Irina Nutetgivev talks about hide scrapers

“This tool is used to smooth and stretch hides, which are then worked with the heels. After being worked with the heels, the skin is smeared with reindeer dung and treated with the vykvytrenan. The name vykvytrenan comes from the words vykvylgyn – stone, and enatryk – to crush. The literal translation of the word would be ‘to crush with a stone.’ The handle is made of wood. The scraper is made from flat stones found on the banks of rivers or the sea. The handle is shaped like a curved bow, with a prominent arching back in the center. The length of the handle is usually about 60 cm. The ends of the handle taper to points for a comfortable grip with the palms of both hands. In the center of the tool is a concave slit. It looks like a mouth, in which a blackened scraping stone is set. Longitudinal cracks and dark grease stains are visible on the handle, showing that it has been used.

In the eastern part of Chukotka, both coastal inhabitants and those in reindeer herding camps use the vykvytrenan. The hide is laid with the flesh side up on a board – vivyr. They grip the tool with both hands and push the scraper stone forcefully away from themselves across the skin. This smooths and stretches the hide in preparation for cutting it into material for sewing clothes and shoes. A vykvytrenan can also be used to stretch already worn clothing if it has shrunk. For hide processing, a woman has a set of several scrapers of different strengths. For thick hides, she uses a large stone; for thinner hides, a small one. The vykvytrenan is also used again in the final stage of hide processing – after working it with the heels, the hide is stretched once more using the vykvytrenan. The tool resembles the enanvanan, but it is larger, heavier, and more robust. Some women use the same device for cleaning and stretching hides, simply swapping out the scraping stone.”

Irina told the following story about it: “Our mother, Yyt’ul Galina, still keeps her vykvytrenan. It was used by our great-grandmother, then by my mother. And we also used it a little. It was a wonderful tool and regularly used to stretch hides. And now it is kept as a sacred object. It is used for lighting a ritual fire.” (Video in progress)

Recorded 2024.