Kullorsuaq
Encyclopedia
Kullorsuaq is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup
municipality in northwestern Greenland
. It is the northernmost settlement in the Upernavik Archipelago
, located on Kullorsuaq Island
, at the southern end of Melville Bay
, an indentiation of Baffin Bay
.
The settlement was founded in 1928, and became a trading station, growing in size during the post-war
consolidation phase, when hunters from several small villages in the region of the more southerly bays of the archipelago: Inussulik Bay
, Sugar Loaf Bay
, and Tasiusaq Bay
− moved into the larger settlements such as Nuussuaq
and Kullorsuaq. Today, Kullorsuaq remains one of the most traditional hunting and fishing villages in Greenland, with a stable population.
The name of the settlement means "the big thumb" in the Greenlandic language. The settlement was named after Devil's Thumb
, a prominent pinnacle-shaped mountain in the center of the island, approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) to the north of the settlement.
, in the northernmost part of Upernavik Archipelago
.
All southbound migrations of the Inuit
passed through the area, leaving behind a trail of archeological sites. The early Saqqaq culture
diminished in importance around 1.000 BCE, followed by the migrants of Dorset culture
, who spread alongside the coast of Baffin Bay, being in turn misplaced by the Thule people
in the 13th and 14th centuries.
The archipelago has been continuously inhabited since then. Migrants of the 19th and early 20th centuries found many ruins of Inuit settlement on Kullorsuaq Island, Kiatassuaq Island
, and smaller islands in southern Melville Bay. In the centuries that followed the initial southbound migration, the population of the northern Upernavik Archipelago was scarce and scattered. The Danish
settlers during the colonial era were unaware of Kullorsuaq until the end of 19th century.
: Inussulik Bay
, Sugar Loaf Bay
, and Tasiusaq Bay
, during the modern northbound migration of Greenlanders from Upernavik
. The initial wave of settlers originated in villages of fewer than 10 people: Kuuk
(abandoned in 1972), Itissaalik
(abandoned in 1957), and Ikermiut
(abandoned in 1954). By mid-1920s, several families of hunters from Nuussuaq
also moved north to Kullorsuaq. The settlement was founded in 1928,
Between 1930 and 1960, northwestern Greenland underwent a consolidation phase, driven by the Danish colonial authorities via Royal Greenland
, then part of KNI
, with a countrywide monopoly
on trade. The mutual agreement between the hunting families and the trade company limited the pre-war northward expansion until the 1950s, when the populations of the smaller settlements reinforced larger communities in Nuussuaq and Kullorsuaq, where the physical limit of uninhabitable Melville Bay presented a natural barrier to expansion. In the 1950s Kullorsuaq became the northernmost trading post in the archipelago. In 1952, the first year-round shop was built in Kullorsuaq.
In the 1960s, Kullorsuaq was a staging point for further expansion into Savissivik
, 274 km (170.3 mi) to the northwest, at the northern end of Melville Bay. This expansion was not successful, and most migrants returned south in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, the settlement remains one of the most traditional hunting and fishing villages in Greenland.
and hunting
are the mainstay of the area, although the more northern settlements still rely on traditional hunting of fur seal
s, walrus
es, narwhal
s, and whale
s to supplement the family economy. In that, the northern region is culturally linked with the far north of Greenland , the Qaanaaq
region.
The fish processing
plant of Upernavik Seafood, a subsidiary of Royal Greenland
, and the all-purpose Pilersuisoq
general store are the only organized labor employers in the settlement.
Outside of Upernavik town, the average level of income
in the archipelago is amongst the lowest in Greenland. Alongside three other settlements in the archipelago (Naajaat
, Nuussuaq, and Upernavik Kujalleq
), Kullorsuaq is listed in the top 10 poorest within Greenland.
serves the village as part of government contract, with twice-weekly helicopter flights to Nuussuaq and Upernavik.
Qaasuitsup
Qaasuitsup is a new municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. As of January 2010 its population is 17,749. The administrative center of the municipality is in Ilulissat...
municipality in northwestern 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 is the northernmost settlement in the Upernavik Archipelago
Upernavik Archipelago
Upernavik Archipelago is a vast archipelago of small islands in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland, on the coast of northeastern Baffin Bay...
, located on Kullorsuaq Island
Kullorsuaq Island
Kullorsuaq Island is an island in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. The name of the island means "a big thumb" in the Greenlandic language.- Geography :...
, at the southern end of Melville Bay
Melville Bay
Melville Bay , is a large bay off the coast of northwestern Greenland. Located to the north of the Upernavik Archipelago, it opens to the south-west into Baffin Bay. Its Kalaallisut name, Qimusseriarsuaq, means "the great dog sledding place"....
, an indentiation of Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay , located between Baffin Island and the southwest coast of Greenland, is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea...
