bullroarer
Swung wooden slat
A bullroarer is a wooden slat attached to a cord that produces a deep, roaring sound when swung in circles overhead.
The spinning creates a distinctive whirring or droning noise.
Used in religious ceremonies by various indigenous cultures worldwide, particularly Australian Aboriginal peoples, often as a sacred instrument restricted from uninitiated members of the community.
Aboriginal mythological creation era
- corroboreeAboriginal ceremonial gathering
- didgeridooAustralian Aboriginal wind instrument
- songlinesAboriginal sung navigation routes
- initiationFormal admission ceremony
totemic · sacred · elders · kinship · Tjukurpa · ceremony · Arnhem · ancestor
Toy that rotates
Making prolonged loud noise
- droningSustained monotonous sound
- hummingContinuous low-pitched sound
- buzzingLow vibrating hum
- whooshingSound of rapid movement
thunderous · pulsating · eerie · low-pitched · reverberating · wailing · moaning · otherworldly
Ceremonial set of actions
- sacredWorthy of reverence
- initiationFormal admission ceremony
- ancestralOf one's forebears
- spiritualRelating to the soul
shaman · rite · purification · summoning · taboo · secret · warning · ancestor spirits
Before documented civilization
- PaleolithicEarliest archaeological era
- NeolithicFinal prehistoric stone-tool era
- artifactHuman-made historical object
- archaeologicalOf studying ancient remains
cave · stone-age · primitive · ice age · bone · wooden · ritual object · shamanic
Dreamtime
Aboriginal mythological creation era
- corroboreeAboriginal ceremonial gathering
- didgeridooAustralian Aboriginal wind instrument
- songlinesAboriginal sung navigation routes
initiation · totemic · sacred · elders · kinship · Tjukurpa · ceremony · Arnhem · ancestor · spirit
whirligig
Toy that rotates
spin · twirl · roar · drone · hum · buzz · swing · whir · rotation · friction
roaring
Making prolonged loud noise
whooshing · thunderous · pulsating · eerie · low-pitched · reverberating · wailing · moaning · otherworldly · atmospheric
ritual
Ceremonial set of actions
- sacredWorthy of reverence
- initiationFormal admission ceremony
- ancestralOf one's forebears
spiritual · shaman · rite · purification · summoning · taboo · secret · warning · ancestor spirits · trance
prehistoric
Before documented civilization
- PaleolithicEarliest archaeological era
- NeolithicFinal prehistoric stone-tool era
- artifactHuman-made historical object
archaeological · cave · stone-age · primitive · ice age · bone · wooden · ritual object · shamanic · hunter-gatherer
- Aboriginal Prehistorystone tools, boomerangs, didgeridoo, spears, rock shelters
- ancient instrumentslyre, harp, pan pipes, pan flute, shofar
- natural instrumentsdrum, flute, bamboo flute, wooden flute, conch shell
- Pacific IndigenousDreamtime, didgeridoo, boomerang, corroboree, Maori
- Aboriginal artifactsboomerang, boomerangs, didgeridoo, didgeridoos, spear thrower
- ancient musiclyre, pan pipes, panpipes, tibia, shofar
bullroarerdrum
Struck percussion cylinder
tambourine · gong · bell · xylophone · triangle
bullroarerparty horn
Celebratory noisemaker tube
kazoo · noisemaker · vuvuzela · whoopee cushion · slide whistle
bullroarertriangle
Three-sided plane figure
chime · piccolo · sleigh bells · glockenspiel · music box