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This outstanding stone sculpture is a Zemi – the
physical incarnation of a Taino god, spirit or
ancestor. These were used by families and
centralized magico-religious institutions on a
village scale, in order to “…help women with
child…many which speak, and others that make
grow the things that they eat, and others that
bring rain, and others that make the wind blow”
(Arrom 1974: 26). Historical accounts by
Columbus, among others, also confirm a fertility
role for at least some of the pieces, and they
may also have helped relate the Taino’s
mainland heritage as a story-telling device.
Identifying specific pieces with specific gods or
spirits is not always possible; the pantheon of
gods is fairly well established (based around
Yucahu – the god of cassava, the Taino staple
crop – and his mother Antabey, who is
responsible for fertility and water) but their
physical appearances are generally undefined.
Zemis have been found in various parts of the
Caribbean, especially Hispaniola and Jamaica.
The piece is carved in a heavy, dark stone, and
depicts a squat, powerful individual, kneeling
with legs tucked beneath him and with hands
under the chin in a pose suggestive of begging.
His general proportions are skeletal – his face is
reminiscent of a skull, with hollow eyes and
nose, and all flesh seemingly absent. His body
continues this theme, with ribs, scapulae and
vertebral spines clearly marked on his back.
Despite this apparent starvation, however, he is
highly adorned, with detailed concentric carvings
in bands on a decorated hat and armbands, and
what appear to be tattoos on both shins and the
bridge of the nose. The pedestal upon which he
is kneeling is also decorated, with a single
triangle and circle motif.
The Taino artistic repertoire is dominated by
“three pointer”, or trigonolitos sculptures, which
are themselves a subdivision of the Zemi
sculptures. Effigy vessels, inhalers, vomit sticks
(for purging during sacred rituals),
mortars/pestles and amulets are also known,
and
all are decorated with elements visible in Zemi
sculptures. The identity of the current piece is
unclear. A wood figure with similar expressions
has been recovered in Cuba, and is believed to
represent some sort of fertility idol. Skeletal
faces are also seen on more utilitarian artifacts
such as inhalers, so their significance is open to
question. It is however the Taino obsession with
death which explains the probable purpose of
the current piece. There is a comparatively small
sample of artifacts that reflect issues of mortality
and death, with skeletal features, emaciated
bodies and forbidding expressions; these are
partly anthropomorphic, and partly zoomorphic
with particular emphasis on bats and owls, which
were – and indeed are – viewed as harbingers of
death. The art used to express this fear or
acceptance of mortality takes the form of
amulets that were worn, or optionally masks and
figures for chiefs and people of high standing.
The size and complexity of carving on the
current piece makes it both unusual and
desirable; it is a socially important work that has
attained an aesthetic and artistic relevance in its
own right.
- (LO.1321 (LSO))
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