String figure
Encyclopedia
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
formed by manipulating string
Twine
Twine is a light string or strong thread composed of two or more smaller strands or yarns twisted together. More generally, the term can be applied to any thin cord....
on, around, and using one's finger
Finger
A finger is a limb of the human body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of humans and other primates....
s 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
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
, known as a string game, or as part of a story
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
involving various figures made in sequence. String figures have also been used for divination
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
, such as to predict the sex of an unborn child.
The most popular and well-known string game appears to be cat's cradle
Cat's cradle
Cat's cradle is a well known series of string figures created between two people as a game. The name of the entire game, the specific figures, their order, and the names of the figures vary. Versions of this game have been found in indigenous cultures all over the world—from the Arctic to the...
. String figures, which are well distributed throughout the world, include "Jacob's Ladder" ("Osage Diamonds", "Fishnet"), "Cup and Saucer" ("Sake Glass", "Coffee Cup"), and "Tree Hole" ("The Moon Gone Dark", "Sun", "Moon").
History
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.""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 1888, when anthropologist Franz Boas first described a pair of Eskimo string figures (Boas 1888a, 1888b, Abraham 1988:12)." String figures are probably one of humanity's oldest games, and is spread among an astonishing variety of cultures, even ones as unrelated as European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s and the Dyaks
Dayak people
The Dayak or Dyak are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily...
of Indonesia; Alfred Wallace who, while traveling in Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
in the 1800s, thought of amusing the Dyak youth
Youth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
s 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. The anthropologist Louis Leakey
Louis Leakey
Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey was a British archaeologist and naturalist whose work was important in establishing human evolutionary development in Africa. He also played a major role in creating organizations for future research in Africa and for protecting wildlife there...
has also attributed string figure knowledge with saving his life and described his use of this game in the early 1900s to obtain the cooperation of Sub-Saharan African tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s otherwise unfamiliar with, and suspicious of, Europeans, having been told by his teacher A.C. Haddon
Alfred Cort Haddon
Alfred Cort Haddon, Sc.D., FRS, FRGS was an influential British anthropologist and ethnologist.Initially a biologist, who achieved his most notable fieldwork, with W.H.R. Rivers, C.G. Seligman, Sidney Ray, Anthony Wilkin on the Torres Strait Islands...
, "You can travel anywhere with a smile and a piece of string."
The Greek physician Heraklas
Heraklas
Heraklas was a Greek physician of the 1st century AD whose descriptions of surgeons' knots and slings are preserved in book 48 of Oribasius' Medical Collections under the title From Heraklas ....
produced the earliest known written description of a string figure in his first century monograph
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
on surgical knots and slings. This work was preserved by republication in Oribasius
Oribasius
Oribasius or Oreibasius was a Greek medical writer and the personal physician of the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate. He studied at Alexandria under physician Zeno of Cyprus before joining Julian's retinue. He was involved in Julian's coronation in 361, and remained with the emperor until...
' fourth century Medical Collections. The figure is described as a sling to set and bind a broken
Bone fracture
A bone fracture is a medical condition in which there is a break in the continuity of the bone...
jaw, with the chin
Chin
In the human anatomy, the chin is the lowermost part of the face.It is formed by the lower front of the mandible.People show a wide variety of chin structures. See Cleft 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". The Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
are purported to possess a string figure representing the extinct Wooly Mammoth.
String figures were widely studied by anthropologists like James Hornell
James Hornell
James Hornell was an English zoologist and seafaring ethnographer. He was a cousin of Edward Atkinson Hornel, a Scottish painter.-Career:...
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
Monogenesis
Monogenism is the theory of human origins which posits a single origin for all human races. For the belief that all humans are descended from Adam, see Polygenism.Monogenesis may refer to:* Recent African origin of modern humans...
, appear to have arisen independently as an entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
pastime in many societies. Many figures were collected and described from south-east Asia, Japan, South America, West Indies, Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...
s, Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
and other Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. 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 , by Caroline Furness Jayne
Caroline Furness Jayne
Caroline Furness Jayne was an American ethnologist. She wrote the best-known book on string figures, String Figures and How to Make Them: a study of cat's cradle in many lands, 1906....
.
The International String Figure Association
International String Figure Association
The International String Figure Association is not-for-profit organization for the preservation, dissemination, and creation of string figures. The association was founded in 1978 by mathematician Hiroshi Noguchi and Anglican missionary Philip Noble, and is now run by Mark Sherman out of California...
(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.
Terms
In string figure literature there are many phrases often used, however 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). One of the first methods of recording figures and sets of terminology was "A Method of Recording String Figures and Tricks" by W. H. R. RiversW. H. R. Rivers
William Halse Rivers Rivers, FRCP, FRS, was an English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist and psychiatrist, best known for his work with shell-shocked soldiers during World War I. Rivers' most famous patient was the poet Siegfried Sassoon...
and A. C. Haddon
Alfred Cort Haddon
Alfred Cort Haddon, Sc.D., FRS, FRGS was an influential British anthropologist and ethnologist.Initially a biologist, who achieved his most notable fieldwork, with W.H.R. Rivers, C.G. Seligman, Sidney Ray, Anthony Wilkin on the Torres Strait Islands...
