Page:String Figures and How to Make Them.djvu/18

Rh information: "In Germany it is also known under the name of Abheben (' Taking off '), Faden-abheben (' Taking-off strings '), and Fadenspiel (' String-game '). The figures are variously named; in Brabant they are known as Wasser (' Water '), die Schere (' Scissors '), die Geige (' Fiddle '), die Wiege (' Cradle '), (cf. Georgens, Sp. für Knaben, bl. 263). Andree ('Braunschw. Volkskunde) calls it Hexenspiel ('Witch's game'), and Auf-und abnehmen (' picking-up and taking-off'). In the neighborhood of the town of Nantes it is known as la scie (' Saw '); the best known figures are called: le berceau (' Cradle'), les chandelles (' Candies'), les carreaux (' Squares '), les ciseaux (' Scissors '), etc. (R. des Trad. pop. XIII, 15.)"

OCEANIC TYPE There is no need to give all the references by travellers of the occurrence of cat's-cradle over this vast area, but the following will suffice to indicate its universal occurrence:

Australia. Eyre (p. 227) refers to the "varied and singular figures" made by the Australians and remarks that "our juvenile attempts in this way are very meagre and uninteresting compared to them." Bunce (p. 75) says: "Some were playing with a puzzle made of string, Cudgi Cudgick. This puzzle was played between two individuals and required two pairs of hands, in the same manner as the juvenile game of 'cat's-cradle' common to our own country." It is not clear from this description whether they played as we do or whether, as elsewhere in Australia, two people are required to make some figures.

Roth (p. 1o) has paid more attention to this subject than any one else in Australia. He states: "With any fair length of twine, adult women and young children, of both sexes, will often amuse themselves for hours at a time. It is thus used in the form of an endless string to play the game known to us Europeans as 'cratch-cradle.' Thus played with, it is met with everywhere throughout North Queensland. In some districts it is even indulged in by adult men; it is the women and children, however, who are most partial to it. Some of the figures are extremely complicated, passing through at least eight or nine stages before completion. During the process of manufacture such a one requires not only the hands, but even the mouth, knees, etc., to make the different loops, twists, and turns. In addition to variations in complexity, certain of the figures may be made with two endless strings, while to complete others again it may be necessary to have one or even two assistants. Strange to say, similar figures may be met with at distances extremely remote, with