 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Aleutian kayak" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Thebaidarka orAleutian kayak (Aleut:iqyax̂) is a watercraft consisting of soft skin (artificial or natural) over a flexible space frame. Without primarily vertical flex, it is not aniqyax.[citation needed] Its initial design was created by theAleut people (Unangan/Unangas), theIndigenous people of theAleutian Islands.[citation needed]
Aleut are surrounded by treacherous waters and have required water transportation and hunting vessels. Due to the geography and climate of the Aleutian Islands, trees and wood were in scarce supply, and the people historically relied primarily on driftwood to create the framework of theirkayaks, which they covered in sea mammals skins. They developed two types of boats: a hunting kayak with a covered deck, and an open vessel for transportation and capable of carrying goods.[citation needed]
The wordbidarka orbaidarka is theRussian name used for Aleutian stylesea kayak.[1] The word was coined by earlyRussian settlers inAlaska, who created it by adding thediminutive suffix "-ka" to the name of another, larger boat that the Aleuts called theumiak and Russians called "baidara".[citation needed]
Before the arrival of theRussians, the one-hole baidarkas (kayaks) were found in abundance, along with some two-hole boats. The Russians later came to hunt fur-bearing animals, and the Russian influence on the design of the kayaks was significant, resulting in three-hole kayaks. These were probably configured with the stern man paddling and guiding the craft, while the bow man was responsible for using theatlatl (throwing board) in the hunt, with the hunt boss in the middle directing the hunt.
Some characteristics of these early kayaks are described in the words of Ivan Veniaminov (Innocent of Alaska) writing from the island of Atka in 1840:
"...The baidarki of the present-day Aleuts are no longer as perfect as those of the former Aleut riders. At that time, in the hands of excellent riders, they were so speedy that birds could not outrun them. They were so narrow and sharp-keeled that they could not stand upright in the water without a rider, and so light that a seven-year-old child could easily carry them."
A prominent feature of a baidarka is its forkedbow (bifurcated bow). Very lightweight and maneuverable, it was made out ofseal skin sewed only by Aleut women, over a frame made strictly ofdrift wood (since no trees grow in theAleutian Islands), bone, and sinew. It was treated as a living being by Aleut men, and it was taboo for women to handle them once completed.
The men designed the baidarka frames to be light, fast, and flexible, tying together the wooden parts with intricate and spiritual knots braided from tough animal sinew. Unungan women prepared sea lion skins which they sewed onto the frames with bone needles, using a waterproof stitch. While out at sea, men carried with them emergency repair kits. For the Unungan, the sea kayaks lived as spiritual beings and were essential for their survival.
From early ages, Unungan boys were trained in the use of baidarka.Drawings of the Iqyax - Baidarka are available here.
In modern times,George Dyson is often credited with the revival of the baidarka, through his company Dyson, Baidarka & Company. Dyson and his boats were the subject ofKenneth Brower's bookThe Starship and the Canoe,[2] and Dyson himself wrote the bookBaidarka in 1986.[3] Dyson's Baidarkas are made from modern materials such as aluminium for the frame and coated polyester fabric for the skin.
Another well known baidarka revivalist is ethnographer David Zimmerly, who has documented the history of baidarka and the people who used them. In 1983 Zimmerly published two articles in "Small Boat Journal" that showed how to build a baidarka.[4][5]
Modern baidarkas are fast collapsible rowing boats, based onaluminum alloy frame with skin made ofPVC fabric. Often the inflatable buoyancy chambers are embedded into the skin, resulting in increased safety and performance. Some designs additionally support the installation of sail rigging, rudder and fin keel.
Iqyax builders who kept the tradition of building skin-on-skeleton boats alive in the 20th century includeSergie Sovoroff.
Media related toBaidarkas at Wikimedia Commons
