Overview
The Portuguese cowbell is an idiophone percussion instrument with a single internal clapper, usually hung on a leather strap around an animal’s neck. It is traditionally used by shepherds to locate and control their livestock, and creates an unmistakable soundscape in rural areas. The cowbells are handmade from iron, which is cold-hammered and folded on an anvil until it is cup-shaped. Small pieces of copper or tin are set around the iron and enveloped in a mixture of clay and straw. The piece is fired, then plunged into cold water for rapid cooling. Finally, the burnt clay is removed, the copper- or tin-covered iron is polished and the tone of the bell is fine-tuned. The technical expertise involved is transmitted within the family from fathers to sons. Alcáçovas in Portugal is the main centre for manufacture of cowbells and its inhabitants take great pride in this heritage. However,...
This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.
Community and Authority
- Communities
- Portugal
- Languages
- Not specified in UNESCO dataset
- Cultural territories
- Portugal
- Countries
- Portugal
How the System Works
The Portuguese cowbell is an idiophone percussion instrument with a single internal clapper, usually hung on a leather strap around an animal’s neck. It is traditionally used by shepherds to locate and control their livestock, and creates an unmistakable soundscape in rural areas. The cowbells are handmade from iron, which is...
Sources and Evidence
Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.
Field-Level Provenance
- title
- UNESCO DataHub field title_en
- preferredTitle
- UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
- summary
- UNESCO DataHub field description_en
- type
- UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
- countries
- UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
- categories
- ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
- relationships
- UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
- sourceUrl
- UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
- rights
- UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url
Original Source Metadata
Why This Record Is Credible
This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.
Cultural Access
Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.
Relationships
Review and Corrections
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