ABSTRACT
In this chapter I provide background information on the geographical and socio-cultural setting: I first introduce East Greenland, its history, and the ethnographic research that has been conducted there as well as the localities where my research took place. Arguing that interpersonal communication most fundamentally rests upon particular relations between self and others, I then briefly outline how human beings in East Greenland are understood cosmologically, and describe some important ways in which Iivit relate to other inhabitants, including naming practices, kinship, and adoption.
