The wurake are the female spirits of the Upperworld who preside over Bare'e shamanism. They dwell in the sky-realm of Lai and are the patrons and guides of the mowurake, the shamanic rite in which a priestess, entranced, sends her soul on a journey along a spirit-ladder to the heavens to recover a patient's lost tanoana or to escort the newly dead. The wurake taught this art to the first human practitioners and accompany the shaman on each ascent; the ceremony and its officiants take their name from them.