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An African in Greenland
Tété-Michel Kpomassie was a teenager in Togo when he discovered a book about Greenland—and knew that he must go there. Working his way north over nearly a decade, Kpomassie finally arrived in the country of his dreams. This brilliantly observed and superbly entertaining record of his adventures among the Inuit is a testament both to the wonderful strangeness of the human species and to the surprising sympathies that bind us all.
298 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
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7090 people want to read
About the author
Tété-Michel Kpomassie
2 books52 followersBorn in Togo, Kpomassie subsequently left his native Africa and traveled to the north of Greenland in a journey that lasted ten years. An African in Greenland, an autobiography that chronicles his journey, was awarded the Prix Littéraire Francophone International in 1981, and its English translation was one of The New York Times’ Notable Books of the Year in 1983. Kpomassie has written numerous articles and short stories for French publications.
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October 21, 2024
Wow, this was just a fantastic read. It was shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Travel Book Awards in 1983, but inexplicably did not win. For me this was 5 stars from the midway point, and nothing changed that.
The author, as a teen in Togo, picked up a book on Eskimo in Greenland, and decided there and then that one day he would go to live there. Childhood dreams, random factors influence what gets decided, and I expect 99% fall away and life goes on.
In the late 1950s the author left his home town, running away from being forced to join a snake cult! (I won't spoil the great story behind this). He left with no money, but went to the Ivory Coast and worked - throughout the book he is a hard worker, as well as a good learner - and saved some money. He moved on to Senegal, and from there to France, then Germany and eventually to Denmark. Throughout his journey he proved to have a propensity for learning languages.
Tété-Michel Kpomassi has many skills - the obvious one is his charm and ability to endear himself to people. People help him every step of his journey. Yes, he is obviously out of place, and attracts attention for what he is doing, but he is such a willing learner, and driven to succeed that people reward that. He was the recipient of so much good will, this book ran the risk of becoming such a good-news story that it could have been too much. But it was expertly saved - the writing in this book and the translation (written in French, translated by James Kirkup) are excellent.
And so, from Denmark Kpomassi achieves his goal and reaches Greenland. Before he even sets foot on land he was the most unusual thing ever seen in the country! He was welcomed almost universally, he was subject to hospitality from the rich down to the most poor persons in the village. He travelled extensively around the south of Greenland, then as the long winter approached he took himself north, looking for a place to stay throughout the winter. He engaged in all local activities, stepped into the Greenland culture, fully immersed himself in the language and shared his positivity with all.
While the book details a huge amount about the Greenland way of life and culture (perhaps the most ever in a non-academic book) it also provides a lot of comparison with Kpomassi's life in Togo, and the Togolese culture. These were perhaps some of the most fascinating aspects of the book. There is much to learn and also be amused with in the cultural examination that Greenlanders and Danish settlers are put through in this book - from cuisine to hunting and fishing, relationships and cultural fopars to alcoholism and promiscuity.
There are some unpleasantries dealt with in the book - so readers be warned. The Inuit are a people who hunt for survival. The catch whales and various other mammals and birds, they all have hunting dogs who pull sleds, but are also eaten in harder times. Alcohol is a problem that leads to violence. There is a non-judgmental approach to the writing, but some may be disturbed by the descriptive explanations.
In my edition there is a 2014 afterword, that shares the authors return to Togo and his family 12 years after setting out on his journey. It goes on to explain the success of this book, and the extensive speaking tours and return visits to France and Greenland to promote his book, give lectures and visit his friends.
Worth seeking out.
5 stars.
The author, as a teen in Togo, picked up a book on Eskimo in Greenland, and decided there and then that one day he would go to live there. Childhood dreams, random factors influence what gets decided, and I expect 99% fall away and life goes on.
In the late 1950s the author left his home town, running away from being forced to join a snake cult! (I won't spoil the great story behind this). He left with no money, but went to the Ivory Coast and worked - throughout the book he is a hard worker, as well as a good learner - and saved some money. He moved on to Senegal, and from there to France, then Germany and eventually to Denmark. Throughout his journey he proved to have a propensity for learning languages.
Tété-Michel Kpomassi has many skills - the obvious one is his charm and ability to endear himself to people. People help him every step of his journey. Yes, he is obviously out of place, and attracts attention for what he is doing, but he is such a willing learner, and driven to succeed that people reward that. He was the recipient of so much good will, this book ran the risk of becoming such a good-news story that it could have been too much. But it was expertly saved - the writing in this book and the translation (written in French, translated by James Kirkup) are excellent.
And so, from Denmark Kpomassi achieves his goal and reaches Greenland. Before he even sets foot on land he was the most unusual thing ever seen in the country! He was welcomed almost universally, he was subject to hospitality from the rich down to the most poor persons in the village. He travelled extensively around the south of Greenland, then as the long winter approached he took himself north, looking for a place to stay throughout the winter. He engaged in all local activities, stepped into the Greenland culture, fully immersed himself in the language and shared his positivity with all.
While the book details a huge amount about the Greenland way of life and culture (perhaps the most ever in a non-academic book) it also provides a lot of comparison with Kpomassi's life in Togo, and the Togolese culture. These were perhaps some of the most fascinating aspects of the book. There is much to learn and also be amused with in the cultural examination that Greenlanders and Danish settlers are put through in this book - from cuisine to hunting and fishing, relationships and cultural fopars to alcoholism and promiscuity.
There are some unpleasantries dealt with in the book - so readers be warned. The Inuit are a people who hunt for survival. The catch whales and various other mammals and birds, they all have hunting dogs who pull sleds, but are also eaten in harder times. Alcohol is a problem that leads to violence. There is a non-judgmental approach to the writing, but some may be disturbed by the descriptive explanations.
In my edition there is a 2014 afterword, that shares the authors return to Togo and his family 12 years after setting out on his journey. It goes on to explain the success of this book, and the extensive speaking tours and return visits to France and Greenland to promote his book, give lectures and visit his friends.
Worth seeking out.
5 stars.
Read
July 12, 2016Good bananas, I learned a lot from this book, which is the memoir of a man from a small African village who spends the better part of a decade getting to Greenland and then several years in Greenland, just generally be a badass and being 100% down for whatever adventures come his way. Like, I learned that if you go to Greenland and knock on a stranger’s door they’ll say, “What’s up, come in and eat raw blubber and also live here now,” and then you’ll be like, “Sure, cool, thanks,” and sleep in a bed with their entire family for several months, no big deal. An African in Greenland was just straight up fun and interesting and one of the better memoirs I’ve read in my decades on this planet.
– Tracy Shapley
from The Best Books We Read In June 2016: http://bookriot.com/2016/06/29/riot-r...
– Tracy Shapley
from The Best Books We Read In June 2016: http://bookriot.com/2016/06/29/riot-r...
July 19, 2022
"Suddenly looking up, I saw white streaks whirling in the wind above my head. It was like the radiance of some invisible hearth, from which light rays shot out ... a deep folded phosphorescent curtain... I went out to watch it again for a long long time, so much more impressive was it than anything I had ever read about these polar auroras."
On Kpomassie's first viewing of the aurora borealis from AN AFRICAN IN GREENLAND by Tété-Michel Kpomassie, translated from the French by James Kirkup, 1981/2001 by NYRB
#ReadTheWorld21 📍 Togo + Greenland
Michel, a young man from Togo, first learns about Greenland from a book at the Jesuit missionary bookshop in the early 1950s & is immediately enamoured with the island of ice, so very different than his home in west Africa.
In his early teens, he had a harrowing accident when he fell from a tree as a python lunged out to attack. This fall of ~9 meters nearly killed him and he notes that he loves the idea of Greenland specifically because "in that land of ice, there would be no snakes!"
This glimpse gives you an idea of the delight and wonder in Kpomassie's mind and personality. He runs away from home at 16 to go to Greenland. He maps a path through northern Africa, through Europe, eventually making it to Denmark (some 8 years later), to set off on a ship to Greenland.
He picks up languages very easily, and his ameniable personality makes him a friend to everyone he meets. Once in Greenland, his height and skin color are a complete novelty and people vie to give him food and shelter (and a bed companion!).
While the first 2 parts focus on Kpomassie's journey and early observation of Greenland, Part 3 and 4 are detailed ethnographic studies of the Inuit Greenlanders, and some of the Danish settlers in Greenland.
There's a subtle undercurrent here of how European settler colonialism impacted both Togo and Greenland: Togo by the Germans and French, and Greenland by the Danish.
Kpomassie's observations and storytelling range from the delightful to the disturbing - warmth and hospitality to addiction and violence.
While he does share some of his own moral/ethical conundrums, specifically in the polyamorous relationships of many Inuit, he makes some interesting notes about the distinctions of the Inuit "sharing" relationships, and his own traditional Togolese polygamous family structure - his father had 8 wives and 26 children, and did not "share". He notes these things with little judgement and speaks to the security it brings to the Inuit community to have these close bonds when mortality rates in a hunting/fishing society can be quite high.
Another note - a content warning or sorts - there are many descriptions of addiction /alcoholism and some related domestic and societal violence. There is a good amount of animal / visceral violence described in this book also, specifically surrounding Inuit dogs and seal hunting practices. Kpomassie notes many of these practices and while he is uncomfortable himself with the treatment of some animals (specifically the dogs and the consumption of dog meat) he does not take a judgemental tone in his writing, but more of an ethnographer, although he was not trained as one at the time.
In all, Kpomassie spent 1.5 years in Greenland traveling from the more developed southern regions to the remote villages in the high north. The time frame here is the 1960s, when Denmark was enacting educational and welfare reforms in Greenland, and these things are mentioned briefly as historical notes.
This travelogue memoir is one of the most unique books I've ever encountered, and likely will be the same for many other readers. The sheer novelty of aWest African explorer going to the Arctic is alone a great reason to pick this one up, but the enduring heart that Kpomassie shares for the people, the landscape, and his thirst for knowledge and understanding was truly my favorite part of this one.
ETA: didn't give star ratings for a time for several reasons. Going back through some old posts and adding them because they are still on my mind years later. Absolutely the case here. Still one of the most unique books I've encountered.
On Kpomassie's first viewing of the aurora borealis from AN AFRICAN IN GREENLAND by Tété-Michel Kpomassie, translated from the French by James Kirkup, 1981/2001 by NYRB
#ReadTheWorld21 📍 Togo + Greenland
Michel, a young man from Togo, first learns about Greenland from a book at the Jesuit missionary bookshop in the early 1950s & is immediately enamoured with the island of ice, so very different than his home in west Africa.
