Introduction
Believers of Cemíism : who were the Taínos and where did they come from?
Webs of interaction : human beings, other beings, and many things
Personhood and the animistic Amerindian perspective
Contrasting animistic and naturalistic worldviews
The Cemí reveals its personhood and its body form
Cemí idols and Taínoan idolatry
Cemís and personal identities
The power and potency of the Cemís
The display of Cemís : personal vs. communal ownership, private vs. public function
Face-to-face interactions : Cemís, idols, and the native political elite
Hanging on to and losing the power of the Cemí idols
The inheritance and reciprocal exchange of Cemí icons
Cemís : alienable or inalienable; to give and to keep
Stone collars, elbow stones, and caciques
Ancestor Cemís and the Cemíification of the caciques
The guaíza face masks : gifts of the living for the living
The circulation of chief's names, women, and Cemís : between the greater and lesser Antilles
Up in arms : Taíno freedom fighters in Higüey and Boriquén
The virgin Mary icons and native Cemís : two cases of religious syncretism in Cuba
Religious syncretism and transculturation : the crossroads toward new identities
Final remarks.