often "egocentric", believing that what they feel and experience is the same as everyone else's feelings and experiences.
Also at this age, there is often a lack of ability to understand that
there may be other explanations for events outside of the realm of
things they have already comprehended. What happens outside their
understanding needs to be explained using what they already know,
because of an inability to fully comprehend abstract concepts.
Magical thinking is found particularly in children's explanations
of experiences about death, whether the death of a family member or
pet, or their own illness or impending death. These experiences are
often new for a young child, who at that point has no experience to give
understanding of the ramifications of the event.
A child may feel that they are responsible for what has happened,
simply because they were upset with the person who died, or perhaps
played with the pet too roughly. There may also be the idea that if the
child wishes it hard enough, or performs just the right act, the person
or pet may choose to come back, and not be dead any longer.
When considering their own illness or impending death, some
children may feel that they are being punished for doing something
wrong, or not doing something they should have, and therefore have
become ill.
If a child's ideas about an event are incorrect because of their
magical thinking, there is a possibility that the conclusions the child
makes could result in long-term beliefs and behaviours that create
difficulty for the child as they mature.
Related terms
"Quasi-magical thinking"
describes "cases in which people act as if they erroneously believe
that their action influences the outcome, even though they do not really
hold that belief".
People may realize that a superstitious intuition is logically false,
but act as if it were true because they do not exert an effort to
correct the intuition.
Though a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has
been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically
Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers) for more than a millennium,
beginning in 986. Greenland has been inhabited at intervals over at least the last 4,500 years by circumpolar peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada.Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century (having previously settled Iceland), and the 13th century saw the arrival of Inuit.
Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland
was not formally under the Norwegian crown until 1261. The Norse
colonies disappeared in the late 15th century, after Norway was hit by
the Black Death and entered a severe decline.
In the early 17th century, Dano-Norwegian explorers reached
Greenland again. When Denmark and Norway separated in 1814, Greenland
was transferred to the Danish crown, and was fully integrated in the
Danish state in 1953 under the Constitution of Denmark, which made the people in Greenland citizens of Denmark. In the 1979 Greenlandic home rule referendum, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland; in the 2008 Greenlandic self-government referendum, Greenlanders voted for the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the local Naalakkersuisut (Greenlandic government).
Under this structure, Greenland gradually assumed responsibility for a
number of governmental services and areas of competence. The Danish
government retains control of citizenship, monetary policy, and foreign
affairs, including defence. Most residents of Greenland are Inuit.
The population is concentrated mainly on the southwest coast, and
the rest of the island is sparsely populated. Three-quarters of
Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica. With a population of 56,583 (2022), Greenland is the least densely populated region in the world. Sixty-seven percent of its electricity production comes from renewable energy, mostly from hydropower.
Etymology
Greenland visible from space. Arctic Sea ice is not shown.
The early Norse settlers named the island Greenland. In the Icelandic sagas, the Norwegian Erik the Red was exiled from Iceland with his father, Thorvald, who had committed manslaughter. With his extended family and his thralls(slaves or serfs),
he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the
northwest. After finding a habitable area and settling there, he named
it Grœnland (translated as "Greenland"), supposedly in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers. The Saga of Erik the Red
states: "In the summer, Erik left to settle in the country he had
found, which he called Greenland, as he said people would be attracted
there if it had a favorable name."
In World War II, the United States military used Bluie as a code name for Greenland, where they kept several bases named "Bluie (East or West) (sequential numeral)".
Areas of Independence I and Independence II cultures around Independence Fjord
In prehistoric times, Greenland was home to several successive Paleo-Inuit
cultures known today primarily through archaeological finds. The
earliest entry of the Paleo-Inuit into Greenland is thought to have
occurred about 2500 BC. From about 2500 BC to 800 BC, southern and
western Greenland was inhabited by the Saqqaq culture. Most finds of remains from that period have been around Disko Bay, including the site of Saqqaq, for which the culture is named.
From 2400 BC to 1300 BC, the Independence I culture existed in northern Greenland. It was a part of the Arctic small-tool tradition. Towns, including Deltaterrasserne, appeared. About 800 BC, the Saqqaq culture disappeared and the Early Dorset culture emerged in western Greenland and the Independence II culture in northern Greenland.
The Dorset culture was the first culture to extend throughout the
Greenlandic coastal areas, in the west and the east. It lasted until the
total onset of the Thule culture, in AD 1500. The people of the Dorset culture lived mainly by hunting whales and reindeer.
From 986, the west coast was settled by Icelanders and Norwegians, through a contingent of 14 boats led by Erik the Red. They formed three settlements—the Eastern Settlement, the Western Settlement, and the Middle Settlement—on fjords near the southwestern tip of the island.
They shared the island with the late Dorset culture inhabitants, who
occupied the northern and western parts, and later with those of the
Thule culture, who entered from the north. Norse Greenlanders submitted
to Norwegian rule in 1261 under the Kingdom of Norway. The Kingdom of Norway entered a personal union with Denmark in 1380, and from 1397 was a part of the Kalmar Union.
The Norse settlements, such as Brattahlíð, thrived for centuries, before disappearing in the 15th century, perhaps at the onset of the Little Ice Age.[45] Except some runic inscriptions, the only contemporary records or historiography
that survives from the Norse settlements is of their contact with
Iceland or Norway. Medieval Norwegian sagas and historical works mention
Greenland's economy, the bishops of Gardar, and the collection of tithes. A chapter in the Konungs skuggsjá (The King's Mirror) describes Norse Greenland's exports, imports, and grain cultivation.
One of the last contemporary written mentions of the Norse Greenlanders records a marriage that took place in 1408 in the church of Hvalsey,
now the best-preserved Nordic ruins in Greenland. The married couple
then travelled to Iceland, which is why the account has been preserved.
Icelandic saga accounts of life in Greenland were composed in the
13th century and later, and are not primary sources for the history of
early Norse Greenland.
