Goatskin refers to the
skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...
of a
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
, which by long term usage, is denoted by the term ''
Morocco leather
Morocco leather (also known as Levant, the French Maroquin, or German Saffian from Safi, Morocco, Safi, a Moroccan town famous for leather) is a Vegetable tanning, vegetable-tanned leather known for its softness, pliability, and ability to take c ...
''.
Kidskin
Kidskin or kid leather is a type of soft, thin leather that is traditionally used for gloves (hence the phrase ' kid gloves,' used since at least 1888 as a metaphor for careful handling). It is widely used for other fashion purposes such as footwe ...
, used for gloves, shoes and other accessories, is traditionally goatskin, although other leathers such as sheep and kangaroo can be used to make kid.
Tanned leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...
from goatskin is considered extremely durable and is commonly used to make
rug
Rug or RUG may refer to:
* Rug, or carpet, a textile floor covering
* Rug, slang for a toupée
* Ghent University (''Rijksunversiteit Gent'', or RUG)
* Really Useful Group, or RUG, a company set up by Andrew Lloyd Webber
* Rugby railway station, N ...
s (for example in Indonesia) and
carpet binding. It is often used for
glove
A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves usually have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb.
If there is an opening but no (or a short) covering sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless glov ...
s,
boot
A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...
s, and other products that require a soft hide. Kid gloves, popular in
Victorian times
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardi ...
, are still made today. It has been a major material for leather
bookbinding
Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...
s for centuries, and the oldest European binding, that of the
St Cuthbert Gospel in the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
is in red goatskin. Goatskin is used for a traditional Spanish container for wine
bota bag
A bota bag is a traditional Spanish liquid receptacle, used mainly as a wineskin. It is often made out of leather (when made of goatskin it is known as a goatskin itself), and is typically used to carry wine, although any liquid can be filled i ...
(or called goatskin). Traditional
kefir
Kefir ( ; also spelled as kephir or kefier; ; ; ) is a fermented milk drink similar to a thin yogurt or ayran that is made from kefir grains, a specific type of mesophilic symbiotic culture. The drink originated in the North Caucasus, in pa ...
was made in bags from goatskin.
Non-tanned goatskin is used for
parchment
Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of ...
or for
drumhead
A drumhead or drum skin is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a drum. The drumhead is struck with sticks, mallets, or hands, so that it vibrates and the sound resonates through the drum.
Additionally outside of percus ...
s or
sounding board
A sounding board, also known as a tester and abat-voix is a structure placed above and sometimes also behind a pulpit or other speaking platform that helps to project the sound of the speaker. It is usually made of wood. The structure may be spe ...
s of some musical instruments, e.g.,
mišnice in medieval Europe,
bodhrán
The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or othe ...
in Ireland,
esraj
The (from the pa, ਇਸਰਾਜ) is an Indian stringed instrument found in two forms throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is a relatively recent instrument, being only about 300 years old. It is found in North India, primarily Punjab, whe ...
in India and for instrumental drum skin named ''
bedug
The ''bedug'' ( Indonesian and Malaysian ms, beduk, italic=yes; jv, bedhug, italic=yes; su, dulag, italic=yes) is one of the drums used in the gamelan. It is also used among Muslims in Indonesia and Malaysia to signal mosque prayer times. The ...
'' in Indonesia.
In
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...
priests of god
Lupercalia
Lupercalia was a pastoral festival of Ancient Rome observed annually on February 15 to purify the city, promoting health and fertility. Lupercalia was also known as ''dies Februatus'', after the purification instruments called ''februa'', the b ...
wore goatskins.
A breed of goat that provides high-quality skin is for example the
Black Bengal breed, native to
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
.
In 1974, there was controversy in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
surrounding goatskin products originating in
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
.
The U.S.
Centers for Disease Control
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
discovered that some of these products contained deadly
anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...
spores. All Haitian goatskin products in the USA were recalled, although no fatalities were reported.
Gallery
Image:Jagdpaletots Ziege und Seehund.jpg, Goatskin and sealskin jacket (1902)
Image:Guerba.jpg, Water reservoir in Algeria
Image:Mauritanian_bota_bag.jpg, Water reservoir in Mauritania
Image:Kid_skin.jpg, Kid skins
Image:Handbuch_Hanicke100.jpg, Cut for a goatskin 'coachman collar' (1895)
See also
*
Goatskin-producing goat breeds
*
Mashk
A mashk (Hindi: मश्क) - (Urdu: مَشک) is a traditional water-carrying bag, usually made of waterproofed goat-skin, from North India, Pakistan and Nepal.
''Mashqs'' can vary in size, from a hand-held bag, which was often used to carry l ...
References
Hides (skin)
Goats
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