Kangeq
Encyclopedia
Kangeq is a former settlement in the Sermersooq
municipality in southwestern Greenland
. It was a traditional fishing village, abandoned in the 1980s. The name of the settlement means "promontory" in the Greenlandic language.
peoples. Archeological finds from the Dorset culture
era have been found near Kangeq. The Dorset people had vanished from the Nuuk region prior to 1000 CE
.
Since the arrival of the Thule people
who settled here permanently, Kangeq was a traditional Inuit
coastal village, not dissimilar to Atammik
and Napasoq
in the north, just beyond the border with the Qeqqata
municipality. In the mid-19th century, it was also home to the artist Aron of Kangeq
(1822-1869), a Greenland Inuit hunter, painter, and oral historian.
Today the ruins of Kangeq are sometimes visited by historically oriented tourists. In 2009, the old houses of Kangeq were used as a backdrop for the Eksperimentet
film, with the settlement emulating the look of Nuuk in 1952, before the city center was peppered with communal apartment blocks
in the 1960s, forever changing the character of the town.
fjord, on the coast of Labrador Sea
, approximately 18 km (11.2 mi) west-south-west of Nuuk
, the capital of Greenland.
Sermersooq
Sermersooq is a new municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. It is home to Nuuk , the capital of Greenland, and is the most populous municipality in the country, with 21,232 inhabitants as of January 2010...
municipality in southwestern Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. It was a traditional fishing village, abandoned in the 1980s. The name of the settlement means "promontory" in the Greenlandic language.
History
As a coastal settlement, Kangeq was positioned on the migration route of the ancient InuitInuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
peoples. Archeological finds from the Dorset culture
Dorset culture
The Dorset culture was a Paleo-Eskimo culture that preceded the Inuit culture in Arctic North America. It has been defined as having four phases, with distinct technology related to the people's hunting and tool making...
era have been found near Kangeq. The Dorset people had vanished from the Nuuk region prior to 1000 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
.
Since the arrival of the Thule people
Thule people
The Thule or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by AD 1000 and expanded eastwards across Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the earlier Dorset culture that had previously inhabited the region...
who settled here permanently, Kangeq was a traditional Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
coastal village, not dissimilar to Atammik
Atammik
Atammik is a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Located on the shores of Davis Strait, it had 197 inhabitants in 2010. It is the southernmost settlement in the municipality...
and Napasoq
Napasoq
Napasoq is an island settlement in the Qeqqata municipality, in central-western Greenland. Located on a small island on the shores of Davis Strait, it had 85 inhabitants in 2010.- Population :...
in the north, just beyond the border with the Qeqqata
Qeqqata
Qeqqata is a new municipality in western Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. The municipality was named after its location in central-western part of the country. Its population is 9,677 as of January 2010. The administrative center of the municipality is in Sisimiut...
municipality. In the mid-19th century, it was also home to the artist Aron of Kangeq
Aron of Kangeq
Aron of Kangeq was a Greenland Inuit hunter, painter, and oral historian. His paintings are noted for their depiction of Inuit culture and history. His storytelling is known to children's literature in Greenland....
(1822-1869), a Greenland Inuit hunter, painter, and oral historian.
Today the ruins of Kangeq are sometimes visited by historically oriented tourists. In 2009, the old houses of Kangeq were used as a backdrop for the Eksperimentet
Eksperimentet
Eksperimentet is a 2010 Danish drama film written and directed by Louise Friedberg, and starring Ellen Hillingsø. The film premiered on 28 August 2010 in the Katuaq Culture Centre in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland...
film, with the settlement emulating the look of Nuuk in 1952, before the city center was peppered with communal apartment blocks
Blok P
Blok P is the largest residential building in all of Greenland, and the largest building in Nuuk. It contains around 320 apartments and it is said that approximately 1% of the total population of Greenland live in this building.-History:...
in the 1960s, forever changing the character of the town.
Geography
Kangeq was located at the mouth of the Nuup KangerluaNuup Kangerlua
Nuup Kangerlua is a long, fjord in the Sermersooq municipality in southwestern Greenland. It is the longest fjord on the Labrador Sea coast of Greenland, and one of the longest in the inhabited part of the country....
fjord, on the coast of Labrador Sea
Labrador Sea
The Labrador Sea is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, and northeast. It connects to the north with Baffin Bay through the Davis Strait...
, approximately 18 km (11.2 mi) west-south-west of Nuuk
Nuuk
Nuuk, is the capital of Greenland, the northernmost capital in North America and the largest city in Greenland. Located in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord, the city lies on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea and on the west coast of Sermersooq. Nuuk is the largest cultural and economic center in...
, the capital of Greenland.