Rainstick

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Traditional style cactus rainstick

Rainstick

sound of a rainstick
Classification	percussion instrument
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	112.13 (vessel rattle)
Inventor(s)	uncertain, some theories include: Peru, Aztecs, enslavened African slaves in North America
Related instruments
HoshoMaracasRainstickVibraslap

A rainstick is a long, hollow tube partially filled with small pebbles or beans that has small pins or thorns arranged helically on its inside surface. When the stick is upended, the pebbles fall to the other end of the tube, making a sound reminiscent of rain falling.

The rainstick is believed to have been invented in Chile or Peru and was played in the belief it could bring about rainstorms. Rainsticks are usually made from any of several species of cactus. The cacti, which are hollow, are dried in the sun. The spines are removed, then driven into the cactus like nails. Pebbles or other small objects are placed inside the rainstick, and the ends are sealed. A sound like falling water is made when the rainstick has its direction changed to a vertical position.

Rainsticks may also be made with other common materials like paper towel rolls instead of cactus, and nails or toothpicks instead of thorns and are often sold to tourists visiting parts of Latin America, including the Southern United States.

See Also

• Hosho
• Maracas
• Vibraslap

References

• Exploratorium Article Make your own rainstick
• There is an article in a Peruvian journal, Quepo (Roque & Ramirez 2005. Palos de lluvia y Cactaceas), which describes the Peruvian species of cacti used to make these instruments.
• "The Rain Stick" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Sb7OfXGhUE
• Moseley, Christine, and Carmen Fies. "Rainsticks: Integrating Culture, Folklore, and the Physics of Sound." Science Activities 44.1 (2007): 2-5. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 27 Sept. 2011.