Cemi (Taino Spirit Being and Sacred Object)
Cemi (also spelled Zemi) refers to both the spirit beings in Taino mythology and the sacred objects that housed them. In Taino belief, the world was populated by countless zemis -- spirits that inhabited natural features (mountains, rivers, caves, trees) and could be invoked through carved stone, wood, shell, or bone objects. The most distinctive form of zemi is the three-pointed stone (trigonolito), usually carved from limestone or guayacan wood, representing the connection between the three layers of the Taino universe: the heavens (turei), the earth, and the watery underworld (coaybay). Maj