This very pretty figure was shown to me by the two girls from whom I learned the other Navaho figures, at the St. Louis Exposition, in November, 1904. The native name is Ka = an Arrow.
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First: Opening A . (The left palmar string must be taken up first.)
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Second: The same as the Second movement of "Casting the Fish-Spear ."
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Third: Pass the right thumb away from you over the right far thumb string and under all the other strings, and, as you begin to return the thumb, catch on its back the right far little finger string, and draw it back under the right near little finger string and the strings of the right index loop (Fig. 294, Right hand).
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Fourth: With the teeth pick up from the right thumb this right far little finger string, which you have just drawn toward you, remove the right thumb (Fig. 295), and moving the hands away from you, release the loops from the little fingers and draw the strings tight.
You now have a loop on each thumb and a loop on the left index. The loop held by the teeth makes one twist near the mouth, and then the right string passes to the far side of the right index, around that finger and to the centre of the figure, while the left string goes at once to the centre of the figure and then to the far side of the left index, to form the left index loop.
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Fifth: Turn the hands with the palms toward you and close the middle, ring and little fingers of the left hand down on the palm, over the thumb and index loops; and close the middle, ring and little fingers of the right hand down on the palm, over the near index string and the thumb loop (Fig. 296). Now put the tip of the right thumb against the tip of the right index, and the tip of the left thumb against the tip of the left index, and turning the hands with the knuckles toward one another, and the palms down, put the thumb and index (still held together) of each hand down between the two strings of the loop held by the mouth, below (to the far side of) the twist in the loop (Fig. 297). The middle, ring and little fingers must be kept closed on the palms throughout the following movement.
By lifting the elbows and bending the hands down at the wrists, direct the thumb and index (still held together) of the right hand toward the right, under the right string of the loop held by the teeth; and direct the thumb and index (still held together) of the left hand toward the left, under the left string of the loop held by the teeth. Now, if both hands be moved up toward the chin and turned at the wrist toward you and upward, while you drop your elbows, each string of the loop can be caught around the thumb and index of the hand of the same side, and when the hands are put in the usual position each string will pass from the teeth to the far side of the index finger, between the index and middle fingers to the back of the hand, and then toward you across the backs of the thumb and index, around the thumb to the palm, and again between the index and middle fingers (Fig. 298).
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Sixth: Release the loop held by the teeth; separate the hands, and draw the strings tight (Fig. 299).
You now have on each hand: A single lower loop on the thumb, a single lower loop on the index, and an upper loop which passes around both thumb and index.
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Seventh: With the thumb and index (or with the teeth) lift the lower loop off the thumb, and lift the lower loop off the index of each hand in turn, passing the loop over the loop which goes around both thumb and index, but permitting that loop to remain around these fingers. The single loops which you have slipped from each thumb and each index are now looped around the string passing from the back of the thumb to the back of the index (Fig. 300). One of the four strings of these loops, the upper near one, passes straight across the figure and above the other three strings.
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Eighth: Put the middle finger of each hand from below between the strings forming the thumb loop, and then on the far side of this upper straight near string passing directly across the figure, and bending the middle finger toward you over this string (Fig. 301), pull it down; then release the loop from each thumb and draw the strings tight. The figure is extended between the index fingers and the middle fingers closed on the palms (Fig. 302).
The head of the "Arrow" is near the left hand; the feathered end near the right hand. By pushing together with the thumb the loops forming the point of the "Arrow," the head can be rendered very distinct; in the same way the feathered end can be made perfectly symmetrical.
The "Arrow" begins, practically, with an unsymmetrical movement, and although the subsequent movements are done with both hands the figure does not again become entirely symmetrical. The First and Second movements are similar to the same movements in "Casting the Fish-Spear ." The object of the Third , Fourth and Fifth movements is to wrap the far index strings (which usually form the little finger loops) around both the index and thumb. The Seventh and Eighth movements are characteristic Navaho movements.
