_Of the Garments of the_ Laplanders.
Among the _Laplanders_ the men and women wear different kinds of
Garments, which they alter according to the Weather, and place: for
they wear one sort of clothes in the Winter, and another sort in the
Summer, one kind at home, and another abroad. Let us first consider
the Garments of the men: These in the Summer have trouses, or brougs,
reaching down to their feet, close to their body, upon which they wear
a gown, or rather a coat with sleeves, which comes down to the middle
leg, which they tie fast with a girdle. And in this respect it was that
_Zieglerus_ in his time wrote, that they used close Garments fitted to
their body, least they should hinder their work. He calls them close
because of their trouses, and fitted to their body because of their
being girded. These they wear next their bare skin, without such linnen
shirts as the _Europeans_ use, they having no flax in their Country.
These Garments are of course home-spun woollen cloth called _Waldmar_,
of a white or gray color, such as the wool is of before it is dyed.
The wool they have from _Swedland_, and buy it of the Merchants called
_Birkarli_, but the richer sort wear a finer cloth, and not of the
same color, but sometimes green or blew, and sometimes red, only
black they abominate. Tho sometimes in dirty works, and at home they
wear the meanest clothes, yet abroad, and especially upon Festivals
and Holydaies, they love to go very neat. Their girdles are made of
leather, which the richer sort adorn with silver studs, and poorer with
tin. These studs stick out like buttons in a semicircular figure. At
this girdle they hang a knife and sheath, and a kind of square bag, tho
something longer then broad, also a leathern purse, and then a case
with needles and thred in it. Their knives they have from _Norway_, the
sheath is of the skin of the Rain-deers, sewed together with tin wire,
and in other parts with the same adornments, at the end of which they
use to hang rings: the bag is also made of the skin of the Raindeers,
with the hair on it, on the outside of which they also place another
skin, equall to the bag, and make it fast by three knots, and this
skin they cover again with red cloth or of some other color, adorned
also with wire. In this bag they keep a stone to strike fire, not of
flint, but christall, as I will shew hereafter. Also a steel, with some
brimestone to light a fire where ever they come: as also Tobacco and
other odd things. The leathern purse is also made of the same skin in
an oval figure like a pear, in which they keep their mony, and other
more choice things, and at this also they hang rings. Their needle case
is of a peculiar sort, they have a single cloth with four sides, but
the upper part is much narrower then the lower, so that it is like an
oblong triangle cut off at the vertical angle, and to make it stronger
they bind about the edges with leather, and so stick their needles
into it, this they put into a bag of the same shape, adorned with red,
or some other colored cloth, and wire, drawn together by a leathern
string, by which they hang it to their girdle. Besides these, they have
Alchymy chains, with a great company of rings of the same, these they
hang about all their body, the bag they hang before, nigh their navel,
all the rest they fling behind them. And these are the Garments and
ornaments of the body: their head they cover with a cap, over which the
richer sort wear a case of Fox, Beaver, or Badgers skin, they are very
like our night-caps, it is made of red or other colored cloth, or of
the Hares fur, first twisted into a thred, and then knit almost like
our stockins; or lastly of the skin of the bird called _Loom_, with the
feathers on it: sometimes they so order it, that keeping also the head
and wings of the bird, they make not an unbecoming cover for the head.
_Olaus Magnus_ in his 4. Book, Cap. 3. saies they make their caps of
the skins of Geese, Ducks, Cocks, which, as well as other birds, are
there in great abundance. But he doth not here mean common Cocks, but
the _Urogalli_, or Heath-Cocks; however he gives us the picture in his
17 Book, Cap. 26. They have ordinary gloves, but shoes of a peculiar
make, they are made of the skin of the Rain-deer with the hair on, out
of one piece, only where they tread they sew both ends together, so
that the haires of one part may lie forward, and the other backward,
least if they lay all one way they should be too slippery: but neither
is there any more leather on the bottom then on other parts, as it is
in our shoes, only there is a hole at the top in which they put in
their feet: the toe bends upwards, and ends as it were in a point. Upon
the seame they place some narrow pieces of red, or other colored cloth:
these shoes they wear on their bare feet, and bind them twice or thrice
about the bottom with a thong, and least they should be too loose, they
fill them up with a sort of long Hay, which they boil and keep for that
purpose.
But now let us come to the garments they do not so ordinarily wear,
but only on some occasions, which both for the men and women are made
alike, and all of leather, to secure them from the gnats. But in the
Winter time the men have breeches to defend them from the weather,
and coats which they call _Mudd_. These _Mudd_ are not all alike,
but some better, some worse; the best are of the skins of young wild
Rain-deers, just when they have cast their first coat, in the place of
which comes a black one, which is about the Feast of S^t _James_, and
these are very soft and delicate. Their feet they defend with boots of
the same skins, and their hands with gloves or mittens of the same, and
their heads with a cap, which reaches down and covers part of their
shoulders also, leaving only a space for them to see through. All these
Garments they wear next their skin without any linnen underneath, and
tie them round with a girdle, only their boots and gloves they stuff
with hay, and sometimes in the Winter with wool. And this is that which
_Johannes Tornæus_ saies of their cloathing, that their garment is made
of the Rain-deer, the skin of the beast supplying them with coats,
breeches, gloves, sandals, shoes, &c. the hair being alwaies on the
outside, so that they seem to be all hairy. And hence we may understand
_Zieglerus_, when he saies their Winter garments were made of the skins
of Bears and Sea-Calves, which they tied in a knot at the top of their
heads, leaving nothing to be seen but their eyes, so that they seemed
to be in a sack, only that it was made according to the shape of their
members; and hence, saies he, I beleive they came to be supposed all
hairy like beasts, some reporting this out of ignorance, and some
delighting to tell of strange wonders they saw abroad. And truly it is
not without reason that he gathers the fable of hairy men to be raised
from their hairy Garments, which sort of monsters whether there be in
other Countries I cannot tell, but I find the _Cyclops_’s with one eye
in their forehead by _Adamus Bremensis_ to be placed here upon the same
account, because they had only a hole in their cap through which they
looked, all the rest of their body seeming hairy, and therefore this
hole they feigned to be an eye. But whereas he saies the skins were of
Bears and Sea-Calves, he is a little mistaken, for these skins were not
so common among the _Laplanders_, and are by them designed quite for
another use. However these Garments they used after their fashion to
adorn with pieces of red, or other colored cloth, and embroider them
with wire, in flowers, stars, &c. as I will hereafter declare more at
large.
