Making a Rattle
is quite simple, and requires only a small amount of very easily
acquired materials.
As a Rattle of some kind is needed by students of 'SHAMANAN', and by
most people working within Shamanism, I've written this article so that
those whom want to undertake this kind of project can do so.
The instructions I've given are very 'Blue Peterish', and don't include
any kind of ritual approach or framework. From this you can simply take
this basic methodology and expand and enrich it to suit your own predilections,
and set it all into whatever ritual framework you favour. For instance,
a piece of wild wood gathered under ritual circumstances is far preferable
to a sawn off piece of broom handle, but using the broom handle for
your first effort will give you the confidence to use sacred materials
when you choose to do so.
Apart from that, if you make a Rattle according to these instructions,
no matter the materials you use, you will have a good serviceable Rattle
to use while you do gather materials to make a better one.
MATERIALS
You will need the following basic materials to complete this project,
but obviously if you wish to decorate your Rattle you will need various
additional materials to do so. We will look at decoration at the end
of this article.
Rawhide
Cord
Fine sand
Stick of approx.' 11" length and 1" dia'.
Araldite glue. (optional)
Strong thread
Pebbles to put inside the Rattle
The simplest available source of Rawhide is from dog chews sold in pet
shops. These are made from small sheets of raw hide left over from the
leather industry. Obviously this is an animal product that you may not
like to use, so you will need to decide this for yourself.
For the cord buy piping cord from a Haberdashery shop in a colour that
you like if possible, so that it can form part of the decoration of
the piece. Half a yard/metre is sufficient.
Fine sand can be bought from DIY shops, or from aquarium or pet shops.
You will need sufficient to fill a pint measure.
The stick can be wild wood of the appropriate size, a piece of dowel
from a DIY shop, or even a piece sawn from a broom handle.
Araldite glue can be used to fix the rawhide head to the handle, but
if you wish to avoid artificial aides, simply ensure that at the appropriate
stage, you bind the head as tightly as possible. We'll return to this
further on.
Pebbles to put inside the head will need to be acquired from a beach,
or again from an aquarium shop. It is possible to use dried peas, lentils
or similar, but they don't really yield a strong enough sound, and do
break down over a period of time so that gradually the sound from the
rattle becomes muted.
THE MAKING
Take your rawhide, soak it in cold water until it becomes floppy, then
lay it out flat somewhere to dry sufficient to be able to draw on it
with a pencil.
Put these shapes back into the water to soak.
Take your handle and shape it as shown in the diagram. Use a craft knife
for this, and sand it down if you want a fully smooth finish.
You could varnish or wax it at this point if you aren't going to carve
it or decorate it.
Now take your two rawhide shapes from the water and sew them together,
edge to edge. Don't sew up the neck- the narrow end, as that is where
the handle will go, and in through which you will stuff the sand shortly
to shape the head. Use a good strong thread for this- either waxed cobblers
thread, or strong button thread. These can be bought from Woolworth's
or cobblers shops, and usually come with strong needles in a kit. You
might need to use a thimble and pliers to get the needle through the
rawhide. If this takes a while and the rawhide begins to dry out, simply
put it back into the water for a while till it becomes floppy again.
Once you have the head sewn together, it has become a bag with a narrow
opening like a balloon. Use a spoon to pour sand into the head, and
a stick or some other tool with a rounded end, such as a screwdriver
handle, to stuff the sand into the head and force it to 'inflate'. As
you do so it will form into the shape that you need, and if it bulges
anywhere, simply squeeze it into shape with your fingers. Stuff sand
into the head until it is properly shaped, then stand it neck uppermost
somewhere warm to dry out. Ensure that the rawhide head is supported
so that the sand doesn't fall out, and leave it to dry.
Once it is sufficiently hard and dry so that you can pour the sand out,
and the head remains firm and hard, do so.
Put pebbles into the head, insert your thumb into the hole to keep the
pebbles in, and experiment with shaking the Rattle to hear what sound
it makes. Try different amounts till you have a sound that you feel
is right. Pour these pebbles out and keep them to one side ready for
use.
Stand the head in a cup of water, so that only the neck is in the water
as you want to make the neck flexible, but not soak the rest of the
head and deform its shape. Once the neck is sufficiently flexible to
be pliable, put your saved pebbles back in, then put the head-neck over
the handle.
You'll see that the handle is cunningly shaped so that once the neck
of the rattle head dries hard it should stay firmly in place on the
handle, but if you are in doubt, apply araldite to the join.
Whether you use glue or not is optional, but once the head is on the
handle, and while it's still wet, bind the cord around the neck as tightly
as you can. This will help hold it all together. You could use strips
of wet rawhide for this; cut from your original sheet; and they will
actually work better than cord as they tighten as they dry. Wet rawhide
is though slippery and difficult to grip, so perhaps you'd like to experiment
with this.
Put your Rattle somewhere to dry for a couple of day, and then put it
into a paper bag, hold the handle and give it a good shake. Quite a
lot of sand will stick inside the head from when you stuffed it, and
despite all your best efforts will stay there, and only come out when
you use the rattle for a while. It's best to get rid of this early,
or sand in the carpet will cause negative energy with your vacuum cleaner!
That very simply is it. Some hints now.
If you put paper
templates for the rattle head onto wet rawhide they'll tear easily,
so I advise making templates from either thin plywood or plastic to
use. The side of a large plastic milk carton should be big enough to
make a plastic template from, and which you can use at a future date
if you wish to make more rattles. The lid from a large margarine tub
would also be about the right size.
Sew the Rattle head together as tightly as possible, and double sew
it for extra security- as the head dries a lot of pressure will be put
on the thread. It might snap, or the head pieces will pull apart to
leave gaps if you sew loosely. An alternative to cobblers thread is
embroidery silk. Which comes in all manner of colours for you to choose
from.
Above all, be patient with the drying process. If you dry the head too
quickly it might distort, and so it's better to control the process
rather than rushing it.
I find that pebbles about a quarter inch diameter are best. Smaller
ones make more of a shushing sound, and larger ones yield too harsh
a sound. Experiment.
DECORATION
For decorating the Rattle head, a wide range of paints can be used.
Water based modelling paints are good, enamel paints are also usable.
Simple bold designs will go on better than complex artwork, as rawhide
will vary in its smoothness and absorption qualities quite a lot over
a small area. If you commit yourself to a complex design and find that
the paint runs badly in some places and soaks in at others, you will
find yourself having to clean off and start over- much frustration and
cursing will arise. Acrylic paints are good to use as they are fairly
easily removed if things go astray.
Beads and such like can be bought from craft suppliers. If you use shells
or similar materials, I advise gathering them yourself from a beach
rather than buying from craft or souvenir shops as imported shells are
often initially gathered to the extreme detriment of their original
owners and location. Feathers also: Get out and about and gather feathers
rather than buying them. Bear in mind in relation to decorations and
'dangles' on a Rattle, that at time you will be shaking it vigorously,
and if you smother it with all manner of things they are likely to either
be rapping your knuckles as you do so, or might fly off at inappropriate
moments. Don't gild the lily- the single most important aspect of a
Rattle is its sound and its effect on you, the energy fields around
you, and how that all affects and interacts with your consciousness.
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