{"id":"PETTERSON1993-001","label":"Rumu wipúwipū, sounded to frighten children","people_or_site":"Rumu (Kairi)","country_current":"Papua New Guinea","historic_region":"Kikori and Sirebe rivers, Kikori District, Gulf Province","macroregion":"Oceania / Sahul","local_name":"wipúwipū","source_term":"bullroarer","source_language":"Rumu / English / Motu","object_description":"A bullroarer called wipúwipū; no physical description recorded. Five bullroarers from the Sirebi River, in Rumu country, entered the Hamburg Museum am Rothenbaum in March 1967 (MARKK 67.39:2–4, 7–8).","function_summary":"Sounded during initiation to frighten the little children.","attestation_type":"lexical_attestation","source_key":"petterson1993_rumu_dictionary","source_type":"academic_language_description","source_url":"https://pnglanguages.sil.org/resources/archives/31307","page_or_plate":"p. 135; pp. 9, 42, 132","map_confidence":"low_medium","plot_status":"plot_with_caveat","coordinate_basis":"WALS language point for Rumu (-7.17, 144.25), on the Kikori above the delta; language-area anchor, no village named in the entry.","jade_complex_role":"","blurb":"During Rumu initiation the wipúwipū was swung to frighten the little children. The rite had other ordeals and pleasures too. Initiates played Waramamù, a game with stinging nettles named for a woman whose legend was told to them; the people danced èrarû-ripiō, skipping about with palm branches and singing; and when it was over, a heap of goods was piled up and shared out. The Rumu live along the Kikori and Sirebe rivers of the Papuan Gulf.","pull_quote":"During initiation the bullroarer is sounded to frighten the little children.","pull_quote_translation":"","pull_quote_cite":"Robert G. Petterson, Rumu–English–Motu Dictionary (1993/2007), p. 135","term_gloss":"wipúwipū: bullroarer. Waramamù: a stinging-nettle game played in initiation, named for a woman whose legend is told to initiates. èrarû-ripiō: a dance of the initiation ceremonies.","cls":"restricted","class_label":"Restricted","color":"#A43C2F","is_candidate":false,"flags":["initiation"],"f_jade_complex":false,"f_women_taboo":false,"f_women_special":false,"f_snake":false,"sources":[{"citation":"Robert G. Petterson, Rumu–English–Motu Dictionary (SIL-PNG, 1993 draft, posted 2007), pp. 9, 42, 132, 135","url":"https://pnglanguages.sil.org/resources/archives/31307"},{"citation":"Museum am Rothenbaum (MARKK), Hamburg, collection database extract, Ozeanien ab 1921, inv. 67.39:2–4, 7–8","url":"https://markk-hamburg.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MARKK-OZ-ab-1921.pdf"}],"source_citations":"Robert G. Petterson, Rumu–English–Motu Dictionary (SIL-PNG, 1993 draft, posted 2007), pp. 9, 42, 132, 135; Museum am Rothenbaum (MARKK), Hamburg, collection database extract, Ozeanien ab 1921, inv. 67.39:2–4, 7–8","source_display":"Robert G. Petterson, Rumu–English–Motu Dictionary (SIL-PNG, 1993 draft, posted 2007), pp. 9, 42, 132, 135; Museum am Rothenbaum (MARKK), Hamburg, collection database extract, Ozeanien ab 1921, inv. 67.39:2–4, 7–8","date_citation_display":"","object_display":"A bullroarer called wipúwipū; no physical description recorded. Five bullroarers from the Sirebi River, in Rumu country, entered the Hamburg Museum am Rothenbaum in March 1967 (MARKK 67.39:2–4, 7–8).","function_display":"","confidence_display":"low to medium","attestation_label":"lexical attestation","etymology_hedge":"","people_key":"rumu","display_name":"Rumu wipúwipū, sounded to frighten children","image":{"full":"assets/objects/hunt_2026_10_03/MUS2026-333_nmnh_e377577_blade.jpg","thumb":"assets/objects/hunt_2026_10_03/thumbs/MUS2026-333_nmnh_e377577_blade_thumb.jpg","credit":"Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (E377577-0)","license":"Usage Conditions Apply (Smithsonian)","source_page":"https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/anth/?q=E377577","rehosted":true,"representative":true,"caption":"Slender blade painted red and black","pool_id":"auto-hunt_2026_10_03--MUS2026-333_nmnh_e377577_blade","auto_assigned":true,"last_modified":"2026-10-19"},"slug":"petterson1993-001-rumu-kairi"}