Kayak Cockpit Stanchions
date: label: Accession Date
content: 23 Nov 1927
name: label: Collector
content: Dr. Henry B. Collins Jr.
label: Collector
content: Dr. T. Dale Stewart
label: Donor Name
content: Dr. Henry B. Collins Jr.
notes: label: Notes
content: From card: "A, [two pieces] belonged to same kaiak. Wooden plates 17 cm. long x 13.4 cm. wide, with human face carved on outside [one with smiling face and one with frowning face]. These form part of the frame of the kaiak, being attached just below the round central opening."
label: Notes
content: This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027. Only 2 kayak cockpit coaming stanchions (marked E340373A) on loan. E340373B not on loan.
label: Notes
content: Photo and description in Fienup-Riordan, Ann. 2007. Yuungnaqpiallerput, The Way We Genuinely Live: Masterworks of Yup'ik Science and Survival. Seattle: University Of Washington Press, p. 94. Ayaperviik Cockpit Coaming Stanchions. Used to support the paddler's weight when exiting the kayak. Decorated with smiling male and frowning female faces, they also spiritually balance and protect the craft. W. 5 1/4 in., H. 6 3/4 in., D. 1 1/4 in.
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 https://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=693 , retrieved 11-4-2021; see web page for additional information: Kayak cockpit stanchions, Yup'ik. The smiling face of a man and the frowning face of a woman grace these pieces from a kayak frame. A kayak's cockpit was encircled by a wooden hoop which was supported from below by two stanchions, one fastened to the frame on each side of the boat. Stanchions were carved or painted in paired designs-two eyes, breasts, faces, animals, or birds-that acted in spiritual concert to keep the boat in equilibrium. Male and female faces may also have represented the connection between a man and his wife, whose actions on land influenced his success on the water.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 15 Feb 2022
label: Specimen Count
content: 2
place: label: Place
content: Nunivak Island / Cape Etolin, Bering Sea, Alaska, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Eskimo, Yup'ik
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 096521
label: USNM Number
content: E340373A-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Kayak Cockpit Stanchion