From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Arnarsaq
Arnarsaq
Arnarsaq (ca. 1716 – fl. 1778), was an Inuit translator, derstand. The year of her death is unknown; the last year
interpreter and missionary, assistant to Paul Egede, H. she is mentioned is 1778.
C. Glahn and J. Sverdrup from Greenland. She and Hans Arnarsaq is portrayed in the novel of B. S. Ingemann,
Punngujooq translated the Bible into the Inuit language. Kunuk og Naja (1842), which was written with support of
She had an important position in the Danish missionary the reports of the missionaries: in the novel, she is de-
among the Inuit on Greenland in the 18th century, and scribed as a religious old woman, pointed out by the Inuit
has also been portrayed in fiction. as an Ilisiitsoq; a witch.
Arnarsaq came to Paul Egede in 1736 and asked to be Arnarsaq is one of a few Inuit, and the only female
taught how to come to God; she converted and was bap- Inuit of her time, to be mentioned in Danish history.
tized in 1737, and was allowed to keep her original name
instead of being given a name from the Bible at her bap-
tism, which was unusual. She is described as a critical de-
Literature
bate partner of Egede. In her Bible translation, she pre- • Poul Egede: Efterretninger om Grønland uddragne af en
vented censorship and was able to present it the way she journal holden fra 1721 til 1788, 1988. Grønland 1/1967.
saw it: her interpretation of Christianity is considered to
have had a large impact upon the version of Christiani-
ty accepted by the Inuit. She followed Egede to Denmark
References
in 1740. She visited the Danish royal court in 1740, where • http://www.kvinfo.dk/side/597/bio/1063/origin/
she was presented with an Inuit boy to the court as a cu- 170/
riosity. In 1741, she was sent as a missionary to Green- Persondata
land, where she rivaled the missionaries of the Moravian Name Arnarsaq
Church. In 1743, she retired to her home in the Disko
Alternative names
area for twenty years. She was not popular among the
Inuit, lecturing them about how they should live accord- Short description
ing to the Christian faith. She never married. From 1763, Date of birth 1716
she was again the interpreter and assistant to the Dan- Place of birth
ish mission. She had an important and influential posi-
tion among the missionaries, as she was the link between Date of death
them and the Inuit, whose language they could not un- Place of death
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arnarsaq&oldid=472226745"
Categories:
• 1716 births
• Greenlandic Inuit people
• Inuit missionaries
• Danish Christian missionaries
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