334 



us, came above the hips, with the thick, stiff skin it would 

 seriously interfere with the suppleness and bending the joint 

 between the thigh and the hip-joint. The position in the kayak 

 with the legs stretched out in front, the lateral position on the 

 sledge, the sitting positions on the platform in the house, the 



bent attitude on cutting up the 

 booty — all cases require the 

 clothing to respect the natural 

 jointing of the body, which is 

 at the hips and not in the middle- 

 line. The warm bearskins are 

 quite indispensable for trousers 

 in the cold climate ; the only 

 kind of skin in polar regions, 

 which is just as warm, is that 

 of the musk-ox, which the Po- 

 lar Eskimos have also occasion- 

 ally used for trousers. But this 

 skin has practical disadvantages; 

 thus, where dirt, blubber and 

 blood can readily slip off from 

 the hairy covering of the bear- 

 skin , the musk-ox has such a 

 woolly covering , the hair is so 

 dense, that the dirt rather gets 

 glued on to it and sticks fast. 

 Practical arrangement also 

 characterises their other clothing. But it cannot be said that 

 the clothing for the feet and legs, which the women have, is 

 very practical or suited to movement. As their trousers do 

 not come far down over the thighs, the kamikker and stockings 

 must come far enough up to do so. For this reason the 

 women wear stout and long kamikker, which come far up 

 above the knee and make it appear as if they had the legs of 



Fig. 24. 



A boy with kamikker and bearskin trousers; 



he is holding up his arms , so as to show 



how the trousers are supported 



