{"id":"BLENCHDICT-003","label":"Nupe kèrè in traditional worship","people_or_site":"Nupe; Bida-area cultural anchor","country_current":"Nigeria","historic_region":"Niger State / Nupe country","macroregion":"Africa","local_name":"kèrè","source_term":"Bullroarer","source_language":"Nupe; English","object_description":"A bullroarer called kèrè among Nupe speakers of the Niger–Kaduna confluence in central Nigeria; construction, material and dimensions are not described.","function_summary":"Used in traditional worship.","attestation_type":"lexical_attestation","source_key":"blench_nupe_dictionary","source_type":"scholarly_dictionary","source_url":"https://rogerblench.info/Language/Niger-Congo/VN/Nupoid/Nupe%20Dictionary.pdf","page_or_plate":"Printed p. 96; supplementary alternate term on printed p. 140","map_confidence":"medium","plot_status":"plot_with_caveat","coordinate_basis":"Bida cultural-center anchor; not an object findspot","jade_complex_role":"","blurb":"Nupe country lies along the Niger above its meeting with the Kaduna, with Bida at its centre — a town long famous for its brass-smiths, glass-bead makers and river traders, and Muslim for generations. Kèrè belongs to something older: it is the bullroarer of Nupe traditional worship, and its business was worship, not play.","pull_quote":"kèrè n. mi Bullroarer used in traditional worship.","pull_quote_translation":"","pull_quote_cite":"Roger Blench, A Dictionary of Nupe, printed p. 96.","term_gloss":"bullroarer used in traditional worship","cls":"sacred","class_label":"Sacred / spirit","color":"#8A5A2B","is_candidate":false,"flags":[],"f_jade_complex":false,"f_women_taboo":false,"f_women_special":false,"f_snake":false,"sources":[{"citation":"Roger Blench, A Dictionary of Nupe","url":"https://rogerblench.info/Language/Niger-Congo/VN/Nupoid/Nupe%20Dictionary.pdf","archive":"https://web.archive.org/web/20251206233559/https://rogerblench.info/Language/Niger-Congo/VN/Nupoid/Nupe%20Dictionary.pdf"}],"source_citations":"Roger Blench, A Dictionary of Nupe","source_display":"Roger Blench, A Dictionary of Nupe","date_citation_display":"","object_display":"A bullroarer called kèrè among Nupe speakers of the Niger–Kaduna confluence in central Nigeria; construction, material and dimensions are not described.","function_display":"Used in traditional worship.","confidence_display":"medium","attestation_label":"lexical attestation","etymology_hedge":"","people_key":"nupe","display_name":"Nupe kèrè in traditional worship","image":{"full":"assets/objects/BATCH4-005.jpg","thumb":"assets/objects/BATCH4-005_thumb.jpg","alt":"Kambari bull-roarer from Nigeria: a long, narrow wooden blade with a thickened end and tangled fibre cord.","credit":"© The Trustees of the British Museum, Af1926,0414.41","license":"CC BY-NC-SA 4.0","source_page":"https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1926-0414-41","rehosted":true,"representative":true,"caption":"Kambari bullroarer with its fibre cord, from the neighbouring Niger basin.","pool_id":"auto-BATCH4-005","last_modified":"2026-09-06"},"slug":"blenchdict-003-nupe-bida-area-cultural-anchor"}