The Eskimos wore clothes and shoes made from the skins of sea animals and reindeer fur. Only a few, the richest Eskimos, used linen and had urban outerwear of cotton or woolen clothing.

Men's clothing consisted of narrow natazniks made of seal skin, a shirt made of deer fur (atkuk), similar to the Chukchi one, fur trousers and a bag. The summer shirt was sewn single, with the fur inside. winter - double, fur inside and out. At hip level, the shirt was tied with a belt (tafsi) made of seal skin, embroidered with white deer hair.

On the legs, over fur stockings, they wore seal boots (kamgyk) of varying heights (usually up to the middle of the shin).

In winter, on a long trip, over a single shirt, they wore a wide, knee-length kukhlyanka (parka) made of reindeer skins, with a hood.

Women wore leather natazniks like panties on their naked bodies, and over them they put on a fur overalls, the same as those worn by the Chukchi. Women's shoes were no different in cut from men's, only they were taller (reached the knees). Winter torbazas were often made from kamus obtained from Chukchi reindeer herders.

Even at the end of the 19th century, and in isolated cases even later, Eskimos wore long tunics made of bird skins, which, with the development of exchange with the Chukchi reindeer herders, were replaced by clothing made of reindeer fur. In the old days, sleeping canopies and beds were also made from bird skins.

Men and women wore a fur hat and mittens only on the road. The rest of the time, even in severe frost and wind, they walked with their heads uncovered.

All women had the same hairstyle - two braids with a parting in the middle. For men it was more varied. Usually the hair was cut, leaving long strands on the top of the head or, conversely, the top was cut smoothly, leaving a “fringe” around the head.

More about the beginning of the 20th century. The Eskimos used tattooing. For men, it was limited to drawing circles near the corners of the mouth (1.5-2 cm in diameter), which was undoubtedly a relic of the previously existing custom of wearing a labial sleeve. The tattoo on the woman's face consisted of straight or slightly concave parallel lilies covering part of the forehead, nose and chin. A more complex geometric pattern was applied to the cheeks. The tattoos of the hands were especially complex and varied in design: the hands and forearms.

"Peoples of Siberia". Ethnographic essays, publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow - Leningrad, 1956

By the end of the 19th century. Eskimos - dead clothes - a parka made of bird skins with feathers inside. It consists of wide fur pants, tight boots and fastenings, so do not let water through, a fur jacket without a door, but with a hood and a hat.

For women, trousers and shoes sometimes form one whole; on the back there is a bag for children.

The clothes, especially for women, are decorated with colored leather ties, cervix, leaves and squirrels,

Teapot, Camel and 5 more traditional types of clothing of peoples in the long north

etc. The clothing material is mainly deer, then seals, dogs, arctic foxes and birds.

Characterized by outer waterproof clothing made from mammals and bubbles, made with excellent taste and grace, like clothing made from bird skins.

With the development of exchange with the Kukin deer, shepherds began to wear clothing made from deer fur. Summer clothes for both men and women were blind camellias, a visit from the sealing, and later purchased fabrics.

Traditional shoes are fur boots (kamgeuk) with a cut and often slush, men - to the middle of the sword, men - to the knees; Leather pants with a sock, the cut significantly raised the legs like a “bubble”.

Women's crochet hair in two braids, men's shave, leave a circle or some strings at the top of the head.

Men's tattoos are circles around the corners of the mouth (a relic of the custom to wear a labial sleeve), while women have complex geometric designs on the face and arms. It was colorful. Characteristic are nasal ornaments made of rings, feathers, granules, and fragments of lupine; similar objects are also inserted into sections under the lower lip, sometimes in a row, filled with shell buttons and similar to other types of teeth.

The main food is sailor, seal and whale meat - ice cream, sauerkraut, cream, boiled.

Popular products were deer meat, blood, stomach contents, head fish, etc. Grass served as plant food, seaweed, and shellfish.

I would appreciate it if you would share an article about social media:

Clothing, Eskimo food Wikipedia
Search this site:

Generally, Eskimo clothing evolved over the centuries in a cool atmosphere. The warm fur from which it is combined and the closed cut perfectly protect the body from frost, wind and moisture.

Men's clothing, consisting of short kuhlyanki, embroidered from deer or seal, fur that sticks out from the body, in the case of a cold cut, allows holding hands on the sleeves to warm them up to her naked body. The Kukhlyankas have hats. More than short (15 cm) leather men's socks are worn over trousers made of jelly, seal or polar bear leather. The trousers reach to the knees. On the feet, the socks are put on with fur, fur facing the feet, SH fur boots outward, venison stitching (deer skin with legs) or skin seals.

Women's clothing is made from the same material as men's; in the form of looks very similar to men.

Women wear a leather shirt with a rear extension at the back. A short kollyanka without a cut is usually decorated with embroidery, front and back walls of muss.

Unlike men, a leather bag for women is a bag to carry a child. The clothes are sewn and attached in such a way that they do not soften anywhere.

Local versions of Eskimo clothing vary in the length of the kitchen, cutting and trimming details. The most distinct from the general Eskimo types of clothing parks are the Pacific Eskimos and Aleuts. They are made from seabird skin without a lid. In addition, these Eskimo groups do not wear naturopaths.

For kayaking, waterproof clothing is made in the guts of the sea.

nutrition

Previously, Eskimos ate what they could get by hunting or fishing. Now they buy some products. Almost their only food was, and partly, the meat of sea animals, as well as deer.

National traditional clothing of the Chukchi

It is eaten boiled, dry and raw.

Strawberries and edible roots occupy a small place in the diet. The meat of sea animals is rich in vitamins and good protection against scurvy. A meat diet frees the Eskies from the need for salt extraction, since meat is available in sufficient quantities.

This diet suited the climatic conditions. The transition of the Eskimos, under the influence of Europe, from meat to oatmeal, tea with sugar and canned food negatively affected their health. A characteristic feature of the Eskimo diet is its high water consumption.

Before the arrival of Europeans, there were no alcoholic beverages available from the Eskimos.

Social order

The end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. The Jesuits lived in a primitive common system. At this time it was not an Eskimo clan. * The basic social unit was housing. Almost all of its inhabitants were associated with intimacy or wealth. In western Alaska, someone's camp was born to a man from "my" camp who was treated as a relative.

The Central and Greenland Eskimos had fewer alliance ties than those in Alaska, and neighborhood ties between camp residents were more pronounced.

In general, the Eskim camp was a community containing the remains of important ancestors, stronger in the west and somewhat weaker towards the east. General relations were fully preserved in production and consumer relations. All hunters in the settlement participated in hunting and fishing. For example, the entire camp hunted caribou or trap during the spring spawning season.

Receipts from one hunt also resulted in an overall distribution according to certain norms. These norms were not the same for different Eskimo groups, but b Some legitimacy can be discerned in this regard.

So, the hunter who obtained the seal, he received, as a rule, very little, most of the corpses were divided among other hunters on the hunting side. In addition, the members received their share of the camp, did not participate in the hunt for emergency work or illness, and the elderly, widows and orphans. By the end of the 19th century. Century. this order of distribution of production is largely degenerate. However, a measure of mutual aid still remains, especially in times of famine, when food supplies are so small that they can be distributed among all members of the camp.

Primitive communal norms at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. Century.

continue to insist on the distribution of whale meat: everyone can take it in any amount.

