A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

and

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Music of Spain, Spain and Portuguese music, Portugal) ...

. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from

Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guaraní language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * ...

), also known as tamaracas, were rattles of divination, an oracle of the Brazilian Tupinamba people, found also with other Indigenous ethnic groups, such as the Guarani,

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

and in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Rattles made from ''

Lagenaria ''Lagenaria'' is a genus of gourd-bearing vines in the squash family (Cucurbitaceae). ''Lagenaria'' contains six species, all of which are indigenous to tropical Africa.Crescentia ''Crescentia'' (calabash tree, huingo, krabasi, or kalebas) is a genus of six species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to southern North America, the Caribbean, Central America northern South America. The species are mode ...

'' calabash fruits are fitted to a handle. Human hair is sometimes fastened on the top, and a slit is cut in it to represent a mouth, through which their

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

s (''payes'') made it utter its responses. A few pebbles are inserted to make it rattle and it is crowned with the red feathers of the (

scarlet ibis The scarlet ibis (''Eudocimus ruber'') is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae. It inhabits tropical South America and part of the Caribbean. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but its ...

). Every man had his maraca. It was used at their dances and to heal the sick. Andean

curandero A ''curandero'' (, healer; f. , also spelled , , f. ) is a traditional native healer or shaman found primarily in Latin America and also in the United States. A curandero is a specialist in traditional medicine whose practice can either contra ...

s (healers) use maracas in their healing rites. Modern maraca balls are also made of leather, wood or plastic. A maraca player in Spanish is a .

Gallery

File:Maracas player at Bonnaroo 2008 festival.jpg,

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

playing two pairs of maracas File:Guarani shaman.JPG, Guarani shaman holding cross and maraca File:Maraca 01 del Baile de los Toritos de Chichicastenango.JPG, A maraca used by the knights of Toritos de Chichicastenango, danced for the feast of Saint Thomas, around December 21. Each maraca is unique and made specially for each year

References

External links

* {{Authority control Venezuelan musical instruments South American percussion instruments Central American and Caribbean percussion instruments Orchestral percussion Vessel rattles Hand percussion Unpitched percussion instruments