Furs and fabrics : transformations, clothing and identity in East Greenland

• Main Author: Buijs, C.C.M.
• Other Authors: Oosten, J.G., Schefold, R., Remie, C.W.H., Buijs C.C.M., Bedaux, R. (Committee member), Nas, P. (Committee member), Sonne, B. (Committee member), Zorgdrager, N. (Committee member), Leiden University
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: CNWS Publications 2004
• Subjects: Clothing: Identity; East Greenland; Arctic; Greenland; greenlander*; greenlandic; inuit
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/56410

Today Arctic clothing is an important research topic. The first European researchers were fascinated by the Greenlander’s sophisticated technology, and they brought clothing, kayaks and hunting equipment back to Europe. Researchers still admire the quality of the techniques used to produce a balanced material culture that was perfectly adapted to the Arctic environment. Fur clothing was much better suited to meet the Arctic challenges than the Europeans’ woolen garments. Nevertheless, Inuit clothing changed rapidly under the influence of European culture. Nowadays, Greenlanders wear baseball caps, military jackets and Nike shoes. Compared to the excellent hand-made fur clothing of the Inuit, European mass-produced fabrics seem to represent a step backwards. Why did the East Greenlanders break with the traditions of their ancestors? Why did they abandon most of their perfectly adapted and beautiful fur clothing, and why did they adopt new styles of dress? This book discusses the social implications of the changes in the clothing of Tunumiit (East Greenlanders)1 in relation to processes of social and cultural change in the East Greenlandic society Dit proefschrift is uitgegeven in de reeksen: CNWS Publications en Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde no. 32 CNWS Publications en Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde no. 32 Asian Studies