МАЭ № 536-8

Model of an open boat—umiak

Kodiak Eskimos

prior to 1805

Russian circumnavigations and half round-the-world sea expeditions

wood, leather, paint, hair, sinew, baleen

length 96 cm, width 21 cm, height of the end 13.5 cm, height of the nose 17.5 cm

“Large umiaks are rarely used by the islanders and usually only for transporting dried fish or something similar from place to place. They row them with single-bladed short paddles with the rowers sitting facing the nose of the umiak, two in a row. . . The hull of an umiak consists of narrow delicate frame pieces laid lengthwise along the keel and joined together by several fine rib bands. The Russians and Americans do not use iron in constructing these boats, but fasten them together using narrow cleaned strips of baleen. When the wooden frame of the umiak is finished, they stretch over it a sewn-to-measure skin which serves as a sheathing. As I mentioned before, the very best material for this purpose, is the skin of the sea lion which has been processed and smoked in advance. Sometimes the Koniags make sails for these umiaks from matting or from very thin skins” (Davydov 1812: 144-145).

Ethnography of America