This small flat drum is half drum and half rattle. Twirling the handle vigorously causes the beads on the cords to fly back and forth and, thus, strike the drumheads with a rattling sound. Pellets of wax knots in the chord, or glass beads – as is the case here - are used at the end of the short cords to make the noise. Sometimes they are used as toys or by street vendors to attract attention. I bought this small rattle drum in Bombay, India from one of many street vendors while visiting there in December 1968.