Wabansɛ

Wabansɛ, the Lady of the Winds, 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 semi statue was said to depict the full body of a woman, but the most common depiction of Wabansɛ is a furious face with waving arms attached (one curled up, one curled down, much like a tilde ~). She also creates earthquakes and other natural disasters.

She has three assistants in Koatarisikiye, Wataubá, and Hurakã, and when they get together it's quartet of trouble. Wabansɛ adds Koatarisikiye's water, Koatarisikiye's thunder and lightning, and Hurakã's manifestation of herself (hurricanes) to her own whirly winds and whips up storms of extreme ferocity. As if that isn't bad enough, she sends Watauba to rally other storm semi for increased intensity.

Rumour has it, she doesn't relesase storms willy-nilly but won't stand for neglect of the appropriate semi worship and offerings. Forget your roots and you're in big trouble.

The semi of Wabansɛ was entrusted to the ruler of a mystical land, Aumatɛ. This granted him the title of "Kasikɛ of the Wind", but it also imposed the responsibility of repeatedly appeasing the goddess throughout his 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 kasikɛs would offer her part of their food during the chohoba ceremony. However, given Wabansɛ's volatile temper, these efforts often failed. When they did, she would leave his domain enraged and with the intent of bringing destruction to all in her path, unleashing the hurakãs. She began by interrupting the balance established by Boinaye and Marohu, the deities of rain and drought. By rotating her arms in a spiral, Wabansɛ would pick the water of the ocean and land, placing it under the command of Koatarisikiye who violently forced it back over the Taíno settlements destroying their bohios (homes) and crops. She would threaten the other deities in an attempt to have them join the chaos. She was always preceded by Wataubá, who heralded her eventual arrival with clouds, lightning and thunder.

The Taíno believed that upon reaching the rainforest peak of Yukiyu (El Yunque), the goddess and her cohorts would clash with their supreme deity, Yúkahu, who lived there.

Wabansɛ has an unspecified connection to Kaorao, a deity that was also associated with storms and that was said to bring them forth by playing the kobo, a musical instrument made from a seashell.

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The easternmost of the Greater Antilles, Borĩkẽ (Puerto Rico) is often in the path of the North Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes which tend to come ashore on the east coast.