Mackenzie River, Northwest Territories, Canada, North America
Accession Date:
30 Jan 1868
Notes:
Source of the information below: Inuvialuit Pitqusiit Inuuniarutait: Inuvialuit Living History, The MacFarlane Collection website, by the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre (ICRC), Inuvik, N.W.T., Canada (website credits here http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/posts/12 ), entry on this artifact http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/items/147 , retrieved 1-17-2020: Lance holder for the deck of a kayak. It consists of a two-part centre piece made from bone that is hinged at the centre, allowing it to fit against the inverted 'V' shape of the deck of a kayak. The hinge has been created by joining the two parts with a babiche thong that passes through a hole drilled through each piece at the joined ends. Smaller pieces made from bone are attached at each end with an iron rivet. The faces of the centre and end pieces are cut aslant where they join so that the end pieces extend inwards and upwards at a shallow angle. The inner parts of the end pieces are connected to the centre piece by passing babiche and baleen thongs through holes drilled in each piece, and then wrapping around itself. A hole drilled through the joints at each end would have been used for mounting the holder to the kayak. More information here: http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/item_types/33: Holders and rests were lashed to the decks of kayaks forward of the cockpit to keep lances and harpoons secure but ready when needed. Lance holders, such as the one illustrated here, were attached close to the bow. The tip of a lance or harpoon would be inserted into one of the triangular openings, and the opposite end of the shaft would sit against a rest that was fastened to the kayak deck close to the cockpit.
