More on Mataka

I've been playing with the Mataka series some more, and I've refined it a bit. I've been able to answer a few of my questions since my last post, too.

Firstly, here's a general method for iteratively building any even-numbered Mataka figure (e.g., Mataka-0, 2, 4, 6, etc.). It uses a maneuver for which I've never seen a name, but which I've seen used in several other figures. It is closely related to the Kwakiutl Butterfly Opening, and is functionally equivalent to a Tikopian move called Tao-sokotosi, Ta-sokotosi ("hold one, manipulate one", see "Tikopia Web-Weaving Techniques" in BIFSA Vol. 4). I'll call this the "Net Opening" here, but if anyone knows a previously published name for it, let me know!

Assuming you have a loop on each 1, 2, and 5 (e.g. Opening A or similar):

1. 1 picks up 2f.
2. 3 picks up 1f.
3. Release 1.
4. 1 moves through 2 from above and picks up 5f from below.
5. Release 5.
6. 5 removes 3 from above.

So, to create any even-numbered Mataka figure:

1. Opening A.
2. Net Opening (zero or more times in succession).
3. 1 moves through 2 loop from above and removes 5.
4. Gilbertese Extension.

For every time you perform the Net Opening, you'll get 2 crossings on the transverse strings. In other words, skipping the Net Opening altogether will give you Mataka-0, but doing the Net Opening 3 times in a row will give you Mataka-6. Yay!

So, that's the general case. There are short-cuts for many of these figures, though. I wrote about three of them in the previous post about the Mataka series, and here are a few more I've found while experimenting.

Mataka-6:

1. Opening A.
2. Rotate 2 loop a half-turn away from you.
3. Rotate 5 a full turn away from you.
4. Gilbertese Extension.

Mataka-8:

1. Opening A.
2. 1 move under 2 loop and remove 5.
3. Rotate 1 away from you twice.
4. Gilbertese Extension.

Lastly, I finally made the connection between the Gilbertese Extension and the Nauru Amwangiyo maneuver. Essentially, Amwangiyo is the Gilbertese Movement, plus a thumb rotation, plus the Gilbertese Extension.

Though it's been documented elsewhere, I'll describe the Gilbertese Movement here for convenience. It assumes an initial configuration like Opening A, generally, with loops on 1, 2 and 5:

1. 2 removes 1.
2. 1 moves through lower 2 loop from above and removes 5.
3. 1 removes upper 2.
4. 2345 move over upper 1 loop and pick up lower 1n, removing lower 1 loop.
5. 1 removes 2345 loop.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5.

The Nauru Amwangiyo maneuver is, then:

1. Gilbertese Movement.
2. Rotate 1 a full turn toward you.
3. Gilbertese Extension.

Making this mental connection, I then wondered if you could somehow mix the Mataka figures with Amwangiyo? Playing around a bit, I found this pretty figure:

1. Opening A.
2. Net Opening.
3. Rotate 1 a full turn toward you. Rotate 2 and 5 a full turn away from you.
4. Amwangiyo.

It's basically the Nauru "Amwangiyo" figure, but with two central suns. Very pretty! For every time you do the Net Opening in step 2, you'll get another central sun (but it can get really hard to extend with more than two suns).

Note the similarities to the Mataka series, though. There is a single loop that circles the palmar strings, and an even number of crossings on the transverse strings. Also, the central suns can easily form a mesh if their transverse crossings are arranged manually.