Koor — Wooden Camel Bell
Carved from a single piece of wood, a traditional Somali camel bell (Koor) features one or two wooden clappers attached to the inside of the bell by a loop of plaited vegetable fiber. Camel bells come in four main sizes: the boodaan (largest), darmad/rogaal, af-qalac/af-jeex, and the aleen (smallest).
The Original GPS
A curator at the Minneapolis Institute of Art interviewed local Somali immigrants to learn more about Somali objects the museum had acquired. When they arrived at a camel bell, an older Somali man described how, as a young guy, he was sent out into the savanna with his camels every day. The land was bushy enough that he wouldn't be able to see all of his camels once they spread out, but he recognized the sound of each camel's wooden bell because no two bells were the same size; some had cracks that gave them a different sound. By midday, when the sun was at its hottest, the man would seek cover under a tree. Sitting there, the sound of the bells all around him provided a mental image of his herd, how far the furthest one was, which were heading away, which were keeping close. Even while napping, he could picture them all.
