{"id":"MUS2026-095","label":"Rorata, the leopard's cry","people_or_site":"Amhara","country_current":"Ethiopia","historic_region":"Gondar, Amhara","macroregion":"Africa","local_name":"Rorata / Furrit; zezzeta (Amhara children, Messing)","source_term":"bull-roarer","source_language":"French; English","object_description":"Amhara rhombe from Gondar, called Rorata or Furrit; goat-herders preferred cypress for this instrument.","function_summary":"Leopard deterrence in Choa and rain belief in some districts; boys also scare birds from crops, ward off hyenas, and frighten younger siblings.","attestation_type":"museum_specimen","source_key":"europe_direct","source_type":"museum_collection","source_url":"https://collections.quaibranly.fr/ccProxy.ashx?action=get&command=search&query=/Record/ccObjectID=213357","page_or_plate":"Quai Branly213357; Messing1957 pp.440–441,534","map_confidence":"high","plot_status":"plot","coordinate_basis":"approximate culture/locality centroid","jade_complex_role":"","blurb":"The leopard's cry could protect a flock or imperil it. In Choa, goat-herders swung the roarer to keep leopards away; at Gondar, people believed the noise drew them in. Amhara shepherd boys trusted it against hyenas too. In parts of Choa it was thought to bring rain. Cypress was the preferred wood. Boys put the sound to work in the fields, scaring birds from seed and ripening crops, and when the rainy season kept them indoors they amused each other and frightened younger siblings. The children's onomatopoeic name zezzeta catches that growling voice.","pull_quote":"Rorata, Furrit","pull_quote_translation":"local names recorded for the rhombe","pull_quote_cite":"Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, 71.1931.74.2995","term_gloss":"Rorata / Furrit: names of the Gondar rhombe. Zezzeta: Messing's onomatopoeic name for an Amhara children's bullroarer used to frighten younger children.","cls":"weather","class_label":"Weather / fertility magic","color":"#2F6FA3","is_candidate":false,"flags":["weather","toy_survival"],"f_jade_complex":false,"f_women_taboo":false,"f_women_special":false,"f_snake":false,"sources":[{"citation":"Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, 71.1931.74.2995, Rorata / Furrit, Gondar.","url":"https://collections.quaibranly.fr/?action=search&field=/Record/ObjectNumber&label=N%C2%B0%20de%20gestion&value=71.1931.74.2995","archive":"https://web.archive.org/web/20261013020740/https://collections.quaibranly.fr/?action=search&field=/Record/ObjectNumber&label=N%C2%B0%20de%20gestion&value=71.1931.74.2995"},{"citation":"Simon D. Messing, The Highland-Plateau Amhara of Ethiopia (PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1957), pp. 440–441, 534.","url":"https://openlibrary.org/works/OL5188945W"}],"source_citations":"Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, 71.1931.74.2995, Rorata / Furrit, Gondar.; Simon D. Messing, The Highland-Plateau Amhara of Ethiopia (PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1957), pp. 440–441, 534.","source_display":"Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, 71.1931.74.2995, Rorata / Furrit, Gondar.; Simon D. Messing, The Highland-Plateau Amhara of Ethiopia (PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1957), pp. 440–441, 534.","date_citation_display":"","object_display":"Amhara rhombe from Gondar, called Rorata or Furrit; goat-herders preferred cypress for this instrument.","function_display":"Leopard deterrence in Choa and rain belief in some districts; boys also scare birds from crops, ward off hyenas, and frighten younger siblings.","confidence_display":"high","attestation_label":"museum specimen","etymology_hedge":"","people_key":"amhara","display_name":"Rorata, the leopard's cry","image":{"full":"assets/objects/MUS2026-095_mus2026-095-amhara-rorata-furrit.jpg","thumb":"assets/objects/MUS2026-095_mus2026-095-amhara-rorata-furrit_thumb.jpg","alt":"Amhara Rorata / Furrit from Gondar: a long wooden wand lies horizontally with a broad blade suspended from it on a short cord.","credit":"© Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, 71.1931.74.2995","license":"Rights reserved (© Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac); authorization required for reproduction; proposed for non-commercial research.","source_page":"https://collections.quaibranly.fr/?action=search&field=/Record/ObjectNumber&value=71.1931.74.2995","rehosted":true,"representative":false,"caption":"Amhara Rorata / Furrit from Gondar, Ethiopia; wooden blade, cord and wand."},"slug":"mus2026-095-amhara"}