Priest's shell ornament

Zuni people, Arizona, USA

Collected by Beatrice Blackwood and purchased from her in 1939; 1939.8.31This beautiful shell ornament is inlaid with turquoise and jet. According to the collector and one-time curator of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Beatrice Blackwood, it was part of the 'regalia of a medicine man'. Religion played a large part in Zuni society and there were numerous cults and societies, whose members dedicated their lives to religious duties and the upholding of traditional knowledge and ritual.

Some of the most highly esteemed of these individuals were the Rain Priests – not surprising given the importance of rain to the Zuni's survival. The priests were men of high moral character who avoided social conflicts and derived their power and wisdom directly from the Rain-Bringing Spirits. Other priests included the Sun Priests and the Bow Priests, leaders of the cult of the War Gods, who must have taken a scalp.

Like all societies in the world, the Zuni had a complex theory of causes and treatments of disease and illness. Most ailments were believed to have a supernatural cause so there were twelve 'Cults of the Beast Gods' – curing societies associated with various animal gods from which they got their power. Each society dealt with specific illnesses and was endowed with the secret knowledge and ability to effect cures for them through the use of plant medicines, massage and ritual. Both men and women could volunteer to become members of the curing societies.