What does bullroarer mean?
A bullroarer is one of the simplest and oldest sound-producing instruments known to humanity: a thin, elongated piece of wood, bone, or other material attached to the end of a cord. When the cord is whirled rapidly in a circle, the slat spins about its axis and displaces air in pulses, producing a deep, resonant roaring or whirring that can carry over great distances. Bullroarers are best known from the ceremonial life of Aboriginal Australian peoples, where they are often sacred objects whose sounds may represent ancestral voices, but similar instruments have been documented across Australia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Asia, sometimes serving ritual purposes and sometimes acting simply as signaling devices or toys. Because of its strong association with initiation rites and restricted cultural knowledge, the term carries an anthropological and often reverent tone rather than a casual one. For anyone interested in archaeology, music history, or Indigenous cultures, 'bullroarer' names an artifact that connects modern listeners directly to some of the oldest acoustic traditions on Earth.
nounA wooden slat or board attached to a cord that is swung rapidly overhead, producing a deep, roaring or whirring sound; used especially in the ritual ceremonies of Aboriginal Australian peoples and in various other traditional cultures worldwide.
- A thin wooden slat on a cord that roars when swung in circles, used as a ritual instrument, especially by Aboriginal Australian peoples.
- Such an object used more generally as a signaling device or toy in various cultures.
"The anthropologist recorded the low, eerie hum of the bullroarer echoing across the ceremonial ground."
"Initiated men spun the bullroarer at arm's length until its deep drone filled the night air."
"In some cultures, the bullroarer's booming voice was believed to carry messages to ancestral spirits."
Standard regular plural; used when referring to multiple instruments, such as across different cultures or collections.
"Museum drawers held bullroarers collected from cultures on four continents."
The bullroarer is one of humanity's oldest musical instruments — over 20,000 years old — and its unmistakable roar has echoed through sacred ceremonies on every inhabited continent.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bullroarer
The word bullroarer is a transparent English compound formed from 'bull', referring to the bellowing, bovine quality of the instrument's sound, and 'roarer', denoting something that makes a loud roaring noise. It arose in English during the nineteenth century as European ethnographers and travelers encountered the instrument among Indigenous peoples, particularly in Australia, and needed a descriptive name for it. There are no true cognates, since the term is a descriptive coinage rather than a borrowing, though the instrument itself predates the word by many millennia.
Related word forms
How bullroarer is actually used
The word is largely confined to anthropology, ethnomusicology, and discussions of Indigenous Australian culture, where knowledge of the instrument can be gender-restricted and sacred; it is rare in everyday conversation. The plural is 'bullroarers'.
Easily confused with bullroarer
A bullhorn is a modern handheld megaphone for amplifying the voice, whereas a bullroarer is an ancient swung wooden instrument that produces sound aerodynamically.