Pueblo Unpainted Gourd Rattle [R]

Rattles such as this are made from gourds grown on the reservation.  They are dried and hollowed and a cottonwood stick made for a handle.  Various designs can be used to decorate the rattles.  This rattle has a cross design of the style seen on the Hopi Ai Katsina.  The Ai Katsina is called a Rattle Katsina.  The Ai Katsina appears in the Mixed Katsina Dance and carries a rattle.

The sound of a rattle is associated with the sound of falling rain.  The noise can be varied to express softly falling rain or hard falling rain as in a storm.

This rattle is made from a gourd and has not been painted.  The wood handle has been carved into a square and its end is delineated by further carving.  A leather strap has been nailed into the base of the wood handle.

Condition:  very good condition with natural cracks in the gourd.  It is stable, however

Provenance: from the collection of a Santa Fe resident

Recommended Reading: Rain: Native Expressions from the American Southwest by Ann Marshall