Nigeria pumpkin, seeds, cane h=8.5cm, h=9cm Purpose: musical instrument
Small rattles almost always played in pairs. The rattle consists of a small woven basket filled with seeds. Its bottom side is closed with leather. It is played with up- and down-, or back- and forth- movements. The beats and the rhythm can be accentuated when the instrument is timely turned in the opposite direction so that the seed strike the leather. This type of rattles can vary in size.
The instrument is played in West Africa, and nowadays it is recognizable as an integral part of Brazilian music in the performance of capoeira when it is played together with the instrument berimbau. The Brazilian name for this rattle is caxixi.
