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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 of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola

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 âeoeownersâe and the implications of cemí 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 cemísâe"three-pointed stones, large stone heads, stone collars, and elbow stonesâe"as well as face masks, which provide an interesting contrast to the stone heads. He finds evidence for his interpretation of human and cemí interactions from a critical review of 16th-century Spanish ethnohistoric documents, especially the Relación Acerca de las Antigüedades de los Indios written by Friar Ramón Pané in 1497âe"1498 under orders from Christopher Columbus. Buttressed by examples of native resistance and syncretism, the volume discusses the iconoclastic conflicts and the relationship between the icons and the human beings. Focusing on this and on the various contexts in which the relationships were enacted, Oliver reveals how the cemís were central to the exercise of native political power. Such cemís were considered a direct threat to the hegemony of the Spanish conquerors, as these potent objects were seen as allies in the native resistance to the onslaught of Christendom with its icons of saints and virgins.

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CHOICE Review

Oliver (Univ. College London) offers an elegant, comprehensive theory of interactions between caciques (Taino political leaders) and cemis (Taino religious objects). Cemis were embodiments of powerful personages and spirits that were widely distributed between 1000 and 1550 CE in mostly Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, but also in the Bahamas, Cuba, and the Lesser Antilles. Chapter 1 usefully summarizes and critiques prior anthropological research on Taino cemis, correctly noting that "Taino" never referred to a single ethnic entity, but to a range of relationships existing between individuals and groups. Oliver suggests that "Tainoness" and cemiism transcend Western notions of personhood and could best be grasped whenever cemis and humans directly engaged one another as agents and/or patients. The author is very much indebted to theories by British anthropologists addressing personhood and value (Chris Fowler), religious syncretism, and iconography (Tim Insoll). Chapter 20--"The Virgin Mary Icons and Native Cemis"--is outstanding. Carefully and logically presented, Oliver's dense prose and style of argumentation may not be accessible to readers unfamiliar with recent trends in British social anthropology. Nevertheless, this is an important book. Quoting series editor Samuel M. Wilson on the back cover, this reviewer concurs that this is "the best volume written on the subject to date." Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. S. D. Glazier University of Nebraska--Lincoln

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José R. Oliver is Lecturer at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London.