"Through the darkness, the call of the owl invites us to reflect, to meditate, in that moment where time seems to stop.”

- David Passarelli

These two extraordinary Costa Rican owl mace heads represent some of the most remarkable artistic expressions in the Atlantic watershed region. Dating back to the first to fifth century AD, owls held a dual complex status as powerful spirit animals, shamanic alter egos, and totems of ancestral clans. These intricately crafted sculptures, rather than being merely symbols of wisdom or fear, served as essential liminal conduits, bending the physical and supernatural dimensions. They acted as signs of authority for high-ranking individuals and were often buried with their owners to signify their identity in the afterlife.

Owls were associated with the underworld (Xibalba in neighboring Maya lore) and the realm of the dead, but this wasn’t solely a negative association. They functioned as spiritual guides, responsible for escorting the souls of the deceased safely from the earthly plane into the next world.

In the ancient worldviews of indigenous peoples like the Bibri and Boric, shamans possessed the ability to transform into or utilize the power of animal spirits, enabling them to navigate the cosmos. Since owls travel, navigate, and hunt in complete darkness, they were directly compared to their shaman counterparts. While the physical community slept, the shaman’s spirit would journey to the otherworldly to engage in spiritual battles, diagnose illnesses, and protect the community. Notably, in this society, the elite and spiritual leaders frequently wore jade axe pendants carved with owl ear tufts and distinct eyes, similar to those found in these two mace heads. These pendants served as alter egos, granting the wearers the owl’s supernatural clarity to unmask deception and often reveal hidden truths.

In ancient Costa Rican society, societies were structured around clan-based systems, where animals served as physical manifestations of the clans’ spirits. These two remarkable objects from the Atlantic watershed region offer a glimpse into the magical mysteries of this ancient world, where the owl held a profound significance.