The Gender History of Puerto Rico, Before Colonization

It is hard to pin down documentation of our norms and values before the entrance of Spanish Colonization and the introduction of the use of Spanish as a dominant language and Catholic norms (including the gender binary) to mold society, but…there is enough known about gender politics to help with our fight when it comes to a greater understanding of autonomy/human rights and its history. Before the arrival of colonization, our roles were very slightly impacted by gender, unlike how the patriarchy now slices the world and its rules with a strict binary line.

So, what was it like on the island before the Spaniards (considered Guamikinas, the European “covered people”) destroyed everything? Here’s what I’ve found (and of course, if you have any edits or information that you don’t see down here, do let me know):

Doing my best to make this make sense in modern terms here, using The Taino Dictionary as a guide: There was I’ro (man), I’naru’ (woman). According to the University of Florida, “Women seem to have participated at all levels in the political hierarchy, both wielding power and accumulating wealth. There were few social or economic activities that were assigned to only either men or only women. For example, constructing the conucos (raised mounds for farming, you could also call farmers by this word) was done by men, and preparing the manioc (principal crop) was done by women, but both genders tilled, planted and harvested the fields.”. A helpful look at the perception of women also lies in the native tale of the women who went with Guarocuya (a badass native who fought back against Spaniards with the initiative to reclaim as much as physically possible, including land and a native population not altered by colonizer genes…god I wish I was this guy) to the island of Matinino (which I believe is now modern-day Martinique), a considered ‘motherhood initiative’ in pushback to colonization (which involved the raping of our people). From the perspectives of many a native, the story represents one of the ‘cycles of creation in which society was reorganized (there are astronomical dimensions to this narrative, such as the rise and setting of Venus and the moon-life cycles)' they also represent to some the emergence of "women" warrior castes, whose roles were to stabilize Taino society by the fact that they patrolled the margins and ensured that survival was not just tied to pro-creation (as in the judeo-christian model) but also sovereignty and self-sustenance.

But wait…there’s more!!

There’s me, more specifically (and importantly). The maorocoti (more recently known as Yamoká-hu) - that which is neither…and both. These two-spirits were held in high regard in our tribes, and were thought to possess special insights due to their duality.

The maorocoti, or the Yucáhuguama Bagua Maórocoti (among other namings), is represented within the deities and zemis (gods) by The three-pointed Cemi, a fundamental symbol in Taino religion, the divine connection between the sky, the earth and the waters, as well as the differently gendered possibilities. It is the masculine spirit of fertility in Taino Mythology. It appears as a triangular symbol with three points collectively called “Yocahu Bagua Moarocoti,” words that come together to symbolize the Creator: with Yocahu/Yúcahu meaning spirit or giver of cassava, Bagua being interpreted both as the sea itself as well as potentially meaning "the master of the sea", and Maorocoti meaning there is no male intervention in it's conception. The three points on the Cemi, Yocahu, Bagua, and Moarocoti, represent: the turey (sky…where Yaya, the Creator whose name means that which has neither beginning nor end and which has no male ancestor or creator), Coabey (the underworld, where Hupia - the spirits of the dead - reside. The face of Guayabe, the Chief of Coabey is represented here), and the land of the living, where Goiz (the spirit of the living people) resides.

The influence of judeo-christianity on our island led to the criminalization of polyamory, sodomy and imposed the Eurocentric, cis-hetero judeo-christian ideas of "man" "woman" and “monogamy” (typical for the same people that considered pink the color for jesus/man, as Peggy Orenstein has written, originally, “pink was considered the more masculine hue, a pastel version of red. Blue, with its intimations of the Virgin Mary” taken from the 2006 NYT piece ‘What’s Wrong With Cinderella?’. Just go ahead and assign everything a gender and a purity rank, why don’t you…Christians.). "Those who did not conform were persecuted: fed to dogs, had their genitals mutilated or their wives and/or husbands raped and kidnapped. These acts have been documented in the chronicles of the Frays and Padres who were there at the onset of Christian Spanish governance."

There are other takes on this more recently, like this Afro-Taino Tumblr user I stumbled upon that made some interesting points in a post called People Are Too Rigid With Zemis that both contradicts and supports my historical and current research and findings on all of this:

"Zemis, otherwise known as Cemis, are beings my taino ancestors worshiped. Small idols were normally made to represent them, which a tribe shaman (behique; note: we had medicine women [bohutio] as well) would present an offering to the Zemi'no/Cemi'no after we cleansed ourselves with vomiting sticks. We would often offer cassava bread, which the colonizers labeled as "communion" referencing the catholic faith.

With colonization, we taino were disconnected from our culture, and when people reconnect, they immediately jump into it by following all the "Correct" (as in, historically standing) Zemi depicted in information by white anglo saxon historians.