.
The settlement was founded in 1928, and became a trading station, growing in size during the post-war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
consolidation phase, when hunters from several small villages in the region of the more southerly bays of the archipelago: Inussulik Bay
Inussulik Bay
Inussulik Bay is a bay in the Upernavik Archipelago in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.- Geography :The bay is located in the northern part of Upernavik Archipelago, between Kiatassuaq Island in the north and Nuussuaq Peninsula in the south...
, Sugar Loaf Bay
Sugar Loaf Bay
Sugar Loaf Bay is a bay in the Upernavik Archipelago in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is an indentiation of northeastern Baffin Bay...
, and Tasiusaq Bay
Tasiusaq Bay
Tasiusaq Bay is a bay in the Upernavik Archipelago in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is an indentiation of northeastern Baffin Bay...
− moved into the larger settlements such as Nuussuaq
Nuussuaq
Nuussuaq is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is the only mainland settlement in the Upernavik Archipelago, located near the western tip of the Nuussuaq Peninsula, on the northern coast of Sugar Loaf Bay, an indentiation of Baffin Bay.The settlement was...
and Kullorsuaq. Today, Kullorsuaq remains one of the most traditional hunting and fishing villages in Greenland, with a stable population.
The name of the settlement means "the big thumb" in the Greenlandic language. The settlement was named after Devil's Thumb
Devil's Thumb (Greenland)
Devil's Thumb is a pinnacle-shaped, mountain in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.- Geography :Devil's Thumb is located in the central part of Kullorsuaq Island, an island in the northern part of Upernavik Archipelago, in Melville Bay, approximately to the north of the...
, a prominent pinnacle-shaped mountain in the center of the island, approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) to the north of the settlement.
Geography
Kullorsuaq is located on an island of the same name, at the southern end of Melville BayMelville Bay
Melville Bay , is a large bay off the coast of northwestern Greenland. Located to the north of the Upernavik Archipelago, it opens to the south-west into Baffin Bay. Its Kalaallisut name, Qimusseriarsuaq, means "the great dog sledding place"....
, in the northernmost part of Upernavik Archipelago
Upernavik Archipelago
Upernavik Archipelago is a vast archipelago of small islands in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland, on the coast of northeastern Baffin Bay...
.
Prehistory
The Upernavik Archipelago belongs to the earliest-settled areas of Greenland; the first migrants arriving approximately 2.000 years B.C.E.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...
All southbound migrations of the 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...
passed through the area, leaving behind a trail of archeological sites. The early Saqqaq culture
Saqqaq culture
The Saqqaq culture was a Paleo-Eskimo culture in Greenland.-Timeframe:...
diminished in importance around 1.000 BCE, followed by the migrants of 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...
, who spread alongside the coast of Baffin Bay, being in turn misplaced by 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...
in the 13th and 14th centuries.
The archipelago has been continuously inhabited since then. Migrants of the 19th and early 20th centuries found many ruins of Inuit settlement on Kullorsuaq Island, Kiatassuaq Island
Kiatassuaq Island
Kiatassuaq Island is an uninhabited island in the Melville Bay region of the Upernavik Archipelago in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.- History :...
, and smaller islands in southern Melville Bay. In the centuries that followed the initial southbound migration, the population of the northern Upernavik Archipelago was scarce and scattered. The Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
settlers during the colonial era were unaware of Kullorsuaq until the end of 19th century.
20th century
The modern settlement was initially populated by hunters from the now abandoned villages of the archipelago bays located to the south of Kiatassuaq IslandKiatassuaq Island
Kiatassuaq Island is an uninhabited island in the Melville Bay region of the Upernavik Archipelago in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.- History :...
: Inussulik Bay
Inussulik Bay
Inussulik Bay is a bay in the Upernavik Archipelago in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.- Geography :The bay is located in the northern part of Upernavik Archipelago, between Kiatassuaq Island in the north and Nuussuaq Peninsula in the south...
, Sugar Loaf Bay
Sugar Loaf Bay
Sugar Loaf Bay is a bay in the Upernavik Archipelago in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is an indentiation of northeastern Baffin Bay...
, and Tasiusaq Bay
Tasiusaq Bay
Tasiusaq Bay is a bay in the Upernavik Archipelago in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is an indentiation of northeastern Baffin Bay...
, during the modern northbound migration of Greenlanders from Upernavik
Upernavik
Upernavik is a small town in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland, located on a small island of the same name. With 1,129 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the thirteenth-largest town in Greenland. Due to the small size of the settlement, everything is within walking distance...
. The initial wave of settlers originated in villages of fewer than 10 people: Kuuk
Kuuk
Kuuk is a former settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It was located in the north-central part of Upernavik Archipelago, on the southern cape of Mernoq Island, an island in Tasiusaq Bay. The settlement was abandoned in 1972....