In his early teens, he had a harrowing accident when he fell from a tree as a python lunged out to attack. This fall of ~9 meters nearly killed him and he notes that he loves the idea of Greenland specifically because "in that land of ice, there would be no snakes!"
This glimpse gives you an idea of the delight and wonder in Kpomassie's mind and personality. He runs away from home at 16 to go to Greenland. He maps a path through northern Africa, through Europe, eventually making it to Denmark (some 8 years later), to set off on a ship to Greenland.
He picks up languages very easily, and his ameniable personality makes him a friend to everyone he meets. Once in Greenland, his height and skin color are a complete novelty and people vie to give him food and shelter (and a bed companion!).
While the first 2 parts focus on Kpomassie's journey and early observation of Greenland, Part 3 and 4 are detailed ethnographic studies of the Inuit Greenlanders, and some of the Danish settlers in Greenland.
There's a subtle undercurrent here of how European settler colonialism impacted both Togo and Greenland: Togo by the Germans and French, and Greenland by the Danish.
Kpomassie's observations and storytelling range from the delightful to the disturbing - warmth and hospitality to addiction and violence.
While he does share some of his own moral/ethical conundrums, specifically in the polyamorous relationships of many Inuit, he makes some interesting notes about the distinctions of the Inuit "sharing" relationships, and his own traditional Togolese polygamous family structure - his father had 8 wives and 26 children, and did not "share". He notes these things with little judgement and speaks to the security it brings to the Inuit community to have these close bonds when mortality rates in a hunting/fishing society can be quite high.
Another note - a content warning or sorts - there are many descriptions of addiction /alcoholism and some related domestic and societal violence. There is a good amount of animal / visceral violence described in this book also, specifically surrounding Inuit dogs and seal hunting practices. Kpomassie notes many of these practices and while he is uncomfortable himself with the treatment of some animals (specifically the dogs and the consumption of dog meat) he does not take a judgemental tone in his writing, but more of an ethnographer, although he was not trained as one at the time.
In all, Kpomassie spent 1.5 years in Greenland traveling from the more developed southern regions to the remote villages in the high north. The time frame here is the 1960s, when Denmark was enacting educational and welfare reforms in Greenland, and these things are mentioned briefly as historical notes.
This travelogue memoir is one of the most unique books I've ever encountered, and likely will be the same for many other readers. The sheer novelty of aWest African explorer going to the Arctic is alone a great reason to pick this one up, but the enduring heart that Kpomassie shares for the people, the landscape, and his thirst for knowledge and understanding was truly my favorite part of this one.
ETA: didn't give star ratings for a time for several reasons. Going back through some old posts and adding them because they are still on my mind years later. Absolutely the case here. Still one of the most unique books I've encountered.
April 27, 2016
This is the book that made me think there was some worth to following the NYRB Classics imprint, least until the usual inundation of names that don't appear quite as often on lists like the Modern Library 100 as others started up. Sure, some of them were new to me, but you can't expect to hook me through an ethnography written by a Togo traveler journeying to near the farthest north of indigenous Greenland and have the latest less than obscenely famous Frenchy boy scribble go down just as smoothly. One of these things is not a matter of real publishing effort. I do like my pretty pretty cover designs, but aesthetics can only carry a lumbering dinosaur of self-titled pioneer so far.
All I can really say about this is you'd have to read it to believe it. The world's only gotten smaller over the years to the European gaze and there's a chance the GOP and co. will melt Antarctica before exploration maps that out to completion, which doesn't give much hope but does explain the rumblings of the ultimate white flight to Mars. For those of us not stuffing our heads in the various sand pits of greed and guilt and writings of those who look like us, a postcolonial journey to the snow is very nice indeed, especially when Kpomassie has an excellent sense for what is up for someone in their younger mid-twenties. He most certainly did a great deal of plumping up and smoothing out of his account in the nine years between the date he left the ice and the year this tome was published, but you can't fake a mix of curiosity and genuine respect for a culture different from your own. Barring Bouton's shitty ass quote on the back of this thanking Kpomassie for not respecting his hosts enough to keep his mouth shut (those sucking at the teat of Entertainment Above All are eternal slags), I'd say he did a pretty good job,.
One thing Kpomassie and the Inuit who hosted him have in common is a past and present filled with white people and their tendency towards suffocation in the name of whatever. It shows in the Danish customs that Kpomassie regretfully observes as the cultural mainstay in a town with only a single Danish citizen, as well as his own usage of the word Eskimo, the footnote defining it a wonder of academic thoroughness and complete lack of critical thought. Beyond that, this is a work intimately aware of how a homeland and a country of dreams were impacted by the same conquering history, and it doesn't have to be a manifesto to subtly probe at the breed of cultural anthropology that aids and abets such a past.
It's a shame Kpomassie hasn't written more. The world needs explorers like him who have no idea what they're doing but are willing to go about figuring the right way to do it.
All I can really say about this is you'd have to read it to believe it. The world's only gotten smaller over the years to the European gaze and there's a chance the GOP and co. will melt Antarctica before exploration maps that out to completion, which doesn't give much hope but does explain the rumblings of the ultimate white flight to Mars. For those of us not stuffing our heads in the various sand pits of greed and guilt and writings of those who look like us, a postcolonial journey to the snow is very nice indeed, especially when Kpomassie has an excellent sense for what is up for someone in their younger mid-twenties. He most certainly did a great deal of plumping up and smoothing out of his account in the nine years between the date he left the ice and the year this tome was published, but you can't fake a mix of curiosity and genuine respect for a culture different from your own. Barring Bouton's shitty ass quote on the back of this thanking Kpomassie for not respecting his hosts enough to keep his mouth shut (those sucking at the teat of Entertainment Above All are eternal slags), I'd say he did a pretty good job,.
One thing Kpomassie and the Inuit who hosted him have in common is a past and present filled with white people and their tendency towards suffocation in the name of whatever. It shows in the Danish customs that Kpomassie regretfully observes as the cultural mainstay in a town with only a single Danish citizen, as well as his own usage of the word Eskimo, the footnote defining it a wonder of academic thoroughness and complete lack of critical thought. Beyond that, this is a work intimately aware of how a homeland and a country of dreams were impacted by the same conquering history, and it doesn't have to be a manifesto to subtly probe at the breed of cultural anthropology that aids and abets such a past.
It's a shame Kpomassie hasn't written more. The world needs explorers like him who have no idea what they're doing but are willing to go about figuring the right way to do it.
"...our handful of passengers was presented with navy certificates testifying that we had traveled inside the Arctic Circle, which we had just crossed. This distribution of printed forms struck me as so grotesque that I didn't bother to collect mine, preferring to savor the strange thrill of that striking landscape.
October 6, 2011
An African in Greenland made me rethink travel literature. Most travel writers seem to want to sound as if they're especially clever and removed. They amplify each experience for dramatic effect. I don't know there's anything wrong with that. But An African in Greenland takes a different route. Tete-Michel Kpomassie rambles, judges, exclaims, and wonders about Greenland's landscape and inhabitants. He's not writing a National Geographic article. He's writing a much more fun and honest book.
While I guess the author's early life in Africa and dogged path toward his goal provide necessary context, the fun starts after the author boards a boat and heads west on the Atlantic. When Kpomassie lands in Greenland the script transforms away from a simple feel good story about a black guy in Eskimo country (didn't Cuba Gooding Jr. make a movie about that, by the way?) into a wide-eyed and sometimes hilariously indignant reporting of the best and worst of Greenland. If you expected Kpomassie to portray Greenlanders as deep and noble, yee-ha, you've got the wrong book. Just wait until you get to the section on wife-swapping. And I don't know how many times he mentions people shitting in buckets right in front of everyone but I strongly suggest the Greenlanders build a hotel or two before they promote tourism. Maybe they already have. And Kpmossaie represents the crushing boredom of deep winter poverty with compassion and little window dressing. Essentially, from what I can tell, Greenlanders spend a hell of a lot of time drinking and fucking. Who can blame them? They're in Greenland. But the class issues and weird, insular cultural problems are sad and scary. I don't know that An African in Greenland is a definitive description of the country or people. But I know I've never read a book like it. I recommend the book but you should know ahead of time that this isn't a touchy-feely book-clubby travelogue. It's better. And uglier.
While I guess the author's early life in Africa and dogged path toward his goal provide necessary context, the fun starts after the author boards a boat and heads west on the Atlantic. When Kpomassie lands in Greenland the script transforms away from a simple feel good story about a black guy in Eskimo country (didn't Cuba Gooding Jr. make a movie about that, by the way?) into a wide-eyed and sometimes hilariously indignant reporting of the best and worst of Greenland. If you expected Kpomassie to portray Greenlanders as deep and noble, yee-ha, you've got the wrong book. Just wait until you get to the section on wife-swapping. And I don't know how many times he mentions people shitting in buckets right in front of everyone but I strongly suggest the Greenlanders build a hotel or two before they promote tourism. Maybe they already have. And Kpmossaie represents the crushing boredom of deep winter poverty with compassion and little window dressing. Essentially, from what I can tell, Greenlanders spend a hell of a lot of time drinking and fucking. Who can blame them? They're in Greenland. But the class issues and weird, insular cultural problems are sad and scary. I don't know that An African in Greenland is a definitive description of the country or people. But I know I've never read a book like it. I recommend the book but you should know ahead of time that this isn't a touchy-feely book-clubby travelogue. It's better. And uglier.
March 23, 2023
Esta é a história fantástica de um rapaz togolês que, aos 16 anos, foge de casa com a ideia fixa de conhecer a Gronelândia, depois de ter lido sobre esta região e sobre os seus habitantes num livro. Após oito anos passados entre a África e a Europa, chega, finalmente, ao seu destino. Não é ficção, mas sim um livro de memórias, e que memórias!
Gostei da forma como Tété-Michel vai narrando tudo o que vive, as comparações que faz com a realidade do seu país, e o esforço para compreender uma cultura tão diferente da sua.
“Na quinta-feira, 13 de Janeiro, por volta da uma da tarde, os habitantes trepam a uma montanha atrás da aldeia para assistir, dizem, à primeira aparição do sol.
(…)
Este ‘regresso do sol’, que me parece puramente imaginário, deu lugar, nessa noite, à mais curiosa das festas: os adultos organizam no salão recreativo, só para os homens e as respetivas esposas, um baile onde os jovens não têm entrada.