In the Eskimo during the period described, personal property was considered to include weapons, kayaks, sleds, hunting traps, clothing, household items, toys,

The personal pages were ice platforms with sealed breathing holes. In Greenland, a hunter who discovered that the product had placed a tag next to it, indicating its owner. In the Eskimo Bering Strait, every family had all their belongings with the Tamang sign. The presence of signs of ownership was confirmed by the collapse of the primitive general system.

The whole family's property was food.

Ownership of the entire camp as a whole is considered: stone fences, which were built by all members of the group and hunted deer; fishing dams; holiday home, etc.

Apparently there was tribal ownership of sea animal hunting and fishing grounds.

Personal property settings can be provided.

Loss or breakage of a borrowed item cannot be reimbursed or returned to the affected country, and the owner has no right to claim damages for the damage caused.

In addition, the owner in Alaska generally thought that it was unpleasant to reclaim returned goods because, according to the Eskimo, a person who can work on his property has more than he needs. And the owner of the trap, if he did not use it, had to give it to someone who needed it.

When a married man died, part of his deceased property was placed with him in the grave.

He inherited the rest of the property with his relatives, especially children, sons who inherited hunting rifles, daughters who inherited household items. The widow did not inherit anything, but she returned to the dock. In Greenland, a man who has a tent cannot inherit another, just as in the possession of one hollow, I did not inherit another, and so on. N. in Alaska, which no longer adheres to this restriction of inheritance, and layoffs were between the Eskimo of Alaska and the Eskimo of another region.

The share of inheritance received by older and younger children varies from place to place. Thus, in Greenland, the eldest son received most of his father's property.

There was no difference between the "Copper" Eskimos in the order of succession of oldest and youngest sons. In Alaska, the younger children received an older son. All valuable things went to the younger sons. The wife of the deceased distributed the inheritance of the Alaskan Enscoche.

In the second half of the 19th century.

There were strong trade ties between the various territorial groups of the Eskimos, which were carried out along the same routes from year to year. Fairs, especially in Alaska, took place in the form of festive celebrations and various ritual rituals. Such fairs were usually held in the same cities, on the border between different groups. Trade was carried out by exchanging one product for another. The only price was made from the skin of adult otters and later from drum skin.

According to the American scientist E.

W. Nelson, Alaska, in the 1990s, XIX. in every village you will find a rich man with a large store with the Inuit concept of ownership (worth several hundred dollars). These rich people organize a holiday for their fellow villagers from time to time and give them food and gifts. If a rich Eskimo avoided organizing a festival, the villagers would kill him and take everything he had, or the force that organized the festival would give it all their property.

In the latter case, under the pain of death, he had to give up every thought in order to become rich. This suggests that they were for the Eskimans in the second half of the 19th century. Your own inequality was new and unusual. But even during this period, the decisive vote in the village usually belonged to the richest resident, since everything depended on him.

On the island of Nunavik, several decades ago, property was held in every related group of a public nature.

All objects were marked with symbols that appeared to be straight or broken, but the number of symbols was very limited. All people who had a common male ancestor mark their property with one character. To separate individual branches of the genealogy tree or individual families in a related group, more than one character was assigned to objects (but no more than five).

In Alaska, between the Eskimos who lived among the river.

Kuskokwim and Kotzebue Bay, late 19th century. the division into totemic groups remained. The most common totems were Folk, Falcon and Crow. All members of the totem group were considered relatives. Unfortunately, it is not known whether such a group was exogenous or not, that is, it is a genus or only a remnant part of it.

Askim of Alaska and Hudson Bay until the mid-19th century. Century.

Men's houses (kazimi) were widespread, the existence of which was usually associated with the mother's family. Each Eskim camp had a special building where people spent time without hunting. They worked, ate and burned there. All meetings and celebrations were organized there.

An Eskimo couple is married.

On the Pacific coast in the late 18th century - early 19th century. Century. there were marriage weddings, that is, weddings between the children of a brother and sister. This form of marriage is associated with the clan system or with the mother clan and double exogs.

Alignment after marriage may be matrilineal and patrilocal, but in Alaska and the islands of Nunivak, Kajak and Aleutian jb 19th century. prevailed at first. The separation was carried out smoothly at the request of the husband and wife. The children remained with their mother, and their father lost all his rights. The woman in the family was almost identical to the man.

In the terminology of affinity, paternal and maternal lines are distinguished, which can only be satisfactorily explained by the fact that this terminology was created as a reflection of the clan system that existed in the past.

There are many other evidences of the existence of Eskimos in the past, and this is the mother. Tribal organization appears to have disappeared due to development, the vast uninhabited arctic spaces as independent tribes are far apart, often rotting and intertwined as they move.

In the later decommissioning of exogamy, the nomadic lifestyle of the central and eastern Eskimos played an important role, which made it difficult to maintain intergenerational ties.

In this regard, it is interesting that on the west coast of the United States the Eskimo system of tribal rescue has been preserved to a much greater extent than among other Eskimos. This is due to the fact that they will not have to develop such large spaces as the Central and Greenlandic Eskimos, as well as the fact that their life is more sedentary due to the nature of the opportunity, sea hunting occurs not only in winter but also in the summer months .

The process of decommissioning clan relations between the Eskimos is, of course, closely related to the progress of American colonization of the Arctic and the influence of capitalist relations.

It is likely that the process of decommissioning the clan system was recently completed, especially in Alaska and the neighboring islands where the clan likely existed in the 18th century.

or even later. The mother's family was compensated, apparently, directly by the neighborhood community, and not by the paternal clans. In any case, this can be clearly defined for Alaska by the Eskim.

Most Eskimos in the mid-19th century. Century. but later there were no leaders, but he was always one of the older experienced hunters in the camp, especially if he was a shaman, he enjoyed more authority than other old people; he was called "good", "I think", "advisor": this may be a sign that it is better to move around the camp that sent hunting seals, which are deer; but his advice was not followed, and he had no power to bring himself to carry out his orders.

Public opinion played an important role in the life of the Eskimos.

Everyone could act as you pleased as long as it did not disrupt the general well-being. If a person violated normal norms, he was encouraged by one of the old or older women. To a large extent, these incentives worked well because they were considered very offensive.

If he still violates hunting rules, annoys his neighbors and misleads them, then he exposes the boycott: he was not allowed to participate in public affairs, not allowed in his cottages, no one wanted to talk to him or have a business deal; if he was hated by his neighbors because of the crimes he committed, he could kill him when the community deemed it necessary.

Sometimes someone was called to perform; He volunteered to talk about all his neighbors and killed his criminal with his consent. Sometimes neighbors organized a meeting and selected the executor from their decision from the community and did not have the right to refuse, even if the convicted person was his brother.

The executor or one of the community members took the family of those executed.

Unlike this murder, which was carried out because it would be legal, every other murder must be repulsed by the nearest relatives of the deceased, and the custom of bloodshed was one of the most necessary in the customary law of the Eskimos.

Traditionally, Eskimos (Inuit) feed mainly on fish, marine mammals and land animals. Roots, grasses and strawberries represent a small part of the Inuit diet. Modern initiates have adopted Western dietary habits.

Several tribes are Inuit, also called Eskimos.

Traditional clothing of the Greenlandic Eskimos

Inuit people live in areas such as Alaska and Northern Canada where temperatures have been very cold in recent years. They are professionals in the field of hunting and fishing, living off what is available in the immediate area.

