Gutskin Cape Or Kamleika
date: label: Accession Date
content: 1858
label: Collection Date
content: 1838 to 1842
name: label: Donor Name
content: United States Exploring Expedition
notes: label: Notes
content: FULL LENGTH CAPE OR CLOAK WITH SHOULDER CAPE IN STYLE OF EUROPEAN CAPED GREATCOAT, CONSTRUCTED OF HORIZONTAL STRIPS OF SEA MAMMAL INTESTINES, WITH A BORDER AND HIGH STIFF COLLAR COMPOSED OF DYED SEA MAMMAL ESOPHAGUS, CARIBOU HAIR EMBROIDERY, TRIM OF CORMORANT SKINS, LONG WHITE HAIR, AND YELLOW & RED WOOLEN YARN. HAS ORIGINAL PEALE TAG. (THERE ARE ALSO EARLY EXHIBIT PHOTOS IN NHB SHOWING THIS CAPE). EXHIBITED MAGNIFICENT VOYAGERS, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, 1985-86.
label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "ILLUS.: CROSSROADS OF CONTINENTS CATALOGUE; FIG. 56, P.57." Crossroads of Continents figure caption identifies cape as constructed of sea lion intestine into which have been sewn tufts of red and green wool and strands of hair. Collar, cuffs, and borders are decorated with bands of dyed membrane strip applique couched and embroidered with white caribou hair, and ruffs of cormorant feathers. It is also noted there: "Rainproof gutskin coats were a basic survival item in the wet Aleutian environment. Russian mariners and traders soon discovered the superiority of these lightweight garments and commissioned them from Aleut seamstresses, who altered the style to that of the European greatcoat. When ornamented, these capes were extremely valuable and were used as presentation gifts to visiting captains and dignitaries."
label: Notes
content: See also p. 143 in Adrienne Kaeppler's chapter in Viola, Herman J., and Carolyn Margolis. 1985. Magnificent Voyagers: the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. "One of the most remarkable objects [collected by the expedition] that seems to have been collected "out of place" was an Aleut gut skin garment made in the style of a Russian cloak. The expedition did not travel to the Aleutian Islands but the cape may have been acquired in Eimeo [Mo'orea], Society Islands. On September 25, 1839, at Eimeo, [Charles] Pickering noted that "One of these Natives who came on board this evening had on one of those thin dresses manufactured on the North West Coast, from the internal membrane of some animal." Although a few examples of such capes are known in European museum collections their place of manufacture has not been securely documented."
label: Notes
content: Illus. Fig. 7, a-c, in Reed, Fran, "Embellishments of the Alaska Native Gut Parka" (2008). Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings. Paper 283. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tsaconf/283 . Identified there: "During the Russian-American period (1741-1857) the capital was first located on Kodiak Island, later it was moved to Sitka. The Russians occupied the areas in order to harvest the otter and seal for trade with China. They dominated the Aleut and Alutiiq, demanding they hunt these animals for them. They saw the garments of gut as beautiful and practical and commissioned exquisite examples to be made for the officers. The traditional Aleut gut parka is a long garment with a high stand up collar. The body of the parka had fine yarns, hair, feathers and fabric stitched into the seams. ...The Russians called these parkas 'kamleikas' and that word has been used as a general word for any gut parka. It is much more exact and appropriate to say kamleika only when referring to a caped parka commissioned by the Russians. During the mid to late 19th century native makers merged their material with European fashion, and emulated the caped over-coat style worn by naval officers. This garment, made of sea lion gut, has white seal skin with green and red esophagus glittered with galena. It has cormorant feathers in the trim along with eagle down and human hair in the seams. Hundreds of these cape kamleikas were made for the Russian officers ... . They were prized for their beauty and their waterproof qualities - so much so that the intense harvesting of the sea mammal factored in the demise of great numbers of Alutiiq and Aleut peoples."
