Bidspirit auction | Guna Shamanic Weapons: Bows &

Guna Shamanic Weapons: Bows & Arrows, Spirit Lances, Cloth Tailed Spear - An excellent collection of small-scale weapons for spiritual warfare by a Guna shaman.  These items were found together in the Kapp collection, untagged.   From the Guna (Kuna/Cuna) culture, Panama; collected in the Kapp expedition period (1961-1972). These pieces are all hardwood, and most are about 11” long.  The shortest bow is 7.5”, and the shortest arrow/spear is 6” long.  Some have been numbered with tape.  The group includes bows with strings, arrows/spears/lances (some notched, some straight), bows without strings, and a 7.5” ”kite-tail” spear with bits of cloth tied on.   As a medical treatment, such weapons were used to shoot down and combat illness demons.  The cloth fragments may have been scraps of the patient's clothing used to bait the demon out of the patient's body.  Additionally, this type of weaponry was sometimes given to nuchu figures to help them do battle in the underworld. Provenance: From the shamanic study collection of Captain Kit S. Kapp, field-collected during his mid-century expeditions in Panama.