Case file · Folklore / legend
Juracán and Guabancex, the storm spirits
The Taíno feared Guabancex, a female zemí who commanded wind and water, with her herald Guatauva and the flood-bringer Coatrisquie; the Spanish word huracán comes from the Taíno name Juracán.
1498 CE · 18.50, -70.00 · status: legend
The account
Pané described the zemí's image and the ceremonies held to calm her. Zemí figures with arms swirling in opposite directions have been read as an early picture of a cyclone's rotation.