A Video Theater for Moving Pictures in String
Their outdoor theater may have been around a campfire or on an earthen stage. They were the storytellers and string figures woven between their two hands illustrated their tales.
String figures may have been one of the earliest forms of moving pictures. Today we have theaters and the actors on stage or in the movies are the descendants of these ancient storytellers.
The art of weaving patterns in the string brings you into a dreamtime. Today this is enhanced by the art of video.
Learning how to make string figures and string games has been made easier by watching these videos. No more trying to follow difficult directions written in books. Many videos will show you step by step directions on how to make new figures as well as how to make your old favorites.
I have a collection of videos from YouTube that I want to share with you.Soon you will have a collection of your favorite videos. Be sure to rate the ones that you like the best.
Other Lens by Heinani:
The Shaman Game of String Figures
Divination with String
My Neverending List of String Figure Books and DVDs
The Aloha Bracelet of Blessings
Freely Given Gifts
I Restore Harmony
A Healers Whisper
My Life as a Virtual Shaman
A Healing Bracelet
Don't Wash Your Hands...Out of Fear
Whispers of Aloha on Twitter
A String Epiphany
Dreamweavers Hold A Time Machine Between Their Hands
Snaring Time and Space

Intricate geometric patterns are revealed as the movement of the hands dance to a rhythm of motion. A universal motion in time and space.
The weaving of patterns from a simple loop of string is an ancient art. Stories of Grandmother spider spinning net-like webs and studies of alignments, navigational star charts and grids form our understanding of the interrelationship between myth, art, science and mathematics.
Early man looked to nature in developing his knowledge of the world about him. The natural world is the canvas for straight and curved lines. The navigators were well aware of the straight line of the horizon. The makers of containers were observers of the curved lines of the moon. The human body also reflects the proportions used in measurement. The length of the string we use in making string figures can be measured from fingertip of one outstretched hand to the fingertips of the other and when joined together they form the string loop.
In addition to string used as a tool for measurement, knotted cords were used as mnemonic devices and for tallying. Sequences of knots held the memories of people while strengthening connections to their ancestors. Knotted cords were held in prayer.
Through the making of string figures we are weaving a tapestry that connects the strands of art and mathematics. We work with both hemispheres of the brain as the symmetry of left and right hands weave patterns in the string. Art has a right brain function working in the realms of images, form and space. Mathematics has a left-brain function that deals with number, time and sequence. Integrated they provide a harmony of motion in time and space.
Join me now in a simple exercise exploring the use of string figures to teach temporal and spatial concepts.
What do you see?
Hands - left and right
10 fingers - They all have names
The hands have a front and back and two sides
Palm, back, near side, far side
But what do you see?
Count 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
I see 8 spaces
We often look at the lines in this case the fingers
But it is also important to look at the spaces between the fingers
The spaces are called voids
Voids are said to be empty
But are they?
Open/Close
Put your hands together and then open them like a book
Simultaneous Reversible Dualism
What you have on one side you have on the other
Only reversed
The spine of the book is the pathway of the spider
The closing of the book is the folding of the universe
Now what do you see?
A string
Yes a string with a visible beginning and an end
A span that can be measured
Can you find the span of your hand?
Yes from your outstretched thumb to your baby finger
An imaginary line that can be measured
Your body has many spans
Can you find the span of your arm?
Yes from your outstretched fingertips to your shoulder
From your outstretched finger tips to the center of your body
From the outstretched finger tips of one arm to the outstretched finger tips of the other arm
This is called a fathom
Strings were measured in spans
Have you ever heard the phrase
"Span of time"
Could strings be measurements of space and time?
What do you see?
A circle
String Figures use a loop of string
With no beginning and no end
Remember to look at the space not just the lines
There is a space on the inside of the circle
Do you see the space that is on the outside?
Look up, Look down, Look left and right, Look all around, Look within
Where is the beginning and where is the end of this space? What do you feel?
The making of string figures involves movement
Movements to the left and right
Movements above and below
Movements that pick up and release
Movements of rotation
Movements of tension and relaxation
Energy is movement
The power of string figures is in the present moment
They are made and then they are dissolved
The patterns are moments in time
Here and then gone
Changing rhythms
Like seasonal cycles of nature
Active and still
What is the language of string figures?
The syntax and semantics appears hidden
Not easy to see
A coded language
Broken only by the smiles of the weavers
The healing spirit of the figures
Do you feel the magic?
The weaver holds the power of the patterns
The power to journey in time and space
The power to journey within
To enter dreamtime
To communicate with Spirit
What does this mean to you and
What are you going to do with it?
The truth lies in its effectiveness
Weave the string
Make the patterns
Listen to the story it has to tell
Hold this time machine between your hands
and see where it takes you
String-Figures Videos
Watch and Learn from these YouTube videos
An easy way to learn new string figures, string games and string tricks. Just watch a video and follow along.
