Greenland’s 2022 stamp season is a voyage through Greenlandic culture, history and traditions. Like the 2021 year, stamps will tickle the attention of lovers of both art and damned good ghost stories. On my “hotly anticipated stamps” list is the 3rd in the Ghost Stories in Greenland series. If the last two years are an indicator, then we’ll need to buckle up for a terrifying duo. 

November 6, 2020- Aajumaaq the sleeved one & Eqqilllit, a dog-man hunter

September 17, 2021 –    Qivittoq & Anngiaq,

Last year’s scared the proverbial pants off me when I was doing research.  I learned you never “read ghost stories from Greenland if you are alone, it’s dark and the wind is rattling the balcony. Just … don’t”.  Here’s a link to the article I wrote on the series I’m here for the scares! | Bitter Grounds Magazine to get you primed for the boos. I’ll have to add the new stamps to that article when they arrive in May! 

Also, on my list of “can’t wait” is the EUROPA 2022: Stories and Myths, due in August. This year’s theme offers a tantalizing glimpse of regional tales from across the continent, and it’ll be fun to see what each post office creates. When enough stamps have been released, I’ll post a link to a page devoted to them. You can check back here, for the link or sign up for my weekly newsletter (link on the main page). 

A new series makes its debut in the busy month of August –  Greenlandic Tattoo Art  series1. While researching traditional indigenous tattoos recently, I found an article by Greenlandic Inuk artist Maya Sialic Jacobsen. In the article she explores the importance of traditional tattoos and Inuk history. 

I discovered that the lines were intricate tattoo patterns. She is at least 3,600 years old and from the Dorset culture—the culture that inhabited some circumpolar regions before the Thule, the culture that I descend from! She pulled me in. I understood that my cultural pride could no longer be held back. Her beautifully curved cheek markings are almost exactly the same as the lines found on the 500-year-old Greenlandic mummies from Gilkison. These lines have remained unchanged for millennia and through the long distances of Inuit migration. On both sides of her mouth she has beautiful little branch-like patterns. Her chin lines are exactly the same as the lines I tattoo on Inuit women today: precise straight lines from lip to chin that mark childhood’s end. Ancestral Threads – Canadian Art

If you are just starting your journey in understanding the significance behind tattoos, Jacobsen’s Ancestral Threads is a good starting point.  It’s thoughtful and thought provoking and I think a must read. I’ve already included more articles on indigenous tattoos below and will include more information as we get closer to the release date. 

Remarkable stories, beautiful artwork and culture and history that run deep across the landscape have created memorable stamps.  

Enjoy
Catpaw 

 January

H.M. The Queen’s 50th Regent Jubilee   

(better image coming)
 

1 stamp, souvenir sheet, 3 FDCs, cancel 
 mixed – intaglio and offset

Press release: The 50th anniversary of HM The Queen’s accession to the throne (kongehuset.dk) 
2022 marks the Golden Jubilee of Denmark’s cherished Queen Margrethe II | Wonderful Copenhagen

Designer: Martin Mörck
See All About Stamps webinar with Mörck from last year – In conversation with Martin Mörck. This was part of their Collectors’ Conference: Modern Stamps series.  
Photographer: Steen Brogaard – Steen Brogaard Photography

Release date: January 14, 2022

February

H.R.H. The Crown Princess’ 50th Birthday

1 stamp, souvenir sheet of 4, 2 FDCs, cancel, sheet of 10, souvenir folder
Offset

Crown Princess Mary is wearing a traditional Greenlandic outfit of West Greenland, which features intricate bead work. 

In general the national dress of women consists of a top, pants and kamik boots. The top consists of an inner garment (timmiaq) and an outer garment (anorak). The pants are short, reaching the upper thigh. The kamik boots consists of two parts: a long, inner stocking, and a short kamik. There are three main variations on national dress in Greenland: 1) West Greenlandic national dress with bead collars and sealskin pants, 2) Northwest Greenlandic national dress from the Thule area with long, white kamik boots, fox-skin pants, and a black sealskin collar, and 3) East Greenlandic national dress, which has two versions: one made solely of sealskin, and the other with a top (amaat) made of fabric. 

Kalaallisuut – Nationalmuseum and Archieve of Greenland (nka.gl)

What is the meaning of the Greenland national costume (matadornetwork.com) 
H.R.H. Crown Princess Mary’s 50th birthday | Special exhibition | Frederiksborg Castle | Visitnordsjælland (visitnorthsealand.com)

Designer: Stine Heilmann Stine Heilmann Photography – Simple is more, Less is Beautiful

Release date: February 5, 2022

School Savings Coupons, part III
This is the 3rd in a series 
 
 

2 stamps, 2 sheets of 10, 3 FDCs, cancel
offset

• Map of Greenland
• Musk Ox

Designer: Nina Spore Kreutzmann using original art by Alex Secher (1913-1989)
Greenland illustrator Kreutzmann makes her home in Nuuk. She designed the 2021 School Coupon stamps and illustrated 22 stamps for Greenland Post since her first in 2004.  

