No. MUS2026-123
Penobscot serrated blade and handle
United States · Old Town (Indian Island), Maine · North America · Eastern Woodlands
Function not recorded
Source term: bullroarer
This bullroarer from Indian Island, home of the Penobscot Nation, survives ready for action. Its long leaf-shaped blade is finely serrated along one edge, and the braided cord still joins it to the wooden handle that gave the player a full swinging reach. Frank Speck collected it there in 1911; his Penobscot papers also hold a drawing of a bullroarer.
Particulars
- Object
- Complete bullroarer rig: leaf-shaped carved wooden blade, finely serrated along one edge, with braided twine and a long wooden swinging handle.
- Function
- Specific use not recorded.
Source
Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, 2/9224 (Penobscot; collected by Frank G. Speck, 1911); American Philosophical Society, Frank G. Speck Papers (Mss.Ms.Coll.126), Series III, file 8-37-i