When Tobias Ignatiussen was 14 years old, his father took him out of school. Much against the boy’s will. But there was no way around it. He was supposed to be a prisoner.
– My father snuck me out of school. I wasn’t too happy about that. I wanted to learn more. I learned to write and read very late. I was 12 years old. We lived in Kulusuk, and here we had a very talented teacher. In 5 months he taught me a lot. The world opened up for me, recalls Tobias Ignatiussen.
At home in his large house in Tasiilaq, there are around 1,000 books. All in Greenlandic. There are the classic novels by Otto Sandgreen and Christian Rosing. But also foreign literature translated into Greenlandic.
– I read everything! He says with excitement in his voice.
It was sad when the bookstore in Nuuk closed. Because Tobias used to buy a decent stack of books when he came to the capital.
The freedom
Today he has taken the long way to Copenhagen. It’s not every day that an East Greenlandic big game captures the capital. Tuppiarti, as they call him at home, has traveled for 3 days at his own expense to talk about life as a prisoner at the Arctic Festival, University of Copenhagen and at DIS for American students in Denmark. People have flocked to the lectures. Almost 500 people have heard the 66-year-old prisoner talk about a life with deep roots in the old society.
– I love my life as a prisoner. The freedom! Whether I’ll continue until I’m 99 is hard to say. But pensioner – no, not right now! he says with a big smile.
– As long as I can steer the boat, I will be around for many more years. I don’t feel old. I love life. I will do anything to continue being a prisoner.
However, with a few modern conveniences. After driving dog sleds since he was a small boy with a couple of dogs in front of his children’s sled, he has now started driving snowmobiles. Wroom! He likes the sound of horsepower.
Constantly on the hunt
He still has about 14 sled dogs that he keeps in shape with tourist drives.
Tobias Ignatiussen naturally masters kayaking. But osteoarthritis in the knees makes it difficult to edge down in the flimsy vessel. He must have adapted his kayak.
Tobias Ignatiussen is one of the last active trappers who has lived a traditional nomadic life through childhood and youth. Constantly on the move after game animals in the vast East Greenland. As the ancestors have done for thousands of years.
At the same time, he is also a modern nomad. A man of the world who takes the stage everywhere with masculine radiance and charm. A handsome man who laughs easily. Although his words have to trudge through an interpreter, he holds the audience in the palm of his hand. They listen to his words and devour photographer Carsten Egevang’s beautiful pictures of Tobias in action with his rifle.
Delicious seal gloves
As a big-time catcher with 11 full chest freezers, he has no shortage of weapons. He has learned from childhood to always provide plenty of supplies for tight times and to keep the equipment in tip-top condition. But when Tuppiarti was a boy, the 5 brothers had to share a rifle with their father. They suffered no hardship. Because they were on a constant journey for meat. Bringing all their belongings. But occasionally hunger could gnaw in bad weather.
Today Tobias Ignatiussen’s 11 chest freezers swell with auk, tejster, mattak, polar bear meat, seal. There is rose root in lard. Dried fish and dried meat on a rack outside the family’s house.
Fermented seal mitts – easily rotten, if you will – are his favorite food.
Tobias Ignatiussen smiles broadly:
– I ate them every day when I was young. Without seal gloves I would never have grown.
Small seals, which have been lying in the sunshine in the spring and have rotted in the delicious way, are another favorite food.
– There is Danish food in the shop. But it doesn’t really fill me up, he says.
He shoots about 200 seals a year. Earlier he got up to 500. He sells the skins for DKK 400 each.
If people in Tasiilaq have a confirmation or christening, they can always buy goodies from Tobias. He also remembers to share with others when he has a good catch.
Death lurks
Tobias was born in the winter settlement Umivik, a few hundred kilometers from Tasiilaq. It was a tiny place with just a handful of families.
For a time they stayed in Iddilivardiid, where only two families lived.