Those accounts are closer to primary for more contemporaneous accounts
of late Norse Greenland. Modern understanding therefore mostly depends
on the physical data from archeological sites. Interpretation of ice-core
and clam-shell data suggests that between AD 800 and 1300 the regions
around the fjords of southern Greenland had a relatively mild climate,
several degrees Celsius warmer than usual in the North Atlantic with trees and herbaceous plants growing and livestock being farmed. Barley was grown as a crop up to the 70th parallel. The ice cores show that Greenland has had dramatic temperature shifts many times in the past 100,000 years. Similarly the Icelandic Book of Settlements records famines during the winters, in which "the old and helpless were killed and thrown over cliffs".
These Norse settlements vanished during the 14th and early 15th centuries.
The demise of the Western Settlement coincides with a decrease in
summer and winter temperatures. A study of North Atlantic seasonal
temperature variability during the Little Ice Age showed a significant
decrease in maximum summer temperatures beginning about the turn of the
14th century—as much as 6 to 8 °C (11 to 14 °F) lower than modern summer
temperatures.
The study also found that the lowest winter temperatures of the last
2,000 years occurred in the late 14th century and early 15th century.
The Eastern Settlement was probably abandoned in the early to mid-15th
century, during this cold period.
Extent of the Dano-Norwegian possessions (1536–1814)Estimated
extent of Arctic cultures in Greenland from 900 AD to 1500 AD. Colored
areas on each map indicate the extent and migration patterns over time
of the Dorset, Thule, and Norse cultures.
Theories drawn from archeological excavations at Herjolfsnes
in the 1920s suggest that the condition of human bones from this period
indicates that the Norse population was malnourished, possibly because
of soil erosion
resulting from the Norsemen's destruction of natural vegetation in the
course of farming, turf-cutting, and wood-cutting. Malnutrition may also
have resulted from widespread deaths from pandemic plague; the decline in temperatures during the Little Ice Age; and armed conflicts with the Skrælings (Norse word for Inuit, meaning "wretches").
Recent archeological studies somewhat challenge the general assumption
that the Norse colonization had a dramatic negative environmental effect
on the vegetation. Data support traces of a possible Norse soil
amendment strategy.
More recent evidence suggests that the Norse, who never numbered more
than about 2,500, gradually abandoned the Greenland settlements over the
15th century as walrus ivory,
the most valuable export from Greenland, decreased in price because of
competition with other sources of higher-quality ivory, and that there
was actually little evidence of starvation or difficulties.
Other explanations of the disappearance of the Norse settlements have been proposed:
Lack of support from the homeland.
Ship-borne marauders (such as Basque, English, or German pirates) rather than Skrælings, could have plundered and displaced the Greenlanders.
They were "the victims of hidebound thinking and of a hierarchical
society dominated by the Church and the biggest land owners. In their
reluctance to see themselves as anything but Europeans, the Greenlanders
failed to adopt the kind of apparel that the Inuit employed as
protection against the cold and damp or to borrow any of the Inuit
hunting gear."
That portion of the Greenlander population willing to adopt Inuit
ways and means intermarried with and assimilated into the Inuit
community.
Much of the Greenland population today is mixed Inuit and European
ancestry. It was impossible in 1938 when Stefansson wrote his book to
distinguish between intermarriage before the European loss of contact
and after the contact was restored.
"Norse society's structure created a conflict between the short-term
interests of those in power, and the long-term interests of the society
as a whole."
Thule culture (1300–present)
Pictures of Greenland, c. 1863
The Thule people are the ancestors of the current Greenlandic
population. No genes from the Paleo-Inuit have been found in the present
population of Greenland.
The Thule culture migrated eastward from what is now known as Alaska
around 1000 AD, reaching Greenland around 1300. The Thule culture was
the first to introduce to Greenland such technological innovations as dog sleds and toggling harpoons.
There is an account of contact and conflict with the Norse population, as told by the Inuit. It is republished in The Norse Atlantic Sagas,
by Gwyn Jones. Jones reports that there is also an account of perhaps
the same incident, of more doubtful provenance, told by the Norse side.
1500–1814
In 1500, King Manuel I of Portugal sent Gaspar Corte-Real to Greenland in search of a Northwest Passage to Asia which, according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, was part of Portugal's sphere of influence. In 1501, Corte-Real returned with his brother, Miguel Corte-Real. Finding the sea frozen, they headed south and arrived in Labrador and Newfoundland.
Upon the brothers' return to Portugal, the cartographic information
supplied by Corte-Real was incorporated into a new map of the world
which was presented to Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, by Alberto Cantino in 1502. The Cantino planisphere, made in Lisbon, accurately depicts the southern coastline of Greenland.
An English map of 1747, based on Hans Egede's descriptions and misconceptions, by Emanuel Bowen
In 1605–1607, King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway sent a series of expeditions to Greenland and Arctic waterways to locate the lost eastern Norse settlement and assert Danish-Norwegian
sovereignty over Greenland. The expeditions were mostly unsuccessful,
partly due to leaders who lacked experience with the difficult Arctic
ice and weather conditions, and partly because the expedition leaders
were given instructions to search for the Eastern Settlement on the east
coast of Greenland just north of Cape Farewell, which is almost inaccessible due to southward drifting ice. The pilot on all three trips was English explorer James Hall.
After the Norse settlements died off, Greenland came under the
de facto control of various Inuit groups, but the Dano-Norwegian
government never forgot or relinquished the claims to Greenland that it
had inherited from the Norse. When it re-established contact with
Greenland in the early 17th century, Denmark-Norway asserted its
sovereignty over the island. In 1721 a joint mercantile and clerical
expedition led by Dano-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede was sent to Greenland, not knowing whether a Norse civilization remained there. This expedition is part of the Dano-Norwegian colonization of the Americas. After 15 years in Greenland, Hans Egede left his son Paul Egede
in charge of the mission there and returned to Denmark, where he
established a Greenland Seminary. This new colony was centred at Godthåb
("Good Hope") on the southwest coast. Gradually, Greenland was opened
up to Danish merchants, but closed to those from other countries.
