How to Make an Indian Rattle

You can make an Indian rattle using craft materials.

Native Americans use rattles and other instruments during celebratory events, rituals and meditations. If you are teaching children about Native American cultures, you can help them become more involved and interested by providing them with the tools needed to make their own Indian rattle. Once the rattles are complete, the children can shake the rattles around the room to hear what the ceremonies, meditations or rituals must have sounded like.

Things You'll Need

• Thin leather
• Scissors
• Wooden dowel, 1/2 inch wide, 8 inches long
• Dried beans
• Leather string

Instructions

1. Cut a 6-inch-diameter circle of thin leather using scissors. You can find thin leather at a craft store or leather shop.

2. Place the leather circle flat onto a table top, and pour 1 cup of dried beans into the center of the circle. Use any type of dried beans you prefer.

3. Place a wooden dowel onto the circle filled with beans, arranging the dowel so that it lies with the tip in the center of the circle.

4. Hold the dowel vertically upright in the center of the circle, and wrap the edges of the circle into a pouch over the dowel.

5. Wrap a piece of leather string tightly around the edges of the pouch to secure it to the dowel, and to prevent the beans inside the pouch from falling out. Trim off the excess string. You can now shake your Indian rattle.

References

• Family Fun; Musical Maracas; Jodi Picoult; 2011