String Figure Magazine

Table of Contents - Volume 3, number 4 (December 1998) - 24 pages

Getting Started - fingers, loops, strings, and commands (pages 1-4) - an introduction to words and symbols commonly used in string figure instructions.
Megaphone (pages 5-8) - collected by Frank E. Lutz as 'Fish Trap' from the Patomana people of Guyana.
Since most modern city dwellers will fail to appreciate what this figure represents to the people of the Guyana rain forest, we've renamed it Megaphone. Display the figure vertically and it becomes an Ice Cream Cone. Invert the cone and it becomes a Pylon.
Starting A Fire (pages 9-10) - collected by Kathleen Haddon from the Aborigines of Cape York, Australia.
This figure represents dry brush awaiting a flame. To simulate ignition, a helper inserts his hand into the central diamond. The maker then releases his right hand and jerks the figure to the left. The figure (tinder) disintegrates, but the helper's hand (flame) remains.
Border Between Two Countries (pages 11-14) - collected by E.D. Earthy from the Thonga people of Mozambique, Africa.
The narrow rectangle in the center represents a boundary trench made in time of war, or a line of demarcation between lands of neighboring chiefs.
Devil's Horns (pages 15-16) - collected by H.R. Haefelfinger from a school girl of Basel, Switzerland.
This amusing figure is a variation of Tea Cup and Saucer. In Japan it is known as Mask.
Flying Saucer (pages 17-20) - created by Yukio Shishido, Kyoto, Japan.
For years Yukio Shishido has been creating highly original geometric string figures. This football-shaped 3D figure is called Flying Saucer.
Moon Between the Mountains (pages 21-24) - collected by Diamond Jenness from the Eskimos of Point Barrow, Alaska.
This wonderfully realistic figure is known throughout northern Alaska and parts of northern Canada.
Resources (inside back cover) - learning more about the string figures in this issue.

Last updated April 27, 1999

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