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String figure

January 01, 1970

A string figure is a design formed by manipulating string on, around, and using one's fingers or sometimes between the fingers of multiple people. String figures may also involve the use of the mouth, wrist, and feet. They may consist of singular images or be created and altered as a game, known as a string game, or as part of a story involving various figures made in sequence (string story). String figures have also been used for divination, such as to predict the sex of an unborn child.[1]

Photograph of a boy having made "Lightning", from Jayne's String Figures and How to Make Them.
"Osage Two Diamonds".
Illustrations from Jayne's String Figures and How to Make Them.

A popular string game is cat's cradle, but many string figures are known in many places under different names,[2] and string figures are well distributed throughout the world.[3][4]

History edit

According to Camilla Gryski, a Canadian librarian and author of numerous string figure books, "We don't know when people first started playing with string, or which primitive people invented this ancient art. We do know that all primitive societies had and used string—for hunting, fishing, and weaving—and that string figures have been collected from native peoples all over the world."[5]

"Of the games people play, string figures enjoy the reputation of being the most widespread form of amusement in the world: more cultures are familiar with string figures than with any other game. Over 2,000 individual patterns have been recorded worldwide since the 19th century. It was long believed that anthropologist Franz Boas was the first to describe the construction of string figures (a pair of Inuit string figures) in 1888 (Boas 1888a, 1888b, Abraham 1988:12)."[6], but actually string figure instructions already feature in several 19th century European books on children's games prior to that.[7] String figures are probably one of humanity's oldest games,[citation needed] and is spread among an astonishing variety of cultures, even ones as unrelated as Europeans and the Dayaks of Indonesia; Alfred Wallace who, while traveling in Borneo in the 1800s, thought of amusing the Dayak youths with a novel game with string, was in turn very surprised when they proved to be familiar with it, and showed him some figures and transitions that he hadn't previously seen.[8][9] The anthropologist Louis Leakey has also attributed string figure knowledge with saving his life[10] and described his use of this game in the early 1900s to obtain the cooperation of Sub-Saharan African tribes otherwise unfamiliar with, and suspicious of, Europeans,[8] having been told by his teacher A.C. Haddon, "You can travel anywhere with a smile and a piece of string."[10]

The Greek physician Heraklas produced the earliest known written description of a string figure in his first century monograph on surgical knots and slings.[11][12][13] This work was preserved by republication in Oribasius' fourth century Medical Collections. The figure is described as a sling to set and bind a broken jaw, with the chin being placed in the center of the figure and the four loops tied near the top of the head. Called the "Plinthios Brokhos", the resulting figure has been identified by multiple sources as the figure known to Aboriginal Australians as "The Sun Clouded Over".[14] The Inuit are purported to possess a string figure representing the extinct woolly mammoth.[15]

 
Women's string-figure depicting "menstrual blood of three women", illustrating the Yolngu people's tribal mythology of menstrual synchrony.[16]
 
The lovers Okiku and Yosuke play cat's cradle, by Eishōsai Chōki.

String figures were widely studied by anthropologists like James Hornell[17] from the 1880s through around 1900, as they were used in attempts to trace the origin and developments of cultures. String figures, once thought to have proven monogenesis, appear to have arisen independently as an entertainment pastime in many societies. Many figures were collected and described from south-east Asia, Japan, South America, West Indies, Pacific Islanders, Inuit and other Native Americans.[5] Figures have also been collected in Europe and Africa. One of the major works on the subject is String Figures and How to Make Them (DjVu), by Caroline Furness Jayne.

The International String Figure Association (ISFA) was formed in 1978 with the primary goal of gathering, preserving, and distributing string figure knowledge so that future generations will continue to enjoy this ancient pastime.[18]

Terms edit

 
The "cup and saucer" begins with opening A, and step 3 (illustrated) is a Navajo.[19]
 
Anatomical string figure locations, both hand. Labels indicate string/loop location (near/far, below/above, between hands, back of hand/(palm side)) unambiguously.
 
