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For other uses, see Taino (disambiguation).
Reconstruction of a TaÃno village in Cuba
The TaÃnos were pre-Columbian indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is believed that the seafaring TaÃnos were relatives of the Arawakan people of South America. Their language is a member of the Maipurean linguistic family, which ranges from South America across the Caribbean. The TaÃnos of the Bahamas were known as the Lucayan (the Bahamas being known then as the Lucayas), while those in Puerto Rico called themselves Borinquen.
At the time of Columbus\'s arrival in 1492, there were five TaÃno kingdoms or territories on Hispaniola (modern day Dominican Republic and Haiti), each led by a principal Cacique (chieftain), to whom tribute was paid. As the hereditary head chief of TaÃno tribes, the cacique was paid significant tribute. Caciques enjoyed the privilege of wearing copper pendants, living in square bohÃos instead of the round ones the villagers inhabited, and sat on wooden stools when receving guests. At the time of the Spanish conquest, the largest TaÃno population centers may have contained around 3,000 people or more. The TaÃnos were historical neighbors and enemies of the fierce Carib tribes, another group with origins in South America who lived principally in the Lesser Antilles. The relationship between the two groups has been the subject of much study.
For much of the 15th century, the TaÃno tribe was being driven to the Northeast in the Caribbean (out of what is now South America) because of raids by fierce Caribs (Many Carib women spoke TaÃno because of the large number of female TaÃno captives among them).1492 and Multiculturalism
By the 18th century, TaÃno society had been devastated by introduced diseases such as smallpox, as well as other problems like intermarriages and forced assimilation into the plantation economy that Spain imposed in its Caribbean colonies, with its subsequent importation of African slave workers. It is argued that there was substantial mestizaje as well as several Indian pueblos that survived into the 19th century in Cuba. The Spaniards who first arrived in the Bahamas, Cuba and Hispaniola in 1492, and later in Puerto Rico, did not bring women. They might have taken TaÃno wives in civil marriages or otherwise impregnated TaÃno women, which would have resulted in mestizo children.
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The word "TaÃno" comes directly from Columbus. The indigenous people he encountered in his first voyage called themselves "TaÃno", meaning "good" or "noble", to differentiate themselves from Island-Caribs.Rouse, p.5. This name applied to all the Island TaÃnos including those in the Lesser Antilles. Locally, the TaÃnos referred to themselves by the name of their location. For example, those in Puerto Rico called themselves Borikua (which means people from the island of the valiant noble lords) their island was called Borike\'n (Great land of the valiant noble lord) and those occupying the Bahamas called themselves Lucayo (small islands).Rouse, p.5.
Some ethnohistorians, such as Daniel Garrison Brinton, called the same culture of people "Island Arawak" from the Arawakan word for cassava flour, a staple of the race. From this, the language and the people were eventually called "Arawak". However, modern scholars consider this a mistake. The people who called themselves Arawak lived only in the Guianas and Trinidad and their language and culture differ from those of the TaÃno.Rouse, p.5.
Going through time, different writers, travellers, historians, linguists, anthropologists, etc., have interchangeably used these terms. TaÃno has been used to mean the Greater Antillean tribes only, those plus the Bahamas tribes, those and the Leeward Islands tribes or all those excluding the Puerto Rican tribes and Leeward tribes. Island TaÃno has been used to refer to those living in the Windward Islands only, those in the northern Caribbean only or those living in any of the islands. Modern historians, linguists and anthropologists now hold that the term TaÃno should refer to all the TaÃno/Arawak tribes except for the Caribs. The Caribs are not seen by anthropologists nor historians as being the same people although linguists are still debating whether the Carib language is an Arawakan dialect or creole language — or perhaps a distinct language, with an Arawakan pidgin often used in communication.
Rouse classifies all inhabitants of the Greater Antilles (except the western tip of Cuba), the Bahamian archipelago, and the northern Lesser Antilles as TaÃnos. The TaÃnos are subdivided into three main groups: Classic TaÃno, from Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, Western TaÃno or sub-TaÃno, from Jamaica, Cuba (except for the western tip) and the Bahamian archipelago, and Eastern TaÃno, from the Virgin Islands to Montserrat.Rouse, p.7.
Two schools of thought have emerged regarding the origin of the indigenous people of the West Indies. One group contends that the ancestors of the TaÃnos came from the center of the Amazon Basin, subsequently moving to the Orinoco valley. From there they reached the West Indies by way of what is now Guyana and Venezuela into Trinidad, proceeding along the Lesser Antilles all the way to Cuba and the Bahamian archipelago. Evidence that supports this theory includes the tracing of the ancestral cultures of these people to the Orinoco Valley and their languages to the Amazon Basin.Rouse, p.30-48.
