It's great to have Harvey Golden comment in here. I'm not an SOF paddler but I'm certainly an admirer and Harvey's replicas are simply amazing. Most everything I know about native kayaks has been gleaned from the Internet (including Harvey's web pages) so please excuse me if I'm obviously ignorant about these matters. I've wondered whether the bow shaps of the baidarkas were mostly functional or mostly cultural. Certainly, some of the features (such as the obvious handles) were functional. But other bits look more like they were made as cultural icons to identify, say, the builder or the group. Why, for instance, did the Greenlanders apparently never evolve the sometimes bizarre bow shapes featured on baidarkas? These shapes were certainly more difficult to construct than a simple bow shape and one is tempted to say that if they didn't serve a purpose then they would not have gone to all that trouble. But native cultures often build elaborate structures for their own cultural purposes (totem poles, for instance) that are difficult to discern under modern conditions. Is there some definitive information on what these bow features were intended to provide? Interviews, writings, etc.? Or is it mostly speculative? Craig Jungers Royal City, WA On 8/8/07, Harvey Golden <harveydgolden_at_yahoo.com> wrote: > > > Dear Paul, > I've built and paddled replicas of baidarkas with the > three different bow-types you've referred to if that > counts for 'experience with those differences." > While all three are called "baidarkas" they come from > two very different cultures: Aleut and Pacific Yupik. > The two Aleut kayaks are separated by 100 years. All > three kayaks are very different from eachother in form > and even the historical context of their creation and > function. So, that said, each bow-shape likely worked > just fine or it probably would not have been made that > way. I can't comment on one bow form being better > than another for modern use because these are just > minute elements of much larger systems-- and besides, > 'modern use is a tremendous variable, nevermind > factors of personal preference. > All the best, > harvey > http://www.traditionalkayaks.com/Kayakreplicas/KayakReplicas.html *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Aug 09 2007 - 08:14:15 PDT
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