What is a zemis Taino?
Tainos Religious Objects called Zemis. The simplest and earliest recognized zemis were roughly carved objects in the form of an isoceles triangle ("three-pointed zemis"); but zemis can also be quite elaborate, highly detailed human or animal effigies embroidered from cotton or carved from sacred wood.
Is there a Taino Dictionary?
The work that has been done on this new Taino dictionary is due to the great efforts on the part of Chief Pedro Guanikeyu Torres, a teacher of the Taino language. A full Version will Soon be online for your pleasure, Thank you, from the Taino TITC Team of The Taino Language Project.
What does cacike mean in Taino?
The Dictionary of the Taino Language C Cabuya = n : A thin Cord, a fishing line used for fishing, made from fibers of the Majagua or Maguey plant.(See the word Jico). Cacike = n : Chief.
What do the Tainos symbols mean?
Some of the “face” symbols have been said to represent shamans, gods, animals (bats & owls) and people of the tribes. Tainos may have also carved zemi spirits or gods with human-like faces. How old are these symbols?
What do the Taíno symbols mean?
Therefore, the symbols used by the Tainos often have special significance. For example, the Taino symbols carved in stone show that the Native Americans respected all living things. The carvings also represent Taino beliefs and religious practices. They frequently highlight Taino gods and the Taino sun god.
What did zemis represent?
Role of Zemis in Taino Society Zemis represented not the power of the person who owned them, but the allies the person could consult and venerate. In this way, zemis provided a contact for every Taino person with the spiritual world.
What was the Taínos god called?
Yocahu: Yocahu is the leading god of the Taino people.
What is a female Taíno called?
The Legends of Loiza are many but perhaps the most popular one is about the only female Taino Cacique ( chief) named Yuiza ( Yuisa, Loaiza, Luisa, Loiza). Of all the Taino Chiefs of the Caribbean there were only two who were women, only one in Boriken ( Puerto Rico).
Why did the Taínos wear zemis around their necks?
Taíno Indians believed that being in the good graces of their zemis protected them from disease, hurricanes, or disaster in war.
Are all Puerto Rican Taínos?
According to a study funded by the National Science Foundation, 61 percent of all Puerto Ricans have American Indian mitochondrial DNA, probably from a common Taino ancestry.
How do you say hello in Taino?
2:336:06Let's Talk Taíno 4 - Basic Greetings & Phrases with "tai" - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo we know that dai.MoreSo we know that dai.
What god did the Taínos worship?
The Tainos believed in two main gods, Yucahu, who was the god of cassava (the main food crop of the Taino) and Atabey, the mother of Yucahu and the goddess of fertility. They also had many other deities, such as Guabancex, the goddess of hurricanes and Maketaori Guayaba, the god of the dead.
Is Taino black?
Modern Taino Heritage Recent research notes a high percentage of mixed or tri-racial ancestry among people in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, with those claiming Taíno ancestry also having Spanish and African ancestry.
Does anyone speak Taino?
Taíno is an extinct Arawakan language that was spoken by the Taíno people of the Caribbean. At the time of Spanish contact, it was the most common language throughout the Caribbean.
Did Taínos use Sage?
Native Americans and other indigenous peoples have burned sage for centuries as part of a spiritual ritual to cleanse a person or space, and to promote healing and wisdom. Tainos used about 40 to 50 common medicinal plants, most of which are picked by behiques based on traditional knowledge.
What is the name of the cave where people came to populate the island?
Aboriginal that, according to mythology Taino, stand guard in a cave called cacibajagua; place where people came to populate the island. One day it took to reach his post and was turned into stone by the action of the sun.
What was the purpose of the container used by the Aborigines of Quisqueyana?
Container used by the Aborigines of Quisqueyana to store water and fermenting the wine produced with the juice of Guáyiga. They were bought by women to men as a declaration of love
What was the role of Zemis in Taino society?
Role of Zemis in Taino Society. Possession of the elaborated zemís by Taino leaders (caciques) was a sign of his/her privileged relations with the supernatural world, but zemis weren't restricted to leaders or shamans. According to Father Pané, most of the Taíno people living on Hispaniola owned one or more zemís.
What does "zemi" mean in the Caribbean?
Nicoletta Maestri. Updated October 23, 2019. A zemí (also zemi, zeme or cemi) is a collective term in the Caribbean Taíno (Arawak) culture for "sacred thing," a spirit symbol or personal effigy.
What did Zemis represent?
Zemis represented not the power of the person who owned them, but the allies the person could consult and venerate. In this way, zemis provided a contact for every Taino person with the spiritual world.
What do the three pointed zemis represent?
They were said, according to Pané, to help with the growth of the plants. The circles on the three-pointed zemís may represent tuber "eyes", germination points that may or may not develop into suckers or new tubers.
What is a three pointed zema?
Three-pointed zemís are sometimes randomly dotted with circles or circular depressions. Some scholars suggest that three-pointed zemis imitate the shape of cassava tubers: cassava, also known as manioc, was an essential food staple and also an important symbolic element of Taíno life.
What are Zemis made of?
The simplest and earliest recognized zemis were roughly carved objects in the form of an isosceles triangle ("three-pointed zemis"); but zemis can also be quite elaborate, highly detailed human or animal effigies embroidered from cotton or carved from sacred wood.
