Inuit snow goggles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Inuit goggles are made from caribou antler with caribou sinew for a strap

Snow goggles (Inuktitut; ilgaak or iggaak, syllabics; ᐃᓪᒑᒃ or ᐃᒡᒑᒃ[1]) are a type of eyewear traditionally used by the Inuit people of the Arctic to prevent snow blindness.[2] The goggles are traditionally made of a piece of bone or ivory pierced with slits but new ones may be made with wood.[2]

Like other Inuit language words, such as inukhuk/inuksuk,[3][4] 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]

The goggles fit tightly against the face so that the only light entering is through the slits.[2] Soot was sometimes used on the inside to help cut down on glare.[2][5] The slit is made narrow not only to reduce the amount of light entering but also to improve the visual acuity.[2] The greater the width of the slits the larger the field of view.[2]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Inuit goggles.
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Asuilaak Living Dictionary - snow goggles
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Inuit Snow Goggles at the Vancouver Maritime Museum
  3. ↑ "inuksuk". Asuilaak Living Dictionary. Retrieved 2012-11-22. 
  4. ↑ Ohokak, G.; M. Kadlun, B. Harnum. Inuinnaqtun-English Dictionary. Kitikmeot Heritage Society. 
  5. ↑ Snow goggles helped Arctic people survive
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.