(abandoned in 1972), Itissaalik
Itissaalik
Itissaalik is a former settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It was located in the northern part of Upernavik Archipelago, on the southern shore of Itissaalik Island, an island in Sugar Loaf Bay.- History :Itissaalik was established in 1904, and temporarily...
(abandoned in 1957), and Ikermiut
Ikermiut
Ikermiut is a former settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It was located on Ikermiut Island in the center of Inussulik Bay, a bay in the northern part of Upernavik Archipelago. The settlement was abandoned in 1954 in favor of more northerly settlements of Nuussuaq...
(abandoned in 1954). By mid-1920s, several families of hunters from Nuussuaq
Nuussuaq
Nuussuaq is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is the only mainland settlement in the Upernavik Archipelago, located near the western tip of the Nuussuaq Peninsula, on the northern coast of Sugar Loaf Bay, an indentiation of Baffin Bay.The settlement was...
also moved north to Kullorsuaq. The settlement was founded in 1928,
Between 1930 and 1960, northwestern Greenland underwent a consolidation phase, driven by the Danish colonial authorities via Royal Greenland
Royal Greenland
Royal Greenland A/S is a fishing company in Greenland. The company operates in a number of towns and settlements in Greenland, with 20 fish processing plants and ship bases of local subsidiary units...
, then part of KNI
KNI (Greenland Trade)
KNI A/S is a state-owned trade company in Greenland. Led by Søren Lennert Mortensen, the company is based in Sisimiut.- History :KNI was founded in 1774 as Den Kongelige Grønlandske Handel by the Danish colonial authorities as a state monopoly, thus sharing its origin with Royal Greenland, the...
, with a countrywide monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
on trade. The mutual agreement between the hunting families and the trade company limited the pre-war northward expansion until the 1950s, when the populations of the smaller settlements reinforced larger communities in Nuussuaq and Kullorsuaq, where the physical limit of uninhabitable Melville Bay presented a natural barrier to expansion. In the 1950s Kullorsuaq became the northernmost trading post in the archipelago. In 1952, the first year-round shop was built in Kullorsuaq.
In the 1960s, Kullorsuaq was a staging point for further expansion into Savissivik
Savissivik
Savissivik is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in northern Greenland...
, 274 km (170.3 mi) to the northwest, at the northern end of Melville Bay. This expansion was not successful, and most migrants returned south in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, the settlement remains one of the most traditional hunting and fishing villages in Greenland.
Economy
FishingFishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
are the mainstay of the area, although the more northern settlements still rely on traditional hunting of fur seal
Fur seal
Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds in the Otariidae family. One species, the northern fur seal inhabits the North Pacific, while seven species in the Arctocephalus genus are found primarily in the Southern hemisphere...
s, walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
es, narwhal
Narwhal
The narwhal, Monodon monoceros, is a medium-sized toothed whale that lives year-round in the Arctic. One of two living species of whale in the Monodontidae family, along with the beluga whale, the narwhal males are distinguished by a characteristic long, straight, helical tusk extending from their...
s, and whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
s to supplement the family economy. In that, the northern region is culturally linked with the far north of Greenland , the Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq is the main town in the northern part of the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the West Greenlandic language and many also speak Inuktun. The town has a population of 626 as of 2010...
region.
The fish processing
Fish processing
The term fish processing refers to the processes associated with fish and fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time the final product is delivered to the customer...
plant of Upernavik Seafood, a subsidiary of Royal Greenland
Royal Greenland
Royal Greenland A/S is a fishing company in Greenland. The company operates in a number of towns and settlements in Greenland, with 20 fish processing plants and ship bases of local subsidiary units...
, and the all-purpose Pilersuisoq
Pilersuisoq
Pilersuisoq A/S is a state-owned chain of all-purpose general stores in Greenland. Based in Sisimiut, it is a subsidiary of KNI, the largest commerce company in the country...
general store are the only organized labor employers in the settlement.
Outside of Upernavik town, the average level of income
Income
Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
in the archipelago is amongst the lowest in Greenland. Alongside three other settlements in the archipelago (Naajaat
Naajaat
Naajaat is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland...
, Nuussuaq, and Upernavik Kujalleq
Upernavik Kujalleq
Upernavik Kujalleq is an island settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. Founded in 1855 as a trading station, the settlement had 204 inhabitants in 2010.- Upernavik Archipelago :...
), Kullorsuaq is listed in the top 10 poorest within Greenland.
Transport
Air GreenlandAir Greenland
Air Greenland A/S is the flag carrier airline of Greenland, jointly owned by the government of Greenland, the SAS Group, and the government of Denmark...
serves the village as part of government contract, with twice-weekly helicopter flights to Nuussuaq and Upernavik.