When the union between the crowns of Denmark and Norway was dissolved in 1814, the Treaty of Kiel
severed Norway's former colonies and left them under the control of the
Danish monarch. Norway occupied then-uninhabited eastern Greenland as Erik the Red's Land in July 1931, claiming that it constituted terra nullius. Norway and Denmark agreed to submit the matter in 1933 to the Permanent Court of International Justice, which decided against Norway.
Greenland's connection to Denmark was severed on 9 April 1940, early in World War II, after Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany. On 8 April 1941, the United States occupied Greenland to defend it against a possible invasion by Germany.
The United States' occupation of Greenland continued until 1945.
Greenland was able to buy goods from the United States and Canada by
selling cryolite from the mine at Ivittuut. The major air bases were Bluie West-1 at Narsarsuaq and Bluie West-8 at Søndre Strømfjord (Kangerlussuaq), both of which are still used as Greenland's major international airports.
Map of Eirik Raudes Land
During this war, the system of government changed: GovernorEske Brun
ruled the island under a law of 1925 that allowed governors to take
control under extreme circumstances; Governor Aksel Svane was
transferred to the United States to lead the commission to supply
Greenland. The Danish Sirius Patrol guarded the northeastern shores of Greenland in 1942 using dog sleds. They detected several German weather stations and alerted American troops, who destroyed the facilities. After the collapse of the Third Reich, Albert Speer
briefly considered escaping in a small aeroplane to hide out in
Greenland, but changed his mind and decided to surrender to the United States Armed Forces.
Greenland had been a protected and very isolated society until 1940. The Danish government had maintained a strict monopoly of Greenlandic trade, allowing no more than small scale barter trading
with British whalers. In wartime Greenland developed a sense of
self-reliance through self-government and independent communication with
the outside world. Despite this change, in 1946 a commission including
the highest Greenlandic council, the Landsrådene,
recommended patience and no radical reform of the system. Two years
later, the first step towards a change of government was initiated when a
grand commission was established. A final report (G-50) was presented
in 1950, which recommended the introduction of a modern welfare state
with Denmark's development as sponsor and model. In 1953, Greenland was
made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom. Home rule was granted in
1979.
The orthography and vocabulary of the Greenlandic language is governed by Oqaasileriffik, the Greenlandic language secretariat, located in the IlimmarfikUniversity of Greenland, Nuuk.
In 1867, United StatesSecretary of StateWilliam H. Seward worked with former senator Robert J. Walker to explore the possibility of buying Greenland and, perhaps, Iceland. Opposition in Congress ended this project. Following World War II, the United States developed a geopolitical interest in Greenland and in 1946 offered to buy the island from Denmark for $100,000,000; the Danish rejected the offer.
In the 21st century, the United States remains interested in investing
in the resource base of Greenland and in tapping hydrocarbons off the
Greenlandic coast. In August 2019, the US again proposed to buy the country, prompting premier Kim Kielsen
to issue the statement, "Greenland is not for sale and cannot be sold,
but Greenland is open for trade and cooperation with other
countries—including the United States."
The United States has operated Thule Air Base, now Pituffik Space Base, since the 1950s.
In 1950, Denmark agreed to allow the US to regain the use of Thule Air Base; it was greatly expanded between 1951 and 1953 as part of a unified NATOCold War
defence strategy. The local population of three nearby villages was
moved more than 100 km (62 miles) away in the winter. The United States
tried to construct a subterranean network of secret nuclear missile launch sites in the Greenlandic ice cap, named Project Iceworm. According to documents declassified in 1996, this project was managed from Camp Century from 1960 to 1966 before abandonment as unworkable.
The missiles were never fielded, and necessary consent from the Danish
Government to do so was never sought. The Danish government did not
become aware of the programme's mission until 1997, when they discovered
it while looking, in the declassified documents, for records related to
the crash of a nuclear equipped B-52 bomber at Thule in 1968.
With the 1953 Danish constitution, Greenland's colonial status ended as the island was incorporated into the Danish realm as an amt
(county). Danish citizenship was extended to Greenlanders. Danish
policies toward Greenland consisted of a strategy of cultural
assimilation — or de-Greenlandification. During this period, the Danish
government promoted the exclusive use of the Danish language in official
matters, and required Greenlanders to go to Denmark for their
post-secondary education. Many Greenlandic children grew up in boarding
schools in southern Denmark, and a number lost their cultural ties to
Greenland. While the policies "succeeded" in the sense of shifting
Greenlanders from being primarily subsistence hunters into being
urbanized wage earners, the Greenlandic elite began to reassert a
Greenlandic cultural identity. A movement developed in favour of
independence, reaching its peak in the 1970s.
As a consequence of political complications in relation to Denmark's
entry into the European Common Market in 1972, Denmark began to seek a
different status for Greenland, resulting in the Home Rule Act of 1979.
Sermiligaaq. Greenland has more than 60 settlements.
This gave Greenland limited autonomy with its own legislature taking control of some internal policies, while the Parliament of Denmark maintained full control of external policies, security, and natural resources. The law came into effect on 1 May 1979. The King of Denmark, Frederik X, remains Greenland's head of state. In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC) upon achieving self-rule, as it did not agree with the EEC's commercial fishing regulations and an EEC ban on seal skin products. Greenland voters approved a referendum on greater autonomy on 25 November 2008. According to one study, the 2008 vote created what "can be seen as a system between home rule and full independence".
On 21 June 2009, Greenland gained self-rule with provisions for assuming responsibility for self-government of judicial affairs, policing, and natural resources. Also, Greenlanders were recognized as a separate people under international law. Denmark maintains control of foreign affairs and defence
matters. Denmark upholds the annual block grant of 3.2 billion Danish
kroner, but as Greenland begins to collect revenues of its natural
resources, the grant will gradually be diminished. This is generally
considered to be a step toward eventual full independence from Denmark. Greenlandic was declared the sole official language of Greenland at the historic ceremony.
Tourism increased significantly between 2015 and 2019, with the number of visitors increasing from 77,000 per year to 105,000.
