Page:String Figures and How to Make Them.djvu/25

xxii The "Fish-spear," which is a simple figure, has also a wide distribution. It is found in Torres Straits (" Fish-spear"). H.I. Smith described it from the Salish of Thompson River, B.C. ("Pitching a tent"). I found it played by the Clayoquaht Indians, Nootka tribe, Vancouver Island, at the St. Louis Exposition ("Sea-egg [Echinus] spear"), and there is a Zufii, N.M., example in the Philadelphia Museum.

No cat's-cradles or string tricks have hitherto been recorded from Africa. I have for some time been aware of the sparse occurrence of one or two string tricks from that continent, but very recently my friend, Dr. C. W. Cunnington, has collected fifteen patterns and three tricks from various tribes in East Africa, mainly in the neighborhood of Lake Tanganyika; these will, I hope, be published by the Anthropological Institute of London. Three of these begin with Opening A, the rest have varied beginnings. In four cases the final patterns are similar, but the construction differs in each case. Three figures possess movement. The pattern known as Umuzwa, "a wooden spoon" made by the Ulungu, of the south end of Tanganyika, is "practically the same in result as the Cherokee figure, 'Crow's Feet.'" One string trick from Wajiji "is precisely the same as Kebe mokeis, 'the mouse,' from Murray Island, Torres Straits, a trick also known to the Omaha Indians." Several patterns are known to widely separated tribes, but under different names. Mrs. Jayne's discovery of a Batwa Pygmy pattern is of great interest, and it will be noticed that, like the majority of those since known from Africa, it has an original opening.

It may seem a superfluous question to some to ask, Why is this game played? But the Ethnologist is bound to do so, for he knows from experience that practically everything man does has a meaning, and it is his business to endeavor to find out whether there is any reason for the performance of any action, and if so to discover its significance.

The Asiatic type, so far as our present knowledge goes, does not appear to possess much interest; but two facts seem to be significant with regard to the Oceanic type. These are: (1) The widely spread accompaniment of words or chants, and (2) The frequent representation of persons, incidents, or objects connected with religion or mythology. These facts are interesting and suggest that we have here to do with some symbolism that has in course of time become obscured. On the other hand, it may merely be a pastime, and the figures and designs may be nothing more than casual illustrations of mythology, as they are of innumerable natural objects.