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Rattle

This instrument, collected in the field by Antoinette and Diana Powell-Cotton, was presented by Father Laagel (Roman Catholic Mission), and is associated with the Umbundu tribe. It is a hand rattle ("olusangu") made of two dried snuff-box tree fruit shells (probably Oncoba spinosa Forssk.) filled with small, round, and black plant seeds, and attached to a wooden handle. The rattle is used in initiation ceremonies and is carried by the wearer of the ancestor spirit costume.

  • Culture:Ovimbundu
  • Period:
  • Materials:
  • Specific materials/techniques:
  • Decorative elements:Small perforated round holes throughout the fruit shells.
  • Inscriptions:
  • Hornbostel-Sachs category:112.13 Vessel rattles
  • Repository:Powell-Cotton Museum
  • Measurements:Length: 295mm