Which Australian Aboriginal instrument is a wooden slat that roars when whirled at the end of a string?

• A. Gum Leaf
• B. Dizi
• C. Bull-Roarer
• D. Polynesian Nose Flute

Answer: (C)

A bull-roarer is a simple aerophone built from a flat wooden slat attached to a cord. When you whirl it, the blade slices through the air and sets air into vibration, creating a deep, roaring sound. The speed of your spin changes the volume and pitch of the roar, which is a distinctive feature of this instrument in Aboriginal Australian culture, where it’s used for signaling and ceremonial purposes. The other items are different instruments with unrelated mechanisms: a gum leaf is blown across the edge to produce sound, a Dizi is a bamboo flute, and a Polynesian Nose Flute is played by blowing through the nose. Only the wooden slat on a string that roars when swung fits this description.