Uni, the red-millet roarer

Uni

Source term: bull-roarer

Shaped like a spearhead of tamarind wood, its base pierced for a cord of twisted bean-vine, this hand-length roarer — uni to the Fali of Cameroon's northern hills — belongs to the boys, who swing it in July as the red millet begins to ripen and its drone rolls across the drying fields. Yet among the Fali the rhombe is a sacred thing too: in the mat-walled enclosures where the clan ancestors are honoured, roarers rest beside the clan masks and iron bracelets. Harvest plaything and shrine-voice, one form.

Rhombe, Bull-roarer mâle

Rhombe, male bull-roarer

Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, 71.1938.46.295

Particulars

Object

Rhombe / male bull-roarer of the Fali, local name Uni (Quai Branly 71.1938.46.295).

Function

Swung by boys as the red millet ripens in July.