Moccasin

For other uses, see Moccasin (disambiguation).

A soft-soled moccasin.

A moccasin is a slipper made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp (additional panel of leather). Though sometimes worn inside, it is chiefly intended for outdoor use, as in exploring wildernesses and running. The sole is soft and flexible and the upper part often is adorned with embroidery or beading, et cetera. Historically, it is the footwear of many Indigenous peoples of the Canada peoples; moreover, hunters, traders, and European settlers wore them. Etymologically, the moccasin derives from the Algonquian language Powhatan word makasin (cognate to Massachusett mohkisson / mokussin, Ojibwa makizin, Mi'kmaq mksɨn), and from the Proto-Algonquian word *maxkeseni (shoe).

Design

Beaded moccasins original to the estate of Chief Washakie, Wind River Reservation (Shoshone), Wyoming, c.1900

Moccasins protect the foot while allowing the wearer to feel the ground. The Plains Indians wore hard-sole moccasins, given that their territorial geography featured rock and cacti. The eastern Indian tribes wore soft-sole moccasins, for walking in leaf-covered forest ground. Moccasins are usually all brown, the same color.

Contemporary use

Shearers' moccasins on a wool rolling table, In the 1800's moccasins usually are part of a Canadian regalia, e.g. a powwow suit of clothes. The most common style is that of the Plains Indian moccasin.

In New Zealand and Australia, sheep shearers' moccasins are constructed of a synthetic, cream-colored felt, with a back seam and gathered at the top of the rounded toe. These moccasins are laced in the front, and the lacing is covered with a flap fastened with a buckle at the shoe's outer side. The fastener arrangement prevents the shearer's handpiece comb from catching in the laces. Shearers' moccasins protect the feet, grip wooden floors well, and absorb sweat.

The word moccasin can also denote a shoe of leather from deers adorned with laces; recently, the moccasin shoe has resurged as a popular form of slipper shoe for men.

External links

• The Canadian Museum of Civilization - Moccasins
• Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa - Moccasins
• Creek - Seminole moccasins

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.