GODS AND SPIRITSATABEY
The goddess Atabey
was the mother of the
great god Yúcahu, and
like her son, she was a
fertility deity. Atabey
was the goddess of
the Earth, the mother
goddess, and the deity who presided over the lakes
and rivers. As a bringer of rain, she was sometimes
attended by her messenger, Guatauva, and the goddess
of the floods, Coatrischie. She was often portrayed in
a squatting pose. In this position, her legs were bent
double like those of a frog, a creature with which she
was frequently associated. Frogs call loudly during
their mating season, which coincides with the start
of the tropical rainy season, the part of the year when
the new cassava crop has just been planted. All these
factors established a natural link between the frog
and the goddess, who was said to preside over both
the fertility of the soil and the fresh waters.GUABANCEX
The Taíno saw the Caribbean weather patterns as evidence
of the ascendancy of diferent deities. The rains were brought
by the god Boinayel (Son of the Grey Serpent), who was
heralded by the dark rain clouds across the sky. But he was
balanced by his brother Márohu, the god of the clear skies,
who ensured fair weather. Occasionally, this climatic
harmony was broken by the mighty anger of Guabancex,
the goddess of storms and bringer of hurricanes. She
shattered the calm and, when the deities Guatauva and
Coatrischie joined her, she was unstoppable.The goddess of hurricanes
Images of the goddess Guabancex show her limbs curving in
opposite directions. This pattern is seen as representing the
snaking path that a hurricane can take across the landscape.The angry goddess
The devastating winds caused by hurricanes were a
regular part of life in the Caribbean. Life for the islanders
was put on hold until the anger of Guabancex, the Lady
of the Winds, blew itself out.Mother goddess
The squatting position of Atabey is
similar to the pose adopted by women
during childbirth in many societies.
She was a symbol of maternity, and
her images were passed over pregnant
women to spare them misfortune.
ZEMI IMAGES
The images used in Taíno worship were known as the zemi;
they were seen not just as statuettes but as embodiments of the
gods. These images represented the whole range of deities, from
high gods such as Yúcahu, who were worshipped by everyone,
to family ancestors known only to their descendants. Often
arranged in a hierarchy, the zemi were used in many diferent
ways – in public ceremonies at sacred sites such as caves, and in
private worship at home, where they would be set on altars.
Devotees made oferings to the zemi
in the form of libations, sang songs in
their honour, and spoke to them in
prayer or supplication.Wooden statuette
It was sometimes said that the spirit
of a tree would “ask” devotees to
give it physical form by carving its
wood into a ritual statuette or zemi.Face of a spirit
Many of the zemi depict unknown
spirits. They probably represented
ancestors who formed an important
focus of worship for their families.145