Women

Woman's coat: amaat
In former times, the Inuit woman wore an amaat, a coat made of seal leather or fur, with an extra-broad back panel, and an enlarged hood in which a baby could be carried. A long cord was fixed to the front of the amaat, and this was drawn tight under the baby, round to the front again, before being fastened. This served to keep the child safely in place.

RMV 2085-3

The amaat derives its name from the verb 'to carry' in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit. An amaat is both a woman's coat, a baby sling, and a cradle, all at the same time. Just as often occurs among the Inuit, several functions are united in one object. The amaat not only kept the mother warm but - more important still - the baby as well.

The amaat was a symbol of fertility, and was worn by women with young children. A child was carried in the amaat until it was one or even two years old. If a subsequent baby was born before the first was two years old, the older brother or sister simply had to give up its place inside the amaat. Women without children wore a coat very similar to the man's anorak, including a tight hood with a small point. ^[20]

The amaat often had a little tail at the front and back, somewhat longer than the one found on the man's coat. The amaat is also made from two layers of fur or leather, the inner amaat with the fur inside, ^[21] and the outer amaat with the fur outside. Sometimes the outer amaat consists of softened, tanned seal skin. Just like the anorak, the man's amaat was decorated with strips of white leather along the seams.

The inside of the front panel was often constructed in such a way that the fur hairs pointed upwards, rather than downwards as they usually did. This prevented the amaat from riding up the mother's body with the weight of the child carried in the hood. Inside the hood, and in the wide back panel, the nap of the fur was directed downwards so that it was softer and more comfortable for the child, and did not irritate its skin.

In winter an outer amaat was worn over the inner amaat, and there were sometimes two layers of fur, which permitted an insulating layer of air between. Without a front fastening to the garment, the warm air could not escape. There was circulation of air on the mother's back, between her shoulder blades and working upwards, so that she was able to regulate it via the hood. If she, or the child, was too warm, the mother would throw back the hood, allowing the child to look out over her shoulder. An advantage of the wide hood was not only that it gave space for the child's head inside, allowing it to look out at the world. The wide hood also allowed sufficient fresh air to reach the baby when it was sitting deeper down in the amaat, on its mother's back.

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