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The Taíno were an Indigenous
people of the Caribbean, whose culture has been continued today by their
descendants and by Taíno revivalist communities, found on The Bahamas, Cuba, the
Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and the northern Lesser
Antilles.
Taíno spirituality centered on the worship of zemis;spirits or ancestors.
Major Taíno zemis included Atabey and her son, Yúcahu. Atabey was thought to
be the zemi of the moon, fresh waters, and fertility. Other names for her
included Atabei, Atabeyra, Atabex, and Guimazoa. Maquetaurie Guayaba or
Maketaori Guayaba was the zemi of Coaybay or Coabey, the land of the dead.
Opiyelguabirán', a dog-shaped zemi, watched over the dead. Deminán Caracaracol,
a male cultural hero from whom the Taíno believed themselves to be descended,
was worshipped as a zemí. Macocael was a cultural hero worshipped as a zemi, who
had failed to guard the mountain from which human beings arose. He was punished
by being turned into stone, or a bird, a frog, or a reptile, depending on the
interpretation of the myth.
Zemí was also the name the people gave to physical representations of Zemis,
which could be objects or drawings. They took many forms and were made of many
materials and were found in a variety of settings. The majority of zemís were
crafted from wood, but stone, bone, shell, pottery, and cotton were used as
well.
Some zemís were accompanied by small tables or trays, which are believed to be a
receptacle for hallucinogenic snuff called cohoba, prepared from the beans of a
species of Piptadenia tree. These trays have been found with ornately carved
snuff tubes. Before certain ceremonies, Taínos would purify themselves, either
by inducing vomiting or by fasting. After communal bread was served, first to
the zemí, then to the cacique, and then to the common people, the people would
sing the village epic to the accompaniment of maraca and other instruments.
Taínos believed that Jupias, the souls of the dead, would go to Coaybay, the
underworld, and there they rest by day. At night they would assume the form of
bats and eat the guava fruit.
My Icon: A little Zemi figure in hardwood. |