The sand hammer is a shaker instrument, also known as a sand ball.


It originated as a rhythmic percussion instrument of the South American Indians.


It is made from a dried gourd filled with hard seeds or gravel, with the original slender neck of the gourd as the handle, and when shaken with one in each hand.


The hard particles hit and rub against the inside of the gourd, producing a rustling sound.


In Latin America, there are various forms of sand hammers, but in Brazil.


They are made of tinplate, with the large mouths of two truncated cones facing each other.


It is a hand-held rhythm instrument, usually found in pairs, but can also be used alone, and is shaped like a pair of rattles with oval heads and long, thin handles.


It is often used in Latin American dance music and is an essential instrument for rumba bands.


It is sometimes used as a rhythmic instrument in Western orchestras, and in modern practice.


It is often used to set the mood for fast music or up-tempo music.


The sand hammer was first invented by the South American Indians, probably over 1500 years ago, and similar evidence of ancient sand hammers can be found in many South American countries.


Most traditional sand hammers are made from a variety of dried gourds.


As naturally dried gourds or lady's gourds contain many naturally occurring dried seeds, ancient people found that when shaking these gourds.


The dried seeds inside the sealed gourd made an interesting rustling sound against the gourd shell, and the sand hammer took shape.


From this foundation, the Indians began to make sand hammers on their own initiative.


They took some fruits, usually, gourds or lady's mantles picked them, and dried them in the sun, allowing the water inside to evaporate and dry out.


The seeds of the remaining fruit are left inside, or the sun-dried shell is filled with gravel, using the gourd's original slender neck as a handle.


And the hard grains hit the wall of the gourd when shaken to make a sound.


The hard shell of the coconut was also used to make the traditional sand hammer, by filling the shell with grains of sand and sealing it with a wooden handle at the opening so that it could be shaken with the handle in hand.


In Latin America, sand hammers have been developed in a variety of forms, from tinplate hammers in Brazil to conical hammers in Cuba, to dumbbell-shaped double-ended hammers and cross-shaped multi-headed hammers.


With the development of time and technology, modern sand mallets are still made in large part from the dried hard shell of the fruit, but the fruit used is diverse.


As long as they are oval in shape and their walls do not break easily when dried, more modern sand hammers are made from plastic, metal, leather, or wood.


The internal fillings have also evolved from natural particles such as sand and dried seeds to artificial particles of various materials such as steel pellets and gum.


Sand hammers can be made of ceramic, wood, rattan or plastic in a variety of similar shapes, and can be filled with beads and lead pellets instead of seeds and stones.


How to use a sand hammer: we hold one in each hand and wave it up and down to the beat, making a pleasant rustling sound that can be used to play a particular style of dance music.