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Yup'ik doll


Yup'ik doll (Yup'ik yugaq sg yugak dual yugat pl or yuguaq, irniaruaq, irnianguaq, inuguaq; also, yunguaq in Unaliq-Pastuliq dialect, sugaq, sugaruaq, suguaq in Bristol Bay dialect, cugaq, cugaruaq in Hooper Bay-Chevak dialect, cuucunguar in Nunivak dialect) is a traditional Eskimo style doll and figurine form made in the southwestern Alaska by Yup'ik people. Also known as Cup'ik doll for the Chevak Cup'ik dialect speaking Eskimos of Chevak and Cup'ig doll for the Nunivak Cup'ig dialect speaking Eskimos of Nunivak Island. Typically, Yup'ik dolls are dressed in traditional Eskimo style Yup'ik clothing (as irniaruam atkua "doll parka"), intended to protect the wearer from cold weather, and are often made from traditional materials obtained through food gathering. Play dolls from the Yup'ik area were made of wood, bone, or walrus ivory and measured from one to twelve inches in height or more. Male and female dolls were often distinguished anatomically and can be told apart by the addition of ivory labrets for males and chin tattooing for females. The information about play dolls within Alaska Native cultures is sporadic. As is so often the case in early museum collections, it is difficult to distinguish dolls made for play from those made for ritual. There were always five dolls making up a family: a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, and a baby. Some human figurines were used by shamans.

Both Yup'ik, Siberian Yupik, and Iñupiaq dolls are also known as Eskimo doll in Alaska. It is possible to distinguish Yup'ik human figurines from Iñupiaq examples on the basis of facial features. Yup'ik figurines have a distinct brow line, shaped like two crescents joined at the center by the nose, whereas Iñupiaq figurines lack this brow line and have more pronounced noses and tiny eyes that look as through they had been poked in by the tip of a pencil or pen. The mouth of Yup'ik figurines mirror the crescent shape of the brows, whereas the Inupiaq dolls have small, straight mouths. Overall, the features of the Iñupiaq examples are crudely carved.


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