The alternate theory, known as the circum-Caribbean theory, contends that the ancestors of the TaÃnos diffused from the Colombian Andes. Julian H. Steward, the theory\'s originator, suggested a radiation from the Andes to the West Indies and a parallel radiation into Central America and into the Guianas, Venezuela and the Amazon Basin.
TaÃno culture is believed to have developed in the West Indies.
Dujo, a wooden chair crafted by TaÃnos.
TaÃno society was divided into two classes: naborias (commoners) and nitaÃnos (nobles). These were governed by chiefs known as caciques (who were either male or female) which were advised by priests/healers known as bohiques.Caciques, nobles and their regalia. elmuseo.org. Retrieved on 2006-11-09. Bohiques were extolled for their healing powers and ability to speak with gods and as a result, they granted TaÃnos permission to engage in important tasks.
TaÃnos lived in a matrilineal society. When a male heir was not present the inheritance or succession would go to the eldest child (son or daughter) of the deceased’s sister. TaÃnos practised a mainly agrarian lifestyle but also fished and hunted. A frequently worn hair style featured bangs in front and longer hair in back. They sometimes wore gold jewelry, paint, and/or shells. TaÃno men sometimes wore short skirts. TaÃno women wore a similar garment (nagua) after marriage. Some TaÃno practiced polygamy. Men, and sometimes women, might have 2 or 3 spouses, and the caciques would marry as many as 30.
TaÃnos lived in villages (called yucayeques) which varied in size depending on the location; those in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico being the largest and those in the Bahamas being the smallest. In the center of a typical village was a plaza used for various social activities such as games, festivals, religious rituals, and public ceremonies. These plazas had many shapes including oval, rectangular, or narrow and elongated. Ceremonies where the deeds of the ancestors were celebrated, called areitos, were performed here.Rouse, p.15 Often, the general population lived in large circular buildings (bohio), constructed with wooden poles, woven straw, and palm leaves. These houses would surround the central plaza and could hold 10-15 families. The cacique and his family would live in rectangular buildings (caney) of similar construction, with wooden porches. TaÃno home furnishings included cotton hammocks (hamaca), mats made of palms, wooden chairs (dujo) with woven seats, platforms, and cradles for children.
Caguana Ceremonial ball court (batey), outlined with monoliths.
The TaÃnos played a ceremonial ball game called batey. The game was played between opposing teams consisting of 10 to 30 players per team using a solid rubber ball. Normally, the teams were composed of only men, but occasionally women played the game as well.AlegrÃa, p.348. The Classic TaÃnos played in the village\'s center plaza or on especially designed rectangular ball courts also called batey. Batey is believed to have been used for conflict resolution between communities; the most elaborate ball courts are found in chiefdoms\' boundaries.Rouse, p.15. Often, chiefs made wagers on the possible outcome of a game.AlegrÃa, p.348.
TaÃnos spoke a Maipurean language but lacked a written language. Some of the words used by them such as barbacoa ("barbecue"), hamaca ("hammock"), canoa ("canoe"), tabaco ("tobacco"), yuca ("yucca"), and Huracan ("hurricane") have been incorporated into the Spanish and English languages.
Cassava (yuca) roots, the TaÃnos\' main crop
The TaÃno diet centered around vegetables and fruits, meat, and fish. Large animals were absent from the fauna of the West Indies, but small animals such as hutias, earthworms, lizards, turtles, birds, and other mammals were consumed. Manatees were speared and fish were caught in nets, speared, poisoned, trapped in weirs, or caught with hook and line. Wild parrots were decoyed with domesticated birds and iguanas were extracted from trees and other vegetation. TaÃnos stored live animals until they were ready to be consumed—fish and turtles were stored in weirs, and hutias and dogs were stored in corrals.Rouse, p.13.
TaÃno groups in the more developed islands, such as Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica, relied more on agriculture. For important crops they used a sophisticated procedure in which they "heaped up mounds of soil", called conucos, which improved drainage, delayed erosion, and allowed for a longer storage of crops in the ground; for less important crops such as corn they used the more common and rudimentary slash and burn technique. Conucos were 3 feet high and 9 feet in circumference and were arranged in rows.Rouse, p.12. The primary root crop was cassava, a woody shrub cultivated for its edible starchy tuberous root. It was planted using a coa, an early kind of hoe made completely out of wood. Women squeezed cassava to extract its poisonous juice and ground the roots into flour from which they baked bread. Batata (Sweet potato) was the TaÃnos\' secondary crop; it was consumed as a vegetable.Rouse, p.12.
