Kwakiutl String Figures (Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History Vol. 71)

Of the games people play, string figures afford nearly universal amusement, appearing in more cultures than any other. But although over 2,000 individual patterns have been recorded world-wide since 1888, when anthropologist Franz Boas first described a pair of Eskimo "cat's cradles," very few studies have explored North American Indian string figures. This intriguing volume publishes for the first time 102 string figures and 10 string tricks collected among the Kwakiutl Indians by Julia Averkieva, a young visiting Soviet scholar who accompanied Boas on his 1930 expedition to Vancouver Island. When she returned to Leningrad, Averkieva left her unpublished monograph with Boas, whose heirs eventually sent it to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Averkieva's study represents the most comprehensive Native American string collection ever assembled from a single tribe. In addition to characterizing the social conditions that prompted string figure making among the Kwakiutl during the time of her field study, Averkieva noted step-by-step instructions for each figure and transcribed traditional accompanying chants. In editing and expanding Averkieva's manuscript, Mark Sherman addresses string figure enthusiasts as well as cultural anthropologists. Sherman includes in his Introduction a complete description of basic openings and string figure moves. For each Kwakiutl figure he has prepared clear illustrations based on Averkieva's original photographs and pencil sketches. In addition, he has tested each figure for workability, clarifying instructions where necessary and recasting them in Rivers and Haddon's standard terminology. Sherman's analysis of figure titles suggests that many aspects of Kwakiutl material culture and belief are preserved in string. In examining the ethnological value of the collection, he discusses the implication of observed similarities between Eskimo and Kwakiutl string figures. He also updates Averkieva's preliminary distribution data, interspersing the figure descriptions with references to related and identical figures from other cultures. Each analysis is keyed to an illustrated cross index. Kwakiutl String Figures will interest students of comparative cultures and will delight all who have time (and string) on their hands. CONTENTS......Page 6 STRING FIGURES......Page 7 ILLUSTRATIONS......Page 10 FOREWORD......Page 11 PREFACE......Page 12 Introduction by Mark A. Sherman......Page 16 Introduction by Julia Averkieva......Page 33 String Figure Construction Methods......Page 37 Appendix A. Kwakiutl Culture as Reflected in String Figures......Page 167 Appendix B. Kwakiutl String Figures: Origins and Affinities......Page 181 Appendix C. Analogous Figures: An Illustrated Cross Index......Page 211 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 216 INDEX......Page 224 Represents The Most Comprehensive Native American String Collection Ever Assembled From A Single Tribe. It Contains 102 String Figures And 10 String Tricks Collected Among The Kwakiutl Indians Of British Columbia, By A Soviet Scholar. Julia Averkieva And Mark A. Sherman ; Foreword By Bill Holm. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 187-194) And Index.