{"id":"SAFR-004","label":"|Xam !goin !goin bee-control bullroarer","people_or_site":"|Xam Bushmen","country_current":"South Africa","historic_region":"Northern Cape / |Xam Bushman source region","macroregion":"Africa / Southern Africa","local_name":"!goin !goin","source_term":"bullroarer","source_language":"English","object_description":"Two measured wooden !goin !goin blades, 32.3 and 34 cm long, attached by a once-twisted 40.5 cm cord to a short hand-held stick; the exact |Xam plate preserves the complete rig.","function_summary":"Whirled so bees would move elsewhere, leaving honey to cut, bag, carry home, and share; also used in rain-making.","attestation_type":"ethnographic_attestation","source_key":"lloyd1889_bleek_lloyd1911_xam_goin_goin","source_type":"comparative_secondary","source_url":"https://archive.org/details/cu31924029904830/page/n456/mode/1up","page_or_plate":"Lloyd 1889 item 191, p. 18; Bleek and Lloyd 1911:353–359, plate 19","map_confidence":"medium_high","plot_status":"plot_with_caveat","coordinate_basis":"representative coordinate; archaeological/ethnographic source does not warrant a precise ritual locality","jade_complex_role":"","blurb":"The |Xam beat the !goin !goin — a wooden blade on a little stick, whirled to a low whirring likened to swarming bees — so bees would grow abundant and move into other people's places, leaving honey to be cut, bagged, carried home, and shared. Its buzzing opened into a dance: the men danced, one woman drummed, and the other women clapped. Women swung it as well as men, and at times many swung together to bring rain.","pull_quote":"the bees may go into the other people's places, that the people may eat honey","pull_quote_translation":"","pull_quote_cite":"Bleek and Lloyd, Specimens of Bushman Folklore (1911), p. 355","term_gloss":"!goin !goin (|Xam): a bullroarer — a blade of wood on a little stick, whirled in the hand to produce a buzzing sound likened to bees.","cls":"weather","class_label":"Weather / fertility magic","color":"#2F6FA3","is_candidate":false,"flags":["women_special","weather"],"f_jade_complex":false,"f_women_taboo":false,"f_women_special":true,"f_snake":false,"sources":[{"citation":"Lucy C. Lloyd, Third Report concerning Bushman Researches (1889), item 191, p. 18","url":"https://digitalbleeklloyd.uct.ac.za/metadata/reports/bleek-lloyd-reports/4/index.html","archive":"https://web.archive.org/web/20261013030349/https://digitalbleeklloyd.uct.ac.za/metadata/reports/bleek-lloyd-reports/4/index.html"},{"citation":"W. H. I. Bleek and Lucy C. Lloyd, Specimens of Bushman Folklore (1911), pp. 353–359 and plate 19","url":"https://archive.org/details/cu31924029904830/page/n456/mode/1up"},{"citation":"Neil Rusch & Sarah Wurz, 'How the music of an ancient rock painting was brought to life', The Conversation (2022)","url":"https://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/opinion/2022/2022-08/how-the-music-of-an-ancient-rock-painting-was-brought-to-life.html","archive":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260521075438/https://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/opinion/2022/2022-08/how-the-music-of-an-ancient-rock-painting-was-brought-to-life.html"}],"source_citations":"Lucy C. Lloyd, Third Report concerning Bushman Researches (1889), item 191, p. 18; W. H. I. Bleek and Lucy C. Lloyd, Specimens of Bushman Folklore (1911), pp. 353–359 and plate 19; Neil Rusch & Sarah Wurz, 'How the music of an ancient rock painting was brought to life', The Conversation (2022)","source_display":"Lucy C. Lloyd, Third Report concerning Bushman Researches (1889), item 191, p. 18; W. H. I. Bleek and Lucy C. Lloyd, Specimens of Bushman Folklore (1911), pp. 353–359 and plate 19; Neil Rusch & Sarah Wurz, 'How the music of an ancient rock painting was brought to life', The Conversation (2022)","date_citation_display":"","object_display":"Two measured wooden !goin !goin blades, 32.3 and 34 cm long, attached by a once-twisted 40.5 cm cord to a short hand-held stick; the exact |Xam plate preserves the complete rig.","function_display":"Whirled so bees would move elsewhere, leaving honey to cut, bag, carry home, and share; also used in rain-making.","confidence_display":"medium to high","attestation_label":"ethnographic attestation","etymology_hedge":"","people_key":"xam bushmen","display_name":"|Xam !goin !goin bee-control bullroarer","image":{"full":"assets/objects/review_2026_07_15/SAFR-004_bleek_lloyd1911_plate19.jpg","thumb":"assets/objects/review_2026_07_15/thumbs/SAFR-004_bleek_lloyd1911_plate19_thumb.jpg","alt":"Bleek and Lloyd’s 1911 plate 19 of a |Xam !goin !goin rig: the blade in face and edge views, with a short handle and measured cord.","credit":"W. H. I. Bleek and Lucy C. Lloyd, Specimens of Bushman Folklore (1911), plate 19; drawing by H. Werdelmann","license":"Public domain","source_page":"https://archive.org/details/cu31924029904830/page/n454/mode/1up","rehosted":true,"representative":false,"caption":"Two |Xam !goin !goin blades with the short handle and measured cord, Bleek and Lloyd 1911, plate 19.","additional":[{"full":"assets/objects/SAFR-004_weltmuseum_vo85397_san.jpg","thumb":"assets/objects/SAFR-004_weltmuseum_vo85397_san_thumb.jpg","alt":"A broad dark-brown San Schwirrholz from Oas with cord wound around its middle and a short winding stick tucked across it.","credit":"© KHM-Museumsverband (Weltmuseum Wien), inv. 85397","license":"CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (KHM-Museumsverband / Weltmuseum Wien) — ©KHM-Museumsverband credit required; rehosted low-res","source_page":"https://www.weltmuseumwien.at/en/objects/thunder-stick-431471-1","rehosted":true,"representative":true,"caption":"A San Schwirrholz from Oas with its cord and winding stick."}]},"slug":"safr-004-xam-bushmen"}