Account of the Antiquities, Ceremonies, and Religion of the Natives of
Hispaniola, collected by F. Roman, by order of the Admiral[1].
I, Father Roman, a poor anchorite of the order of St Jerome, by command of
the most illustrious lord admiral, viceroy and governor-general of the
islands and continent of the Indies, do here relate all that I could hear
and learn concerning the religious opinions and idolatry of the Indians,
and of the ceremonies they employ in the worship of their gods.
Every one observes some particular superstitious ceremonies in worshipping
their idols, which they name cemis. They believe that there is an
immortal being, invisible like Heaven, who had a mother, but no beginning,
whom they call Atabei, Jermaoguacar, Apito, and Zuimaco; which are all
several names of the Deity. They also pretend to know whence they came at
the first, to give an account of the origin of the sun and moon, of the
production of the sea, and what becomes of themselves after death. They
likewise affirm that the dead appear to them upon the roads when any
person goes alone, but that when many are together they do not appear. All
these things they derive from the tradition of their ancestors, for they
can neither write nor read, and are unable to reckon beyond ten.
1. In a province of the island named Caanan, there is a mountain called
Carita, where there are two caves named Cacibagiagua and Amaiauva, out of
the former of which most of the original inhabitants came.
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