Page:String Figures and How to Make Them.djvu/20

Rh figures have no such significance. Words are said or sentences muttered while most of the figures are being made, but it is difficult to make sense of some of these, and it is quite impossible to understand others. In Murray Island these are called Kamut wed, "Kamut songs."

Nageg upi seker dike, abele lar upige seker dike. Nageg tail comb it is here, that fish on the tail comb it is there.

Le sik, le sik, sik erapei, le sikge, le silage, uteidi

Man bed, man bed, bed breaks, man on a bed, man on a bed,

''uteidi. sik erapei.'' lies asleep, bed breaks.

Mònan patibili Peibri-em enau aroem. Monan rolls to Peibri enau fruit for eating.

Tup igoli umi Waierge, Waier kesge, Waierge Waier kcsge. Tup swim round to Waier, Waier in the channel, to Waier Waier channel.

Pageia mai nagedim upi etauerida kai arearein pekem. Sea-snake you to where tail strikes I to side.

The natives of Torres Straits do not know how to play the Asiatic form of cat's-cradle.

Melanesia. "It was interesting to me," writes Finsch (1888, p. 143), "that the taking off of a thread stretched between the fingers is also found in New Ireland; fairly large lads occupied themselves with it. They were able to make very beautiful figures and in so doing sang a not unpleasant melody." Codrington (p. 341) records that "cat's-cradle, in Lepers' Island Ldegaro, in Florida Honggo, with many figures, is common throughout the islands." He also says (p. 30) that the people of Florida are grouped into six exogamous divisions, or Kema. The names of two of these are Honggo-kama and Honggo-kiki, respectively the "Great" and the "Little Cat's-cradle." Buchner (p. 269) records the game from Fiji, .and he makes the improbable suggestion that the natives had been taught it by the missionaries.