HOME | DD

Description
This deviation can be found at my Etsy shop, here: etsy.me/3LfAZi0

I have long been fascinated by phenomena like hurricanes and, since studying anthropology, I am now just as curious about how Indigenous cultures have regarded such phenomena. The Taíno (Island Arawak of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, among other places) ascribe hurricanes (and general chaos) to the goddess Guabancex.

According to Taíno lore, her zemi was entrusted to the ruler of a mystical land, Aumatex. This granted her the title of "Cacique ("Chieftain") of the Wind", but it also imposed the responsibility of repeatedly appeasing Guabancex throughout her long reign. Additionally, because of the importance of the wind for travel between island and the need of good weather imperative for a successful crop, other caciques would offer her part of their food during the cohoba ceremony. However, given Guabancex's volatile temper, these efforts often did not appease her for long; when displeased, she would leave her domain enraged and with the intent of bringing destruction to all in her path, releasing her storms (or, rather, her juracánes).
She would begin by interrupting the balance established by Boinayel and Marohu, the deities of rain and drought. By rotating her arms in a spiral, Guabancex would lift the water from the ocean and land, placing it under the command of Coatrisquie, the goddess of torrential rain, who violently forced it back over the Taíno settlements destroying their villages and crops. Guabancex would threaten the other gods in an attempt to have them join her chaos. Guataubá, the god of lightning and thunder, heralded her eventual arrival.
The easternmost of the Greater Antilles Islands, Puerto Rico is often in the path of the North Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes and its eastern coast generally the most vulnerable. The Taíno believed that upon reaching the rainforest peak of El Yunque , (known to the Taíno as Yukiyu), the likely home of the supreme deity Yúcahu , the brother of Guabancex, she and her cohorts would clash with him.

This depiction of Guabancex is based on the Taíno depictions of her zemi (divinity) icon, which portray her with a furious face and her arms extended in a tilda ("˜") pattern, which is the symbol for hurricanes. The landscape is based on the view toward the sea from El Yunque.

I would have waited until at least June (the beginning of hurricane season) to post this, but with the onrush of storms where I live and the #climatechange crisis that serves to intensify (if not increase) storm activity, I see no reason why I should not post it.

Description
This deviation can be found at my Etsy shop, here: etsy.me/3LfAZi0

I have long been fascinated by phenomena like hurricanes and, since studying anthropology, I am now just as curious about how Indigenous cultures have regarded such phenomena. The Taíno (Island Arawak of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, among other places) ascribe hurricanes (and general chaos) to the goddess Guabancex.

According to Taíno lore, her zemi was entrusted to the ruler of a mystical land, Aumatex. This granted her the title of "Cacique ("Chieftain") of the Wind", but it also imposed the responsibility of repeatedly appeasing Guabancex throughout her long reign. Additionally, because of the importance of the wind for travel between island and the need of good weather imperative for a successful crop, other caciques would offer her part of their food during the cohoba ceremony. However, given Guabancex's volatile temper, these efforts often did not appease her for long; when displeased, she would leave her domain enraged and with the intent of bringing destruction to all in her path, releasing her storms (or, rather, her juracánes).
She would begin by interrupting the balance established by Boinayel and Marohu, the deities of rain and drought. By rotating her arms in a spiral, Guabancex would lift the water from the ocean and land, placing it under the command of Coatrisquie, the goddess of torrential rain, who violently forced it back over the Taíno settlements destroying their villages and crops. Guabancex would threaten the other gods in an attempt to have them join her chaos. Guataubá, the god of lightning and thunder, heralded her eventual arrival.
The easternmost of the Greater Antilles Islands, Puerto Rico is often in the path of the North Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes and its eastern coast generally the most vulnerable. The Taíno believed that upon reaching the rainforest peak of El Yunque , (known to the Taíno as Yukiyu), the likely home of the supreme deity Yúcahu , the brother of Guabancex, she and her cohorts would clash with him.

This depiction of Guabancex is based on the Taíno depictions of her zemi (divinity) icon, which portray her with a furious face and her arms extended in a tilda ("˜") pattern, which is the symbol for hurricanes. The landscape is based on the view toward the sea from El Yunque.

I would have waited until at least June (the beginning of hurricane season) to post this, but with the onrush of storms where I live and the #climatechange crisis that serves to intensify (if not increase) storm activity, I see no reason why I should not post it.