One source estimated that in 2019 the revenue from this aspect of the
economy was about 450 million kroner (US$67 million). Like many aspects
of the economy, this slowed dramatically in 2020 and into 2021, due to
restrictions required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic;
one source describes it as being the "biggest economic victim of the
coronavirus" (the overall economy did not suffer too severely as of
mid-2020, thanks to the fisheries "and a hefty subsidy from
Copenhagen"). Greenland's goal for returning tourism is to develop it "right" and to "build a more sustainable tourism for the long run".
The lowest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere was recorded in Greenland, near the topographic summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet, on 22 December 1991, when the temperature reached −69.6 °C (−93.3 °F). In Nuuk, the average daily temperature varies over the seasons from −5.1 to 9.9 °C (22.8 to 49.8 °F). The total area of Greenland is 2,166,086 km2 (836,330 sq mi) (including other offshore minor islands), of which the Greenland ice sheet covers 1,755,637 km2 (677,855 sq mi) (81%) and has a volume of approximately 2,850,000 km3 (680,000 cu mi). The highest point on Greenland is Gunnbjørn Fjeld at 3,700 m (12,100 ft) of the Watkins Range (East Greenland mountain range). The majority of Greenland, however, is less than 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in elevation.
Greenland bedrock, at current elevation above sea level
The weight of the ice sheet has depressed the central land area to form a basin lying more than 300 m (980 ft) below sea level, while elevations rise suddenly and steeply near the coast.
The ice flows generally to the coast from the centre of the island. A survey led by French scientist Paul-Emile Victor in 1951 concluded that, under the ice sheet, Greenland is composed of three large islands. This is disputed, but if it is so, they would be separated by narrow straits, reaching the sea at Ilulissat Icefjord, at Greenland's Grand Canyon and south of Nordostrundingen.
All towns and settlements of Greenland
are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population being
concentrated along the west coast. The northeastern part of Greenland is
not part of any municipality, but it is the site of the world's largest
national park, Northeast Greenland National Park.
At least four scientific expedition stations and camps had been
established on the ice sheet in the ice-covered central part of
Greenland (indicated as pale blue in the adjacent map): Eismitte, North Ice, North GRIP Camp and The Raven Skiway. There is a year-round station Summit Camp on the ice sheet, established in 1989. The radio station Jørgen Brønlund Fjord was, until 1950, the northernmost permanent outpost in the world.
The extreme north of Greenland, Peary Land,
is not covered by an ice sheet, because the air there is too dry to
produce snow, which is essential in the production and maintenance of an
ice sheet. If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt away completely, the world's sea level would rise by more than 7 m (23 ft).
In 2003, a small island, 35 m × 15 m (115 ft × 49 ft) in length and width, was discovered by arctic explorer Dennis Schmitt and his team at the coordinates of 83-42. Whether this island is permanent is not yet confirmed. If it is, it is the northernmost permanent known land on Earth.
In 2007, the existence of a new island was announced. Named "Uunartoq Qeqertaq" (English: Warming Island),
this island has always been present off the coast of Greenland, but was
covered by a glacier. This glacier was discovered in 2002 to be
shrinking rapidly, and by 2007 had completely melted away, leaving the
exposed island. The island was named Place of the Year by the Oxford Atlas of the World in 2007. Ben Keene, the atlas's editor, commented:
In the last two or three decades, global warming has reduced the size of glaciers throughout the Arctic and earlier this year, news sources confirmed what climate scientists already knew: water, not rock, lay beneath this ice bridge
on the east coast of Greenland. More islets are likely to appear as the
sheet of frozen water covering the world's largest island continues to
melt.
Some controversy surrounds the history of the island, specifically over
whether the island might have been revealed during a brief warm period
in Greenland during the mid-20th century.
NASA graphics show the extent of the then-record melting event in July 2012.
Greenland ice sheet always loses some mass from ice calving at its coasts, but it used to gain more ice on average due to the accumulation of snowfall. Yet, Greenland has been warming starting from around 1900, and starting from 1980s, the losses became larger than the gains. After 1996, Greenland has not had a single year when it did not lose mass on average.
In 2010s, Greenland ice sheet had been melting at its fastest rate over
at least the past 12,000 years, and on track to exceed that later in
the century.
In 2012, 2019 and 2021, so-called "massive melting events" had
occurred, when practically the entire surface of the ice sheet had been
melting and no accumulation had been taking place.During the 2021 event, rain fell at Greenland's highest point for the
first time in recorded history: an event so unexpected that the research
station at the summit had no rain gauges for the occasion.
As with the ice losses elsewhere, the melting of Greenland
contributes to sea level rise. Between 2012 and 2017, this melting had
added an average of 0.68 mm per year, which was equivalent to 37% of sea level rise from land ice sources (excluding thermal expansion of water from the continual increase in the ocean heat content). By the end of the century, the melting of Greenland alone would add between ~6 cm (2+1⁄2 in) if the temperatures are kept below 2 °C (3.6 °F), to around 13 cm (5 in) if the most intense climate change scenario with ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions is followed. Under this scenario, the worst case for Greenland melting could reach 33 cm (13 in) of sea level rise equivalent. The large quantities of fresh meltwater also affect the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, or AMOC, by diluting key currents, slowing it down.Due to this meltwater input, the circulation may even collapse
outright, with widespread detrimental effects, although research
suggests this is only likely if highest possible warming is sustained
for multiple centuries.
Potential equilibrium states of the ice sheet in response to different equilibrium carbon dioxide concentrations in parts per million.
Second and third states would result in 1.8 and 2.4 m (6 and 8 ft) of
sea level rise, while the fourth state is equivalent to 6.9 m (23 ft).
Greenland ice sheet has a great volume of ~2,900,000 cubic kilometres
(696,000 cu mi). This means that if it were all to melt, the global sea
levels would increase by ~7.4 m (24 ft) from that alone. However, it also means that it will take at least 1,000 years for the ice sheet to disappear even with very high warming, and in around 10,000 years under lower warming which still crosses the threshold for the ice sheet's disappearance.
