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The string figure occurs as pattern formed by weaving string in a single's fingers, or even occasionally between a fingers of multiple population. String numbers can be created & altered as a game or as the share of a story. Various numbers that may be mass produced within sequence include the cup, so the eyeglasses & a fish. An additional series is mountains, flow of any stream, fish, fisher, big cheese, king & bones of the fish.

String numbers were widely exposed by anthropologists from the 1880s through around 1900, as it come out to develop arisen independently as an entertainment pastime in several societies. Numbers of numbers were collected & described from either Pacific Islanders, Inuit and other Native Americans.

A virtually all popular & swell known string game appears to become cat's cradle.

Much of extra reference in string numbers & in-on-going efforts to collect the babies worldwide & their typically unique methods of construction is available in the publications of the International String Figure Association (ISFA).

International String Figure Association
The ISFA works to gather, preserve, and distribute string figure knowledge for future generations to enjoy this ancient pastime. They have a list of publications, an invitation to become a member, a mailing list, and links to related web sites. Of particular interest are the detailed instructions for making figures collected in 1924 by Diamond Jenness in the Canadian Arctic.

Rain Forest String Figures From Guyana
Photographs taken on a canoe trip along the upper Essequibo River in extreme southern Guyana. Some of the Wai Wai and Wapishana guides and boatmen demonstrated a few string figures for the author.

String Figures
Brian Cox, the Incredible Stringman, tells a story called "Going Fishing" illustrated with string figures. Photos and text of his performance.

The Mathematics and Origin of String Figures
Trivial knot theory, history, and a few new designs by the author, Martin Probert.

Strings On Your Fingers
Michael P. Garofalo does presentations on string figures art, and performances of string figures, catches, and tricks in Northern California and Southern Oregon. His site has a recommended reading list and bibliography for string figures.

String Figures and Shamanism
An essay by Lois Stokes, with speculations on the role of string figures in Hawaiian culture.

Me Human, You Alien
How to talk to an extraterrestrial, using a handful of coins, a loop of string, a flashlight, and two magnets. This is an excerpt from a book entitled "The Handbook of UFO Contact" by Jonathan Vos Post.

Yahoo! Groups Stringfigures
Registered members of this group are interested in describing and illustrating string figures for publication on the web at WWW Collection of Favorite String Figures. They are also developing a system of string figure notation (SFN).

World Wide Webs - String Figures from Around the World
Richard Darsie's instructions (with photographs) for making a wide variety of string figures popular with native cultures throughout the world, organized by "families" and rated according to difficulty. He provides bibliographical references to sources.

WWW Collection of Favorite String Figures
Instructions using string figure notation and prose descriptions, along with diagrams and some video clips. Features twelve beginner-level figures, followed by others of increasing difficulty, and a directory of performers.