{{short description|Traditional drinking cup}} {{italic title}} thumb|upright=1.35|A guksi '''''Guksi''''' or '''''guksie'''''<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Roche |first1=Gerald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OiWADwAAQBAJ&q=guksi |title=Indigenous Efflorescence: Beyond Revitalisation in Sapmi and Ainu Mosir |last2=Maruyama |first2=Hiroshi |last3=Kroik |first3=Åsa Virdi |date=2018-12-14 |publisher=ANU Press |isbn=978-1-76046-263-5 |pages=XVIII |language=en}}</ref> (or {{Langx|fi|kuksa}}; {{Langx|sv|kåsa}}) is a type of drinking cup, traditionally duodji crafted by the Sami people of northern Scandinavia and Finland from carved birch burl.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Karlsson |first=Niklas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sYngEAAAQBAJ&dq=birch+burl+guksi+sami&pg=PA88 |title=The Art of Whittling: A Woodcarver's Guide to Making Things by Hand |date=2022-10-11 |publisher=Headline |isbn=978-1-80279-215-7 |pages=88 |language=en}}</ref>
==Manufacture== The burl is contoured to a rough shape, carefully dried to prevent the wood from cracking, then formed in accordance with the local traditions. Birch burl ''kuksas'' last longer than plain birch ''kuksas''. Originally ''guksi'', or ''kuksa'', were widely used in Arctic areas as a personal drinking cup; a well-made ''guksi'' would last a lifetime.<ref>material that a Kuksa is made of: http://finnish-puukko.blogspot.com/2007/02/kuksa-ancient-lapland-drinking-cup.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905053654/http://finnish-puukko.blogspot.com/2007/02/kuksa-ancient-lapland-drinking-cup.html |date=2017-09-05 }}</ref>
==Maintenance== ''Guksi'' was traditionally only rinsed with clean water and dried with a cloth after use. No detergents are used, since many people believe that it will damage a ''guksi''.
==Modern ''guksis''== [[Image:Plastic cup 20050723 001.jpg|thumb|Modern plastic kåsa (or mug)]] Today, a traditional ''guksi'' is difficult to find outside northern Scandinavia, partly because burls are seldom harvested in modern mechanized forestry. With the introduction of glass, ceramic and metal drinkingware, the skill of making such ''duodji'' artwork has become a pastime skill rather than the essential one as it was in the past. It is considered an advanced level whittling project.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gordon |first=Tony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CH0jEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |title=Whittling: A Step-by-Step Guide to Wood Carving and Fun Whittling Projects for Beginners |date=2021-03-15 |publisher=Elite Novelty Printing LLC |pages=109 |language=en}}</ref> Nowadays it is also used for bushcraft. When used this way, it is carved by the person who is going to use it, or it is a gift from a friend.
==See also== *Noggin (cup)
==References== <references />
==External links== *[http://www.jonsbushcraft.com/Kuksa%20tutorial.htm Carving a Classic Kuksa Cup] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwvhGwsE3hs YouTube video: Bushcrafter carving out of a piece of Oak Burl not using any power tools] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQJPoUsJuiM&t=41s YouTube video: How to carve a traditional kuksa]
Category:Drinkware Category:Sámi culture Category:Finnish design