Heraklas' "Plinthios Brokhos" made in a doubled cord. Resembles "A Hole in the Tree" with different crossings.

While in string figure literature there are many phrases often used, there may be some variation with the fingers, loops, and strings indicated in different ways. A loop is the strings that go around the back of a finger, multiple fingers, or another body part such as the wrist. Some authors name the strings, fingers and their loops (near middle finger string, right index finger, pinky loop, for example), while others number them (3n, R1, 5 loop).[citation needed] One of the first methods of recording figures and sets of terminology was an anatomical system proposed in "A Method of Recording String Figures and Tricks" by W. H. R. Rivers and A. C. Haddon.[20] Though location or locations of a string are most often indicated by casual systems of terms such as "near" or "far", the Rivers and Haddon system is far less ambiguous, though this may be unnecessary for the most common, illustrated, figures.[21]

Below are some common[citation needed] moves, openings, and extensions.

  • Openings
    • Murray Opening/Index Opening: The loop is grasped with the middle, ring, and little fingers so that there is a couple inches of string between them. These fingers are put together so there is a circle made by the overlapping strings. The index finger is inserted from the far side into the circle, and the index finger rotated upwards, circling towards the body.
    • Position 1: The untwisted loop is put on the thumb and little fingers.
    • Opening A: Following from Position 1, the right index finger picks up the string on the left hand going between the thumb and the little finger. The left index finger then goes between both strings of right index finger, and picks up the string going from the right thumb to little finger.
    • Opening B: Place the loop around one's thumbs, then insert the left index proximally into the thumb loop, taking up the left ulnar thumb string. Insert one's right finger proximally into the left index loop, taking up the radial string and forming an x.
    • Japanese Opening: The Japanese Opening is similar to Opening A, however the strings are picked up with the middle fingers instead of the index fingers.
  • Extensions
    • Caroline Extension: Starting with a loop on the thumb, the string is lifted in the nook of the index finger, then pinched between the index finger and thumb.
  • Moves
    • Pick up
    • Navajo leap, "navajoing", or "Navajo": Given two loops on one finger, the lower loop is moved over the upper loop and released from the finger.
    • Release
    • Transfer
    • Rotate
    • Share
    • Katilluik (Eskimo–Aleut for:put two things together): the thumbs loops are combined before strings are drawn through them

