Artisan shekeré  (agbê, xequeré) hand-crafted from a naturally grown gourd, colourful individual designs - each piece unique!

Biano Pajeú is an artist from Olinda who has been making shekeres in all colours and shapes for several decades. His unique instruments are real pieces of art! Shekeres can be found in many different music styles from the traditional Maracatú to various modern styles which work with the diversity of world music and percussion instruments. The hand-braided gourd shakers come with a sharp and rhythm guiding character which combines well with dance and choreography. This shekeré is a handmade artisan product, the colour combination of the beads make this xequeré a unique piece.

Only well grown, evenly stable and nice looking gourds can be turned into a shekeré. A net with beads woven into it is braided around the hollow gourd and tied up loosely. Shekerés are especially present in Maracatu music, but you will find them also in many other music styles. No matter if played as a time keeper or show effect, a xequeré is musically a great enrichment! The larger the gourd is, the louder the sound will come out as more surface is touched by more beads.

A bottle gourd only grows in a few climate zones where throughout months it needs to be turned over carefully every single day in order to avoid pressure marks and to keep it nice and round. In the end, only very few of the plants are good for being turned into a shekeré. As soon as the gourd is hollowed, cleaned and processed, you will see the beautiful wood grain and texture on its smooth outer body.

There are many different ways of playing the shekeré. You can play sounds not only by using the beads as an effect, but also e.g. by using your flat hand for countermovements from the bottom of the instrument which will produce a bassy resound directly by patting the gourd.