Where are three pointed zemae found?
Three-pointed zemís, like the one illustrating this article, are commonly found in Taíno archaeological sites , as early as the Saladoid period of Caribbean history (500 BC-1 BC). These mimic a mountain silhouette, with the tips decorated with human faces, animals, and other mythical beings.
What is a cemi?
A Cemi is a sculpture inhabited by a god, deity or ancestral spirit of the Taino people and used by the shamans to commute with the spirit for guidance. Cemi is also the term used to refer to the deity or ancestral spirit itself.
How big is Cemi?
Weight:2280.00 g / 80.42 ounces. Dimensions: Height: 10.25 inches. Width: 3.5 inches. Depth: 4.25 inches. Material:Stone. Origin:Puerto Rico.
What is the face of a zema carved from?
Because the human face is carved from West African rhinoceros horn and the beaded designs seem to mimic the complex geometric arrangements found in Angolan art, viewers may wonder whether the artist of this unique zemí was West African or Caribbean.
How did the cacique sniff cohoba?
The ritual of sniffing cohoba began with a cleansing process, through which the cacique would induce vomiting. Afterwards, the cacique would use a spoon to place the cohoba on top of the zemí. With the aid of tubes, the cacique would sniff the cohoba, which was sometimes mixed with tobacco or crushed seashell to enhance the hallucinogenic effects. Taíno artists made objects specifically for this ceremony, such as spatulas to capture the snuff and sticks to induce vomiting.
Baby
The Taíno’s carried their babies on their backs. Many images often had babies being carried with ropes tied around them.
Bird
Birds like cranes and herons were often given human characteristics, and they usually were interpreted as symbols of being masculine.
Cohoba
Cohoba was the main deity of the Taínos. The plate of his head was used in the ceremony to inhale hallucinogen in ceremonial rituals.
Eternal Lovers
The Taíno society did not believe in private property. Whatever was grown or killed was for the whole tribe. The scene in images may mean solidarity, equality, and fertility. Eternal lovers were figures of birds either beak-to-beak or in a possible love scenes.
Shamans
Shamans were witch doctors. They cured by using plants and herbs. They were considered as priests and led all rituals.
Conchs and Snails
The snail and conch played an integral role in the Taínos’ lives. They ate snails and also used them as a hallucinogen in rituals. They even used their conchs to adorn their bodies as beads. Large conchs were used for the sound that they made, as a communication device during hunting.
Turtle or Tortoise
Turtles were considered as the mother of fertility, mankind, and origin of life. Dimivan Caracaracol (Mother Earth) had developed a tumor; on the removal of the tumor, it turned out to be a live turtle.
Modern Interpretations
There are people today who desperately search, in books or the internet, for the true meaning of these rock-carvings not really knowing the history (or in this case, lack-of historical data) of the Tainos / Pre-Tainos. It is still unclear today of what these petroglyphs or symbols really mean.
How old are these symbols?
Ancient petroglyphs or symbols carved into rock by prehistoric peoples reveal how they envisioned the world around them. But estimating an exact age of most petroglyphs is difficult to determine.
What do they mean?
Whenever anyone views petroglyphs the unavoidable question comes up: What is the meaning of these symbols?
Christopher Columbus's Ethnographer
Three-Pointed Zemís
- Three-pointed zemís, like the one illustrating this article, are commonly found in Taíno archaeological sites, as early as the Saladoid periodof Caribbean history (500 BC-1 BC). These mimic a mountain silhouette, with the tips decorated with human faces, animals, and other mythical beings. Three-pointed zemís are sometimes randomly dotted with circles or circular de…
Zemi Construction
- Artifacts representing zemís were made from a wide range of materials: wood, stone, shell, coral, cotton, gold, clay and human bones. Among the most preferred material to make zemís was wood of specific trees such as mahogany (caoba), cedar, blue mahoe, the lignum vitae or guyacan, which is also referred to as "holy wood" or "wood of life". The silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) …
Role of Zemis in Taino Society
- Possession of the elaborated zemís by Taino leaders (caciques) was a sign of his/her privileged relations with the supernatural world, but zemis weren't restricted to leaders or shamans. According to Father Pané, most of the Taíno people living on Hispaniola owned one or more zemís. Zemis represented not the power of the person who owned them, but ...
Sources
- Atkinson L-G. 2006. The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaica Taíno, University of the West Indies Press, Jamaica.
- de Hostos A. 1923. Three-pointed stone zemí or idols from the West Indies: an interpretation. American Anthropologist25(1):56-71.
- Hofman CL, and Hoogland MLP. 1999. Expansion of the Taíno cacicazgos towards the Lesse…
- Atkinson L-G. 2006. The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaica Taíno, University of the West Indies Press, Jamaica.
- de Hostos A. 1923. Three-pointed stone zemí or idols from the West Indies: an interpretation. American Anthropologist25(1):56-71.
- Hofman CL, and Hoogland MLP. 1999. Expansion of the Taíno cacicazgos towards the Lesser Antilles. Journal de la Société des Américanistes85:93-113. doi: 10.3406/jsa.1999.1731
- Moorsink J. 2011. Social Continuity in the Caribbean Past: A Mai son-Perspective on Cultural Continuity. Caribbean Connections1(2):1-12.
