Maracas (pronunciation (help·info), sometimes calle rhumba shakers) are simple percussion instruments (idiophones), usually played in pairs, consisting of a dried calabash or gourd shell (cuia - 'kOO-ya') or coconut shell filled with seeds or dried beans. They may also be made of leather, wood, or plastic. Often one maraca is pitched high and the other is pitched low. Some have thought the instrument of prehistoric Moroccan origin, however there are in existence clay maracas used by the Indians of Colombia, 1500 years ago. The word maraca is thought to have come from the Tupi language of Brazil, where it is pronounced 'ma-ra-KAH'. They are known in Trinidad as shac-shacs.