Five serpent tracks on an ochred miniature

Source term: Bullroarer

Five serpent tracks cross both faces of a blade only 16.5 centimetres long, with rows of dots pressed between their lobes. Whirled in initiation, its roar was the presiding ancestor's voice and a warning to women not to approach. In Central Australia, Spencer and Gillen found that such markings were read as country: shown one churinga, its owner walked them through it mark by mark - a man, his tracks as he wandered about the country, the banks of a creek, the crossing tracks of two men, the spot where he was killed.

Particulars

Object

Red-ochred wooden bullroarer, 165 x 21 x 3 mm, engraved on both faces with five serpent tracks and parallel rows of dots.

Function

Sounded in initiation as the presiding ancestor's voice; its roar warned women not to approach.