“Nuchus” are small wooden dolls whose quality depends on the skill of the carver. Some are quite elaborate and some are not more than, simply, a small stick.
Once a doll is carved, it is taken to the “curendero”, the medicine doctor, who puts a soul into the nuchu. This spirit is always good — healing, warding of evil and never harmful to others — and takes care of its owner. A nuchu with a live spirit in it can never be sold. When someone falls ill, his nuchus are placed around his hammock by his family. The nuchus guard against evil spirits penetrating the sick person and hindering his recovery and, so, help to cure him. Once a nuchu has been used for such a purpose, it can be discarded or sold but most Kunas will keep them for many years after the cure and store them together in a basket.