– We were isolated from the outside world for 11-13 months. We had to fend for ourselves. There was no telephone. No doctor or nurse.
Today Tobias lives more permanently with his family, his wife Silpa and two foster children. In addition, he has 3 children from a previous marriage. But the nomad in him still lives. As a captive, he sometimes moves hundreds of kilometers away in search of seals.
Tobias Ignatiussen owns 4 houses in Tiilerilaaq, where his wife comes from. In addition, he has the family residence in Tasiilaq. He has 3 boats. There is not much free time.
– There is always something that needs to be repaired. As a prisoner, it is very important to take good care of your equipment.
It’s in the blood. He learned it as a child from his father. He learned to hunt, to gather supplies, and to take good care.
– I am always very careful. Being a prisoner is dangerous. Death is always lurking around the corner.
Polar bear
When he was 16, he shot his first polar bear.
– I was seal hunting. Suddenly I spotted a polar bear behind me. I was excited. Now I must not make mistakes. But the bear escaped into the water. I shot it through the head and rushed home to my father. A lot came and helped pull the polar bear ashore.
The teenager became the man of today. Since then he has shot many bears. How many does he not want to go out with. A big catcher doesn’t brag, the father admonished.
– You have to be diligent and go hunting a lot. In this way, you become more and more skilled. Do not believe those who go around bragging that they are catchers. They rarely earn very much, my father said.
– When I was young, it was people with regular jobs who earned money. But my father believed there was a future in the prison business.
It has always been dangerous. But climate change has made it more risky. Thin or missing sea ice makes it difficult to hunt in winter. Previously there was ice in October. Now it is December, says Tobias Ignatiussen. Previously, summer came in June. Today is already May.
The climatic upheavals make the profession even more demanding.
– But there are still lots of animals, says Tobias Ignatiussen.
– The seals are just further away from land. We catchers adapt to the conditions.
Fishing and tourism
Tobias Ignatiussen combines fishing with tourism. He takes tourists out in his boat. At the same time, he keeps a sharp eye out for seals and polar bears. They are the favorite motif of all tourists.
– Tobias knows every nook and cranny in the Tasiilaq area. His specialty is finding polar bears, says Line Kristiansen. She is Tobias Ignatiussen’s business partner. Together they run the tourist company Sermilik Adventures.
They take tourists to distant places like the village of Isertoq in search of the big animal. The tourist must experience a real prisoner at work.
Their customers are tourists from all over the world, USA, Switzerland, Germany. Yes, even as far away as the Emirates, adventure seekers find their way to East Greenland.
Tourists experience nature up close, often in tents. If the weather is bad, they live in one of the houses that Tobias Ignatiussen and Line Kristiansen own.
Tourism in East Greenland has been going well for many years. But the big problem right now is the lack of air connections from Iceland. There are only flights in the summer.
– The politicians forget the whole country both to the north and east. Tunu is treated as the back. They rule the country as if there were 3 million inhabitants. There is a lot of bureaucracy. It is far too difficult to do business and expensive to borrow money for us in East Greenland, says Line Kristiansen. And Tobias Ignatiussen nods.
– Everything must go through Nuuk today. In the past we had many travelers who flew directly from Iceland. It has run out there. We have had lots of tourists all year. We must have an Air Greenland connection Nuuk-Kulusuk-Island.
Dubai
Sermilik Adventures is experiencing great international interest. The tourists want to experience the beautiful East Greenlandic nature up close.
Tobias Ignatiussen believes there is a future in the prison business. Especially if it is combined with tourism. His foster son, Enos, is very interested and often goes fishing with him.
Tuppiarti has a permanent home with his family in Tasiilaq. But like his ancestors, he still moves around many hundreds of kilometers on prey in search of seals, narwhals, birds, polar bears, fish.
His life is a little more secure than that of his ancestors. Tobias Ignatiussen has become a modern nomad who does not just move around East Greenland. But all over the world.
Last year he spent Christmas in Dubai.
