#Zemi'no

[cryptidsmagick]

People Are Too Rigid With Zemis

Zemis, otherwise known as Cemis, are beings my taino ancestors worshiped. Small idols were normally made to represent them, which a tribe shaman (behique; note: we had medicine women [bohutio] as well) would present an offering to the Zemi'no/Cemi'no after we cleansed ourselves with vomiting sticks. We would often offer cassava bread, which the colonizers labeled as "communion" referencing the catholic faith.

With colonization, we taino were disconnected from our culture, and when people reconnect, they immediately jump into it by following all the "Correct" (as in, historically standing) Zemi depicted in information by white anglo saxon historians.

No.

I don't have a problem if you feel most comfortable working with Yurabey, her children, etc, but you are forgetting what a Zemi/Cemi is and disrespecting them by doing that.

Zemi/Cemi are not gods in the western sense, considering them as such is disrespectful. They're most similar to Shinto Kami, if you need a comparison.

Amatsukami are Kami who are divine beings. Atabey is most similar to a Amatsukami due to being the divine mother of our people. Although Kami and Zemi/Cemi are not the same, they are similar in the regard that these divine beings are NOT gods (in the western sense). This is the only thing Wikipedia got right: Atabey is NOT a goddess.

Kunitsukami are Kami who are earthly beings. The Great Spirit is most similar to Kunitsukami. That's right, we had a Great Spirit too. They're the spirit of the very land we stand on, and each tribe might have a different Zemi/Cemi to represent them because we all lived on different land.

Chiefs (cacique), ancestral spirits, etc are most similar to Ancestral Kami. We worship them as Zemi despite the fact they are normal, human beings and not "gods." Why? Because we don't believe in divinity the white way.

You want to know something mind-blowing? If you're intersex/trans, you're a Zemi/Cemi. That's right, you, who is living, breathing, and reading this right now are divine. Why? Because our Two-Spirits WERE Zemi'no/Cemi'no because we believed they had the same divine gender as our gods (not in the WASP sense).

The Zemi'no and Cemi'no are any beings that are spiritual in some shape in form. The tree in your yard—their spirit is a Zemi/Cemi. The ground under your feet, the spirit of your state or province? They're a Great Spirit and Zemi/Cemi. The spirit of the crow who visits your porch? They're a Zemi/Cemi.

You are not limited the Zemi'no/Cemi'no historians recorded. We believed that all spirits could become Zemi'no/Cemi'no, and by believing you can only follow those the colonists bothered to write down you are letting the beautiful traditions of our culture die.

I know you feel uncomfortable making new things out of our ancestral practice, but it's not rigid tradition. Our ancestral practice was constantly expanding. Carve your own Zemi/Cemi, worship your abuelita, speak to the land. You are beautiful, and you are Taino.