Popular Inuit foods include beluga whale, seal, fish, crab, sea, caribou, louse, duck, quail and geese.

In summer, roots and strawberries are part of the diet. Due to the harsh arctic climate, the Inuit rely heavily on meat and fish. Plants are absent from their diet because they do not grow in such a poor environment.

Many people wonder how the Inuit can survive without eating the balanced diet that is common in other cultures. Researchers have found that Inuit animals and fish contain different nutrients that the body needs to survive.

The Inuit use fresh meat.

Modern Inuit eat a mixture of traditional foods and Westernized foods.

The shoes and clothing of the coastal and tundra Chukchi did not differ greatly and were almost identical to the Eskimos. Mostly it was solid clothing made from the skins of seals and deer. The men had a double kukhlyanka shirt that reached to the knees.

They belted it with a belt, and hung a pouch, a knife and other accessories from it. There were also tight double pants and short shoes with fur stockings. Among the coastal Chukchi, clothing made from walrus intestines was widespread. As for hats, they were worn extremely rarely, unless on the road.
Winter clothing was made from two reindeer skins with the fur on the outside and the inside.

The coastal Chukchi also used elastic, durable and almost waterproof seal skin, from which they made pants and spring-summer shoes; Kamleikas, raincoats and various raincoats were also sewn from walrus intestines.

Eskimo clothing, food

The Reindeer Chukchi used old smoky yaranga coverings for pants and shoes, which do not deform when exposed to moisture.
Regular mutual exchange of various farm products helped the tundra Chukchi receive shoes, clothing, leather soles, lassos, and belts made from the skins of marine mammals. The coastal people used reindeer skins for winter clothing.

And in the summer they wore already worn out winter clothes.
All the closed clothes of the Chukchi are divided into festive-ritual and everyday everyday clothes: women's, men's, children's, old people's, youth's and even ritual-funeral.
A fur jumpsuit (the so-called kerker) with wide sleeves, single in summer and double in winter, and short pants were popular among women.

Shoes were made of fur, mostly knee-length. Women loved to wear various kinds of necklaces and bracelets.
Interesting fact: the Chukchi tattooed themselves on their faces, men had circles around their mouths, and women had two stripes on their foreheads and noses.

Men cut their hair in a kind of circle, shaving the crown, and women, as a rule, braided two braids.

Examples of the use of the word pima in literature.

Throughout the first week, from Verkhneudinsk to Kyakhta, she rode in a wagon hired for her, like a random companion of the expedition, wearing a huge fur coat over a sheepskin coat and Siberian pimah.

Super warm clothes - malitsa, panitsa, sovik, reliable shoes in both cold and thaw - toboks, Pima, lipta, the strongest threads-tendons are given to the northerner by a kind and faithful friend-deer And meat, excellent, tender, tasty, satisfying deer meat - boiled, fried in a frying pan or on a rod, raw, hot with blood straight from the slaughter, or frozen sliced ​​meat.

The hunters were warmly shod, but the frost penetrated through their fur stockings - liptas - and Pima.

I'm asking you if you were personally acquainted with the family while in Connecticut Pimov, who lived on the island of Nantucket and was related to one of the prominent lawyers of the state.

It turns out, Mr. Jorling,” the captain spoke in a sharper voice, the trembling of which betrayed irritation, “you did not know the family Pimov and did not meet with its members either in Hartford or Nantucket.

The material was found and prepared for publication by Grigory Luchansky

G.A.Ushakov

Eskimo food

“And in the past, that is, before the arrival of Europeans, and now Eskimos eat mainly the meat of sea animals. The first place among them is occupied by the walrus, the second by the seal (nerpa, bearded seal) and the third by the whale. Reindeer meat is considered especially tasty, but it is traded with the neighboring Chukchi reindeer herders, and therefore it rarely makes it onto the Eskimo menu. In addition to the meat of these animals, Eskimos eat bear meat, and in times of need, the meat of arctic fox and even dog.

In summer, poultry meat is a significant help in nutrition. Eskimos eat all the birds found in the North. The exceptions are the raven and the crane, which are treated with prejudice, but not because they are considered “filthy.” “The meat is very strong,” say the Eskimos, but they generally prefer meat that is soft, juicy and fatty. But when a hunger strike occurs, the raven’s meat is eaten eagerly, since it is still no stronger than old walrus skins taken from a yaranga, or belts from sleds, and is tastier than dog meat, which had to be eaten during more and more frequent hunger strikes.

In general, Eskimos do not know “filthy” animals and birds that should not be eaten.

Before I became acquainted with the Eskimos, I had often encountered the widespread belief that they liked to drink rendered fat. Among the Eskimos I know, I have not met a single such lover, and when they heard about such an opinion, they usually said: “Grot!” (He’s lying!) – or they laughed merrily, taking it as a joke.

Eskimos eat any meat more readily when it begins to smell a little.

The culinary techniques of the Eskimos are remarkably simple. In most cases, meat is eaten raw or frozen, sometimes boiled or dried.

In its raw form, whale skin with a layer of fat adjacent to it is also used for food - “man” tak.” Most Europeans, out of habit, will find “man” tak unappetizing, but in fact it has taste qualities that can satisfy many gourmets. It tastes somewhat like fresh butter, and even more like cream. "Man" is also used boiled. Then it is less tasty and crunches on the teeth, like delicate cartilage. “Man”tak”, which is already beginning to emit a smell, is called “ekwak”.

Eskimos cook both “man” and meat in general in water without salt or any seasonings. Usually the meat is pulled out of the cauldron as soon as it is well warmed up, before it even has time to lose its raw, bloody color. Game is cooked in the same way. When preparing birds for cooking, Eskimos do not pluck them, but tear off their skin. Then the skin is cleaned of fat and discarded, and the fat is used to prepare a special dish called “pug”-nyk.”

During my trips around the island, I often had to sit out from bad weather in Eskimo yarangas, eating “man” tak.” When there was no fresh "man" tak, the hospitable hosts offered an equally tasty dish - dried meat called "nyfkurak." "Nyfkurak" is made from the meat of walrus, bearded seal, seal and bear. The cooking method is very simple. The ribs, along with the vertebrae, are cut out of the animal's carcass, cuts are made between them and hung in the sun. The sun, weak in these places, is greatly helped by the wind, and after three to four weeks the “nyfkurak” is ready. “Nyfkurak” made from sealed seal meat seemed especially tasty to me. Walrus and bear are too fat, and fat in the sun takes on an unpleasant bitter taste.

Fish, like game, is of considerable help in the diet of the Eskimos. It, like meat, is eaten mostly raw or frozen, less often boiled and dried.

Among the plants, Eskimos also eat willow leaves, meadow onions, sweet edible roots and leaves of "nunivak", "syuk"-lyak" (a type of edible root), "k"ugyln"ik" (sorrel) and berries "ak"avzik "(cloudberries), "syugak" (blueberries) and "pagung "ak" (shikshu).

The berries are eaten raw. They are also used to prepare a delicious dish, which my companions spoke of with admiration, but due to the absence of deer on the island, I was not able to try it. According to the description of the Eskimos, this dish is a cross between compote and vinaigrette. To prepare it, the contents of a deer’s stomach are taken and berries – cloudberries, crowberries or blueberries – are mixed into it. “Nick”knock”!” (Very tasty!) - my companions said, remembering this dish. Having not tried this delicacy, I cannot express my opinion, but, undoubtedly, it is necessary and useful for the Eskimos, since there is very little plant food here.

