Snow goggles
_and_Caribou_antler_1000-1800_CE_(bottom).jpg)
Snow goggles (Inuktitut: ilgaak or iggaak, syllabics: ᐃᓪᒑᒃ or ᐃᒡᒑᒃ;[1] Central Yupik: nigaugek, nigauget) are a type of eyewear traditionally used by Inuit and the Yupik peoples of the Arctic to prevent snow blindness.[2]
The goggles are traditionally made of driftwood (especially spruce), bone, walrus ivory, caribou antler,[2] or in some cases seashore grass.[3] The workpiece is carved to fit the wearer's face, and one or more narrow horizontal slits are carved through the front.[4] The goggles fit tightly against the face so that the only light entering is through the slits. They achieve this by utilizing an adjustable head strap made out of sinew, leather, or rawhide. Soot is sometimes applied to the inside to help cut down on glare.[2][5][6] The slits are made narrow not only to reduce the amount of light entering but also to improve the visual acuity, as with a pinhole camera.[2][7] Since the goggles sharply restrict the angle of vision, the user risks tripping; wider slits enlarge the field of view.[8][2]
Terminology
[edit source]Like other terms in Inuit languages, such as inukhuk / inuksuk,[9][10] a different word may be used in different dialects. In the Kivalliq dialect, ilgaak (ᐃᓪᒑᒃ) is used, while the North Baffin dialect uses iggaak (ᐃᒡᒑᒃ). Both words are also used to refer to sunglasses.[1]
In the Central Alaskan Yupʼik, snow goggles are called nigaugek, while in Cup'ig they are igguag. In the Central Siberian Yupik language, the word is iyegaatek.[4]
See also
[edit source]References
[edit source]- 1 2 Asuilaak Living Dictionary - snow goggles[dead link]
- 1 2 3 4 5 Inuit Snow Goggles at the Vancouver Maritime Museum
- ↑ "Things Made from Grass".
- 1 2 "St. Lawrence Island Yupik Snow Goggles". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 24 April 2009.
- ↑ "Snow goggles helped Arctic people survive". December 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2019.
- ↑ "Yup'ik Snow Goggles". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021.
- ↑ Kottke, Jason (30 November 2021). "Artic Snow Goggles". kottke.org. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ↑ Kubny, Heiner (14 December 2021). "Snow goggles are not a recent invention". Polar Journal. Polar Journal AG. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ↑ "inuksuk". Asuilaak Living Dictionary. Retrieved 2012-11-22.[dead link]
- ↑ Ohokak, G.; M. Kadlun; B. Harnum. Inuinnaqtun-English Dictionary. Kitikmeot Heritage Society.
External links
[edit source]
Media related to Inuit goggles at Wikimedia Commons
