Caciques and Cemi Idols: The Web Spun by Taino Rulers Between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico Oliver Jos R.

Specifikacia Caciques and Cemi Idols: The Web Spun by Taino Rulers Between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico Oliver Jos R.

Cemis are both portable artifacts and embodiments of persons or spirit, which the Tainos 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 cemi power, specifically within the Taino inter-island cultural sphere encompassing Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. The relationships address the important questions of identity and personhood of the cemi icons and their human "owners" and the implications of cemi gift-giving and gift-taking that sustains a complex web of relationships between caciques (chiefs) of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. Oliver provides a careful analysis of the four major forms of cemis--three-pointed stones, large stone heads, stone collars, and elbow stones--as well as face masks, which provide