A Bow

This is another of the Navaho figures shown to me by the same two Navaho girls, at the St. Louis Exposition, in November, 1904. The native name is Atl-ti = a Bow.

First: Hold the string between the tips of the thumb and index of each hand, so that a short piece passes between the hands and a long loop hangs down. Make a small ring, hanging down, in the short string, putting the right hand string away from you over the left hand string (Fig. 478). Insert the index fingers into the ring downward and toward you (Fig. 479), and, putting the thumbs away from you into the long hanging loop (Fig. 480), separate the hands; and, turning the index fingers upward and outward, with the palms of the hands facing away from you, draw the strings tight (Fig. 481).

Turn the hands so that the palms face each other, and the thumbs come toward you and point upward. You now have a long crossed loop on each index, a long crossed loop on each thumb and a single cross in the centre of the figure (Fig. 482).

Second: Pass each thumb away from you over the near index string, and take up from below with the back of the thumb the far index string, and return the thumb to its former position (Fig. 483). This movement draws the far index string over the near index string.

Third: Pass each middle finger toward you over the near index string, and take up from below on the back of the finger the far thumb string (Fig. 484, Left hand), and return the middle finger to its original position (Fig. 484, Right hand).

Fourth: Turn the palms toward you, and put the ring and little fingers of each hand from below between the near index string and the far middle finger string (Fig. 485, Left hand), and pull down the near index string by closing the ring and little fingers on the palm (Fig. 485, Right hand). Keep the index and middle fingers erect; release the loops from the thumbs, and turn the palms away from you, drawing the strings tight (Fig. 486).

String Figure Notation (SFN)

NO: T mo-pu fFS
M mo-pu fTS: RL mu-gr nFS: re T, ex

The "Bow" is not very interesting; it is the first of a series of six Navaho figures which begin in the same way—by an opening peculiar to the Navahos. At first glance the result of this movement—a loop on each thumb and a loop on each index—appears the same as you would have by releasing the little finger loops after Opening A; but you will notice that, whereas in that case the upper straight string is formed by the far index strings and the lower straight string by the near thumb strings, by this Navaho opening we get the upper straight string formed of the near index strings and the lower straight string formed of the far thumb strings. In the Eskimo "Mouth" the result of the opening movement gives a loop on each thumb and index, but here the straight strings are both near strings.