“They have riotous assemblies in which it is reckoned good breeding when a man lends his wife to a friend…”
Egedius also records a list of bizarre medical treatments allegedly used in Greenland, such as this response to intestinal worms:
“When their children are troubled with worms, the mother puts her tongue up the [child’s] fundament to kill them.”
And their unique approach to childbirth:
“They hold a piss-pot over the women’s heads whilst in labour, thinking it to promote hasty delivery. They seldom [deliver] twins, but often monsters.”
Source: Hans Egedius, A Natural History of Greenland, &c., 1743. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.