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Bullroarer
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Bullroarer
The bullroarer, rhombus, or turndun is an ancient ritual musical instrument and a device historically used for communicating over great distances. It consists of a piece of wood attached to a string, which when swung in a large circle produces a roaring vibration sound.
It dates to the Paleolithic period, examples dating from 18,000 BC having been found in Ukraine[citation needed]. Anthropologist Michael Boyd, a bullroarer expert[citation needed], documents a number found in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Australia. In Ancient Greece it was a sacred instrument used in the Dionysian Mysteries and is still used in rituals worldwide. It was a prominent musical technology among the Australian Aboriginal people, used in ceremonies and to communicate with different people groups across the continent.
Many different cultures believe that the sounds they make have the power to ward off evil influences.
A bullroarer consists of a weighted airfoil (a rectangular thin slat of wood about 15 to 60 centimetres (6 to 20 in) long and about 1.2 to 5 centimetres (0.5 to 2 in) wide) attached to a long cord. Typically, the wood slat is trimmed down to a sharp edge and serrations along the length of the wooden slat may or may not be used, depending on the cultural traditions of the region in question.
The cord is given a slight initial twist, and the roarer is then swung in a large circle in a horizontal plane, or in a smaller circle in a vertical plane. The aerodynamics of the roarer thrown in this centrifugal force 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, alternating.
It makes a characteristic roaring vibrato sound with notable sound modulations occurring from the rotation of the roarer along its longitudinal axis, and the choice of whether a shorter or longer length of cord is used to spin the bullroarer. By modifying the expansiveness of its circuit and the speed given it, and by changing the plane in which the bullroarer is whirled from horizontal to vertical or vice versa, the modulation of the sound produced can be controlled, making the coding of information possible.
The low-frequency component of the sound travels extremely long distances, clearly audible over many miles on a quiet night.[citation needed]
Various cultures have used bullroarers as musical, ritual, and religious instruments and long-range communication devices for at least 19,000 years.[citation needed]
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Bullroarer
The bullroarer, rhombus, or turndun is an ancient ritual musical instrument and a device historically used for communicating over great distances. It consists of a piece of wood attached to a string, which when swung in a large circle produces a roaring vibration sound.
It dates to the Paleolithic period, examples dating from 18,000 BC having been found in Ukraine[citation needed]. Anthropologist Michael Boyd, a bullroarer expert[citation needed], documents a number found in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Australia. In Ancient Greece it was a sacred instrument used in the Dionysian Mysteries and is still used in rituals worldwide. It was a prominent musical technology among the Australian Aboriginal people, used in ceremonies and to communicate with different people groups across the continent.
Many different cultures believe that the sounds they make have the power to ward off evil influences.
A bullroarer consists of a weighted airfoil (a rectangular thin slat of wood about 15 to 60 centimetres (6 to 20 in) long and about 1.2 to 5 centimetres (0.5 to 2 in) wide) attached to a long cord. Typically, the wood slat is trimmed down to a sharp edge and serrations along the length of the wooden slat may or may not be used, depending on the cultural traditions of the region in question.
The cord is given a slight initial twist, and the roarer is then swung in a large circle in a horizontal plane, or in a smaller circle in a vertical plane. The aerodynamics of the roarer thrown in this centrifugal force 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, alternating.
It makes a characteristic roaring vibrato sound with notable sound modulations occurring from the rotation of the roarer along its longitudinal axis, and the choice of whether a shorter or longer length of cord is used to spin the bullroarer. By modifying the expansiveness of its circuit and the speed given it, and by changing the plane in which the bullroarer is whirled from horizontal to vertical or vice versa, the modulation of the sound produced can be controlled, making the coding of information possible.
The low-frequency component of the sound travels extremely long distances, clearly audible over many miles on a quiet night.[citation needed]
Various cultures have used bullroarers as musical, ritual, and religious instruments and long-range communication devices for at least 19,000 years.[citation needed]
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