Eskimos do not eat mushrooms, calling them “tug"nyg"am sigutn"at" - devil's ears.

Among the seaweeds, the Eskimos eat seaweed washed ashore by the surf, but they eat it with an interesting precaution. The fact is that, in their opinion, seaweed can grow in the human stomach and thereby cause pain. According to the Eskimos, it is very easy to prevent such a phenomenon. All you have to do is pat your bare stomach with the stem, and then you can eat as much as you want.

Eskimos love to eat various sea shellfish. They are collected from the surf or taken from the stomach of a walrus. More than once during a hunt I had the opportunity to observe how Eskimos, skinning a freshly killed walrus and ripping open its stomach, happily eat the mollusks removed from there.”

“Everyone eats with their hands, bending over the kayutak for each piece and making a kind of puff pastry from slices of meat and fat.

Semi-liquid dishes, for example, the above-described treat made from berries and the contents of a deer’s stomach, and on our island - some kind of porridge, are eaten without spoons. The food is poured onto the kayutak, and everyone plunges three fingers of their right hand into it - index, middle and ring - and licks them. After satiation, the hostess hands over a “vyyuk” - a rag, and everyone wipes their lips and hands.

Dishes are usually not washed.

Currently, Eskimos have become accustomed to European products and can no longer live without tea, sugar and tobacco, and have difficulty living without flour. But still, these products are secondary in their diet.

Eskimos drink tea up to ten times a day, mostly brick tea. They brew it very strong and rarely let the water boil. If the water is hot enough to brew tea, then that is enough. When, due to an oversight by the housewife, the water boils, a lump of snow, and sometimes a cold stone, is dropped into it. Sugar is used only as a snack.

Flour is used to prepare hawustak. “Khavustak” is a flatbread cooked in walrus or seal fat. Eskimos do not bake bread, but on occasion they eat it with great pleasure. “Khavustak” is prepared as follows: add cold water to the flour, knead it, and the dough is ready. If there is, add soda; if not, they can do just fine without it. They make flat cakes from this dough and boil them well in boiling fat. Ruddy in appearance, these cakes are hard and tasteless.”

Among other “achievements” of civilization, vodka took root among the Eskimos. There is no need to talk about the “beneficial” consequences of the penetration of vodka into the life of the Eskimos. We can only welcome the Government’s ban on the import of such products into the Chukotka region.”

Tobacco smoking among Eskimos

“Another no less worthy product is also a gift from civilization - tobacco. The Eskimos now suffer from the lack of tobacco no less than from the lack of meat. An Eskimo who does not smoke or chew tobacco is a rarity. Men not only smoke, but also chew it, women mostly chew it. Even children chew tobacco, and already at the age of ten, you can hardly find ten children out of a hundred who do not have this habit. I have seen many times how Eskimos calmed a crying infant by putting tobacco chewing gum in his mouth. “Without tobacco your mouth dries,” the Eskimos justify their addiction to it.”

Eskimo dwelling

The author often stayed in Eskimo yarangas, which he perceived as a familiar home, so he does not give a detailed description of the yaranga, but draws attention to interesting details. “There is no dining table in the Eskimo yaranga. The tableware consists of one narrow, oblong and small wooden dish - “k”ayutak” and a wide semicircular female knife - “ulyak”. “Kyutak” is placed directly on the floor, and the whole family sits around it. Working deftly with the knife , the housewife cuts the meat and fat into thin slices, and she always eats the first and last slices of each piece herself.

Eskimo clothing

“The main material from which Eskimo clothing is made is reindeer fur. For polar climates this is certainly the most practical material. Clothing made from it is light, soft, does not restrict movement and retains heat perfectly in the most severe frosts.

All polar travelers agree that soft, light, velvety reindeer fur is the best of all furs for clothing and sleeping bags.

An equally valuable quality of reindeer fur is its elasticity, due to which the snow that gets into the wool during snowstorms does not freeze, like in any other fur, and is easily knocked out, so the clothes remain completely dry.

In addition, the Eskimos sew clothes from seal skins, walrus and seal intestines, and imported cotton fabric, which they began to use relatively recently.

Hats are usually worn only by men. Women in winter and summer often walk bareheaded. The most common type of headdress is “nasyaprak” (malakhai). In its cut, it is close to a helmet-hat, but is more open in front. Usually “nasyaprak” is sewn from deer fur, usually taken from the head of an animal. It is trimmed mainly with dog fur, and only the wealthiest Eskimos make trimmings from wolverine fur.

In addition to “nasyaprak”, Eskimos wear “makakak” and “nasyag”ak”. The latter are more common among Chukchi reindeer herders. These headdresses are essentially a type of “nasyaprak”: “makakak” is a slightly reduced version of it a copy, but the top is cut off, so that the head is open at the top. “Nasyag"ak” resembles our knitted helmet, the front of it goes down to the chest, and the back reaches half of the back; under the arms it is secured with belt ties.

In the summer, as a rule, men do not wear hats, content with a narrow strap holding their hair in place.

Lately, caps and caps have appeared under the general name “luk”-ik.” But there is no great need for them, and they are rather a luxury and an indicator of material well-being.

A man’s outerwear is “atkupik” (kukhlyanka). It is worn double: the lower one - “ilulik” - is put on with the fur inward directly on the naked body, and the upper one - “k"aslyik" - with the fur outward. It has a straight cut, resembling a shirt without wedges in the hem, with a neckline into which you can just stick your head in. A collar (usually made of dog fur) is sewn onto the “ilulik”. When putting on the “kaslik”, the collar is pulled out over it. “Atkupik” reaches the knees or even covers them; girding himself, the Eskimo raises the hem high and gathers it into a large fold under the belt, which is held just above the hips. This way the belly is reliably covered. In addition, folds replace pockets; Eskimos hide a pipe, pouch, matches, cartridges in them, and during trips even a bottle of water for freezing ice on the runners of the sled.

Pants - “k"ulig"yt" - are sewn from different materials: reindeer fur, reindeer paws and seal skins, but the cut is all the same. There is no belt on these pants, and they are tied not at the waist, but at the hips with a drawstring. The pants are also tied at the ankles with a drawstring. They are sewn slightly longer at the back and shorter at the front, so that the entire belly is open. There are no slits on the pants.

Depending on the purpose and quality of the material, trousers are divided into “syupak” - outer ones, made of deer fur, which are worn with the fur facing out; “ilyph"ag"yk” – lower ones, made of the same material, but sewn with fur inside; "k"alnak" - outer trousers made of deer paws; "tumk"ak" - made of seal skins; "tunuk"itylg"i" - made of seal skins, trimmed at the back with embroidery from red and white mandarka.

“Syupak"ak" and "k"alnak" are worn only in the cold season, "ilyph"ag"yk" - all year round, and "tumk"ak"" - in the summer, "tunuk"itylg"i" are worn only in holidays. This is the ceremonial costume of the strongest wrestlers, so to speak, their distinctive feature...

