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

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

and

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and ) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America, which encompasses Music of Latin America, Latin America, Music of Spain, Spain, Mu ...

. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas, 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 approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

and in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Rattles made from ''

Lagenaria ''Lagenaria'' is a genus of gourd-bearing vines in the squash family (Cucurbitaceae The Cucurbitaceae (), also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family (biology), family consisting of about 965 species in 101 genera.

'' gourds are being shaken by the natural grip, while the round ''

Crescentia ''Crescentia'' (calabash tree, huingo, krabasi, or kalebas) is a genus of six species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America. The species are moderate-size tre ...

'' 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 spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

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, sometimes called red 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 ex ...

). 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 con ...

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. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

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 instruments Vessel rattles Hand percussion Unpitched percussion instruments Concert band instruments