12 BULLETIN 136, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



center of this boss being pierced with a hole for the cord by which 

 the disk is attached to the player's finger, and (2) a pair of some- 

 what oval pieces of wood or metal, hinged together by one of the 

 long sides; one pair is held in each hand and they are clashed 

 together by the opening and closing of the player's hand. 



An interesting pair of Syrian castanets (95145) was obtained by 

 Erhard Bissinger, United States consul at Beirut. These have scal- 

 loped edges and the outer surface is engraved. A pair of Egyptian 

 castanets (95174) is made of brass or bronze. Among the specimens 

 of this instrument is 95496, a Burmese Castanet only 1% inches in 

 diameter. Concerning their use it is said that " one Castanet is held 

 tightly by the thumb and forefinger, the other loosely between fore- 

 finger and second finger. They are made to strike each other by a 

 movement of the wrist." 



RATTLES 



Many musical instruments of uncivilized peoples have a counter- 

 part in the music of civilization, but the rattle is an exception. The 

 rattle remains the musical instrument of primitive man. More than 

 any other instrument it is associated with the working of magic, and 

 among the American Indians it is often used in the treatment of the 

 sick. According to J. R. Swanton : 3 



The rattle was generally regarded as a sacred object, not to be brought 

 forth on ordinary occasions but confined to rituals, religious feasts, shainanastie 

 performances, etc. This character is emphasized in the sign language of the 

 plains, where the sign for rattle is the basis of all signs indicating that which is 

 sacred. 



Rattles were held in the hand, fastened to the clothing, or made 

 into necklaces or anklets in such a manner as to make a noise with 

 every movement of the wearer. Perhaps no musical instrument gives 

 such opportunity for decoration as the rattle, and in this, as in the 

 material of the rattle itself, we see the effective use of materials 

 which were easily obtained. 



E. H. Hawley divided rattles into four classes: Rattles, clappers, 

 notched sticks, and sistra, saying : 



The first class consists of hollow bodies inclosing loose balls, pebbles, seeds, 

 etc., or hollow or sonoi-ous bodies so arranged as to strike one another. These 

 are made of wood, fruit shells, basket work, metal, raw hide, etc. The second 

 class has two or more sticks rattled together, as often seen in negro minstrel 

 troupes, and the clappers of the North Pacific coast. These may be made of 

 bone, wood, metal, etc. The simplest of the third class consists of a stick 

 having transverse notches or grooves made across its face, this face being 

 rubbed by a bone or stick. In this class are included those rattles which have 

 a toothed wheel so constructed that when revolved the teeth raise springs and 

 suddenly release them, also similar ones in which the wheel is stationary and 



* Handbook of American Indians, Bulletin 30, Bureau American Ethnology, p. :io.">. 



