tour 5 of 8
Kayak clothing from Greenland
Pair of sealskin mittens (aaqqatit) with two thumbs
'These mittens are very handy, they are
great for rolling - those rolls where you have to come up using
only your hand. Because they are so big, it is much easier to come
up again.' (Member of the Kayak Club Nuuk,
2001)
Traditional kayak
mittens (aaqqatit)
usually have two thumbs, one on each side. In this way, the mitten
can be turned around when one side has become too slippery from
water or ice.
Seal skin for
kayak mittens was often prepared in a special way. The hair was not
plucked out, as for other articles of kayak clothing, but shaved
off, so the skin did not become too slippery. Furthermore, the
inner side of the skin was treated with seal blood, rendering it
more waterproof and more
supple.
This pair of kayak
mittens belonged to Jenseeraq Amondsen, a member of the Kayak Club
Nuuk. He had bought them in Nuuk in about 1994 from an elderly
lady. She had made them in the same way as she used to make them
for her husband, who had been a kayak hunter. At that time, hunters
used either wood shavings or inner mittens of cotton for
insulation. Today, as this practice is barely remembered, the
mittens appear to be quite
large.
Other
Views: Jenseeraq Amondsen from Nuuk,
ready for the rolling competition. He is wearing a sealskin tuilik
and sealskin mittens with two thumbs. Nanortalik, July
2001.