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Carved from a pale flecked green/brown stone,
this sculpture represents a Taino zemi- the
physical manifestation of a god, spirit or
ancestor. The Taino were polytheistic and
worshipped a creator deity, Yucahu Maorocoti,
and a fertility goddess called Attabeira. Beneath
these supreme deities were a host of lesser gods,
including former Taino chieftains (caciques) and
shamans that had been deified after their deaths.
Ancestor worship was a central part of the Taino
religious system and helped to bolster the
political and moral authority of the chieftains.
According to Spanish chroniclers, the bones of
high status individuals were carefully stored in
wooden urns or hung from the rafters of houses.
This belief in the talismanic qualities of skeletal
remains may explain the emaciated, skeletal
appearance of zemi sculptures. Stone examples
such as this one would have belonged to the
chieftain or a high status member of his retinue.
Although their precise function is unknown, the
Spanish certainly believed that they were
connected to fertility rites. Equally convincing is
the argument that they played a role in cohoba
ceremonies. These were conducted by shamans,
who communicated with the souls of the
deceased under the influence of the
hallucinogenic cohoba. Surviving mortars,
pestles and other ceremonial items all seem to
be connected with this ritual. The distinctive
crouching position of this figure, confirms the
connection because it reflects the same position
adopted by shamans during their trance.
The figure kneels on a short pedestal with his
feet tucked beneath him- indicated on the
reverse by lightly incised parallel lines. The
hands are held above the knees as if in
supplication, with the palms indicated by deeply
carved circular roundels and the fingers by
incised parallel lines. Despite the emaciated,
skeletal appearance of the figure, the large
phallus seems to denote fertility and fecundity.
Although depicted naked, many areas of the
body and the back of head are incised with
geometric motifs, possibly indicating tattoos.
The face has large sunken orbits, a wide mouth
and a protruding jaw. These are recurring
features on Taino zemi sculptures and the skull-
like faces that were carved into their distinctive
three-cornered stones, known as the
trigonolitos. There is some damage to the
pedestal and the area immediately below the
hands, but otherwise the condition is good. This
is a remarkable survival that encapsulates the
skill and inventiveness of Taino craftsmen. (AM)
- (PF.2225A)
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