Websites Bibliography Notes Learning
The Ancient Art of String Figures Articles,
instructions, gallery, links, bibliography, notes, esoteric aspects.
"The Art of String Figures
is found in many cultures of the world. In Hawaii it is known as Hei. It
is more commonly
recognized as Cat’s Cradle. Lois & Earl Stokes are artists of the spirit
performing string figures as an esoteric art.
They live the Huna Philosophy and The Aloha Spirit of Hawaii. They view String
Figures as a gift from their Ancestors.
Many figures have been forgotten but many remain. They want the children of this
land to know the beauty of this living
treasure. On another level they use String Figures for healing and to promote
health and wellness. They show others
how to use String Figures as a tool for manifestation, divination, energy work,
meditation and journeying."
Annotated String
Figure Bibliography By Richard Ratajczak.
Excellent contribution. 143K.
Class for Elementary School Students in
Making String Figures By Michael P.
Garofalo
The
Cultural Significance of Navajo String Games By
Mark Sherman. A fascinating study of Navaho culture,
cosmology, and artistic concepts.
Cunitas:
Examples of Collected Figures from the University of Chile
An Apache Door
Pi cho wai nai
Diné
String Games Mark Sherman
Easy String Figures
Instructions and illustrations for 10 figures.
Ensayos:
Origen y folclor de los juegos en Chile
Ficellomania
Gallery, instructions, links. In French.
From
the Pool to the Cradle String Game Instructions for
the two person Cat's Cradle.
Les Ficelles
Enchantees Instructions and photos for various figures, bibliographies,
guide. Presented by
Myriam Namolaru.
From
the Pool to the Cradle Detailed instructions for a
string game classroom activity. Includes useful
color photographs of the activity. Brief list of links.
The
Genesis and Geometry of the Labyrinth: Architecture, Hidden Language, Myths
and Rituals.
By Patrick Conty and Arianne Conty. Rochester, Vermont. Inner Traditions International,
2002.
Index, 296 pages.
ISBN: 0892819227. MGC. This book includes much on knot theory,
mazes,
and the theories and myths about labyrinths.
Anne Glover Story String Productions
Harrison
School: String Figures By Belinda Holbrook.
String figure making with 3rd graders.
How
to Make the Cat's Cradle Instruction with
illustrations.
Index
to String Figure Instructions Instruction with
illustrations to over 100 string figures.
International Guild of
Knot Tyers
International String Figure Association
Association Website. For more information write: P.O. Box 5134,
Pasadena, California, 91117 USA. Phone/FAX: (626) 305-9055. E-mail: webweavers@isfa.org. Excellent list of links.
There are English, French, German, and Spanish versions of this fine website.
List of publications available.
ISFA Press was founded in 1993 by Mark A.
Sherman. Outstanding collection of on-line bibliographies.
Outstanding
annual publications by the ISFA.
The
"Jacob's Ladder" Family of String Figures
Jacob's Ladder
- Origin and Distribution By Martin
Probert.
Jeux de Ficelle
Numerous
photographs of string figures. Bibliography of French language titles.
John
Kean's String Figures Clear instructions by John Kean
for making a number of more complex figures.
Kid's
Guide to Easy String Figures
Knots on the Web
A full-featured site! Includes sections on knot tying, theory, art,
software, books and image gallery. Presented by Peter Suber. Comprehensive
Internet Links on the subject!!! Bibliography.
Labyrinths: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Quotes, Notes
By Michael P. Garofalo. 45Kb.
Links to
String Figure Websites By Myriam
Namolaru. 48K. Some detailed indexing available.
Links
to String Figure Websites By Michael P.
Garofalo.
Links
to String Figure Websites from DMOZ
The
"Little Fishes" Family of String Figures
The
"Many Stars" Family of String Figures
Maori
String Figures Presented by the University of Auckland.
The
Mathematics and Origin of String Figures Martin
Probert. "String Figures and Knot Theory,
the Origin of String Figures, and Invented String Figures." Excellent
information.
