Keeping Warm

Feather Cloak

A long time ago, Indians lived in hogans, tepees, adobe or stick and wattle houses. They did not live only in the South and West where it is warm most of the year, but they also lived in snow country; that is to say in northern states of the US and in Canada. The leather clothing that we "know" they wore was not heavy and awkward to wear but lightweight and well-made.

In the summertime, the men usually went bare-chested, so it was said, but then so do most modern people all over the world who go to the beaches or play ball games during their picnics in the parks near their homes. When any man does heavy sweaty work out of doors in the summertime, the shirt is the first to go.

There is really little difference between men of today's culture and those of the Indian tribes in this context. Their clothing was different, their religions were different, but the sun beats down on all men equally, whether one is in ancient Asia, medieval Europe or in the Americas on a hot summer day. It is a bit different when the weather changes.

Each person in the world, then acquires a basic means of covering their bodies with clothing and/or blankets which kept them as warm as possible during the cold rains and the snows of winter months. In China, quilted clothing was and still is the king. Quilted cloth could be made with cotton, with feathers, or with silk. Many layers of clothing for the outside and a built-in platform called a kong (stove) which was used for sitting and sleeping indoors. It kept the houses bearable when the chilly winter months came around. Electric blankets are now used by many, but it does not take the place of the central heating unit of the kong, which warmed even the walls. This kept the homes comfortable. Oiled paper windows" let in the light but kept out most of the cold.

Matted felt was prepared on the windy Mongolian plains. At times, it was more effective than leather to keep out the cold and the dampness. Just as the American Indians used leather, felt is used for boots, jackets, even homes. A fire pit and a smoke hole in the center of the yurt (which a Mongolian portable home is called) keeps a family comfortable in winter. Korea built their homes with holes in the stone floors. Fire was built underneath the floor to keep the house warm. The floors were covered with heavy paper and sealed with a thin coating of bean paste. This shiny floor covering was renewed every year and people would never wear shoes indoors. They entered the rooms in their slippered feet. A sleeping quilt for summer was lighter and stiffer than a soft, fluffy feather quilt for winter.

Europe often build several rooms around a central tiled stove or fireplace. the kitchen on one side and the living room on the other. By closing off the rooms with doors, Europeans were snug and warm in their own homes. Goose feather bolsters and quilts made the beds cozy and warm at night even though those rooms were always cold.

In the Americas, it was no different. The homes, whether portable or permanent, were made with adjustable "smoke holes." Leather was tanned and made as warm or as cool as needed for the weather conditions. but according to the historians, even recent ones,the forest Indians wore nothing "above the belt, [because] his skin was so tough, he needed no shirt" until the weather turned "really cold."

The need for blankets and for "shirts" or "jackets" in cold weather is universal in northern climes. Without such covering, the spine would freeze and the lungs would become brittle with ice. Then there would be no summer.

In the forests, wool was not a common commodity; nor on the plains. Yet warm winter clothing was not unknown. The Forest Indians used rabbit-fur for lining their moccasins, their leggings, and their arm "muffs." Leggings were tied to a belt on either side of their loin cloths. The arm "muffs" were tied across the front of the chest and the back with leather thongs. They made a short poncho-type leather covering, also lined with beaver skins for the winter months. The leather cut the wind and the fur lining kept a person warm.Rabbit Fur Blankets

Night time was not a problem either. Warm fur blankets were made from the small animals trapped in winter snares. The rabbit skins were first dried on frames, then when dried, were cut into strips. They were then sewed end to end and twisted into a long furry cord. On a stand-up loom, the strips were used both for the warp and the woof of the weave. The result was a very warm soft winter blanket fit for a king.

Desert people were also in need of warm winter robes. Rabbits were not very common in the desert. Gila monsters, lizards and gophers were the more usual animals on the desert floor. Indian women in this area did something completely different to make warm robes and sleeping blankets. They kept turkeys in a pen in back of or near their homes. When moulting time came around, they gathered the feathers and stripped them down the sides of the shaft. As the feathers were cut off the shaft, they curled around in a tight circle. These tight little rolls of feathers was woven into a robe or a blanket that kept the night time desert cold from adults and children alike.

To be warm and cozy is a universal trait even with people who adapt very well to the inconvenience of cold weather. It is the degree of outside/inside warmth that is individually adjusted. The more internal fats one acquires, the less outside heat is necessary. However, all appreciate a warm blanket or robe during the night or during a cold spell.

Hollings,H. C. and Lucille, The Book of Indians, New York: The Platt & Munk Co., Inc. Publishers.