The Ciguapa Speaks: Dominican Women in the 21st Century

Marianela Medrano-Marra
 

ABSTRACT

In this essay I review gender roles from pre-Columbian times to the present, drawing on my research on the Divine Feminine within the Taíno culture. Throughout, I explore the metaphor of the Ciguapa—a mythological figure in the Taíno tradition, embodied by a wild woman with long hair and backward feet, who lives in the density of the forest and comes out for food and sex—to illustrate a feminine archetype that can translate into political and spiritual consciousness. I fully develop the character of the Ciguapa and put it in the context of Taíno spirituality. It is my belief that for Dominicans, feminism must not only reclaim the feminine, but do so in a manner that recognizes its significance for both men and women.