It is very singlar, that the heathens inhabiting this coun try, have no worship. It was believed by some naviga tors, who saw the Greenlanders observing the rising sun in the morning, that this people worshipped the sun. They were confirmed in their opinion by the squares of stones, which they saw erected for the purpose of their tents, and supposed that they were places of worship ; but they have no religion at all, although they are not without some notion of a Divine Being, and of a future state.
They frequently speak of a supreme Being, called by them Tornarsuk, a compound of bad and good, probably a remnant of the religion of the old Norwegians. lie is the oracle of the Angekut, or Greenlandish philosophers, (if this word may he so improperly used,) who are alone ad mitted to have intercourse with that great spirit. Besides Tornarsuk, they speak of many inferior beings or spirits residing in every corner of their country. Each Green lander may become an angekok or sorcerer, if he will sub mit to certain trials and ceremonies ; but the angekok never enjoys any peculiar veneration from the Greenland ers. Ile profits by the superstitious credulity of his countrymen, pretending to cure the sick with magic art, and presenting amulets of seals, rein-deers, &c. as a pre servative to those in The angekut have their pe culiar kind of language, a kirenclum or jargon, understood only by themselves.
The Greenland language might with more propriety he called the language of the Esquimaux, as it is spoken by the Esquimaux in Labrador, on the shores of Hudson's Bay, and in various other places of that coast, the Green landers being only part of that nation. It probably also extends to Behring's Strait, Nootka Sound, and William's Sound, and has no affinity to any of the other north Indian languages, as far as they are known. -There is but little variation in the dialect on the coast of Greenland, but in the south it is spoken in a more singing tone. The letters d,g, h, 1, v, are never used in the beginning of a word ; the letters c, f, q, x; and z, are not used in their language. It abounds with double consonants, particularly k, and r, and is very guttural. The language is made extremely difficult, in consequence of the great number of polysylla bles, by the use of which a whole sentence is put together in an elliptical manner. They have very few adjectives, and use the participles of the verb to supply their place.
In the language are a great number of affixa verbalia, by the use of which an astonishing variety is produced in the signification of their verbs. Thus from the radical verb, innuvok, " he lives, is a man," is derived innugikpbk," lie is a handsome man ;') innurdlukpok," he is a misshapen man ;" innukulukpok," he is an unfortunate man ;" innuk siorpOk," he is a good man ;" innukpilukpOk," he is a bad man ;" innuksisinzavbk, " he is a man as a Greenlander, (a modest man ;") innungorpak," he begins to be a Green lander." The third person singularis prcesentis is its radix. Every verb has its corresponding negative, formed by the addition ngilak to the radix, thus : pekkarpok," he has," pekkangilak," he has not." Each flexible word has its dual, ending with the letter ki the plural ends with t; thus, nuna, " land, country ;" nun cck," two countries ;" nuncet, " countries." The articles, pronouns, and prepositions, are formed by suffixes, changing the termination of the noun thus : nalegak, " master, lord ; n alegama," my lord ;" arnak, " mother ;" arnamut, " to the mother." A great number of augmentatives and diminutives are also form ed, by varying and adding to the termination ; and this cir cumstance contributes to make the language agreeable and expressive. Thus, kikertak, " island ;" kikertangoak, " a small island ;" kikertarsoak;" a large island ;" kikerteitsiak, " a fine island ;" kertarsoeitsiak, " a large fine island." Their numerals are limited to five. They express num bers from six to twenty, with the help of addition. Thus; five and one, five and two : twenty is expressed by innick , man; that is, 10 fingers and 10 toes; numbers exceeding 20 are generally called innumerable.
They have no traditions from their ancestors, except an incongruous account of their battles with the old Norwe gians; the history of the Greenlanders is-therefore buried in impenetrable darkness. They hatre no chronology, no one can tell his age ; but they are well acquainted with the north star. The angekut call the ursa minor asellut in the south, and kuttak in north Greenland, the ursa major tukto, or rein-deer. They divide the day according to the tide, and reckon their years by winters. The distance of 32 miles, from one place to another, is called one day's voyage, (made with a canoe.) The different seasons are marked by the migration of birds, fishes, and other animals which regularly visit their coast.