Kashaka

A shaker with a twist

The Kashaka is a percussion instrument originating from West Africa. It's basically two small maracas attached by a string, usually played in pair, in ways that allow both shaking and clicking sounds, ranging from simple to highly complex rhythms when the balls are bouncing and played asynchronously.

It's traditionally made of gourds filled with seeds, but it also exists in various other materials and can even be 3D printed. It bears many other names in many languages, including Asalato, Kas Kas, Patica, Kosika...

Shake sounds are made by moving the arm back and forth regularly. The pitch can be increased or decreased by lifting fingers or keeping them on the instrument.

Click sounds can be produced in many ways:

Pushing the two parts of one instrument against each other while held in one hand.
Hitting both instruments against each other when held each in one hand.
Making the balls collide and bounce using the strings... which is where the magic happen.

Basic rhythms

S: shake down, s: shake up, C: click

1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . .
S s S s S s S s S s S s S s S s 
C . . . C . . . C . C . C . . .

This one is harder. The second click occurs when shaking up.

1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . .
S s S s S s S s S s S s S s S s 
C . . C . . C . C . . C . . C .

I recommend this Udemy course, it's concise, clear and well worth the time you'd lose browsing for crappy YouTube tutorials.