﻿496 
  ANNUAL 
  REPOET 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  192 
  9 
  

  

  of 
  worked 
  conch 
  shell 
  occur 
  in 
  much 
  the 
  same 
  manner 
  as 
  found 
  in 
  

  

  middens 
  in 
  Curagao 
  and 
  other 
  islands 
  off 
  the 
  Venezuelan 
  coast. 
  

  

  Many 
  of 
  these 
  discoidal 
  objects 
  of 
  worked 
  shell 
  are 
  unperf 
  orated, 
  

  

  others 
  show 
  a 
  bilateral 
  drilling. 
  Zoomorphic 
  figurines 
  are 
  cut 
  in 
  

  

  intaglio 
  from 
  the 
  solid, 
  cameo-fashion, 
  like 
  the 
  discoidal 
  shell 
  gorgets 
  

  

  of 
  Tennessee 
  and 
  other 
  southeastern 
  States. 
  The 
  carved 
  figure 
  of 
  

  

  the 
  frog 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  turtle 
  frequently 
  occurs 
  as 
  an 
  excellent 
  example 
  of 
  

  

  aboriginal 
  art 
  in 
  shell. 
  

  

  ZEMIS 
  

  

  Swallowing 
  sticks 
  of 
  bone 
  or 
  shell 
  are 
  an 
  adjunct 
  to 
  the 
  religious 
  

   ceremonialism 
  of 
  the 
  Arawak 
  of 
  Porto 
  Rico 
  and 
  of 
  Haiti. 
  An 
  example 
  

   of 
  this 
  form 
  of 
  religious 
  art 
  is 
  the 
  worked 
  section 
  of 
  a 
  manatee 
  rib 
  

   which 
  has 
  been 
  shaped 
  somewhat 
  like 
  a 
  spoon 
  handle 
  with 
  flat, 
  plain 
  

   surfaces 
  tapered 
  to 
  a 
  truncated 
  end 
  section 
  but 
  surmounted 
  at 
  the 
  

   thick 
  end 
  with 
  the 
  carved 
  anthropomorphic 
  figurine 
  of 
  an 
  aboriginal 
  

   god. 
  

  

  A 
  form 
  of 
  zemi 
  common 
  to 
  the 
  Greater 
  Antilles 
  is 
  a 
  zoomorphic 
  

   figurine 
  carved 
  from 
  the 
  shell 
  of 
  a 
  conch 
  and 
  fashioned 
  without 
  arms, 
  

   while 
  legs 
  are 
  represented 
  as 
  flexed 
  under 
  an 
  erect 
  body. 
  A 
  marked 
  

   triangular 
  elevation 
  with 
  deeply 
  incised 
  borders 
  appears 
  at 
  the 
  

   lower 
  abdominal 
  section. 
  The 
  head 
  is 
  devoid 
  of 
  representations 
  of 
  

   facial 
  features, 
  except 
  for 
  the 
  prominent 
  snout 
  region, 
  and 
  a 
  high 
  

   protruberance 
  at 
  the 
  back 
  of 
  the 
  head. 
  A 
  deeply 
  incised 
  groove 
  

   separates 
  the 
  leg 
  sections 
  from 
  one 
  another 
  and 
  from 
  the 
  triangular 
  

   abdominal 
  projection 
  or 
  apron. 
  This 
  form 
  of 
  zemi 
  is 
  representative 
  

   of 
  the 
  archaic 
  and 
  is 
  protean 
  in 
  design. 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  smaller 
  zemis, 
  

   whether 
  fashioned 
  from 
  shell, 
  bone, 
  wood, 
  or 
  stone, 
  have 
  two 
  bicon- 
  

   ical 
  perforations 
  at 
  the 
  back 
  of 
  the 
  head 
  for 
  suspension. 
  

  

  The 
  amuletic 
  zemis 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  for 
  the 
  most 
  part 
  of 
  stone, 
  

   in 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  small 
  anthropomorphic 
  figures. 
  They 
  conform 
  in 
  

   detail 
  to 
  the 
  general 
  features 
  of 
  the 
  corresponding 
  type 
  of 
  zemi 
  fash- 
  

   ioned 
  from 
  shell. 
  

  

  Aside 
  from 
  personally 
  owned 
  totemic 
  creations 
  of 
  zemis, 
  there 
  were 
  

   communal 
  gods, 
  the 
  property 
  of 
  the 
  village. 
  These 
  were 
  kept 
  in 
  the 
  

   house 
  belonging 
  to 
  the 
  village 
  cacique, 
  built 
  a 
  little 
  distance 
  from 
  the 
  

   rest 
  of 
  the 
  settlement. 
  Here, 
  too, 
  was 
  an 
  artistically 
  carved 
  wooden 
  

   table 
  made 
  "like 
  a 
  dish" 
  on 
  which 
  was 
  the 
  powdered 
  tobacco 
  later 
  to 
  

   be 
  laid 
  on 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  the 
  village 
  zemi. 
  The 
  carved 
  cave 
  stalagmites 
  

   representing 
  zemis 
  were 
  the 
  center 
  of 
  ceremonies 
  associated 
  with 
  the 
  

   religious 
  life 
  of 
  the 
  village. 
  

  

  Not 
  all 
  ceremonies 
  connected 
  with 
  native 
  religion 
  were 
  held 
  in 
  

   caves 
  as 
  the 
  following 
  description 
  will 
  show. 
  Ramon 
  Pane 
  describes 
  

   a 
  religious 
  ceremony 
  associated 
  with 
  agriculture 
  and 
  fertility 
  rites 
  

   somewhat 
  as 
  follows. 
  The 
  cacique 
  appointed 
  a 
  day 
  for 
  the 
  celebra- 
  

   tion 
  and 
  announced 
  it 
  through 
  his 
  messengers. 
  The 
  people 
  assembled 
  

  

  