Native Americans on the west coast used to wrap fur around the tips of the bow just beneath the nocks so the bowstring would rest on the fur when the bow was not drawn. Their bows had recurved tips so the string would otherwise smack into the limb when shot. I have not seen any authentic use of silencers mounted on the string itself, this seems to be a modern trend.

Measuring and comparing sound levels accurately is quite an art, it would be interesting to try and do it properly and see if there is a measurable reduction in noise.

 I spliced the two videos together and ran it with the sound level visualization on and it turns out that it is about 1/5 quieter on average with the silencers, with the quietest silenced shot being about half the sound level of the average unsilenced shot.  The noise of the arrow impact registered at twice the level of the shot sound.  I need to shoot another set of videos on the same day, with the camera in the same position, so that I can be a little more scientific about the whole process.  I think I will wait until I have made the other silencer set first.