Mittens are usually sewn with one finger. They are not as beautiful as Eskimo shoes, designed for winter trips and summer hunting, but no less comfortable and practical. In winter, they usually wear “ag” ilyugyk” - mittens made of deer paws with the hair up, and in summer - “ayipkh” atak”, which are not afraid of water, made of seal skin. The style is the same for both. In spring and autumn, when you need to protect your hands from dampness and frost, which is often very sensitive, they wear “ag” ilyugyk. The back side is made of deer paws, and the front side is made of seal skin. Gloves with five fingers are worn very rarely , more on holidays. Obviously, they were borrowed from the Russians. The Eskimos call them “ihirag”yk, which literally means “handbrake” (“ikha” - hand).

On a winter road, the Eskimo puts on a bib - "manun" itak." It is usually made of seal or short-haired dog fur and protects the collar from frost freezing. In especially cold times, they also put on a forehead protector - "k"agug" itak" - a strip of thin reindeer fur 3-4 centimeters wide.”

Eskimo shoes

“In the Eskimo language there are up to twenty terms for various types of shoes. Shoes are generally called “kamgyt”. Judging by the abundance of names, Eskimo shoes were once probably very diverse, but now their range has been significantly reduced. Modern footwear can be divided into three main groups: winter footwear, summer footwear for sea hunting and wet weather, summer footwear for dry weather and household use.

The most characteristic detail of Eskimo shoes is their sole. It is always made from bearded seal skin. The skin is cleaned of fat, stretched and dried. It is not subject to further processing. The soles made from it, when wet, shrink strongly, and if the sole is the size of the foot, the shoes will soon become unusable. Therefore, the sole is always made with a large margin on each side. By bending this reserve upward (the work is done with the teeth), the sole is given the shape of a trough and in this form is hemmed to the boot. Once wet and shrunk, it quickly loses its shape, but lasts a long time.

A particularly large supply is left in summer shoes intended for wet weather.

The most common at present are “stulyug"yk", "akugvig"asyag"yk", "kuilhikhtat" and "mug"nik"ak". The boot is always made from deer legs. The boot is tucked under the trouser leg and tightened tightly with the latter's lace, which eliminates the possibility of snow getting inside. In local climatic conditions, "stulyug"yk" can rightfully be considered an ideal winter shoe. The Eskimos gave the same name to another type of footwear, which they apparently borrowed from the Tungus and Yakuts, namely, torbas. They differ from "stulyug"yk" only with a longer boot, so that the stocking covers the knee. These shoes are worn over pants. It is not widespread: it is inconvenient for walking and riding a sled, and during a snowstorm, snow accumulates in the boot.

In summer, the Eskimos mainly wear "kuilhihtat" made of seal skin with fur left on it. Their tops are short and have a drawstring at the top that is tied over the trouser leg. The front is made wide and goes from the toe in a straight line to the ankle. This allows you to put on your shoes even if they become very dry after getting wet. The excess front is folded into a fold and tightened with a frill. “Akugvig"asyag"yk" and "akugvypagyt" are very similar to each other. Only the first ones reach to the knee, and are tied at the top with a cord, while the second ones are above the knee and do not have a lace. Both of them sew from seal skin, but the wool is first removed from it. The front is as wide as that of the “cuilhihtat”.

When creating the types of shoes described above, the Eskimo cared entirely about its practicality, and it must be admitted that he achieved this, although at the expense of appearance.

But the shoes intended for household use and the dry season - “payak"yk" and "mug"nik"ak" - are not without grace. These shoes are sewn from seal skin, the front is made of reindeer fur with hair inside and is decorated with embroidery."

Household customs of the Eskimos

“At night, the Eskimo strips naked. (However, he usually sits completely naked in the canopy during the day.) Waking up, he waits for his wife to prepare breakfast, and only after paying enough attention to the latter does he begin to dress. All the clothes given in the evening to dry are given to him in order by his wife. First of all, he pulls up his pants. If he stays at home, he confines himself to “iliph”ag”yk.” Then, pulling on fur stockings, the Eskimo puts on his shoes, and the toilet is finished. The kukhlyanka is put on only when leaving the canopy and is belted with a leather belt - “tafsi”. A knife – “savik” – and several beads of glass beads always hang on the belt. The latter are in reserve, for sacrifice to the evil Spirit.

When going hunting, Eskimos also take with them a large hunting knife - a “stygmik”, which they wear on their hips and attach with a wooden clasp to the waistband of their pants.”

Astronomical knowledge of the Eskimos

According to the author, the astronomical concepts of the Eskimos are very limited. “They have their own names for the constellations: Ursa Major - Reindeer, Pleiades - Girls, Orion - Hunters, Gemini - Bow, Cassiopeia - Bear's Trail, Cepheus - Half a Tambourine."

Eskimo time calculation

The Eskimos calculate time by the moon, and “the only unit of time is the month - “tank”ik” (moon). They have no concepts of the week or year; not a single Eskimo knows how old he is.

Months are counted as twelve, but since the lunar month has only 27.3 days, the Eskimo month does not represent a precisely defined period of time, but is constantly moving. This creates confusion, and it is not uncommon to hear two old men arguing about what month it is. The dispute is mostly resolved by appealing to the life of nature, which, in essence, is the true Eskimo calendar, as confirmed by the names of the months:

k"uin"im k"alg"ig"viga - the rut of domestic reindeer - October;

tup"tum k"alg"ig"viga - rut of wild deer - November;

pynyig"am k"alg"ig"viga - the rut of wild sheep, or ak"umak" - the month of the sitting sun - December;

kanah "tag" yak - the month of frost in the yarangs - January;

ik "aljug" vik - month of fishing net - February;

nazig "akhsik" - month of birth of the seal - March;

Tyg "iglyukhsik" - month of birth of bearded seals - April;

lyug"vik - month of the sling - May;

Pinag "vik - month of opening of rivers - June;

yl'n "ag" vik - month of shallowing rivers - July;

nunivagym palig "viga - the month of collecting the edible root of nuni-vaka - August;

palig"vik - the month of withering, or tun"tukh"sig"vik - the month of death (slaughter of domestic deer), or alpam k"atig"viga - the month of leaving the nests of young guillemots - September.

At the end of September, Chukchi reindeer herders actually slaughter domesticated reindeer, and the Eskimos exchange reindeer meat with them for the products of their hunt.”

Eskimos (a group of indigenous peoples that make up the indigenous population of the territory from Greenland and Canada to Alaska (USA) and the eastern edge of Chukotka (Russia). Number - about 170 thousand people. The languages ​​belong to the Eskimo branch of the Eskimo-Aleut family. Anthropologists believe that the Eskimos - Mongoloids of the Arctic type. Their main self-name is “Inuit.” The word “Eskimo” (Eskimantzig - “raw eater”, “one who eats raw fish”) belongs to the language of the Abenaki and Athabaskan Indian tribes. From the name of the American Eskimos, this word turned into a self-name. both American and Asian Eskimos.

Story

The everyday culture of the Eskimos is unusually adapted to the Arctic. They invented a rotating harpoon to hunt sea animals, a kayak, an igloo snow house, a yarangu skin house, and special closed clothing made of fur and skins. The ancient culture of the Eskimos is unique. In the XVIII-XIX centuries. Characterized by a combination of hunting sea animals and caribou, living in territorial communities.
In the 19th century, the Eskimos did not have (except, perhaps, the Bering Sea) clan and developed tribal organization. As a result of contacts with the newcomer population, great changes occurred in the life of foreign Eskimos. A significant part of them switched from sea fishing to hunting arctic foxes, and in Greenland to commercial fishing. Many Eskimos, especially in Greenland, became wage laborers. The local petty bourgeoisie also appeared here. The Eskimos of Western Greenland formed into a separate people - Greenlanders who do not consider themselves Eskimos. The Eskimos of eastern Greenland are Angmassalik. In Labrador, the Eskimos mixed to a large extent with the older population of European origin. Everywhere, remnants of traditional Eskimo culture are rapidly disappearing.