This threshold likely lies for the global warming between 1.7 °C
(3.1 °F) and 2.3 °C (4.1 °F). Reducing the warming back to 1.5 °C
(2.7 °F) above preindustrial levels or lower (i.e. through large-scale carbon dioxide removal) would arrest the losses, but still cause greater ultimate sea level rise than if the threshold had never been exceeded. Further, 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) itself appears to commit the ice sheet to 1.4 m (4+1⁄2 ft) of sea level rise.
Geology
The island was part of the very ancient Precambrian continent of Laurentia,
the eastern core of which forms the Greenland Shield, while the less
exposed coastal strips become a plateau. On these ice-free coastal
strips are sediments formed in the Precambrian, overprinted by metamorphism and now formed by glaciers, which continue into the Cenozoic and Mesozoic in parts of the island.
In the east and west of Greenland there are remnants of flood basalts and igneous intrusions, such as the Skaergaard intrusion. Notable rock provinces (metamorphic
igneous rocks, ultramafics, and anorthosites) are found on the
southwest coast at Qeqertarsuatsiaat. East of Nuuk, the banded iron ore
region of Isukasia, over three billion years old, contains the world's
oldest rocks, such as greenlandite (a rock composed predominantly of
hornblende and hyperthene), formed 3.8 billion years ago, and nuummite. In southern Greenland, the Illimaussaq alkaline complex consists of pegmatites
such as nepheline, syenites (especially kakortokite or naujaite) and
sodalite (sodalite-foya). In Ivittuut, where cryolite was formerly
mined, there are fluoride-bearing
pegmatites. To the north of Igaliku, there are the Gardar alkaline
pegmatitic intrusions of augite syenite, gabbro, etc.
To the west and southwest are Palaeozoic
carbonatite complexes at Kangerlussuaq (Gardiner complex) and Safartoq,
and basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks at Uiffaq on Disko Island, where
there are masses of heavy native iron up to 25 t (28 short tons) in the basalts.
The paleontology of East Greenland is specially rich, with some of the early tetrapods such as the Devonian Acanthostega and Ichthyostega, and unique triassic animals such as the phytosaur Mystriosuchus alleroq and the dinosaurs Issi saaneq and tracks.
Greenland is home to two ecoregions: Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra and Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra.
There are approximately 700 known species of insects in Greenland,
which is low compared with other countries (over one million species
have been described worldwide). The sea is rich in fish and
invertebrates, especially in the milder West Greenland Current;
a large part of the Greenland fauna is associated with marine-based
food chains, including large colonies of seabirds. The few native land
mammals in Greenland include the polar bear, reindeer (introduced by Europeans), arctic fox, arctic hare, musk ox, collared lemming, ermine, and arctic wolf. The last four are found naturally only in East Greenland, having immigrated from Ellesmere Island. There are dozens of species of seals and whales
along the coast. Land fauna consists predominantly of animals which
have spread from North America or, in the case of many birds and
insects, from Europe. There are no native or free-living reptiles or
amphibians on the island.
Phytogeographically, Greenland belongs to the Arctic province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom.
The island is sparsely populated in vegetation; plant life consists
mainly of grassland and small shrubs, which are regularly grazed by
livestock. The most common tree native to Greenland is the European
white birch (Betula pubescens) along with gray-leaf willow (Salix glauca), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), common juniper (Juniperus communis) and other smaller trees, mainly willows.
Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, in Disko Bay near Ilulissat
As of 2009, 269 species of fish from over 80 different families are
known from the waters surrounding Greenland. Almost all are marine
species with only a few in freshwater, notably Atlantic salmon and charr. The fishing industry is the primary industry of Greenland's economy, accounting for the majority of territory's total exports.
The Greenlandic government holds executive power in local government affairs. The head of the government is called Naalakkersuisut Siulittaasuat ("Premier") and serves as head of Greenlandic Government. Any other member of the cabinet is called a Naalakkersuisoq ("Minister"). The Greenlandic parliament is called Inatsisartut ("Legislators"). The parliament currently has 31 members.
In contemporary times, elections are held at municipal, national (Inatsisartut), and kingdom (Folketing) levels.
Greenland is a self-governing entity within the constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Denmark, in which King Frederik X is the head of state. The monarch officially retains executive power and presides over the Council of State (privy council). However, following the introduction of a parliamentary system of government, the duties of the monarch have since become strictly representative and ceremonial, such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the prime minister
and other ministers in the executive government. The monarch is not
answerable for his or her actions, and the monarch's person is
sacrosanct.
Political system
The party system was dominated by the social-democratic Forward Party, and the democratic socialist Inuit Community Party, both of which broadly argue for greater independence from Denmark. While the 2009 election saw the unionist Democrat Party (two MPs) decline greatly, the 2013 election consolidated the power of the two main parties at the expense of the smaller groups, and saw the eco-socialistInuit Party elected to the Parliament for the first time. The dominance of the Forward and Inuit Community parties began to wane after the snap 2014 and 2018 elections.
The non-binding 2008 referendum on self-governance favouring increased self-governance and autonomy was passed winning 76.22% of the vote.
Several American and Danish military bases are located in Greenland, including Pituffik Space Base (previously Thule Air Base), which is home to the United States Space Force's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Elements of the sensor systems are commanded and controlled variously by Space Deltas 2, 4, and 6.
In 1995, a political scandal in Denmark occurred after a report revealed the government had given tacit permission for nuclear weapons to be located in Greenland, in contravention of Denmark's 1957 nuclear-free zone policy. The United States built a secret nuclear powered base, called Camp Century, in the Greenland ice sheet. On 21 January 1968, a B-52G, with four nuclear bombs aboard as part of Operation Chrome Dome, crashed on the ice of the North Star Bay while attempting an emergency landing at Thule Air Base. The resulting fire caused extensive radioactive contamination. One of the H-bombs remains lost.
