JisKimo String Figures 



165 B 



CXLV. A Pot Boiling^ 



The Inland Eskimos call this figure utkuak qaldPoq, i.e. "the p,ot is boiling." 

 In the Mackenzie delta and in Coronation gulf it is called qinvim dqa, i.e. "a 

 dog's anus." The Mackenzie natives continue it to produce another figure, 

 "a tent." The "pot boiling" is really the same as the preceding figure, only 

 inverted. 



Loop behind the left thumb and little finger. Pass the right hand into the 

 other end of the loop from the proximal side and with the palm of the right index 

 draw through the left palmar string. 



Again pass the right hand into the pendent loop from the proximal side 

 and with the palms of the thumb and index draw through the ulnar thumb and 

 the radial little finger strings of the left hand. Spread apart the right thumb and 

 index, holding their ulnar strings firmly in the palm of the hand. See-saw the 

 right hand and "the pot" over at the left bubbles up and down. 



Fig. 217 



CXLVI. A Tent 



This figure, which the Mackenzie Eskimos call tu-piq, "a tent," is merely a 

 continuation of the previous one. It is supposed to represent the conical tent, 

 somewhat like the Indian "tipi," which was used in the Mackenzie delta a 

 generation or two ago. 



Make the previous figure "a pot boiling." 



Spread apart the two radial right hand strings with the left index and ring 

 fingers, then pass the left middle finger in between the two ulnar right hand 

 strings. 



Drop the right hand loops over the back of the left hand. 



trap." 



1 Mr. F. W. Waugh has collected this figure from the Okanagau Indians of British Columbia, who call it "a fish- 



