Bernardo Vega tells how he located the Taino icon at the University of Turin

[Dolores]

Historian Bernardo Vega has detailed the fascinating journey of a rare Taino cotton icon (cemi) that has survived since the 14th and 15th centuries and is set to be exhibited at the Museum of Dominican Man for six months next year. The artifact, currently housed at the University of Turin Museum, is the only one of its kind in the world.

Vega told Noticias SIN that the icon had made its way to Italy a long time ago but was misplaced as part of a collection of Peruvian artifacts.

Vega first stumbled upon a photograph of the cemi while conducting research at the British Museum in London. Intrigued by the image, he embarked on a years-long quest to track down the artifact’s whereabouts.

“In the late 19th Century, during the presidency of Ulises Heureaux, a cotton cemi containing a human skull was discovered in the Bahoruco Peninsula,” Vega told Noticias SIN. He noted that...

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[AlterEgo]

Interesting, but I had to google what a cemi is. In case you’re like me:

Taíno term
A cemí or zemi is a term used by the Taíno people to describe a spiritual force associated with deities and ancestors. Cemís were also sculptural objects that housed the spirits of deities or ancestors. The Taíno believed in many deities and the afterlife, and used cemís to maintain contact with the spirit world. Cemís were often made from materials that affected the style of the finished product, such as sandstone or wood.