Shaman's maraca, rattle

The shaman maraca is a magical attribute used mainly during healing seances. Its handle is decorated with two carved figures from Ye'kuan mythology - the great mythical medicine man Arauadekumo and his wife Kahuana, an equally talented shaman. In the Ye'kuana language, a shaman, or huuway, is a chosen one with access to secret and sacred knowledge necessary for healing people. He acts as the spiritual guardian of the community, which he guards against the threat of evil spirits and malicious shamans. The Indians believe that diseases have a supernatural origin. They appear when the Ye'kuan moral code is violated, the order in the community hierarchy is disturbed or as a result of soul theft. Huuway receives his power from Medaatya, the first Ye'kuan shaman, who learned from the creator himself, Wanadi, from whom all shamans originate. A vital attribute used during healing is maraka, handmade by the shaman, filled with widiiki, i.e., tiny crystals inspired by the sacred presence of Wanadi. Its tip is decorated with red or white feathers of a woodpecker, which the Ye'kuana consider a physical symbol of the creator's presence on earth. When a shaman shakes the maraca, he summons from the sky a pair of mythical shamans Arauadekumo and Kahuana, whose intercession helps chase away an illness. The very breath of the shaman also has healing properties. One must complete an arduous initiation process to become huuway. Its culmination is the symbolic death of the candidate who takes his first shamanic journey. The adept visits heaven, which in Ye'kuan mythology consists of eight levels. In one of them, he meets the beautiful and naked Mareenawa. If he resists her charms, he completes his journey and becomes a shaman. The initiation equips him with the gift of great concentration, the botanical and sacred knowledge he needs, and the ability to cure illnesses with the mighty shaking of a magic maraca.

Katarzyna Findlik-Gawron