Drum and beater
Maker: Mapuche
Medium:Wood, skin, pigment
Geography: Southern Chile, South America
Date: c. 1950
Dimensions:17 × 5 × 32.5 × 42.5 cm
Object number: 971.166.381.A-B
Credit Line: Gift of the Toronto Diocesan Anglican Church Women
Gallery Location:Shreyas and Mina Ajmera Gallery of Africa, the Americas and Asia-Pacific
DescriptionThe drum or kultrun is the machi's (or medicine woman's) most important instrument. Beaten almost continuously during rituals, it helps her reach a trance state, in order to communicate with the supernatural world. The drum is of skin stretched over a wooden bowl, and usually has a painted design representing the four quarters of the Mapuche universe. Inside it contains small sacred objects, such as stones, feathers and healing herbs.
