Headdress (Na-Djak)
date: label: Accession Date
content: 23 Dec 1882
name: label: Collector
content: William J. Fisher
label: Donor Name
content: William J. Fisher
notes: label: Notes
content: From card: ""Worn by men at dances and festivals. The Lesnoi Islanders do not wear any of these articles at present, having adopted our customs and modes.": from old cat. book (L.L.L. 1977). The Lesnoi Island Fisher is referring to is now called Woody Island, just off the coast of Kodiak Is." Illus. Fig. 191, p. 202 in Crowell, Aron, Amy F. Steffian, and Gordon L. Pullar. 2001. Looking both ways: heritage and identity of the Alutiiq people. Fairbanks, Alaska: University of Alaska Press. Identified there: Nacaq - Man's dance cap. This beaded cap was a type "worn by men at dances and festivals," according to William J. Fisher. However, he also noted that such ceremonies had been discontinued at Woody Island and most other parts of Kodiak archipelago by the time this cap was acquired in 1879-82. It is likely that this and several other beaded garments in the Fisher Collection were made at his request and never worn (Crowell 1992). The shape of the cap and the absence of a long tail in back distinguishes the Alutiiq man's style from beaded headdresses worn by women (Hunt 2000). The cap is constructed on a lattice of leather strips and the beads are typical of the late nineteenth century, including "cornaline d'Aleppo" beads with white centers and various tubular and faceted types."
label: Notes
content: Source of the information below: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Native Collections: Sharing Knowledge website, by Aron Crowell, entry on this artifact http://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=155, retrieved 9-6-2012: Headdress, Sugpiaq (Alutiiq), Koniag. nacaq "beaded headdress" - Language: Koniag Sugpiaq (Kodiak Island dialect)
label: Record Last Modified
content: 7 Jul 2021
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Lesnoi Island (Woody Island), Kodiak Islands, Alaska, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Eskimo, Alutiiq (Sugpiaq), Koniag
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 012209
label: USNM Number
content: E72476-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Headdress
physicalDescription: label: Height - Object
content: 25 cm