Flutes are fashioned from bamboo or from the hollow leg bones of animals. The maraca, a percussion instrument usually played by men, is made from a small gourd and filled with seeds or pebbles. Indians hunt with bows and arrows or spears and blowguns, although many today use shotguns. Dyes are used in making clothes and baskets, as well as body decoration. Many Indians believe that there are spirits inside animals and plants as well as each human being.
Spirits sometimes leave the bodies of their host even while they are alive.
They can act as benign protectors, but they can also cause disease and death by blowing invisible darts. Shamans are Indians who can communicate with the spirit world. They do this by dreaming or by using hallucinogenic drugs. Shamans can find out what has angered the spirits and are believed to be able to cure disease. Greed or lack of respect for nature can arouse the wrath of spirits in the forest and bring disaster on families or even whole peoples.