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| Games | Figures with Opening A | Rug |
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Rug
(Blanket, Apache Door)
1. Opening A. 2. 1 and 345 pass though the 2 loop from below. Allow the former 2 loop to fall onto the back of the wrist. 3. 1 picks up 5n. 5 picks up lower 1f. 4. Pass L1, from above, to the near side of the near wrist string, then under all the strings and raise it on the far side of the figure. 5. Grasp the two original L1 loops on the far side of L1 with R1 and R2 and remove them from L1 but continue to hold them in the same position. L1 passes under the figure and to the near side, then over the figure and reenters the former 1 loops from above. 6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 on the opposite side of the figure. 7. Release the wrist loop and extend while moving the hands alternately up and down, allowing the loops on the TV strings to even themselves. Display with fingers pointing away. Notes: In Jayne’s book this figure is called ‘Apache Door’ (Jayne 1906:12- 16), a reference to the blanket that many Apaches hang over the front entrance to their homes as a privacy screen, especially in summer. In step 5, the method of resetting the double thumb loops differs from that described by Jayne (1906:15). Our informants reinserted their thumbs from above rather than below. This method was observed numerous times, especially at Many Farms. As a result the thumb loops lack a full twist in the final design and no longer match the little finger loops (i.e., the pattern becomes asymmetric). Inadequate loop length may be the cause of this alteration. This figure is difficult to weave with a loop that is appropriate for most other Navajo figures. If the loop is too short, the maker is forced to remove the double thumb loop with the index tip below it and thumb tip above it (i.e., palm facing up). The only way to reset a loop removed in this manner is to insert the thumb from above. Some informants actually untwisted the thumb and little finger loops after the pattern was formed to given a cleaner looking design. Examples of these can be found in the literature (Pospisil 1932, plates 349,350; and Culin 1907:765, fig. 1045). Nearly all of our informants called this figure ‘Navajo Rug’ (diyog7) or ‘Navajo Blanket’ (beeldl47), even though the traditional Navajo name for this figure is {e'esis, sis meaning ‘sash’ or ‘woven belt’ (Wall & Morgan 1997). Traditional women’s belts measured four inches wide and were woven on a loom just like blankets (Franciscan Fathers 1910:248-249). At Many Farms we were told that this string figure represents the Milky Way ({ee' = ‘dirt, ashes’; sis = ‘belt’ (Young & Morgan 1980); {e'esis = ‘belt of ashes’, a reference to a legend in which Coyote steals ash bread and leaves a trail in the sky, see Navajo Starlore). Other translations recorded in the literature include ‘Small Stomach of a Sheep’ (Franciscan Fathers 1910:489) and ‘Poncho’ (Culin 1907:765). Since a poncho (sarape) is nothing more than an ornamental blanket with a slit in it, this translation is consistent with the current interpretation of this string figure. The quality and beauty of Navajo blankets is acknowledged worldwide. Today they are equally well known for their fine rugs, which they started weaving in the 1890s.
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