Language and culture

Language: Eskimo, Eskimo-Aleut family of languages. The Eskimo languages ​​are divided into two large groups - Yupik (western) and Inupik (eastern). On the Chukotka Peninsula, Yupik is divided into Sireniki, Central Siberian, or Chaplin and Naukan dialects. The Eskimos of Chukotka, along with their native languages, speak Russian and Chukotka.
The origins of the Eskimos are controversial. The Eskimos are the direct heirs of an ancient culture widespread from the end of the first millennium BC. along the shores of the Bering Sea. The earliest Eskimo culture is the Old Bering Sea (before the 8th century AD). It is characterized by the hunting of marine mammals, the use of multi-person leather kayaks, and complex harpoons. From the 7th century AD until the XIII-XV centuries. whaling was developing, and in the more northern regions of Alaska and Chukotka - hunting for small pinnipeds.
Traditionally, Eskimos are animists. Eskimos believe in spirits living in various natural phenomena; they see the connection between man and the world of objects and living beings around him. Many believe in a single creator, Silya, who controls everything that happens in the world, all phenomena and laws. The goddess who bestows the Eskimos with the riches of the deep sea is called Sedna. There are also ideas about evil spirits, which appeared to the Eskimos in the form of incredible and terrible creatures. The shaman who lives in every Eskimo village is an intermediary who establishes contact between the world of spirits and the world of people. The tambourine is a sacred object for the Eskimos. The traditional greeting, called the "Eskimo kiss", has become a world famous gesture.

Eskimos in Russia

In Russia, Eskimos are a small ethnic group (according to the 1970 census - 1356 people, according to the 2002 census - 1750 people), living mixed or in close proximity to the Chukchi in a number of settlements on the eastern coast of Chukotka and on Wrangel Island. Their traditional occupations are sea hunting, reindeer herding, and hunting. The Eskimos of Chukotka call themselves “yuk” (“man”), “yuit”, “yugyt”, “yupik” (“real person”). Number of Eskimos in Russia:

Number of Eskimos in populated areas in 2002:

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug:

village Novoye Chaplino 279

Sireniki village 265

Lavrentiya village 214

Provideniya village 174

Anadyr city 153

Uelkal village 131

Ethnic and ethnographic groups

In the 18th century, Asian Eskimos were divided into a number of tribes - Uelenians, Naukans, Chaplinians, Sireniki Eskimos, which differed linguistically and in some cultural features. In a later period, in connection with the processes of integration of the cultures of the Eskimos and the coastal Chukchi, the Eskimos retained the group characteristics of the language in the form of the Naukan, Sirenikov and Chaplin dialects.

Along with the Koryaks and Itelmens, they form the so-called “continental” group of populations of the Arctic race, which by origin is related to the Pacific Mongoloids. The main features of the Arctic race are presented in the northeast of Siberia in paleoanthropological material from the turn of the new era.

Writing

In 1848, the Russian missionary N. Tyzhnov published a primer of the Eskimo language. Modern writing based on Latin script was created in 1932, when the first Eskimo (Yuit) primer was published. In 1937 it was translated into Russian graphics. There is modern Eskimo prose and poetry (Aivangu and others). The most famous Eskimo poet is Yu. M. Anko.

Modern Eskimo alphabet based on the Cyrillic alphabet: A a, B b, V c, G g, D d, E e, Ё ё, Жж, Зз, И и, й й, К к, Лл, Лълъ, М m, N n, Nj n, O o, P p, R r, S s, T t, U y, Ў ў, F f, X x, C c, Ch h, Sh w, Shch, ъ, Y s, ь, E e, Yu yu, I I.

There is a variant of the Eskimo alphabet based on the Canadian syllabary for the indigenous languages ​​of Canada.

Eskimos in Canada

The Eskimo people of Canada, known in this country as the Inuit, achieved their autonomy with the creation of the territory of Nunavut on April 1, 1999, carved out of the Northwest Territories.

The Eskimos of the Labrador Peninsula also now have their own autonomy: in the Quebec part of the peninsula, the Eskimo district of Nunavik is gradually increasing its level of autonomy, and in 2005, the Eskimo Autonomous District of Nunatsiavut was also formed in the part of the peninsula included in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Inuit receive official payments from the government for living in harsh climatic conditions.

Eskimos in Greenland

Greenlanders (Eskimos of Greenland) are the Eskimo people, the indigenous population of Greenland. In Greenland, between 44 and 50 thousand people consider themselves “kalaallit”, which is 80-88% of the island’s population. In addition, about 7.1 thousand Greenlanders live in Denmark (2006 estimate). The Greenlandic language is spoken, and Danish is also widely spoken. The believers are mostly Lutherans.

They live mainly along the southwestern coast of Greenland. There are three main groups:

Western Greenlanders (Kalaallit proper) – southwest coast;

eastern Greenlanders (angmassalik, tunumiit) - on the east coast, where the climate is mildest; 3.8 thousand people;

northern (polar) Greenlanders – 850 people. on the northwest coast; The world's northernmost indigenous group.

Historically, the self-designation "Kalaallit" applied only to West Greenlanders. East and North Greenlanders called themselves only by their self-names, and the dialect of North Greenlanders is closer to the dialects of the Inuit of Canada than to the West and East Greenlandic dialects.

Eskimo cuisine

The Eskimo cuisine consists of products obtained by hunting and gathering; the basis of the diet is meat, walrus, seal, beluga whale, deer, polar bears, musk oxen, poultry, as well as their eggs.

Since farming is impossible in the Arctic climate, Eskimos collect tubers, roots, stems, algae, and berries and either eat them or store them for future use. Eskimos believe that a diet consisting mainly of meat is healthy, makes the body healthy and strong and helps to keep warm.

The Eskimos believe that their cuisine is much healthier than the “white man’s” cuisine.

One example is the consumption of seal blood. After eating the blood and meat of seals, the veins increase in size and darken. The Eskimos believe that the blood of seals strengthens the blood of the eater by replacing depleted nutrients and renewing the blood flow; blood is an essential element of the Eskimo diet.

In addition, the Eskimos believe that a meat diet will insulate you if you constantly eat Eskimo style. One Eskimo, Oleetoa, who ate a mixture of Eskimo and Western food, said that when he compared his strength, heat and energy with that of his cousin, who ate only Eskimo food, he found that his brother was stronger and more resilient. Eskimos in general tend to blame their illnesses on a lack of Eskimo food.

Eskimos choose food products by analyzing three connections: between animals and people, between body, soul and health, between the blood of animals and people; and also in accordance with the chosen diet. Eskimos are very superstitious about food and its preparation and eating. They believe that a healthy human body is obtained by mixing human blood with the blood of prey.

For example, the Eskimos believe that they have entered into an agreement with the seals: the hunter kills the seal only to feed his family, and the seal sacrifices itself in order to become part of the hunter’s body, and if people stop following the ancient agreements and covenants of their ancestors, then the animals will be insulted and will stop reproducing.

