Bidspirit auction | 2 Guna Miniature ”Ulu” Spirit

2 Guna Miniature ”Ulu” Spirit Vessel Canoes - Two small dugout canoes (Ulus) hand-carved from solid wood, believed to be shamanic spiritual transport vessels (”Ulu Nuana”), from the Guna (Kuna/Cuna) culture of the San Blas Islands, Panama. * The first one has remnants of traditional yellow polychrome pigment along the interior. The yellow paint (Gana) provides solar and ancestral protection, creating a sacred space for carved Nuchu spirit figures to ride in during healing chants and ceremonies.  11” length. * The second canoe is 11.5” in length, with a curved hull and a structural ”knot” for tying vine onto the bow.  In mainland jungle villages, Guna funeral rites included putting a miniature dugout canoe in the river, tied to a long vine which led to the gravesite, helping the person's soul (purba) to travel to the next realm. Provenance: From the private estate collection of Captain Kit S. Kapp (1926–2013), noted American explorer, ethnologist, and cartographer. Gathered during his historic maritime and ethnographic expeditions to the San Blas Islands and Darién region of Panama between 1961 and 1972.