Title Caciques and Cemí idols : the web spun by Taíno rulers between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico / José R. Oliver

Published Tuscaloosa : University of Alabama Press, ©2009

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Description 1 online resource (xviii, 306 pages) : illustrations, maps Series Caribbean archaeology and ethnohistory Caribbean archaeology and ethnohistory. Contents Introduction -- Believers of Cemíism : who were the Taínos and where did they come from? -- Webs of interaction : human beings, other beings, and many things -- Personhood and the animistic Amerindian perspective -- Contrasting animistic and naturalistic worldviews -- The Cemí reveals its personhood and its body form -- Cemí idols and Taínoan idolatry -- Cemís and personal identities -- The power and potency of the Cemís -- The display of Cemís : personal vs. communal ownership, private vs. public function -- Face-to-face interactions : Cemís, idols, and the native political elite -- Hanging on to and losing the power of the Cemí idols -- The inheritance and reciprocal exchange of Cemí icons -- Cemís : alienable or inalienable; to give and to keep -- Stone collars, elbow stones, and caciques -- Ancestor Cemís and the Cemíification of the caciques -- The guaíza face masks : gifts of the living for the living -- The circulation of chief's names, women, and Cemís : between the greater and lesser Antilles -- Up in arms : Taíno freedom fighters in Higüey and Boriquén -- The virgin Mary icons and native Cemís : two cases of religious syncretism in Cuba -- Religious syncretism and transculturation : the crossroads toward new identities -- Final remarks Summary Cemís are both portable artifacts and embodiments of persons or spirit, which the Taínos and other natives of the Greater Antilles (ca. AD 1000-1550) regarded as numinous beings with supernatural or magic powers. This volume takes a close look at the relationship between humans and other (non-human) beings that are imbued with cemí power, specifically within the Taíno inter-island cultural sphere encompassing Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. The relationships address the important questions of identity and personhood of the cemí icons and their human?owners? and the implications of cemí gift-givin Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 257-279) and index Notes Print version record Subject Taino Indians -- Religion Taino Indians -- Implements Taino Indians -- Colonization Indians of the West Indies -- First contact with other peoples -- Hispaniola Stone implements -- Hispaniola -- History Icons -- Hispaniola -- History Christianity and culture -- Hispaniola Christianity and other religions -- Hispaniola Syncretism (Religion) -- Hispaniola HISTORY -- General. Spanish colonies Antiquities Christianity Christianity and culture Colonies Colonization Icons Indians of the West Indies -- First contact with other peoples Interfaith relations Stone implements Syncretism (Religion) Taino Indians -- Religion Latin America. Regions & Countries - Americas. History & Archaeology. SUBJECT Spain -- Colonies -- America Hispaniola -- Colonization Hispaniola -- Antiquities Subject America Hispaniola Spain Genre/Form History Form Electronic book LC no. 2008038785 ISBN 9780817381172 0817381171 0817316361 9780817316365

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