The Bullroarer Atlas

MUS2026-177 - museum specimen

Central Iatmul / Palimbei

Papua New Guinea - Middle Sepik - Palimbei (historic catalog: Palimbai II) - Oceania - Sahul

Function not recorded

Palimbei monumental bullroarer, Berlin VI 48045, before 1912. Painted carving across the full 1.29-metre blade.
Palimbei monumental bullroarer, Berlin VI 48045, before 1912. Painted carving across the full 1.29-metre blade. Anika Niemeck / Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (VI 48045) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Image source
The complete carved face of Palimbei bullroarer VI 48045, from one staring terminal head to the other.
The complete carved face of Palimbei bullroarer VI 48045, from one staring terminal head to the other. Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (VI 48045; photographer not named in official metadata) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Image source
Archival full-length view of the Palimbei blade and its carved animal procession.
Archival full-length view of the Palimbei blade and its carved animal procession. Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (VI 48045; photographer not named in official metadata) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Image source
Palimbei bullroarer VI 48045 with scale and colour reference, photographed by Dietrich Graf.
Palimbei bullroarer VI 48045 with scale and colour reference, photographed by Dietrich Graf. Dietrich Graf / Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (VI 48045) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Image source

Source term: Schwirrholz

At 1.29 metres and nearly two kilograms, this painted blade is monumental. Its carving runs from a round-eyed face through concentric circles and a procession of animal forms to another staring head. Palimbei is also a name of identity: Central Iatmul people take their name from their mother village, tracing shared ancestry with the other Iatmul communities to the mythical place Mävɨmbɨt.

Object
Carved and painted wooden bullroarer, 129 × 15 × 3 cm and approximately 1.8 kg; Berlin VI 48045, made before 1912 at Palimbai II.
Function
Not recorded.
Map confidence
high - GeoNames locality 2088747, Palimbei (also Palambai), surfaced by Mapcarta; place-level locality point matching the DDB provenance Palimbai II. This avoids stacking on PNG18's existing Central Iatmul anchor at Parambei village.
Source location
DDB VI 48045; Falck 2016, printed p. 18 / PDF p. 39

View source Open this point on the interactive map

  • AwalamaPapua New Guinea - Milne Bay - Function not recorded
  • Baluan IslandPapua New Guinea - Manus - Function not recorded
  • BarriaiPapua New Guinea - West New Britain - Function not recorded
  • BensbachPapua New Guinea - Western Province (Morehead) - Function not recorded
  • Bola (Bakovi)Papua New Guinea - Willaumez / Talasea Peninsula / West New Britain / New Pommern - Function not recorded
  • BonguPapua New Guinea - Rai Coast, Madang (Astrolabe B - Function not recorded