Bullroarer

Item number Nh156 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

Item Records

This page shows all the information we have about this item. Both the institution that physically holds this item, and RRN members have contributed the knowledge on this page. You’re looking at the item record provided by the holding institution. If you scroll further down the page, you’ll see the information from RRN members, and can share your own knowledge too.

The RRN processes the information it receives from each institution to make it more readable and easier to search. If you’re doing in-depth research on this item, be sure to take a look at the Data Source tab to see the information exactly as it was provided by the institution.

These records are easy to share because each has a unique web address. You can copy and paste the location from your browser’s address bar into an email, word document, or chat message to share this item with others.

This item is culturally sensitive and images of it can not be shown. More information

Data
Data Source

This information was automatically generated from data provided by MOA: University of British Columbia. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Description

Thin, flat, wooden rectangle painted with bright colours. One end is rounded with a small hole in the centre of the pointed end. Yellow, blue, black and dark red vertical and diagonal lines and geometric shapes are painted on one side. A broken white line goes along the dark red diagonal lines near the rounded end, down the centre and along 2 sides of the rectangle. On the other side there is a dark red background with vertical, diagonal black lines and circles. A quarter of a blue circle is in yellow, outlined in black.

History Of Use

Used to call rain. Given to boys at the end of the sacred season by kachinas.

Cultural Context

ceremonial

Iconographic Meaning

Semicircles represent clouds, zigzags represent lightning and vertical lines stand for rain. North, south, east and west are represented by yellow, red, white and blue.