Fur Parka

Object Details

Collector

J. H. Turner

Donor Name

Bureau Of American Ethnology

This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027.

Source of the information below: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Native Collections: Sharing Knowledge website, by Aron Crowell, entry on this artifact https://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=249 , retrieved 11-25-2021; see web page for additional information: Parka, Inupiaq. Iñupiat who lived on the coast traded sea mammal hides and blubber to interior villages in exchange for the pelts of caribou, wolves, wolverines, foxes, and mountain sheep. The sheepskins [from mountain sheep] used for this man's Arctic coast parka probably came from the Brooks Range. Men's parkas were shorter than women's and cut straight across on the bottom. The ruff around the hood has three layers of fur consisting of wolverine, wolf belly, and wolf back, from the inner layer to the outer, respectively. The dark-colored manusiñiq (tusk-shaped gores on the chest) are made of caribou fur and the bottom of the coat is trimmed with wolverine. The atigi or parka (a word of western Siberian-Russian origin) is a hooded, loose-fitting garment worn by both men and women. New and traditional designs are still made in Northwest Alaska today. This man's parka of the late 19th century is made of mountain sheep skin, obtained by coastal Iñupiat through trade connections to interior villages in the mountainous Brooks Range. Historically, parkas were sewn from a variety of pelts-caribou or reindeer, ground squirrel, muskrat, marmot, mink, fox, mountain sheep and lynx, as well as from bird skins with the feathers left on. Prior to the introduction of reindeer on the Seward Peninsula in 1892, Iñupiaq people traded across Bering Strait with Siberian Chukchi herders for white or spotted reindeer skin, which was used for making fancy parkas. North coast Iñupiat traded with interior villages for caribou hides, as well as other animal skins such as wolf, wolverine, mountain sheep and fox. Caribou and reindeer were often taken in the summer when the skins weighed less and the hair was finer and shorter. These light skins were used to make fancy clothing and inner garments. Plain parkas for everyday wear and for colder weather were made from heavier fall and winter skins. Women sewed parkas with thread made from the sinew of caribou, reindeer, whale and walrus. In very cold weather, two parkas were worn. The inner one would be of bird skins or animal pelts with the hair turned inward, while the outer one would be made of pelts with the hair side out. In summer, people wore light-weight parkas or older, worn-out ones with the fur facing to the outside. Waterproof hooded parkas made from seal intestines or fish skin were put on as a top layer to protect against rain or driving snow. When cloth became available from Western traders, people began wearing cotton outer parkas to protect their fur garments from snow. They took care to shake or beat the snow from an unprotected fur parka before entering a warm house, using a long, flattened piece of ivory, bone or antler. This prevented the fur from becoming wet, which over time would cause the hair to fall out. Similar parka patterns were used over wide areas of Northwest Alaska, but always with a distinct difference between men's and women's styles. A man's parka-like the one pictured here-was shorter than a woman's, extending only to the hip or mid-thigh with a flared, straight, or slightly rounded bottom edge that was sometimes slightly longer in the back. The bottom of a woman's parka usually came down to, or below, the knee, with slits up the sides and U-shaped front and back flaps. Parkas for both sexes were trimmed at the bottom, wrist and shoulder with fur, often wolf or wolverine. The hood of a winter parka was usually trimmed with a fur ruff made from wolverine or wolf, or a combination of the two. When the hood was drawn up, the long hairs of the ruff projected around the wearer's face, shielding it from the cold wind. These furs have the important quality of shedding moisture from the wearer's breath so that ice does not build up around the edge of the hood. At the neck, both men's and women's parkas usually had narrow, triangular inserts, or gores, that extended part way down the front, as on this example. These gores attached the base of the hood to the front of the parka. Most gores were made from white short-haired caribou or reindeer skin that usually contrasted with the darker fur of the rest of the parka. Parkas for special occasions were ornamented with strips of skin sewn into patterns of contrasting colors. White parts of the design were made of caribou or scraped, winter-tanned sealskin; reddish elements were alder-dyed sealskin; and darker pieces could be caribou, seal or wolf-fish. Tufts of red wool and sometimes beads were also added. During important gatherings such as the Messenger Feast, people wore their best parkas for dancing in the community house and receiving guests, and fancy ones were given as gifts. Men and boys wore belts around their parkas, often made from a wolverine skin with its feet, tail and sometimes head still attached. In the Barrow area, most men wore eagle feathers or ermine skins on the backs of their parkas, which may have been charms as well an ornaments.

Record Last Modified

8 Feb 2022

Specimen Count

1

Culture

Eskimo, Inupiaq

Accession Date

9 Mar 1894

Accession Number

027937

USNM Number

E153734-0

Object Type

Parka

Height - Object

130 cm

Width - Object

74 cm

Depth - Object

16 cm

Place

Alaska, United States, North America

See more items in

Anthropology

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

Topic

Ethnology

Record ID

nmnhanthropology_8343287

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3fa2c37d7-c073-40b2-a1c0-6e82c63814ee