(…)
Depois da meia-noite, no meio do burburinho e das canções, as pessoas, alagadas em suor, dão início à troca de mulheres. Já li que os participantes, durante estas trocas em público, recorrem ao que se designava por “extinção das luzes”, mas esta noite isso não acontece. Vê-se apenas um homem levantar-se e ir sentar-se ao pé de outro casal. Fala durante alguns instantes e depois sai, muito simplesmente, com a companheira do outro. Por vezes isso acontece quando o outro está a dançar. O marido que assim é privado da mulher deita uma olhadela para a assistência, escolhe outra mulher, sentada ou não ao pé do marido, e vai sentar-se junto dela. Pouco depois dirige-se por sua vez para a saída, com uma mulher que não é a sua. Embora os maridos que assim se livram das companheiras dêem a impressão de não estar muito aborrecidos por isso, a maior parte das mulheres, se as observarmos bem, dão a sensação de concordar relativamente. No entanto, parecem, do mesmo modo que as co-esposas no meu país, resignar-se a uma tradição milenar.
(…)
A troca de mulheres (…) só é feita entre amigos, obedece a regras precisas e liga os dois homens por um laço indissolúvel. Se essa prática lhes traz um prazer novo, também comporta deveres imperiosos, e não tem nada a ver com a partilha efémera que os jovens não casados fazem das namoradas. À família de Jorgensen, assim como à de Hans, nunca faltará comida se um deles voltar da caça de mãos a abanar ou se adoecer, desde que o outro mate uma foca.”
“(…) não há palavras para qualificar a grande liberdade das crianças desta terra. São elas, mais do que os adultos, as primeiras a adotar o estrangeiro. O maior mérito deste povo é, pois, aceitar sempre, e seguir, em todas as circunstâncias em que a intuição leva a palma à razão, a inclinação natural das crianças.”
“(…) durante a noite, um jovem gronelandês foi morto a tiro de espingarda por um jovem dinamarquês, noivo de uma encantadora rapariga de Ammassalik (…), que teria sido a causa deste trágico acidente. Ao saber da morte do seu compatriota, os gronelandeses não manifestaram qualquer violência em relação aos dinamarqueses. Nem sequer um protesto. Mas não é o silêncio, por vezes, isso mesmo? Esta morte, na opinião geral, deveu-se à embriaguez. Mas nas casas gronelandesas, os pareceres dividem-se: alguns, essencialmente os jovens, acreditam que o dinamarquês matou friamente um dos seus, sem, no entanto, gritarem por vingança; outros, os adultos e sobretudo os velhos, não imputam este crime ao estado de embriaguez avançada do jovem dinamarquês, nem ao ciúme, mas, curiosamente, “ao regresso do sol, que, devido à sua aparição súbita e resplendente após meses de escuro, pode provocar nos estrangeiros um estado de euforia, de efervescência, em suma, uma falta de controlo”. Por conseguinte, o rapaz dinamarquês não é responsável pelo seu ato, na opinião desses velhos, que acrescentam mesmo que ele devia ser libertado, para que possa, pelas boas ações futuras, redimir-se junto da comunidade que privou de um dos seus membros.
Essa explicação da influência do sol nos atos do jovem dinamarquês pode parecer ingénua, mas, se pensarmos nas paixões loucas que uma morte semelhante desencadeou noutros países e particularmente em África, não podemos deixar de apreciar a sabedoria desses velhos gronelandeses que (…) chamam os jovens à tolerância e à não-violência. Que lição!”
Gostei da forma como Tété-Michel vai narrando tudo o que vive, as comparações que faz com a realidade do seu país, e o esforço para compreender uma cultura tão diferente da sua.
“Na quinta-feira, 13 de Janeiro, por volta da uma da tarde, os habitantes trepam a uma montanha atrás da aldeia para assistir, dizem, à primeira aparição do sol.
(…)
Este ‘regresso do sol’, que me parece puramente imaginário, deu lugar, nessa noite, à mais curiosa das festas: os adultos organizam no salão recreativo, só para os homens e as respetivas esposas, um baile onde os jovens não têm entrada.
(…)
Depois da meia-noite, no meio do burburinho e das canções, as pessoas, alagadas em suor, dão início à troca de mulheres. Já li que os participantes, durante estas trocas em público, recorrem ao que se designava por “extinção das luzes”, mas esta noite isso não acontece. Vê-se apenas um homem levantar-se e ir sentar-se ao pé de outro casal. Fala durante alguns instantes e depois sai, muito simplesmente, com a companheira do outro. Por vezes isso acontece quando o outro está a dançar. O marido que assim é privado da mulher deita uma olhadela para a assistência, escolhe outra mulher, sentada ou não ao pé do marido, e vai sentar-se junto dela. Pouco depois dirige-se por sua vez para a saída, com uma mulher que não é a sua. Embora os maridos que assim se livram das companheiras dêem a impressão de não estar muito aborrecidos por isso, a maior parte das mulheres, se as observarmos bem, dão a sensação de concordar relativamente. No entanto, parecem, do mesmo modo que as co-esposas no meu país, resignar-se a uma tradição milenar.
(…)
A troca de mulheres (…) só é feita entre amigos, obedece a regras precisas e liga os dois homens por um laço indissolúvel. Se essa prática lhes traz um prazer novo, também comporta deveres imperiosos, e não tem nada a ver com a partilha efémera que os jovens não casados fazem das namoradas. À família de Jorgensen, assim como à de Hans, nunca faltará comida se um deles voltar da caça de mãos a abanar ou se adoecer, desde que o outro mate uma foca.”
“(…) não há palavras para qualificar a grande liberdade das crianças desta terra. São elas, mais do que os adultos, as primeiras a adotar o estrangeiro. O maior mérito deste povo é, pois, aceitar sempre, e seguir, em todas as circunstâncias em que a intuição leva a palma à razão, a inclinação natural das crianças.”
“(…) durante a noite, um jovem gronelandês foi morto a tiro de espingarda por um jovem dinamarquês, noivo de uma encantadora rapariga de Ammassalik (…), que teria sido a causa deste trágico acidente. Ao saber da morte do seu compatriota, os gronelandeses não manifestaram qualquer violência em relação aos dinamarqueses. Nem sequer um protesto. Mas não é o silêncio, por vezes, isso mesmo? Esta morte, na opinião geral, deveu-se à embriaguez. Mas nas casas gronelandesas, os pareceres dividem-se: alguns, essencialmente os jovens, acreditam que o dinamarquês matou friamente um dos seus, sem, no entanto, gritarem por vingança; outros, os adultos e sobretudo os velhos, não imputam este crime ao estado de embriaguez avançada do jovem dinamarquês, nem ao ciúme, mas, curiosamente, “ao regresso do sol, que, devido à sua aparição súbita e resplendente após meses de escuro, pode provocar nos estrangeiros um estado de euforia, de efervescência, em suma, uma falta de controlo”. Por conseguinte, o rapaz dinamarquês não é responsável pelo seu ato, na opinião desses velhos, que acrescentam mesmo que ele devia ser libertado, para que possa, pelas boas ações futuras, redimir-se junto da comunidade que privou de um dos seus membros.
Essa explicação da influência do sol nos atos do jovem dinamarquês pode parecer ingénua, mas, se pensarmos nas paixões loucas que uma morte semelhante desencadeou noutros países e particularmente em África, não podemos deixar de apreciar a sabedoria desses velhos gronelandeses que (…) chamam os jovens à tolerância e à não-violência. Que lição!”
March 10, 2014
Tete-Michek Kpomassi stepped outside his tradition. He would not stay with his Watyi tribe in Togo and revere his elders, swelter in the heat or do any further penance to reptiles. After seeing a book on the Eskimos of Greenland in a mission bookstore he set his sights on going to their cold, snake-less island. It took 8 years to reach his goal, but he got there.
Kpomassi had quite an adventure. In the Greenland of the 1960's he could knock on a door, say he was a traveler and then be given a place to stay for days... weeks... months. He was a novelty. Reports of his being in the area would often precede him. He was accepted as a traveler and friend and encountered very little racism.
As he travels northward on Greenland's west coast he participated in the lives of the friendly strangers he stayed with. I would expect this recount of the daily life is valuable documentation Greenland at this time. It also makes a fascinating read.
He learns many ways to fish and how to cut and cure what is caught. He learns to use a bucket for an indoor toilet and how to drive a team of huskies. He eats the local food, observes holiday and funeral customs and visits hospitals and prisons. He writes briefly about sexual norms. Multiple partners among married couples is common, but jealousy isn't. Families sleeping together to stay warm provoke a number of issues. Kpomassi says little about his own experiences, but the few instances of racism he faces, he suggests stem from his popularity with the women of Greenland.
On the down side, Kpomassi sees the reliance on alcohol, the hunger of children when their father cannot or will not catch fish, the poor treatment of dogs and unsanitary conditions. There are sad tales of death and dangers of the cold.
I would like to read more from this author. There is nothing else in English (or maybe French either). Two other books are begging to be written: 1) Kpomassi's life in Togo and 2) his 8 year journey through Ghana, Senegal, France, Germany and Denmark earning his way to Greenland. I'd specifically like to know how he acquired his education, something on his adopted father and how he fared when he went back to his tribe after having so much experience of the world and its cultures.
Kpomassi had quite an adventure. In the Greenland of the 1960's he could knock on a door, say he was a traveler and then be given a place to stay for days... weeks... months. He was a novelty. Reports of his being in the area would often precede him. He was accepted as a traveler and friend and encountered very little racism.
As he travels northward on Greenland's west coast he participated in the lives of the friendly strangers he stayed with. I would expect this recount of the daily life is valuable documentation Greenland at this time. It also makes a fascinating read.
He learns many ways to fish and how to cut and cure what is caught. He learns to use a bucket for an indoor toilet and how to drive a team of huskies. He eats the local food, observes holiday and funeral customs and visits hospitals and prisons. He writes briefly about sexual norms. Multiple partners among married couples is common, but jealousy isn't. Families sleeping together to stay warm provoke a number of issues. Kpomassi says little about his own experiences, but the few instances of racism he faces, he suggests stem from his popularity with the women of Greenland.
On the down side, Kpomassi sees the reliance on alcohol, the hunger of children when their father cannot or will not catch fish, the poor treatment of dogs and unsanitary conditions. There are sad tales of death and dangers of the cold.
