14 BULLETIN 136, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



as well as fruit pits and small brown shells, were strung on a fiber 

 cord by the natives of Melanesia and similar countries. An inter- 

 esting specimen (21328) from the Hupa Indians of California was 

 collected in 1875 by Stephen Powers. It consists of 37 deer hoofs 

 attached to buckskin thongs. The writer saw a similar rattle used 

 at the cremation of a Yuma Indian in 1922. A Yaqui dancing belt 

 from Sonora, Mexico, is 129850. The large variety of materials 

 used in this type of rattle includes the " dewclaws " of the deer, the 

 beaks of ptarmigan and puffin, the claws of the bear, the shells of 

 small turtles, and the flat pecten shells of the Northwest coast. From 

 the Makah of Cape Flattery there is a doctor's rattle of pecten shells 

 on a hoop of whalebone. (328602, pi. 8b). A pair of Tlingit rat- 

 tles (20786, pi. 8^) was collected by J. G. Swan in 1875. These con- 

 sist of goat hoofs at the end of sticks which were held in each hand. 

 Somewhat similar rattles are common among the Plains tribes, such 

 as a rattle consisting of a wand covered with leather to which are 

 attached triangular pieces of deer hoof. 



The second class of rattles consists of " bones " or clappers. Such 

 instruments are in use in the Far East and were possibly used in 

 Africa, as they are one of the principal instruments used by negro 

 minstrels. In England they were known in the seventeenth century 

 as " knicky knackers." Shakespeare mentions them as follows : 

 " Bottom, I have a reasonable good ear for music, let us have the 

 tongs and bones." 4 Originally they were sections of a rib of an ox 

 and that material is still used. When made of hard wood they 

 have the form of such sections. The player holds a pair of " bones " 

 in each hand. One is held rigidly between the first finger and the 

 ball of the thumb, the other is held loosely between the second and 

 third fingers. Like the castanets, they can be clicked together in 

 simple strokes or in rapidly succeeding strokes forming varied 

 rhythms. The sound is much louder than that of the castanets. 

 An instrument of hard wood like the " bones " of the negro minstrels 

 has been noted in southern India, and an interesting set of three 

 clappers from China is exhibited (54187). The Greeks used shells 

 or bits of pottery in the manner of clappers to mark the rhythm of 

 the dance while the flute played the melody. A type of clapper 

 more widely distributed than the pair of bones consists of a piece 

 of bamboo split at one end. Such a clapper (or " slapstick ") used 

 in the Philippines consists of a piece of bamboo split a portion of its 

 length and having the prongs pointed like corn leaves (235154, pi. 

 8k). It is said that " during the earlier months of the year a Ben- 

 guet Igorot woman will not go on the trail without carrying one of 

 these instruments. It is carried in the left hand and made to 



* Midsummer's Night's Dream, act 4, scene 1. 



