Clay Zemis: An Interdisciplinary Project

This year in social studies, the seventh grade learned about the Taino people. The Taino were indigenous to Puerto Rico, Cuba, Bahamas, Jamaica, etc. Their religion centered around the worship of Zemis, which were small sculptural objects that housed spirits. Thus, as an interdisciplinary project, the seventh graders made their own Zemis out of clay.

Students were to pick an emotion they wanted to express on the face of their Zemi. After that, they were to design several symbols that represented things that are important to them (love, friendship, sports, family, etc.), which they would carve into the face of their Zemi. Today they wrote a paragraph about the symbolism found in their Zemis, and next week they will present in front of their social studies class.

Below are several great examples of these small sculptures: