Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 09:37:55 +0200
From: Stefano Moretti <stmoretti@tin.it>
To: baidarka@lists.intelenet.net
Subject: Re: baidarka traditional paddles
Message-Id: <19990908082955.ZRBJ11717.fep04-svc@stefano>
wolfgang brinck wrote:
> There was an exhibit of a baidarka from a Finnish
> museum (I believe) on the west coast a few years back
> that included a paddle. I believe someone took
> measurements off that paddle. Does anyone know
> anything about that paddle?
Nothing about this one Wolfgang, but I visited the National museum in
Copenhagen early this spring, where there is a very large section
dedicated to Inuit culture, and two large rooms stuffed with kayaks and
gear (fishing, hunting, suits etc).
As for paddles a great variety hung from one wall, many twisted, shapes
of all kinds, from broomstick to leaf shaped with just a couple that we
would recognize as "greenland style". Yet they all came from Greenland
(an ex Denmark possession).
This made me reflect on how much effort and thought we give to our
paddles, and in the meanwhile reminded me of an old american jazz song
title : "Anything goes".
(just like now, if we consider present shape availability)
The most impressive pieces of gear were instead the fish, birds and seal
harpoons. Extremely well thought, beatifully engraved and encrusted with
bone, and tremendously effective (videos were available).
Very impressed and quite surprised also by one other piece of "gear":
womens' underwear were what we would now recognize as "tanga" (high on
the hips, no sides, very very limited surface in front, close to nothing
in the back...) ecrusted with coloured beads and little fur inserts
(animal fur I mean).
Unfortunately no book was ever published from the Museum with specific
pictures from this arctic section.
Stefano