Eskimo yo-yo
Eskimo yo-yo or Alaska yo-yo (also known as Alaskan yo-yo, Alaska Eskimo yo-yo, Alaskan Eskimo yo-yo, Alaskan Inuit Eskimo yo-yo, Alaska Native yo-yo, Inuit yo-yo, Inupiat yo-yo, Yup'ik yo-yo, Yupik yo-yo or Eskimo bolo, Mountain bolo) is a traditional two-balled bolas-like fur-covered two padded poi type yo-yo skill toy played by the Eskimo-speaking Alaska Natives, such as Inupiat, Siberian Yupik, and Yup'ik. The Eskimo yo-yo is regarded as one of the most simple, yet most complex, cultural artifact/toy in the world.[1][2] The Eskimo yo-yo is a toy popular with Alaskans and tourists alike that involves rotating two sealskin balls suspended on caribou sinew strings in opposite directions.[3] This traditional toy is two unequal lengths of twine, joined together, with hand-made leather objects (balls, bells, hearts) at the ends of the twine.[4]
The object of the Eskimo yo-yo is to make the balls circle in opposite directions at the same time. Each cord is a different length to allow the balls to pass without striking one another.[5]
An Eskimo yo-yo is a toy consisting of two objects attached to strings of slightly different lengths. The Player twirls the strings so that the objects circle in opposite directions.[6] It is made in a variety of shapes, ranging from seals, ptarmigan feet and dolls, to miniature mukluks and simple balls.[3][6] Many are plainly decorated; others display elaborate decorations, fine beadwork, and intricate details.[3] The Eskimo yo-yo is bola, toy, and art form all rolled into one. One of their most popular forms of the Alaska Native art are yo-yos. Also, this is a popular tourist art found in gift shops across Alaska. [3] Some shops carry only Native-made pieces, while others, according to Alysa Klistoff, carry imitation pieces made in China.[3]
Though a true history of the Eskimo yo-yo remains shrouded in mystery, Eskimos maintain that this game originated as an important and widely used hunting tool made simply with sinew and bones, the bola.[3] Based on a bola design, in olden times tools like this were made of rocks tethered together with sinew and were used to catch birds.[7][8] It possibly evolved on St. Lawrence Island from the similarly constructed sinew and rock bolas used in bird hunting.[9]
See also
References
- ↑ Chris Kiana (2004), Original 100 Alaska Eskimo Yo-Yo Stratagems: Instructional Book
- ↑ http://home.gci.net/~dbakiana/about.htm
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Alysa J. Klistoff (2007), Weapon, toy, or art? The Eskimo yo-yo as a commodified Artic bola and marker of cultural Identity. University of Alaska Fairbanks.
- ↑ Mike Doogan (1993), How to Speak Alaskan
- ↑ Toys From Times Past : Eskimo Bolo
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Phyllis Morrow (1987), Making the best of two worlds: an anthropological approach to the development of bilingual education materials in southwestern Alaska.
- ↑ Inupiat (Eskimo) Yo-Yo with Polar Bear Fur
- ↑ Juanita Tukrook (Inupiak elder. Born in Fairbanks, Alaska in a small village called Tanana along the Arctic Slope): Even when we catch ducks, we use this for a feather duster or you know something in the house. We try to use all parts of the animal. This is um…made from seal and this is called ah…Alaskan yo-yo, Eskimo yo-yo. And this is how you work it. But this is some of the toys I played with growing up.
- ↑ Susan Applegate Krouse and Heather A. Howard (2009), Keeping the Campfires Going: Native Women's Activism in Urban Communities. University of Nebraska Press. (From Molly Lee. "Strands of Gold." Anchorage Daily News (We Alaskans). October 17, 1999, 18-13.)
External links
- Sandra J. Walton, An Inuit yo-yo
- S. J. Gill (1961), "A demonstration of optical rotation with an "Eskimo yo-yo"". Journal of Chemical Education 38 (5): 263.
- Clifton E. Meloan and Dennis Gere (1977), "The use of an Eskimo yo-yo to demonstrate circular dichroism and optical rotation". Journal of Chemical Education 54 (9): 577.
