The
bullroarer,
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
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
dating from 17,000 B.C. It is found in Europe, Asia, the Indian sub-continent, Africa, the Americas, and Australia.
In ancient Greece it was a sacred instrument used in the
Dionysian MysteriesThe Dionysian Mysteries were a ritual which used intoxicants and other trance inducing techniques, such as dance and music, to remove inhibitions and artificial societal constraints, liberating the individual to return to a more natural and primal state...
and is still used in rituals worldwide.
Along with the
didgeridooThe digeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia at least 1,500 years ago and is still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe". Musicologists classify it as...
, it is prominent technology among Australian Aborigines, used in ceremony across the continent.
The bullroarer is sometimes used as a means of demonstrating the
Doppler effectThe Doppler effect , named after Austrian physicist Christian Doppler who proposed it in 1842, is the change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to the source of the wave. It is commonly heard when a vehicle sounding a siren or horn approaches, passes, and recedes from an observer...
in sound waves.
The
bullroarer,
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
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
dating from 17,000 B.C. It is found in Europe, Asia, the Indian sub-continent, Africa, the Americas, and Australia.
In ancient Greece it was a sacred instrument used in the
Dionysian MysteriesThe Dionysian Mysteries were a ritual which used intoxicants and other trance inducing techniques, such as dance and music, to remove inhibitions and artificial societal constraints, liberating the individual to return to a more natural and primal state...
and is still used in rituals worldwide.
Along with the
didgeridooThe digeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia at least 1,500 years ago and is still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe". Musicologists classify it as...
, it is prominent technology among Australian Aborigines, used in ceremony across the continent.
The bullroarer is sometimes used as a means of demonstrating the
Doppler effectThe Doppler effect , named after Austrian physicist Christian Doppler who proposed it in 1842, is the change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to the source of the wave. It is commonly heard when a vehicle sounding a siren or horn approaches, passes, and recedes from an observer...
in sound waves. As the instrument travels around its circular path, its perceived pitch will, to a third party, appear to rise and fall as it moves closer and farther away, respectively.
Design, use, and sound
It consists of a weighted aerofoil, a rectangular slat of
woodWood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees . In a living tree it transfers water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves...
about (6 in) to (24 in) long and about (0.5 in) to (2 in) wide, attached to a long
cordA rope is a length of fibers, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
.
The cord is given a slight initial twist, and the roarer is then swung in a large circle in a horizontal plane. The
aerodynamicsAerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
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
vibratoVibrato is a musical effect, produced in singing and on musical instruments by a regular pulsating change of pitch, and is used to add expression and vocal-like qualities to instrumental music...
soundSound is a travelling wave which is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.- Perception of sound...
with notable modification from both
Doppler effectThe Doppler effect , named after Austrian physicist Christian Doppler who proposed it in 1842, is the change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to the source of the wave. It is commonly heard when a vehicle sounding a siren or horn approaches, passes, and recedes from an observer...
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
| North American Indian Bullroarers. |
 |
 |
 |
| Navajotsín dī'nĭ"groaning stick" |
Apachetzi-ditindi"sounding wood" |
Gros Ventrenakaantan
"making cold" |
This instrument has been used by numerous early and traditional cultures in both the
northernThe Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half sphere'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
and
southern hemisphereThe Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is south of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball'...
s but in the popular consciousness it is perhaps best known for its use by Australian Aborigines (it is from one of their languages that the name
turndun comes).
Australian Aboriginal culture
Bullroarers have accompanied the didgeridoos in initiation ceremonies and in
burialBurial, also called interment and inhumation, is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
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
tabooA taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and forbidden. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society. The term comes from the Tongan language, and appears in many Polynesian cultures...
for women, children, non-initiated men and/or outsiders to even hear. 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 SerpentThe Rainbow Serpent is a common motif in the art & mythology of Aboriginal Australia.The Rainbow Serpent is seen as the inhabitant of permanent waterholes and is in control of life's most precious resource, water. He is the underlying Aboriginal mythology for the famous Outback "bunyip"...
. 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 OilMidnight Oil, known also as "The Oils" to fans, is an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...
included a recording of a bullroarer on their album
Diesel and DustDiesel and Dust is an album by Midnight Oil that was released in 1987 under the CBS record label.The album is a concept album about the struggles of the Australian Aborigines and environmental causes, issues both near and dear to the band, and drew inspiration from the Black Fella White Fella tour...
(at the beginning of the song,
Bullroarer) inadvertently causing offence to the Aboriginal people of
Central AustraliaCentral Australia/Alice Springs Region is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory. The term Central Australia is used to describe an area centred on Alice Springs in Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Centralia; likewise the people of the area are sometimes called Centralians...
from whom the recording was taken.
The bullroarer can also be used as a tool in Aboriginal art.
Bullroarers have sometimes been referred to as "wife-callers" by Australian Aborigines.
A bullroarer is used by
Paul HoganPaul Hogan, AM is an Australian actor and comedian most famous for his role as Crocodile Dundee, for which he won a Golden Globe award.-Early life and career:...
in the 1988 film
Crocodile Dundee II"Crocodile" Dundee II is a 1988 Australian adventure and comedy film. It is the sequel to the 1986 film "Crocodile" Dundee, and was followed by 2001's Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. Actors Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski reprise their roles as Mick Dundee and Sue Charlton, respectively...
.
John AntillJohn Henry Antill, CMG, OBE was an Australian composer best known for his ballet suite Corroboree.Antill was born in Sydney in 1904, and was educated and trained in music at Trinity Grammar School, Sydney and St Andrew's Cathedral School. Upon leaving school in 1920 he became apprenticed to New...
included one in the orchestration of his
balletBallet is a formalized type of performance dance, which originated in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century French courts, and which was further developed in England, Italy, and Russia as a concert dance form...
Corroboree.
British Isles
In the British Islands, the bullroarer—under a number of different names and styles—is used chiefly for amusement, although formerly it may have been used for ceremonial purposes. In parts of Scotland it was known as a "thunder-spell" and protected against being struck by lightning. In the novel
Gentian Hill, set in Devonshire, Great Britain in the early 19th century, a bullroarer figures as a toy cherished by Sol, an elderly farm labourer, who being non-verbally gifted uses it occasionally to express strong emotion; however, the sound it makes is perceived as being both eerie and unlucky by two other main characters, Stella and Zachary, who have an uneasy sense that ominous spirits of the air ("Them") are being invoked by its whirring whistle.
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 America used bullroarers in religious and healing ceremonies and as toys. There are many styles.
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).