# Maraca

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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Maraca.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraca
> Source revision: 1343144161
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{{Short description|Percussion instrument}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}{{Other uses}}
{{Distinguish|Marraco|Marrakesh|Morocco}}
{{Infobox instrument
| name           = Maraca
| image          = Maracas.jpg
| background     = percussion
| classification = Percussion
| hornbostel_sachs = 112.1
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = Shaken idiophones or rattles
| related        = [Shekere](/source/Shekere)
| musicians      = [Machito](/source/Machito), [Monguito](/source/Monguito)
| builders       = [LP Percussion](/source/Latin_Percussion_(company))
| sound sample   = File:Maracas.ogg
}}

A '''maraca''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|r|æ|k|ə}} {{respell|mə|RAK|ə}}, {{IPAc-en|USalso|m|ə|ˈ|r|ɑː|k|ə}} {{respell|mə|RAH|kə}}, {{IPA|pt-BR|maˈɾakɐ|lang|Br-Maraca.ogg}}), sometimes called '''shaker''' or '''chac-chac''', is a [rattle](/source/Rattle_(percussion_instrument)) which appears in many genres of [Caribbean](/source/List_of_Caribbean_music_genres) and [Latin music](/source/Latin_music). It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. A maraca player in the [Spanish language](/source/Spanish_language) is called a {{lang|es|maraquero}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=English Translation of “MARAQUERO” {{!}} Collins Spanish-English Dictionary |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/spanish-english/maraquero |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=[Collins Spanish Dictionary](/source/Collins_Spanish_Dictionary)}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The term ''maraca'' is believed to originate from the [Guarani](/source/Guarani_language) word {{lang|gn|mbaraka}}.<ref name="rae">{{Cite web |title=maraca |url=https://dle.rae.es/maraca |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705171523/https://dle.rae.es/maraca |archive-date=2021-07-05 |access-date=2021-06-04 |website=[Diccionario de la lengua española](/source/Diccionario_de_la_lengua_espa%C3%B1ola) |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schons |first=Dorothy |date=1942 |title=Negro Poetry in the Americas |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/334219 |journal=Hispania |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=309–319 |doi=10.2307/334219 |issn=0018-2133 |jstor=334219|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Other authors, for their part, believe that it is a corruption of the [Arabic](/source/Arabic)-origin word ''mitraqah'', used in African countries with a dual meaning of bell and hammer. However, some authors have questioned the Arabic origin, since ''mitraqah'' apparently derives from the Spanish word ''matraca''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=de Vega |first=Varela |last2=Bautista |first2=Juan |title=Anotaciones históricas sobre la maraca |url=https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/anotaciones-historicas-sobre-la-maraca/html/ |access-date=2025-06-22 |website=Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes |language=es}}</ref>

The instrument is known by various names across Latin America and the Caribbean, including ''maracá'' (Brazil),<ref name=":1" /> ''chac-chac''<ref>{{cite book | last=Mendes | first=John | title=Cote ce Cote la: Trinidad and Tobago Dictionary | year=1976 | publisher=Syncreators | location=Arima, Trinidad | page=135}}</ref> or ''[shak-shak](/source/shak-shak)'' (Eastern Caribbean),<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Crowley |first=Daniel J. |date=1958 |title=The Shak-Shak in the Lesser Antilles |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/924654 |journal=Ethnomusicology |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=112–115 |doi=10.2307/924654 |issn=0014-1836 |jstor=924654|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and ''higuera'' (Puerto Rico, referencing the calabash tree). In Brazil, numerous regional variants exist, such as ''adjá'', ''canzá'', ''ganzá'', and ''xeque''.<ref name=":1" />

== History ==
The maraca is of [pre-Columbian](/source/Pre-Columbian_era) origin and is believed to have been used by the indigenous people of parts of South America and the Caribbean<ref name=":1" /> for ceremonial and communicative purposes.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Simas |first=Gilson da Penha |date=2023-11-09 |title=Maracá: um estudo à luz da prática simbólica e da vivência espiritual e cultural do povo Tabajara da Paraíba |url=https://repositorio.ufpb.br/jspui/handle/123456789/33769 |access-date=2025-06-22 |publisher=[Federal University of Paraíba](/source/Federal_University_of_Para%C3%ADba)}}</ref> Ethnographic accounts attribute its invention to groups such as the [Arawak](/source/Arawak) and [Taíno](/source/Ta%C3%ADno) peoples.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Aviles |first=Hector |date=2014-12-04 |title=Latin Music History: The Maracas Indigenous Origins |url=https://latinomusiccafe.com/2014/12/04/latin-music-history-the-maracas-indigenous-origins/ |access-date=2025-06-22 |website=Latino Music Cafe |language=en-US}}</ref> In the 18th century, Jesuit missionary José Gumilla noted the use of ''marakas'' among the Arawak-speaking people in the [Orinoco](/source/Orinoco) basin.<ref name=":1" /> Maracas were rattles of divination, an oracle of the Brazilian [Tupinamba](/source/Tupinamb%C3%A1_people) people, found also with other Indigenous ethnic groups, such as the Guarani, Orinoco in [Florida, United States](/source/Florida).<ref name=":3">{{citation |title=[Handbook of South American Indians](/source/Handbook_of_South_American_Indians) |volume=3 |pages=43, 129, 238 |year=1948 |editor=Julian H. Steward |editor-link=Julian H. Steward |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>

