The Bullroarer Atlas

No. MUS2026-213Africa

N'Yoro Oekum'

Lagos, Nigeria · West Africa

Sacred / spirit

A narrow dark bullroarer blade from Lagos, pointed at one end and tied to a long cord loop, with Pitt Rivers Museum number 1924.2.36.
Plate I. Bullroarer with cord, Lagos, made before 1924. Image source

N'YORO OEKUM'

Source term: Bull-roarer

A wooden blade no wider than a finger, swung on a long cord, carried its name out of Lagos: N'YORO OEKUM'. It belonged to ceremonial and religious music, and the name travelled with it to Oxford in 1924, apostrophes and all.

N'YORO OEKUM'

Pitt Rivers Museum 1924.2.36

Particulars

Object
A carved wooden blade, 137 x 14 mm, very narrow and tapered, with a single long cord attached at its squared terminal end.
Function
A ceremonial and religious musical instrument in the Pitt Rivers Museum classification; the specific rite, player and occasion are not recorded.

Source

Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, 1924.2.36 (Lagos, Nigeria; collected by R. P. Wild)

View the source · archived

Part of The Bullroarer Atlas, companion to The Eve Theory of Consciousness.