Re: [Paddlewise] Polar Inuit paddles

Dear Chuck,

> Modern paddlers have been trained over the past 25
> years to refrain 
> from any interest in Polar Arctic Inuit boats or
> paddles. 

Trained by who?  Maybe trained by ommission-- if so,
it ain't limited to Polar Greenland paddles. Howard
Chapelle sang the praise of PG kayaks in his 1964
"Bark Canoes and Skinboats of North America" (p. 206).

> This is the 
> result of such Inuit being contaminated by polar
> explorer Robert 
> Peary (explorations 1891~1906). 

I strongly doubt that. What's your source or evidence
for this? 

> Paddles "IMPORTED" from where by who? 

You want names and places? ;-)   Imported by Qillaq
and the other immigrants from Baffin Island who moved
to Polar Greenland in the 1860s.   This is a very well
documented fact.  Knud Rasmussen interviewed survivors
of this migration and they said they "taught them (the
native Polar Greenlanders) to build kayaks and to hunt
and catch from kayaks" (Rasmussen, 1908: "People of
the Polar North: A Record"  (p.32))  I'm happy to
supply other references to this historical fact.  
These imported paddles bear more similarity of course
to North BaffinLand paddles than Greenland Paddles
from the southern realms (non-Polar). 

> thereby making
> them 
> "not real Greenland Paddles!"

I didn't say they weren't "real Greenland Paddles."  
They are however quite different from what modern
recreationalists would consider a Greenland paddle. 
Surely you have noted that the paddles of the Polar
Greenlanders are different than the paddles GP
enthusiasts are using?   The Polar Greenlanders don't
even use the "Baffin" type anymore. 
All the best, 
Harvey 

P.S. Polar Greenland paddle at number 10; other
Greenland paddles to the right.  At this link:
http://www.traditionalkayaks.com/Kayakreplicas/Paddles.html
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