Me
Human, You Alien: How to Talk to an Extraterrestrial
Jonathan Vos Post
Mrs. Baadh's
Playstrings
Introduction, four games, book, links, bibliography. by Valeria
Baadh.
Museums and Other
Institutions with String Figures Artifacts. By Martin
Probert.
Native American
Cordage By Tara Prindle. A variety of
weaving and string arts using different kinds of
materials. Links, references, and information.
Open
Directory: Arts/Crafts/String Figures Links.
The Origin of
String Figures. By Martin Probert.
Performers
of String Figure Art - Directory
Rain Forest
String Figures from Guyana Photographs only.
Rope and String
Games for Kids - Book List
Barbara G. Schultzgruber
A storyteller who uses string figures in some performances.
String Figure Bibliography Strings
On Your Fingers: Bibliography. By Michael P. Garofalo.
String Figure - From
Mathworld
String Figure Notation
A Shorthand Notation for Recording String Figures.
String Figure Store
Here you can purchase and view: Books, Videos, Strings, Collectibles, Audio Tapes
and
many more string figure as well as storytelling related items and information.
If you are an educator or parent you
can provide your child or children with an
interesting way to learn about different cultures and countries.
String
Figures Short bibliography. .
String Figures
By Myriam Namolaru. Examples, bibliography, lots of interesting
links, notes, art.
Primarily in French. String stories and notes. The
graphic layout of this website is a bit unusual;
nevertheless, lots of unique links at this website. The extensive effort
to create detailed indexes
to key reference books, the web links, and bibliography at this website are a
valuable contribution.
String
Figures Davenport Community School, Iowa
String Figures
Ed Sterchi is quite a string figure buff and is in great demand with area
schools and libraries,
in Illinois, for his Native American string stories.
String Figures
Brian Cox - The Incredible String Man. Photo
String
Figures Why I Collect String Figures, and Why You Should Too.
By Britt Scharringhausen. Detailed
instructions for six figures from Fun With
String Figures by W. W. Rouse Ball: Batoka Gorge, Fish Spear, Moth,
Porker, Pillars
of the Sun, and Eclipse.
String Figures and
Knot Theory: Mathematics of the Unknot Under Tension. By
Martin Probert.
String
Figures and Shamanism By Lois
Stokes.
String
Figures Class, Corning, CA By Michael P.
Garofalo.
String
Figures Depict the Universe Excerpts
from Kathleen Haddon's book.
String
Figures - Links By Linda
Mosbacker.
String Figures - Open
Directory - Links
String
Figures Mail List ISFA Discussion Group Inclues
archives.
String
Figures Mail List Yahoo Discussion Group Inclues
archives.
Sam Cannarozzi's peformance of
"Stringeries."
Photography by Philip Marchal
String
Figures - Mathematics and the Liberal Arts
String
Figures, Mathematics, Origin By Martin
Probert. A variety of informative essays and
conjectures.
String Figures Store
Books, videotapes,
storytelling, supplies,
art.
String
Games: More Than Just Child's Play By Joyce
Cohen. Review of websites.
Strings
on Your Fingers By Michael P. Garofalo.
Links, bibliography, resources,
quotes and notes. 53K. Class Mike
is a string figures researcher and performer
from Red Bluff, California.
The Survival, The
Origin and Mathematics of String Figures. Martin
Probert.
Teaching
Hawaiian String Figures Lois and Earl Stokes
Tere Te Vaka
or Correr Barco String Figure from the Easter Islands. Instructions
plus photographs.
"String figures in
general are called Kai Kai in the language of Rapa Nui. Playing with the
string, making figures,
string games, all called Kai Kai." Presented
by A.J.Oxton.
Tetrahedron,
Octahedron and Cube How to make 3-dimensional shapes
out of a loop of string.
This and That: String
Figures Instructions for Jacob's Ladder (plus animated .gif), Two
Mountains and a Stream,
Walking Sticks. Presented by Stevernd.
Dave Titus
Mr. Titus is a Christian missionary, storyteller, and.string artist. You can
purchase two videotapes
featuring Dave: String Magic from Around the World, and String
Fun with the Parables.
