"Sometimes string figures were used to illustrate stories, as in the case of an Eskimo example that depicts a man catching a salmon. Sometimes they had magic or religious significance"
- Louis Leakey
About this Quote
This quote by Louis Leakey speaks to the importance of string figures in numerous cultures. String figures, also referred to as feline's cradle, are a form of art developed by manipulating string between the fingers. In some cultures, string figures were utilized to illustrate stories, as in the case of an Eskimo example that illustrates a male catching a salmon. In other cultures, string figures had a more spiritual significance, being utilized in religious ceremonies or as a kind of magic. This quote highlights the value of string figures in numerous cultures, and how they were used for both storytelling and spiritual purposes. It also demonstrates how these figures were used to pass down stories and beliefs from generation to generation. String figures are still utilized today, and are a terrific method to connect with our cultural heritage.
"I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning"
"I always wanted to go to the Chavez school but I could never afford it when I was growing up so a lot of my learning came from magic books and watching other magicians. I was also very lucky that I had a couple of really good magic teachers"
"I have treated many hundreds of patients. Among those in the second half of life - that is to say, over 35 - there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life"
"The Polar Express is about faith, and the power of imagination to sustain faith. It's also about the desire to reside in a world where magic can happen, the kind of world we all believed in as children, but one that disappears as we grow older"
"Well, in The Chosen, Danny Saunders, from the heart of his religious reading of the world, encounters an element in the very heart of the secular readings of the world - Freudian psychoanalytic theory"
"We're going to shoot one Polaroid per show. I'm going to sign this before it even develops because I know that once it develops with my signature on it, it's worth a fortune. I'll make this a work of magic warlock art"