Across Australia, West Africa, Greece, and Amazonia, the bullroarer marks initiation as literal spirit indwelling—ritual death, rebirth, and presence of the god or ancestor.
Anthropology - Research Articles
Female Katabasis vs. Male Dying Gods: What Changes?
A sharp comparison of Inanna, Persephone, and Xquic with Dumuzi, Adonis, Osiris, and Telepinu—pinpointing which ritual and seasonal functions specifically track female agency.
The Pirahã in Eden: A Holdout Beyond the Human Condition
Argues—within the Eve & Snake Cult theories—that Pirahã culture preserves a pre-Holocene mode of mind; contrasts with Clovis-era ‘apex’ consciousness; weighs genetics, ritual, and myth.
Masks Before Masks: A Diffusionist History of the Ritual Face
A diffusionist deep dive tracing masked ritual from a single Levantine hearth—stone masks and plastered skulls—to a global grammar of spirit embodiment.
Sahul’s Mystery Cults: Bullroarers, the Dreaming, and the Tambaran
A concise case for historical links between Australian bullroarer–initiation and PNG Tambaran/flute cults, framed by Sahul-era connectivity.
Dunggul: snake, bullroarer, and the making of men
On Cape York, dunggul names both ‘snake’ and ‘bullroarer.’ What this polysemy reveals about initiation, being ‘snake‑bitten,’ and the ritual voice.
Every Word for the Bullroarer We Could Find
A global lexicon of bullroarer names by language and culture, with careful sourcing and notes on polysemy and secrecy.
Roaring Boys: Bullroarers and Male Initiation in Papua New Guinea
How bullroarers figure in Papua New Guinea male initiations—from Purari Delta imunu viki and kaiamunu ‘monsters’ to Sepik Tambaran houses—plus names, stages, and secrecy.
Snake‑Bitten & Swallowed: initiatory serpents from Cape York to Eleusis
Comparative cases where initiates are called ‘snake‑bitten’ or ‘swallowed’—from Cape York’s dunggul to Sabazios, Yuruparí, the Ophites, Hopi Snake Dance, and Wawilak—w/ primary sources.
Darwin on ‘primitive’ society: jealousy, marriage, and deep time
What Darwin actually said about early human social order—monogamy, polygyny, polyandry, ‘communal marriage,’ matriliny, time depth, and gene–culture feedback—with primary-source quotes.