The Bullroarer Atlas

ALUEDE2006-001 - ethnographic attestation

Esan

Nigeria - Esanland - Edo State - West Africa

Restricted

A Yoruba bullroarer of black-stained wood, its cord wound about the blade — a western-Nigerian neighbour of the Esan, standing in for the...
Representative image. A Yoruba bullroarer of black-stained wood, its cord wound about the blade — a western-Nigerian neighbour of the Esan, standing in for the Alimin-Otor; no photograph of the Esan instrument itself has surfaced. © The Trustees of the British Museum (E/Af1962-17-72) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Image source

Alimin-Otor English

Alimin-Otor: Aluede's name for land spirits, identified by him with the bullroarer; lexical gloss not independently verified.

At midnight in Esanland, the land spirits announced their procession with the roar of Alimin-Otor. Aluede describes a carved piece of wood tied to a cord and whirled through the air; women and children stayed indoors while the spirit company moved.

a carved bob of wood attached to a cord which, when whirled through the air produces a terrifying roar.

Charles O. Aluede, The Anthropomorphic Attributes of African Musical Instruments: History and Use in Esan, Nigeria, The Anthropologist 8(3) (2006): 159.
Object
Carved wood attached to a cord and whirled through the air; exact profile unstated.
Function
Midnight land-spirit procession; the sound conveys the presence of spirits; women and children remain indoors.
Map confidence
medium - Midpoint of Esanland's published bounds; the source names no town or performance site.
Source location
p. 159

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