tour 2 of 20
Annuraaq: clothing in the Arctic
Clothing from Igloolik
In the Arctic, where temperatures are below
freezing for most of the year, warm clothing is of great
importance. It is vital for hunters who spend many hours outside
fishing or hunting seals, walrus, whales and caribou. Traditional
Inuit skin clothing is well suited to this purpose because it
provides excellent
insulation.
In winter, two
layers of clothes were worn when hunting or travelling. The inner
layer has the fur turned inwards towards the body, while the fur of
the outer layer is turned outwards. Warm air is trapped between the
two layers of clothing and the body, providing excellent insulation
against the cold.
Today
traditional skin clothing remains important to Inuit. Not only are
certain kinds of traditional clothing still preferred over
manufactured garments, but the making and use of clothing plays a
significant role in keeping Inuit cultural values and knowledge
alive. Clothing both sustains and expresses Inuit identity.
The clothing featured in
this section comes from Igloolik, an Inuit community of about 1,300
people in the eastern Canadian Arctic, some 200 miles north of the
Arctic Circle. It is situated in Nunavut ('our
land'), the largest self-governing territory of
Canada.
Other
views: Map. The Inuit
('people') inhabit the shores of the North American
continent around and to the north of the Arctic
circle.