328 



STRING FIGURES 



[CH. XV 



An onlooker is now invited to put his hand, representing a 

 salmon, in the middle mesh. It escapes if the left hand is re- 



Figure vi. A Salmon Net. 



leased and the right hand moved away, but is caught if the right 

 hand is released and the left hand moved away. 



The Yam Thief. This figure has been found in Northern 

 Europe, Africa, America, Oceania and Northern Asia. Every- 

 where it is used to illustrate a story. 



The figure may be made thus : (1) Hold the left hand open 

 with the palm facing you, and the thumb upright and the fingers 

 pointing to the right and slightly upwards. With the right 

 hand, loop the string over the left thumb, crossing the strings 

 if you like, and let one string hang down over the palm and the 

 other over the back of the hand — we may call these the palmar 

 and dorsal strings. (2) Pass the right index-finger from below 

 under the palmar string, and then between the left thumb and 

 index-finger, and with its front tip hook up a loop of the dorsal 

 string ; pull this loop between the left thumb and index-finger 

 back on to the left palm ; then with the right index -finger give 

 the loop one twist clockwise, and put it over the palmar string 

 on to the left index -finger ; pull the two pendant strings so as 

 to tighten the loops on the thumb and index-finger. (3) In the 

 same way pass the right index-finger from below under the 



