Re: [Paddlewise] Inuit hunting

Dave Seng wrote:
> without using something like an atalatl to provide extra leverage.  I
> don't know if traditional Inuit used a device like an atalatl or not,
> but it was a fairly common type of device among many aboriginal peoples.
>
In Greenland it is called "norsaq". The most common harpoon has too pegs
near the center that engage in the norsaq. Other harpoons do not have
peges, but rather engage on the norsaq at the rear end.

Atlatl is a Aztec (Mexican) word, just like Golden Gatl. The Golden Gatl
was the first bridge that the Spanish conquerors saw when they were
going up the coast of California. It was later named Golden Gate just
like the vegetable "tomatl" was adapted to Spanish language as "tomate".

The reason why the Greenlanders came up with a device so similar to 
the Aztec Atlatl is not a mystery. All Northern cultures are known
to move to warmer latin countries in the South for their summer vacation.
It now clear that the Inuit people learned the use of the Atlatl during
a summer vacation in Mexico a long time ago, just like the Sweedish
group Abba learned to sing in Spanish during their summer vacation in Spain.

Now, why did they called it "norsaq" and not "atlatl"? Try to pronounce
Atlatl with frozen lips and you will immediately find out why. Instead
the word "norsaq" like most Inuit words, can be pronounced perfectly with
no lip movement at all.

- Julio
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