In the conditions of nomadic life with its constant packing and unpacking, every object must have a strictly designated place for it. For many centuries, such a place among the indigenous peoples of the North was a fur bag. It was used for storing and transporting clothes, pagan cult objects, and men’s tools — all part of the unassuming household goods of tundra inhabitants. The exceptional role of bags in the nomadic economy is reflected in the ancient custom of giving a bride a certain number of bags as a dowry. As a rule, the future wife sewed them herself before the wedding. Like all items made of fur, they were handmade and sewn with sinew threads. Every bride tried to make the bag as beautiful as possible, demonstrating her sewing skills, imagination and fine sense of color and shape.

One of the earliest mentions of padko bags dates to the 18th century. Fur bags were sewn from deer, elk or bird skins, as well as from skins of fox, arctic fox, beaver, squirrel, marten, sable, and ermine. The fur bags made of kamus (the skin taken from deer shanks) and skins from reindeer foreheads were very widespread. With the emergence of large reindeer breeding in the tundra and the increase in the number of reindeer, this material became the leading one in the manufacture of this peculiar tundra bag. Bags differed in purpose, size, shape and closing method. Padko bags are sewn from two oval-shaped halves. The height of these bags should be shorter than the width. The decorative trimmings of bags are mainly made in the assemblage technique. The front side is richly ornamented by sewn patterns from kamus and strips of cloth. The back wall has no ornaments and is often made of buckskin. The top hem of the bag is also trimmed with a buckskin strip dyed with red ochre. It is tied with a pair of buckskin cords. These bags came in handy when transporting baggage on sleds and they were sometimes used instead of pillows in chum tents. Each bag served its owners for 50–60 years. The padko bag was also used in bartering among the indigenous peoples of the North: for instance, it was possible to exchange it for a birchbark tuyes box.