Contrary to mainland practices, corn was not ground into flour and baked into bread. Instead, it was eaten off the cob. A possible explanation for this is that corn bread becomes moldy faster than cassava bread in the high humidity of the West Indies. TaÃnos grew squash, beans, peppers, peanuts, and pineapples. Tobacco, calabashes (West Indian pumpkins) and cotton were grown around the houses. Other fruits and vegetables, such as palm nuts, guavas, and Zamia roots, were collected from the wild.Rouse, p.12.
TaÃnos used cotton, hemp and palm extensively for fishing nets and ropes. Their dugout canoes (Kanoa) were made in various sizes, which could hold from 2 to 150 people. An average sized Kanoa would hold about 15 - 20 people. They used bows and arrows, and sometimes put various poisons on their arrowheads. For warfare, they employed the use of a wooden war club, which they called a macana, that was about one inch thick and was similar to the cocomacaque.
TaÃno religion centered on the worship of zemÃs or cemÃs. CemÃs were either gods, spirits, or ancestors. There were two supreme gods: Yúcahu,The TaÃnos of Quisqueya (Dominican Republic) called him "Yucahú Bagua MaorocotÃ", which means "White Yuca, great and powerful as the sea and the mountains". which means spirit of cassava, was the god of cassava (the TaÃnos main crop) and the sea and Atabey,Other names for this goddess include "Guabancex", "Atabei", "Atabeyra", "Atabex", and "Guimazoa". mother of Yúcahu, was the goddess of fresh waters and fertility.Rouse, p.13. Other minor gods existed in TaÃno religion; some of them related to the growing of cassava while others were related to the process of life, creation and death. Baibrama was a god worshiped for his assistance in growing cassava and curing people from its poisonous juice. Boinayel and his twin brother Márohu were the gods of rain and fair weather respectively.Rouse, p.119. Guabancex was the goddess of storms (hurricanes). Popular belief names Juracán as the god of storms but juracán was only the word for hurricane in the TaÃno language. Guabancex had two assistants: Guataubá, a messenger who created hurricane winds, and Coatrisquie, who created floodwaters.Rouse, p.121. Maquetaurie Guayaba or Maketaori Guayaba was god of Coaybay, the land of the dead. Opiyelguabirán, a dog-shaped god, watched over the dead. Deminán Caracaracol, a male cultural hero from which the TaÃno believed to descend, was worshipped as a cemÃ.Rouse, p.119.
Cemà was also the name of the physical representations of the gods. These representations came in many forms and materials and could be found in a variety of settings. The majority of cemÃs were crafted from wood but stone, bone, shell, pottery, and cotton were also used.Rouse, p.13,118. Cemà petroglyphs were carved on rocks in streams, ball courts, and on stalagmites in caves. Cemà pictographs were found on secular objects such as pottery, and on tattoos. Yucahú, the god of cassava, was represented with a three-pointed cemà which could be found in conucos to increase the yield of cassava. Wood and stone cemÃs have been found in caves in Hispaniola and Jamaica.Rouse, p.118.
CemÃs are sometimes represented by toads, turtles, snakes, and various abstract and human-like faces. Some of the carved CemÃs include a small table or tray which is believed to be a receptacle for hallucinogenic snuff called cohoba prepared from the beans of a species of Piptadenia tree. These trays have been found with ornately carved snuff tubes.
Before certain ceremonies, TaÃnos would purify either by inducing vomiting with a swallowing stick or by fasting.Rouse, p.14. After the serving of communal bread, first to the Cemi, then to the cacique, and then to the common people; the village epic would be sung and accompanied by maraca and other instruments.
TaÃno oral tradition explains that the sun and moon come out of caves. Another story tells that people once lived in caves and only came out at night, because it was believed that the Sun would transform them. The TaÃno believed to be descended from the union of Deminaán Caracaracol and a female turtle. The origin of the oceans is described in the story of a huge flood which occurred when a father murdered his son (who was about to murder the father), and then put his bones into a gourd or calabash. These bones then turned to fish and the gourd broke and all the water of the world came pouring out. TaÃnos believed that the souls of the dead go to Coaybay, the underworld, and there they rest by day, and when night comes they assume the form of bats and eat the fruit "guayaba".
Columbus and his crew, landing on an island the Bahamas on October 12, 1492 were the first Europeans to encounter the TaÃno people. At this time, the neighbors of the TaÃnos were the Guanahatabeys in the western tip of Cuba, and the Island-Caribs in the Lesser Antilles from Guadaloupe to Grenada. The TaÃnos called the island Guanahanà which Columbus renamed as San Salvador (Spanish for "Holy Savior"). It was Columbus who called the TaÃno "Indians", an identification that has grown to encompass all the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere. A group of TaÃno people accompanied Columbus on his return voyage back to Spain.Allen, John Logan (1997). North American Exploration: A New World Disclosed. Volume: 1. University of Nebraska Press, p. 13.
