#088 The Bullroarer

WARNING: The following blog features photographs and sounds of actual  indigenous aboriginal artefacts and items inspired by these cultures.

The bullroarer: A cultural artefact which you might think you've never heard of, but there's a good chance you will recognize when you see it in use.
Remember Crocodile Dundee II? When Paul Hogan's character says he's going ask for help from his aboriginal friends through the 'bush telegraph'.

A bullroarer, also known as a rhombus or turndun, is typically a length of wood, sometimes lozenge shaped, with an aero foil cross section. Several feet of twisted cordage are tied to one end. To make the bullroarer 'sing' the user winds up the cordage then spins the wooden lozenge at arms length in a circular motion. A pulsating, whirring sound emits as the lozenge cuts through the air. Varying the cadence of rotation emits different tones and tempo of pulses, which can be used to communicate messages over long distances. 

The Croc Dundee films are 'of their time' and include humour stereotypes which mean they probably wouldn't be made in the same way today. But at the time, they did as much as any campaign to bring indigenous Australian culture to a mainstream audience. And the screenplay is careful that we laugh with the aboriginal actors and at the ineptitude of the interlopers.

Intaglio work in progress. Created by Stu

Since the 1980's, attitudes towards indigenous rights have come a long way. At sporting events, respect is given to the lands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first peoples of Australia. In television and film, similar consideration is given when featuring images or sound recordings of the deceased. That said, there is still much to do make amends for the wrongs done during and since colonialism.

Paleo inspired bullroarers. Crafted by Stu

My interest in bullroarers rekindled at the time I was studying and practicing towards the NCFE Level 3 Bushcraft Award. One of the assessment tasks was to use knife skills to create some of items from wood. I chose to make a small sugar spoon and a couple of decorated bullroarers. 

Some online research offered up a picture of several bullroarers on display at the Pitt Rivers ethnographic museum in Oxford. I learned that versions of bullroarers have also been made in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. One of the oldest examples dating back to Palelolithic Ukraine 18,000 year ago.

Bullroarers are one of the earliest artifacts that can be classified as a musical instrument, having been used by many different cultures over nearly 20,000 years.   - Timothy S Y Lam Museum Of Anthropology 

In my work at the Peak Centre, I'm always keen to develop fresh experiences for our bushcraft sessions and to demonstrate a bullroarer would be a engaging way to connect to a non-digital way of communication. 

Bullroarers at Pitt Rivers - Photo: Stu Westfield

With so many variants on a theme, I was curious to understand what, if any, different sounds each type of bullroarer made. But first I wanted to see the artefacts up close, to appreciate the nuances of detail which do not readily come across in two dimensions on a screen. And so a trip to the Pitt Rivers was needed.

Papuan bullroarers at Pitt Rivers - Photo: Stu Westfield

On display were an amazing variety of bullroarers. Some of the most decorative and interesting examples were from Papua New Guinea. 

In the nineteenth century, the bullroarer was recorded as being used as a toy, or crow scarer, in Britain and Ireland. These examples sometimes had a serrated edge cut into the wooden spinner.

European bullroarers at Pitt Rivers - Photo: Stu Westfield

Papua New Guinea

Inspired by what I had seen, I set about making a couple of bullroarers in the Papuan style. As I worked each piece, ideas flowed from absorption in the creative process and the project expanded to further original designs.  

Papuan style bullroarer, Elema people, Orokolo Bay
 depicting a crocodile. Crafted by Stu

Used by the Namau people of the Puraru River Delta during funerals of important men, their bullroarer is called imuni viki (weeping spirit). The sound represented the sound of a spirit lamenting the person's death. As with aboriginal culture, bullroarers are considered 'men's business' and it is forbidden for women, children, non-initiates, or outsiders, to hear them. (ref: metmuseum.org)                                        

Papuan style bullroarer. Crafted by Stu

Scandinavia
In 1991, archaeologists excavating in Tuv, northern Norway, found a 6.4cm long piece of slate which was interpreted as a 5000 year old bullroarer.

Paleo bullroarer & Scandi longboat bullroarer (Front)
Notched edges design style with hand woven rope.
Crafted by Stu

Paleo bullroarer & Scandi Tanum Sundisk (Back)
Notched edges design style. Crafted by Stu

Northern America
Indigenous bullroarers were named 'groaning stick' by the Navaho, 'sounding wood' by the Apache. (ref: Fransciscan Fathers - An ethnological dictionary of the Navaho language. ref: Powell - Ninth annual report of the bureau of ethnology)

Mali 
The Dogon are best known for their mask dances, religious traditions, wooden sculpture and architecture. Bullroarers are used to announce the beginning of ceremonies during the Sigui festival. The sound is identified as the voice of an ancestor from whom all Dogon are descended.

Igbo tilapia fish bullroarer.
Inspired by the carved panels of the Igbo people, southern Nigeria.
Crafted by Stu.

Yoruba
The Yoruba are a major ethnic group of Nigeria, Benin and Togo. They call the bullroarer Ise Orn. Usually made of camwood or bamboo and can be decorated with figurative carvings. It is reserved for use by the elders or kept in a shrine which is sacrosanct, where only the initiated may enter.

Photo credit: Asianafricanart.com

The carving on this bullroarer is in relief, where the design projects from the background surface. The carver must therefore start with a thicker platen in order to have sufficient strength in the substrate material.

Yoruba bullroarer tribute, work marked up.
Crafted by Stu

Non-wood materials

References have been made to bullroarers made from slate. Perhaps this is a regional variation due to abundance of source material. I've acquired some Welsh slate to test the practicality of production and use as well as the effectiveness as a sound generating instrument. We'll see how this goes and I'll share an update.

Slate platens ready for detail work.
Crafted by Stu

Original designs

Fish swim through water with the same ease as a bird's aero foil wing rides on air. The fishy shaped outline of some bullroarers has given me inspiration for original designs. Thus far I've completed an Atlantic Salmon and am currently working on a Kenyan Kingfish bullroarer.

Kenyan Kingfish (top) / Atlantic Salmon (lower)
Original copyright design, crafted by Stu

To come...bullroarer video clips.

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