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Celebration Parka

Kodiak Eskimos

19th century

skin of cormorant, caribou fur, ermine fur, cloth, caribou hair, sinew, gullet of a sea lion, rabbit fur

length 120 cm, width at the hem 90 cm, width with the sleeves 148 cm, width at the cuff 15 cm

Even simple bird skin parkas are decorated with the color red at the top around the neck; and on the front the necks of cormorants are also used in some places. If there are not enough they sew two on the front and two on the back and without them a parka is unadorned. For dresses made from bird skins, puffin skins are preferred over loons. In wet weather they wear them with the feather side out so that they repel the rain; those made using feathers from the necks of cormorants are always worn with the feathers on the outside.” (Davydov 1812: 12—13).

Ethnography of America