Notable collectors and enthusiasts edit

Anthropologists & ethnologists
Other

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Foster Jr., George M. (1941). "String-Figure Divination". American Anthropologist. New Series. 43 (1): 126–127. doi:10.1525/aa.1941.43.1.02a00300.
  2. ^ Jayne (1962), p.340. Also Elffers & Schuyt (1979), p.44-5.
  3. ^ Lois & Earl W. Stokes. "The Ancient Art of Hawaiian String Figures". Web of Life International, a project of Aloha International.
  4. ^ Elffers, Joost and Schuyt, Michael (1978/1979). Cat's Cradles and Other String Figures, p.197. ISBN 0-14-005201-1.
  5. ^ a b Gryski, Camilla (1983). Cat's Cradle, Owl's Eyes: A Book of String Games, p.4. ISBN 0-688-03941-3.
  6. ^ Averkieva, Julia P. and Sherman, Mark A. (1992) "Introduction by Mark A. Sherman", Kwakiutl String Figures, p.xiii. University of British Columbia. ISBN 978-0-7748-0432-5.
  7. ^ Celnart, Mme (1827) Manuel Complet des Jeux de Société. Paris: Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret. p. 339-340.
  8. ^ a b Buchanan, Andrea J. and Peskowitz, Miriam (2007). The Daring Book for Girls, p.277. ISBN 978-0-06-147257-2.
  9. ^ Wallace, Alfred (1872). The Malay Archipelago, Volume 1, p.89. Macmillan.
  10. ^ a b Morell, Virginia (1996). Ancestral Passions, p.33. ISBN 978-0-684-82470-3.
  11. ^ Miller, Lawrence G. (1945). "The Earliest (?) Description of a String Figure". American Anthropologist. New Series. 47 (3): 461–462. doi:10.1525/aa.1945.47.3.02a00190.
  12. ^ D'Antoni, Joseph (1997), Bulletin of the International String Figure Association, vol. 4, pp. 90–94, ISSN 1076-7886
  13. ^ ISFA (June 2001). "Plinthios Brokhos". String Figure Magazine. 6 (2). International String Figure Association: 3–4. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  14. ^ Day, Cyrus L. (1967). Quipus and Witches' Knots. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press. pp. 86–89, 124–126.
  15. ^ T. T. Paterson (1949), "Eskimo String Figures and Their Origin," Acta Arctica 3:1-98.
  16. ^ Knight, C. (1995). Blood Relations: Menstruation and the Origins of Culture. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 445. Figure re-drawn after McCarthy, F. D. (1960). "The string figures of Yirrkalla". In Mountford, C. P. (ed.). Records of the American-Australian Scientific Expedition in Arnhem Land. Anthropology and Nutrition. Vol. 2. Melbourne University Press. pp. 415–513 [466].
  17. ^ Heppell, David; Sherman, Mark (2000). "Abstract A Tribute to James Hornell (1865-1949)". Bulletin of the International String Figure Association. No. 7. pp. 1–56.
  18. ^ "About ISFA". 1999-06-26. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  19. ^ Gryski (1983), p.18-9. ISBN 0590254863.
  20. ^ "A Method of Recording String Figures and Tricks". W. H. R. Rivers; A. C. Haddon. Man, Vol. 2. (1902), pp. 146-153. Man is currently published by Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.
  21. ^ Averkieva and Sherman (1992), p.xxviii. ISBN 978-0-7748-0432-5.

Further reading edit

  • Bulletin of the International String Figure Association, isfa.org
  • Caroline Furness Jayne (1906), String Figures and How to Make Them, ISBN 0-486-20152-X
    An exhaustive study of this material culture
  • Anne Akers Johnson, String Games from Around the World, Klutz 1996
    A book for beginners
  • Kathleen Haddon, String Games for Beginners, Cambridge, UK: Heffer 1934 (many later editions)
    28 figures, 40 pages
  • Camilla Gryski, Cat's Cradle, Owl's Eyes, 1987, New York: William Morrow & Co Library
    A book for beginners
    • Many stars and more string games, New York: William Morrow & Co Library 1985, ISBN 0-688-05792-6
    A book for beginners
    A book for advanced
    • Fascinating String Figures, International String Figure Association 1999, Dover, ISBN 0-486-40400-5
  • Julia P. Averkieva with Mark A. Sherman (contributor), "Kwakiutl String Figures", in: Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of History, Vol. 71 (1992), Seattle: University of Washington Press, ISBN 0-7748-0432-7
    199 pages
  • Joost Elffers and Michael Schuyt, Cat's Cradles and Other String Figures, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books 1979. ISBN 0-14-005201-1 (Viking Press, 1980, paperback).
    207 pages, a book for beginners and advanced, English translation of German, features photographs
  • Anne Pellowski, Story Vine, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company 1984, ISBN 0-02-044690-X
    116 pages - String stories
  • Noble, Phillip. String figures of Papua New Guinea. Boroko, Papua New Guinea: Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies, 1979.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to String figures.
  • Official website of the International String Figure Association, based in Pasadena, CA.
  • Collection of Favorite String Figures - Many examples with video clips showing how to make them.
  • , "String Magazines" with many figures in English.
  • "The Survival, Origin and Mathematics of String Figures" by Martin Probert.
  • , "[String Figures from the] Island of Moa", collected by Kathleen Haddon.
  • How to Make a Cat's Cradle from a Piece of String: a video tutorial, MetaCafe.com.
  • String Games.pdf by Arvind Gupta cs.sfu.ca, arvindguptatoys.com with illustrations by Avinash Deshpande (52-page PDF book).
  • Jayne, C. F. (1962/2009). String Figures and How to Make Them - complete text and illustrations from the book, in HTML format. Jamis Buck, compiler.
  • LOop Paper Toys A series of DEMO videos about String Figures made by Ludwig Caballero.
  • Murphy, James R. (11/06/2012). "The Hands of Children Playing With String Will Lead Us Into the Future", HuffingtonPost.com.

