Description
Taino Cahoba inhaler from Puerto Rico
Date 1200-1500
Measures 5″ x 2 1/2″ (10 x 5cm) made of stone
This is a wonderful piece of Taino culture. The Cahoba inhaler is in the shape of a human on one side and a frog on the other side. The Taino face has large moth and eyes, and his pants are designed with triangles and horizontal lines inside. On the top of the head is one hole to put against the pot and each foot has a hole for the two nostrils.
Cohoba is a Taíno transliteration for a ceremony in which the ground seeds of the cojóbana tree (Anadenanthera spp.) were inhaled. The seeds were placed on a stand or in a bottle and inhaled through the Cahoba inhaler or simple tubes.
The Taino were also the first people that Christopher Columbus encountered when he reached the western hemisphere. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, the Taino were the main inhabitants of many Caribbean islands, including Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and parts of the Lesser Antilles. This early encounter marked the beginning of a significant and lasting impact on the history of the region
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