Two objects for the price of one this episode! We talk with Dr. Jorge Ulloa about two figurines from Avilla (Holguín Cuba). They were found exactly one year apart in the same cave by the same man, Alejandro Reyes Atencio, after his mother. One is called Taguabo, the other Maicabo. Want to find out why these objects that look so different still belong together? Want to know more about some of Cuba’s syncretic religious traditions and how Amerindian objects figure into this? Want to find out how you can make it rain or shine on command? Listen to this episode of A History of the Caribbean in 100 Objects!
To look at while you listen to us:
The stone Maicabo (Photo courtesy of Jorge Ulloa)
The wooden Taguabo (Photo courtesy of Jorge Ulloa)
The Virgin de la Caridad de Cobre (Wikipedia)
Jamaican Standing Man (Photo: British Museum).
Further information:
- Jorge Ulloa’s Academia.edu page, with lots of papers on the archaeology of the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
- A discussion on Amerindian rain and sun gods in the writings of Pané (in Spanish).
- A book on the mythological beings of Cuba, including a discussion of our two friends.
- An article on Taguabo and Maicabo by José Manual Guarch Delmonte (site currently unavailable)
- The website of Antilla, the municipality where the two figurines were found.
As always thank you for listening and please share this podcast with friends, family and general fans of cool objects that are part of great and world-spanning histories. Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @theshoresoftime about what you think of the podcast and how we can improve the way we share these stories of the Caribbean and its objects.
We’ll talk to you next time, and remember: In this great future you can’t forget your past!
Acknowledgements: This podcast was made possible thanks to financial support by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Alice is employed by University of Leicester’s School of Ancient History and Archaeology and Angus works at Stanford University’s Archaeology Center. Jorge Ulloa Hung is a researcher at the Museo del Hombre Dominicano, Leiden University and a professor at INTEC.
