Bullroarer (music) 347161 225148235 2008-07-12T03:39:30Z ZayZayEM 102689 /* Bibliography */ [[Image:Bull roarers.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Bullroarers from Africa, in the [[Pitt Rivers Museum]]]] The '''bullroarer''',<ref>Haddon, ''The Study of Man'', p. 219: "Prof. E. B. Tylor informs me that the name of 'bull-roarer' was first introduced into anthropological literature by the Rev. [[Lorimer Fison]], who compares the Australian ''tundun'' to 'the wooden toy which I remember to have made as a boy, called a 'bull-roarer',' and this term has since been universally adopted as the technical name for the implement." ''[Fison and Howitt, ''Kamilaroi and Kurnai'', 1880. p. 267.]''</ref> '''''rhombus''''', or '''''turndun''''', is an ancient ritual musical instrument and means of communicating over extended distances. It dates back to the [[Paleolithic period]], being found in the [[Ukraine]] dating from 17,000 B.C. It is found in Europe, Asia, the Indian sub-continent, Africa, the Americas, and Australia.<ref>Gregor, Thomas. ''Anxious Pleasures: The Sexual Lives of an Amazonian People''. University Of Chicago Press (1987). p. 106 "Today we know that the bullroarer is a very ancient object, specimens from France (13,000 B.C.) and the Ukraine (17,000 B.C.) dating back well into the Paleolithic period. Moreover, some archeologists&mdash;notably, Gordon Willey (1971,20)&mdash;now admit the bullroarer to the kit-bag of artifacts brought by the very earliest migrants to the Americas."</ref> In ancient Greece it was a sacred instrument used in the [[Dionysian Mysteries]] and is still used in rituals worldwide.<ref>Bayley, Harold. ''The Lost Language of Symbolism: An Inquiry into the Origin of Certain Letters, Words, Names, Fairy-Tales, Folklore, and Mythologies'' Book Tree (2000). p. 86: "The bullroarer, used always as a sacred instrument, is still employed n New Mexico, the Malay Peninsula, Ceylon, New Zealand, Africa, and Australia, and under the name of ''Rhombus'' it figured prominently in the Mysteries of Ancient Greece."</ref> Along with the [[didgeridoo]], it is prominent technology among [[Australian Aborigine]]s, though was not developed by them. The bullroarer is sometimes used as a means of demonstrating the [[Doppler effect]], by using sound. As the instrument travels round, its sound goes up or down according to its speed, and distance from the hearer. ==Design, use, and sound== It consists of a weighted [[aerofoil]], a rectangular slat of [[wood]] about {{nowrap|15 cm}} (6 in) to {{nowrap|60 cm}} (24 in) long and about {{nowrap|1.25 cm}} (0.5 in) to {{nowrap|5 cm}} (2 in) wide, attached to a long [[rope|cord]]. {{Wikisource1911Enc|Bullroarer}} The cord is given a slight initial twist, and the roarer is then swung in a large circle in a horizontal plane. The [[aerodynamics]] of the roarer will keep it spinning about its axis even after the initial twist has unwound. The cord winds fully first in one direction and then the other. It makes a characteristic roaring [[vibrato]] [[sound]] with notable modification from both [[Doppler effect]] and the changing speed of the roarer at different parts of its circuit. By modifying the expansiveness of its circuit and the speed given it, the modulation of the sound can be controlled, making the coding of information possible. The low frequency component of the sound travels extremely long distances, especially on the wind. ==In culture== {| class="wikitable" style="float:right" ! colspan="3"|North American Indian Bullroarers. |- |[[Image:BullRoarerNavajo1910.jpg|100px]] |[[Image:BullRoarerApache1892.jpg|158px]] |[[Image:BullRoarerGrosVentre1908.jpg|84px]] |- |<center>Navajo</br>''tsín dī'nĭ''</br>"groaning stick"<ref>Fransciscan Fathers, ''An Ethnologic Dictionary of the Navaho Language'', p. 414.</ref></center> |<center>Apache</br>''tzi-ditindi''</br>"sounding wood"<ref>Powell, ''Ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology'', p. 477: "Fig. 430.&mdash;Rhombus of the Apache."</ref></center> |<center>Gros Ventre</br>''nakaa<sup>n</sup>ta<sup>n</sup>''<br>"making cold"<ref>Kroeber, "Ethnology of the Gros Ventre", p. 190: "Fig. 26 (50-1788). Bull-roarer, Length, 56 cm."