He has also written two books: Native American String Figures, and African
String Figures.
The Torres Straights String Figures in the British Museum, A.C. Haddon
Collection. By Martin Probert.
Towards
a Study of String Figures and Knowledge Presentation
H. T. Goranson, 22K.
The
"Two Chiefs" Family of String Figures
The
"Two Trees" Family of String Figures
The
"Well" Family of String Figures
WWW
Collection of Favorite String Figures Instructions,
links, books, notes, examples. By Eric Lee.
World Wide Webs: String
Figures from Around the World Excellent site!! Presented
by Richard Darsie.
Instructions for elementary, intermediate and advanced string
figures. Bibliography. Notes on families of string
figures. Detailed
written instructions and an illustration of the final form of each figure are given.
Links. This has
been a very influential website.
Yahoo Hobbies - String Figures - Links
"Strings become an obsession with some
people .. it's like a moving meditation."
- Gelvin
Stevenson
"It's just a miracle that out of
a tangle of string something will pop into view."
- Joseph
D'Antoni
"Creating webs, spiders spin
mandalas of sacred art;
Opening portals to the unseen world,
Ancient silken strings embrace magic."
- Lois Stokes, Web
of Life
Even though you tie a hundred knots --
the string remains one.
- Rumi
"One of the rules I have incorporated in my teaching
is that when
they learn a new figure it is our tradition to teach that same figure
to at least 5 other people. It reinforces their learning as well as
spreads the new figure quickly throughout the school. My class
also organizes lessons to teach other classes about string figures."
- Lee Gardner, School
Teacher's Tips
" ... the World's Most
Widespread Game"
- James Hornell, Discovery, 1928
“Spider Woman taught the allegorical string figures to
the Navajo
to help them keep their thinking in order and thus also keep their lives in
order.”
- Trudy Griffin-Pierce, Navaho Sandpaintings
The
Cultural Significance of Navajo String Games by Mark Sherman
"String figures
is a hobby familiar to every school child with a loop of string. It is
also an art
form common to every culture in the world, from the Inuit to South Sea Islanders
to American
Indian tribes, from Europe to Asia to Africa to South America."
- Megan Elizabeth
Clarke, "String Figures As Both Art and Culture."
Smithsonian, Vol. 31, no. 4 (July, 2000)
"Michael P.
Garofalo's comprehensive page of string links.
Best on the Web!"
- String
Figures Association, March 2005
Recommended Books for Learning String Figures and Tricks
String Figures and How to Make Them; A Study of Cat's
Cradle in Many Lands.
By Caroline Furness Jayne (1873-1909).
With an ethnological introduction by Alfred C. Haddon.
New York, Dover Publications,
Inc., 1962. The Dover edition, first published in 1962, is an
unabridged
republication of the work first published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1906
under the
former title: String Figures. Illustrations,
photographs, bibliography, index,
407 pages. SBN: 048620152X. LCCN: 62-51880.
In print in 2000 for $8.00 - an
outstanding value.
Table of Contents and list
of figures.
This is the Uhr text for all 20th century studies of string
figures!! Most of the books listed
below simply repeat some of the string
figures found in C. F. Jayne's book.
"This book may be regarded as an introduction to the study of String Figures - games which
are widespread
among primitive peoples, and played by weaving on the hands a single loop of string
in order to produce
intricate patterns supposed to represent certain
familiar objects."
- Caroline Furness Jayne, String Figures and How to Make
Them, v, 1906.
The Real Cat's Cradle
"As Dr. Haddon has
pointed out, the familiar game of cat's-cradle probably had its origin in Asia whence
it
was introduced into Europe; it has also spread to some extent among the Asiatic islands.
It is well
known in China, Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Borneo; and it may be
known in Java, Celebes,
and Australia. It is apparently unknown in Micronesia,
Melanesia, Polynesia, and to the Amerinds.
In Europe it is recorded from Austria,
Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland,
France and England.
