Broome bullroarer with its cord

Source term: bullroarer or tjuringa (churinga)

A small wooden blade, carved on both faces with the design of a totemic ancestor, and still strung with its cord. It was gathered at Broome in 1914 and reached Cambridge the following year. The cord is what matters: many blades reach museums stripped of their rigging, leaving the question of how they were used to be argued from shape alone. This one arrived ready to swing.

Small, wooden bullroarer or tjuringa (churinga), with both faces inscribed with sacred designs, which represent a totemic ancestor. A cord is attached.

Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, catalogue description for accession E 1915.20.3

Particulars

Object

A small wooden blade with both faces inscribed with sacred designs representing a totemic ancestor, with a cord attached.

Function

A churinga carved with the sacred designs of a totemic ancestor, strung on a cord to be whirled; women and uninitiated boys are forbidden to see churinga.