Pick-up Sticks and the Spirit

Musing, for various reasons, on the game of pickup sticks, I discover that it is ancient in origin, attributed both to the Chinese and to Native Americans. And that it is also known as "jackstraws" and, depending on your spelling preference, "spilikins," spellikins," or "spillikins." In this illustration we see a set of hand-carved Spilikins, "made by the great-grandfather of a Hollis resident. He lived in Portsmouth and carved about 100 jackstraws, pegging them all together with friction fit. Included are shovels, axes, other farm tools including an orchard ladder and some tools which may have been associated with fishing, e.g. canoe paddles and other paddle. Each type of tool has several varieties within it."

From my ever-apparent bias, the patience, craftsmanship, love and art that produced this set are all further testimony to the power of fun. I can imagine this great grandfather carving away into his days, finding in the unnecessarily difficult challenge of a carving set that is "pegged together with friction fit" a way to manifest his spirit

Though we are all probably much more familiar with the painted, pointy-stick variety of pick-up sticks, and though the game of Spellikins, etc., can be played with either, I find myself drawn to the beauty and invitation to complexity of the version shown in these illustrations. I like how the shape affects how easily each stick can be picked, and how that in turn creates the possibilities of scoring differently for each stick, or each set of sticks.

Here's an excellent page describing the origins and history of this remarkably widespread game, from which we learn that the game, in its carved or stick form, has apparent historical links to the practice of divination, such as the throwing of yarrow sticks, no less.

Which makes me muse on the global, timeless connections between fun and spirit.

And leads me to bask in wonderment once again as I rediscover how one becomes a path to the other.