Bullroarer (Imunu Viki?)
This thin blade howls or roars when whirled through the air on a string. In Papua New Guinea, bullroarers hold a traditional place of honor in men’s ceremonial clubhouses. The Namau people of the Purari River Delta used them during funerals of important men and called them imunu viki ("weeping spirits").
Artwork Details
- Title: Bullroarer (Imunu Viki?)
- Date: late 19th century
- Geography: Gulf of Papua, Papua New Guinea
- Culture: Papua New Guinean
- Medium: wood, lime
- Dimensions: 25 1/8 × 3 × 1/4 in. (63.8 × 7.6 × 0.6 cm)
- Classification: Aerophone-Free Aerophone
- Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
- Object Number: 09.163.3
- Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments
Audio
9340. Bull Roarer
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