Sx̣ints

Bella Coola

Alternative forms

• Sxints, Sx̭ınts, Sx’ǐnts

Proper noun

Sx̣ints

1. A hermaphroditic figure in Nuxálk mythology who resides in the land above, guards the daughters of various supernatural beings, and is the prototype of Nuxálk "two-spirits".

References

• Thomas Forsyth McIlwraith, The Bella Coola Indians, volume 1 (1948), page 45: "Of slightly greater importance is the hermaphrodite, Sx̭ınts. He resides in the land above, and spends most of his time outside the walls of Nusmät·a, acting as guardian to a number of young girls, the children of various supernatural beings."
• David N. Suggs, Andrew W. Miracle, Culture and human sexuality: a reader (1993), page 384: "In societies lacking visions, mythological sanctions may have substituted for them, although the figures involved were usually hermaphrodites rather than berdaches. The Bella Coola regarded Sxints, a supernatural hermaphrodite, as the prototype of berdaches."