{"id":23232,"date":"2026-08-09T08:40:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T09:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meqqusaalik.gl\/gl\/gl\/?p=23232"},"modified":"2026-08-09T09:00:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T10:00:35","slug":"elementor-23232","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meqqusaalik.gl\/en\/dk\/elementor-23232\/","title":{"rendered":"Elementor #23232"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBack<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Arnarulunnguaq\n
The little woman of great stature<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The woman of the Fifth Thule Expedition, 1921\u201324<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Arnarulunnguaq means \u2018the little woman\u2019, but in reality she was a \u2018great woman\u2019 who deserves a prominent place in history. Although the Fifth Thule Expedition and Knud Rasmussen have gone down in the history books as one of the most important Arctic expeditions, it is only in recent years that Arnarulunnguaq has emerged from the shadows.<\/em><\/p>

Of the expedition\u2019s 14 participants, only three completed the entire Fifth Thule Expedition: Arnarulunnguaq, her cousin Q\u00e2vigarssuaq Miteq and Knud Rasmussen. Together, they travelled 18,000 kilometres \u2013 the equivalent of half the circumference of the Earth \u2013 on foot, by dog sledge and by umiak.<\/p>

An expedition sustained by strength, courage and sewing needles
<\/b><\/span>On the three-year expedition, the division of responsibilities was clear. Miteq was a skilled hunter with an exceptional ability to read the ice and find the way. Knud Rasmussen was adept at communicating with Inuit communities along the route and collecting their stories, myths and legends. Arnarulunnguaq, meanwhile, played a crucial role in the expedition\u2019s survival: sewing and repairing the participants\u2019 clothing and kamiks. By combining their individual strengths, they were able to overcome the extreme weather and immense distances.<\/span><\/p>

A woman of many talents
<\/b><\/span>Arnarulunnguaq was not only skilled with a sewing needle; she also worked alongside the men, hunting, driving dog sledges, building turf houses and preparing food. In addition, she worked as Knud Rasmussen\u2019s scientific assistant. Among other things, she documented the patterns of traditional Inuit women\u2019s tattoos. She also collected and preserved plants and took part in archaeological excavations.<\/span><\/p>

Not the only woman
<\/b><\/span>While Knud Rasmussen is described extensively in the history books, only a few lines have been written about Miteq, Arnarulunnguaq and the expedition\u2019s other Inuit participants. There were also other women on the expedition. Arnarulunnguaq was accompanied by Arqioq and Arnannguaq, who travelled with their husbands during the first part of the expedition. Arnarulunnguaq, however, was the only woman to complete the entire journey from beginning to end.<\/span><\/p>

A lifelong survivor
<\/b><\/span>Arnarulunnguaq had a brutal start in life. When she was seven years old, she lost her father, which was a catastrophe for her family. As the man was traditionally the family\u2019s provider, her mother was left to support herself and her four children. There appeared to be no alternative: one of the children would have to be sacrificed. As Arnarulunnguaq was both the youngest and a girl, she was the first to be chosen.<\/span><\/p>

According to Knud Rasmussen\u2019s account, she placed a rope around her own neck to show that she understood the situation. Her brother Ajako, however, burst into inconsolable tears, and in the end their mother could not go through with it. The experience left Arnarulunnguaq with a profound gratitude for life and an openness towards other people.<\/p>

Death nevertheless remained a recurring theme throughout her life. When the Fifth Thule Expedition began in 1921, Arnarulunnguaq was 25 years old. Her brother had originally been selected to take part in the expedition, but he died by suicide shortly beforehand. Knud Rasmussen therefore selected Arnarulunnguaq and her husband in his place. Tragically, her husband died of pneumonia shortly before their planned departure from Nuuk. Arnarulunnguaq nevertheless chose to embark on the expedition of a lifetime.<\/p>

She herself died of tuberculosis at the hospital in Uummannaq in 1933, aged just 37 \u2013 the same year as Knud Rasmussen.<\/p>

A role model for us all
<\/b><\/span>For all of us at Meqqusaalik, she is an iconic woman who possessed extraordinary strength and knowledge of how to survive in the natural world. This summer, we are honouring her with a T-shirt bearing her image. She is a woman of whom we can all be proud and from whom we can draw inspiration. She also reminds us of how important we are to one another when the storm is raging outside.<\/span><\/p>

As Knud Rasmussen himself said: \u2018She, the only woman ever to have travelled the Northwest Passage, shall enter Danish\u2013Greenlandic history as one who must never be forgotten.\u2019<\/b><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

ALLAASERISAT ALLAT<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t
\"\"<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tElementor #23232\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t

Back Arnarulunnguaq The little woman of great stature The woman of the Fifth Thule Expedition, 1921\u201324 Arnarulunnguaq means \u2018the little<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tDISCOVER MORE\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t
\"\"<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThe Sled Dog \u2013 Our Ancient Companion\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t

Til oversigten The Sled Dog \u2013 Our Ancient Companion We walked together to Greenland\u2019s rich hunting grounds. Since then, the<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tDISCOVER MORE\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t
\"\"<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tOur flag \u2013 our pride\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t

Our new Kalaallit Nunaat beanie pays tribute to our flag, our nature and our sense of community. Because Erfalasorput is\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tDISCOVER MORE\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back Arnarulunnguaq The little woman of great stature The woman of the Fifth Thule Expedition, 1921\u201324 Arnarulunnguaq means \u2018the little woman\u2019, but in reality she was a \u2018great woman\u2019 who deserves a prominent place in history. Although the Fifth Thule Expedition and Knud Rasmussen have gone down in the history books as one of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":23230,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meqqusaalik.gl\/en\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meqqusaalik.gl\/en\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meqqusaalik.gl\/en\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meqqusaalik.gl\/en\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meqqusaalik.gl\/en\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23232"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/meqqusaalik.gl\/en\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23236,"href":"https:\/\/meqqusaalik.gl\/en\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23232\/revisions\/23236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meqqusaalik.gl\/en\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meqqusaalik.gl\/en\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meqqusaalik.gl\/en\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meqqusaalik.gl\/en\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}