Rain drum.

Bronze rain drum composed of a curved shaft with two double handles on the sides, surmounted by a circular and flat top. The upper circular top is decorated with a stylized star surrounded by rings, topped with frogs.
Burma.
XIXth century.

Dimensions: Height: 50 cm; Diameter: 60 cm.

Prestigious objects for wealthy families, it was played either with the hands or with mallets with leather or fabric tips to obtain more or less loud or attenuated sounds. These rain drums were played by men or women, but always separately, in order to regulate the monsoon, make the rain fall or stop it, in the interest of the rice crops. These drums were also symbolically linked to the elephant and the sound they emitted could carry up to several kilometers away. They were played, not placed on the ground, but suspended with the help of ropes attached either to the roof of the house or to a tree branch.