These  maracas  were  worshipped.  They  were  supposed  to  give
oracles.  They  sacrificed  human  beings  to  them.  They  were
supposed  to  be  inhabited  by  a  spirit.^

These  maracas  were  gourds  with  pebbles  in  them.     They


»  Parkman's  Jes.,  l.\xi.  *  i  Catlin,  36-37.  3  i  ib.,  154-55.
4  Kolil,  344.  5  I  Soutliey,  202.
i6o  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS.
were  so  sacred  none  but  their  owners  could  look  at  them.
