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Zemí Cohoba Stand (974–1020 CE),

Wood (Guaiacum sp.), Shell,

H. 27 x W. 8 5/8 x D. 9 1/8 in. (68.5 x 21.9 x 23.2cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

#art #sculpture #wood #shell #zemi cohoba #antiquity #history #caribean #collectors #taino peoples #political #spiritual #ceremony #cohoba #hallucinogenic #the metropolitan museum of art

Deity Figure (Zemí), 13th–15th century,

This zemí image created out of a fine-grained sandstone was likely used as a stand in ceremonies performed at prescribed times throughout the year involving a vegetal entheogen known as cohoba.

Sandstone,

H. 24 in. × W. 7 1/4 in. × D. 8 7/8 in. (61 × 18.4 × 22.5 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

#art #sculpture #deity #figure #zemi #cohoba #ceremonal #sandstone #entheogens #freaky #creepy #antique #the metropolitan museum of art #caribbean #history

Figure pestle (10th – 15th century, Dominican Republic). Made of stone, 17.1cm in height.

This pestle, featuring a zemí image, was probably used in cohoba ceremonies, which were performed at specific times throughout the year. A ground-up hallucinogenic powder or paste was placed on a surface, and ceremonial participants would grind the cohoba into a powder to be inhaled through snuff tubes.

For the Taíno people, creative sculptural expression was intertwined with spirituality, ceremony and political power. Zemí figures were used as stands, reliquaries, and for personal adornment.

#history #sculpture #drugs #taíno mythology #taíno sculpture #native americans #taíno #hispaniola #dominican republic #zemí #cohoba

Taíno sandstone zemí (1200s – 1400s, probably from the Dominican Republic). It is 68.6cm tall, 17.5cm wide, and 18.8cm deep.

A zemí is a spiritual object of concentrated power; it can affect its owner (positively or negatively) in the political or social sphere, or in matters of productivity and fertility. Zemís were kept in sacred areas, separate from their owners' houses. This zemí may have been used for inhaling cohoba, a hallucinogenic snuff used in rituals.

#history #sculpture #culinary history #taíno mythology #taíno sculpture #native americans #taíno #dominican republic #hispaniola #zemí #cohoba #drugs tw

Taíno cohoba spoon (1200 – 1500). It is 21cm long and made of bone.

Cohoba, used in shamanistic rituals, was a hallucinogenic snuff made from the beans of a Piptadenia tree species.

#history #culinary history #taíno mythology #native americans #taíno #cohoba

Wooden Taíno zemí (c. 1000, probably from the Dominican Republic). It is 68.5cm tall, 21.9cm wide, and 23.2cm deep.

These ritual objects were made of stone or wood. Some were personally owned and even given names, and on special occasions were dressed and fed. This zemí is a crouched, emaciated figure with a shallow bowl on its head, which was probably used for a hallucinogenic snuff called cohoba that was used in ceremonies. The snuff was placed into the bowl and inhaled through small tubes. Divination and curing rituals were among the occasions requiring these altered states of consciousness.