January 01, 1970
string, figure, string, figure, design, formed, manipulating, string, around, using, fingers, sometimes, between, fingers, multiple, people, also, involve, mouth, wrist, feet, they, consist, singular, images, created, altered, game, known, string, game, part, . A string figure is a design formed by manipulating string on around and using one s fingers or sometimes between the fingers of multiple people String figures may also involve the use of the mouth wrist and feet They may consist of singular images or be created and altered as a game known as a string game or as part of a story involving various figures made in sequence string story String figures have also been used for divination such as to predict the sex of an unborn child 1 Photograph of a boy having made Lightning from Jayne s String Figures and How to Make Them Osage Two Diamonds Illustrations from Jayne s String Figures and How to Make Them A popular string game is cat s cradle but many string figures are known in many places under different names 2 and string figures are well distributed throughout the world 3 4 Contents 1 History 2 Terms 3 Notable collectors and enthusiasts 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksHistory editAccording to Camilla Gryski a Canadian librarian and author of numerous string figure books We don t know when people first started playing with string or which primitive people invented this ancient art We do know that all primitive societies had and used string for hunting fishing and weaving and that string figures have been collected from native peoples all over the world 5 Of the games people play string figures enjoy the reputation of being the most widespread form of amusement in the world more cultures are familiar with string figures than with any other game Over 2 000 individual patterns have been recorded worldwide since the 19th century It was long believed that anthropologist Franz Boas was the first to describe the construction of string figures a pair of Inuit string figures in 1888 Boas 1888a 1888b Abraham 1988 12 6 but actually string figure instructions already feature in several 19th century European books on children s games prior to that 7 String figures are probably one of humanity s oldest games citation needed and is spread among an astonishing variety of cultures even ones as unrelated as Europeans and the Dayaks of Indonesia Alfred Wallace who while traveling in Borneo in the 1800s thought of amusing the Dayak youths with a novel game with string was in turn very surprised when they proved to be familiar with it and showed him some figures and transitions that he hadn t previously seen 8 9 The anthropologist Louis Leakey has also attributed string figure knowledge with saving his life 10 and described his use of this game in the early 1900s to obtain the cooperation of Sub Saharan African tribes otherwise unfamiliar with and suspicious of Europeans 8 having been told by his teacher A C Haddon You can travel anywhere with a smile and a piece of string 10 The Greek physician Heraklas produced the earliest known written description of a string figure in his first century monograph on surgical knots and slings 11 12 13 This work was preserved by republication in Oribasius fourth century Medical Collections The figure is described as a sling to set and bind a broken jaw with the chin being placed in the center of the figure and the four loops tied near the top of the head Called the Plinthios Brokhos the resulting figure has been identified by multiple sources as the figure known to Aboriginal Australians as The Sun Clouded Over 14 The Inuit are purported to possess a string figure representing the extinct woolly mammoth 15 nbsp Women s string figure depicting menstrual blood of three women illustrating the Yolngu people s tribal mythology of menstrual synchrony 16 nbsp The lovers Okiku and Yosuke play cat s cradle by Eishōsai Chōki String figures were widely studied by anthropologists like James Hornell 17 from the 1880s through around 1900 as they were used in attempts to trace the origin and developments of cultures String figures once thought to have proven monogenesis appear to have arisen independently as an entertainment pastime in many societies Many figures were collected and described from south east Asia Japan South America West Indies Pacific Islanders Inuit and other Native Americans 5 Figures have also been