Greenland: Tasilaq

Tasiilaq is the largest town in East Greenland, located on Ammassalik Island in a stunning natural harbor within Tasiilaq Fjord. It serves as the main hub for the region’s roughly 2,000 residents, making it the seventh-largest town in all of Greenland. Approaching the town from water – you get a classic Greenland town view: dozens of colorful houses perched in hills and sprinkled all around the beautiful landscape of mountains and sea. The settlement’s remoteness permeates everything – there are no flights to here and only a handful of boats per year. Everything and anything here was absolutely unique – like the stores selling seal meat and rain deer, Greenlandic huskies everywhere, and cod fish drying nearly at every house. We went to the local church and museum, monuments, cemetery, community centers. . At the end of our visit to Tasilaq, we were treated to a cultural performance by local singers and drummers. First it was the ladies of the local choir, performing traditional Inuit songs as a group and a few solo acts. Then it was drumming – Greenland’s most iconic traditional performance, dating back at least 4,500 years. A solo singer-drummer (qilaunisiq) uses a large, rounded frame drum (aliq) made from seal skin, beating it against a wooden handle while singing in narrative style. The songs are storytelling chants about myths, hunts, or historical events.