Yooloodury behind the squirrel hunt

yoolooduree (yooloodury) / yeemboomul; dhalguñgun

Source term: bull-roarers (yoolooduree or yeemboomul); small bull-roarer dhalguñgun

Burbung: the full initiation ceremony of the region; yoolooduree (yooloodury) or yeemboomul: the large bullroarer; dhalguñgun: the small bullroarer; arrowanga: the avenue of boughs built at the women's camp; kooringal: the men in charge of the novices in the bush.

The Burbung of the Koombanggary began with the women under cover. Mothers and sisters lay humming beneath rugs, bushes and grass while old men with spears stood over them so that no one could look; two men sounded the big yoolooduree close by, others beat the ground with bark, and in the din the guardians hoisted the hooded boys onto their shoulders and carried them off. Near the end of their time in the bush the boys stood in a row at sunrise, eyes on the ground. The men ran about pretending to throw sticks at a squirrel in a tree, and while they did so two men stepped into the open swinging the yooloodury. The rugs came off the boys' heads, and armed warriors rushed at each one with warnings never to tell. At the women's camp the returning men sat hidden in an avenue of boughs while the small dhalguñgun hummed out of sight behind it; then the women tore the avenue down and fed it to the fires to smoke them. The boys came in next day with their hair singed, so the women would believe the evil spirit had burnt them.

All the men then run about pretending to throw pieces of stick at a squirrel in a tree, and while they are doing so two men step into an open space and swing the yooloodury.

R. H. Mathews, "Initiation Ceremonies of Australian Tribes," Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 37 (1898), p. 63

Particulars

Object

A large bullroarer, the yoolooduree or yeemboomul, and a small one, the dhalguñgun.

Function

Burbung initiation: two men sounded the large yoolooduree as the hooded novices were carried off while the women lay covered under guard; near the end of the bush stay it was swung before the novices while the men feigned a squirrel hunt, followed by threats against revealing anything; the small dhalguñgun sounded out of sight behind the bough avenue at the women's camp when the men returned.