The Mythology and Religion of the Tainos

The Mythology and Religion of the Tainos is an analysis and summary of the beliefs and rituals of the Taino people, who were the predominant culture in the Greater Antilles, or “West Indies,” at the moment of the Europeans’ arrival. In this fascinating book, text and image join to provide both the general public and the scholar an essential work in the bibliography of the indigenous people of the Antilles.At the moment of Contact, the Tainos’ mythical time, with its periods of creation, the obtention of cultural assets, and the establishment of the structure and norms of society, was interlinked with historical time. Their powerful, sacred cemies preserved the spirits of the deities and other mythical figures of the past, allowing the Tainos to maintain contact with the time of the origins. When, during the ritual of the cohoba, the cacique, or chief, communicated with those higher beings, he became the mediator between the deities and society. Thus, the power that legitimized the Taino religion and social order was made visible in the triad cemies-cohoba-cacique. Sebastian Robiou Lamarche, whose previous books include Encuentro con la mitologia taina (1992), Tainos y Caribes: las culturas aborigenes antillanas (2003), Mitologia y religion de los Tainos (2016) and Tainos and Caribs (2019), has a doctorate in history from the Center for Advanced Studies of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean (San Juan, P.R.).Andrew Hurley is the translator of a wide range of literary and academic works, including the collected fictions of Jorge Luis Borges, the selected prose writings of Ruben Dario, and Reinaldo Arenas’ Pentagonia novels.