But I come to the habit of the women, which also was of one sort in the
Summer, and of another in the Winter. In the Summer they wear coats
which cover their breasts, arms, and all their body, about the middle
they are gathered, and so hang down, these they call _Volpi_. These
gowns they also wear next their skin, for the use of smocks is no more
known among women then the use of shirts among men: and they horribly
imposed upon _Lomenius Comes_, that made him beleive otherwise.
_Lomenius_ saies thus, they have smocks, not made of linnen, but of the
entrails of beasts, which they first spin into thread, and afterwards
wear them: but all this is quite false. The entrals indeed they do spin
into thred, but of that they make neither cloth nor smocks, but use it
to sew their skins; but women of the common sort wear course cloth,
and the better sort finer, as it is with the men, which for the most
part is English cloth, richly wrought. They have also a girdle, but
different from that of the men, for it is much larger, and sometimes
three fingers broad, and then also it is adorned not with studs, but
plates of a fingers length, or more, which are engraved with divers
shapes of Birds, Flowers, &c. and these they fasten upon a leathern
fillet so nigh one another, that the girdle is almost covered with
them. These plates are most commonly made of tin, from whence _Sam.
Rheen_ calls them tin girdles, but those for the better sort are made
of silver. Upon these girdles they hang many Alchymy chains, upon
one of which they hang a knife and sheath, upon another a pouch or
purse, upon another a needle case, and upon all a great company of
Alchymy rings, according to the fashion of the men: These things they
do not hang by their sides, as women among us use, but before them.
The weight of the trinkets they carry about them, doth commonly weigh
twenty pound, a pretty heavy burden, and such as a man would wonder
they should be able to bear: but they are very much delighted with it,
especially with the number of the rings, the gingling of which is very
gratefull to their ear, and as they think no small commendation to
their beauty. _Wexionius_ makes the chains and rings to be tin, which I
beleive is hardly true, commonly I am sure they were made of Alchymy,
and if they had bin of tin they had neither bin durable, nor would they
have made a noise. They have also another ornament for their breast,
which they call _Kracha_, it is made of red, or some other colored
cloth. And first it goes about their neck, and then on both sides
comes down upon their breast, and a little below their breast ends
in a narrow point. This cloth, especially before, and sometimes about
the neck, they adorn with studs, engraved with divers forms, as also
with bracelets, which the richer have of silver and gold, the poorer
of tin and Alchymy. After this manner, in short as he uses, _Johannes
Tornæus_ describes them, the women do so deck themselves with gold and
silver that their breasts shine like sheilds, but those that cannot
reach silver, use copper and Alchymy. Now these studs they use to have
not only about their neck, but upon their gowns where they draw them
together, and lace them; and not only in single but double and triple
rows. They cover their heads with a low kind of kercheif, plain at
top, round, and of red color, some of the richer sort on extraordinary
times add also a strip of linnen for ornament, as at their Fairs,
Weddings, and Feasts. Upon their legs they wear stockins, which reach
no lower then their ankles, but that only in the Summer. Their shoes
are like the mens, and so also bound to their feet with thongs. The
womens habit in the Winter is almost the same with the mens, for they
have the _Muddas_ made of the skins of Rain-deers, and at that time
wear breeches too, by reason of the deep Snows, storms, and badness of
the waies: nay and cover their head with the same caps men do, which
sort of caps they wear also sometimes in the Summer to defend them
from the gnats: these caps they tie about their heads, and the lower
part, which would otherwise fall about their shoulders, they make to
stand out like the brims of our hats. And these are the garments as
well of Virgins as married women, for both use the same attire, neither
is there any sign in their habit whereby to distinguish them. Besides
these garments wherewith they clothe themselves in the day, they have
also other which they use a nights, such as are called night-cloathes,
for they have no feather beds: and without all doubt _Olaus Magnus_ is
mistaken who in his 4 Book saies they had. Their night garments were of
2 sorts, such as they lay upon, or such as they did cover themselves
with, which also differ according to the Summer and Winter Seasons.
Those they lie upon are Rain-deers skins, 2 or 3 of which they fling
upon some birch leaves, which they use instead of matts, without beds,
upon the ground, that they may lie softer, so that they lie upon the
skins without sheets, of the use of which they are quite ignorant. They
cover themselves in the Summer with blankets, which they call _raaner_
or _ryer_, and with these blankets they cover not only their whole
body, but also their heads too, to avoid the gnats, with which they are
extremly infested in the night time. But that they may breath with more
freedom, and not be inconvenienced with the weight of these blankets,
they sometimes hang them up over their head with ropes fastned to the
top of their Hut. These are their Summer coverlets: but in the Winter
they first throw about them the skins of Sheep or Rain-deer, and on
them the blankets now mentioned. And there is one thing more worth
our notice, that they lie under these both Winter and Summer stark
naked, and make no use of linnen. And so much for the Garments of the
_Laplanders_. I shall add the Figures of both Sexes habited after their
manner. The woman hath a child in her arms, in a Laplandish Cradle.
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