I would like to read more from this author. There is nothing else in English (or maybe French either). Two other books are begging to be written: 1) Kpomassi's life in Togo and 2) his 8 year journey through Ghana, Senegal, France, Germany and Denmark earning his way to Greenland. I'd specifically like to know how he acquired his education, something on his adopted father and how he fared when he went back to his tribe after having so much experience of the world and its cultures.
May 23, 2020
The fascinating story of a true 20th century adventure
Modern times mean modern means. Our contemporary adventurers always tote an amazing array of technology with them, or they rely on the backup of millions of dollars worth of equipment. Heading off to the stars eventually will involve the work of thousands of people. We always knew where the first balloonists around the world were, even their altitude. The Vikings never had that advantage, nor did the explorers of the Amazon nor the Micronesians as they sailed across the vast Pacific. Even good ol' Chris Columbus didn't really have a clue where he would wind up.
Here is a story of a real, one-man adventure that started in the 1960s. A teenager in Togo, West Africa, Kpomassie grew up in an African village family. After a close encounter with a python, he was destined to become a priest in the traditional religion. His destiny was changed, though, when his father took him to town and he found a book on Greenland in a Christian bookshop. Utterly fascinated, he determined to travel to the far north to live with the Eskimos himself. This volume is the wonderful story of how he did it. It took eight years of effort to work his way across Africa to France, then ultimately, to Denmark from where he embarked on a ship to Greenland. Most of the book tells of how he lived, worked, hunted, found romance, ate and drank with the denizens of the frozen north, all told with an African perspective. "...the way we were stuffing ourselves with food and swapping stories reminded me so much of Africa..." (p.118) If you ever tired of "white man calls natives lazy or unadventurous", then this is the perfect antidote. Kpomassie blends in so well, he thinks of staying there for the rest of his life, even learns to eat raw whale meat that splintered like ice in his mouth. He got kicked out for overstaying his visa, wouldn't you know, but his last written thoughts were "How am I going to get back?"
You will never find another book like this.
Modern times mean modern means. Our contemporary adventurers always tote an amazing array of technology with them, or they rely on the backup of millions of dollars worth of equipment. Heading off to the stars eventually will involve the work of thousands of people. We always knew where the first balloonists around the world were, even their altitude. The Vikings never had that advantage, nor did the explorers of the Amazon nor the Micronesians as they sailed across the vast Pacific. Even good ol' Chris Columbus didn't really have a clue where he would wind up.
Here is a story of a real, one-man adventure that started in the 1960s. A teenager in Togo, West Africa, Kpomassie grew up in an African village family. After a close encounter with a python, he was destined to become a priest in the traditional religion. His destiny was changed, though, when his father took him to town and he found a book on Greenland in a Christian bookshop. Utterly fascinated, he determined to travel to the far north to live with the Eskimos himself. This volume is the wonderful story of how he did it. It took eight years of effort to work his way across Africa to France, then ultimately, to Denmark from where he embarked on a ship to Greenland. Most of the book tells of how he lived, worked, hunted, found romance, ate and drank with the denizens of the frozen north, all told with an African perspective. "...the way we were stuffing ourselves with food and swapping stories reminded me so much of Africa..." (p.118) If you ever tired of "white man calls natives lazy or unadventurous", then this is the perfect antidote. Kpomassie blends in so well, he thinks of staying there for the rest of his life, even learns to eat raw whale meat that splintered like ice in his mouth. He got kicked out for overstaying his visa, wouldn't you know, but his last written thoughts were "How am I going to get back?"
You will never find another book like this.
August 7, 2014
This was a 3.5 read for me.
My thoughts:
• I enjoy armchair travelling and a good travelogue especially to places I have not yet visited. This was an intriguing read as I learned about Togo and Greenland.
• Written with charm and wit, the author’s personality shines through and as your reader you understand Kpomassie’s charisma and ability to easily integrate himself into a society/culture to his own.
• While the author does not spend much time talking about Togo (except for the events that led to his fascination with Greenland) I certainly became interested to learn and read more about Togo.
• The author demonstrated an ability to quickly learn new languages as he travels across African and Europe to get to his goal Greenland.
• I appreciated how the author keenly observes the Inuit and their culture and felt at ease no matter the customs.
• While reading with my modern American eyes, I know wondered how certain customs/traditions developed and how I would adapt to them. But it easily becomes obvious that time and environment influences how a person lives and you have to use the resources at hand. I did not find the Inuit diet appetizing or appealing but when you live in an area without arable land ant timber then the food source has to come from mostly from the sea and those few than animals that can survive and it made sense to eat most of this raw.
• I did wonder why all of the coffee drinking and how did this become a big part of their culture. Every household had a pot of coffee going for themselves and guests.
• While I would have liked a little less detail regarding the fishing/hunting adventures, this is activity is so important to the survival of life in Greenland that doing this help helps determine if you eat and have warm clothing, and have something to barter with for other supplies.
• Once I finished reading I wondered how the author fared after his Greenland adventure and what lessons he had learned that we would apply to life wherever he landed.
My thoughts:
• I enjoy armchair travelling and a good travelogue especially to places I have not yet visited. This was an intriguing read as I learned about Togo and Greenland.
• Written with charm and wit, the author’s personality shines through and as your reader you understand Kpomassie’s charisma and ability to easily integrate himself into a society/culture to his own.
• While the author does not spend much time talking about Togo (except for the events that led to his fascination with Greenland) I certainly became interested to learn and read more about Togo.
• The author demonstrated an ability to quickly learn new languages as he travels across African and Europe to get to his goal Greenland.
• I appreciated how the author keenly observes the Inuit and their culture and felt at ease no matter the customs.
• While reading with my modern American eyes, I know wondered how certain customs/traditions developed and how I would adapt to them. But it easily becomes obvious that time and environment influences how a person lives and you have to use the resources at hand. I did not find the Inuit diet appetizing or appealing but when you live in an area without arable land ant timber then the food source has to come from mostly from the sea and those few than animals that can survive and it made sense to eat most of this raw.
• I did wonder why all of the coffee drinking and how did this become a big part of their culture. Every household had a pot of coffee going for themselves and guests.
• While I would have liked a little less detail regarding the fishing/hunting adventures, this is activity is so important to the survival of life in Greenland that doing this help helps determine if you eat and have warm clothing, and have something to barter with for other supplies.
• Once I finished reading I wondered how the author fared after his Greenland adventure and what lessons he had learned that we would apply to life wherever he landed.
August 10, 2016
Breezy, well-written, straightforward narrative about an African lad who sees a book about Greenland, develops an interest, and, as a young man, follows through on his dream. Kpomassie stands out in more ways than one once he arrives--a black man in a green land is most unusual--but he also stands out for his height. Punch line (and statement about Greenlanders): He's only 5' 10".
Kpomassie is a good storyteller. The opening chapters take place in his native Togo. One particularly entertaining chapter tells of his run-in with a snake while high in a tree (advantage: snake). Afterwards, deathly ill from the snake's championship victory, young Kpomassie is taken by his father to a snake-worshipping tribe deep in the jungle for "the cure." Let's just say Indiana Jones would NOT appreciate the ritual or the guests of honor among this tribe.
After a brief interlude in France, the narrative travels to Southern Greenland--distinctly different from Northern, as readers will see--and begins to observe and chronicle the life, habits, and diet of the world's largest island. Certainly they have a different take on the body and privacy and sex than most Europeans, Americans, and, yes, Africans. For one, a large bucket just inside the front door serves as a not-so-privy privy. Greenlanders of all ages and both sexes would happily engage Kpomassie in conversation as they unzipped, squatted, and let fly. No one (spare the African in the room) so much as batted an eyelid. Now THAT'S familiarity.
Greenlanders are also quite open about sex and that includes swapping partners now and then. Jealousy is frowned upon in Greenland, so if someone invites the guest (this is a big hospitality culture) to your wife, you smile and nod, "By all means! She's wonderful!" Then the wife smiles her delight as well. Hoo, boy.
Poverty and the closeness of most living domiciles means parents typically have sex in the dark near the children, too. No need for "the talk" in Greenland! People are busy doing "the walk"!
Finally, as is true in many northern cultures with temperature and daylight extremes, alcoholism is ever-present. Greenlanders love their coffee, but they love their booze as well. One couple, so drunk they didn't know any different, wind up sleeping on and suffocating their infant child. (Imagine the guilt with THAT hangover.)
Lots of interesting anecdotes, stories, characters and insights here. The writing is simple and clean as ice (even though this is not Iceland). A quick, easy, enjoyable jaunt, with only occasional lapses where Kposmassie inserts a little background info obviously taken from books on Greenland to supplement his tale.
Kpomassie is a good storyteller. The opening chapters take place in his native Togo. One particularly entertaining chapter tells of his run-in with a snake while high in a tree (advantage: snake). Afterwards, deathly ill from the snake's championship victory, young Kpomassie is taken by his father to a snake-worshipping tribe deep in the jungle for "the cure." Let's just say Indiana Jones would NOT appreciate the ritual or the guests of honor among this tribe.
After a brief interlude in France, the narrative travels to Southern Greenland--distinctly different from Northern, as readers will see--and begins to observe and chronicle the life, habits, and diet of the world's largest island. Certainly they have a different take on the body and privacy and sex than most Europeans, Americans, and, yes, Africans. For one, a large bucket just inside the front door serves as a not-so-privy privy. Greenlanders of all ages and both sexes would happily engage Kpomassie in conversation as they unzipped, squatted, and let fly. No one (spare the African in the room) so much as batted an eyelid. Now THAT'S familiarity.
Greenlanders are also quite open about sex and that includes swapping partners now and then. Jealousy is frowned upon in Greenland, so if someone invites the guest (this is a big hospitality culture) to your wife, you smile and nod, "By all means! She's wonderful!" Then the wife smiles her delight as well. Hoo, boy.
Poverty and the closeness of most living domiciles means parents typically have sex in the dark near the children, too. No need for "the talk" in Greenland! People are busy doing "the walk"!
Finally, as is true in many northern cultures with temperature and daylight extremes, alcoholism is ever-present. Greenlanders love their coffee, but they love their booze as well. One couple, so drunk they didn't know any different, wind up sleeping on and suffocating their infant child. (Imagine the guilt with THAT hangover.)
Lots of interesting anecdotes, stories, characters and insights here. The writing is simple and clean as ice (even though this is not Iceland). A quick, easy, enjoyable jaunt, with only occasional lapses where Kposmassie inserts a little background info obviously taken from books on Greenland to supplement his tale.