We have not be able to find any record of the time or manner of its introduction into
England, but this
must have happened within comparatively recent years as there are no
references to it in the older
literature. Moreover, no satisfactory explanation of
the name "cat's-cradle" has ever been given;
its other name
"cratch-cradle," may refer to the two important stages of the game: the
"manger"
(a cratch) and the "cradle."
In Southern China cat's cradle is known as Kang sok = Well rope; in Swatow the
name means
"Sawing wood." In Korea it is called Ssi-teu-ki =
Woof-taking; and in Japan, Aya ito tori = Woof
pattern String-taking."
- Caroline Furness Jayne, String Figures and How to Make Them,
1906, p. 324-.
The parts or figures of the Cat's Cradle are: 1. Cradle, 2.
Soldier's Bed, 3. Candles,
4. Manger, 5. Diamonds, 6. Cat's Eye, 7. Fish in a Dish, 8.
Clock.
Super String
Games.
By Camilla Gryski. Illustrated by Tom Sankey. New York, William Morrow
and
Company, Morrow Junior Books, 1987. 80 pages. ISBN:
068807684X.
Many interesting new string figures in this fine book.
"A long time ago, people made lists of the names of string figures,
or brought back drawings of the
finished patterns. Some even kept the string pattern
itself, fastened to a piece of paper. But once
a string figure is finished, it is
almost impossible to tell just how it was made. We can learn and
teach each other
string figures today because, in 1898, two anthropologists, Dr. A.C. Haddon
and Dr. W.H.R.
Rivers, invented a special language to describe the way string figures are made.
Haddon and Rivers developed their special language to record all the steps it took to make
the
string figures they learned in the Torres Straights. Then, other anthropologists
used this same
language, or a simpler version of it, when they wanted to remember the
string figures they
saw in their travels."
- Camilla Gryski, Super
String Games, p. 7.
Fascinating String
Figures.
Edited by the International String Figure Association. Dover Publications,
1996,
1999. 78 pages. ISBN: 0486404005. 23 unique and many
new
string figures. Excellent value at $5.95.
My Recommendations:
Best gift for a young child:
String Games from Around the World.
Anne Johnson. Klutz Press.
See also: Kid's
Guide to Easy String Figures
Best gift for the older child:
Best choices for the more experienced:
String Figures and How to Make Them.
Caroline Jayne. Dover Publications.
Fascinating String
Figures.
International String Figure Association. Dover Publications.
Super String
Games. Camilla
Gryski. William Morrow & Company.
East Los Angeles Library, 1978
Michael P. Garofalo Teaching String Figures
African String Figures.
By Dave Titus. 2004. String
Store
Artists in String: String
Figures; Their Regional
Distribution and Social Significance.
By Kathleen Haddon. AMS Press, 1975. ISBN:
0404141277. Originally published by Methuen,
London, 1930. Some text.
Bibliography: Annotated String Figure Bibliography by Richard Ratajczak. Excellent!
Bibliography: Jeux de Ficelle
Bibliography: Sur les Jeux de Ficelle Bibliographie
Bibliography: String Figure Bibliography by Richard Darsie.
Bibliography: String Figure Bibliography by Tom Storer. The Definitive Work!!!!
Bibliography: String Figure Bibliography by Tom Storer (Abridged). The Best on the Net!!!
Bibliography: Strings on Your Fingers Recommended Reading by Michael P. Garofalo
By Hook or By Crook. By D. R. Meredith. Berkeley Prime Crime. ISBN: 0425174654.
Cat's Cradle; A Book of String
Figures
By Anne Akers Johnson. Palo Alto, California, Klutz Press, 1993.
36 pages. ISBN: 1878257536.
All figures from C. F. Jayne.
Includes a two person Cat's Cradle. Nylon string included.
Cat's Cradle, Owl's Eyes: A Book of String
Games
By Camilla Gryski. Illustrated by Tom Sankey. New York, William
Morrow and Company, 1983.
78 pages. ISBN: 0688039413.
Excellent instructions for doing the 11 part Cat's cradle with
a partner. Clear
instructions and illustrations for making dozens of string figures - mostly from
C. F.
Jayne.
Fascinating String
Figures
Edited by the International String Figure Association. Dover Publications, 1996,
1999.