Formerly consisting of three counties comprising a total of 18
municipalities, Greenland abolished these in 2009 and has since been
divided into large territories known as "municipalities" (Greenlandic: kommuneqarfiit, Danish: kommuner): Sermersooq ("Much Ice") around the capital Nuuk and also including all East Coast communities; Kujalleq ("South") around Cape Farewell; Qeqqata ("Centre") north of the capital along the Davis Strait; Qeqertalik ("The one with islands") surrounding Disko Bay; and Avannaata ("Northern") in the northwest; the latter two having come into being as a result of the Qaasuitsup municipality, one of the original four, being partitioned in 2018. The northeast of the island composes the unincorporated Northeast Greenland National Park. Pituffik Space Base is also unincorporated, an enclave within Avannaata municipality administered by the United States Space Force. During its construction, there were as many as 12,000 American residents but in recent years the number has been below 1,000.
The Greenlandic economy is highly dependent on fishing. Fishing accounts for more than 90% of Greenland's exports. The shrimp and fish industry is by far the largest income earner.
Greenland is abundant in minerals. Mining of ruby deposits began in 2007. Other mineral prospects are improving as prices are increasing. These include iron, uranium, aluminium, nickel, platinum, tungsten, titanium, and copper. The state company Nunamineral has been launched on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange to raise more capital to increase the production of gold, started in 2007. Another state company, Nunaoil,
was created to help develop the hydrocarbon industry in Greenland.
However, in July 2021, Greenland banned all new oil and gas exploration
in its territory, with government officials stating that the
environmental "price of oil extraction is too high".
Electricity has traditionally been generated by oil or diesel power plants, even if there is a large surplus of potential hydropower. There is a programme to build hydropower plants. The first, and still the largest, is Buksefjord hydroelectric power plant.
There are also plans to build a large aluminium smelter, using
hydropower to create an exportable product. It is expected that much of
the labour needed will be imported.
The European Union has urged Greenland to restrict development by the People's Republic of China of rare-earth
mineral projects, as China accounts for 95% of the world's current
supply. However, in early 2013 the government of Greenland said that it
had no plans to impose such restrictions.
The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the
municipalities, plays a dominant role in Greenland's economy. About half
the government revenues come from grants from the Danish government, an
important supplement to the gross domestic product (GDP). Gross
domestic product per capita is equivalent to that of the average
economies of Europe.
Greenland suffered an economic contraction in the early 1990s.
But, since 1993, the economy has improved. The Greenland Home Rule
Government (GHRG) has pursued a tight fiscal policy since the late
1980s, which has helped create surpluses in the public budget and low
inflation. Since 1990, Greenland has registered a foreign-trade deficit following the closure of the last remaining lead and zinc mine that year. In 2017, new sources of ruby in Greenland have been discovered, promising to bring new industry and a new export from the territory (see Gemstone industry in Greenland).
There is air transport both within Greenland and between the island and other nations.
There is also scheduled boat traffic, but the long distances lead to
long travel times and low frequency. There are virtually no roads
between cities because the coast has many fjords that would require
ferry service to connect a road network. The only exception is a gravel
road of 4.8 km (3 mi) length between Kangilinnguit and the now abandoned former cryolite mining town of Ivittuut.
In addition, the lack of agriculture, forestry and similar countryside
activities has meant that very few country roads have been built.
Greenland has no passenger railways.
A 1-lane dirt road designed primarily for all-terrain vehicles (secondarily for bicycles and hiking), is under construction between Kangerlussuaq Airport and the town of Sisimiut. As of June 2023, the road was scheduled for completion in 2024. A news report in Sermitsiaq declared the road itself to be completed already in September 2021, but maintenance work and mud problems
have caused delays. There are plans to extend the road to a 2-lane
gravel road, but a date for its construction start has not been
announced.
Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ)
is the largest airport and the main aviation hub for international
passenger transport. It serves international and domestic airline
operated flight.
SFJ is far from the vicinity of the larger metropolitan capital areas,
317 km (197 mi) to the capital Nuuk, and airline passenger services are
available.
Nuuk Airport (GOH)
is the second-largest airport, located just 6.0 km (3.7 mi) from the
centre of the capital. GOH serves general aviation traffic and has daily
or regular domestic flights within Greenland. GOH also serves
international flights to Iceland, business, and private airplanes.
Ilulissat Airport (JAV) is a domestic airport that also serves international flights to Iceland.
There are a total of 13 registered civil airports and 47 helipads
in Greenland; most of them are unpaved and located in rural areas. The
second-longest runway is at Narsarsuaq Airport, a domestic airport with limited international service in south Greenland. All civil aviation matters are handled by the Danish Transport Authority.
Most airports, including Nuuk Airport, have short runways and can only
be served by special fairly small aircraft on fairly short flights.
Kangerlussuaq Airport, which is around 100 km (62 mi) inland from the
west coast, is the major airport of Greenland and the hub for domestic
flights. Intercontinental flights connect mainly to Copenhagen. Travel between international destinations (except Iceland) and any city in Greenland requires a plane change.
Icelandair operates flights from Reykjavík to a number of airports in Greenland, and the company promotes the service as a day-trip option from Iceland for tourists.
There are no direct flights to the United States or Canada, although there have been flights Kangerlussuaq – Baltimore, and Nuuk – Iqaluit, which were cancelled because of too few passengers and financial losses. An alternative between Greenland and the United States/Canada is Icelandair with a plane change in Iceland.
Sea passenger transport is served by several coastal ferries. Arctic Umiaq Line makes a single round trip per week, taking 80 hours each direction.
Cargo freight by sea is handled by the shipping company Royal Arctic Line from, to and across Greenland. It provides trade and transport opportunities between Greenland, Europe and North America.
As of 2021, Greenland has a population of 56,421. That same year, 18,800 people resided in the capital city Nuuk.
Nearly all Greenlanders live along the fjords in the south-west of the
main island, which has a relatively mild climate, especially considering
the high latitude upon which it lies.
Whereas the majority of the population lives north of 64°N in colder
coastal climates, Greenland's warmest climates such as the vegetated
area around Narsarsuaq are sparsely populated.
The majority of the population is Lutheran. The historically important Moravian Brothers (Herrnhuters) were a congregation of faith, in a Danish context based in Christiansfeld in South Jutland, and partially of German origin, but their name does not signify they were ethnic Moravians (Czechs).
