Alaska, circa 1900 | Inuit Child's Parka jacket

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This waterproof child's parka is finely stitched with vertical panels of gut. Functionally the parka was a lightweight and extremely effective waterproof garment, admired by Nelson and also purchased in large numbers by Captain Cook for his crew as it was lighter and stronger than English oil-skins. However, the wearing of a gut skin parka also transcended its practical use; it was seen as a powerful garment and was worn for protection against malevolent influences as well as attracting good fortune; it was a symbol of wealth and it was worn by Shaman in rituals. In this animistic culture the new parka would be worn during the mid-winter celebration of the souls of the seals, (as reported by Admiral Lord Nelson) and again at the beginning of the spring seal season. Parkas and rolls of prepared seal gut were also given in annual exchange ceremonies.

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

Shepard Krech III, Victorian Earl in the Arctic: The Travels and Collections of the Fifth Earl of Lonsdale 1888-89, University of Washington, 1989.

For examples in two British Museums see that in The British Museum, London, (acc. no. Am1890,0908.2) and that in the National Musuems of Scotland, Edinburgh (acc. no. A.UC.204).