The Storyknife


yaaruin: “storyknife”
 
Language: Central Yup'ik



 
The story knife is a traditional girl’s toy used for
 sketching pictures on the ground or in the snow. 
The pictures show clothing, people, houses, animals,
 and events, and are drawn to illustrate a story or as
 a game in which others try to guess the artist’s 
subject. Knife stories were accompanied by songs. 

from The Smithsonian Institution’s Alaska Native Collections: http://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=222



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