A cowbell is a bell that is placed around the neck of animals that roam freely. This helps herders hear the bell and know where the animal is, especially when the animal is grazing in areas that are hard to see, such as hills or large open spaces. These bells are often called "cow bells" because they are frequently used with cattle, but they can also be used on many other types of animals.

Characteristics and uses

The bell and clapper are often made from iron, bronze, brass, copper, or wood. The collar that holds the bell is usually made from leather and wood fibers. The way cow bells are made depends on where they are made and the culture of the people who create them. Most cow bells are made from thin, flat pieces of sheet metal covered with another material. This covering allows the surface to be decorated or left plain. The decorations on the bell and collar are usually for beauty, but some cultures believe certain designs offer protection, such as helping prevent or cure illness. Different bells can make unique sounds that help identify an animal’s age, sex, or type. In some places, people use special names for different bells and their sounds. For example, in Spanish, "truco" is used for male goats, "esquila" for female goats or sheep, and "esquileta" for pregnant females or young animals. Each bell has its own sound, shape, and size.

Bells are used to help people track groups of grazing animals like goats, reindeer, sheep, and cows. They are mostly used in Europe, the Mediterranean, and Latin America, but also by people who move their animals seasonally, such as nomadic herders in Africa and Asia. Some people put bells on their animals because they think the sound scares away predators. However, some studies show that the sound might actually attract predators, as they learn to associate the bell with the presence of prey.

Cowbells are often held in the hand and rung by people at events like Alpine skiing competitions and cyclo-cross races, especially in the United States. In the 1960s, Earl W. Terrell and Ralph L. Reeves attached handles to cowbells at Mississippi State University for students. Today, this idea has grown into 60,000 cowbells ringing together during Mississippi State Bulldog Athletics events. Mississippi State currently holds the world record for the most cowbells ringing at the same time.

History

Archaeological evidence shows that bells were used more than 5,000 years ago, during the 3rd millennium BC in Neolithic China. Early pottery cowbells from this time may have been used to help people track goats, sheep, and cattle. Over time, these pottery bells were replaced by metal bells. In West Asia, the first bells appeared around 1000 BC. The earliest metal bells, one found at the Taosi site and four at the Erlitou site, date to about 2000 BC.

Bells used for shepherding spread from the Fertile Crescent to cultures in Celtic, Carthaginian, Greek, and Roman regions. The earliest images of bells used for livestock in Britain appear on carved stones from the 7th to 9th centuries AD in places like Eassie, Angus, and Fowlis Wester, Perthshire. Small iron bells from the 8th or 9th century, possibly used for cows or sheep, were found at upland farm settlements in Crummack Dale and Gauber High Pasture in the Yorkshire Dales. An early image of a bellwether, the leading sheep in a flock that wears a bell, appears in the Carolingian Stuttgart Psalter from the ninth century.

In Europe, the first written records of bells used for livestock date to the late 14th to early 15th century. A 1410 mention of a cow bell appears in a Frankfurt archive, and the Oxford English Dictionary lists 1440 as the earliest use of the word "bell-wether." The phrase "to bear the bell," meaning to take the lead, originally referred to the leading cow or sheep in a group, as noted in Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde from 1374. In 15th-century Germany, only the best and leading livestock wore cow bells. The practice of using bells on livestock expanded gradually during the Early Modern period. In mid-16th-century France, the writer Francois Rabelais described this practice in his book Gargantua and Pantagruel.

Swiss folklore highlights the importance of cow bells. A large cow bell, called a Trychel, was once a rare and valuable item. A legend from the Simmental region tells of a young cowherd who is offered a choice between gold coins, a golden Trychel, or a fairy. He chooses the Trychel. Unlike regular cast-metal bells, "trychlen" are made by hammering sheet metal, which creates a lighter, clanking sound.

Today, cow bells are still made in countries like Korea, Indonesia, and India, often as handmade crafts. Despite a fire in 2012 that damaged its factory, the Bevin Brothers Manufacturing Company in East Hampton, CT, continues to make cow bells, as it has since 1832. It is the only U.S. company that makes bells exclusively.

In Western Europe, after spring snow melts, villages move cows to high alpine meadows for grazing. This event, called Alpaufzug, is celebrated with a procession through the village to the high pastures. The best milk-producing cow leads the group and wears the largest bell. Bells of different sizes are given to cows based on their milk production.

In the fall, the same event is repeated but is called Alpabzug as the animals return from the high meadows. The best cows, called Kranzkuh (meaning "crowned cow" due to their decorated headwear), lead the return procession. This tradition is known as Viehscheid in Southern Germany and has other names in Alpine regions.

Animal welfare concerns

Cow bells can produce sounds as loud as 113 decibels. Some experts believe this level of noise might cause pain or hearing loss in the animals wearing them. A study from 2015 showed that cows wearing bells for three days spent less time eating, chewing their food, and resting. Groups that protect animals, such as the German Animal Welfare Society, have asked for a stop to using cow bells.

Gallery

• Animal bells sold in Kashgar, a place in China.
• The Ancient Madoera (Madura) festival in Sawah Tengah, East Java, Indonesia.
• Brass cowbells used by people from Tamil culture in Southern India.
• Animal bells from ancient Greece.
• A display of cow bells and sheep bells (shown in the bottom row) that were used by Appalachian farmers. These items were collected by John Rice Irwin and are displayed at the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, Tennessee, United States.
• An ancient Roman cowbell kept in a museum in Weißenburg, Bavaria, Germany.
• A wooden collar used to hold a cowbell.
• Another wooden collar with carved symbols used for a cowbell.
• A view of an iron cowbell.
• Another view of the same iron cowbell.
• A Simmentaler Fleckvieh cow wearing a 'trychel' cowbell.
• A procession during the La Vijanera fiesta in Cantabria, Spain.
• A picture of people plowing a rice field with oxen around 1910–1920 in Sawa, Indonesia.
• An improvised cowbell made for sheep or goats. The bell was found in 1988 near Tuqu’ (Tekoa) in the Judean hills, West Bank. The bell’s body is made of aluminum, likely from a broken kitchen item, and the clapper is made from a brass cartridge case.
• Cow bells sold as souvenirs in Switzerland.