Introduction-E

didn’t sew it right the heel wouldn’t be in the right area, so they had to be really careful.
I asked Elisapee if she would do all the skin preparation before making kamiik. She told
me that her mother would do all that, but once they got used to it she would do the skin
preparation. I asked Elisapee how long it took her to make kamiik. She said that her
mother would want the sole to be done the next day when the sole was still wet, so it
wouldn’t have to be re-worked. The best way to do it was when the edge was still wet.
I also asked Saullu how long it took her to make kamiik. It took her a day to finish a pair.
I asked Elisapee who she would make kamiik for when she first started. She said for her
younger sister or for herself. I also asked Elisapee how long the kamiik would be worn.
They would be worn for a while. If the sole was starting to get thinner, they would put
another sole on top of the old one.
I asked Saullu if the kamiik were different in each of the settlements. She said they
were, and it showed in the measuring of the material, the style of the kamiik and how
they were sewn. She also mentioned that in the old days they would scrape just the edge
of the flap, but today they scrape all the edges. In Material Culture of the Iglulik Eskimos
(Mathiassen 1928: 179, figures 134 and 135) as well as in a book about traditions of Inuit
clothing (Issenman and Rankin 1988: 80, figure 25), there are several pictures of
women’s boots with a pocket used by women, in which to put small objects such as an
ulu and needles. When one of the students asked about this kind of kamiik, the elders
didn’t know about it.
In conclusion, I learned a lot about sewing. I really enjoyed interviewing the elders
and I have obtained a lot of information. In those days, their first priority was sewing
and I wish I could experience that, but right now education and working are more
important.
References
Interviews with elders: Pauloosie Angmarlik, Saullu Nakasuk, Elisapee Ootoova and
Hervé Paniaq.
Issenman B. and Rankin C.
1988 Ivalu. Traditions of Inuit Clothing, Montreal: Meridian Press.
Mathiassen, T.
1928 Material Culture of the Iglulik Eskimos. Report of the Fifth Thule Expedition 1921-24.
Vol. VI (1). Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
Essays – Introduction to sewing 145