**Due to the handmade nature, the rattle you will receive may differ from the rattles in the images. They may have different colors, feathers and patterns.**
 
Length: 8 - 9 inches aprox.
Seed circumference: 6 inches aprox.
Seed height: 2 - 3 inches aprox.
 
These rattles are handcrafted deep in the Amazon Jungle of Perú by the Shipibo. They are made of calabash and the handle is made with wood of the chonta tree.

Each one has its own sound, filled with achira seeds and decorated with traditional designs making each one a unique piece of art. Beautifully etched, the carvings represent their visions, myth and folklore. 

The rattle is described as the sound of Creation. The creation stories tell of the first sound, a shimmering sound, which went out in all directions; this was the sound of "the Creator's thoughts."

In South America, the shaman's rattle is a most sacred instrument. The rattle is believed to embody the sacred forces of the cosmos through its sounds, structural features, contents, and connection to shamanic trance.

The various parts of the rattle also symbolize the structures of the world. The handle is the vertical axis that ascends into the Celestial Realm. The Upper World is represented by the rattle's great head-gourd, which contains spirits. Joining the head of the rattle to the handle symbolizes the joining of masculine and feminine elements in the universe, an act of fertilization that bestows the sound of the instruments creative shamanic power.

From a shamanic perspective, care-taking the rattle and playing it properly during ritual fulfills the destiny of the human spirit - to sustain the order of existence.