Kayak jacket of sealskin (tuilik)

'I remember my father used to paddle to the shop in the next village with his kayak, and he would bring back things in his kayak, and he would also put things in his sprayshirt, and in his kapitak .... Also in the hood of his kapitak, when the weather was good, and he did not use it to cover his head.' (Aqqaluk Hansen, Qaqortoq 2001)In the past, kayak hunters would wear waterproof sealskin garments over their ordinary clothing. In cold and stormy weather, they used a tuilik or kapitak - a hooded jacket with drawstrings to fasten it to the cockpit and to secure it around the hood and at the wrists. A tuilik is warmer than a sprayshirt, but more importantly, it ensures that the hunter does not get wet when capsizing.This sealskin tuilik was made around 1990, probably in Napasoq. It was made for John Petersen, a member of the Kayak Club in Nuuk and one of the best kayakers in Greenland at that time. In 1996/7 it was bought by fellow club member Ujarak J. Heinrich. They both wore the tuilik in the Eskimo roll competitions in the Kayak Championship.Other Views: Team competition in Eskimo rolls at the Kayak Championship (30 kinds of rolls are distinguished). Nanortalik, July 2001.