Rattles made from ''[Lagenaria](/source/Lagenaria)'' gourds are being shaken by the natural grip, while the round ''[Crescentia](/source/Crescentia)'' calabash fruits are fitted to a handle.<ref name=":3" /> Modern maraca balls are made of leather, wood or plastic<ref>{{cite book |last=Blades |first=James |url=https://archive.org/details/percussioninstru00jame |title=Percussion instruments and their history |publisher=Bold Strummer |year=1992 |isbn=0-933224-61-3 |edition=Rev. |location=Westport, Conn. |url-access=registration |via=the [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive)}}</ref> with a wooden stick inserted through a hole in the shell to serve as a handle.<ref name=":2" /> Human hair is sometimes fastened on the top, and a slit is cut in it to represent a mouth, through which their [shaman](/source/shaman)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 [guarás](/source/scarlet_ibis) (scarlet ibises). It was used at their dances and to heal the sick.<ref>{{citation |author=Robert Southey |title=History of Brazil |volume=1 |pages=187–188, 635 |year=1810 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbrazil01sout/page/188/mode/2up?q=maraca |publisher=Longman & Hurst |author-link=Robert Southey}} Note: {{lang|es|[guarás](/source/%3Aes%3Aguar%C3%A1_(ave))}} is spelled idiosyncratically as "goaraz" in this historical source.{{PD-notice}}</ref> The design may vary by region; for example, in Puerto Rico, maracas are fashioned from the ''higuera'' fruit,<ref name=":1" /> while in other areas they are made of tin, wood, leather, or synthetic materials.<ref name=":2" /> The contents and materials affect the instrument’s timbre and volume. Andean [curandero](/source/curandero)s (healers) use maracas in their healing rites.<ref>{{citation |author=Federico Kauffmann Doig |title=Encyclopedia of Religion |volume=13 |pages=8599–8605 |year=2005 |editor=Lindsay Jones |entry=SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS: INDIANS OF THE ANDES IN THE PRE-INCA PERIOD |edition=2nd |publisher=Gale |isbn=0-02-865982-1}}</ref>

== Performance ==
The maraca produces sound through the shaking motion, which causes the internal elements to strike against the container's interior.<ref name=":2" /> It plays a primarily rhythmic role, accentuating the beat in various musical styles.<ref name=":1" /> In [Latin American popular music](/source/Music_of_Latin_America), the maraca is particularly associated with genres such as ''[son](/source/Son_cubano)'' ''[cubano](/source/Son_cubano)'', ''[guaracha](/source/guaracha)'', ''[danzón](/source/danz%C3%B3n)'', ''[salsa](/source/Salsa_music)'', and ''[bomba](/source/Bomba_(Puerto_Rico))''.<ref name=":2" /> In some styles, one maraca may be used (as in ''bomba''), while others require a pair played simultaneously.<ref name=":2" /> The maraca exhibited a [frequency response](/source/frequency_response) between 3000 [Hz](/source/Hertz) and 10,000 Hz, as measured using a microphone connected to an [oscilloscope](/source/oscilloscope) and analyzed through "SCOPE" software.<ref name=":5">{{cite journal |last=Souza |first=MF |last2=Corazza |first2=MCA |last3=Quintilio |first3=R |year=2018 |title=Análise acústica dos instrumentos sonoros musicais usados para avaliação audiológica infantil |url=https://revistasfacesa.senaaires.com.br/index.php/iniciacao-cientifica/article/download/96/57 |url-status=usurped |journal=Revista de Iniciação Científica e Extensão |volume=1 |issue=Esp.3 |pages=272–282 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606164459/https://revistasfacesa.senaaires.com.br/index.php/iniciacao-cientifica/article/download/96/57 |archive-date=2020-06-06}}</ref>

In many indigenous and Afro-Brazilian spiritual traditions, the maraca may also serve as a sacred function. Among the [Tabajara](/source/Tabajara) people of Brazil, the maraca is considered a "sacred object" used during the ''Toré'' ritual. It represents a conduit between the human and spiritual realms, facilitating communication with ancestral spirits known as ''Encantados''. Decorative elements such as feathers and symbolic paintings enhance its spiritual potency.<ref name=":4" />

In ''pajelança'' (an Afro-Indigenous healing practice in northern Brazil), the maraca is used to summon spiritual entities during therapeutic and trance rituals.<ref name=":5" /> The instrument marks the rhythm of sacred songs (''doutrinas''), and its sound is believed to activate healing forces. Pajés (healers) often differentiate between the traditional gourd maraca and metallic variants (''xeque'') used in syncretic rituals.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Quintas |first=Gianno Gonçalves |date=March 2007 |title=Entre maracás, curimbas e tambores: pajelanças nas religiões afro-brasileiras |url=https://repositorio.ufpa.br/jspui/handle/2011/5261 |journal=[Federal University of Pará](/source/Federal_University_of_Par%C3%A1) |access-date=22 June 2025}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery class="center" widths="250px" heights="275px">
File:Maracas player at Bonnaroo 2008 festival.jpg|[Robert Plant](/source/Robert_Plant) playing two pairs of maracas
File:Guarani shaman.JPG|[Guarani](/source/Guaran%C3%AD_people) 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 21 December. Each maraca is unique and made specially for each year
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Maracas}}

{{Percussion}}
{{Shaken idiophones}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:Venezuelan musical instruments
Category:South American percussion instruments
Category:Central American and Caribbean percussion instruments
Category:Orchestral percussion instruments
Category:Vessel rattles
Category:Hand percussion
Category:Unpitched percussion instruments
Category:Concert band instruments

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Maraca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraca) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraca?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.