August 7, 2024
Por onde começar?
Esta é, por várias razões, uma história como nenhuma outra e captou de imediato a minha atenção. O livro acabou por me ser oferecido no meu aniversário de 2022.
Tété-Michel, um jovem negro, filho de uma família tradicional do Togo que em 1958 foge de casa, com apenas 16 anos, para se tornar o esquimó africano (como foi intitulado num documentário que a BBC lhe dedicou) por terras da Gronelândia.
Um livro fenomenal, onde tudo é observado minuciosamente e em que cada detalhe nos faz crer que o mundo ainda pode ser um lugar surpreendente.
Um dos melhores, senão o melhor, que li este ano.
Esta é, por várias razões, uma história como nenhuma outra e captou de imediato a minha atenção. O livro acabou por me ser oferecido no meu aniversário de 2022.
Tété-Michel, um jovem negro, filho de uma família tradicional do Togo que em 1958 foge de casa, com apenas 16 anos, para se tornar o esquimó africano (como foi intitulado num documentário que a BBC lhe dedicou) por terras da Gronelândia.
Um livro fenomenal, onde tudo é observado minuciosamente e em que cada detalhe nos faz crer que o mundo ainda pode ser um lugar surpreendente.
Um dos melhores, senão o melhor, que li este ano.
July 7, 2019
3.5 stars
This is the travelogue of a young man from Togo who determined at age 16 that he would go to Greenland, then spent the next 8 years working his way there. A quarter of the way through the book, he arrives, and spends the next 15 months traveling gradually further and further north, living with the Inuit, learning their methods of hunting and fishing, and adopting their way of life. His time in Greenland apparently took place in 1965-66, and the culture he found certainly bore the stamp of Danish colonial rulers (well-insulated turf dwellings almost entirely replaced with inferior wooden houses; people living in southern cities had largely given up hunting and depended on government handouts), but in many other ways it still seems quite unique. Families sleeping all together in a single bed with their children and visitors; hunting in kayaks and with dog sleds; packs of huskies that sometimes serve as food themselves when provisions are tight, but which also sometimes attack and eat humans; constant visiting from one home to another, with people wandering right into each other’s houses; butchering animals indoors and eating the meat raw, the children all winding up with blood in their hair; a complete lack of sexual jealousy or concern for fidelity, including in some places ritual “swinging”; it’s a colorful picture Kpomassie paints here. I couldn’t help wondering if his depictions of both Togo and Greenland were deliberately “exotic” to appeal to a European readership with little knowledge of other lands, though a quick online search turned up no evidence of this book having been debunked so far.
That said, it’s definitely an interesting account, allowing readers to armchair-travel to a far-flung place with a unique character. For all Kpomassie seems to love Greenland, it’s a warts-and-all depiction that probably won’t inspire many to follow his footsteps in person; this book isn’t for the squeamish, whether it’s describing the butchering and eating of raw meat, or canine and human bodily functions and sexual behavior. But it is well-written, closely-observed and engaging.
My biggest criticism is that the author’s inner life is oddly lacking, which contributes to the comparison to a fairy tale: there’s little sense of how Kpomassie thinks or feels about much of anything, especially after arriving in Greenland. He writes about his journey as if it were easy: working his way through West Africa and Europe, everywhere he goes he finds a job that allows him to support himself and save money, learns the language easily, finds people willing to take him in where he needs them, and generally gives the impression of being untouched by circumstance, of nothing truly bad ever happening. Perhaps I’m just too used to reading books about dire circumstances myself. But I couldn’t help wondering about the deeper story of his journey and what he did with his life afterwards.
I also have to comment on the bizarrely worthless introduction. The mysterious “A. Alvarez” is an awfully careless reader: stating multiple times, for instance, that Kpomassie spends an entire winter with his final host family, while he tells us quite specifically that he stayed there from July 3 until around September 22, when he took the last boat out before the pack ice set in. Alvarez also seems to seriously misread the python cult episode in Togo, claiming that the head priestess demanded Kpomassie as a devotee in exchange for healing, while actually, his father paid for the healing separately, and the request that he also become a priest was based on his personal qualities and considered an honor by his family. Why the publisher would even include this careless waste of ink in the book is beyond me.
Overall, an interesting and unusual book, and one I generally enjoyed while reading it, though I wasn’t always drawn to pick it up. Certainly worth a read for the armchair traveler.
This is the travelogue of a young man from Togo who determined at age 16 that he would go to Greenland, then spent the next 8 years working his way there. A quarter of the way through the book, he arrives, and spends the next 15 months traveling gradually further and further north, living with the Inuit, learning their methods of hunting and fishing, and adopting their way of life. His time in Greenland apparently took place in 1965-66, and the culture he found certainly bore the stamp of Danish colonial rulers (well-insulated turf dwellings almost entirely replaced with inferior wooden houses; people living in southern cities had largely given up hunting and depended on government handouts), but in many other ways it still seems quite unique. Families sleeping all together in a single bed with their children and visitors; hunting in kayaks and with dog sleds; packs of huskies that sometimes serve as food themselves when provisions are tight, but which also sometimes attack and eat humans; constant visiting from one home to another, with people wandering right into each other’s houses; butchering animals indoors and eating the meat raw, the children all winding up with blood in their hair; a complete lack of sexual jealousy or concern for fidelity, including in some places ritual “swinging”; it’s a colorful picture Kpomassie paints here. I couldn’t help wondering if his depictions of both Togo and Greenland were deliberately “exotic” to appeal to a European readership with little knowledge of other lands, though a quick online search turned up no evidence of this book having been debunked so far.
That said, it’s definitely an interesting account, allowing readers to armchair-travel to a far-flung place with a unique character. For all Kpomassie seems to love Greenland, it’s a warts-and-all depiction that probably won’t inspire many to follow his footsteps in person; this book isn’t for the squeamish, whether it’s describing the butchering and eating of raw meat, or canine and human bodily functions and sexual behavior. But it is well-written, closely-observed and engaging.
My biggest criticism is that the author’s inner life is oddly lacking, which contributes to the comparison to a fairy tale: there’s little sense of how Kpomassie thinks or feels about much of anything, especially after arriving in Greenland. He writes about his journey as if it were easy: working his way through West Africa and Europe, everywhere he goes he finds a job that allows him to support himself and save money, learns the language easily, finds people willing to take him in where he needs them, and generally gives the impression of being untouched by circumstance, of nothing truly bad ever happening. Perhaps I’m just too used to reading books about dire circumstances myself. But I couldn’t help wondering about the deeper story of his journey and what he did with his life afterwards.
I also have to comment on the bizarrely worthless introduction. The mysterious “A. Alvarez” is an awfully careless reader: stating multiple times, for instance, that Kpomassie spends an entire winter with his final host family, while he tells us quite specifically that he stayed there from July 3 until around September 22, when he took the last boat out before the pack ice set in. Alvarez also seems to seriously misread the python cult episode in Togo, claiming that the head priestess demanded Kpomassie as a devotee in exchange for healing, while actually, his father paid for the healing separately, and the request that he also become a priest was based on his personal qualities and considered an honor by his family. Why the publisher would even include this careless waste of ink in the book is beyond me.
Overall, an interesting and unusual book, and one I generally enjoyed while reading it, though I wasn’t always drawn to pick it up. Certainly worth a read for the armchair traveler.
July 31, 2022
“Was it the author’s praise of their hospitality that triggered my longing for adventure, or as it fear of returning to the sacred forest? I hardly remember. But when I had finished reading, one word began to resonate inside me until it fled my whole being. That sound, that word, was Greenland. In that ice, at least, there would be no snakes!” p48
I’m not really one for reading real life non-fiction adventures, however, being obsessed with all things Scandinavia and the Arctic when I saw a book called Michel the Giant: An African in Greenland I was immediately intrigued.
An African in Greenland is an astonishing recount of Tété-Michel Kpomassie’s pilgrimage to Greenland in the mid 1960s. Astonishing on a number of fronts. Firstly the sheer effort and determination that Kpomassie shows to acutally make it to Greenland in the first place is enough to inspire all of us that we can make our deepest dreams come true. Astonishing that, Kpomassie made this dream happen and that the realisation of his dream totally altered the course of his life, becoming the first African to ever step foot on Greenlandic soil. Astonishing, the incredible journey that Kpomassie undertook once in Greenland, travelling from place to place, enduring conditions so extreme from what he had ever know, testament to the place that Greenland had taken up residence within him.
I must admit, I sensed something of the excitement ignited in Kpomassie’s being when he read that first book while still back in Lomé, Togo. I had the same experience as a 10 year old when I first ‘discovered’ Iceland as a young Australian boy. It has lived in my heart inexplicably every since, and while I did not embark on a journey quite like the author, I remember the moment I boarded IcelandAir bound for Reykjavík, and dissolving into tears of joyful realisation of a life long dream.
An African in Greenland is one of the most detailed travel accounts I have ever read. Having finished the book I feel like I know much of the west coast of this polar land from the southern coast to the townships that herald the far north. For the uninitiated this is a harsh clime, a harsh way of life and a different set of cultural values in an environment where life is ultimately about survival.
I am richer for having shared this travel autobiography.
I’m not really one for reading real life non-fiction adventures, however, being obsessed with all things Scandinavia and the Arctic when I saw a book called Michel the Giant: An African in Greenland I was immediately intrigued.
An African in Greenland is an astonishing recount of Tété-Michel Kpomassie’s pilgrimage to Greenland in the mid 1960s. Astonishing on a number of fronts. Firstly the sheer effort and determination that Kpomassie shows to acutally make it to Greenland in the first place is enough to inspire all of us that we can make our deepest dreams come true. Astonishing that, Kpomassie made this dream happen and that the realisation of his dream totally altered the course of his life, becoming the first African to ever step foot on Greenlandic soil. Astonishing, the incredible journey that Kpomassie undertook once in Greenland, travelling from place to place, enduring conditions so extreme from what he had ever know, testament to the place that Greenland had taken up residence within him.
I must admit, I sensed something of the excitement ignited in Kpomassie’s being when he read that first book while still back in Lomé, Togo. I had the same experience as a 10 year old when I first ‘discovered’ Iceland as a young Australian boy. It has lived in my heart inexplicably every since, and while I did not embark on a journey quite like the author, I remember the moment I boarded IcelandAir bound for Reykjavík, and dissolving into tears of joyful realisation of a life long dream.
