-------------------- yeeh -- house, building --------------------

yeeh -- house, building

Pronunciation:

  "YEAHH" (Listen)

Etymology:

  Yeeh is from the basic Athabaskan word for house or building.

Grammar:

  When the word yeeh is possessed by means of a pronoun prefix it becomes -yeeghee'.

    shiiyeeghee', my house (Listen)
    nyeeghee', niiyeeghee', your house (Listen)
    uuyeeghee', his/her/its/their house (Listen)
    kwiiyeeghee', his/her/their house (Listen)
    nhiiyeeghee', our house (Listen)
    nohiiyeeghee', y'all's house (Listen)
    

Culture:

  The word yeeh refers to the dwelling house of the Naahneesh, used mostly in the Winter. In the summer they lived in temporary brush shelters (ts'iiyeeh (literally 'brush house') (Listen: http://www.turtlenodes.com/calath/sounds/ts'iiyeeh.WAV">Listen)), as their hunting and gathering activities took them from place to place. They also had large dance-houses called yiichow (large house) (Listen).

  The traditional yeeh of the Naahneesh was made of slabs of bark, and wooden poles built over a pit in the ground, as follows (based on description in Essene's Culture Element Distribution: Round Valley):

    Two forked posts, called chinlhgish (literally 'forked stick') (Listen), are set vertically in the ground two feet apart, forming the doorway.
    In each chinlhgish crotch is set a long pole, called beelghaal (literally 'pole leaning against it') (Listen), slanting to the ground at a 30-degree angle, extending to the rear edge of the house. The two beelghaal are approximately parallel to each other.
    A short pole, the naaning'ai' (literally 'what extends across') (Listen), also called naach'ing'ai' (literally 'something that extends across') (Listen), is set across the crotches of the two chinlhgish, forming a lintel.
    Poles, ching (literally 'tree/wood/stick') (Listen), are leaned on the two beelghaal all the way around the house except in front of the doorway. These poles are tied on with hazel withes, k'ing' (Listen).
    A vaulted front entrance is formed from small branches tied together.
    Slabs of Douglas Fir bark or other large bark, chinsits' (literally 'tree's skin') (Listen), are placed over the poles, parallel with them, to form the siding and roofing.
    Dirt is banked up over the lower three feet of the house.
    A ditch is dug around the house to drain off water.
    The usable floor space of the house was circular and approximately ten feet in diameter.

  The dance-house, yiichow, was built in the same way, but the floor space was about twenty feet in diameter. The yiichow was made entirely of tan-bark oak with Douglas fir bark roofing. The vaulted entrance of the yiichow extended out for about six to eight feet. Also, the yiichow had a large center post, baanaat'ai' (literally 'what extends vertically against it') (Listen) made from a tan-bark oak trunk to support the heavy roof, which was covered with dirt.

  Other names for the winter house are:
    kwontaah (Listen)
    kai-kwontaah (literally 'Winter house') (Listen)
    hindeelyii (literally 'something built') (Listen), "old-time house," as distinct from modern house

Related Languages:

  Sinkyone: yeeh- (in compound words)
  Lassik, Nongatl, Sinkyone: yiik
  Nongatl, Blocksburg Sinkyone: kontaah
  Northern Sinkyone: kontaahding
  Wailaki: yiit
  Hupa: xontah

-------------------------
Sally Anderson
sally@turtlenodes.com
Cahto Language Home Page: http://www.turtlenodes.com/calath/caindex.html