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In East Greenland the severe climatic conditions make heavy demands on clothing worn there. Clothes have to protect the inhabitants of the region against extreme cold, wind, and damp. For centuries the inhabitants of East Greenland, the Inuit, were only able to use materials provided by their hunting, including animal skins, sinews, and even animal intestines. The Inuit turned these materials into clothing superbly adapted to the polar climate. The Europeans arriving in East Greenland from the end of the nineteenth century on, brought new materials with them. This resulted in modifications to traditional clothing, and even in its partial disappearance. Yet traditional garments have never completely vanished from the scene. In a sense they satisfy climatic demands more effectively than European clothing, and the Inuit also wear traditional clothes as a expression of their cultural identity. The National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden houses a collection of garments worn by the Inuit of East Greenland, the oldest among them dating from the time of the first contacts with outsiders, and including examples dating from right up to the present day. This collection permits us to see clearly how Inuit clothing in East Greenland has changed over time. Both inside the museum, and in the field, research is carried out on the causes and consequences of these changes for Inuit society.
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