collected in Europe and Africa One of the major works on the subject is String Figures and How to Make Them DjVu by Caroline Furness Jayne The International String Figure Association ISFA was formed in 1978 with the primary goal of gathering preserving and distributing string figure knowledge so that future generations will continue to enjoy this ancient pastime 18 Terms edit nbsp The cup and saucer begins with opening A and step 3 illustrated is a Navajo 19 nbsp Anatomical string figure locations both hand Labels indicate string loop location near far below above between hands back of hand palm side unambiguously nbsp Heraklas Plinthios Brokhos made in a doubled cord Resembles A Hole in the Tree with different crossings While in string figure literature there are many phrases often used there may be some variation with the fingers loops and strings indicated in different ways A loop is the strings that go around the back of a finger multiple fingers or another body part such as the wrist Some authors name the strings fingers and their loops near middle finger string right index finger pinky loop for example while others number them 3n R1 5 loop citation needed One of the first methods of recording figures and sets of terminology was an anatomical system proposed in A Method of Recording String Figures and Tricks by W H R Rivers and A C Haddon 20 Though location or locations of a string are most often indicated by casual systems of terms such as near or far the Rivers and Haddon system is far less ambiguous though this may be unnecessary for the most common illustrated figures 21 Below are some common citation needed moves openings and extensions Openings Murray Opening Index Opening The loop is grasped with the middle ring and little fingers so that there is a couple inches of string between them These fingers are put together so there is a circle made by the overlapping strings The index finger is inserted from the far side into the circle and the index finger rotated upwards circling towards the body Position 1 The untwisted loop is put on the thumb and little fingers Opening A Following from Position 1 the right index finger picks up the string on the left hand going between the thumb and the little finger The left index finger then goes between both strings of right index finger and picks up the string going from the right thumb to little finger Opening B Place the loop around one s thumbs then insert the left index proximally into the thumb loop taking up the left ulnar thumb string Insert one s right finger proximally into the left index loop taking up the radial string and forming an x Japanese Opening The Japanese Opening is similar to Opening A however the strings are picked up with the middle fingers instead of the index fingers Extensions Caroline Extension Starting with a loop on the thumb the string is lifted in the nook of the index finger then pinched between the index finger and thumb Moves Pick up Navajo leap navajoing or Navajo Given two loops on one finger the lower loop is moved over the upper loop and released from the finger Release Transfer Rotate Share Katilluik Eskimo Aleut for put two things together the thumbs loops are combined before strings are drawn through themNotable collectors and enthusiasts editAnthropologists amp ethnologists Julia Averkieva Franz Boas C F Jayne D Jenness Guy Mary Rousseliere T T Paterson Rivers and Haddon Other Camilla Gryski librarian Kathleen Haddon zoologist Honor Maude enthusiast W W Rouse Ball mathematician Mark Sherman biochemist Harry Everett Smith artist Hiroshi Noguchi Ayatori player See also editCat s cradle List of string figures Spider Grandmother Dine Bahaneʼ Spider Man Spider Woman and WeavingReferences edit Foster Jr George M 1941 String Figure Divination American Anthropologist New Series 43 1 126 127 doi 10 1525 aa 1941 43 1 02a00300 Jayne 1962 p 340 Also Elffers amp Schuyt 1979 p 44 5 Lois amp Earl W Stokes The Ancient Art of Hawaiian String Figures Web of Life International a project of Aloha International Elffers Joost and Schuyt Michael 1978 1979 Cat s Cradles and Other String Figures p 197 ISBN 0 14 005201 1 a b Gryski Camilla 1983 Cat s Cradle Owl s Eyes A Book of String Games p 4 ISBN 0 688 03941 3 Averkieva Julia P and Sherman Mark A 1992 Introduction by Mark A Sherman Kwakiutl String Figures p xiii University of British Columbia ISBN 978 0 7748 0432 5 Celnart Mme 1827 Manuel Complet