Damballa was specially written for a group of Uusinta players in 2000. Räihälä started the work in January 2000 and finished it the following spring. It was premièred at the Time of Music festival in Viitasaari, Finland, in July 2000 and is to date one of Räihälä's most successful works. It was heard in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, in June 2002, and the German performance took place in the spring 2005 by the Ensemble Courage. Damballa was recorded in 2003 (UCD101) by the Uusinta Chamber Ensemble.

Räihälä decided to use the line-up of flute, oboe, clarinet and violin because he wanted to write the piece especially for Lauri Toivio, Riikka Talvitie, Kimmo Leppälä and Maria Puusaari. The result is just under eight minutes of music, which oozes out musical delight. There is a small theatrical element within, as the oboe joins the other players only after a couple of minutes, having first "surprised" everybody with screaming multiphones. The title, Damballa, comes from a Haitian voodoo snake, but Räihälä has underlined that there is no programme or a "story" behind the music.