Nivala suhistuspuu herding bull-roarer

suhistuspuu

Source term: suhistuspuu; hyrrä (catalog heading)

suhistuspuu = "whirring-wood" (suhista, to whirr/swish + puu, wood)

Children whirled the suhistuspuu, the "whirring-wood", for fun; herders used its noise to frighten the cows. This one is a pine splint 26 centimetres long on a 77-centimetre braided cord, made before 1928 in Sarjankylä in Nivala and brought to the National Museum that year by Kustaa Vilkuna. Before the first swing the cord needs a slight twist to set the wooden leaf turning, or it will not whirr; how it hums depends on its size, its speed and the angle of the swing.

Eräänlainen suhistuspuu, jota lapset pyörittelevät huvikseen ja jolla paimenet pelottelevat lehmiä.

A kind of whirring-wood that children spin for amusement and with which herders frighten the cows.

Suomen kansallismuseo, catalogue entry K7145:6 (via Finna)

Particulars

Object

Pine splint (päre) 26 cm long, whirled on a 77 cm braided cord. Suomen kansallismuseo K7145:6, ethnological collections, 1928, through Kustaa Vilkuna.

Function

Children spin it for amusement; herders use its sound to frighten cows.