des Jeux de Societe Paris Librairie Encyclopedique de Roret p 339 340 a b Buchanan Andrea J and Peskowitz Miriam 2007 The Daring Book for Girls p 277 ISBN 978 0 06 147257 2 Wallace Alfred 1872 The Malay Archipelago Volume 1 p 89 Macmillan a b Morell Virginia 1996 Ancestral Passions p 33 ISBN 978 0 684 82470 3 Miller Lawrence G 1945 The Earliest Description of a String Figure American Anthropologist New Series 47 3 461 462 doi 10 1525 aa 1945 47 3 02a00190 D Antoni Joseph 1997 Bulletin of the International String Figure Association vol 4 pp 90 94 ISSN 1076 7886 ISFA June 2001 Plinthios Brokhos String Figure Magazine 6 2 International String Figure Association 3 4 Retrieved 2008 08 13 Day Cyrus L 1967 Quipus and Witches Knots Lawrence Kansas University of Kansas Press pp 86 89 124 126 T T Paterson 1949 Eskimo String Figures and Their Origin Acta Arctica 3 1 98 Knight C 1995 Blood Relations Menstruation and the Origins of Culture New Haven and London Yale University Press p 445 Figure re drawn after McCarthy F D 1960 The string figures of Yirrkalla In Mountford C P ed Records of the American Australian Scientific Expedition in Arnhem Land Anthropology and Nutrition Vol 2 Melbourne University Press pp 415 513 466 Heppell David Sherman Mark 2000 Abstract A Tribute to James Hornell 1865 1949 Bulletin of the International String Figure Association No 7 pp 1 56 About ISFA 1999 06 26 Retrieved 2008 12 09 Gryski 1983 p 18 9 ISBN 0590254863 A Method of Recording String Figures and Tricks W H R Rivers A C Haddon Man Vol 2 1902 pp 146 153 Man is currently published by Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Averkieva and Sherman 1992 p xxviii ISBN 978 0 7748 0432 5 Further reading editBulletin of the International String Figure Association isfa org Caroline Furness Jayne 1906 String Figures and How to Make Them ISBN 0 486 20152 X An exhaustive study of this material culture Anne Akers Johnson String Games from Around the World Klutz 1996 A book for beginners Kathleen Haddon String Games for Beginners Cambridge UK Heffer 1934 many later editions 28 figures 40 pages Camilla Gryski Cat s Cradle Owl s Eyes 1987 New York William Morrow amp Co Library A book for beginners Many stars and more string games New York William Morrow amp Co Library 1985 ISBN 0 688 05792 6 A book for beginners Super string games New York William Morrow amp Co Library 1996 ISBN 0 688 15040 3 A book for advanced Fascinating String Figures International String Figure Association 1999 Dover ISBN 0 486 40400 5 Julia P Averkieva with Mark A Sherman contributor Kwakiutl String Figures in Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of History Vol 71 1992 Seattle University of Washington Press ISBN 0 7748 0432 7 199 pages Joost Elffers and Michael Schuyt Cat s Cradles and Other String Figures Harmondsworth Penguin Books 1979 ISBN 0 14 005201 1 Viking Press 1980 paperback 207 pages a book for beginners and advanced English translation of German features photographs Anne Pellowski Story Vine New York Macmillan Publishing Company 1984 ISBN 0 02 044690 X 116 pages String stories Noble Phillip String figures of Papua New Guinea Boroko Papua New Guinea Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies 1979 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to String figures Official website of the International String Figure Association based in Pasadena CA Collection of Favorite String Figures Many examples with video clips showing how to make them Magazines Ficelles String Magazines with many figures in English The Survival Origin and Mathematics of String Figures by Martin Probert Magazine Mai 2003 String Figures from the Island of Moa collected by Kathleen Haddon How to Make a Cat s Cradle from a Piece of String a video tutorial MetaCafe com String Games pdf by Arvind Gupta cs sfu ca arvindguptatoys com with illustrations by Avinash Deshpande 52 page PDF book Jayne C F 1962 2009 String Figures and How to Make Them complete text and illustrations from the book in HTML format Jamis Buck compiler LOop Paper Toys A series of DEMO videos about String Figures made by Ludwig Caballero Murphy James R 11 06 2012 The Hands of Children Playing With String Will Lead Us Into the Future HuffingtonPost com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title String figure amp oldid 1191932778, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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