No. STEWART1941-004
Kuyui-dokado wimo'to
United States · Pyramid Lake and the lower Truckee River, western Nevada · North America · Great Basin
Weather / fertility magic
wimo'to
Source term: bull-roarer (wimo'to)
Wimo'to: the Northern Paiute word for the bullroarer; the band name is from kuyui, the cui-ui sucker of Pyramid Lake.
At Pyramid Lake the wimo'to was a wooden whirrer — no horn version — swung by children and swung to bring the wind. Two brothers described it separately and agreed in every detail: toy and wind instrument both, the two jobs still joined, as they were everywhere at the western end of Northern Paiute country.
Particulars
- Object
- A wooden whirrer; not described further.
- Function
- Swung both as a children's toy and to make the wind blow.
Source
Omer C. Stewart, 'Culture Element Distributions: XIV, Northern Paiute,' Anthropological Records 4:3 (1941), pp. 363, 401 and 403