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=10, retrieved 5-8-2014: Cape For ceremonies and festivals, Unangan women created beautiful kamleikas [gut parkas, rain gear] from seal, sea lion, whale, and bear intestines, ornamenting them with caribou or mountain goat hair embroidery, feathers, yarn, and thin, colored strips of sea lion esophagus. After contact began with Russian fur merchants and other Western visitors they created new styles of elegant clothing that were based on European designs. The U.S. Exploring Expedition under commander Charles Wilkes collected this fine cape, made in the style of a European greatcoat, in about 1840. It is made of sea mammal intestines, with tufts of hair and red and green wool worked into the seams. The cuffs, collar, and border are decorated with bands of dyed esophagus, caribou hair stitching, and cormorant feathers. From Elders' discussions of the cape in 2003 with Mary N. Bourdukofsky, Vlass Shabolin, Maria Turnpaugh and Daria Dirks (Tanadgusix Foundation) at the National Museum of Natural History and National Museum of the American Indian, 4/07/2003-4/11/2003. Also participating: Aron Crowell and Bill Fitzhugh (NMNH) and Suzi Jones (AMHA). Vlass Shabolin: What a beauty! Mary Bourdukofsky: And trimmed with feather. Mary Bourdukofsky: I think I've seen it in a book I have. These were the ceremonial capes. When they were celebrating, I think they used to wear these kind of capes. Aron Crowell: What is the Unangax^ [Unangan (Aleut)] name for this type of cape? Mary Bourdukofsky: Shaulong^. (Shawl/cape.) [According to Mary Bourdukofsky and Vlass Shabolin, shaulon} [shawl/cape] comes from a Russian word, and this garment is also called an indalux^ [cape].] Daria Dirks: This is a Russian style? Mary Bourdukofsky: Yes, it looks like the style came from Russia. Maria Turnpaugh: The Aleuts didn't have shawls. Mary Bourdukofsky: It's very wide animal intestine.
label: Notes
content: Aron Crowell: What kind of intestine is this? It's so much bigger than the sea lion. Mary Bourdukofsky: Yes, ugruk [Iñupiaq word for bearded seal] maybe. Maria Turnpaugh: Very thin too. I don't really know. Aron Crowell: What about those feathers? Is that cormorant? Mary Bourdukofsky: Cormorant will always be black. This has light brown in it. Maria Turnpaugh: It's different shades of brown. Aron Crowell: And then it has the white feathers too, down of some kind? Mary Bourdukofsky: Yes. Daria Dirks: This has a little bit of green feathers in it [at neck]. Mary Bourdukofsky: It must be mallard feather trimmed. They could have used different kinds of birds. King Eiders and- Daria Dirks: Cormorants, maybe? Aron Crowell: There's some fine white hairs that are worked in to the seams too. Mary Bourdukofsky: They used quite a bit of that. The sewing is just so fine! Maria Turnpaugh: It looks like a woman's cape that I saw in that book. I think somewhere I saw where the royalty or the—
label: Notes
content: Mary Bourdukofsky: Like a queen or a king. Aron Crowell: The chiefs? Mary Bourdukofsky: Chiefs, yes. The chiefs are called tuukg^uu [chief]. [According to Mary Bourdukofsky and Vlass Shabolin, tuuk}uu originally meant “government agent” and later came to mean “head man, chief, leader, boss.” Angnakg^ux^ means “chief, leader, head man.”] Aron Crowell: Did chiefs have any special clothing? Mary Bourdukofsky: Maybe for ceremonial dances. On certain holidays maybe they dressed up in their best regalia, sort of like this. Maria Turnpaugh: Yes, that was before my time. Mary Bourdukofsky: Yes, before our time, that's what I'm thinking about. Aron Crowell: Is it possible that a parka like this would be made for special visitors to the community? Mary Bourdukofsky: I doubt it, unless they were for the priests. Maria Turnpaugh: This could be a priest's cape too, who knows. Aron Crowell: I do know that these were given to some sea captains who visited Aleutian Island communities. Mary Bourdukofsky: They used to like to trade, and it could have been given to a sea captain. Aron Crowell: Could we talk for just a minute about chiefs and the way some families would be more important -both the way things were before the Russians came and then afterwards. Maria Turnpaugh: Well my great-grandfather was the last Aleut chief. He was the main chief of the islands. Each island had their own chief, and if they had any problems, they'd come to him for advice. He's in history books too.
label: Notes
content: On p. 23 of National Institute for the Promotion of Science, W. (1855). A popular catalogue of the extraordinary curiosities in the National Institute, arranged in the building belonging to the Patent Office. Washington: A. Hunter, Peale # 305 is described: "A dress made of the peritoneal coat of the sea lion, and worn by the natives."
label: Notes
content: This object was on display in the National Museum of Natural History exhibit "Objects of Wonder", 2017 - 2024.
label: Notes
content: Compare to the similiar gutskin cape in the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, gift of Seth Barker, 1835, No. E7344.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 19 Dec 2024
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Aleutian Islands, Alaska, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Aleut (Unangax^ ; Unangan; Unangas)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 66A00050
label: USNM Number
content: E2128-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Cape
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 147 cm
label: Width - Object, At Waist
content: ca. 55 cm