A Taino Stone Yoke, ca. A.D. 1000-1500

the closed yoke finely carved in slender oval form, depicting a young branch bent and tied together, with recessed and banded areas, in grey-green stone.

J.J. Klejman, New York,
Acquired from the above in 1967

 

In Taino art, the stone collars, elbow stone and three-pointers are the three types of zemis or stone 'idols', embued with spirit power. The stone collars were used in the ballgame, known as batey, which was similar to the Mexican tradition in that it was a ritual demonstration of mythological events, particulary the conflict of the sun and moon. Batey was played during areytos, or community celebrations, where several chiefdoms vied for social and political standing.  Taino yokes are either massive or of a slender variety, the latter using having more intricate designs. For similar examples, see Bercht et al (1997:84, pls. 57, and 62, 63) for yokes in the collections of the Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, the Museo de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, and the American Museum of Natural History, New York.