Evening star., 1940-04-18
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henry.

And Study
By Thomas r. Henry.
Greenland is land where, among the
Eskimos, white men are regarded with
out prejudice as breed of dogs.
That Is what some of Denmark's for
mer subjects will think of the militant,
race-proud "Aryans" who have taken
over the mother country
The sclose relation between the white
man and the dog, 1t Is shown by ethno-
logical literature on file at the United
States National Museum, is fundamental
The Eskimo has both the body and soul
of the human being. The white man has,
at the utmost, only the body.
However humiliating to folks obsessed
with ideas of Aryan supremacy, the
Greenlander does not mean to reflect
on the character or intelligence Of the
air-skinned animals from the South.
A dog with the body of man. they hold,
may be every bit as good as real man.
In some respects he may be even better.
This curious aspect of the Eskimo's
folk lore was investigated in detail more
than % years ago by the Danish ex-
plorer and ethnologist, G. Holm, but his
publications. 1t is tied up closely with
the dread shown at telling ones real
name. A real human must have
body, soul and name. Each of the
three is of equal Importance. The pos
SCISSOR of mans name has as much
power over him as the possessor of his
body.
The name, which is of the same size as
the person. is Joined with the body Short
ly after birth. Usually it has belonged
to some ancestor and has been wander
ing around loose ever since the original
owners death. 1t must be revealed
only to trusted persons. Otherwise de-
rogatory things are apt to be said about
1t, it will become insulted and will leave
its new owner. He probably will die
For white man, who is only kind
Of animal. the name does not make
much difference.
To the Greenlander a white man Is q
kavdlunak, creature with dog soul in
body quite similar to the actual human
form. The soul is his true self This
geological classification is not intended
to be IN anyway derogatory.
There are two other dog-man races
In the same category. One group of
cousins Of the white man are the
erkileks. They have the heads and
Ghosts Of ho ,lrc nd
of dogs. Only the magicians. of course,
have ever seen them. Unlike the
havdlunaks, regarded generally as nice,
friendly animals, the erkileks are hostile
TO mankind.
The other cousins are the timerseks
They also dwell in the interior They
have the form of man but are much
blgger-as tall as the Eskimo boat, the
uniak, is long. The soul of timersek
alone is as large as man. The soul of
the average human being is only as large
as the little finger. They live chiefly by
hunting with the bow and arrow rein-
deers. white grouse, hares and foxes.
When they get very hungry, they come
down to the sea and harpoon seals and
walrus.
For the most part, the timereks are
enemies Of the human race. Occasion
ally they kidnap one or two men. Oc-
casionally, however, they live on friendly
terms and may even exchange wives
with some of the magicians. At least,
the magicians say they do.
The Greenlanders believe in spirits
which surround them everywhere but
are seen only by initiated persons.
Members of the true human race, in dis
tinction from the white men, are the
inersauks. They live under the sea, but,
otherwise. engage in much the same oc-
cupations as men They have some
what broader bodies than human beings,
close-cropped heads, and no noses. The
magicians sometimes visit them under
the sea, where they always have plenty
of meat. In the beginning, the Green
landers believe, the earth vas fiat, and
there was no water. Then the earth
burst, the water poured forth and men
were hurled into the cracks. Those who
suffered this fate became the sea
dwellers.
Perhaps, the most fearful superna-
tural being of the Eskimo is the protector
of these people. She is the sea woman
in whose hair dwell the seals, narwhals
and other marine animals They are
her head lice" Upon the care with
which she combs her hair depends. the
abundance of these creatures in any
particular season. In the sea also live
Tornasak and his helper, Aperketek. The
former is described as being as long as a
big seal but much thicker in proportion.
His head and back paws are like those
of seal, while his forepaws are long
as mans arm but thicker, and end in
fins. Aperketek may be as much as 4
feet long. He is black, and has nippers
in his head.
Off the east coast of Greenland lies a
fairly large island which the natives
know as Akilinek. Both the men and
the nina lS thero tho (,roen 10 Sorc GOV,