.
Below are some common moves, openings, and extensions.
- Openings
- Murray Opening/Index Opening: Grasp the loop with your middle, ring, and little fingers so that there is a couple inches of string between them. Put these fingers together so there is a circle made by the overlapping strings. Insert your index finger from your far side into the circle, then rotate the index finger upwards, circling towards you.
- Position 1: Put the untwisted loop on your thumb and little fingers.
- Opening A and Japanese Opening: To do Opening A, first do Position 1. Then make the right index finger pick up the string on the left hand going between the thumb and the little finger. Finally, make the left index finger go between both strings of right index finger, and pick up the string going from the right thumb to little finger. The Japanese Opening is almost the same except you pick up the strings with your middle fingers, not index fingers.
- Extensions
- Caroline Extension: You do this when there is one or more loops on the thumb. Lift the instructed string up in the nook of your index finger, lift the string up, then pinch the string together with your index finger and thumb. This requires a lot of practice to do properly, so don't get discouraged if you fail at first.
- Moves
- Pick up
- Navajo leap or "navajoing": When there are two loops on one finger, you can do this move. You basically just move the lower loop over the upper loop and release it from the finger.
- Release
- Transfer
- Rotate
- Share
Notable collectors and enthusiasts
- Julia AverkievaJulia AverkievaJulia Pavlovna Petrova-Averkieva was a Soviet anthropologist and string figure collector. A student of Franz Boas, and influenced by Lewis Henry Morgan, she was the eventual director of North American Studies at the Institute of Ethnography in Moscow...
- W. W. Rouse BallW. W. Rouse Ball-External links:*...
- Franz BoasFranz BoasFranz Boas was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology" and "the Father of Modern Anthropology." Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did...
- Camilla GryskiCamilla GryskiCamilla Gryski is a Canadian librarian and string figure enthusiast. She has a degree in English and in M.L.S., and a Montessori Primary Teaching Certificate. She works in Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children as a Therapeutic Clown....
- Kathleen HaddonKathleen HaddonKathleen Haddon was a zoologist, photographer, and scholar of string-figures. She was the daughter of influential British anthropologist and ethnologist A. C. Haddon.-Bibliography:...
- C. F. JayneCaroline Furness JayneCaroline Furness Jayne was an American ethnologist. She wrote the best-known book on string figures, String Figures and How to Make Them: a study of cat's cradle in many lands, 1906....
- D. JennessDiamond JennessDiamond Jenness, CC was one of Canada's greatest early scientists and a pioneer of Canadian anthropology.-Biography:...
- Guy Mary-RousselièreGuy Mary-RousselièreFather Guy Mary-Rousselière was a French-Canadian anthropologist, missionary priest at Mittimatalik, and string figure collector. He was involved in recording Inuit songs, film-making, and had photographs occasionally published in National Geographic...
- Honor MaudeHonor MaudeHonor Maude of Canberra, Australia was the world authority on Oceanic string figures, having published Maude & Maude 1958, Maude & Wedgewood 1967, Firth & Maude 1970, Maude 1971, Maude 1978, Emory & Maude 1979, Maude 1984, and Beaglehole & Maude 1989...
- David Kitaq Nicolai
- T. T. PatersonT. T. PatersonDoctor Thomas Thomson Paterson , archaeologist, palaeontologist, geologist, glaciologist, geographer, anthropologist, ethnologist, sociologist, and world authority on administration, was curator of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge from 1937 to 1948. He gained his Ph.D...
- RiversW. H. R. RiversWilliam Halse Rivers Rivers, FRCP, FRS, was an English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist and psychiatrist, best known for his work with shell-shocked soldiers during World War I. Rivers' most famous patient was the poet Siegfried Sassoon...
and HaddonAlfred Cort HaddonAlfred Cort Haddon, Sc.D., FRS, FRGS was an influential British anthropologist and ethnologist.Initially a biologist, who achieved his most notable fieldwork, with W.H.R. Rivers, C.G. Seligman, Sidney Ray, Anthony Wilkin on the Torres Strait Islands... - Mark ShermanMark ShermanMark Allen Sherman of Pasadena, California is a biochemist and prominent string figure enthusiast. His editing and writing led to the publishing of Kwakiutl String Figures by Julia Averkieva, "the most comprehensive Native American string figure collection ever assembled from a single tribe," the...
Further reading
- 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
- Super string games, New York: William Morrow & 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
External links
- 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.
- myriamn's Videos Some tutorial videos, YouTube.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.