The net for the shekere has to be loose enough to give the beads plenty of play, but it has to be so made as to not come off. The first step is to make the ring the rest of the twine netting will attach to - you need a top ring and a bottom ring of the same size. It should be big enough to go over the gourd handle, but not thick enough to go over the wider body. I made a loop around once and knotted it with a a doulbe half hitch, then continue around a second time to have a two strand ring. Then I made an identical ring for the bottom. Then I set out my shells. I'd need 12 white money cowries for the top and bottom rows and 6 snakehead cowries for the middle row.

I hung six two strand lines from the top ring with a hanging hitch. I hung the ring on the gourd and began a row of white money cowrie shells (six all the way around by taking one strand from one hanging pairs and another from its neighbor. Here is the first one. Spread out and hanging on the gourd.


I added the first row, first knotting at the hold at the top of the cowrie shell, then at the bottom.

To go to the second roo, I again split pairs of strands, using one strand from one shell in the first row, and another from it's neighbor to make a net pattern. On the top ring I only made two rows. It was then completed. Somewhere between the first and second row, Ikey got ahold of the gourd and the long stem became much shorter. It seems to work better this way.


The bottom row already had its six hanging double strands. For a better idea, I knotted the neighboring strands first before adding the bead. This made it much more even and I will use that technique the next time. I hung the bottom ring from the neck, setting aside the top ring to get good spacing.


When the bottom row of white money cowrie beads was finished I needed to attach the two rings. I had a double strand from each of the bottom pairs and I separated them, continuing the net patter to the pairs haning dow from the bottom of the row of brown snakehead cowrie shells.

I left the twine long. I sort of thought I was done at this stage. I played it and it was really LOUD. I liked it.

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