Grassfields Ceremonial Rattle

Basketry rattles are not generally common throughout sub-Saharan Africa but they are indigenous to the people of the Grassfield highlands of Cameroon and the Congo Basin. As is typical, but not universal, such rattles consist of a section of calabash attached to a volume of basketry containing dried seeds or hollow nuts. Calabashes make ideal resonators for all manner of musical instruments from stringed Koras to drums. They are easily shaped when fresh but soon harden to a firm, smooth light-weight material that projects sound like no other. Here, the top of a calabash forms the base of a beautifully crafted rattle employing a few lengths of colorful telephone wire in its finial. Indigenous writing on the bottom provides a date in the early 1990s but the overall high level of craftsmanship and oxidation of the materials suggests a significantly more age. The sensuous form of this rattle is unique to the Cameroon Grassfields. 9″ tall.

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