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This small-scale trigonolitos, or three-pointer,
represents a popular art form among the Taino.
This culture flourished in the Caribbean between
c.1200-1500, before the Spanish conquest
disrupted its existence. The precise function of
these triangular objects is unknown although it
is clear that they were used for ceremonial
purposes. Although the Caribbean islands had
been populated for centuries before the Taino
heyday, a new level of political organisation was
achieved during this period. Three-pointers,
along with stone collars and elbow stones, were
owned by the caciques or chieftains as symbols
of their power. The central cone of these
triangular objects has been interpreted in a
variety of ways. Suggestions include manioc
shoots (one of the main crops of the Taino),
volcanoes, the roofs of Taino houses, phalluses
and the human breast. None of these theories
has been universally accepted and the precise
origins of the shape are likely to remain a
mystery.
Despite this, many scholars agree that these
ceremonial objects were symbols of power and
fertility. This seems to be supported by a letter
written by Columbus in which he reports on his
findings among the Taino, ‘Equally the majority
of caciques (chiefs) have three stones to which
they
and their people have great devotion. One they
say is for the fertility of the grain and vegetables
that they grow; the next for mothers to give birth
without pain, and the third for the water and sun
when they have need.’
Both ends of this example are carved in the form
of a zoomorphic face. It was a fairly common
practice amongst Taino craftsmen to combine
multiple representations of anthropomorphic or
zoomorphic figures on the same object, often
arranged in such a way that both faces are not
visible from the same angle. The religious or
spiritual significance of such objects cannot be
precisely defined in the absence of a written
tradition. The Taino believed in the existence of
a supreme god or creator called Yucahu
Maorocoti and a fertility goddess called
Attabeira. Ancestor worship was also
fundamental to their belief system. Images of the
gods and spirits were created in wood, bone,
shell and stone and are referred to collectively as
zemis. This example clearly had spiritual
associations for its first owner and our inability
to define them closely only contributes to its
sense of mystery.
- (AM.0079)
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