Ancient Taíno Effigy Artifact

3D Model

This is a 3D scan of a Taíno effigy artifact from the ancient indigenous Taíno culture. Effigies were used in various ways. Some were worn as pendants, others were placed in ceremonial spaces, and some were used in healing rituals or buried in agricultural plots to promote fertility.

This figure, known as a zemí (or cemí), shows someone who has likely fasted for days in preparation for a ritual, which involved snuffing cohoba (a type of hallucinogen). Ingesting such substances would allow the participants, typically spiritual healers or caciques (rulers), to travel to the world of the spirits and communicate with them, bringing power and healing knowledge back to their people. While many zemís, were used as cohoba stands, the word “zemí” in the Taíno language refers to “a spiritual and vital force pertaining to deities and ancestors,” meaning that zemís were also imbued with spiritual, ancestral, and supernatural forces.