Make an African rainstick - teaching ancient civilization through folk art

Learning about ancient civilizations through folk art

In ancient cultures, people often communicated through sound (music) and pictures (art). Musical instruments were crafted from various natural objects, including plants, shells, animal skins, and horns.

The sound of ancient instruments depended on the chosen materials. Some sounds were made to copy nature: the rattle of a snake, the beat of a stampede, the clap of thunder, or the whistle of a bird.

One percussion instrument that communicates the sound of nature is the rainstick found both in Africa and South America. The rainstick of South America was made from a petrified cactus plant found in the desert. The African rainstick was made from a hollow tree trunk. Filled with various sized seeds, pebbles, and shells for sound, the rainstick is played by slowly tipping it so the pebbles falling through the tube create soothing sounds, much like those of a summer rain shower.

MAKING THE RAINSTICK

Grade level: all

Materials: Large cardboard tube (4 feet or longer, approximately 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick); various size nails; hammer; cardboard; scissors; masking tape; rice, seeds, beans, tiny shells, and other small objects

Process:

1. Hammer long and short nails into cardboard tube in a spiral.

2. Cut two cardboard circles, 2 inches bigger on all sides than the circumference of the tube, then cut slits as shown.

3. Cover one end of the tube with a circle, fold down the slits, and tape ends down.

4. Fill one-tenth of the tube with seeds, rice, beans, or tiny shells, then seal the other end with the remaining cardboard circle.

After making the rainstick together as a class, have each student make an African-motif strip to decorate it. Here's how:

CREATING A MOTIF

In Africa, a simple stamp print carved from the bark of a calabash tree was used for decoration. The black dye from the badie tree was used to print. Some of the stamps had symbolic meanings and some were just decorative. Here's how to make your own stamps:

Materials: Art tape or strips of different colored construction paper, small potatoes, butter knife or plastic knife, black tempera paint

Process:

1. Cut a potato in half.

2. Using a knife, cut away shapes and wedges.

3. Dip the potato into black tempera paint, then stamp repeatedly onto art tape.

4. Have each student wrap a section of art tape around the tube.

Any leftover art tape can be made into headbands or wrist and ankle bracelets.

MARY PARKS has taught art for 18 years. She currently teaches in Naperville Community School District 203 in Naperville, Illinois.

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