Rain Drum, Laos Burma

Bronze rain drum composed of a curved shaft, with two double handles on the sides, as well as a series of elephants on one side. The upper circular plate is decorated with a stylized star surrounded by concentric rings or geometric patterns and stylized fish. The plate is topped with frogs at the 4 cardinal points Laos Burma. 19th century. 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 strong 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 harvests. 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 using ropes attached either to the roof of the house or to a tree branch. The drum has a break on the bottom of one side. I brought it back from Thailand in the 80s.