Maban, mabain or mabanba is a material that is held to be

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrel ...

al in

Australian Aboriginal mythology Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology is the sacred spirituality represented in the stories performed by Aboriginal Australians within each of the language groups across Australia in their ceremonies. Aboriginal spirituality includes ...

. It is the material from which the

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiri ...

s and elders of indigenous Australia supposedly derive their magical powers. Among the

Ngaanyatjarra The Ngaanyatjarra, also known (along with the Pini) as the Nana, are an Indigenous Australian cultural group of Western Australia. They are located in the Goldfields-Esperance region, as well as Northern Territory. Language Ngaanyatjarra i ...

people, practitioners are known as maparn or maparnjarra.

References

A. P. Elkin Adolphus Peter Elkin (27 March 1891 – 9 July 1979) was an Anglican clergyman, an influential Australian anthropologist during the mid twentieth century and a proponent of the assimilation of Indigenous Australians. Early life Elkin was born ...

(1973). ''Aboriginal Men of High Degree: Initiation and Sorcery in the World's Oldest Tradition''. Inner Traditions. * Munn, Nancy D. (1984). "The Transformation Of Subjects Into Objects in Walbiri and Pitjantjartjara Myths." In: M. Charlesworth, H. Morphy, D. Bell and K. Maddock, Eds. ''Religion in Aboriginal Australia: An Anthology.'' St. Lucia, Queensland: University Of Queensland Press. {{refend Australian Aboriginal mythology Mythological objects