Lithuanian brūklys herders' bullroarer

brūklys

Source term: brūklys / rhombe

brūklys = the Lithuanian name for the herders' whirled slat; VLE classifies it as a free whirling aerophone (laisvasis sūkurinis aerofonas).

Lithuanian herders whirled the brūklys — a thin slat on a cord — until it gave out the roar of wind, the sputter of a windmill, or the drone of swarming insects. They relished the noise, competed at it, and put it to work: scaring animals, holding off a charging bull, even serving in fights. The practice lasted into the early twentieth century, and in 1978 Arvydas Karaška rebuilt brūkliai for Vilnius University's folklore ensemble Ratilio. Two survivors rest in the Mucem in Marseille: a curved bone blade and a stubby wooden slat, each on its vegetable-fibre cord.

Už virvelės ore sūkuriuojamas brūklys skleidžia į vėjo ūžesius, vėjo malūnėlio plerpimą, vabzdžių zvimbimą panašius garsus.

Whirled in the air on its cord, the brūklys gives out sounds like the roar of wind, the clatter of a windmill, or the buzzing of insects.

Arvydas Karaška, 'brūklys', Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija

Particulars

Object

Thin slat about 15 x 5 cm whirled in free air on a threaded cord. Two exact Mucem specimens survive: a curved blade of flat bone, perhaps rib (DMH1989.5.7), and a small thick wooden slat (DMH1989.5.8), each with a vegetable-fibre cord, perhaps hemp.

Function

Herders' pastime and working tool: whirled for pleasure and in contests, to frighten animals, to fend off a bull, and in fights.