Eskimo String Figures 183 b 



"I knew also of two men who lived in another settlement on the Noatak 

 river. They did not believe in a spirit of string figures, but said they originated 

 from two stars, ayyuk, which are visible only when the sun has returned after 

 the winter night. One of these men was inside a dance-house when a flood of 

 mist poured in through the curtain door. His two companions rapidly made 

 and unmade the figure "Two Labrets," uttering the usual formula that goes 

 with it; but the mist kept pouring in. Presently it cleared a little, and between 

 the door and themselves they discerned the form of an old man who was moving 

 his hands as though he were making string figures; nor could the men drive him 

 away, despite the persistency with which they made 'Two Labrets.' The lamp 

 was slowly expiring when the sceptic caught it up, raced around the house with 

 it and returned inside again. The figure vanished as soon as he rushed towards 

 the door. Both the sceptic's companions were shamans, and by their magic 

 they saved the man from any evil consequences." 



From Aqsiataq, a Colville river Eskimo, comes the following account: 



"I was a young boy at the time, a,nd staying inside the house with my 

 mother. We heard a loud crackling sound outside as though a number of dried 

 skins were shaking in the wind. My mother immediately ran outside and 

 raced around the house. When she came in again she told me that the sound 

 had been made by the spirit of string figures. We listened again for a time, but 

 the noise was not repeated. 



"Certain shamans can control this spirit. I once saw a shaman extend his 

 hands as though he were holding out a string figure, yet no cord could be seen 

 on his fingers. Some of the men laid their belts over the invisible cord, and their 

 belts remained suspended in the air." 



The Eskimos of Hudson bay have a slightly different behef from their kins- 

 men in Alaska. According to Captain Comer^ the natives of Iglulik play cat's 

 cradles in the fall when the sun is going south, to catch it in the meshes of the 

 string and so prevent its disappearance. Again, the same authority states^ 

 that on the west coast of Hudson bay "boys must not play cat's cradle, because 

 in later life their fingers might become entangled in the harpoon-line. They 

 are allowed to play this game when they become adults. Two cases were told of 

 hunters who lost their fingers in which the cause was believed to be their having 

 played cat's cradle when young. Such youths are thought to be particularly 

 liable to lose their fingers in hunting ground-seal." Among the Copper Eskimos, 

 as well as farther west, young and old play alike; indeed the parents take a 

 special delight in teaching their young children. 



APPENDIX II 



DISTRIBUTION OF ESKIMO STRING FIGURES 



Several facts have to be borne carefully in mind when studying the dis- 

 tribution of the figures in this collection. In the first place the number of ways 

 in which the string is manipulated is hmited, and slightly different combinations 

 of the same movements will produce entirely different results. Hence new 

 figures, which are only slight modifications of figures previously known, are 

 liable to arise at any time; they may retain the old names and entirely 

 supercede the older figures, or they may co-exist with them but be given 

 new interpretations. From many regions only the completed figures are 

 known, and these may sometimes be made in two or three ways. It is* 

 therefore very difficult to determine what figures are genetically connected, 

 and still more difl&cult to decide which should be assigned the priority. 



' Boas, F., The Eskimos of Baffin Land and Hudson Bay. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural Historv 

 Vol. XV, part 1, p. 161. 

 2 Id., p. 161. 



