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String figures: Ketinho Mitselü

It is a trick also known to the Kalapalo people, who live in the Xingu Indigenous Park, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. They call it Ketinho Mitselü. The Kalapalo use a long piece of string made from dried leaves of a buriti palm tree. This is plaited together and the ends tied up. They quickly weave the string with their fingers, creating all sorts of different designs. They make animals. They make characters from indigenous myths. And they make playful images of things from everyday life.

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