Release date: February 28, 2022

May 

Ghost Stories in Greenland III  

2 stamps, FDCs, cancel, 2 sheets of 10
offset

• Amu
• Qarlimaatsoq – the death

 It’s difficult finding decent pages on Greenlandic ghosts, so I’ll rely on Greenland Collector magazine’s write up for  details.

Amu is considered a beneficial spirit, despite its terrifying appearance. The Amu’s role is to protect the angakkoq (spirt man) while he goes on a spirit journey and keep him safe.  

It has a small, almost withered body, with a few extreme long arms with three fingers on each hand and one large head with large, shiny eyes. AMU’s presence is easy to spot as the persistent screams: “Amuuuu! Amuuuu! ”

Greenland Collector No. 2 / May 2022

The Qarlimaatsog is a terrifying spectre that haunts grave. It is an undead spirit – a corpse that has risen from it’s grave and lurks around. Like the Amu, this spirit is often captured by angakkoq for use in their journeys. 

When it’s full moon, it may find itself lying and screaming in the grave.
Greenland Collector No. 2 / May 2022

You can see the previous stamps in this series here I’m here for the scares!

Designers: Carina Lillegaard Løvgreen & Coco Apunnguaq Lynge

The AMU is Løvgreen’s first stamp design. 

Lynge’s work may already be familiar to some readers. She worked on two LEGO movies, including LEGO Star Wars. You can expect to see more of her art in the future pop up in video games.  The Qarlimaatsoq is her first stamp design for Greenland.

Release date: May 31, 2022

Sepac 2022 – Local Beverages

1 stamp, sheet of 10, FDC, cancel
offset  

Greenlandic bottled water

Greenland Collector No. 2
May 2022

Designer: Lisbeth Karline Poulsen
Artist Poulsen lives in Ilulissat, near a large ice fjord, where she took her inspiration for this design. This is her 12th stamp design, with her first appearing 2012.

[For the] creation of the stamp motif of the bottle containing Greenlandic water, Lisbeth collected lumps of ice near the port of Ilulissat. She took the ice cubes with her home and used the melt water from the ice cubes to to mix in the blue colors seen on the stamp Greenland Collector No. 2
May 2022

Release date: May 31, 2022

Fish in Greenlandic Waters
5th in series
 

2 stamps, souvenir sheet, FDCs, cancel, 2 sheets of 10
offset

This is a continuing series that began in 

• Glacier Lanternfish (also called the icefish) (Benthosema glacial) Ice prick fish – The Natural Gate (naturporten.dk) 
• Polar Cod (Arctogadus Glacialis)  Arctic Wildlife: Get to Know the Polar Cod – Ocean Conservancy

Legendary Martin Mörck is the artist behind it all ten fishing motifs in the series. His inspiration for the fishing motifs Martin has taken from his youth, where he worked with fish on land and at sea. In addition, Martin has many visits to Greenland through two decades of countless boat trips, hunting and fishing – summer and winter – sharpened his insight into Greenland’s marvelous fauna.

Greenland Collector No. 2 May 2022

Designer: Martin Mörck
Mörck began this series in 2018. This 2022 set completes the theme. 10 fish were featured over the 5 years, picked with the help of the Pinngortitaleriffik – Greenland Nature Institute in Nuuk

Release date: May 31, 2022

The Environment in Greenland
5th in series

2 stamps, FDC, cancel, 2 sheets of 10
offset 

“The first motif is about the marine environment and our responsibility for the care of the sea and marine animals, and
in general: Our nature and the rich wildlife. The other motive deals with the human environment and the 
responsibilities we have as human beings, whether we are talking about each individual or jointly.

The light is what I focus on. The positive, the loving. It is what strengthens man when we go through difficult things in life. Both works are
done in watercolor. ” Paarma Olsvig Brandt Greenland Collector No. 2 May 2022

This set ends the series.

Environment: What happened to Greenland’s ice sheet in 2021? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

Designer: Paarma Olsvig Brandt
Brandt’s first stamp was the Covid-19 release in 2020.

Release date: May 31, 2022

August

Upernavik’s 250th Town Anniversary 

1 stamp, FDC, cancel, sheets of 10 
offset

Upernavik, settlement in North Greenland – [Visit Greenland!]

Designer: Jessie Kleemann

Release date: August 8, 2022

Greenlandic Tattoo art 1
New series

2 stamps, 2 FDCs, cancel, sheets of 20 
offset

Für Julie Berthelsen, Tochter einer grönländischen Mutter und eines dänischen Vaters, handelt es sich bei
den Tätowierungen um Gefühle und Identität.

”Diese Identität ist eine Mischung aus denen, die wir einmal waren – unsere Vormütter, denen wir mit diesen
Tattoos quasi huldigen – und denen, die wir heute sind. Vormütter, weil es die Frauen waren, welche Tattoos trugen,
und nicht die Männer.”

