Oraon Ranchi dormitory bullroarer emblem

kher-chukna (dormitory strings, "foot-scrapers"); bhurka (toy)

Source term: bull-roarer

Etymology. kher-chukna, "foot-scrapers," is the Oraon name for the strings of bull-roarer slats hung in the bachelors' dormitory; the toy form is called bhurka.

Rows of bamboo blades hung from the beams of the bachelors’ dormitory. On festival days they were taken out and strung above the dancing ground, where breezes shook them into a rattling decoration. Some instruments were made from the valves of silk-cotton seed pods. The blades were carefully treasured in the dormitory; women were forbidden to enter. Villagers explained the festival display through its beauty and sound. Roy suggested another purpose: frightening away the dead who wanted to join the dance by entering a living dancer.

Hundreds of thin slats of bamboo threaded in strings are to be seen hanging in rows from the beams of some of the Oraon Bachelors' dormitories, where it is a sin for women to enter.

Summary of S. C. Roy, "The Bull-Roarer in India," Man in India, vol. 7 (1927), p. 63

Particulars

Object

A perforated slat of wood or bamboo, holed at one end, hung in the youth dormitory.

Function

Kept in bachelors' dormitories and hung above festival dancing grounds for decoration and wind-driven rattling; Roy interpreted the display as protection against spirits.