{"id":"MUS2026-132","label":"The Voice of Vodun at Mitro","people_or_site":"Yoruba / Mitro","country_current":"Benin","historic_region":"Mitro, Oueme Department","macroregion":"Africa / West Africa","local_name":"","source_term":"Schwirrholz","source_language":"German","object_description":"Long lanceolate wooden bullroarer, 30 × 2.2 × 0.9 cm, pierced and notched at one end and notched at the other, with doubled cotton cord.","function_summary":"Sacred instrument of OLO, sounded as the voice of Vodun.","attestation_type":"museum_specimen","source_key":"MKB_III_12821_12829","source_type":"museum_collection","source_url":"https://onlinecollection.mkb.ch?queryid=48ad5537-3ab4-434d-993c-099226704651","page_or_plate":"MKB III 12821-12829","map_confidence":"high","plot_status":"plot","coordinate_basis":"Mitro village, Oueme Department, Benin (NGA geographic-name record).","jade_complex_role":"","blurb":"At Mitro, the bullroarer spoke as Vodun. Basel’s collection card calls it an “element of the OLO fetish”—the voice of the sacred power itself. Nine wooden blades came to the museum together; this one still has its doubled cotton cord fixed to the narrow, notched end.","pull_quote":"Element du fetiche OLO (voix du Vodun).","pull_quote_translation":"Element of the OLO fetish (voice of Vodun).","pull_quote_cite":"Museum der Kulturen Basel, digitized collection card for III 12821.","term_gloss":"","cls":"sacred","class_label":"Sacred / spirit","color":"#8A5A2B","is_candidate":false,"flags":["spirit_voice"],"f_jade_complex":false,"f_women_taboo":false,"f_women_special":false,"f_snake":false,"sources":[{"citation":"Museum der Kulturen Basel public collection records III 12821-12829: Schwirrholz, Yoruba, Mitro, Republic of Benin","url":"https://onlinecollection.mkb.ch?queryid=48ad5537-3ab4-434d-993c-099226704651","archive":"https://web.archive.org/web/20261013021627/https://onlinecollection.mkb.ch?queryid=48ad5537-3ab4-434d-993c-099226704651"}],"source_citations":"Museum der Kulturen Basel public collection records III 12821-12829: Schwirrholz, Yoruba, Mitro, Republic of Benin","source_display":"Museum der Kulturen Basel public collection records III 12821-12829: Schwirrholz, Yoruba, Mitro, Republic of Benin","date_citation_display":"","object_display":"Long lanceolate wooden bullroarer, 30 × 2.2 × 0.9 cm, pierced and notched at one end and notched at the other, with doubled cotton cord.","function_display":"Sacred instrument of OLO, sounded as the voice of Vodun.","confidence_display":"high","attestation_label":"museum specimen","etymology_hedge":"","people_key":"yoruba","display_name":"The Voice of Vodun at Mitro","image":{"full":"assets/objects/MUS2026-158_mus2026-158-mqb-71-1949-93-4-abomey-eke.jpg","thumb":"assets/objects/MUS2026-158_mus2026-158-mqb-71-1949-93-4-abomey-eke_thumb.jpg","alt":"Yoruba eke from the Abomey region: a long, narrow, plain wooden blade with rounded ends and a small hole near one end.","credit":"© Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, 71.1949.93.4","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=71.1949.93.4","rehosted":true,"representative":true,"caption":"A Yoruba eke, a narrow blade with a terminal hole.","pool_id":"auto-MUS2026-158_mus2026-158-mqb-71-1949-93-4-abomey-eke","additional":[{"full":"assets/objects/MUS2026-132_mkb_iii_12821_yoruba_mitro.jpg","thumb":"assets/objects/MUS2026-132_mkb_iii_12821_yoruba_mitro_thumb.jpg","alt":"Digitized MKB collection card for the Yoruba Mitro bullroarer III 12821, headed “Schwirrholz,” with typed notes on its wooden blade, cord and dimensions.","credit":"Museum der Kulturen Basel, III 12821","license":"CC BY 4.0","source_page":"https://onlinecollection.mkb.ch/","rehosted":true,"caption":"Digitized MKB collection card for the Yoruba Mitro bullroarer III 12821."}]},"slug":"mus2026-132-yoruba-mitro"}