No. BLENCH1987-002
Idoma ofukufuku, the schoolroom bullroarer
Nigeria · Idoma country, Otukpo, Benue State · West Africa
Play / practical
ofukufuku
Source term: ofukufuku (Blench 1987, tone-marked)
The boys' answer to the ancestors' fish-shaped plaque: an ofukufuku cut from a school ruler or a scrap of wood, whirled for the fun of it. It has a name of its own, which is the point - this is no degraded relic of the cult instrument but a standing institution beside a living one, renewed by every generation from whatever the schoolroom yields.
Particulars
- Object
- A bullroarer improvised from a school ruler or a piece of scrap wood.
- Function
- Made by young boys for their own amusement - a modern-material toy with its own distinct name, living alongside the alekwu society's restricted cult plaque.
Source
Roger Blench, 'Idoma musical instruments,' African Music 6/4 (1987): 42-52; section IV Aerophones / 2. Free aerophones