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zemis", take many forms, but the most characteristically Taíno art form is the three-point stone zemi. 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
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99:, who governs water, rivers, and seas. Lesser deities govern natural forces and are also zemis. Boinayel, the Rain Giver, is one such zemi, whose magical tears become rainfall. Spirits of ancestors, also zemis, were highly honored, particularly those of
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Wooden zemis were preserved in relatively dry caves. It is believed that Taíno people hid their ceremonial objects in caves, away from the
Spanish, or destroyed them to avoid having them fall into Spanish hands.
170:, and other Caribbean islands. Some are quite large, up to 100 cm tall. Some are effigies of birds, snakes, alligators and other animals, but most are human effigies. Even twin human figures are portrayed.
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Zemis could be consulted by medicine people for advice and healing. During these consultation ceremonies, images of the zemi could be painted or tattooed on the body of a priest, who was known as a
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Zemi figure, Ironwood with shell inlay. 27 in. (68.5 cm) high. Dominican
Republic: 15th-16th century. The bowl atop the figure's head was used to hold
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Central
American and West Indian Archaeology: Being an Introduction to The Archaeology of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the West Indies.
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Julian
Granberry and Gary S. Vescelius. 2004. Languages of the Pre-Columbian Antilles. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, pp. 111
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427:"Annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution: Bureau of American Ethnology"
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Zemis are sculpted from a wide variety of materials, including bone, clay, wood, shell, sandstone, and stone. They are found in
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In
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000 October 2006; retrieved 22 September 2009
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creator god is often portrayed. Very small ceramic three-point zemis have been uncovered by archaeologists in the
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Three-pointed stone which was in the private collection of Mr. Yunghannis of Bayamón, in the late 19th century
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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
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urns. Ancestral remains would be housed in shrines and given offerings, such as food.
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New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1916 (retrieved through Google Books, 19 Sept 2009).
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Taíno deity or ancestral spirit, and a sculptural object housing the spirit
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or chiefs. Bones or skulls might be incorporated into sculptural zemis or
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Bercht, Fatima, Estrellita
Brodsky, John Alan Farmer, and Dicey Taylor.
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277:"Deity Figure (Zemi) Dominican Republic; Taino (1979.206.380)"
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Taíno religion, as recorded by late 15th and 16th century
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Taíno: Pre-Columbian Art and
Culture from the Caribbean.
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Three-pointed sculpture with carved face c. 1000-1494 CE
75:. Cemi’no or Zemi’no is a plural word for the spirits.
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Pigorini
National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography
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zemis would help their own descendants in particular.
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Vistas: Visual
Culture in Spanish America, 1520-1820.
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486:Pigorini Museum zemi, ca. 1510-15, back view
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368:(in Spanish). May 15, 1912
534:Religion in the Caribbean
495:Zemis in a museum exhibit
362:"TAÍNOS: ARTE Y SOCIEDAD"
282:December 5, 2009, at the
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549:Veneration of the dead
192:Museum für Völkerkunde
190:. It is housed in the
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156:Dominican Republic
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437:October 12,
168:Puerto Rico
523:Categories
490:front view
449:References
351:Joyce, 193
337:Joyce, 195
145:Venezuela
120:reliquary
105:reliquary
97:Attabeira
85:Spaniards
73:Caribbean
280:Archived
248:See also
188:obsidian
141:Colombia
132:amuletic
116:Buhuithu
101:caciques
79:Theology
61:(Taíno:
554:Spirits
217:Gallery
164:Jamaica
93:cassava
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211:fetish
196:Vienna
118:. The
112:Bohuti
36:cohoba
366:Issuu
260:Notes
160:Haiti
69:Taíno
18:Zemis
460:ISBN
439:2021
374:2021
207:Rome
152:Cuba
143:and
64:semi
59:cemi
55:zemi
205:in
194:in
114:or
57:or
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