The Japanese have a distinctive way of fingering things. The principle area of contact between hands and objects is the inside of the fingers, not the tips. This gives an impression of something precious being cradled in the hands. Westerners often casually hold objects between the fingers, using the sides, or between fingers and thumb; aborigines use the grouped tips of their fingers. As a child in South Africa I was fascinated by the way Zulu and Swazi people used the backs of their fingers, cuffing objects into place. We must learn these ways by watching our parents.