Guatauba, el Pregonero De GuaBanCex........Guatauba, Guabancex's Herald.

[Miguel Sague Jr]

La deidad femenina del panteon Taino llamada GuaBanCex fue descrita por el cronista Pane como la se~ora de las manifestaciones naturales mas destructoras del mundo antillano precolombino. Pane escribio que cuando se encolerizaba este cemi hembra, ella se presentaba en forma de las mas feroces tormentas.  Pane tambien explico que cuando GuaBanCex se manifestaba, ella siempre venia acompa~ada de dos cemies varones llamados uno Coatrisquie, y el otro Guatauba. Coatrisquie es el que controla las aguas que se derraman en forma catastrofica como las inundaciones, y destruyen todo lo que se encuentra por delante. Pane describio a Guatauba como un pregonero que anuncia la llegada de GuaBanCex.

 

Es Guatauba el objetivo del presente estudio. El erudito Jose Juan Arrom analizo la seccion de la cronica de Pane que trata con  Guatauba y llego a ciertas conclusiones con respecto al significado de su nombre basadas en sus estudios de lenguas indigenas de Sud America. Vease aqui una copia del analisis de Jose Juan Arrom.

The female deity of the Taino pantheon called GuaBanCex was described by the chronicler Pane as the lady of the most destructive natural manifestations of the pre-colombia Antillean world. Pane wrote that when this female cemi became enraged, she presented herself in the form of the most ferocious storms. Pane also explained that when GuaBanCex manifested, she always arrived accompanied by two other cemies who were male, called Coatrisquie and Guatauba. Coatrisquie is the one that controls the waters of torrential precipitation that fall in catastrophic form and flood the land. Pane described Guatauba as a herald who announced the arrival of GuaBanCex.

Guatauba is the object of this study. The scholar Jose Juan Arrom analyzed the section of Pane's chronicle that deals with Guatauba and he arrived a certain conclusions concerning the meaning of his name based on his studies of the languages of South American Indigenous people. See below a copy of Arrom's analysis.  

pagina 77 FRAY RAMON PANE RELACION ACERCA DE LAS ANTIGÜEDADES DE LOS INDIOS nueva versión con notas, mapa y apendices por Jose Juan Arrom
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SIGLO VEINTIUNO

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El analisis linguistico del nombre de Guatauba indica que ese cemi era el espiritu del trueno. En la tradicion del Circulo Caney nosotros identificamos a este cemi en forma de mayohuakanero, el que toca el tambor de tronco hueco llamado MAYOHUAKAN. Esa identificacion de Guatauba como el que toca un tambor es porque el sonido de un tambor puede asemejarse al sonido del trueno. Tambien se puede representar como el que toca el guamo (trompeta de caracol).

The linguistic analysis of Guatauba's name indicates that this cemi was the spirit of thunder. In the tradition of the Caney Circle we identify this cemi as a mayohuakaner, a player of the hollow trunk drum called MAYOHUAKAN. That identification of him as one who plays the  drum arises because the sound of the drum can feel like that of thunder. Hecan also be identified as the onethat plays the guamo (seashell trumpet).

Como Guatauba se identifica con el trueno es importante reconocer el vinculo entre este cemi y las tradiciones que se manifestan con respecto a las hachas petaloides llamadas "manayas". Hemos llegado a la conclusion que las manayas tainas ceremoniales fueron usadas por los antiguos tainos para los ritos de instalacion del kasike (jefe). Llegamos a esa conclusion por las semejanzas que existen entre la forma de las hachas tainas ceremoniales y las hachas ceremoniales mayas  que representaron al dios maya llamado Kawil, dios del trueno y el relampago. 

Existe evidencia concreta de conecciones entre el dios Kawil y el espiritu Jurakan de los mayas, echo que tiene significado con respecto a la cultura taina, en la cual existe conecciones entre el cemi del trueno, Guatauba y la manifestacion de GuaBanCexen forma de huracan (Jurakan).

Since Guatauba is identified with thunder it is important to recognize the link between  this cemi and the traditions that exist with respect to the petaloid hatchets called "manaya". We have arrived at the conclusion that the ceremonial Taino manayas were used by the ancient Tainos for their rites during the installation of the kasike (chief).   We arrived at that conclusion as a result of the connectiions that exist between the form of of the taino ceremonial hatchets and the Maya ceremonial hatchets that represent the Maya god Kawil, the thunder and lightning god.

There is concrete evidence of connections between the god Kawil and the Maya spirit Jurakan. This fact has significance in regards to Taino culture, in which there are connections between the thunder spirit, Guatauba, and the manifestation of GuaBanCex as a hurricane (Jurakan).  

Seneko Kakona

Miguel Sobaoko Koromo Sague  

 

 

 

 

[Jeffry Mucaro Blake Johnson]

Hahom! This is very interesting stuff indeed! I love how we can trace the connections of our people's through language: history of relations transferred beyond the extent of written records. Also, weren't our ancestors simply amazing to be able to note the movement of the stars without all the modern technology we have now? I think, perhaps, their "technology" of observation and acute attunement to nature was a deeper, if not higher form of technology than we have today. Thank you for the insights, brother!

[Miguel Sague Jr]

That's a great question brother! the jury is still out on who had the word first. There is some word and language analysis of the word jurakan (which is pronounced "Hoo-Rah-Kahn" and is the source of the modern word hurricane). The word was first heard by Europeans in the Caribbean from Tainos but this does not really mean anything because the Tainos were the first Indigenous people that the colonists met so any word, whether it was of Taino origin or nomt would have been heard there anyway. The linguistic analysis I am referring to could go either way, with a probable Taino origin that links the term "Hu" (possibly meaning breath or wind) and "Rakan" (possibly meaning strong or the motion of spinning forcefully around something that is centrally located) . On the other hand the Mayas had a word for their one-legged spinning whirlwind storm god who was associated with the thunder deity Kawil and that word was also Jurakan, or sometimes Jun-Rakan which probably meant "one leg". It is interesting to note that the Maya god Jun Rakan or Hun Rakan was also associated with the fact that the Big Dipper and Little Dipper constellations, accompanied by every other heavenly body appears to spin slowly around the North Star during the night.    The ancient Taino pictograph for a hurricane was almost identical to the modern meteorological symbol for those storms.  

[Jeffry Mucaro Blake Johnson]

Hahom d'atiao! Love this info! Was Jurakan the Taino name *and* the Maya name of the wind spirit?