The usual way to preserve meat after a hunt is to freeze it. Hunters eat part of the prey right on the spot. A special tradition is associated with fish: fish cannot be cooked within a day's travel from the place of fishing.

The Eskimos are known for the fact that each hunter shares all the catch with everyone in the settlement. This practice was first documented in 1910.

Eating meat, fat or other parts of an animal is preceded by laying out large pieces on a piece of metal, plastic or cardboard on the floor, from where anyone in the family can take a portion. Since Eskimos eat only when they are hungry, family members should not go “to the table,” although it happens that everyone in the settlement is invited to eat: a woman goes out into the street and shouts: “The meat is ready!”

Eating after a hunt differs from a regular meal: when a seal is brought into the house, the hunters gather around it and are the first to receive portions as they are the hungriest and coolest after the hunt. The seal is butchered in a special way, the belly is cut open so that hunters can cut off a piece of the liver or pour blood into a mug. In addition, the fat and brain are mixed and eaten with the meat.

Children and women eat after the hunters. First of all, the intestines and remains of the liver are selected for consumption, and then the ribs, spine and remaining meat are distributed throughout the settlement.

Sharing food was necessary for the survival of the entire settlement; young couples give part of the catch and meat to the elderly, most often their parents. It is believed that by eating together, people become bound by bonds of cooperation.

Traditional Eskimo dwelling

An igloo is a typical Eskimo residence. This type of building is a building that has a dome shape. The diameter of the dwelling is 3-4 meters, and its height is approximately 2 meters. Igloos are usually built from ice blocks or wind-compacted snow blocks. Also, the needle is cut from snowdrifts, which are suitable in density and also in size.

If the snow is deep enough, then an entrance is made in the floor, and a corridor to the entrance is also dug. If the snow is still not deep, the front door is cut into the wall, and a separate corridor built of snow bricks is attached to the front door. It is very important that the entrance door to such a dwelling is below floor level, as this ensures good and proper ventilation of the room and also retains heat inside the igloo.

Lighting comes into the home thanks to snow walls, but sometimes windows are also made. As a rule, they are also constructed from ice or seal intestines. In some Eskimo tribes, entire villages of igloos are common, which are connected to each other by passages.

The inside of the igloo is covered with skins, and sometimes the walls of the igloo are also covered with them. To provide even more lighting, as well as more heat, special devices are used. Due to heating, part of the walls inside the igloo may melt, but the walls themselves do not melt, due to the fact that the snow helps remove excess heat outside. Thanks to this, the temperature in the home is maintained at a comfortable temperature for people to live in. As for moisture, the walls also absorb it, and because of this, the inside of the igloo is dry.
The first non-Eskimo to build an igloo was Villamur Stefanson. This happened in 1914, and he talks about this event in many articles and his own book. The unique strength of this type of housing lies in the use of uniquely shaped slabs. They allow you to fold the hut in the form of a kind of snail, which gradually narrows towards the top. It is also very important to consider the method of installing these improvised bricks, which involves supporting the next slab on the previous brick at three points simultaneously. To make the structure more stable, the finished hut is also watered from the outside.

Where do the Chukchi and Eskimos live is a question often asked by young children who have heard jokes or watched cartoons about polar bears. And it’s not so rare that adults are not ready to answer it with anything other than a general phrase - “in the North.” And many even sincerely believe that these are different names for the same people.

Meanwhile, the Eskimos, like the Chukchi, are a very ancient people, with a unique and interesting culture, a rich epic, a philosophy that is strange for most inhabitants of megacities, and a rather unique way of life.

Who are the Eskimos?

These people have nothing to do with the word “popsicle,” which denotes a popular type of ice cream.

Eskimos are the indigenous people of the North, belonging to the Aleut group. Anthropologists call them the “Arctic race”, Eskimoids or Northern Mongoloids. The language of the Eskimos is unique, it differs from the speech of such peoples as:

• Koryaks;
• kereks;
• Itelmens;
• Alyutorians;
• Chukchi.

However, Eskimo speech has similarities with the Aleut language. It is approximately the same as that of the Russian language with Ukrainian.

The writing and culture of the Eskimos is also original. Unfortunately, in Russia the number of indigenous northern peoples is extremely small. As a rule, everything that is known in the world about the traditions, religion, worldview, writing and language of this ancient people is gleaned from studying the life of the Eskimos in the USA and Canada.

Where do Eskimos live?

If we omit such a variant of the address of this people as the North, then their habitat will turn out to be quite large.

The places where Eskimos live in Russia are:

• Chukotka Autonomous Okrug - 1,529 people, according to the 2010 census;
• Magadan region - 33, according to records from eight years ago.

Unfortunately, the number of this once large people in Russia is steadily declining. And along with this, culture, language, writing and religion disappear, and the epic is forgotten. These are irreparable losses, since the development of the people, the peculiarities of colloquial speech and many other nuances of the Russian Eskimos are radically different from the American ones.

The places where Eskimos live in North America are:

• Alaska - 47,783 people;
• California - 1272;
• Washington State - 1204;
• Nunavut - 24,640;
• Quebec - 10,190;
• Newfoundland and Labrador - 4715;
• Northwest Territories of Canada - 4165.

In addition, Eskimos live in:

• Greenland - about 50,000 people;
• Denmark - 18,563.

These are census figures for 2000 and 2006.

How did the name come about?

If where the Eskimo lives becomes clear when opening the encyclopedia, then the origin of the name of this people is not so simple.

They call themselves Inuit. The word “Eskimo” belongs to the language of the northern Indian tribes of America. It means "one who eats raw." This name supposedly came to Russia at a time when Alaska was part of the empire and the northern ones calmly roamed both continents.

How did they settle?

Children often ask not only where the Eskimo lives, but also where he came from in the North. Not only parents of curious kids, but also scientists do not have an exact answer to such a question.

What is known for certain is that the ancestors of this people came to the territory of Greenland in the 11th-12th centuries AD. And they got there from the north of Canada, where the Thule culture, or the ancient Eskimo culture, existed already in the 10th century AD. This has been confirmed by archaeological research.

How the ancestors of this people ended up on the Russian shores of the Arctic Ocean, that is, where the Eskimo lives in cartoons and children's books, is not known for certain.

What do they live in in winter?

The room where the Eskimos live, the traditional dwelling for this people, is called an “igloo.” These are snow houses made of blocks. The average dimensions of the block are 50X46X13 centimeters. They are laid in a circle. The diameter of the circle can be any. It depends on the specific needs for which the buildings are being built. Not only residential buildings are being built, other buildings are also being erected in the same way, for example, warehouses or something reminiscent of our kindergartens.

The diameter of the room where the Eskimos live, a house for a family, depends on the number of people. On average it is 3.5 meters. The blocks are laid at a slight angle, wrapped in a spiral. The result is a beautiful white structure, most similar to a dome.

The top of the roof always remains open. That is, only one, the last block, does not fit. This is necessary for the free release of smoke. The hearth, of course, is located in the center of the igloo.

In the snowy architecture of the Eskimos there are not only isolated isolated dome houses. Quite often, entire cities are built for wintering, worthy of becoming a filming location for any fantasy film. The peculiarity of such buildings is that all or only a few igloos of different diameters and heights are connected to each other by tunnels, also made of snow blocks. The purpose of such architectural delights is simple - Eskimos can move within the settlement without going outside. And this is important if the air temperature drops below 50 degrees.