A 2015 wide genetic study of Greenlanders found modern-day Inuit
in Greenland are direct descendants of the first Inuit pioneers of the Thule culture who arrived in the 13th century, with approximately 25% admixture of the European colonizers from the 16th century. Despite previous speculations, no evidence of Viking settlers predecessors has been found.
Greenland is the only territory in the Americas where natives make up a majority of the population.
A bilingual sign in Nuuk, displaying the Danish and Kalaallisut for "Parking forbidden for all vehicles"
Greenlandic (effectively West Greenlandic), spoken by nearly 50,000 people, became the official sole language in 2009. The majority of the population speak both Danish and West Greenlandic Kalaallisut (the most populous Eskaleut language).
They have been used in public affairs since the establishment of home
rule in 1979. In practice, Danish is still widely used in
administration, academics, and skilled trades and other professions. The
orthography of Greenlandic, established in 1851, was revised in 1973. The literacy rate is 100%.
About 12% of the population speak Danish as a first or sole
language. These primarily are Danish immigrants, many of whom remain the
first and only language for those in Nuuk and other larger towns.
Debate about the roles of Greenlandic and Danish in the country's future
is evolving. While Greenlandic was dominant in all smaller settlements,
most of the multi ethnic Inuit ancestors spoke Danish as a second
language. In larger towns, especially Nuuk, this Danish group was more
important for social matters. English is another important language for
Greenland now taught from the first school year.
West Greenland has long been the most populous area of the island
and home to its de facto status as the official Greenlandic language.
Although around 3,000 people speak East Greenlandic (Tunumiisut) and nearly 1,000 around northern Qaanaaq speak Inuktun. North Greenlandic is closer to the Inuit languages of Canada than it is to other Greenlandic.
Each of these varieties is nearly unintelligible to the speakers of the
others and some linguists consider Tunumiisut to be a separate language
all together. A UNESCO report labelled the other varieties as endangered, and measures are now considered to protect the East Greenlandic dialect.
Education
Education is organized in a similar way to Denmark. There is ten year mandatory primary school.
There is also a secondary school, with either work education or
preparatory for university education. There is one university, the University of Greenland (Greenlandic: Ilisimatusarfik) in Nuuk. Many Greenlanders attend universities in Denmark or elsewhere.
The public school system in Greenland is, as in Denmark, under
the jurisdiction of the municipalities: they are therefore municipal
schools. The legislature specifies the standards allowed for the content
in schools, but the municipal governments decide how the schools under
their responsibility are run. Education is free and compulsory
for children aged seven to 16. The financial effort devoted to
education is now very important (11.3% of GDP). Section 1 of the
Government Ordinance on Public Schools (as amended on 6 June 1997)
requires Greenlandic as the language of instruction.
Education is governed by Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990 on primary
and lower secondary education. This regulation was amended by
Regulation No. 8 of 13 May 1993 and Regulation No. 1 of 1 March 1994.
Under Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990, linguistic integration in
primary and lower secondary schools became compulsory for all students.
The aim is to place Greenlandic-speaking and Danish-speaking pupils in
the same classes, whereas previously they were placed in separate
classes according to their mother tongue. At the same time, the
government guarantees that Danish speakers can learn Greenlandic. In
this way, the Greenlandic government wants to give the same linguistic,
cultural and social education to all students, both those of Greenlandic
and Danish origin. A study, which was carried out during a three-year
trial period, concluded that this policy had achieved positive results.
This bilingualism policy has been in force since 1994.
About
100 schools have been established. Greenlandic and Danish are taught
there. Normally, Greenlandic is taught from kindergarten to the end of
secondary school, but Danish is compulsory from the first cycle of
primary school as a second language. As in Denmark with Danish, the
school system provides for "Greenlandic 1" and "Greenlandic 2" courses.
Language tests allow students to move from one level to the other. Based
on the teachers' evaluation of their students, a third level of courses
has been added: "Greenlandic 3". Secondary education in Greenland is
generally vocational and technical. The system is governed by Regulation
No. 16 of 28 October 1993 on Vocational and Technical Education, Scholarships and Career Guidance. Danish
remains the main language of instruction. The capital, Nuuk, has a
(bilingual) teacher training college and a (bilingual) university. At
the end of their studies, all students must pass a test in the
Greenlandic language.
Higher education is offered in Greenland: "university education"
(regulation no. 3 of 9 May 1989); training of journalists, training of
primary and lower secondary school teachers, training of social workers,
training of social educators (regulation no. 1 of 16 May 1989); and
training of nurses and nursing assistants (regulation no. 9 of 13 May
1990). Greenlandic students can continue their education in Denmark, if
they wish and have the financial means to do so. For admission to Danish
educational institutions, Greenlandic applicants are placed on an equal
footing with Danish applicants. Scholarships
are granted to Greenlandic students who are admitted to Danish
educational institutions. To be eligible for these scholarships, the
applicant must be a Danish citizen
and have had permanent residence in Greenland for at least five years.
The total period of residence outside Greenland may not exceed three
years.
The first Norse colonists worshipped the Norse gods, but Erik the Red's son Leif was converted to Christianity by KingOlaf Trygvesson
on a trip to Norway in 999 and sent missionaries back to Greenland.
These swiftly established sixteen parishes, some monasteries, and a
bishopric at Garðar.
Rediscovering these colonists and spreading ideas of the Protestant Reformation among them was one of the primary reasons for the Danish recolonization in the 18th century. Under the patronage of the Royal Mission College in Copenhagen, Norwegian and Danish Lutherans and German Moravian missionaries
searched for the missing Norse settlements, but no Norse were found,
and instead they began preaching to the Inuit. The principal figures in
the Christianization of Greenland were Hans and Poul Egede and Matthias Stach. The New Testament
was translated piecemeal from the time of the first settlement on
Kangeq Island, but the first translation of the whole Bible was not
completed until 1900. An improved translation using the modern orthography was completed in 2000.
The rate of suicide in Greenland is very high. According to a 2010 census, Greenland holds the highest suicide rate in the world. Another significant social issue faced by Greenland is a high rate of alcoholism.
