Gourd Rattle - Picture and sound sample. *See below for home page.
How to Make a Shekere - Looks like fun, if you have time.

Drum

To make a basic gourd drum, you just stretch a "skin" over a gourd bowl. The gourd wall must be thick enough to withstand the tension. My illustration is mostly from my imagination.

Thumb Piano

Most modern thumb pianos are made of wood instead of gourds, or a combination of the two. This popular African instrument is played by plucking tuned metal tines. The instrument is known by several different names, most of which refer to the wooden version.

Thumb Piano - *Description and picture.
Spirit Talk Mbira -A page about a Zimbabwe thumb piano.

Rattles

The rattle is the most basic and the most ancient of the gourd instruments. When a gourd dries with the seeds inside, it automatically becomes a rattle. The insertion of pebbles, etc. will create a sharper, more audible sound. Although many similar rattles are now made of wood, originally gourd rattles were used throughout the world.

Many gourd rattles are made with sticks replacing the natural gourd handle. Some, like the shekere or the Hawaiian "uli uli" have no handle. See the above Hawaiian links for illustrations of the uli uli.

Stephen Williamson
Illustrations of Native American rattles.
Gourd Dance - This is also a Native American site.