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Taíno religion centered on the worship of zemís or cemís. Cemís are gods, spirits, or ancestors. The major Taíno gods are Yúcahu and Atabey. Yúcahu,[14] which means spirit of cassava, was the god of cassava (the Taínos main crop) and the sea. Atabey,[15] mother of Yúcahu, was the goddess of fresh waters and fertility.[12]

The minor Taíno gods related to growing of cassava, the process of life, creation and death. Baibrama was a minor god worshiped for his assistance in growing cassava and curing people from its poisonous juice. Boinayel and his twin brother Márohu were the gods of rain and fair weather respectively.[16] Guabancex was the goddess of storms (hurricanes). Juracán is often identified as the god of storms but juracán only means hurricane in the Taíno language. Guabancex had two assistants: Guataubá, a messenger who created hurricane winds, and Coatrisquie, who created floodwaters.[17] Maquetaurie Guayaba or Maketaori Guayaba was the god of Coaybay, the land of the dead. Opiyelguabirán', a dog-shaped god, watched over the dead. Deminán Caracaracol, a male cultural hero from which the Taíno believed to descend, was worshipped as a cemí.[16] Macocael was a cultural hero worshipped as a god who had failed to guard the mountain from which human beings arose and was punished by being turned into stone or a bird or reptile depending on how one interprets the myth. Rock petroglyph overlaid with chalk in the Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Center in Utuado, Puerto Rico.

Cemí was also the name of the physical representations of the gods. These representations came in many forms and materials and could be found in a variety of settings. The majority of cemís were crafted from wood but stone, bone, shell, pottery, and cotton were also used.[18] Cemí petroglyphs were carved on rocks in streams, ball courts, and on stalagmites in caves. Cemí pictographs were found on secular objects such as pottery, and on tattoos. Yucahú, the god of cassava, was represented with a three-pointed cemí which could be found in conucos to increase the yield of cassava. Wood and stone cemís have been found in caves in Hispaniola and Jamaica.[19] Cemís are sometimes represented by toads, turtles, snakes, and various abstract and human-like faces. Some of the carved cemís include a small table or tray which is believed to be a receptacle for hallucinogenic snuff called cohoba prepared from the beans of a species of Piptadenia tree. These trays have been found with ornately carved snuff tubes. Before certain ceremonies Taínos would purify themselves, either by inducing vomiting with a swallowing stick or by fasting.[20] After serving communal bread, first to the cemi, then to the cacique, and then to the common people, the village epic would be sung to the accompanyment of maraca and other instruments.

Taínos also employed body modification as an expression of their faith. The higher the piercing or tattoo on the body, the closer to their gods. Men usually wore decorative tattoos and the women usually had piercings.

One Taíno oral tradition explains that the sun and moon come out of caves. Another story tells of people who once lived in caves and only came out at night, because it was believed that the sun would transform them. The Taíno believed themselves descended from the union of Deminaán Caracaracol and a female turtle. The origin of the oceans is described in the story of a huge flood which occurred when a father murdered his son (who was about to murder the father), and then put his bones into a gourd or calabash. These bones then turned to fish and the gourd broke and all the water of the world came pouring out.

Taínos believed that the souls of the dead go to Coaybay, the underworld, and there they rest by day, and when night comes they assume the form of bats and eat the fruit "guayaba

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Q: How di the tainos worship?
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