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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.
- (CK.0600)
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