Includes bibliographical references (pages [257]-279) and index.
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.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.