Inuit dolls are made out of soapstone and bone, materials common to the people of northern Alaska, Greenland and northern Canada. Many are clothed with animal fur or skin. Their clothing articulates the traditional style of dress necessary to survive cold winters, wind, and snow. Dolls could have been gifts to young Inuit girls, to be used as teaching devices and passing down of culture. [1] With these dolls, young girls learn various skills necessary for their survival such as skin preparation, cutting & sewing, proper use of materials, designs and significance of symbols in their cultures. Inuit dolls were enjoyed by both young and old Inuit individuals and give an excellent insight into Inuit culture. [1] [2]
The earliest found dolls were made by Inuit living in Brooman Point Village, Bathurst Island over two thousand years ago. Since the migration of humans over the land bridge in the Bering Strait, these dolls were common in Inuit culture. While the history of creating these dolls are unknown, the tradition may have started over 1,000 years ago. [3] There are at least two different types of Inuit dolls from the Canadian region, Play dolls and Collector's Dolls. [1]
Traditionally by the age of ten, Inuit girls were taught by their mothers how the clothe a family. [1] This is mainly taught by learning to sew making their own dolls with removable clothing. [4] They learn about the roles of wives and mothers by playing with these dolls. Once Inuit moved to camps and settlements, young girls started going to school and started learning different kinds of lessons and schools. This change in education for young Inuit girls, the play dolls began disappearing. The last generation to grow up with the play dolls were girls from the early 1950s. [1] [2]
These dolls were typically made by Inuit for people in the south. Some are owned by museums and others are owned by private collectors and institutions. The collector's dolls were divided into four categories: dolls dressed in traditional fur garments, wearing fabric garments, made by elders from Spence Bay (Taloyoak), and lastly made by the best dollmakers in the same community. [1] [2]
The dolls made by elders are full of energy and imagination. They are sculptures made from fur and fabric. Some are reminders of what the culture used to be like and others are just fantasy of the imagination the dollmaker. The dolls made by Spence Bay's best dollmakers are full of intense artistry. Dolls could have been made from caribou antler to create a certain texture. Dollmakers could have also used soapstone to create eyes and generate certain emotions and feelings. [1] Dollmakers have also made dolls specifically called Packing Dolls that generally wear an amauti. Packing dolls refer to dolls that have a parka that is designed with a baby pouch tailored as part of the mother's clothing. [4]
A parka or anorak is a type of coat with a hood, often lined with fur or faux fur. This kind of garment is a staple of Inuit clothing, traditionally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid Arctic. Some Inuit anoraks require regular coating with fish oil to retain their water resistance.
A doll is a model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls go back to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. They have been made as crude, rudimentary playthings as well as elaborate art. Modern doll manufacturing has its roots in Germany, from the 15th century. With industrialization and new materials such as porcelain and plastic, dolls were increasingly mass-produced. During the 20th century, dolls became increasingly popular as collectibles.
A raincoat is a waterproof or water-resistant garment worn on the upper body to shield the wearer from rain. The term rain jacket is sometimes used to refer to raincoats with long sleeves that are waist-length. A rain jacket may be combined with a pair of rain pants to make a rainsuit. Rain clothing may also be in one piece, like a boilersuit. Raincoats, like rain ponchos, offer the wearer hands-free protection from the rain and elements; unlike the umbrella.
Japanese dolls are one of the traditional Japanese crafts.
Mukluks or kamik are soft boots, traditionally made of reindeer (caribou) skin or sealskin, and worn by Arctic aboriginal people, including the Inuit, Iñupiat, and Yup'ik.
Baptismal clothing is apparel worn by Christian proselytes during the ceremony of baptism. White clothes are generally worn because the person being baptized is "fresh like the driven manna". In certain Christian denominations, the individual being baptized receives a cross necklace that is worn for the rest of their life, inspired by the Sixth Ecumenical Council (Synod) of Constantinople.
Clothing in Afghanistan consists of the traditional style of clothing worn in Afghanistan. The various cultural exchanges in the nation's history have influenced the styles and flavors of contemporary Afghan designs. The national dress is the fusion of different ethnic groups in Afghanistan. The styles can be subdivided into the various ethnicities with unique elements for each. Traditional dresses for both men and women tend to cover the whole body, with trousers gathered at the waist, a loose shirt or dress, and some form of head covering.
The amauti is the parka worn by Inuit women of the eastern area of Northern Canada. Up until about two years of age, the child nestles against the mother's back in the amaut, the built-in baby pouch just below the hood. The pouch is large and comfortable for the baby. The mother can bring the child from back to front for breastfeeding or for eliminatory functions without exposure to the elements. This traditional eastern Arctic Inuit parka, designed to keep the child warm and safe from frostbite, wind and cold, also helps to develop bonding between mother and child.
