Top cover of a Heger I type rain drum. Vietnam, Dong Son culture (1000 BC - 100 AD).

Top cover of rain drum type Heger I. Vietnam, Dong Son culture (1000 B.C. - 100 A.D.).
Bronze.
Measurements: 56.5 cm (diameter).

Central decoration of a sun with twelve rays surrounded by concentric circles with small round motifs and stems (Gerces).

Rain drums were invented by the Dong Son culture and produced from around 600 B.C. to the 3rd century A.D. Examples produced in Vietnam, in addition to locally manufactured works, have been found in southern China and throughout mainland and island Southeast Asia. They are usually struck in the center with a soft mallet and on the sides with a wooden or bamboo stick. Among the Vietnamese ethnic groups, they are still used in some rituals, such as those of the Hung kings, but are rarely used as a musical instrument.

The Dong Son culture was a Bronze Age culture in ancient Vietnam centered in the Red River Valley. It spanned from 1000 B.C. to the 1st century A.D. Its influence spread to other parts of Southeast Asia. The Dong people were skilled bronze casters using the lost-wax casting method.