Kiowa Dance Dress, Inuit Gut Parka and Huichol Outfits

Native cultures in the Americas rely primarily on materials found in their environment for traditional clothing. The Kiowa dance dress was commissioned for the Museum of International Folk Art by Vanessa Paukeigope Morgan, a Kiowa beadworker, and National Heritage Fellow. This festival dress is a miniature version of what an adult female would wear, indicating the way a young girl is prepared to be a woman in her culture.

The Kiowa people speak a branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Kaigwu, their name in their own language, means "principal people." They originated in Montana and settled in Oklahoma in the 18th century. Men wore tanned leather breechcloths, which had knee length flaps in the front and the back. Their legs were protected with snug fitting skin leggings that covered the tops of their moccasins. Men wore shirts only after traders introduced them. Then they wore hide shirts with long tight sleeves which were painted yellow or green with long, heavy fringes.

Early dress for Kiowa women consisted of wrap around skirts, sometimes decorated with beaded edges and ponchos. At the time of contact they wore long deerskin dresses with fringed bottoms. The dresses could be painted yellow or green and the edges were occasionally decorated with beads. Gartered knee length leggings protected their limbs. The design of the Kiowa dance dress is based on the traditional three skin Plains dress. Two deer skins are sewn together to create the front and the back of the garment and a third piece is used to create a yoke which attaches to the top of the front and back. The dress is made of white deer skin and the beaded edges incorporate celestial design with natural motifs. Interviews with Morgan emphasize the role of the Kiowa women in elevating the status of her husband and family by dressing them well. Morgan grew up around her grandparents who beaded everyday, enabling her to bring continuity into her own family and way of life.

The Polar Eskimo, or Inuit, are the northernmost inhabitants of the world. Because of a mistranslation of the name Eskimo, this northern people prefer to be called Inuit, which means "great and beautiful human beings." Clothing worn by men and women is very similar, with allowances made for carrying babies in women's garb. Almost all of their clothing is outerwear; both sexes strip down to their underwear when inside. During the summer, Inuit people wear a tunic or shirt made of sealskin fur and sealskin trousers, which are tucked into boots. Caribou, which is heavier than sealskin is worn during the winter. In general, fur is worn facing the body during the summer and away from the body during the winter. The harsh arctic environment of the Inuit demands that their apparel be totally efficient. It must be derived from their surroundings, be lightweight yet durable, warm and flexible. Clothing must fit well, yet allow for thermal protection and be easy to slip off and on, especially for hunters.

Gut parkas, or kamleikas, exemplify the ingenuity and resourcefulness of Inuit clothing design. The composition of the intestines of seals, whales, and sea lions make them an ideal material for protective garments. While the animal is alive, the guts transport salt water and dissolve nutrients via capillaries which pierce its walls. When the animal dies its guts are harvested, washed, peeled, scraped, inflated and dried. The intestines turn into translucent strips of waterproof material which "breathe," letting humidity escape from the inside while repelling water from the outside. Seal guts are used to make hats, bags and even windowpanes.

The process of making a kamleika can take an entire month. The strips of intestine can be arranged vertically or horizontally, but they are always assembled using an ingenious waterproof stitch. Sometimes kamleikas are decorated with puffin beaks or feathers. The child's gutskin parka resembles an adult's. Kamleikas are worn over other parkas for protection from water, the sleeves and hooded opening are tied with a drawstring. Inuit sew the bottoms of their kamleikas onto the tops of their kayaks when boating. Kamleikas are also worn during ceremonies which relate to the sea.

The Huichol people, from the Western Central states of Nayarit, Jalisco and Zacatecas, México demonstrate their connection to the earth, animals and all of nature in their clothing. An agrarian people, descended from the Nahua's and related to the Aztecs, the Huichols traditional dress consists of intensely embroidered articles of clothing made from manta, woven cotton. Cross stitch designs describing natural forms and abstract patterns articulate the Huichol cosmology in which all material things represent some aspect of nature. This is illustrated by a story about a woman weaving a belt. Sitting ready to begin weaving, her husband catches a snake and holds it next to her. She passes her hand over it, enabling her to transfer the design to the belt she is about to weave. Belts are seen as relating specifically to serpents. Their designs act as prayers for rain and the results of rain, good crops, health and life.

The embellishment of clothing with embroidered images of snakes, lizards, double headed birds and stylized plants and flowers engenders them with power. A fine costume is believed to aid a singer-shaman in his singing. The status of a Huichol family is elevated by a woman's fine embroidery. Manta is purchased to allow for more time to be spent embroidering. Wool yarn is also purchased but it is respun to make fine embroidery thread. The Huichol man's traditional dress is far more elaborate than the woman's. He wears a rahuarero, a tunic like shirt, with open sides. The cuffs and shoulders are embroidered with repetitive designs based on plant and animal imagery. Drawstring pants called shaveresh are slightly belled and heavily embroidered. A tahuarra, or short cape is worn over the shoulders (sometimes store bought bandanas serve this purpose.) A man's waist is wrapped with woven belts and casihuire, heavily embroidered pouches. He wears a hat called a roparerro which is made out of straw with an embroidered hat band filled with turkey, hawk, or eagle feathers. Huaraches cushion his feet. A woman's traditional dress consists of a gathered skirt, also embroidered, a blouse and a large poncho called a quechquemitl. Children's clothing is a miniature version of the adults' of the same sex. Their clothing is also heavily embellished with embroidery.

Introduction | Chinese Hats | Identity Collage | Extensions | Curricula| Home