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Outlook: The first African in Greenland

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Tété-Michel Kpomassie wears cosy clothes and holds his camera in a snowy landscape in the sixties

07/02/2022 GMT

The first African in Greenland

BBC World Service - Outlook, The first African in Greenland

It took Tété-Michel Kpomassie eight years to reach the Arctic from his home in Togo

When Tété-Michel Kpomassie was ordered to join a snake-cult in Togo, he had to escape. He read a book about Greenland, learnt there was no snakes, and 'paradise' beckoned.

As a 16-year-old boy in Togo, Tété-Michel Kpomassie knew he had to escape. It was the late 1950s, and his father had ordered him to train as a priest in a snake cult. But Tété-Michel was terrified of snakes after a close encounter up a coconut tree that had nearly cost him his life. One day, he came across a book about Greenland. He read that there were no reptiles, only ice, and he was intrigued by the Inuit people. So he set out on an odyssey to reach this mysterious country, full of images of icebergs and sledding and hunting. It took him eight years to travel through Africa and Europe, all the while doing clerical odd-jobs, before final reaching the south of Greenland in the mid-60s. He was the first African they had ever seen, and was offered a warm welcome. For 18 months, he learnt the culture and way of life; dog-sledding, seal-fishing and acclimatising to the cold. Then, he returned to Togo as a different man - he shared his story and built a bridge between Africa and Greenland. Now 80, he speaks to Jo Fidgen about his extraordinary adventure and his hopes to return this year to buy a house and spend the last part of his life there.  

Michel The Giant: An African in Greenland is by Tété-Michel Kpomassie.

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Katy Takatsuki

(Photo: Tété-Michel Kpomassie in the 60s. Credit: Tété-Michel Kpomassie)

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