Kala Kho Changwa (Coconut-Shell Maraca, Luk Saek) — a Small Mature Coconut Polished to a Shine, Bored at the Eye, Scraped Out, Filled with 20-30 Pebbles, on a Wooden Handle Set in Lac; Shaken in Time with Music

"The player shakes it in rhythm with the songs and the other instruments being played." (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author not named, CC BY 4.0)

Choose a fully mature, small coconut and husk it completely; polish the shell to a shine with a rasp or sandpaper. With a chisel or pointed knife, pierce the eye as wide as the handle, scrape out all the flesh with a sharp knife, and dry the shell in the sun.

Put about 20-30 small pebbles in the shell. Shave a round wooden handle of a suitable length with a knife or a hand plane so it is easy to hold.

Crush lac fine, put it in a can, cover it with water and heat it over a fire to get sticky lac resin; pour it to join the shell and the handle. Or push the handle right up to the bottom of the shell and nail it from outside.

Drawings of the kala kho changwa (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author not named, CC BY 4.0)

Shake it in rhythm with the songs and the other instruments being played.

Today the kala kho changwa has developed into the instrument called the saek. Take care with the fire when heating lac, and with the chisel and knife. Source: Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Traditional Objects of Everyday Use database, "กะลาเคาะจังหวะ", author not named (CC BY 4.0 licence). **Limits** The source gives no handle length or pebble size. The illustrations are drawings. There is no product line for raw lac.