"" (; , ) is a Greenlandic song used as an ethnic anthem by the self-governing Kalaallit of Greenland. It was officially recognized by the government in 1979. Both lyrics and melody were composed by Jonathan Petersen, who also wrote the musical score for Greenland's 1916-adopted national anthem "Nunarput, utoqqarsuanngoravit.""Culture and Community." Greenland Home Rule. (retrieved 11 November 2009)
History The song was written by Greenlandic organist and piano teacher Jonathan Petersen, probably during or after a stay in Denmark in 1910–1911, during which he passed his organ exam with distinction. It was originally set to the tune of the Danish national anthem, "Der er et yndigt land". Petersen wrote an original composition for the song around 1920, which retained the repetition of the third line of each verse, as in "Der er et yndigt land".
In 1979, when home rule was granted to Greenland, the song was adopted as a national anthem, alongside "Nunarput, utoqqarsuanngoravit". In 1985, it was translated into Danish by theologian Mads Lidegaard. Both the Greenlandic and Danish versions have been published in the Højskolesangbogen.
Lyrics Greenlandic lyricsIPA transcriptionDanish translation(by Mads Lidegaard)English translationI Land of greath length, That's what the Kalaallit have as a country, among entire mountains, The many fjords on the coast, well suited as a country, and the coast is speckled with islands.
II It is so beautiful when you journey the entire coast. Up north and down south, there is a meeting place for people and wherever you have land there is a place to live.
III At the feet of her mountains and the mouths of her fjords her inhabitants meet each other. The sea is their domain which they treat so well It belongs to the Kalaallit until the end of time!
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