What do they live in in the summer?

The structure where an Eskimo lives in the summer is often called a tent. But this is a wrong definition. In the summer, representatives of this northern people live in yarangas similar to those of Chukchi. According to some scientists, the Eskimos borrowed the method of building housing from the Koryaks and Chukchi.

Yaranga is a wooden frame made of strong and long poles, covered with walrus and deer skins. The dimensions of the rooms vary depending on what the yaranga is being built for. For example, shamans have the largest buildings because they need a place to perform rituals. However, they do not live in them, but in small half-dugouts or yarangas built nearby. Not only poles are used for the frame, but also animal bones.

It is generally accepted that the original summer home of the Eskimos was not frame buildings, but half-dugouts, the slopes of which were covered with skins. In fact, such a dugout resembles a cross between a fairy-tale hobbit house and a fox hole. However, whether the Eskimos borrowed the construction of yarangs from other peoples or whether everything happened the other way around remains an unreliably established fact, a mystery, the answer to which may lie in national folklore and epic.

Eskimos not only fish and raise reindeer, they also hunt. Part of the hunting suit is real combat armor, comparable in strength and comfort to the armor of Japanese warriors. This armor is made from walrus ivory. The bone plates are connected by leather cords. The hunter is not at all constrained in his movements, and the weight of the bone armor is practically not felt.

Eskimos don't kiss. Instead, the lovers rub noses. This behavior pattern developed solely due to climatic conditions that were too harsh for kissing.

Despite the complete absence of vegetables and grains in their diet, Eskimos have excellent health and excellent physique.

Albinos and blonds are often born into Eskimo families. This occurs due to close family marriages and is a sign of degeneration, although such people look amazingly beautiful and original.

Dr. Konstantin Bogomolov,
image designer and fashion analyst,
Head of the International Training Center “Bogomolov’ Image School”

The name of this ethnic style comes from the French “esquimau”, which literally means “Eskimo”. But in reality, this fashionable term is quite conditional, since it refers to the motifs of the national clothing of not only the Eskimos of Greenland, Canada, Alaska and Chukotka, but also other peoples inhabiting the northern territories, in particular Scandinavia, Karelia, Siberia and the Far East. This style is often also called arctic or northern (arctic style, nordic style).

History of style

Fashion's interest in northern motifs first appeared in the late 1930s. This was due to the popularization of ski resorts, where, for obvious reasons, elegant urban attire was completely inappropriate. But the public wanted to look stylish on the snowy slopes. High fashion responded to the request and offered its clients an appropriate wardrobe based on functional sportswear and seasoned with northern exoticism.

Typical examples of this resort fashion can be seen in the famous Hollywood musical “Sun Valley Serenade” of 1941. The heroes of the film show us stylish Alaskan jackets, fur sheepskin coats, sheepskin coats with fur trim and ski sweaters with Scandinavian patterns.

But in the 30s and 40s, these things were not yet a fashion trend in the literal sense of the concept. After all, their popularity was limited only to ski resorts, and it was not yet customary to walk around in them on city streets.
Only in the 70s, when commercial fashion actively turned to ethnic motifs of different countries and peoples, style eskimo has become a sustainable fashion trend. Northern motifs took their rightful place in our winter wardrobe and have not left it since then.

Signs of style

Our most famous acquisition from the northern peoples is, perhaps, Alaska jacket or parka(alaska jacket, parka jacket). This is a knee-length jacket with a fur hood, stuffed with synthetic fiber. The word “parka” is borrowed from the Nenets language, it means “animal skin”. The parka was created in the 50s in America for military pilots; its design was based on the traditional clothing of the Arctic Eskimos. For several decades, the parka was purely functional clothing for fishermen, hunters and farmers, but in the 80s, thanks to rappers and breakers, it entered youth fashion.

Anorak– a windproof jacket with a hood and a large kangaroo pocket on the stomach, it does not have a fastener and is worn over the head. Its name comes from the Greenlandic word anoraq , which is the name given to Eskimo clothing made from reindeer or seal skin.

Eskimo hood(eskimo hood) is an ideal headdress for protection from the cold. It is made from the same skin as the parka and sewn onto it. For greater comfort and beauty, it is trimmed with arctic fox, wolverine or dog fur. For Eskimo women, the hood has an additional function - under it they hide children, which they carry on their backs.

Ushanka hat(ushanka hat) - it is generally believed that it comes from the national clothing of the indigenous people of northern Siberia. In the 19th century it became so popular in Russia that it acquired the status of a national Russian headdress. But a similar hat design is also present in the traditional wardrobe of other northern peoples, in particular the Scandinavians. And in America such a hat is usually called alaskan hat .

High boots– fur boots, which are an integral part of the national costume of the Arctic Eskimos. Translated from the Evenki language, the word “unta” means “shoes”. In English they use the names mukluks, eskimo boots or inuit boots (“Inuit” is the self-name of the Eskimos, translated from their language as “people”). Traditional high boots are made from dog or deer fur and decorated with pieces of arctic fox or hare skins.

The popularity of high boots is actively rivaled by their distant relatives ugg boots(uggs or ugg boots) - sheepskin boots. Strictly speaking, Uggs joined the northern style “illegally”, since in fact they are newcomers from the south - from Australia and New Zealand, where they appeared in the wardrobe of farmers around the 19th century. But modern shoe designers very often mix high boots with ugg boots in their designs, thereby mixing the far north with the far south.

Ski sweater(ski sweater) is an undisputed hit in the northern style family. It exists under many different names: lopapeysa or icelandic sweater, lusekofte or Norwegian sweater, Scandinavian sweater or simply Nordic sweater.

The main feature of a northern sweater is its characteristic geometric patterns, in particular octagonal stars, as well as stylized images of deer, snowflakes and northern lights. In all the variety of design options for such a sweater, the most classic is the version with a semicircular ornamented “yoke” (yoke) covering the shoulder girdle - this element was borrowed by the Scandinavians from the national costume of Greenlandic women, which was decorated with a beaded shoulder collar of this shape.

The boom in the production of such sweaters in Scandinavian countries occurred in the post-war 50s, and they immediately turned into an item of national Scandinavian clothing. In Europe and America, the Scandinavian sweater was liked by ski lovers and became an integral part of the winter sports uniform, receiving the name ski sweater. And by the end of the 60s, it penetrated into the wardrobes of metropolitan fashionistas.

Among the borrowings that are relevant today from the peoples of the north, stylized ones are also very popular. ornaments And decor. For example, ornamental images of grazing deer, emerging walruses and swimming fish, as well as geometric patterns reminiscent of Scandinavian and Greenlandic runes. Decorations made from reindeer antlers and walrus tusks, leather inlays, beadwork and embroidery, trim from pieces of fur and colored ribbons.

Modern interpretations

Despite the steady popularity of the listed basic style elements eskimo, modern designers are not limited to just repeating them - they come up with more and more new fashion interpretations of northern motifs, boldly mixing Greenland with Chukotka and Scandinavia with Siberia. The most striking and creative examples can be found in the collections Chanel And Dolce & Gabbana 2010 Oscar de la Renta 2011 Moncler 2013 Alexander McQueen 2014.

Also worthy of attention are the stylish fantasies on the northern theme of Hollywood fashion designer Michelle Clapton, which she embodied in the costumes of the “wildlings beyond the Wall” in the famous series “Game of Thrones” 2011-2014.