The rainstick is a musical and ceremonial instrument with an ancient history. Their name is descriptive of the soothing rain like sound they produce when turned upside down. They are made from cacti stems that grow naturally in the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile. Only stems that have died and dried naturally are used. When the rain stick is turned upside down the sound is created by thousands of tiny pebbles tumbling down inside the cactus stem. As they fall they hit against the spines of the cactus that have been removed from the outside of the pipe and then hammered back into the pipe to form obstructions. Obviously, the longer the pipe the better sound you get as the pebbles have further to fall.