The Bullroarer Atlas

MUS2026-023 - museum specimen

Masingara (Bine/Gizra)

Papua New Guinea - Western Province (near Daru) - Oceania - Sahul

Function not recorded

Masingara (Gizra) spatulate bull-roarer, Western Province, PNG — British Museum, Oc1906,1013.152.a (Daniels Expedition).
Masingara (Gizra) spatulate bull-roarer, Western Province, PNG — British Museum, Oc1906,1013.152.a (Daniels Expedition). © The Trustees of the British Museum, Oc1906,1013.152.a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Image source
Masingara turtleshell bullroarer Oc1906,1013.153, with its twisted plant-fibre cord; British Museum.
Masingara turtleshell bullroarer Oc1906,1013.153, with its twisted plant-fibre cord; British Museum. © The Trustees of the British Museum (Oc1906,1013.153) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Image source

Source term: bull-roarer

At Masingara, turtleshell rather than wood gave the bullroarer its body. Two light, tapering blades survive with their twisted plant-fibre cords, turning the shell of a turtle into an airborne voice.

Object
Bull-roarer of the Masingara (Gizra), British Museum Oc1906,1013.152.a; its sibling Oc1906,1013.153 is a tapering turtleshell plate 15.5 x 4.5 x 0.3 cm on a twisted plant-fibre cord, 40.2 cm loose overall.
Function
Not recorded.
Map confidence
medium - approximate culture/locality centroid
Source location
BM Oc1906,1013.152.a | British Museum Oc1906,1013.153

View source Open this point on the interactive map

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