Alcohol consumption rates in Greenland reached their height in the
1980s, when it was twice as high as in Denmark, and had by 2010 fallen
slightly below the average level of consumption in Denmark (which at the
time were 12th highest in the world, but has since fallen). However, at the same time, alcohol prices are far higher, meaning that consumption has a large social impact. Prevalence of HIV/AIDS used to be high in Greenland and peaked in the
1990s when the fatality rate also was relatively high. Through a number
of initiatives the prevalence (along with the fatality rate through
efficient treatment) has fallen and is now low, c. 0.13%, below most other countries. In recent decades, the unemployment rates have generally been somewhat above those in Denmark; in 2017, the rate was 6.8% in Greenland, compared to 5.6% in Denmark.
In the 1960s and 1970s, at a time when the population was increasing,
4,500 Greenland Inuit women and girls (roughly half of all fertile
females) were fitted with intrauterine devices (IUDs) by Danish doctors.
Sometimes girls (as young as 12) were taken directly from school to
have these devices inserted, without parents' permission being sought.
The procedure was also carried out on some Inuit girls at boarding
schools in Denmark. On 30 September 2022, the Danish Health Minister,
Magnus Heunicke, confirmed that a two-year investigation would try to
find out what decisions led to the practice and how it was carried out.
Nive Nielsen, Greenlandic singer and songwriterPanel discussion with Greenlandic movie maker Inuk Silis Høegh at the launch of his movie about groundbreaking Greenlandic band Sumé
Today Greenlandic culture is a blending of traditional Inuit (Kalaallit, Tunumiit, Inughuit)
and Scandinavian culture. Inuit, or Kalaallit, culture has a strong
artistic tradition, dating back thousands of years. The Kalaallit are
known for an art form of figures called tupilak or a "spirit object". Traditional art-making practices thrive in the Ammassalik. Sperm whale ivory remains a valued medium for carving.
The drum
is the traditional Greenlandic instrument. It was used to perform
traditional drum dances. For this purpose, a round drum (qilaat) in the
form of a frame made of driftwood or walrus ribs covered with a polar
bear bladder, polar bear stomach or walrus stomach was used. The
drumming was not done on the membrane, but with a stick from underneath
the frame. Simple melodies were sung for this purpose.
The drum dance
used to serve two functions: On the one hand, the drum was used to
drive away fear on long, dark winter nights. To do this, the drum dancer
would make faces and try to make others laugh until all fear was
forgotten.
Disputes were also settled with the drum. If someone had
misbehaved, he was challenged with the drum. People would gather at
certain powerful places and take turns beating the drum and singing to
it. They tried to ridicule the other person as much as possible. The
spectators expressed with their laughter who was the winner and who was
therefore the guilty one.
The drum could also be used by shamans for ritual conjurations of spirits.
After the arrival of missionaries
in the 18th century, the drum dance (still popular among Canadian Inuit
today) was banned as pagan and shamanistic and replaced by polyphonic singing of secular and church songs.
This choral singing is known today for its special sound. Church hymns
are partly of German origin due to the influence of the Herrnhuter
Brüdergemeinde. Scandinavian, German
and Scottish whalers brought the fiddle, accordion and polka
(kalattuut) to Greenland, where they are now played in intricate dance
steps.
Sport is an important part of Greenlandic culture, as the population is generally quite active. Popular sports include association football, track and field, handball and skiing. Handball is often referred to as the national sport, and the men's national team was ranked among the top 20 in the world in 2001.
The national dish of Greenland is suaasat, a soup made from seal meat.
Meat from marine mammals, game, birds, and fish play a large role in
the Greenlandic diet. Due to the glacial landscape, most ingredients
come from the ocean. Spices are seldom used besides salt and pepper.
Greenlandic coffee is a "flaming" dessert coffee (set alight before
serving) made with coffee, whiskey, Kahlúa, Grand Marnier, and whipped
cream. It is stronger than the familiar Irish dessert coffee.
Media
Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (KNR) is the public broadcasting company
of Greenland. It is an associate member of Eurovision and an associate
member of the Nordvision network. Nearly one hundred people are directly
employed by this company, which is one of the largest in the territory. The city of Nuuk also has its own radio and television station.
The city of Nuuk also has a local television channel, Nanoq Media,
which was created on 1 August 2002. It is the largest local television
station in Greenland, reaching more than 4,000 households as receiving
members, which corresponds to about 75% of all households in the
capital.
Today only two newspapers are published in Greenland, both of which are distributed nationally. The Greenlandic weekly Sermitsiaq is published every Friday, while the online version is updated several times a day. It was distributed only in Nuuk until the 1980s. It is named after the mountain Sermitsiaq, located about 15 km (9.5 mi) northeast of Nuuk. The bi-weekly Atuagagdliutit/Grønlandsposten (AG) is the other newspaper in Greenland, published every Tuesday and Thursday in Greenlandic as Atuagagdliutit and in Danish as Grønlandsposten. The articles are all published in both languages.
Fine arts
The Inuit have their own arts and crafts tradition; for example, they carve tupilaks, sculptures of figures of avenging monsters practiced within shaman traditions.
This Kalaallisut word means soul or spirit of a deceased person and
today describes an artistic figure, usually no more than 20 centimetres
(8 in) tall, carved mainly from walrus ivory, with a variety of unusual
shapes. This sculpture actually represents a mythical or spiritual
being; usually, however, it has become a mere collector's item because
of its grotesque appearance for Western visual habits. Modern artisans
still use indigenous materials such as musk ox and sheep wool, seal fur, shells, soapstone, reindeer antlers or gemstones.
The history
of Greenlandic painting began with Aron von Kangeq, who depicted the
old Greenlandic sagas and myths in his drawings and watercolours in the
mid-19th century. In the 20th century, landscape and animal painting
developed, as well as printmaking
and book illustrations with sometimes expressive colouring. It was
mainly through their landscape paintings that Kiistat Lund and Buuti
Pedersen became known abroad. Anne-Birthe Hove chose themes from
Greenlandic social life. There is a museum of fine arts in Nuuk, the
Nuuk Art Museum.
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