Nutukas
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Nutukas, finnesko, or simply Sámi boots are traditional
Sámi Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
winter footwear made of
reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...
hide. Because they are soft, the nutukas will not freeze as solidly as thick boot
leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...
, making them relatively easy to put on after overnight exposure to subzero temperatures. From 1890, they are regularly mentioned in accounts of polar travel.


Construction

Nutukas are made from soft hide, traditionally from a reindeer's leg or head, with the fur left on and sewn so that the fur is on the outside of the boot. On the sole, the pieces are assembled with cut in the middle so that the fur goes in different directions to improve traction in snow. The shaft of the boot is laced with a wide strap (called a ''vuoddagat'' in Northern Sámi or a ''skallebånd'' in Norwegian), often highly decorative, that is wound in several rows to keep snow out of the boot. Traditionally, a grass, (such as
sennegrass ''Carex vesicaria'' is an essentially Holarctic species of sedge known as bladder sedge, inflated sedge, and blister sedge. It has been used to insulate footwear in Norway, Sweden and among the Sami people, and for basketry in North America. Des ...
), was used inside the boot to keep the foot dry and warm; now, a felt slipper or
valenki Valenki ( rus, ва́ленки, p=ˈvalʲɪnkʲɪ; sg valenok ( rus, ва́ленок, p=ˈvalʲɪnək)) are traditional Russian winter footwear, essentially felt boots: the name ''valenok'' literally means "made by felting". They are not wa ...
is commonly worn instead. The stiff beaked toe of Sámi boots differentiate nutukas from
mukluk Mukluks or kamik ( ) (singular: , plural: ) are soft boots, traditionally made of reindeer (caribou) skin or sealskin, and worn by Indigenous Arctic peoples, including Inuit, Iñupiat, and Yup'ik. Mukluks may be worn over an inner boot liner a ...
s and other styles of Arctic footwear. Although the shape of the curved-up beak varies regionally, it serves the same purpose of helping to hold firm a traditional binding strap on a pair of
ski Skis are runners, attached to the user's feet, designed to glide over snow. Typically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins c ...
s. This upturned toe helps to keep the boot from sliding back and out of the binding as the ski kicks back.


Terminology

The word "nutukas" is borrowed into English from Finnish, which adapted it from Sámi languages. In various Sámi languages, such boots are called in or ''gállohat''; ; or ''gejhkehke''; (pimat'); ; ; ; and , most of which apparently derive from a Proto-Samic ''*nu(v)ttVkke̮''. ''Finnesko'' is an antiquated word coming from Norwegian. In contemporary Norwegian (both
Bokmål Bokmål () (, ; ) is one of the official written standards for the Norwegian language, alongside Nynorsk. Bokmål is by far the most used written form of Norwegian today, as it is adopted by 85% to 90% of the population in Norway. There is no cou ...
and
Nynorsk Nynorsk (; ) is one of the two official written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language (''Landsmål''), parallel to the Da ...
), nutukas are referred to as ''skaller''. In Swedish, the boots are referred to as ''bällingsko'' or "bell shoes," while in
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
they are called ''пимы'' (pimy). Nutukas are also traditionally used by
Tornedalians Tornedalians (; ; ) are an Ethnicity, ethnic Minority group, minority native to the Torne Valley (Meänmaa) region in northern Sweden and Finland. Tornedalians were officially recognized as a national minority in Sweden in 2000. Tornedalians divi ...
. In
Meänkieli (literally 'our language'), or Tornedalian is a Finnic language or a group of distinct Finnish dialects spoken in the northernmost part of Sweden, particularly along the Torne River Valley. It is officially recognized in Sweden as one of the ...
they are called ''siepakka'' or ''nutukka''.


Variations

The style and form of nutukas varies depending on the cultural area and the wearer. Similar footwear is used by other indigenous peoples of the Eurasian Arctic: * Kisy – traditional shoes of the indigenous peoples of the Far North (
Khanty The Khanty (), also known in older literature as Ostyaks (), are a Ugric Indigenous people, living in Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug, a region historically known as " Yugra" in Russia, together with the Mansi. In the autonomous okrug, the K ...
, Komi,
Mansi Mansi may refer to: * Mansi people, an Indigenous people of Russia ** Mansi language *Mansi (name), given name and surname *Mansi Junction railway station * Mansi Township, Myanmar ** Mansi, Myanmar, a town in the Kachin State of Myanmar (Burma) * ...
,
Nenets The Nenets (; ), in the past also called 'Samoyeds' or 'Yuraks', are a Samoyedic ethnic group native to Arctic Russia, Russian Far North. According to the latest census in 2021, there were 49,646 Nenets in the Russian Federation, most of them l ...
, etc.), sewn from skins from the calf of a reindeer, with a thick sole, knee-high, often with a small heel. * Pimy – national shoes of the
Uralic The Uralic languages ( ), sometimes called the Uralian languages ( ), are spoken predominantly in Europe and North Asia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian. Other languages with speakers abo ...
peoples. It is also common among Starozhily in the Arctic and
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
. They are boots made of the skin from the feet of a reindeer (less often – from the skin from the forehead of a reindeer), which are made with wool outwards. * Unty – boots made of sheep, reindeer or dog skin.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nutukas Sámi clothing Sámi culture Sámi-language terms Norwegian clothing Finnish clothing