No.

I don't have a problem if you feel most comfortable working with Yurabey, her children, etc, but you are forgetting what a Zemi/Cemi is and disrespecting them by doing that.

Zemi/Cemi are not gods in the western sense, considering them as such is disrespectful. They're most similar to Shinto Kami, if you need a comparison.

Amatsukami are Kami who are divine beings. Atabey is most similar to a Amatsukami due to being the divine mother of our people. Although Kami and Zemi/Cemi are not the same, they are similar in the regard that these divine beings are NOT gods (in the western sense). This is the only thing Wikipedia got right: Atabey is NOT a goddess.

Kunitsukami are Kami who are earthly beings. The Great Spirit is most similar to Kunitsukami. That's right, we had a Great Spirit too. They're the spirit of the very land we stand on, and each tribe might have a different Zemi/Cemi to represent them because we all lived on different land.

Chiefs (cacique), ancestral spirits, etc are most similar to Ancestral Kami. We worship them as Zemi despite the fact they are normal, human beings and not "gods." Why? Because we don't believe in divinity the white way.

You want to know something mind-blowing? If you're intersex/trans, you're a Zemi/Cemi. That's right, you, who is living, breathing, and reading this right now are divine. Why? Because our Two-Spirits WERE Zemi'no/Cemi'no because we believed they had the same divine gender as our gods (not in the WASP sense).

The Zemi'no and Cemi'no are any beings that are spiritual in some shape in form. The tree in your yard—their spirit is a Zemi/Cemi. The ground under your feet, the spirit of your state or province? They're a Great Spirit and Zemi/Cemi. The spirit of the crow who visits your porch? They're a Zemi/Cemi.

You are not limited the Zemi'no/Cemi'no historians recorded. We believed that all spirits could become Zemi'no/Cemi'no, and by believing you can only follow those the colonists bothered to write down you are letting the beautiful traditions of our culture die.

I know you feel uncomfortable making new things out of our ancestral practice, but it's not rigid tradition. Our ancestral practice was constantly expanding. Carve your own Zemi/Cemi, worship your abuelita, speak to the land. You are beautiful, and you are Taino."

There is also an INCREDIBLE READ, Complex trauma and colonial systems from a Two-Spirit perspective, that does a wonderful job at illuminating how things are still in the works as we also continue finding ourselves and the right words to define ourselves:

"According to Taino Library, we as Taíno people are still in the process of redefining what Two-Spirit means for us because much of our culture was erased and/or hindered by colonisation. The power of Two-Spirit peoples, compounded by the fact that gender roles in Taíno culture were relatively non-exclusive, was a threat to the first colonisers who arrived in the Caribbean. The church did everything in their power to eradicate us. We have relied on oral traditions that have been passed down from our Elders, as well as looking to other Indigenous cultures who may have had less of their culture stripped away from them for guidance. Through language reconstruction, the current term used to describe Two-Spirit Taíno people in the yukayeke (similar to, but different than a “tribe”) I belong to, Higuayagua, is “Biawaisa.” 

 

The term Two-Spirit or Biawaisa is not meant to be interchangeable with being LGBTQIA+, though many members of the community also identify with being LGBTQIA+. Our ability to take on the traditional roles of multiple genders make us sacred and respected members of our communities. Because of the spiritual nature of our identity, Biawaisa are often, but not always, assigned roles as healers. We have also been assigned roles as namegivers, matchmakers, war chiefs, and more. 

At this point in time, a lot of humanity knows none of this information. I didn't know for a long time, and my people on the island haven't known for longer due to how the United States has shaped the education system down there since they took over and decided erasure of indigenous culture was a part of their plan: said best by this quote from 1899 by President of the Board of Education established in Puerto Rico by the United States Victor S. Clark, found in The University of Puerto Rico – Colonialism and the Language of Teaching and Learning,

"If the schools are made Americans [sic] and the teachers and pupils are inspired with the American spirit . . ., the island will become in its sympathies, views and attitude toward life and toward government essentially American. The great mass of Puerto Ricans are as yet passive and plastic . . . Their ideals are in our hands to create and mold. We shall be responsible for the work when it is done, and it is our solemn duty to consider carefully and thoughtfully to-day [sic] the character we wish to give the finished product of our influence and effort."

In the words of Daniel Saynt in a review of the book Queer Indigenous Studies: Critical Interventions in Theory, Politics, and Literature, “if you're Taino and acknowledge that you are a they/them aka a dual-spirit, you are not only keeping our traditions alive, you've got superpowers.”

Whoever you are out there: stay safe, and respect your neighbor. Because the "finished product" Puerto Rico that America created, and the world that believed them, don't want you alive, or happy.