In wintertime, when it is cold and snowstorms rage, you need adequate protection against the elements if you are to survive at Ammassalik latitudes. This is why the traditional winter houses in Ammassalik were built with thick walls of stone and turf, which ensured survival through the winter.
The house could be of a considerable size, being about 10-15 metres long and 4-5 metres wide, depending on how many people it was intended for. The walls were built of alternate layers of stone and grass turf. Struts made of driftwood were raised in the middle to support the eaves. Branches and pieces of split driftwood, upon which large pieces of grass turf were laid with the grass-side down, in turn covered these. Finally, it was all covered with an old skin from a women’s boat (umiak). And soon the snow covered everything.
The entrance was a long, narrow, sunken passageway about 6-8 metres long. Its low position helped to keep the cold out of the house. The house usually had three small windows, one of each end and a smaller window above the passage. They were made of seal intestines, which had been cut open, lengthwise and sewed together. Naturally, you could not see through them, but they did allow a certain amount of light in. Above the entrance there was also a smoke hole, which could be opened and closed as required. The floor was covered with thin flat, stones and there were sealskins on the wall.
Several groups
In his book “The umiak expedition to East Greenland” Gustav Holm writes about a house of the size in question, lived in by 38 people from 8 different groups, varying from 1 to 10 persons. If you think about how many square metres there were for each person, it is not surprising that they looked forward to the summer and freedom of living in smaller groups in tents.
The house consisted of a large room. Sealskins were hung up as partitions for the different groups and a long sleeping platform ran along the back of the house.
According to Gustav Holm, a sleeping platform measuring just one and a half metres could accommodate a whole family of husband, two wives and six children. Young unmarried men or the few guests that turned up during the winter used the sleeping platform by the window.
By the side of its sleeping platform, each family had an oil lamp. It functioned as lighting, heating and for cooking. There was probably a good temperature in the winter house, generated by heat from the large number of people and the burning, soapstone oil lamps. A bucket of water was kept next to the oil lamp. Stored under the sleeping platform were skins, tools and supplies, as well as a blubber pot, meat trays and the urine pot.
A nomadic life
During the winter storms, people were often forced to spend many days indoor and the time was spent repairing/manufacturing tools and clothing, telling stories and reminiscing about the summer’s hunting trips and visits.
We the ice situations made navigation on the sea and in the fjords possible, the time came to move back into the summer tents. The roof of the winter house was taken off, so that the wind and weather could take care of the airing and spring-cleaning. When autumn approached once more, it was decided which family groups would spend the winter together. You did not necessarily move into the same house again. You might build in another place or simply move in somewhere else.
You can often find the ruins of these houses if you are out in the countryside. You can find the remains of the thick walls in an especially green spot, always situated close to the sea.
Turf houses were still being built far into the last century, although now in a more modern form with wooden floors and walls, and equipped with stoves and perhaps more rooms.
