Can anyone figure out from the video the mechanism they use to spin then? I can't see from the video how or with what they hold the top while they pull the string, or how they tie the string.
They just wrap the string directly on the tip, and they use a stick to decrease friction. It is difficult to tell for sure from the video if the stick is split to hold the tip or not. My guess is that it is a simple stick: they hold the tip between the fingers and the stick at the beginning of the spin and towards the end of the pull they just have the tip pushing against the stick, with the gyroscopic stability stopping the top from tumbling over the stick. But without trying it I cannot guarantee it would work.
When we discussed the Zaranda festival in Venezuela
link, the video shows a little of the construction of a similar gourd top, called Zaranda. They also have a trompo (to break the zaranda) very similar to the tops used on the first boomerang.
