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Make a Red Gourd Shakere
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Step 6

Make a “Snake” with Cowrie Shells Gourd Shekere

  1. Put an Image on the Gourd

  2. Drill the Cowrie Shell Beads

  3. Knot on Shell Beads (Noise makers)

  4. Cut Bottom Hole Add Knots, Perform Winter Solstice Rituals

  5. Add Feathers

  6. It Flies


Make an Gourd Rattle with Black Walnut Knockers

  1. Prepare Black Walnut Beads
  2. Preparing the Design, Cutting and Pyrography
  3. Coloring the Rattle
  4. Attaching the Walnuts
  5. Add the Feathers and Finish the Rattle


A Foraged Foxtail
 : How to Make a Walnut & Gourd Rattle :

You might think this gourd rattle just happened. It was made at the time of Imbolc and the Lunar New Year, so I wanted to include seeds of some kind - I used black walnuts. For the most part, this traditional type of rhythm instrument used material that would have been anciently available across a widely dispersed area.
crazy hairdo walnut gourd rattle
The Walnut & Gourd Rattle
I've broken down making the gourd rattle into steps. The steps could be further broken down. It isn't hard, get some supplies and get going.

Ingredients
You will need
one cured and cleaned bottle gourd (or other hard shelled gourd)
leather dye
hemp twine
heavy thread (I used embroidery thread)
feathers (I got my rooster skin from a vendor I found on ebay)
black walnuts
beads and/or buttons
and tools:
a dremel tool
An exacto knife saw
beading pliers or hemostats
drill
craft vise
scissors

If you don't already know about getting and cleaning gourds, look at Getting Nice Clean Gourds, the first step in the Red Gourd project.

  1. Making Beads out of the Black Walnuts
I highlighted the color contrast in these lovely seeds from my very own neighborhood.

  1. Cutting the Holes in the Gourd, Sketching the Design and Using the Woodburner to Finish the Design
Pyrography not only added the face but the borders of the other design element.

  1. Adding Color with Leather Dye

  1. Attach the Walnut Rattlers
Hemp beading twine and decorative buttons and beads were used.

  1. Add Feathers
The whole was finished with grey barred rooster feathers.

 : Links/Sponsors :

Make a Shakere is sponsored by Fertility Futures, a firm focused on helping make families possible. Many would be parents are unable to realize their dreams of a family with children due to fertility issues. Fertility Futures brings medical specialists and counselors to bear on these difficult problems, helping couples with a range of solutions from fertility therapy through the use of surrogates to carry a child through pregancy for a family. In order to support this service, Fertility Futures also solicits egg donors for its ova donation program. People who face challenges in becoming parents, or healthy women who are willing to become egg donors should consider visiting Fertility Futures.

Rhythm Workers Union my inspiration for all things rhythmic

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