{{Short description|Traditional fur boot of the Sámi people}} [[File:Sami boots - Arctic Museum.jpg|thumb|right|Nutukas on display at the Arktikum Science Museum in Rovaniemi, Finland.]] thumb|A Sámi finnesko, along with a snowshoe, used in Fridtjof Nansen's Greenland expedition of 1890.
'''Nutukas''' (Finnish; {{langx|smj|nuvtaga}}, {{langx|se|nuvttagat}}, {{langx|sma|novteagajat}}), '''finnesko''' (Norwegian for "Sámi shoe"), or simply '''Sámi boots''', are traditional Sámi beaked shoes made of reindeer hide. Because they are soft, the nutukas will not freeze as solidly as thick boot leather, making them relatively easy to put on after overnight exposure to subzero temperatures.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hince|first1=Bernadette|title=The Antarctic Dictionary: A Complete Guide to Antarctic English|date=2000|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|isbn=0-9577471-1X}}</ref> From 1890, they are regularly mentioned in accounts of polar travel.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shackleton|first1=Ernest|title=South: A Memoir of the Endurance Voyage|date=1998|publisher=Robinson|isbn=1841190349}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Scott|first1=Captain Robert F.|title=The Voyage of the 'Discovery'|date=1905|publisher=Macmillan and Co.|location=London|page=244}}</ref>
==Construction== Nutukas are made from soft hide, traditionally from a reindeer's leg or head, with the fur left on and sewn so that the fur is on the outside of the boot.<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--no byline Thornews editorial staff -->|title=Traditional Sami Reindeer Fur Boots: Skaller|url=https://thornews.com/2013/08/25/traditional-sami-reindeer-fur-boots-skaller/|website=ThorNews.com|accessdate=13 November 2016|date=August 25, 2013|url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161113050706/https://thornews.com/2013/08/25/traditional-sami-reindeer-fur-boots-skaller/|archivedate=13 November 2016}}</ref> On the sole, the pieces are assembled with cut in the middle so that the fur goes in different directions to improve traction in snow. <ref name="Limited1994">{{cite book|title=All About Shoes: Footwear Through the Ages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ndWbWEFt8rYC&pg=PP15|accessdate=28 April 2020|date=1 January 1994|publisher=Bata Limited|location=Zlín, Czechia|isbn=978-0-9692076-1-0|page=15}}</ref> The shaft of the boot is laced with a wide strap (called a ''vuoddagat'' in Northern Sámi or a ''skallebånd'' in Norwegian), often highly decorative, that is wound in several rows to keep snow out of the boot. Traditionally, a grass, (such as sennegrass),<ref name="nouer">{{Cite journal|year=1994|title=Bruk av land og vann i Finnmark i historisk perspektiv |language=no|trans-title=The use of land and water in Finnmark in historical perspective|journal=Norges Offentlige Utredninger|volume=1994|issue=21|publisher=Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security|url=http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/jd/dok/nouer/1994/nou-1994-21/16/5/11.html?id=455576|access-date=29 April 2020}}</ref> was used inside the boot to keep the foot dry and warm; now, a felt slipper or valenki is commonly worn instead.
The stiff beaked toe of Sámi boots differentiate nutukas from mukluks and other styles of Arctic footwear.<ref name="ArtSumberg2010">{{cite book|last=Sumberg|first=Bobbie |title=Textiles: Collection of the Museum of International Folk Art|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F9FYlRfSMj0C|accessdate=29 April 2020|year=2010|publisher=International Museum of Folk Art|location=Santa Fe, New Mexico|isbn=978-1-4236-0650-5|page=159}}</ref> Although the shape of the curved-up beak varies regionally, it serves the same purpose of helping to hold firm a traditional binding strap on a pair of skis.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Inuit and Arctic Footwear|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion|date=28 April 2020|publisher=encyclopedia.com|last=Oakes|first=Jill|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/fashion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/inuit-and-arctic-footwear|access-date=29 April 2020}}</ref> This upturned toe helps to keep the boot from sliding back and out of the binding as the ski kicks back.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of Ski Boots|last=Masia|first=Seth|publisher=International Skiing History Association|location=Manchester Center, Vermont|url=https://www.skiinghistory.org/history/history-ski-boots|access-date=29 April 2020}}</ref>
==Terminology== The word "nutukas" is borrowed into English from Finnish, which adapted it from Sámi languages. In various Sámi languages, such boots are called in {{langx|se|nuvttot}} or ''gállohat''; {{langx|smj|nuvtaga}}; {{langx|sma|novhtehke}} or ''gejhkehke''; {{langx|sjd|пиматҍ}} (pimat'); {{langx|sms|nu'trneǩ}}; {{langx|smn|njuuppâh}}; {{langx|sje|guobok}}; and {{langx|sju|nuuhtahka}}, most of which apparently derive from a Proto-Samic ''*nu(v)ttVkke̮''.<ref>{{cite thesis|title=The Saami Loanwords in Finnish and Karelian|last=Aikio|first=Ante|publisher=University of Oulu|date=2009|type=PhD|url=https://www.academia.edu/4813912|access-date=20 October 2020}}</ref> ''Finnesko'' is an antiquated word coming from Norwegian. In contemporary Norwegian (both Bokmål and Nynorsk), nutukas are referred to as ''skaller''. In Swedish, the boots are referred to as ''bällingsko'' (''bälling'' = reindeer's leg skin), while in Russian they are called ''пимы'' (pimy). Nutukas are also traditionally used by Tornedalians.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-20 |title=Näbbskor – en del av det tornedalska kulturarvet – STR-T |url=https://str-t.com/nabbskor-en-del-av-det-tornedalska-kulturarvet/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |language=sv-SE}}</ref> In Meänkieli they are called ''siepakka'' or ''nutukka''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=siepakka - MEÄN SANA Tornedalsfinska ordbok |url=https://meankielensanakirja.com/sv/sana/id/52061/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=meankielensanakirja.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Meänkieli ↔ ruotti sanakirja |url=https://språk.isof.se/me%C3%A4nkieli/}}</ref>
==Variations== The style and form of nutukas varies depending on the cultural area and the wearer. Similar footwear is used by other indigenous peoples of the Eurasian Arctic:
* Kisy – traditional shoes of the indigenous peoples of the Far North (Khanty, Komi, Mansi, Nenets, etc.), sewn from skins from the calf of a reindeer, with a thick sole, knee-high, often with a small heel. * Pimy – national shoes of the Uralic peoples. It is also common among Starozhily in the Arctic and Siberia. They are boots made of the skin from the feet of a reindeer (less often – from the skin from the forehead of a reindeer), which are made with wool outwards. * Unty – boots made of sheep, reindeer or dog skin.
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== *{{cite news|title=Slik surrer du skallebånd|language=no|trans-title=How to tie a skallebånd|date=28 March 2018|last1=Hedman|first1=Ewa-Mari|last2=Oskal|first2=Maret Biret Sara|work=NRK Sápmi|location=Kárášjohka, Norway|url=https://www.nrk.no/sapmi/slik-surrer-du-skalleband-1.13980568|access-date=21 October 2020}}
{{Folk costume}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nutukas}} Category:Sámi clothing Category:Sámi culture Category:Sámi-language terms Category:Norwegian clothing Category:Finnish clothing Category:Winter clothes