An Eskimo yo-yo or Alaska yo-yo (; ) is a traditional two-balled skill toy played and performed by the

Eskimo ''Eskimo'' () is a controversial Endonym and exonym, exonym that refers to two closely related Indigenous peoples: Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Canadian Inuit, and the Greenlandic Inuit) and the Yupik peoples, Yupik (or Sibe ...

-speaking

Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tli ...

, such as Inupiat,

Siberian Yupik Siberian Yupiks, or Yuits (), are a Yupik peoples, Yupik people who reside along the coast of the Chukchi Peninsula in the far Russian Far East, northeast of the Russia, Russian Federation and on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. They speak Si ...

, and

Yup'ik The Yupʼik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yupʼik, Central Yupʼik, Alaskan Yupʼik ( own name ''Yupʼik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; Russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an ...

. It resembles fur-covered

bolas Bolas or bolases (: bola; from Spanish and Portuguese ''bola'', "ball", also known as a ''boleadora'' or ''boleadeira'') is a type of throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, used to capture animals by entangling ...

and

yo-yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 440 BC. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in th ...

. It is regarded as one of the most simple, yet most complex, cultural artifacts/toys in the world.Kiana, Chris (2004/2016). ''Original 100 Alaska Eskimo Yo-Yo Stratagems: Instructional Book''. Publication Consultants. ASIN: B007SNYM38. /. and
Keynote Speaker: Christopher (Chris) J. Kiana, M.B.A., MA-RD, Ph.D., candidate
, ''WCSpeakers.com'' (accessed: December 01 2016). The Eskimo yo-yo involves simultaneously swinging two sealskin balls suspended on

caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...

sinew A tendon or sinew is a tough band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It sends the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system, while withstanding tension. Tendons, like ligaments, are made of ...

strings in opposite directions with one hand. It is popular with Alaskans and tourists alike.Klistoff, Alysa J. (2007),
Weapon, Toy, or Art? The Eskimo yo-yo as a commodified Arctic bola and marker of cultural Identity
'. University of Alaska Fairbanks. . 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. 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,"", ''ToysfromthePast.com''. Accessed: November 29, 2016.Morrow, Phyllis (1987).
Making the best of two worlds: an anthropological approach to the development of bilingual education materials in southwestern Alaska
', p.206, n.1. Cornell. and the balls are powered by

centripetal force Centripetal force (from Latin ''centrum'', "center" and ''petere'', "to seek") is the force that makes a body follow a curved trajectory, path. The direction of the centripetal force is always orthogonality, orthogonal to the motion of the bod ...

(as they rise the performer pumps down, while they fall the performer pumps up).Walton, Sandra J.
An Inuit yo-yo
, ''Science Experiments on File'' (''FOFWeb.com/onfiles/SEOF''), p.2. This basic trick may be referred to as the "Eskimo orbit", and the orbit may be performed vertically, horizontally, or (horizontally) above one's head. Other tricks or patterns include atypical beginnings and wrapping and/or bouncing the strings around a part of one's body and then continuing with the orbit. A three-ball version of the Eskimo yo-yo also exists, and this requires all three balls to be moving at the same time. The objects at the end of the string are made in a variety of shapes, ranging from

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

ptarmigan ''Lagopus'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily commonly known as ptarmigans (). The genus contains four living species with numerous described subspecies, all living in tundra or cold upland areas. Taxonomy and etymology The genus ''L ...

feet and

dolls A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...

, to miniature

mukluks Mukluks or kamik ( ) (singular: , plural: ) are soft boots, traditionally made of reindeer (caribou) skin or Pinniped, sealskin, and worn by Circumpolar peoples, Indigenous Arctic peoples, including Inuit, Iñupiat, and Yup'ik. Mukluks may be ...

and simple balls. The handle may be wood, bone, or ivory, as well as

baleen Baleen is a filter feeder, filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales. To use baleen, the whale first opens its mouth underwater to take in water. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by th ...

. Many are plainly decorated; others display elaborate decorations, fine

beadwork Beadwork is the art or craft of attaching beads to one another by stringing them onto a thread or thin wire with a sewing or beading needle or sewing them to cloth. Beads are produced in a diverse range of materials, shapes, and sizes, and vary ...

, and intricate details. 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 Alaska Natives, Alaska Native cultures are rich and diverse, and their art forms are representations of their history, skills, tradition, adaptation, and nearly twenty thousand years of continuous life in some of the most remote places on earth. Th ...

are yo-yos. Also, this is a popular tourist art found in gift shops across Alaska. See:

Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-644) is a truth-in-advertising law which prohibits misrepresentation in marketing of American Indian or Alaska Native arts and crafts products within the United States. It is illegal to offer or d ...

. Much like the

spinning top A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be rotation, spun on its vertical Axis of rotation, axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will ...

(e.g.

Maxwell's top A color triangle is an arrangement of colors within a triangle, based on the additive or subtractive combination of three primary colors at its corners. An additive color space defined by three primary colors has a chromaticity gamut that is ...

), the yo-yo may also be used to demonstrate visual properties such as

optical rotation Optical rotation, also known as polarization rotation or circular birefringence, is the rotation of the orientation of the plane of polarization about the optical axis of linearly polarized light as it travels through certain materials. Circul ...

and

circular dichroism Circular dichroism (CD) is dichroism involving circular polarization, circularly polarized light, i.e., the differential Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of left- and right-handed light. Left-hand circular (LHC) and right-hand ci ...

.Meloan, Clifton E. and Gere, Dennis (1977),
The use of an Eskimo yo-yo to demonstrate circular dichroism and optical rotation
. ''Journal of Chemical Education'' 54 (9): 577. Though the early history of the Eskimo yo-yo is not recorded, Eskimos maintain that this game originated as an important and widely used hunting tool made simply with sinew and bones, the bola.Juanita Tukrook
, ''CommunityCelebration.org''. ("First Nation 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." Accessed November 29, 2061.Donachy, Jack & Barbra (October 8, 2013.
Inupiat (Eskimo) Yo-Yo with Polar Bear Fur
, ''CutterLight.com''. Accessed November 29, 2016. It possibly evolved on St. Lawrence Island from the similarly constructed sinew and rock bolas used in bird hunting.Applegate Krouse, Susan and Howard, Heather A. (2009).
Keeping the Campfires Going: Native Women's Activism in Urban Communities
', p.103, n.4 (cites Lee, Molly. "Strands of Gold", ''Anchorage Daily News (We Alaskans)''. October 17, 1999, 18-13.). University of Nebraska Press. .

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External links

* * * {{Object manipulation Inupiat culture Rotation Traditional toys Yo-yos Yupik culture

See also

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Further reading

External links