An African in Greenland is one of the most detailed travel accounts I have ever read. Having finished the book I feel like I know much of the west coast of this polar land from the southern coast to the townships that herald the far north. For the uninitiated this is a harsh clime, a harsh way of life and a different set of cultural values in an environment where life is ultimately about survival.
I am richer for having shared this travel autobiography.
November 28, 2012
This was more than I expected. I wasn't expecting the author to be so diligent - learning the languages of the people he visited, studying historical records to see how customs in Greenland had changed, etc. He didn't do a lot of comparing Togolese customs to Inuit, but there was some.
At the same time, while I knew there was going to be plenty to disgust a vegan (I'm not judging the Inuit for that, they live the way they need to live, it's just gross to read about) there was SO MUCH eating of seals, whales, seabirds, etc. Raw whale lung dunked in blubber, ugh. And the descriptions of the families digging in to a seal in their living room, children covered in blood as they all chow down on the good bits. Yikes.
Plus, wife-swapping! I feel sorry for the women, who the author admitted sometimes seemed reluctant. But again, he pointed out the reasons behind it, and like women in his country who end up being one wife of many, the Inuit women have to have the foursome relationship for their long-term survival.
Fascinating stuff. I have decided I'll never go to Greenland,though. I've always wanted to, but I'm now at the age where I can see that it just wouldn't work, with the whole vegan thing. Plus I don't drink coffee and don't like getting falling down drunk. So that's 99% of Inuit culture I couldn't participate in!
At the same time, while I knew there was going to be plenty to disgust a vegan (I'm not judging the Inuit for that, they live the way they need to live, it's just gross to read about) there was SO MUCH eating of seals, whales, seabirds, etc. Raw whale lung dunked in blubber, ugh. And the descriptions of the families digging in to a seal in their living room, children covered in blood as they all chow down on the good bits. Yikes.
Plus, wife-swapping! I feel sorry for the women, who the author admitted sometimes seemed reluctant. But again, he pointed out the reasons behind it, and like women in his country who end up being one wife of many, the Inuit women have to have the foursome relationship for their long-term survival.
Fascinating stuff. I have decided I'll never go to Greenland,though. I've always wanted to, but I'm now at the age where I can see that it just wouldn't work, with the whole vegan thing. Plus I don't drink coffee and don't like getting falling down drunk. So that's 99% of Inuit culture I couldn't participate in!
October 12, 2016
I fell in love with the book's title, and then I discovered that the author, Tété-Michel Kpomassie, fell in love with Greenland from the title of a book he happened upon in his native Togo as a teenager, triggering his life-changing quest to visit the country arguably most different from his own. The fact that this quest got him out of Togo, and thus out of a seven-year apprenticeship with a snake-worship cult, made the beginning of this memoir read like a gripping novel.
It takes him more than ten years to get his ducks in a row, educate himself, and travel from Africa to Denmark. In his early twenties, Kpomassie finally realizes his dream.
It's an exquisite translation by James Kirkup, but no doubt it must be a beautiful read in the original French too. While the book convinced me that no amount of money could entice me to ever visit Greenland or eat any local food, I also feel like I've been there.
The Greenlander people, customs, and culture are all richly described, and what a unique perspective a young African autodidact brings to this confounding, hospitable, unforgiving place!
I'd be tickled pink if my review made you, too, fall in love with the title of an extraordinary book about a man who fell in love with a faraway land from the title of a book.
It takes him more than ten years to get his ducks in a row, educate himself, and travel from Africa to Denmark. In his early twenties, Kpomassie finally realizes his dream.
It's an exquisite translation by James Kirkup, but no doubt it must be a beautiful read in the original French too. While the book convinced me that no amount of money could entice me to ever visit Greenland or eat any local food, I also feel like I've been there.
The Greenlander people, customs, and culture are all richly described, and what a unique perspective a young African autodidact brings to this confounding, hospitable, unforgiving place!
I'd be tickled pink if my review made you, too, fall in love with the title of an extraordinary book about a man who fell in love with a faraway land from the title of a book.
July 3, 2016
I feel pretty confident that anyone who's capable of experiencing joy would love An African in Greenland by Tete-Michel Kpomassie. As the title implies, it is the story of an African man who travels to Greenland. Until his travels begin, he lives a pretty sheltered life within an African village where the men have numerous wives and everyone wears loin clothes. So you can imagine some of the predicaments the author gets himself into as he spends years working his way from Africa to Greenland.
This is a true fish-out-of-water story and it is great fun and very interesting to follow Mr. Kpomassie around as he discovers many things we all take for granted. He's such a great sport about everything and is 100% down for any and all adventures that come his way, no matter how scary they are. But, one of the things I adored so much about this book, is that he's not the only fish-out-of-water. The vast majority of people he comes across in Greenland have never seen a black man. Some children are scared, people ask him rude questions, but everyone welcomes him and he takes it in stride. It was such a strange experience for everyone involved and so lovely to follow them all.
The writing is joyful and fast-paced and gave me exactly the amount of detail I wanted. The middle holds some pictures so readers can check out some of the shacks he was staying in and how strange he looked among all the very short residents of one town he stayed in.
I also learned quite a few things, like if you live in Greenland and some stranger knocks on your door you just open it and invite them to move in.
I would recommend this book to 100% of people I know.
This is a true fish-out-of-water story and it is great fun and very interesting to follow Mr. Kpomassie around as he discovers many things we all take for granted. He's such a great sport about everything and is 100% down for any and all adventures that come his way, no matter how scary they are. But, one of the things I adored so much about this book, is that he's not the only fish-out-of-water. The vast majority of people he comes across in Greenland have never seen a black man. Some children are scared, people ask him rude questions, but everyone welcomes him and he takes it in stride. It was such a strange experience for everyone involved and so lovely to follow them all.
The writing is joyful and fast-paced and gave me exactly the amount of detail I wanted. The middle holds some pictures so readers can check out some of the shacks he was staying in and how strange he looked among all the very short residents of one town he stayed in.
I also learned quite a few things, like if you live in Greenland and some stranger knocks on your door you just open it and invite them to move in.
I would recommend this book to 100% of people I know.
May 29, 2021
3.5 stars. I loved the initial setting off and the ambition and courage that push the author to pursue his dreams of visiting Groenland, escaping thus his predicament of being sent to the forest in Togo to join a spiritual animist people. Truly astonishing in the 50's and 60's and a testimony to his incredible adventurous nature. His humanity and open-mindedness are tremendously attractive, and the way he is also welcomed in Groenland and accommodated by many a local. I wish we still lived in such an era.
For me however, the book betrays its conversion from a journal form to a travel book. His town hopping and experiences are well described and indeed I learnt a lot about the North of this planet but at times I found that his experiences were literally transposed from diaristic entries. Still, a truly amazing story.
For me however, the book betrays its conversion from a journal form to a travel book. His town hopping and experiences are well described and indeed I learnt a lot about the North of this planet but at times I found that his experiences were literally transposed from diaristic entries. Still, a truly amazing story.
February 12, 2024
É um magnífico relato na primeira pessoa.
É um livro maravilhoso, pelas vivências, pelas viagens, descrições detalhadas de crenças e modos de vida.
Foi-me especialmente agradável (re)ver as auroras boreais, viajar (de novo) nos trenós puxados por cães, (re)visitar Ilulissat e a casa de infância de Knud Rasmussen.
Este é da biblioteca, mas fiquei com vontade de adquirir um exemplar para reler de vez em quando.
É um livro maravilhoso, pelas vivências, pelas viagens, descrições detalhadas de crenças e modos de vida.
Foi-me especialmente agradável (re)ver as auroras boreais, viajar (de novo) nos trenós puxados por cães, (re)visitar Ilulissat e a casa de infância de Knud Rasmussen.
Este é da biblioteca, mas fiquei com vontade de adquirir um exemplar para reler de vez em quando.
March 3, 2022
Considering how much I love travel memoirs I am really bummed by how much this didn't work for me. A lot of my disenjoyment comes down to how Kpomassie decided to tell his adventure and that I think he and me want different things from a good memoir. From the beginning on it seemed that he always went for minute detail on things I wanted to move through quicker and then rush through the things that I wanted/ needed more on. For the most part of the book he doesn't reflect at all, neither on how he personally feels nor in shedding more light on described events. In that sense this is more of an autobiography than a memoir with a lot of: this happens, then I did that, then another thing happens. But not much to elevate or contextualize events, and frankly I want that from a memoir more than the what happened parts. I don't know if there has been a shift in how to write better memoirs over time (this came out in 1981 and most memoirs I read and love are of more recent nature). I think there might have also been a shift in his own writing because in the last 2 chapters he suddenly was doing all of that, suddenly he provided additional researched facts on Inuit culture and shared reflective thoughts. I truly needed more than that, and the very ending is again extremely abrupt and left me with questions.
Overall I really needed less description of his sexual conquests or detailed (DETAILED) insights into animal slaughtering and more bigger picture stuff. For example: our narrator is from Togo, going to a place like Greenland sounds like the ultimate culture shock but it seems it wasn't, he loved it and by the end contemplates spending the rest of his life there. How did he get there? What is it that he loves so much? I know he got used to the cold and eating blubber for breakfast but he didn't really make me see when or how he fell in love with this place and no longer just the idea of the place which propelled him to go. I can't stress enough how a good memoir for me is comprised of reflection and this one is lacking that a lot.
Kpomassie shares a lot of disturbing content about his life in Greenland: from rather promiscuous life styles and relationships (something that bothers him at first and then not anymore with little explanation as to why he changed his attitude on that), to rampant alcohol abuse and consequent neglect (example: he talks about parents who accidentally kill their baby by drunkenly lying on top of the poor thing), the contrast of an open and extremely hospitable culture (strangers let him stay in their house everywhere he goes) vs the neglect and ignorance these same people show towards elderly and struggling members of their communities by shunning them out. One of the most shocking things to me personally was that these people not only take bad care of their sled dogs but if times got rough they even slaughter and eat them. That is very much contrary to what I had learnt about Inuit cultures, to my understanding the dogs get fed first and under no circumstances would they become a source of food. Again, I would have loved some context for that. I understand of course that these are often struggling communities and Kpomassie doesn't have to explain everything that goes into that, but his lack of reaction to some of these elements puzzled me. And even if he reacts it seems to have no consequences, for example he seems appalled by the lack of help a financially broken family receives and how badly they are instead treated by the town but it doesn't seem to affect his love for the place. Which is weird because simply reading about it myself I struggled to find compassion for these communities.
