Amantina Healer, caretaker of the sacred Anacaona stone (on which she is seated). Devotees to Anaca- ona travel from as far as Haiti and the eastern side of the Dominican Republic to leave her offerings of tabacco, casabe, water and stone.
Indeed, one of the benchmarks of Agua
Dulce is that even when it is practiced in syncretism, the Indian portion insists on be- ing set apart. If one is lucky enough to meet someone practicing solely Indian devotion – which also means devotion to land, native spirits and the old Indian gods and histori- cal figures – they will readily explain that the Indian refuses to share space with the other two customs as these work with blood and metal. One important factor is that all Agua Dulce altars contain certain elements, the most important of which are tobacco, casabe, water and stone. During the 1920s and ’30s, many skir-
mishes took place in this region between campesinos (rural people) and the rich land barons, most of whom had “elite status,” meaning of Spanish descent. They followed the racist views of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo (Dominican President/Dictator from 1930- 1961), who declared that Haitians and their “evil” voodoo religion had infiltrated the border towns of the island. Thus all beliefs from this area were deemed African, Black, Haitian – and evil. Add the extinction model to this brainwashing and it is no wonder why few, if any, historians have ever researched
the Indigenous Taíno beliefs that persist in the area. In the complicated racial politics of the Dominican Republic, Dominicans often use indio as a preferred label over black, and to differentiate themselves from Haitians. All of this while actual Indian descent people and Indian customs continue to be ignored and submerged under the extinction model. As I looked across the valley of San Juan
de la Maguana, I was reminded of a quote by Jan Lundius, a religious historian from Sweden who has studied Maguana, its people and their religions for many years. He writes: “I wish to indicate that many inhabitants of the island of Hispaniola find themselves within an entirely different universe than the one I am used to, and it is often through their way of telling stories that they are able to slightly open up the door to that amazing world. Myths, legends and rituals animate their world, and if you are fortunate enough, you may catch a glimpse of how that ‘other’ world might appear.” With the exhibition, Taíno: Native Heri-
tage and Identity in the Caribbean, now open at the Museum in New York, and with the advent of the latest ancient DNA sequencing studies – which conclusively demonstrate
that Native DNA is not only present but abounds in the Caribbean and is of Taíno extraction – perhaps in-depth research will finally be conducted throughout the Carib- bean region. Our complete Taíno story is yet to be
written, but I’ve had my own numerous, fascinating, glimpses of it. And my back pain never returned.X
Sadly on June 13, 2018, Doña Yoya crossed over. Like Yoya there are many healers on the island, most of them in their 80s or 90s. In 10 years they will leave us, taking with them their healing traditions, customs and stories. Their stories must be recorded. It is for this reason I am leaving the job I love at the NMAI to return to my homeland and begin just that.
Jorge Baracutei Estevez (Taíno) is from Jaibon, a small town in the Cibao region of the Dominican Republic. He has worked in the NMAI education department for 24 years. In addition, he is Cacike of Higuayagua, a Pan Caribbean Taíno cultural organization.
Dr. Lynne Guitar contributed to this article. Dr. Guitar is an historian and cultural anthropologist who has researched and written about the Taíno for the past 30 years, 20 of which were spent working in the Dominican Republic. She has published 11 books and contributed to many others, and has been featured in more than a dozen documentaries, including the BBC, History Channel and Discovery Channel.
1 Jan Lundius, The great power of God in San Juan Valley:
Syncretism and messianism in the Dominican Republic, 1995. 2
Compiled by an international team of researchers, the study findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), February 2018.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 27
PHOTO COURTESY OF JESSIE MARRERO
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