CASTANETS

(from Spanish castao, chestnut), musical instrument, a clapper consisting of two hollowed-out pieces of hardwood, ivory, or other substance, usually held in the hand and struck together. As a folk instrument played by dancers in Spain, the Balearic Islands, and southern Italy, they are pear-shaped, hinged together by a cord firmly secured to the thumb, and clapped with the fingers. Typically, a simple rhythm is performed on a pair held by the left hand, while the smaller, right-hand pair plays a more complicated rhythm. Orchestral castanets are attached to handles and shaken or fastened to a block of wood and played with the fingers or drumsticks. Similar instrumentsoften boot-shapedwere played by the ancient Greeks (krotala), Romans (crotala), and Egyptians and may have been introduced to Spain through ancient Phoenician colonization or, in their pear-shaped form, by the Moors.