Taino deity or ancestral spirit, and a sculptural object housing the spirit
A
zemi
or
cemi
(Taino:
semi
[s?mi])
[2]
was a deity or ancestral spirit, and a sculptural object housing the spirit, among the
Taino
people of the
Caribbean
.
[3]
Cemi’no or Zemi’no is a plural word for the spirits.
Theology
[
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]
Taino religion, as recorded by late 15th and 16th century
Spaniards
, centered on a supreme creator god and a fertility goddess. The creator god is
Yucahu Maorocoti
and he governs the growth of the staple food, the
cassava
. The goddess is
Attabeira
, who governs water, rivers, and seas. Lesser deities govern natural forces and are also zemis.
[3]
Boinayel, the Rain Giver, is one such zemi, whose magical tears become rainfall.
[1]
Spirits of ancestors, also zemis, were highly honored, particularly those of
caciques
or chiefs. Bones or skulls might be incorporated into sculptural zemis or
reliquary
urns. Ancestral remains would be housed in shrines and given offerings, such as food.
[3]
Zemis could be consulted by medicine people for advice and healing.
[4]
During these consultation ceremonies, images of the zemi could be painted or tattooed on the body of a priest, who was known as a
Bohuti
or
Buhuithu
.
[5]
The
reliquary
zemis would help their own descendants in particular.
[6]
Religious art
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]
Sculptural zemis, or "
amuletic
zemis", take many forms,
[6]
but the most characteristically Taino art form is the three-point stone zemi.
[7]
One side of the stone might have a human or animal head with the opposite side having hunched legs. These are sometimes known as "frog's legs" due to their positioning. The fierce face of the creator god is often portrayed. Very small ceramic three-point zemis have been uncovered by archaeologists in the
Lesser Antilles
, as well as
Colombia
and
Venezuela
, dating back to 200 BCE.
[8]
Small amuletic zemis would be worn on warriors' foreheads for protection in battle.
[6]
Zemis are sculpted from a wide variety of materials, including bone, clay, wood, shell, sandstone, and stone.
[1]
They are found in
Cuba
,
Dominican Republic
,
Haiti
,
Jamaica
,
Puerto Rico
, and other Caribbean islands. Some are quite large, up to 100 cm tall. Some are effigies of birds, snakes, alligators and other animals,
[4]
but most are human effigies. Even twin human figures are portrayed.
[9]
Wooden zemis were preserved in relatively dry caves. It is believed that Taino people hid their ceremonial objects in caves, away from the Spanish, or destroyed them to avoid having them fall into Spanish hands.
[10]
Beaded zemis
[
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]
Two of the most elaborate surviving zemis are housed in European museums. One is a belt with a zemi from the
Greater Antilles
. The belt dates from circa 1530 and is made of cotton, white and red snail shells, black seeds, pearls, glass, and
obsidian
. It is housed in the
Museum fur Volkerkunde
in
Vienna
.
[11]
The second is housed in the
Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography
in
Rome
. Until 1952, it was wrongly labeled as an African
fetish
, but scholars have confirmed that it is Taino from the early 16th century and exhibits elements of Caribbean, European, and African artistic influences.
[11]
Gallery
[
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]
See also
[
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]
Notes
[
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]
- ^
a
b
c
"Deity Figure (Zemi) Dominican Republic; Taino (1979.206.380)"
Archived
December 5, 2009, at the
Wayback Machine
In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000 October 2006; retrieved 22 September 2009
- ^
Julian Granberry and Gary S. Vescelius. 2004. Languages of the Pre-Columbian Antilles. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, pp. 111
- ^
a
b
c
Bercht et al, 23
- ^
a
b
Corbett, Bob.
Arawak/Taino Related Myths.
Cuba Heritage.
(retrieved 19 Sept 2009)
- ^
Joyce, 195
- ^
a
b
c
Joyce, 193
- ^
"TAINOS: ARTE Y SOCIEDAD"
.
Issuu
(in Spanish). May 15, 1912
. Retrieved
November 20,
2021
.
- ^
Bercht et al, 24
- ^
Bercht, 8, 14, 18, 55, 92, and 123
- ^
Bercht et al, 30
- ^
a
b
Bercht et al, 159
- ^
"Annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution: Bureau of American Ethnology"
.
Internet Archive
. 1895. p. 118
. Retrieved
October 12,
2021
.
References
[
edit
]
- Bercht, Fatima, Estrellita Brodsky, John Alan Farmer, and Dicey Taylor.
Taino: Pre-Columbian Art and Culture from the Caribbean.
New York: Monacelli Press, 1997.
ISBN
1-885254-82-2
.
- Joyce, Thomas Athol.
Central American and West Indian Archaeology: Being an Introduction to The Archaeology of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the West Indies.
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1916 (retrieved through Google Books, 19 Sept 2009).
External links
[
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]