Guacharaca: Colombian musical instrument

The Guacharaca is a beating drumming musical instrument that is produced out of the cane-like trunk of a small palm tree. The guacharaca itself is made up of a tube with ridge carved into the outer surface with part of the instrument’s  interior hollowed out, giving the musical instrument the look of a tiny, notched canoe. The musical instrument is played with a folk calm of hard wire fixed into a wooden handle. The player of the musical instrument is called ‘guacharaquero’. The player of the instrument scrapes the fork along the surface of the instrument to manufacture its characteristic scratching sound. A typical version of the guacharaca is about as a broomstick and as long as a violin. The musical instrument was fabricated by Native American Indians from the Tairona culture in the province of la Sierra Navada de Santa Marta, Colombia as a musical instrument to simulate the guacharaca or ortalisruficauda bird’s singing. During the mid-20^th century it was assumed by Vallenato and cumbia musicians and today it is most often linked with musical styles. 

source: margarita-russia.blogs..

The musical instrument provides a stable rhythmic backbone for all varieties of Vallenato and Cumbia.