SOME FIGURES IN STRING FROM THE 



MAKUSHIS ON THE 1RENG AND 



TAKUTU RIVERS. 



Rev. Alban Robinson, S.J. 



Whether string fingers have an ethnological value or not, there can 

 be no doubt of their intense fascination as proved by their world-wide 

 distribution. In some places the cord used is made of twisted rawhide, in 

 others of stringy bark or fibre, in others again of carefully plaited hair. 

 The string used by civilised nations is wretched compared with the 

 elaborate cords made and used by the so-called savage tribes and nations. 



The figures described in this article were collected during the wet 

 season (May to August) of 1917 when I was living at the Mission of St. 

 Ignatius, Zariwa, on the banks of the Takutu. My sole companions in 

 that lonely place were some eight Indian boys of the Makushi tribe, all of 

 them blissfully free from an}' knowledge of the English language. On 

 fine evenings they would spend hours running about on the smooth space 

 in front of the house, all intent and keen on the rhythm and ceremonies 

 of their tribal games and never losing sight of the work of the moment. 

 When, however, the rains broke and the nights became long for us, the 

 boys would squat round me while I sat at my ticky-ticky (as they named 

 my typewriter). One night, when the machine was temporarily out of 

 order I showed them a very simple trick with string (the one called 

 " Fly on the Nose " and then my treasure was discovered. One boy took 

 the string, and after a moment's thought, worked out the figure they call 

 Munatd. Once they found that they could do something I was unable to 

 do, one or other of them would come of an evening and show me some 

 new figure or trick. They were greatly delighted at my attempts which 

 almost always ended in failure. It was a long time before I came across 

 a method for recording permanently the various intricate movements and 

 consequently, many an evening was passed with cords and figures. 



Generally speaking, the string figures of savage nations are more 

 complicated than the Cat's-cradle of Europe and sometimes set forms of 

 words are chanted or recited. The Makushis, however, never sing or 

 recite any foi'mula or story while working out the pattern as we do 

 with our " Pound of Candles:' Indeed the only case I found among 

 them of even a series of figures is the sequence of Ka-erdn and Eripsa. 

 I tried myself to elicit any formula and afterwards attempted the same by 

 means of a capable interpreter, but I never discovered anything beyond 

 the names of the figures, though they never omitted the word Erlpsa, 

 when performing that figure while occasionally they did not mention the 

 names with other patterns. 



The cord they use when by themselves was made of carefully twisted 

 three-strand crowa fibre. '1 he ends they tied with a rather large knot which 

 seriously impeded the easy running of the string. The hoys preferred 



