ROTH] TWINE, CORDS, AND BANDS 101 
During the whole procedure the skeins are not divided below, but 
held more or less taut by the assistant. Each overcast, as it is com- 
pleted, is tightened, not only by pulling on the cotton strand itself, 
but also by squeezing it up with the left thumb nail, except that, at 
regular intervals, but on opposite sides alternately, an overcasting 
loop isleft slack. Itisinto each of these slack ones that the feathered 
quill (sec. 80) is ultimately bent over and tied. Feathered cords on 
this pattern are wound around the distal ex- 
tremity of the medicine man’s rattle (WER, m1). 
Another example of overcasting (fig. 18) is to be 
seen in the head circlets of Makusi and other 
women, where the procedure is utilized to keep 
the four itiriti strands that constitute the basis 
of the ornament in place. 
45. Loop plaiting with four loops (fig. 19).— 
Three of the loops are passed one in between 
the other, the fourth alone bemg directed over 
and under as in orthodox plaiting. A cotton 
string 20 to 25 feet long is wound four times, in 
the form of a skein, from left palm to over big meee 
toe, and its extremities knotted there, with the —"%. 17-—Overeasting for 
f feathered strings. 
result that we have four loops which are held 
taut by means of the first and third fingers of each hand (A). As 
the palms are turned more or less up during the progress of manu- 
facture, the four sets of loops, for descriptive purposes, may be 
spoken of as two outer (0 on first fingers) and two inner (@ on 
third fingers), these being slipped from one digit to the other in 
regular sequence. Thus, with the strings all taut, starting with the 
inner loops, these change fingers (B) by passing one loop inside the 
other; the same is then done with the outer 
loops. This is followed by a change in 
place between the (operator’s) right outer 
and left inner loop, which are not passed one 
through the other, but the former over the 
latter. The whole process is then repeated 
in the same order—inner loops, outer loops, 
right outer and left inner loop—until the 
length required has been obtained. To 
tighten the successive “‘plaits,” the big toe 
of the free foot is squeezed in between the two inner loops after each 
substitution. When a longer cord is desired a longer twine will be 
used, and under such circumstances the four loops are hooked to a 
projecting branch, forked stick, etc. (in place of the big toe), and the 
action of the free foot, after each substitution of two loops, replaced 
by the hand or stick of an assistant. When a shorter cord is manu- 
factured, the action of the free foot, etc., is replaced by pulling the 
Ya 
Wh 
Ye 
DODI0D99)) N 
LILA 
yy) 
4) 
(e 
Fic. 18.—Overcasting for head circlets.- 
