Tasiilaq

Ammassalik / tunu

Tasiilaq ( Greenlandic ), Ammassalik (Danish, obsolete spellings Angmagssalik or Angmassalik ) is, with a population of 2004 inhabitants ( as of 2012) the largest town in the eastern Greenland. Tasiilaq located in a fjord is surrounded by the East Greenland mountains and bisected by a river. The location of the considered particularly quiet fjord led to the name " Tasiilaq ," the " like a calm lake".

History

1830 sailed a Danish expedition led by Wilhelm August Graah ( 1793-1863 ) of West Greenland along the coast to the Cape Farewell at the southern tip and came up to a 100 kilometers south of Tasiilaq lying island. The first non - Inuit who reached Tasiilaq, was the Danish naval officer Gustav Holm (1849-1940), who as head of the woman boat expedition went ashore in 1884. The two umiaks employed by him, rowed by women small skin boats were nimble enough to maneuver with them between the ice floes through. Gustav Holm wintered among the Inuit, who had until then lived in almost complete isolation in some scattered settlements. Rarely a small group of East Greenland had taken a trip to the western part of the island.

Holm had a strong interest in the rich, yet completely uninfluenced culture and described in detail the religious beliefs and customs, legends and music, which had a significant part of the daily life of the Inuit. There were a number of social commandments, which had to be strictly adhered to for fear of the workings of evil spirits. Shamans ( angakkoq ) danced and performed with the help of shaman drums with the world beyond in contact to expel bad weather and to cure diseases. The sung on every occasion drum songs had a magical significance. The hunters murmured magical verses ( serratit ) to achieve a happy outcome of the hunt, the women sang meaningful songs to their children before.

1884 gave spar at the number of people in the district with 413. Another expedition in 1892 counted only 294 people who had been decimated by hunger and disease. 1894, the first mission and trading post ( colonized ) was built in Tasiilaq and from 1898 the cooperation of the West Greenland and Danish missionaries began to show effect. They aimed to eradicate all pagan customs and drum songs. The Danish philologist and Eskimo explorer William Thalbitzer (1873-1958), who wintered in Tasiilaq 1905-1906, nor could record some magic formulas with the phonograph.

Tasiilaq became the central settlement of the district. Despite entrained by the Europeans diseases and alcohol problems, the population increased greatly as a result. Immediately with the establishing settlements began the money economy and the import of technical products for everyday life. Until the turn of the century, the 400 inhabitants had acquired, for example, 87 hunting rifles. The houses made ​​of stone and earth were soon replaced by those made of wood.

The connection to West Greenland was difficult to East Greenland was adopted in the 1961 political representation in Nuuk, and until 1974, a helicopter airfield was created in Tasiilaq. Even today Tasiilaq is traffic- hardly connected to West Greenland, across the airfield in Kulusuk Tasiilaq is the easiest to reach from Iceland.

Economy

Tasiilaq is now supplied despite its remote location with infrastructure and basic institutions. Among other things there is to find a hospital and a school. Tourism and fishing are the main economic activities.

In the resort also post Greenland is established. The SEPAC member sent from there stamps and stamp products for collectors in the world.

Former Ammassalik

Until 2009 Tasiilaq was the capital of the established in 1963 Ammassalik with a total 3069 population (as of 2007), in addition to Tasiilaq the settlements Ikkatteq, Isortoq Kulusuk, Kuummiut, Sermiligaaq and Tiniteqilaaq, all located within 80 miles of Tasiilaq included.

The name is derived from the Ammassalik capelin ( Greenlandic Ammassak ) that is found here very numerous, and for centuries is the most important source of food for the population. Therefore, it is also represented in the coat of arms Ammassaliks.

On 1 January 2009, the municipality was founded on January 1, 1963 was dissolved and went to the newly formed Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq.

Twinning

• Kópavogur, Iceland