Morwa bull-roarer, the crying in the sacred grove

Source term: bull-roarer

Among the Morwa the dead announce their own festival. Crying is heard in the sacred grove, and that is the sign that the time has come for the rites to be performed — and the crying is a bull-roarer, swung to simulate the voices of the spirits. The summons from the dead is made, in the grove, by hand. There is a sacred spring there too, and beside it the priest pours out his offerings of beer.

the dead are heard crying in the sacred grove, a sign that the time has come when the rites should be performed. A bull-roarer is used to simulate the cries of the spirits.

Meek 1931, Tribal Studies in Northern Nigeria, II:115

Particulars

Object

Bull-roarer; Meek gives no description of the object itself.