Heart of a Seal

admin6 years ago on Showcases, Still photography
This mountain is called Uummannaq. Uummannaq means a heart-shaped mountain. In this case, it‘s not a human heart the Inuit talk about—it‘s the heart of a seal. At the foot of this mountain, 590 km² north of the Polar Circle in western Greenland, lies a town with the same name: Uummannaq. A remote island inhabited by 1325 individuals, the village is connected only by ships and a helicopter to the outside world.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig

STILL PICTURE STORY
by Lukas Kreibig – made in the fall 2017 as his final project during our Photo I programme.

Nature dictates the rhythm of life in the mountain village of Uummannaq, an island off the coast of Greenland. Living off the grid, the Inuit inhabitants have always relied on fishing and hunting. But now that the climate is changing, their traditional lifestyle is under threat.

After a local hunter shoots a seal, he fixates it with a hook and allows it to bleed out into the ocean. Seal hunting is an endangered tradition because seal fur is no longer as popular since globalization reached Greenland and global trends took over. Its international demand, which guaranteed its exportation to the rest of the world for a long time, seems to be gone too.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig
Individuals from the children’s home in a more modern version of traditional clothing sit in front of a portrait of Knud Rasmussen (painting left) and his travel companions (painting mid and right). Knud Rasmussen was a famous adventurer and is a national hero of Greenland. Children from all over Greenland come to the northernmost children’s home in the world. Nearly half of the Greenlandic population has been exposed to violence, the highest amount against children and teens.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig
Chained to the ground, two Greenland Dogs live outside through the harshest conditions, waiting all year for the sledding season. With modern conveniences in hunting and transportation, like snowmobiles and the sea ice coming later because of climate change, many people have decided to use the dogs less and less, diminishing their purpose in life.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig
A fisherman catches halibut on the sea ice in temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius in February, as seagulls await the fish leftovers. Warmer currents and sea temperature brought more fish to this region, but bigger boats which are used in summer, brought fishing quotas to the town because of overfishing. Long fishing lines with 200 baited hooks attached at the end, are used by the professional fishermen. These lines reach 500 meters to touch the ocean ground, where the halibut reside.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig
Martin plays on his phone. He is one of the young individuals of the children’s home in Uummannaq. Children from all over Greenland come to the northernmost children’s home in the world. Many of those who live in the facility come as a direct result of alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and the country having the highest rate of suicide in the world.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig
Heavy snowstorms are common in Uummannaq, sometimes lasting for days. The weather here changes very quickly, making it hard to predict. Fishermen say in the last years it has become even more difficult. These cold winds can become dangerous in some situations, especially when the human body is not able to produce heat as fast as the cold wind chills.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig
The Greenlandic priest of the Lutheran Church of Greenland in Uummannaq walks toward his chapel on the First Advent. He is one of the only confidants who the town’s population can rely on. Greenland now has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world while witnessing a lot of problems due to excessive alcohol abuse.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig
A drum dancing musician plays on a drum (qilaat) made from an oval wooden frame covered with the bladder of a polar bear. It was used for exorcism, witchcraft but also entertainment. After the missionaries arrived, drum dancing was prohibited for a long time.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig
The head of a narwhal served in a bucket after a baptism in a home Uummannaq. The skin of the head and the tail of the narwhal are a delicacy in Greenland and people buy them directly from the fisherman who turn for a short period of time into narwhale hunters during narwhal season in late autumn.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig
A man drinks during a kaffemik in a house after a baptism of a child. All kinds of seafood, cakes and coffee are served during a kaffemik in a house in Uummannaq after a baptism. This tradition helps to strengthen the community spirit of the town. There is almost every day an opportunity for a kaffemik.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig
Qisunnguaq is wearing a seal skin Anorak. The Greenlandic People rarely dress in the traditional clothing nowadays. It is difficult to predict wether how long those traditions will survive in the modern world.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig
Children run during a snowstorm in Uummannaq.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig
Children from the Uummannaq Children‘s Home, the northernmost children‘s home in the world, are traveling from one town to another on the frozen sea ice in February, the coldest month in this region, with temperatures reaching -30°C. Dog sledding has become increasingly unpopular as the sea freezes for shorter periods each year due to climate change.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig
In March 2018, the arctic was hit by the warmest temperatures ever recorded during that time of the year. Normally in late spring or early winter, the temperature of the sea ice drops below zero and the ice slowly starts to freeze. This connects Uummannaq to the surrounding settlements and the mainland, which is reachable by snow scooter or dog sled. In 2018, the sea ice was frozen only in mid-February, alarmingly late compared to the years before.
Photo: Lukas Kreibig