Atabey (goddess)

{{short description|Zemi of the Taínos}}

{{refimprove|date=September 2014}}

{{Infobox deity

| type = Taíno

| name = Atabey

| image = File:Atabey pretroglyph Illustration.png

| caption = Reproduction of petroglyph depicting Atabey

| deity_of = Mother of Waters, fresh water and fertility

| abode = The heavens

| symbol = Depicted as a nude woman, a therianthropic representation of Mother of Water

| consort =

| siblings =

| children = Yúcahu and Guacar (twins),Yayael}}

Atabey is an ancestral mother of the Taíno, one of two supreme ancestral spirits in Taíno mythology. She was worshipped as a zemi, which is an embodiment of nature and ancestral spirit, (not to be confused with a goddess, how she is commonly referred to in colonial terms to replace Taíno verbiage and culture) of fresh water and fertility;{{cite book|last1=Rouse|first1=Irving|title=The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus|date=1993|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven|isbn=978-0300056969|edition=New|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/tainosrisedeclin00rous}} she is the female entity who represents the Spirit of all horizontal water, lakes, streams, the sea, and the marine tides.{{cite book|last1=Lamarche|first1=Sebastian Robiou|title=Encuentros con la Mitologia Taina |date=1992 |publisher=Editorial Punto y Coma|location=University of Texas}} This spirit was one of the most important for the native tribes that inhabited the Caribbean islands of the Antilles, mostly in Puerto Rico (Borikén), Hispaniola, and Cuba.{{cite web|last=Monaghan|first=Patricia|title=Atabey|url=http://www.hranajanto.com/goddessgallery/atabey.html#PAT |publisher=Llewellyn|accessdate=24 January 2013}}

Atabey or Atabeira defines prime matter and all that is tangible or material and has several manifestations. One is the aforementioned nurturing maternal figure. Another is Caguana: the spirit of love. The last is Guabancex (also known as Gua Ban Ceh): the violent, Wild Mother of storms, volcanoes, and earthquakes.

Alternate names for Atabey are Iermaoakar, Apito, and Sumaiko. Taíno women prayed to Atabey to ensure safe childbirth.{{cite book|last1=Arrom|first1=Jose J.|title=Mitologia y artes prehispanicas de las Antillas.|date=1989|publisher=Siglo Veintiuno Editores|location=Mexico City}}