Juracán is the phonetic name given by the Spanish colonizers to the zemi or deity of chaos and disorder which the Taíno natives in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Cuba, Arawak natives elsewhere in the Caribbean, believed controlled the weather, particularly hurricanes (the latter word derives from the deity's name).
Actually, the word "juracán" merely represented the storms per se, which according to Taíno mythology were spawned and controlled by the goddess Guabancex, also known as the "one whose fury destroys everything".
The Taínos were aware of the spiraling wind pattern of hurricanes, a knowledge that they used when depicting the deity. Her zemi idol was said to depict a woman, but the most common depiction of Guabancex presents a furious face with her arms extended in a "~" pattern.[1]
From Juracán we derive the Spanish word huracán and eventually the English word hurricane. As the pronunciation varied across indigenous groups, many of the alternative names, as mentioned in the OED, included furacan, furican, haurachan, herycano, hurachano, hurricano, and so on.[citation needed]
the dreadful spout Which shipmen do the hurricano call, Constringed [i.e., compressed] in mass by the almighty sun.[2]
Mythology
A fierce deity, Guabancex was the personification of destruction. A trait that the Taíno associated with the catastrophic nature of Atlantic hurricanes.
According to Taíno mythology, the zemi of Guabancex was entrusted to the ruler of a mystical land, Aumatex. This granted her the title of "Cacique of the Wind", but it also imposed the responsibility of repeatedly appeasing the goddess throughout her long reign. Furthermore, due to the importance of the wind for travel between island and the need of good weather imperative for a successful crop, other caciques would offer her part of their food during the cohoba ceremony. However, given Guabancex's volatile temper, these efforts often failed. When they did, she would leave her domain enraged and with the intent of bringing destruction to all in her path, unleashing the juracánes.
She began by interrupting the balance established by Boinayel and Marohu, the deities of rain and drought. By rotating her arms in a spiral, Guabancex would pick the water of the ocean and land, placing it under the command of Coatrisquie, who violently forced it back over the Taíno settlements destroying their bohios and crops. She would threaten the other deities in an attempt to have them join the chaos. She was always preceded by Guataubá, who heralded her eventual arrival with clouds, lightning and thunder.
The easternmost of the Greater Antilles, Puerto Rico is often in the path of the North Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes which tend to come ashore on the east coast. The Taíno believed that upon reaching the rainforest peak of El Yunque, the goddess and her cohorts would clash with their supreme deity, Yúcahu, who was believed to live there.
Guabancex has an unspecified connection to Caorao, a deity that was also associated with storms and that was said to bring them forth by playing the cobo, a musical instrument made from a marine sea shell.[citation needed]
Fiction
Guabancex with her helpers Guatabá, Cuastriquie and Juracán (embodiment of the hurricane) are repeatedly evoked in a novel by the Cuban-American writer Frederick A. de Armas. In Sinfonía salvaje (Madrid: Verbum, 2019) the hurricane represents the changes brought about in 1959 by the Cuban Revolution.
juracán, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, october, 2017, lea. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Juracan news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Juracan is the phonetic name given by the Spanish colonizers to the zemi or deity of chaos and disorder which the Taino natives in Puerto Rico Hispaniola Jamaica and Cuba Arawak natives elsewhere in the Caribbean believed controlled the weather particularly hurricanes the latter word derives from the deity s name Actually the word juracan merely represented the storms per se which according to Taino mythology were spawned and controlled by the goddess Guabancex also known as the one whose fury destroys everything The Tainos were aware of the spiraling wind pattern of hurricanes a knowledge that they used when depicting the deity Her zemi idol was said to depict a woman but the most common depiction of Guabancex presents a furious face with her arms extended in a pattern 1 Contents 1 Etymology 2 Mythology 3 Fiction 4 See also 5 References 6 BibliographyEtymology EditFrom Juracan we derive the Spanish word huracan and eventually the English word hurricane As the pronunciation varied across indigenous groups many of the alternative names as mentioned in the OED included furacan furican haurachan herycano hurachano hurricano and so on citation needed The term made an early appearance in William Shakespeare s King Lear Act 3 Scene 2 and in Troilus and Cressida Act 5 Scene 2 in which Shakespeare gives the following definition the dreadful spout Which shipmen do the hurricano call Constringed i e compressed in mass by the almighty sun 2 Mythology Edit A fierce deity Guabancex was the personification of destruction A trait that the Taino associated with the catastrophic nature of Atlantic hurricanes According to Taino mythology the zemi of Guabancex was entrusted to the ruler of a mystical land Aumatex This granted her the title of Cacique of the Wind but it also imposed the responsibility of repeatedly appeasing the goddess throughout her long reign Furthermore due to the importance of the wind for travel between island and the need of good weather imperative for a successful crop other caciques would offer her part of their food during the cohoba ceremony However given Guabancex s volatile temper these efforts often failed When they did she would leave her domain enraged and with the intent of bringing destruction to all in her path unleashing the juracanes She began by interrupting the balance established by Boinayel and Marohu the deities of rain and drought By rotating her arms in a spiral Guabancex would pick the water of the ocean and land placing it under the command of Coatrisquie who violently forced it back over the Taino settlements destroying their bohios and crops She would threaten the other deities in an attempt to have them join the chaos She was always preceded by Guatauba who heralded her eventual arrival with clouds lightning and thunder The easternmost of the Greater Antilles Puerto Rico is often in the path of the North Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes which tend to come ashore on the east coast The Taino believed that upon reaching the rainforest peak of El Yunque the goddess and her cohorts would clash with their supreme deity Yucahu who was believed to live there Guabancex has an unspecified connection to Caorao a deity that was also associated with storms and that was said to bring them forth by playing the cobo a musical instrument made from a marine sea shell citation needed Fiction EditGuabancex with her helpers Guataba Cuastriquie and Juracan embodiment of the hurricane are repeatedly evoked in a novel by the Cuban American writer Frederick A de Armas In Sinfonia salvaje Madrid Verbum 2019 the hurricane represents the changes brought about in 1959 by the Cuban Revolution See also EditHuracanReferences Edit Mythological Girls Guabancex Girl Museum 2017 08 18 Retrieved 2020 03 07 SCENE II The same Before Calchas tent shakespeare mit edu Retrieved 2020 03 07 Bibliography EditAuthor unknown 2008 07 30 El dios Juracan era una deidad femenina God Juracan was a feminine Goddess Primera Hora First Hour Spanish 30 July 2008 Retrieved from http www primerahora com noticias puerto rico nota eldiosjuracaneraunadeidadfemenina 215036 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Juracan amp oldid 1118516981, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