78 pages. ISBN: 0486404005. 23 unique and many new
string figures. Excellent value at $5.95.
Fun with String
Figures
By Walter William Rouse. New York, Dover Publications, 1999.
80 pages. ISBN: 0486228096.
Fun With
String: A Collection of String Games, Useful
Braiding and Weaving,
Knot Work and Magic with String and Rope.
By Joseph Leeming. Illustrated by Charles E. Pont. New York, Dover
Publications, Inc., 1974.
An unabridged and unaltered republication of the work
originally published in 1940 by J. B.
Lippincott Company. Bibliography, 161 pages.
ISBN: 0486230635.
International String Figure
Association
Association Website. For more information write: P.O. Box 5134, Pasadena,
California,
91117 USA. Phone/FAX: (626) 305-9055. E-mail: webweavers@isfa.org. Excellent list of links.
There are English, French, German, and Spanish versions of this fine website.
List of
publications available. ISFA Press was founded in 1993 by Mark A.
Sherman. ISFA
publishes its newsletters
online. I own all of their Annual
ISFA Bulletins and consider them
to be outstanding reference sources. If you are serious about learning
string figures, then
membership in the ISFA is a necessity.
Jeux du Monde, Leur Histoire, Comment y Jouer, Comment
les Construire.
F. V. Grunfled. Lied, Genève 1979.
Juegos con una Cuerta: La Cuerda Fascinadora
Figura. By Anne Akers
Johnson.
Klutz, 1993.
The Knot Book.
By Geoffrey Budworth. New York, Sterling Publishing Company, 1985. Index,
glossary,
160 pages. ISBN: 0-8069-7944-5.
Kwakiutl String Figures.
By Julia Averkieva and Mark A. Sherman. Vancouver/New York,
University of British
Columbia Press,
American Museum of Natural History, 1992.. xxxi, 199 pages.
ISBN: 0774804327.
Lost: A Story in String.
By Paul Fleischman. Illustrated by C. B. Mordan. Henry Holt and
Company.
ISBN: 0805055835.
Many Stars and More String Games.
By Camilla Gryski. Illustrated by Tom Sankey. New York, William
Morrow and Company,
1985. 80 pages. ISBN: 0-688-05792-6.
Excellent instructions for doing a 8 part solo
Cat's cradle. Clear instructions and
illustrations for making dozens of string figures - mostly
from C. F. Jayne.
Maori String Figures.
By Johannes C. Anderson. 1927. ISBN: 0404144020.
Native American String Figures.
By Dave Titus. 2004. String
Store
String Figure Store: 130 SW "B"
Avenue, Lawton, Oklahoma 73501-4040
Now
You See It... String Games and Stories, Book 2.
By Michael Taylor. Hawthorne Press, 2002. 128 pages.
ISBN: 1903458218.
A Piece of String is a Wonderful Thing.
By Judy Hindley. Illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain. Cambridge,
Massachusetts,
Candlewick Press, 1993. 24 pages. ISBN: 1564021475.
A picture book about the
history and uses of string and rope.
Pull
the Other One! - String Games and Stories.
By Michael Taylor. Hawthorne Press, 2001. 128 pages. ISBN:
1869890493.
South American String Figures.
By Stig Ryden. Offprint
from Sartryck Ur Meddelanden Fran Geografiska ForeningenI Goteborg
VI, 1934. 42 pages.
String Figure Bibliography.
By Tom Storer. Published by the International String Figure Association, 1996.
110 pages. ISBN: 0-9651467-1-5.
"First published in 1985,
this fully revised and expanded edition of Storer's comprehensive survey of the string
figure
literature cites over 1300 articles, books, and monographs that mention or describe
string figures. Entries are coded
to indicate whether the work includes string figure
illustrations and/or construction methods. A must for all string
figure enthusiasts!"
String Figure
Magazine
Published by The International String Figure Association.
Edited by Mark A. Sherman.
1996-. ISSN: 1087-1527. Table of
Contents information at ISFA Website.
Kwiss School, Hacienda Heights, California
Kindergarten Class
1985
String Figures.
