SAVO'U, a machete

Citation

David Jabin, “SAVO'U, a machete,” String figures, accessed February 24, 2026, https://stringfigures.huma-num.fr/items/show/282.
  • Overall presentation

  • Name : SAVO'U, a machete

  • Creator : David Jabin

  • Contributor(s) : Elsa de Unruh, village of Belen, Yalve Sanga , Central Chaco, Paraguay

  • Date : 2019-2020


  • Information on the string figure

    • General presentation of the string figure

    The machete is probably the most widely used modern tool for collecting, hunting, and farming by rural people in tropical America. This original figure does not seem to have been described in any other group in the region.

    Construction method (contributor-s’ description)

    1. Opening A.
    2. Release R2 and extend.
    3. Transfer L2 to R2 and extend.
    4. Distally insert L1 and L2 in R2 loop and grab R1f and R5n. Release R1 and R5 and proximally insert their former loops in R2 loop.
    5. Release R hand and then reinsert R1 and R5 in their former loops. Extend.
    6. Transfer 1 loops to 2.
    7. Release L5 loop, rotate it 180° clockwise, and reinsert L5 and L1. Same with opposite hand.
    8. Navaho 1.
    9. Distally, insert 2 into the little triangles near the thumbs.
    10. Turn the palms away while releasing 5.
    11. Extend.
  • Item references

  • Key words : String figures, Enlhet, paraguayan Chaco

  • Publisher : Laboratory SPHERE (UMR 7219, University of Paris & CNRS)

  • Rights : Creative Commons / Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA

  • Format : jpeg, mp4, text

  • Language : Enlhet, spanish

  • Location : Village of Belen, Yalve Sanga , Central Chaco, Paraguay, South America

  • Description : Enlhet string figure, method of construction, linguistic data, cultural aspects

Output Formats