-------------------- bintcbil -- flicker, "yellowhammer" ----------------------

bintcbil -- flicker, "yellowhammer"

Pronunciation:
  like "BUNCH-bull" or "BINCH-ble" (Listen)

Etymology:

  The name is from bintc, "its nose" + bil, "a wedge". This particular compound word is very deeply rooted in Athabaskan and can even be found in Alaska.

Culture:

  Bintcbil is a major character in some of the stories of the Cahto people. He has the lead role in Yellowhammer's Deeds*, in which he crosses the ocean and withstands a series of very strange adventures on the eastern shore then returns home.

  Bintcbil wing and tail feathers (bintcbil uut'aa') are used in different kinds of dance headdresses, especially the "bintcbil teegot" headdress made up of many bintcbil feathers sewn and tied together like a raft to form a flexible band that was worn across the forehead and waving out to sides. For these headdresses the feathers are trimmed down to just the shaft except for the black tip of the feather. The shafts are a lovely salmon pink to pastel orange color and make for a striking contrast with the jet black tips.

  The bintcbil teegot headdresses were worn for the "Feather Dance" called Bintcbil Teegot (named after the headdress), and possibly for other dances. The same type of headdress occurs among many of the peoples of California.

  Bintcbil and other larger woodpeckers were caught in long narrow basket traps placed over their nest holes.

Related languages:

  Wailaki: bintciisbilchow
  Eel River Wailaki: mintciisbilchow
  Lassik: bintciisbil, mintciisbil
  Southern Sinkyone: bintciisbil
  Northern Sinkyone: mintciisbil
  Mattole: tcwuwhibelii
  Hupa: minchwiiwhmil

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