Greenland Proverbs (8)

Traditional proverbs of Greenland in Khmer and English — each with its meaning and source.

Den, der raster, ruster.

“He who rests, rusts.”

Constant motion, work, and effort keep a person capable; standing still leads to decline.

Knud Rasmussen

Source: Knud Rasmussen, personal motto, associated with Den Store Slæderejse (The Great Sled Journey, 1915)

“Old age does not lie.”

The knowledge and judgment built up over a long life can be trusted.

Traditional Greenland Wisdom

Source: Traditional Greenlandic Inuit saying, recorded in Knud Rasmussen, Eskimo Folk-Tales, trans. W. Worster, tale "The Coming of Men" (1921)

“The world is great indeed.”

A lifetime of travel and effort reveals just how vast and humbling the world truly is.

Traditional Greenland Wisdom

Source: Traditional Greenlandic Inuit saying, recorded in Knud Rasmussen, Eskimo Folk-Tales, trans. W. Worster, tale "The Two Friends Who Set Off to Travel Round the World" (1921)

“Be careful never to tell what you have seen, or it will go ill with your hunting hereafter.”

Boasting about good fortune, especially in hunting, is believed to turn luck bad; discretion protects what you have gained.

Traditional Greenland Wisdom

Source: Traditional Greenlandic Inuit hunting taboo, recorded in Knud Rasmussen, Eskimo Folk-Tales, trans. W. Worster, tale "The Insects that Wooed a Wifeless Man" (1921)

“The human soul is what makes you beautiful, what makes you into a human being.”

Inner character and spirit, not outward appearance, define a person's true worth.

Traditional Greenland Wisdom

Source: Majaq, an Inughuit hunter of northwest Greenland, quoted in Knud Rasmussen, The People of the Polar North (1908)

“Nature is great; but are not men greater?”

Human endurance and the works people build are, in their own way, as remarkable as the vastness of nature itself.

Arnarulunnguaq

Source: Arnarulunnguaq, remark on first seeing New York City, quoted in Knud Rasmussen, Across Arctic America (1927)

“Before it was you who needed me, now it's me who needs you.”

In hardship, dependence shifts between companions, and loyalty holds even when the roles reverse.

Arnarulunnguaq

Source: Arnarulunnguaq, spoken to Knud Rasmussen after the death of her husband Iggiannguaq during the Fifth Thule Expedition (1921-1924), as recorded in expedition accounts

“My poems were based on my identity as an Inuit. I was fighting injustice and asking for respect for the basic human rights of all indigenous peoples.”

Poetry can be a direct instrument of political voice when it grows out of a fight for identity and rights.

Aqqaluk Lynge

Source: Aqqaluk Lynge, interview statement on his poetry and activism