I am being very harsh here at the moment, I know that, but I think this book is not as good as could have been. There were parts that were interesting and fascinating, he indeed goes on a truly great adventure at a time where that clearly wasn't as common, and especially considering where he grew up, it makes his journey definitely unique and worth telling and for me reading about it. But I don't think he does a great job relaying this adventure to me the reader.
Overall I really needed less description of his sexual conquests or detailed (DETAILED) insights into animal slaughtering and more bigger picture stuff. For example: our narrator is from Togo, going to a place like Greenland sounds like the ultimate culture shock but it seems it wasn't, he loved it and by the end contemplates spending the rest of his life there. How did he get there? What is it that he loves so much? I know he got used to the cold and eating blubber for breakfast but he didn't really make me see when or how he fell in love with this place and no longer just the idea of the place which propelled him to go. I can't stress enough how a good memoir for me is comprised of reflection and this one is lacking that a lot.
Kpomassie shares a lot of disturbing content about his life in Greenland: from rather promiscuous life styles and relationships (something that bothers him at first and then not anymore with little explanation as to why he changed his attitude on that), to rampant alcohol abuse and consequent neglect (example: he talks about parents who accidentally kill their baby by drunkenly lying on top of the poor thing), the contrast of an open and extremely hospitable culture (strangers let him stay in their house everywhere he goes) vs the neglect and ignorance these same people show towards elderly and struggling members of their communities by shunning them out. One of the most shocking things to me personally was that these people not only take bad care of their sled dogs but if times got rough they even slaughter and eat them. That is very much contrary to what I had learnt about Inuit cultures, to my understanding the dogs get fed first and under no circumstances would they become a source of food. Again, I would have loved some context for that. I understand of course that these are often struggling communities and Kpomassie doesn't have to explain everything that goes into that, but his lack of reaction to some of these elements puzzled me. And even if he reacts it seems to have no consequences, for example he seems appalled by the lack of help a financially broken family receives and how badly they are instead treated by the town but it doesn't seem to affect his love for the place. Which is weird because simply reading about it myself I struggled to find compassion for these communities.
I am being very harsh here at the moment, I know that, but I think this book is not as good as could have been. There were parts that were interesting and fascinating, he indeed goes on a truly great adventure at a time where that clearly wasn't as common, and especially considering where he grew up, it makes his journey definitely unique and worth telling and for me reading about it. But I don't think he does a great job relaying this adventure to me the reader.
December 26, 2022
Nunca planeei uma viagem à Gronelândia, nem tão-pouco me ocorreu fazer uma, excluída que esta ilha estava dos meus destinos preferidos. Quis um acaso, chamado @tintadachina, que a fizesse, através dos sentidos de um togolês atento, aventureiro, curioso e persistente que, de forma nem sempre fácil, nos prova que o corpo realmente alcança aquilo em que a mente acredita.
A não perder!
************************************************************
“Esta partilha das mulheres entre amigos é tentadora, sem dúvida. Estou pronto para partilhar as dos outros, mas não a minha. Neste momento, o meu comportamento e a nossa maneira de ver as coisas devem ser o reflexo de dois mundos, o deles e o meu, inconciliáveis neste campo.”
“Nos dias em que o céu está limpo, a lua ilumina-nos a partir das 17 horas. Baixa e de um tamanho extraordinário, que da primeira vez me assustou, levanta-se do lado da ilha de Disko, mas, quando se vem da outra ponta de Jakobshavn, parece que está pousada mesmo em cima dos telhados que vemos na nossa frente, com a cara!prateada salpicada de grandes manchas cinzentas. Os efeitos que produz sobre os icebergues são indescritíveis e os magníficos dias falsos que ela cria são mais claros do que a luz do dia.”
“— Não poderia ter tido melhor forma de descobrir a Gronelândia - disse ele quando se levantou para me desejar uma boa noite.
E, logo a seguir:
—Como já viste, cada vez me custa mais andar. Mas o que me fizeste viajar com as tuas cartas!”
Excertos de:
O Africano da Gronelândia,
Tété-Michel Kpomassie
************************************************************
A não perder!
************************************************************
“Esta partilha das mulheres entre amigos é tentadora, sem dúvida. Estou pronto para partilhar as dos outros, mas não a minha. Neste momento, o meu comportamento e a nossa maneira de ver as coisas devem ser o reflexo de dois mundos, o deles e o meu, inconciliáveis neste campo.”
“Nos dias em que o céu está limpo, a lua ilumina-nos a partir das 17 horas. Baixa e de um tamanho extraordinário, que da primeira vez me assustou, levanta-se do lado da ilha de Disko, mas, quando se vem da outra ponta de Jakobshavn, parece que está pousada mesmo em cima dos telhados que vemos na nossa frente, com a cara!prateada salpicada de grandes manchas cinzentas. Os efeitos que produz sobre os icebergues são indescritíveis e os magníficos dias falsos que ela cria são mais claros do que a luz do dia.”
“— Não poderia ter tido melhor forma de descobrir a Gronelândia - disse ele quando se levantou para me desejar uma boa noite.
E, logo a seguir:
—Como já viste, cada vez me custa mais andar. Mas o que me fizeste viajar com as tuas cartas!”
Excertos de:
O Africano da Gronelândia,
Tété-Michel Kpomassie
************************************************************
August 9, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyed this account of the author’s fulfilled desire to journey to Greenland from his birthplace in Africa.
His years-long journey is nearly incredible, and one cannot help cheering him along. I am grateful to the people he met in Europe who generously helped him along his journey.
He describes his travels and encounters in a way which seemed so honest, so authentic. The chapters in Greenland were full of unforgettable events and characters.
The author’s thoughts as he compared and contrasted the arctic villagers’ customs with those of his family in Togo revealed him to be a very thoughtful and open-minded person. As I finished this book, I felt sad to say goodby to this man who had become a friend to me in the pages of his book. I wonder what happened next in the life of this remarkable person?
His years-long journey is nearly incredible, and one cannot help cheering him along. I am grateful to the people he met in Europe who generously helped him along his journey.
He describes his travels and encounters in a way which seemed so honest, so authentic. The chapters in Greenland were full of unforgettable events and characters.
The author’s thoughts as he compared and contrasted the arctic villagers’ customs with those of his family in Togo revealed him to be a very thoughtful and open-minded person. As I finished this book, I felt sad to say goodby to this man who had become a friend to me in the pages of his book. I wonder what happened next in the life of this remarkable person?
Read
March 30, 2018At first glance, this seems like a novelty. A guy from Togo, one of those countries that is a mere footnote in geopolitics, has a vision, and eventually finds his way to Greenland -- an Arctic version of Prince Akeem (with whale blubber McDowell's). And yet, at the core of it, that's not it at all. Instead, it's a story of perseverance. The sort of perseverance most of us don't have, to commit to something that is in no way "logical," but which Kpomassie devotes his whole life to, over the course of years, more like a Werner Herzog protagonist, an eternal dreamer, than Eddie Murphy in a leopard fur coat.
May 13, 2018
I don’t read that much non-fiction outside of work, but this story is so unlikely that it never felt confined or scholarly. An unique perspective on custom, colonialism, and cold.
April 23, 2022
Ainda é Abril e terminei o melhor livro do ano.
January 21, 2021
When he was sixteen, Togolese Tété-Michel Kpomassie happened to read a book about Greenland and the Eskimos. Tucked away in his village, Kpomassie had an epiphany of sorts: he decided there and then that he wanted to go to Greenland, and to live among the Inuit. So, running away from home, abandoning all the plans his family had for him, this young man made his way through Africa and into France, working here, there and everywhere, and finally into Greenland.
An African in Greenland is Kpomassie’s account of the months, almost a year, which he spent in Greenland, living among the Greenlanders. While the first few chapters trace his early life in his native land (bringing Togoland vividly alive in the process), the bulk of the book is set in Greenland and is a chronological account of the passage of time. Not strictly a journal, but close, as Kpomassie travels across the land, making friends as he goes, learning the language and the culture, discovering Greenland and the Inuit.
This is a fascinating book, because it manages to combine so many aspects of an excellent travelogue with an anthropological/sociological study. Kpomassie is a gifted raconteur, and his descriptions of all he sees and experiences, from a hair-raising first ride in a sled pulled by huskies to the way of life of the Greenlanders, are insightful and interesting. Kpomassie stayed throughout with ‘regular folk’, everyday families who shared their homes with him, and so his experiences of how they live came especially as an eye-opener to me. The free and easy attitude towards sex, the way children are treated, the food that’s eaten and the clothes that are worn, the vanishing (vanished?) turf houses; the ‘polar hysteria’ brought on by the six-month long night of winter… all of it is very, very interesting.
As much as An African in Greenland is about the Greenlanders, it also offers an insight into its narrator. Kpomassie’s child-like awe when seeing the northern lights for the first time, or his repugnance for the chunks of raw meat and fat that are offered to him, or even his realization that not all the flattering things he had read about Eskimos are true: all of these, and more, reveal an honesty that is endearing. The way he sometimes draws parallels between the customs and folklore of Greenland and his own Togoland adds to the value of this memoir.
Highly recommended.
An African in Greenland is Kpomassie’s account of the months, almost a year, which he spent in Greenland, living among the Greenlanders. While the first few chapters trace his early life in his native land (bringing Togoland vividly alive in the process), the bulk of the book is set in Greenland and is a chronological account of the passage of time. Not strictly a journal, but close, as Kpomassie travels across the land, making friends as he goes, learning the language and the culture, discovering Greenland and the Inuit.
This is a fascinating book, because it manages to combine so many aspects of an excellent travelogue with an anthropological/sociological study. Kpomassie is a gifted raconteur, and his descriptions of all he sees and experiences, from a hair-raising first ride in a sled pulled by huskies to the way of life of the Greenlanders, are insightful and interesting. Kpomassie stayed throughout with ‘regular folk’, everyday families who shared their homes with him, and so his experiences of how they live came especially as an eye-opener to me. The free and easy attitude towards sex, the way children are treated, the food that’s eaten and the clothes that are worn, the vanishing (vanished?) turf houses; the ‘polar hysteria’ brought on by the six-month long night of winter… all of it is very, very interesting.