Inuit art, also known as Eskimo art, refers to artwork produced by Inuit, that is, the people of the Arctic previously known as Eskimos, a term that is now often considered offensive. Historically, their preferred medium was walrus ivory, but since the establishment of southern markets for Inuit art in 1945, prints and figurative works carved in relatively soft stone such as soapstone, serpentinite, or argillite have also become popular.
Inuit are a group of culturally similar Indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and Alaska. Inuit languages are part of the Eskimo–Aleut languages, also known as Inuit-Yupik-Unangan, and also as Eskaleut. Inuit Sign Language is a critically endangered language isolate used in Nunavut.
Copper Inuit, also known as Inuinnait and Kitlinermiut, are a Canadian Inuit group who live north of the tree line, in what is now the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut and in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories. Most of them historically lived in the area around Coronation Gulf, on Victoria Island, and southern Banks Island.
The Inuit are an indigenous people of the Arctic and subarctic regions of North America. The ancestors of the present-day Inuit are culturally related to Iñupiat, and Yupik, and the Aleut who live in the Aleutian Islands of Siberia and Alaska. The term culture of the Inuit, therefore, refers primarily to these areas; however, parallels to other Eskimo groups can also be drawn.
The Inuit are indigenous people who live in the Arctic and subarctic regions of North America. The ancestors of the present-day Inuit are culturally related to Iñupiat and Yupik, and the Aleut, who live in the Aleutian Islands of Siberia and Alaska. The word "Eskimo" has been used to encompass the Inuit and Yupik, and other indigenous Alaskan and Siberian peoples, but this usage is in decline.
Amish dolls are a type of rag doll and a popular form of American folk art, which originated as children's toys among the Old Order Amish people. While some Amish dolls have faces, the best-known ones do not, to emphasize the fact that all are alike in the eyes of God.
Kazakh clothing, worn by the Kazakh people, is often made of materials suited to the region's extreme climate and the people's nomadic lifestyle. It is commonly decorated with elaborate ornaments made from bird beaks, animal horns, hooves and feet. Although contemporary Kazakhs usually wear Western dress, the Turkic people wear more traditional clothing for holidays and special occasions.
Yup'ik doll is a traditional Eskimo style doll and figurine form made in the southwestern Alaska by Yup'ik people. Also known as Cup'ik doll for the Chevak Cup'ik dialect speaking Eskimos of Chevak and Cup'ig doll for the Nunivak Cup'ig dialect speaking Eskimos of Nunivak Island. Typically, Yup'ik dolls are dressed in traditional Eskimo style Yup'ik clothing, intended to protect the wearer from cold weather, and are often made from traditional materials obtained through food gathering. Play dolls from the Yup'ik area were made of wood, bone, or walrus ivory and measured from one to twelve inches in height or more. Male and female dolls were often distinguished anatomically and can be told apart by the addition of ivory labrets for males and chin tattooing for females. The information about play dolls within Alaska Native cultures is sporadic. As is so often the case in early museum collections, it is difficult to distinguish dolls made for play from those made for ritual. There were always five dolls making up a family: a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, and a baby. Some human figurines were used by shamans.
Yup'ik clothing refers to the traditional Eskimo-style clothing worn by the Yupik people of southwestern Alaska.
Traditional Inuit clothing is a complex system of cold-weather garments historically made from animal hide and fur, worn by Inuit, a group of culturally related indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic areas of Canada, Greenland, and the United States. The basic outfit consisted of a parka, pants, mittens, inner footwear, and outer boots. The most common sources of hide were caribou, seals, and seabirds, although other animals were used when available. The production of warm, durable clothing was an essential survival skill which was passed down from women to girls, and which could take years to master. Preparation of clothing was an intensive, weeks-long process that occurred on a yearly cycle following established hunting seasons. The creation and use of skin clothing was strongly intertwined with Inuit religious beliefs.
Archaeological evidence indicates that the use of Inuit clothing extends far back into prehistory, with significant evidence to indicate that its basic structure has changed little since. The clothing systems of all Arctic peoples are similar, and evidence in the form of tools and carved figurines indicates that these systems may have originated in Siberia as early as 22,000 BCE, and in northern Canada and Greenland as early as 2500 BCE. Pieces of garments found at archaeological sites, dated to approximately 1000 to 1600 CE, are very similar to garments from the 17th to mid-20th centuries, which confirms consistency in the construction of Inuit clothing over centuries.
There is a long historical tradition of research on Inuit clothing across many fields. Since Europeans first made contact with the Inuit in the 16th century, documentation and research on Inuit clothing has included artistic depictions, academic writing, studies of effectiveness, and museum collections. Historically, European images of Inuit were sourced from the clothing worn by Inuit who travelled to Europe, clothing brought to museums by explorers, and from written accounts of travels to the Arctic.