Page 122 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

Inuit Knots 111

mummies, knots similar to the Codline Knot appear to have been used [27].
It is interesting to know to what extent Inuit materials have influenced their
knots, i.e. which classes of solutions were achieved? As a rule they have chosen
the simplest of solutions expressing an understanding of physical and spatial
phenomena such as friction and, often, symmetry.
Structurally Inuit knots are of interest since they are as a rule either
single-stranded or formed as rawhide splices, using slit materials, though com-
binations of both occur. The leather material Inuits have used does not readily
permit multistrand structures, such as splices, to complicate affairs, as found
in other peoples' knot repertoires. In general, techniques using slit materials
are preferred. These techniques are related to ordinary knots also, since they
are based on recognising and appreciating some topological properties of a
loop. However, slitting techniques were a solution to only a portion of the
problems they met. Frequently Inuits were driven to employ knots instead of
rawhide splices, since the slit material could give way under tension. Thin ma-
terial, found in for instance lashings, may therefore be knotted. Moreover, the
making of a rawhide splice involves using the non-working end of the material,
which does not facilitate the tying process.
The Inuits were among some of the last so-called primitive peoples; and
their knotting techniques may indicate how they have developed them. Knots
are very rudimentary examples of technological knowledge, and therefore anal-
ysis of their use places one in a position to determine how people reason in the
learning process, along with obtaining indications of what influences they have
been subjected to. Common sense does not always explain the use of partic-
ular knots. Peoples' reasoning need not adhere to any immediately apparent
logical consistency. The Inuits are a pantheistic people; I would not expect
pantheistic people to assign symbolic functions to knots, and do not know of
any explicit example. However, Bourke [4, p. 561] mentions the selling of
wind knots by `the inhabitants of Greenland' and references Grimm: Teutonic
Mythology [2, p. 640]. Though the Inuit had decorative knots, we will mainly
focus on practically applied tangles in this chapter.
In the following discussion there will be recurrent reference to the social
group called Mariners. I would like to define what I mean by that term in the
context of this paper. By `Mariners' I denote western seafarers from the early
16th until the second half of this century. To many people the sailor profes-
sion of the clipper heyday has the supreme claim to knots, but in my eyes the
romantic powers of the sea have caused that claim to become an exaggerated
common misconception. Mariners, by nature of their trade, have had a con-
siderable exposure to rope problems along with the necessity of having had to
find fitting solutions. During this process they have developed the technical
use and vocabulary of knots somewhat further while getting those transactions
recorded in the best of ways of their time. Knots entered respectable seaman-