As much as An African in Greenland is about the Greenlanders, it also offers an insight into its narrator. Kpomassie’s child-like awe when seeing the northern lights for the first time, or his repugnance for the chunks of raw meat and fat that are offered to him, or even his realization that not all the flattering things he had read about Eskimos are true: all of these, and more, reveal an honesty that is endearing. The way he sometimes draws parallels between the customs and folklore of Greenland and his own Togoland adds to the value of this memoir.
Highly recommended.
December 9, 2022
I learned so freaking much in this strange travel book, which was unlike any other book I've read. For one, though it's all about Kpomassie's travels to and around Greenland -- which is fascinating! -- it did NOT make me want to actually GO to Greenland. (It's cold 100% of the time there, and either totally dark or the sun never sets for like 8 months of the year, and also I'm vegetarian and I don't think seal blubber is going to go down easy.) All joking aside, it sounds like it's a very hard place to live. I appreciated the detail Kpomassie included about his adventures: how he learned the Greenlanders' language and was curious about the local traditions. He did his best to fit in and really live like the natives did, including going hunting in the ice, and sleeping in the giant communal bed with the rest of the family he was staying with, and drinking copious amounts of coffee since that's what the locals did when they visited each other.
This was originally published in 1981, and I wonder about some of the traditions and living conditions and how they might have changed with the advent of some newer technology (as well as the general march of time). I mean, I know 40 years isn't that long, but maybe some of the villages have gotten more modern plumbing since then?? And I also wondered what was missing from Kpomassie's experience - for example, the last family he stayed with in the book lived in a one-room earthen turf house, and the daughter of his host was very pregnant. I assumed that she would have to give birth at home, but a throwaway sentence indicates she stayed at the hospital for a week. But where was the hospital! How did she get there! Did the hospital have plumbing!!!
I could have easily read 300 more pages. Entertaining and interesting tale.
This was originally published in 1981, and I wonder about some of the traditions and living conditions and how they might have changed with the advent of some newer technology (as well as the general march of time). I mean, I know 40 years isn't that long, but maybe some of the villages have gotten more modern plumbing since then?? And I also wondered what was missing from Kpomassie's experience - for example, the last family he stayed with in the book lived in a one-room earthen turf house, and the daughter of his host was very pregnant. I assumed that she would have to give birth at home, but a throwaway sentence indicates she stayed at the hospital for a week. But where was the hospital! How did she get there! Did the hospital have plumbing!!!
I could have easily read 300 more pages. Entertaining and interesting tale.
November 28, 2025
This is an incredibly unique and well-written narrative by a Togolese man who journeyed from West Africa to Greenland over the course of a decade, and it's as rare and special as the title sounds. I am so glad I came across it and I recommend it to anyone who wants to delve into an otherworldly yet very human tale! The author has such an admirable quality of adapting to a vastly different way of life than his own and recording it with such honesty and even tenderness at times. His unbridled curiosity and determination is moving, and he relentlessly pursued his desire to see the world until it was satisfied. Reading this is quite the perspective shift when you're young and feeling stuck with all the ease and access that comes with modern life.
The book is a mix of autobiographical and ethnological writings relating to the author's childhood in Lomé, his travels through West Africa and Europe as a young man, and eventual passage to Greenland, where he lived amongst the Inuit for two arctic winters. I was really impressed with his grit and keen ability to observe the world around him without judgement (this was the case most of the time, though there are some moments where he expresses some naturally strong feelings or disappointment towards certain things observed in Greenlandic society). I would have happily read this memoir if it was twice the length because the author has such a unique inner voice and outlook on the world. There are some rare books out there which will make you feel transformed once you complete them, and this is one such book. I just loved it.
The book is a mix of autobiographical and ethnological writings relating to the author's childhood in Lomé, his travels through West Africa and Europe as a young man, and eventual passage to Greenland, where he lived amongst the Inuit for two arctic winters. I was really impressed with his grit and keen ability to observe the world around him without judgement (this was the case most of the time, though there are some moments where he expresses some naturally strong feelings or disappointment towards certain things observed in Greenlandic society). I would have happily read this memoir if it was twice the length because the author has such a unique inner voice and outlook on the world. There are some rare books out there which will make you feel transformed once you complete them, and this is one such book. I just loved it.
January 31, 2023
Ce livre mérite une longue review mais je vais m’en tenir à mes quelques lignes usuelles. Trouvé par hasard dans une librairie, lu en chemin pour Nuuk et fini ensuite dans plusieurs déplacements le Grand Nord. C’est l’incroyable histoire d’un Togolais de 16 ans qui tombe sur un livre sur le Groenland et qui décide d’y aller, traversant l’Afrique, l’Europe et l’Atlantique en route vers une des régions les plus isolées du monde, au temps où l’avion n’était pas chose commune. D’une grande délicatesse dans ses descriptions, une profonde compréhension (vécue) des conséquences du colonialisme et vraiment un récit de voyage que j’ai adoré. Un snapshot de la culture Inuit du Groenland dans les années 50.
January 8, 2023
Wow! Going straight to my favourite books ever shelf! Cannot recommend this enough. It's totally transporting. Just brilliant.
I don't want to share spoilers as I firmly believe this to be a must read - but when Tete leaves Greenland - ah, it's heartbreaking.
It's very hard to write a review where you have not a shade of criticism to include - can I just say I wish there were 10 volumes of this, and how sad I am that Kpomassie hasn't had more published?
Looking forward to watching his documentary on the BBC now.
I don't want to share spoilers as I firmly believe this to be a must read - but when Tete leaves Greenland - ah, it's heartbreaking.
It's very hard to write a review where you have not a shade of criticism to include - can I just say I wish there were 10 volumes of this, and how sad I am that Kpomassie hasn't had more published?
Looking forward to watching his documentary on the BBC now.
August 29, 2020
Kpomassie is born in Togo in the 1940s. When he's climbing a coconut palm, he is attacked by a snake, and falls, causing himself serious injury. In gratitude for his survival, Kpomassie's father pledges that Kpomassie will join the high priestess of the python deep in the forest, something that Kpomassie finds terrifying. As he convalesces, Kpomassie finds a book that describes Greenland: a world of ice and snow, far away from Togo and with no snakes. From then on, he's obsessed with going to Greenland. It takes him almost a decade to achieve this goal, as he's not wealthy, and experiences significant bureaucratic and logistic problems in leaving West Africa. But he's intent on his goal: even though he begins to earn good money working in an embassy due to his skills in French and English, he's still willing to give up everything in order to travel from port to port and make his way first to Paris, then Denmark, then finally Greenland.
This is a strange and wonderful book. Kpomassie is fascinated by the lives of the Greenlanders, and it's full of anecdotes and stories about their way of life. However, Kpomassie and the native Greenlanders have shared experiences of living under an imperial power, seeing their ways of life eroded, and struggling to maintain the aspects of hunting, religion and language that make them who they are. Kpomassie is frequently judgemental or hypocritical in his writing about the Greenlanders -- for example, he is horrified that women routinely sleep with many different men, even when married, and says he finds their lack of morals disgusting, but he is not so horrified that he doesn't also boast of sleeping with two women in one night. He also witnesses the Greenlanders' poverty and lack of prospects, but doesn't seem to link this with the alcoholism he witnesses, and instead derides the Greenlanders for being lazy. However, there's a sense of openness in Kpomassie that's missing in much travel writing, and he always approaches the Greenlanders with respect, and wishes to learn from them, and never distances himself from them. He struggled to have enough money to reach Greenland at all, and is constantly struggling to make ends meet: he and the native people are in pretty much the same boat, and when they don't have enough to eat, neither does he. There's a powerful feeling of equality in his stories, and a sense of genuine affection and respect between Kpomassie and the people he meets.
The view of Greenland in the 1960s is not romantic. Denmark is the imperial power in Greenland, and Denmark's policies have eroded traditional ways of life, forcing Greenlanders to live in poorly-made houses, and give up many of their hunting practices by which they lived for thousands of years. They now live in poverty, with little to do to fill the many empty, dark and cold hours, aside from drinking and sex. They live on a diet of fish, seal blubber and seal meat, as well as eating huskies and sea-birds. Many of the families Kpomassie meets live in freezing houses in squalid conditions, with barely enough to eat. Greenland is a place of crushing darkness and cold. Yet there are moments of real beauty and joy in the book too: the Greenlanders show great hospitality and affection to Kpomassie, and, when they get the opportunity, are skillful hunters and fishermen, with a great interest in the world around them. It's a balanced story, that encompasses both grueling hardships and joy in life. Highly recommended as both travel writing and an outside perspective on Greenland.
This is a strange and wonderful book. Kpomassie is fascinated by the lives of the Greenlanders, and it's full of anecdotes and stories about their way of life. However, Kpomassie and the native Greenlanders have shared experiences of living under an imperial power, seeing their ways of life eroded, and struggling to maintain the aspects of hunting, religion and language that make them who they are. Kpomassie is frequently judgemental or hypocritical in his writing about the Greenlanders -- for example, he is horrified that women routinely sleep with many different men, even when married, and says he finds their lack of morals disgusting, but he is not so horrified that he doesn't also boast of sleeping with two women in one night. He also witnesses the Greenlanders' poverty and lack of prospects, but doesn't seem to link this with the alcoholism he witnesses, and instead derides the Greenlanders for being lazy. However, there's a sense of openness in Kpomassie that's missing in much travel writing, and he always approaches the Greenlanders with respect, and wishes to learn from them, and never distances himself from them. He struggled to have enough money to reach Greenland at all, and is constantly struggling to make ends meet: he and the native people are in pretty much the same boat, and when they don't have enough to eat, neither does he. There's a powerful feeling of equality in his stories, and a sense of genuine affection and respect between Kpomassie and the people he meets.
The view of Greenland in the 1960s is not romantic. Denmark is the imperial power in Greenland, and Denmark's policies have eroded traditional ways of life, forcing Greenlanders to live in poorly-made houses, and give up many of their hunting practices by which they lived for thousands of years. They now live in poverty, with little to do to fill the many empty, dark and cold hours, aside from drinking and sex. They live on a diet of fish, seal blubber and seal meat, as well as eating huskies and sea-birds. Many of the families Kpomassie meets live in freezing houses in squalid conditions, with barely enough to eat. Greenland is a place of crushing darkness and cold. Yet there are moments of real beauty and joy in the book too: the Greenlanders show great hospitality and affection to Kpomassie, and, when they get the opportunity, are skillful hunters and fishermen, with a great interest in the world around them. It's a balanced story, that encompasses both grueling hardships and joy in life. Highly recommended as both travel writing and an outside perspective on Greenland.
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