Nuna asiilasooq

Nuna asiilasooq

Ethnic anthem of the Kalaallit Co-national anthem of Greenland
Lyrics	Jonathan Petersen, c. 1920
Music	Jonathan Petersen, c. 1920
Adopted	1979 (1979)
Audio sample
Official orchestral and choral vocal recording file help

"Nuna asiilasooq" (Greenlandic: [nʉna asiːlasɔːq]; Danish: "Et vældigt klippeland" [e̝t ˈve̝ltit ˈkʰle̝pəˌlænˀ], English: "A Huge Rocky Land") is a Greenlandic song used as an ethnic anthem by the self-governing Kalaallit of Greenland. It was officially recognised 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."

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 lyrics	IPA transcription	Danish translation (by Mads Lidegaard)	English translation
I Nuna asiilasooq Kalaallit nunagaarput 𝄆 tamarmi qaqqartooq 𝄇 Kangerluppassuit sinaa nunassaqqissisippaat, tamaat sineriaa qeqertat saangerpaat. II Nuannersoqaqaaq angallavigigaanni 𝄆 tamaat sineriak 𝄇 Avannamut kujammullu inunnik naapitsiffik nunaqarfinnillu uningavissalik. III Qaqqaasa saavini kangerluillu paani 𝄆 unipput inuii 𝄇 Imartik pissaqarfigaat atorluakkaminnik, Kalaallimmi pigaat soraajuerlutik!	1 [nʉ.na a.siː.la.sɔːq] [ka.laːɬ.ɬit nʉ.na.ɣɑːp.put] 𝄆 [ta.mɑm.me‿qɑq.qɑt.tɔːq] 𝄇 [ka.ŋəɬ.ɬup.pas.su.it si.naː] [nʉ.nas.sɑq.qis.si.syp.paːt] [ta.maːt si.nə.ʁi.aː] [qə.qət.tat saː.ŋəp.paːt] 2 [nu.an.nəs.sɔ.qɑ.qɑːq] [a.ŋaɬ.ɬa.vi.ɣi.ɣaːn.ni] 𝄆 [ta.maːt si.nə.ʁi.ak] 𝄇 [a.van.na.mut ku.jam.muɬ.ɬu] [i.nʉn.nik naː.pit.tˢif.fik] [nʉ.nɑ.qɑf.fin.niɬ.ɬu] [u.ni.ŋa.vis.sa.lik] 3 [qɑq.qaː.sa saː.vi.ni] [ka.ŋəɬ.ɬu.iɬ.ɬu paː.ni] 𝄆 [u.nyp.put i.nu.iː] 𝄇 [y.mɑt.tˢik pis.sɑ.qɑf.fi.ɣaːt] [a.tɔɬ.ɬu.ak.ka.min.nik] [ka.laːɬ.ɬym.my‿pi.ɣaːt] [sɔ.ʁaː.ju.əɬ.ɬu.tˢik]	I Et vældigt klippeland fik Grønlands folk i eje 𝄆 med fjeld fra strand til strand. 𝄇 Og ved de dybe fjordes vand var godt at bo og bygge og øers perlerække bandt et bånd langs kystens rand. II Det er en lykke og en lyst for dem der er på rejse 𝄆 langs landets lange kyst, 𝄇 at strejfe om fra syd til nord og møde nye venner hvor gæstfrihed og glæde stor i lave hytter bor. III I høje fjeldes ly hvor fjorden møder havet 𝄆 de bygged bygd og by. 𝄇 De levede med kunst og flid af havets rige vande – fra nu og indtil evig tid er det kalaallits land.	I 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!