No. BLENCH1987-001
Idoma ohumhum, fish-shaped plaque of the alekwu dead
Nigeria · Idoma country, Otukpo, Benue State · West Africa
Restricted
ohumhum / ofumfum
Source term: ohumhum = ofumfum (Blench 1987, tone-marked)
Among the Idoma the dead do not leave; they return as alekwu, ancestors present among the living, guardians of the lineages. Their society's bullroarer is a wooden plaque carved in the shape of a fish, and women are forbidden it. Around it stands the village's whole taxonomy of whirled sound: the cult plaque of the ancestors, the boys' copy knocked together from a school ruler, and the children's spinning disc — three noises, one secret.
Particulars
- Object
- A fish-shaped wooden plaque bullroarer.
- Function
- Sounded by members of the alekwu ancestral society and forbidden to women. The alekwu are the returning dead of the Idoma lineages, present among the living in masquerade.
Source
Roger Blench, 'Idoma musical instruments,' African Music 6(4) (1987): 42-52, at p. 49 (section IV, free aerophones)