SANIGHTAAQ

(St. Lawrence Island Yupik Ceremonial Gut Parka) Made by Josephine Ungott of Gambell, St. Lawrence Island. Mid-20th C. Collected by Kenneth A. and Alice L. Fuller. ASM-II-A-5806.

Winter-processed bearded seal intestine. Overall thread-sewn construction with running stitch on exterior. Adorned with crested auklet feathers, rictal plates (beak parts), and red-dyed leather.

Top right: Josephine Ungott holding a gut parka at Gambell, St. Lawrence Island in 1979. Photo by Robert W. Stevens. Bottom right: Crested auklet (Aethia cristaltella). Loan courtesy of the Pratt Museum, 87-41-2.

Common St. Lawrence Island Yupik Materials

• Usually made of bearded seal or walrus intestine.
• Winter-processed opaque white gut is common for St. Lawrence Island parkas, but summer-processed translucent intestine is used for raincoats. Sometimes both are seen on the same garment.
• Rictal plates (an orange beak part shed from seabirds such as the Crested Auklet).
• Feathers from seabirds, such as the forehead crest or the neck feathers.
• Red leather, gut, or cloth embellishments.
• White, fuzzy unborn seal fur or white polar bear fur trims.

Regional Commonalities

Winter-processed gut parkas are also made on the other side of the Bering Strait on the Chukchi Peninsula. Many St. Lawrence Island people have relatives in that region.

Typical St. Lawrence Island Yupik Construction

• Intestinal strips on men’s parkas are often oriented horizontally with side seams.
• Sewn with a running stitch on lapped seams, often in thick black cotton thread.
• Stitches of many men’s parkas are on the exterior.
• Hood fits as close, gathered oval shape around the face.
• Sleeves may be very wide, might seem short.
• Sleeves constructed separately, and attached at right angles to the torso.
• Sleeve openings have narrow strip of leather or fur trim.
• Bottom hem is usually finished with fur trim.