No. VOEGELIN1942-002
Hayfork Wintu storm-wind bullroarer
United States · Hayfork Valley, Trinity County, northwestern California · North America
Weather / fertility magic
Source term: bull-roarer
A wooden blade at Hayfork did double duty: boys whirled it for fun, and its roar was credited with producing storm or wind. William 'Whiskey Bill' George, reared at Hayfork in the Trinity country and living there all his life, affirmed both uses to Erminie Voegelin in 1936, along with the rule that only boys and men handled it. Across California that put the Wintu in two camps at once — among the many peoples who made it a plaything, and among the scattered few who trusted it with the weather.
Particulars
- Object
- Wooden bullroarer.
- Function
- Produced storm or wind; also whirled by boys for amusement, and only boys and men used it.
Source
Erminie W. Voegelin, Culture Element Distributions: XX, Northeast California, Anthropological Records 7:2 (1942)