igloo

 

(ĭg'lū) [Inuit,=house]. The Eskimos traditionally had three types of houses. A summer house, which was basically a tent, a winter house, which was usually partially dug into the ground and covered with earth; and a snow or ice house. The latter was a dome-shaped dwelling constructed of blocks of snow placed in an ascending spiral with a low tunnel entrance. Although it can provide adequate protection for weeks in severe cold, it was used almost exclusively as a temporary shelter while traveling.

An igloo (Inuit language: iglu, Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᒡᓗ, "house", plural: iglooit or igluit), translated sometimes as snowhouse, is a shelter constructed from blocks of snow, generally in the form of a dome. Although iglooit are usually associated with all Inuit, they were predominantly constructed by people of Canada's Central Arctic and Greenlands Thule area. Other Inuit people tended to use snow to insulate their houses which consisted of whalebone and hides. The use of snow is due to the fact that snow is an insulator (due to its low density). On the outside, temperatures may be as low as -45 °C (-49 °F), but on the inside the temperature may range from -7 °C (19 °F) to 16 °C (61 °F) when warmed by body heat alone^[1].

Types of igloo

There are three types of igloo, all of different sizes and all are used for different purposes.

The smallest of all iglooit was constructed as a temporary shelter. Hunters while out on the land or sea ice camped in one of these iglooit for one or two nights.

Next in size was the semi-permanent, intermediate sized family dwelling. This usually was a single room dwelling that housed one or two families. Often there were several of these in a small area, which formed an "Inuit village".

The largest of the igloos was normally built in groups of two. One of the buildings was a temporary building constructed for special occasions, the other was built near by for living. This was constructed either by enlarging a smaller igloo or building from scratch. These could have up to five rooms and housed up to 20 people. A large igloo may have been constructed from several smaller igloos attached by their tunnels giving a common access to the outside. These were used to hold community feasts, traditional dances (see Inuit music) and Katajjaq.

Constructing an igloo

The snow used to build an igloo must have sufficient structural strength to be cut and stacked in the appropriate manner. The best snow to use for this purpose is snow which has been blown by wind, which can serve to compact and interlock the ice crystals. The hole left in the snow where the blocks are cut from is usually used as the lower half of the shelter. Sometimes, a short tunnel is constructed at the entrance to reduce wind and heat loss when the door is opened. Due to snow's excellent insulating properties, inhabited igloos are surprisingly comfortable and warm inside. In some cases a single block of ice was inserted to allow light into the igloo.

Architecturally, the igloo is unique in that it is a dome that can be raised out of independent blocks leaning on each other and polished to fit without an additional supporting structure during construction. The igloo, if correctly built, will support the weight of a person standing on the roof. Also, in the traditional Inuit igloo the heat from the kulliq (stone lamp) caused the interior to melt slightly. This melting and refreezing built up an ice sheet and contributed to the strength of the igloo.

The sleeping platform is a raised area compared to where one enters the igloo. Because warmer air rises and cooler air settles, the entrance area will act as a cold trap whereas the sleeping area will hold whatever heat is generated by a stove, lamp or body heat.

Modifications

The Central Inuit, especially those around the Davis Strait, line the living area with skin, which can increase the temperature within from around 2 °C (36 °F) to 10-20 °C (50-68 °F).

Heraldry

In heraldry, the igloo appears as the crest in the coat of arms of Nunavut.

Other kinds of snowhouses

For fun, or for winter camping and survival purposes, it is possible to construct a simple, but similar kind of snow shelter (called a quinzhee in some areas) by creating a large pile of snow and excavating the inside. The snow need not be of the same quality as required for an igloo, and the construction is more forgiving. Such shelters are usually not as sturdy and permanent as proper igloos. After the snow is piled up it needs to be compacted for instance by patting the pile with hands or a spade, since a fresh pile of snow may not be stable.

Before excavating one can put sticks in the roof and wall approximately 10 in (25 cm) deep to be used as a guide when digging out the interior. A trick to building a snowhouse much faster and with less labor is to first make a pile of cardboard boxes and then cover the box pile with snow. Then cut open the door and pull out the boxes. This means one needs to use much less snow or can build a much bigger snowhouse.

To make the snowhouse more robust, one should pour water over it after cutting the door. This makes it harder and sturdier; furthermore its slipperiness discourages anyone from climbing on top of it. People climbing on the house are the primary reason why snowhouses collapse, a collapsing snowhouse can be very dangerous if someone gets caught inside. Just as in an avalanche the weight of the snow often makes it impossible to dig oneself free. Suffocation may occur if the occupants are not rescued quickly enough.

See also

• Snow cave
• Snow fort
• Quinzhee

Footnotes

1. ^ How Warm is an Igloo?, BEE453 Spring 2003 Rich Holihan, Dan Keeley, Daniel Lee, Powen Tu and Eric Yang (PDF)

References

• Richard G. Condon, Julia Ogina and the Holman Elders, The Northern Copper Inuit (ISBN 0-8020-0849-6)
• Igloo -- the Traditional Arctic Snow Dome

External links

• Building an Igloo by Hugh McManners
• Watch How to Build an Igloo
• Field Manual for the U.S. Antarctic Program Chapter 11 Snow Shelters pp140-145hsb:Iglu

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