By Alexander Johnson Abraham. Michigan, Reference Publications, 1988. ISBN:
0917256239.
String Figures and How to Make Them; A Study of Cat's
Cradle in Many Lands.
By Caroline Furness Jayne (1873-1909).
With an ethnological introduction by Alfred C. Haddon.
New York, Dover Publications,
Inc., 1962. The Dover edition, first published in 1962, is an unabridged
republication of the work first published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1906 under the
former title:
String Figures. Illustrations,
photographs, bibliography, index, 407 pages. SBN: 486-20152-X.
LCCN: 62-51880.
In print in 2000 for $8.00 - an outstanding value.
Table of Contents and list
of figures.
String Figures from Around the World.
By Sorena DeWitt. Illustrated by Robin Michel. Heian
International Publishing Company, 1992.
28 pages. Volume 1., 1992. ISBN:
0-89346-356-6. Seven elementary string figures: Fish
Spear, Outrigger Canoe -
top Hat, Moth, Winking Eye, Jacob's Ladder, Japanese Koto, and
Yam Thief. $6.50.
Volume 2.,
1993, ISBN: 0-89346-827-4.
String Figures from the Gilbert Islands.
By Honor Maude. Wellington, New Zealand, The Polynesian Society, 1958.
String Figures: Internet Links. Strings on Your Fingers. By Michael P. Garofalo.
String Figures of Papua New Guinea.
By Philip Noble. Boroko, Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies, 1979.
String Figures of the Tuamotus.
By Kenneth Emory and Honor Maude. Canberra, The Homa Press, 1979.
String Games.
By Richard Darsie. Sterling Publishing Co., 2003.
String Games.
By Arvind Gupta. National Book Trust, 2002. 50 pages.
ISBN: 8123738595.
String Games.
By Anne Akers Johnson.
String Games for Beginners.
By Kathleeen Haddon. Cambridge, Massachusetts, H. Heffer & Sons.
String Games from Around the World.
By Anne Akers Johnson. Palo Alto, California, Klutz Press, 1995. 70
pages. ISBN: 1-57054-040-3.
Includes colored string. Seven
elementary string figures: Siberian Hut, Carrying Wood, Worm,
Flying Bird, Candle
Thief, Palm Tree and Mosquito. Interesting layout, nice presentations of
seven
cultural groups, and attractive color photographs of children from around the world doing
the string figures. A special hardcover spiral bound book for $12.95.
String Stories: A Creative, Hands-on Approach for
Engaging Children in Literature.
By Belinda Holbrook. Worthington, Ohio, Linworth Publishing Inc., 2002. 141 pages.
ISBN:
1586830635.
Strings on You Fingers: How to Make String Figures. By Elizabeth Helfman and Harry
Helfman. New York, William Morrow, 1965.
Super String Games.
By Camilla Gryski. Illustrated by Tom Sankey. New York, William Morrow
and Company, Morrow
Junior Books, 1987. 80 pages. ISBN:
0-688-07684-X. Many interesting new string figures
in this fine book. Review.
The World's Best String Games.
By Joanmarie Kalter. New York, Sterling Publishing Co., 1989.
Index, 128 pages.
ISBN: 0-8069-6921-0. All figures
from C. F. Jayne. Includes a two person Cat's Cradle.
4th and 5th Grade Students
Olive View Elementary School, Corning, California, 2003
GATE Class on String Figures
Distributed on the Internet by Michael P. Garofalo
E-Mail Mike Garofalo
Red Bluff, California
A Short Biography of
Mike Garofalo
Strings on Your Fingers
Version 1.4. May 12, 2005
The History of Gardening Timeline
String Figures, String
Tricks, Knots Artist Performer Storyteller
American Indian Arts and Crafts
Children's Programs and Workshops and Performances
School, Library, Club Workshops and Performances
American Indian Arts and Crafts Workshops and Performances
Children's Parties
A Short Biography of Michael P. Garofalo
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© 2005, Green Way
Research, Red Bluff, California
Michael P. Garofalo, All Rights Reserved