Early population estimates of Hispaniola, probably the most populous island inhabited by TaÃnos, range from 100,000 to 1,000,000 people. The maximum estimates for Jamaica and Puerto Rico, the most densely populated islands after Hispaniola, are 600,000 people.Rouse, p.7. The Dominican priest Bartolomé de Las Casas wrote (1561) in his multivolume History of the Indies: Endless War of Domination. Student-Employee Assistance Program Against Chemical Dependency. Retrieved on 2007-10-02.
There were 60,000 people living on this island [when I arrived in 1508], including the Indians; so that from 1494 to 1508, over three million people had perished from war, slavery and the mines. Who in future generations will believe this?
Researchers today doubt Las Casas\'s figures for the pre-contact levels of the TaÃno population, considering them an exaggeration. For example, Anderson Córdova estimates a maximum of 500,000 people inhabiting the island.Karen Anderson Córdova (1990). Hispaniola and Puerto Rico: Indian Acculturation and Heterogeinity, 1492-1550 (PhD dissertation), Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms International. The TaÃno population estimates range all over, from a few hundred thousand up to 8,000,000. The Taino Indians: Native Americans of the Caribbean. The Healing Center On-Line. Retrieved on 2007-10-02. They were not immune to Old World diseases, notably smallpox.American Indian Epidemics Many of them were worked to death in the mines and fields, put to death in harsh put-downs of revolts or committed suicide (throwing themselves out of the cliffs or consuming manioc) to escape their cruel new masters.[citation needed] Some academics have suggested that the numbers the population had shrunk to 60,000 and by 1531 to 3,000 in Hispanola. In thirty years, between 80% and 90% of the population died. "La tragédie des Taïnos", in L\'Histoire n°322, July-August 2007, p.16 Smallpox Through History Scholars now believe that, among the various contributing factors, epidemic disease was the overwhelming cause of the population decline of the American natives.The War Against SmallpoxEuropean Disease in the New WorldThe Story Of... Smallpox
On Columbus\' second voyage, he began to require tribute from the TaÃnos in Hispanola. Each adult over 14 years of age was expected to deliver a certain quantity of gold. In the earlier days of the conquest, if this tribute was not observed, the TaÃnos were either mutilated or executed. Later on, fearing a loss of labor forces, they were ordered to bring 25 lb (11 kg) of cotton. This also gave way to a service requirement called encomienda. Under this system, TaÃnos were required to work for a Spanish land owner for most of the year, which left little time to tend to their own community affairs.
In 1511, several caciques in Puerto Rico, such as Agüeybaná, Urayoán, Guarionex, and Orocobix, allied with the Caribs and tried to oust the Spaniards. The revolt was pacified by the forces of Governor Juan Ponce de León. Hatuey, a TaÃno chieftain who had fled Hispañola to Cuba with 400 natives in order to unite the Cuban natives, was burned at the stake on February 2, 1512. In Hispañola, a TaÃno chieftain named Enriquillo mobilized over 3,000 remaining TaÃno in a successful rebellion in the 1530s. These TaÃno were accorded land and a charter from the royal administration.
Flag of the Jatibonicù TaÃno Tribal Nation of Boriken
Many people still claim to be descendants of the TaÃnos, and most notably among some Puerto Ricans, both on the island and on the United States mainland. People claiming to be TaÃno descendants have been active in trying to assert a call for recognition of their lost culture. A biased study conducted in Puerto Rico suggests that some of the population possess TaÃno mtDNA.MartÃnez Cruzado, Juan C. (2002). The Use of Mitochondrial DNA to Discover Pre-Columbian Migrations to the Caribbean:Results for Puerto Rico and Expectations for the Dominican Republic. KACIKE: The Journal of Caribbean Amerindian History and Anthropology [On-line Journal], Special Issue, Lynne Guitar, Ed. Available at: http://www.kacike.org/MartinezEnglish.pdf [Date of access: 25 September, 2006] Recently, a few TaÃno organizations, such as the New Jersey Jatibonicù TaÃno Tribal Nation of Boriken (Puerto Rico) (1970), the TaÃno Nation of the Antilles (1993) and the United Confederation of TaÃno People (an international initiative) (1998), have been established to put forth these claims. What some refer to as the TaÃno revival movement can be seen as an integral part of the wider resurgence in Caribbean indigenous self-identification and organization.Forte, Maximillian C.. Indigenous resurgence in the contemporary Caribbean, 3. The Jatibonicu TaÃno tribe of Boriken, had reaffirmed and reorganized itself in Puerto Rico back on November 18, 1970.The Jatibonicu Tribal Nation of Borikén. Retrieved on 2007-12-11.
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