For Julie Berthelsen, daughter of a Greenlandic mother and a Danish father, it is about tattoos about feelings and identity

”This identity is a mixture of those who we are, [and] once were – our foremothers, whom we pay homage to with these tattoos
 – and to who we are today. Foremothers because it’s the women were who wore tattoos and not the men.”
 Greenland Collector Nr 3, August 2022

What are traditional Inuit tattoos in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland (matadornetwork.com)

Honoring Inuit culture through traditional tattoos – Creative Exchange (springboardexchange.org)

Sacred Rites: Preserving Indigenous Tattoos • Tattoodo

Designer: Paninnguaq Lind Jensen
Jensen’s first stamp design was the 2019 International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples set.

Release date: August 31, 2022

EUROPA 2022: Stories and Myths

2 stamps, booklet of 12, 2 FDCs, 2 sheets of 10
offset  

The first stamp symbolizes the Inuit tales in the broadest sense… I drew two mask-like faces, which should represent, … our stories that re told and passed on. It is an open book from which the stories spring. The motif was created from an old history book with old spelling which inspired me ... 

The second stamp reflects a myth about the Children Between the Willow Bushes. After the earth came into being, people came. It tells that the little children came out of the earth. suddenly appearing among the willow bushes, full of the leaves. They were in between the bushes with closed eyes and kicked. The children then crawled around and ate from the willow branches and from the earth. this is a Inuit tale of the origin of man.” 
Aka Høegh, Greenland Collector Nr 3, August 2022

Designer: Aka Høegh
Greenland National Gallery of Art (natgal.gl)
This is Høegh’s 24th and 25th stamp. Among her stamps was the 2005 100th Anniversary of Church Law in Greenland and the 202080th Birthday of Queen Margrethe II series.
In 1974, her artwork was featured on the album cover for Sume: Inuit Nunaat and again in 1985 for the record Various: Nunavut Nukivut = Our Land Our Strength. One of her recent exhibitions was held at the Nuuk Art Museum in June 2021. 

Release date: August 31, 2022

International Year of Artisanal Fishing and Aqua Culture
 

1 stamp, FDC, cancel, sheet of 10
offset

Klein in der Skala, groß im Wert / Small in scale, big in value

2022 was declared UN International Year of Crafts Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022)

Designer: Miki Jacobsen
Miki Jacobsen is a book illustrator and multimedia artist. Artisanal Fishing is Jacobsen’s 31 stamp design since 1982. He belongs to the Association of Artists in Greenland (KIMIT). You can see more of art at the Nuuk Art Museum. 

Release date: August 31, 2022

November

Street Art in Greenland II

3 stamps, FDC, cancel, 3 sheets of 10
offset 

Details from Greenland Collector vol 4 November 2022:

Artists:  
Sacha Malinský (Cheeky) – Three Sisters 

“It’s an honor for me, and great, to see the three sisters as a postage stamp,” …
“The brickwork ‘Three Sisters’ was painted in Nutaraq youth house in Sisimiut, as part of a larger decoration project of ‘ Cheeky’ in 2018. The Three Sisters “Canada, Greenland and Alaska – holding hands, I painted to remind young people of their roots and the unity of the Arctic.”

Hollie Kielsen – Arferup pani

“Seeing my work in large format is incredibly unrealistic, it feels like a dream you can’t wake up from.” …
“My educational background is broad. I have received competencies through high school in Greenland, high school in Norway, folk high school in Vrå, business school in Nuuk, as well as the skills I have accumulated through jobs I have had over the years. I am ambitious and see life from a positive perspective.

Naja-Theresia Høegh – Inuussut

“My name is Naja-Theresia Høegh, born in the year 2000 and comes from Qaqortoq. I have had an interest in art since I was a child, which is why I decided to be a part of Sanasa to learn new techniques. I hope that through art I can help inspire children, young people and adults to make art themselves when there is an opportunity.”

Release date: November 11, 2022

Greenlandic Feature Films III
third in series

2 stamps, 2 FDCs, cancel, 2 sheets of 10
offset

Nuummioq  – 2009 Dir. Otto Rosing and Torben Bech.  Script: Torben Bech after original idea by Otto Rosing. 

Inuk – 2010 Instr. Mike Magidson. Manus: Mike Magidson, Ole Jørgen Hammeken og Jean-Michel Huctin

Designer: Reproduction of Movie Poster

Release date: November 11, 2022

Franking Labels – Walrus

4 stamps, FDC, cancel, sheet of 16

Photographer: Carsten Egevang, biologist and researcher at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources in Nuuk

Release date: November 12, 2022

Christmas in Greenland 2022

2 stamps, booklets
offset

“When I was a kid, friends and family came by with rice paper Christmas lanterns and sang Christmas hymns. I joined  them after   removing Christmas decorations from the home.  Skins from seal and polar bear are seen hung to dry on the traditional racks outside the house.

The city’s Christmas tree is lit.  In the background is a snowy mountain landscape. In the sky is the ‘Poinsettia’. My family is typically born in December.  Gifts, sweets, cakes and calendar candles.” Designer Mike Lynge

Designer: Mike Lynge

Release date: November 11, 2022

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