</ref></center> |} This instrument has been used by numerous early and traditional cultures in both the [[Northern Hemisphere|northern]] and [[southern hemisphere]]s but in the popular consciousness it is perhaps best known for its use by [[Australian Aborigine]]s (it is from one of their languages that the name ''turndun'' comes). ===Australian Aboriginal culture=== Bullroarers have accompanied the didgeridoos in [[initiation ceremony|initiation ceremonies]] and in [[burial]]s to ward off evil spirits, bad tidings, and even women and children. Bullroarers are considered secret men's business by some Aboriginal tribal groups, and hence [[taboo]] for women, children, non-initiated men and/or outsiders to even hear{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. They are used in men's initiation ceremonies and the sound they produced is considered by some Indigenous cultures to represent the sound of the [[Rainbow Serpent]]{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. In the cultures of South-East Australia, the sound of the bullroarer is the voice of [[Daramulan]], and a successful bullroarer can only be made if it has been cut from a tree containing his spirit. In [[1987]], [[Midnight Oil]] included a recording of a bullroarer on their album [[Diesel and Dust]] (at the beginning of the song, ''Bullroarer'') inadvertently causing offence{{Fact|date=February 2007}} to the Aboriginal people of [[Central Australia]] from whom the recording was taken. The bullroarer can also be used as a tool in [[Aboriginal art]]{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. Bullroarers have sometimes been referred to as "wife-callers" by Australian Aborigines{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. A bullroarer is used by [[Paul Hogan]] in the 1988 film ''[[Crocodile Dundee II]]''. [[Image:BullRoarerBritish1898.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Bull-Roarers from the British Islands.<ref>Haddon, ''The Study of Man'', p. 221: "Fig 38. Bull-Roarers from the British Islands."</ref>]] ===British Isles=== In the British Islands, the bullroarer&mdash;under a number of different names and styles&mdash;is used chiefly for amusement, although formerly it may have been used for ceremonial purposes.<ref>Haddon, ''The Study of Man'',p 225: "Those given to me were made for me, and may not represent the common form of bull-roarer in the north-east corner of Ireland. My informant stated that once when, as a boy, he was playing with a 'boomer' an old country woman said it was a 'sacred' thing."</ref> In parts of Scotland it was known as a "thunder-spell" and protected against being struck by lightening.<ref>Haddon, ''The Study of Man'', p. 222: "It was believed that the use of this instrument [thunder-spell] during a thunder-storm saved one from being struck with 'the thun'er-bolt'."</ref> ===Mali=== The [[Dogon]] use bullroarers to announce the beginning of ceremonies conducted during the ''Sigui'' festival held every sixty years over a seven year period. It has been identified as being the voice of an ancestor from whom all Dogon are descended. ===North American Indian=== Almost all the Indian tribes in North American used bullroarers in religious and healing ceremonies and as toys. There are many styles. <br clear="all" /> ==References== {{reflist}} ===Other sources=== *Franciscan Fathers. ''An Ethnologic Dictionary of the Navaho Language''. Saint Michaels, Arizona: Navajo Indian Mission (1910. *Haddon, Alfred C. ''The Study of Man''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons (1898). *Kroeber, A.L. "Ethnology of the Gros Ventre", ''Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History'' pp. 145-283. New York: Published by Order of the Trustees (1908). *Powell, J.W. (Director). ''Ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1887-'88''. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office (1892). ==See also== *[[Buzzer (whirligig)]] [[Category:Whirling aerophones]] [[Category:Australian Aboriginal bushcraft]] [[Category:Early telecommunications]] [[Category:Australian Aboriginal music]] [[de:Schwirrgerät]] [[fr:Rhombe (instrument)]] [[nl:Snorrebot]]