A bullroarer is an aerophone made from an elongated, flat, oval disk through a hole in whose end a long rope is knotted. The rope is swung rapidly above the head, so that the wooden oval travels through the air in a large circle. In this rapid motion the instrument produces a low buzzing hum. The bullroarer not only turns in large circles around the handler, but also spins around its own axis, which is how it actually produces the hum. The sound-producing body is often slightly asymmetrical which facilitates its spinning.
According to organological classification, a bullroarer is a free aerophone, which implies that the vibrating air which forms the sound is not in the instrument but around its body, which is in contrast to the flute, for example, where the air, after being broken on contact with the edge of the lip plate, flows into the body of the instrument. Although there is no real musical or rhythmic sound produced, the pitch can be changed, however slightly, by swinging the rope around at faster or slower speeds. The bullroarer varies in length from 15 to 75cms and is generally crafted from wood. Other materials are stone, bone, or occasionally ivory. Sometimes the surface is decorated with incisions. Bullroarers are considered to be among the oldest music instruments in the world. In the Stone Age, bones were already tied to a rope and swung through the air. Depictions of bullroarers can be seen in the pictures drawn by prehistoric African rock painters, where they were represented, presumably, in a ritualized context. Bullroarers are found worldwide, but are not common in Africa.
This type of instrument is used in recordings of our sound archives made with the Congolese peoples mentioned hereafter where it appears with the following vernacular names:
Nar'a kwei (Leele)
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