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| Atabey | |
|---|---|
Mother of Waters, fresh water and fertility | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Atabey_pretroglyph_Illustration.png) Reproduction of petroglyph depicting Atabey | |
| Abode | The heavens |
| Symbol | Depicted as a nude woman, a therianthropic representation of Mother of Water |
| Genealogy | |
| Children | Yúcahu and Guacar (twins),Yayael |
Atabey is an ancestral mother of the Taíno, one of two supreme ancestral spirits in Taíno mythology. She was worshipped as a zemi, which is an embodiment of nature and ancestral spirit, (not to be confused with a goddess, how she is commonly referred to in colonial terms to replace Taíno verbiage and culture) of fresh water and fertility;[1] she is the female entity who represents the Spirit of all horizontal water, lakes, streams, the sea, and the marine tides.[2] This spirit was one of the most important for the native tribes that inhabited the Caribbean islands of the Antilles, mostly in Puerto Rico (Borikén), Hispaniola, and Cuba.[3]
Atabey or Atabeira defines prime matter and all that is tangible or material and has several manifestations. One is the aforementioned nurturing maternal figure. Another is Caguana: the spirit of love. The last is Guabancex (also known as Gua Ban Ceh): the violent, Wild Mother of storms, volcanoes, and earthquakes.
Alternate names for Atabey are Iermaoakar, Apito, and Sumaiko. Taíno women prayed to Atabey to ensure safe childbirth.[4]
- ^ Rouse, Irving (1993). The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus (New ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300056969.
- ^ Lamarche, Sebastian Robiou (1992). Encuentros con la Mitologia Taina. University of Texas: Editorial Punto y Coma.
- ^ Monaghan, Patricia. "Atabey". Llewellyn. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ Arrom, Jose J. (1989). Mitologia y artes prehispanicas de las Antillas. Mexico City: Siglo Veintiuno Editores.