Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Aboriginal Lore/Answer Key"

Revision as of 21:16, 11 May 2006

A bullroarer or turndun is an ancient ritual musical instrument and means of communicating over extended distances.

File:Music insts bullroarers2.jpg

Jazz musician Rich Halley plays a bullroarer at an outdoor concert.

It consists of a longish piece of cord fixed to an oval piece of wood or other suitable material which usually is thicker in the center, and sharpish at the edges.

The cord is given a slight initial twist, and the roarer is then waved in a large circle in a horizontal plane. The aerodynamics of the roarer will keep it spinning about its axis even after the initial twist has unwound. The cord winds fully first in one direction and then the other.

It makes a characteristic roaring vibrato sound with notable modification from both Doppler effect and the changing speed of the roarer at different parts of its circuit.

File:Music insts bullroarers1.jpg

Two jazz musicians play flat white bullroarers with red spots held on thin rope lines about eight feet long by spinning them quickly in circles.

By modifying the expansiveness of its circuit and the speed given it, the modulation of the sound can be controlled, making the coding of information possible. The low frequency component of the sound travels extremely long distances, especially on the wind.

This instrument has been used by numerous early and traditional cultures in both the northern and southern hemispheres but in the popular consciousness it is perhaps best known for its use by Australian Aborigines (it is from one of their languages that the name turndun comes).

Bullroarers are still considered to be sacred/secret by some Aboriginal tribes and are not allowed to be shown to women, children or outsiders. They are used in men's initiation ceremonies and the sound they produced is considered to represent the sound of the Rainbow Serpent.

The bullroarer is sometimes used as a means of demonstrating the Doppler effect, by using sound. As the instrument travels round, its sound goes up or down according to its speed, and distance from the hearer.

de:Schwirrholz fr:Rhombe

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-'''Marn Grook''' (also spelt "marngrook") is an [[Australian Aborigine|Australian Aboriginal]] ball game, which had an important influence on the modern game of [[Australian Rules Football]], most notably in the spectacular jumping and ''high marking'' (catching of the ball) exhibited by the players of both games.   Jumping to catch the ball in Marn Grook is called "mumarki" (which has similar phonics to the English word "mark"), an Aboriginal word meaning "to catch" which results in a free kick.
+A '''bullroarer''' or '''turndun''' is an ancient ritual musical instrument and means of communicating over extended distances. [[Image:Music_insts_bullroarers2.jpg|frame|none|Jazz musician Rich Halley plays a bullroarer at an outdoor concert.]]
-Meaning "Game ball", Marn Grook was a traditional game played at gatherings and celebrations of up to 50 players by the [[Djabwurrung]] and [[Jardwadjali]] people of western [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]].
-In a [[1878]] book by [[Robert Brough-Smyth]], ''The Aborigines of Victoria'', Brough-Smyth refers to a man called Richard Thomas, (Aboriginal Protector) as saying in about [[1841]], that he had witnessed Aborigines playing the game:
+It consists of a longish piece of [[rope|cord]] fixed to an [[oval]] piece of wood or other suitable material which usually is thicker in the center, and sharpish at the edges.
-:''The men and boys joyfully assemble when this game is to be played. One makes a ball of possum skin, somewhat elastic, but firm and strong. The players of this game do not throw the ball as a white man might do, but drop it and at the same time kicks it with his foot. The tallest men have the best chances in this game. Some of them will leap as high as five feet from the ground to catch the ball. The person who secures the ball kicks it. This continues for hours and the natives never seem to tire of the exercise.''
-[[Tom Wills]], who invented Australian rules football, was raised in Victoria's western districts and regularly played with local Aboriginal children. He recalled watching a game in which they kicked a possum skin about the size of an orange stuffed with charcoal. The game was played between large groups on a totemic basis &mdash; the white cockatoos versus the black cockatoos, for example &mdash; with the greatest honour going to those who could leap or kick the highest.
+The cord is given a slight initial twist, and the roarer is then waved in a large circle in a horizontal plane. The [[aerodynamics]] of the roarer will keep it spinning about its axis even after the initial twist has unwound. The cord winds fully first in one direction and then the other.
-In [[2002]], in a game at [[Stadium Australia]], the [[Sydney Swans]] and [[Essendon Football Club]] began to compete for the '''''Marngrook Trophy''''', awarded after home-and-away matches each year between the two teams in the [[Australian Football League]]. However, the games are played under normal rules of the AFL, rather than anything approaching Marn Grook.
+It makes a characteristic roaring [[vibrato]] [[sound]] with notable modification from both [[Doppler effect]] and the changing speed of the roarer at different parts of its circuit. [[Image:Music_insts_bullroarers1.jpg |frame|none|Two jazz musicians play flat white bullroarers with red spots held on thin rope lines about eight feet long by spinning them quickly in circles.]]
-[[Category:Australian rules football]]
+By modifying the expansiveness of its circuit and the speed given it, the modulation of the sound can be controlled, making the coding of information possible. The low frequency component of the sound travels extremely long distances, especially on the wind.
-[[Category:Sport in Australia]]
-[[Category:Traditional football]]
-{{afl-stub}}
+This instrument has been used by numerous early and traditional cultures in both the [[Northern Hemisphere|northern]] and [[southern hemisphere]]s but in the popular consciousness it is perhaps best known for its use by [[Australian Aborigine]]s (it is from one of their languages that the name ''turndun'' comes).
+Bullroarers are still considered to be sacred/secret by some Aboriginal tribes and are not allowed to be shown to women, children or outsiders. They are used in men's initiation ceremonies and the sound they produced is considered to represent the sound of the [[rainbow serpent|Rainbow Serpent]].
+The bullroarer is sometimes used as a means of demonstrating the [[Doppler effect]], by using sound. As the instrument travels round, its sound goes up or down according to its speed, and distance from the hearer.
+[[Category:Whirling aerophones]]
+[[de:Schwirrholz]]
+[[fr:Rhombe]]