Ancient tribes all over the world have used rattles in one form or another. Rattles have been used in rituals for centuries. Some for religious ceremonies, some to frighten “bad” spirits away or call to the “good” spirits, and some to heal the sick. Rattles have been made from all sorts of items over the centuries. Some shaman would take the rattles off rattlesnake tails and tie them to the end of a staff or put a bunch of rattlesnake rattles into an animal skin pouch and shake it during ritual ceremonies. In the same sense seashells have been used in animal skin pouches also.
Back then, the people had to come up with their own resources to make a rattle or shaker. Some tribes would rely on “natures rattle” the gourd. A gourd has hard seeds inside it and when it’s left to dry in the sun, the seeds can be heard rattling around inside, such as the black gourd from Southern Africa.
Another type of rattle made from a gourd is a kabassa or kass-kassa which is it’s original name. It’s also been known to be called a shekere, made from calabash gourds that are shaped specifically into a rattle as they are growing. Once the gourd is ready to be picked, a string mesh made of elephant grass seeds is made to cover the large “bulb” part of the gourd.
The kass-kassa is used by holding the skinny part of the gourd in one hand and shaking it, or by using the other hand to rub the elephant grass seeds against the gourd and shaking it at the same time. The kass-kassa, being a rhythm instrument, is still being used today and is very popular in all types of Island music, big bands and orchestral bands for it‘s very unique sound.