String Figure Sightings in -- Movies, Television etc.
A String Figure Treasure Map
- Whale Rider
- See if you can find the string figure performed once in the movie Whale Rider.
- Whale Rider Photo
- This was a hard scene to catch. A split second was all that you had to see this string figure.
- The Horse Whisperer
- See if you can find the string figure performed twice in the movie The Horse Whisperer.
- Cybersix
- String figures sighted in one of the television episodes of Cybersix.
- Love
- 2006 Sergej Trifunovic, Geno Lechner, Peter Gevisser
Can you find the string figure found in this movie? Hint: At the very end. - Sordid Lives
- Find the string figures: Jacob's ladder, cup & saucer, witch's broom, and more in the film Sordid Lives.
- Sordid Lives Photo
- What string figure is being made here?
- Japanese String Movies
- Incredible what can be done with a piece of string. This group reenacts popular classic movies with string!
- Wanted
- I was told that Morgan Freeman makes a string figure in this movie.
Kobe Commercial
If I were to make a basketball shoe
Movies on eBay with String Figures
Find the String Figures in these movies
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byVideos from other places than YouTube
A String Epiphany
Hei: Hawaiian String Figure DVD
Great Family Fun
HEI Hawaiian String Figures
Amazon Price: $29.95 (as of 07/06/2009)![]()
This is the only DVD on Hawaiian String Figures. Filmed on the Island of Kaua'i, it has stunning background photography. Parents, teachers and children will love this DVD with its easy to follow directions on how to make a number of Hawaiian String Figure patterns.
Technicolour String
String Figure Store
When your budget is on a shoestring
- Rainbow Strings of Hawaii
- The source for HEI Hawaiian String Figure DVD, The Healing Art of Hawaiian String Figures DVD, Rainbow Strings of Hawaii, The Aloha String Figure and Bracelet of Rainbow Blessings.
- David Titus String Figure Store
- Buy your String Figure Books, DVD, Notecards, and Strings.
- Cat's Cradle - Extra Strings
- Have you lost your Klutz Book string? Get more here.
String Figure Books and Videos
My Favorites brought to you by Amazon
My Neverending List of String Figure Books and DVDs
http://www.squidoo.com/String-Figures
Articles on String Figures in movies and songs
More sightings of string figure artifacts
I've compiled a list of references and articles about string figures in movies, songs and displays. These artifacts are found in museums, libraries and art galleries around the world.
String figure artefacts
An inventory of string figures mounted on card, st more...0 points
Museums and other institutions with string figure artefacts
Museums and institutions housing string figure art more...0 points
Ellice Islands, Niutao (Polynesians) -- String Figures 1963
Ellice Islands, Niutao (Polynesians) -- String Fig more...0 points
http://www.iwf.de/iwf/do/mkat/details.aspx?Signatur=E 1736
Central Europe, Basel-Land - String Figures. Two g more...0 points
Gilbert Islands, Tabiteuea (Micronesians) -- String Figures 1963
Gilbert Islands, Tabiteuea (Micronesians) -- Strin more...0 points
ETHNOMATHEMATICS
Ethnomathematics project0 points
String figure artefacts
BERNICE P BISHOP MUSEUM, HONOLULU, HAWAII0 points
Great String Figure Stuff on CafePress
What to buy your string figure enthusiast
Great String-Figure Books and DVDs on eBay
Fantastic String Figure Gifts
Are you wondering what to buy your string figure enthusiast? Here are a few suggestions you may want to consider.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byString Figure Video Theater Index
Index of Videos
- A String Epiphany
- Dreamweavers Hold A Time Machine Between Their Hands
- String-Figures Videos
- String Figure Sightings in -- Movies, Television etc.
- Kobe Commercial
- Movies on eBay with String Figures
- Knots
- Search YouTube - String Figures
- Videos from other places than YouTube
- Hei: Hawaiian String Figure DVD
- Technicolour String
- String Figure Store
- String Figure Books and Videos
- Articles on String Figures in movies and songs
- Great String Figure Stuff on CafePress
- Great String-Figure Books and DVDs on eBay
- Love This Lens?
- Bookmark This Lens
- String Figure Book of Records
- Custom Search
Love This Lens?
Bookmark This Lens
String Figure Book of Records
Please Enter my String Figure Ohana (family)
Connecting aka cords in this web of life
To help connect the threads of this string figure lens please increase its social network by emailing it to a friend, Star Rating it, Making it your favorite, Lensrolling it, Being my fan and in general just spreading the word. Mahalo and Aloha from Hawaii.
kephrira wrote...
It's amazing that you can do so much with something as simple as a piece of string. 5*.
by Heinani
The Ancient Art of Hawaiian Str... (more)









