The worship of the stones: a tradition present in Dominican culture

The worship of the stones: a tradition present in Dominican culture
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, September 25, 2012

Stones play an important role in Dominican culture. Together with the old Zemis (cemíesTaínos) they crossed the boundaries imposed by time and, in an almost imperceptible way, they are present in the daily life of Dominicans.

If you walked through the halls of the Conservatory, you would observe children and young people sitting on the chairs and on the floor, practicing their instruments, reviewing the musical scores and communicating in an atmosphere of joy and peace.

Jars, thunderstones, the collision of rocks in the river, and other forms of expression, are evidence that, despite the colonization, these Taínocultural traits are still present in our lives.

Prominent Anthropologist FatimaPortorrealmade such statement during her lecture: “pervivencia de la culturaindígena: el culto a laspiedras (survival of the indigenous culture: the worship of the stones)”, which she deliveredduring the second series of conferences that have been organized by the Museum of Dominican Man.

This space has been designed to promote fellowship between the general public who is interested in anthropology and our origins, with the experts in the field.

During each conference anthropologists, archaeologists, ethnologists and biologists who work as researchers for the museum and others who work independently, present the results of their research to all attendees, and they in turn can participate interactively by communicating their concerns to the researchers.

Portorreal, who is also a Professor, shared her ethnographic impressions from field work conducted in the villages of San Juan de la Maguana, Piedra Blanca, Ocoa, Nizao, and Maimón, among others.

The researcher stated that “in cultural anthropology, the common cause is dialogue, meetings and visits in order to build fictionalized stories that favor the episteme. Due to these types of memories Ethnography is interested in understanding the values and beliefs, the behavior patterns and cultural symbols.”