Taíno Spirituality: Cemís, Behiques, and the Cohoba Ritual

The Taíno spiritual worldview was an intricate system connecting the natural, human, and supernatural realms through ceremonial practice, carved objects, and specialist practitioners. At its center were the cemís—carved figures made from stone, wood, bone, shell, or cotton that embodied ancestral spirits, nature deities, and supernatural forces. Cemís ranged from small personal amulets to large communal sculptures kept in special houses. The three-pointed stone cemí, found abundantly in Puerto Rico, represents one of the most iconic artifacts of pre-Columbian Caribbean civilization.

The Taíno recognized a cosmic order with Yúcahu (lord of cassava and the sea) and Atabey (mother of Yúcahu, goddess of fertility and fresh water) as principal deities. But spirituality was not centralized around a pantheon—rather, each community, family, and individual maintained relationships with specific cemís that held personal or communal significance. The cemís were not mere representations but were understood as living presences that required feeding, care, and communication.

The behique (also bohique) served as shaman, healer, historian, and spiritual intermediary. Behiques underwent rigorous training including extended fasting and purging rituals. They cured illness through a combination of medicinal plant knowledge and spiritual intervention, used tobacco smoke for purification, and conducted the cohoba ceremony—the most important Taíno ritual. In the cohoba ceremony, participants inhaled a hallucinogenic powder made from the seeds of the Anadenanthera peregrina tree through carved Y-shaped tubes. The visions induced by cohoba were understood as direct communication with cemís and ancestral spirits, providing guidance on warfare, agriculture, weather, and community decisions.

The Spanish systematically destroyed Taíno spiritual practices, smashing cemís, burning ceremonial houses, and persecuting behiques as agents of the devil. Friar Ramón Pané, tasked by Columbus with documenting Taíno beliefs, produced the only surviving first-hand account of their religion—'Relación acerca de las antigüedades de los indios' (1498)—while simultaneously working to eradicate the practices he recorded. Despite five centuries of suppression, elements of Taíno spirituality survive in Puerto Rican folk healing (curanderismo), the veneration of natural sites, and the continued cultural significance of cemí imagery.