Bullroarer (Imunu Viki?)

Papua New Guinean

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 684

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").

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Bullroarer (Imunu Viki?), wood, lime, Papua New Guinean

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Bullroarer (Imunu Viki?), wood, lime, Papua New Guinean
Bullroarer (Imunu Viki?), wood, lime, Papua New Guinean
Bullroarer (Imunu Viki?), wood, lime, Papua New Guinean

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