Tuesday 22 January 2013

baby it's (still) cold outside


Tomorrow morning, Alice and I have a date with -38F (with the wind factor)...a 10 minutes walk to her daycare!

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The amauti is the parka worn by Inuit women of the eastern Canadian arctic. Up until about two years of age, the child nestles against the mother's back in the amaut, the built-in baby pouch just below the hood. The pouch is large and comfortable for the baby. The mother can bring the child from back to front for breastfeeding. This traditional eastern Arctic Inuit parka designed to keep the child warm and safe from wind and cold, also helps to develop bonding between mother and child. (thank you wikipedia) 


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I find traditional dress so fascinating for exactly this reason - over time they've been perfected to work so beautifully with the environment. And brrrrr.

peanut said...

As far as I know amouti are used all across the arctic but the style varies a bit. It keeps both mum and babe toasty warm. My family to moved to the central artic when my youngest sister was about 1 and my mum carried her in an amouti for almost two year (she was tiny). My mum's amouti was similar to the one in your picture but not as long. The eastern arctic style usually has a skirt that is cut high on the sides and long in the front and back (longer in the back). Even in Yellowknife we sometimes see women wearing amouti with a little face peaking over their shoulder (I've been thinking of asking to borrow my mum's).