The Taino people arrived in the Caribbean islands several thousand years ago. Our ancient ancestral homeland is the South American headwaters of the Orinoco river,  northern coasts, rain forests and the plains of Guyana and Venezuela where our ethnic relatives, the modern Arawak people still live. Our ancestors brought with them the core of that South American forest culture. It tenaciously clung to them in the intonation of their Arawak dialects, the agricultural tradition of yuca cultivation and the manufacture of Casava bread, the style of their pottery.     Our people also brought with them an advanced canoe-building technology. Itallowed them to negotiate the treacherous straights between the islands of theCaribbean as they made their way northwest colonizing  them one by one.     Once the area of the large islands was reached and colonized our ancestors came under the influence of an ancient and majestic culture that emanated from Mexico and the Central American mainland. Many of the traditions of this culture were new and strange to our ancestors but, although it took a long time, their ways were inexorably changed and enriched by it.    Our ancestors learned to eat maize and chili peppers from these technologically advanced new neighbors. And the Central American neighbors learned to eat yuca from the strange South American newcomers. The cultures of the two peoples remained fundamentally distinct and different but after this encountereach one was enhanced by its contact with the other.         The people of this Mesoamerican region who influenced the ancient Tainos most profoundly were the Mayas of the Yucatan penninsula southeast of Mexico. Maya culture was extremely advanced and they reached a level of spiritual understanding that our Taino ancestors understood was thoroughly enlightened. The Taino ancestors realized that the wisdom of the Mayas was in harmony with the equally profound spirituality that they themselves possessed and so the two people traded and adopted aspects of each other's spirituality and mystical belief just like they did with foods and other cultural exchange. Evidence of Taino cultural characteristics which were obviously borrowed from the Mayas include the well-documented head-elongation custom, use of litters to carry head chiefs, hirearchic stratification of society uncharacteristic to the ancestral South American Arawaks, the Taino ball game of Batey which closely parallels the Maya ball game of Pok a Pok , and much more.       Modern archeologists are begining to recognize that the interchange of ideas and culture between the Mayas and the Tainos was more extensive than was previously suspected by them.

     We in the Caney have always been aware of the intimate connections between the spirituality of the Tainos and the Mayas. Since the 1960's Beike Bo Sobaoko Koromo was inspired by his father to develop a deep respect and admiration for the wisdom of

the Mayas, their spiritual mathematics, their magical calendar and their enlightened astronomy. This happened as a result of the fact that it became apparent that a number of Maya indians were kidnapped by the Spanish conquistadores from Yucatan during the grim era of the conquest and were brought as slaves to Cuba. The blood and ethnicity of these Mayas became mixed with that of some of the Tainos that lived in Oriente province where Beike Sobakoko was born. Some of his ancestors are actually Yucatecan Mayas.  Beike Bo Sobaoko Koromo was initiated as a Maya calendar daykeeper in the   mid 1990's   and conducts workshops and seminars on the profound message of the Mayan calendar.

Tainos

Notes by Veta Dawson from Immaculate High School

Political

Political organiza tion speaks to the way in which a people is governed or ruled. We ask

questions such as, who are the leaders? What are the rules or system by which they are chosen?

The Tainos had a simple system of government. The cacique wa s the leader. He belonged to a

special family. His post was hereditary. This means that it was passed down from father to son

throughout generations. In a Taino society a female could inherit the position if her father, the

cacique did not have a son. We know that there was a woman cacique ruling a province in

Hispaniola when Columbus and his men arrived on their first voyage to the Caribbean.

Each island was subdivided into provinces or what we would call communities. The cacique was

in charge of a province. He or she had several duties.

Supreme judge

Lawmaker - he made the laws and enforced them

Chief priest

Distribution of land

Led ceremonies

Fixed the day of worship and celebrations

There were very few laws. Firstly, the Tainos were a peaceful set of people who believed

in and practiced clan-cooperation and respect for elders. They worked and played

together in harmony. There were very few crimes.

The cacique was aided by a group of nobles known as nitayanos. They were to see to it

that the orders of the chief were carried out. Each village had a village leader. This person

was to see to the orderly day to day operations of the village. A number of elders were

elected to the council of elders. Their wisdom was sought when difficult decisions were

to be made.

A cacique had many privileges:

1. He was allowed to have more than one wife. This would increase his chances of having

a male heir.

2. His house (bohio) was rectangular while all the others were round. His house was also

the largest.

3. He was given the best of the crop.

4. A specially carved seat (duho) was given to him. This was his symbol of authority.

On it he sat and dispensed justice or gave out the orders for the day.

5. He was not allowed to walk. He was carried about from place to place on a litter.

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com)Social Organization

The Tainos were organized along family lines. A number of families make up a clan and the

clans made up the village and the villages formed the community.

A Taino village

Religious Beliefs and Practices

The Tainos were polytheistic- they believed in many gods. They had a number of myths to

explain the mysteries of life including earth and the creation of man. Their gods were represented

by zemis which they made form wood, bone, stone or cotton. Each household kept a zemi to

protect the family.

They believed in:

The forces of good and evil

Life after death

Heaven (coyaba) and hell

There is punishment in the afterlife for those who lived an evil life

There is reward in the afterlife for those who lived a good life.

The priest was the only one who could communicate with the gods (zemis)

Offering food and meat offerings to the gods

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) Using tobacco (incense) in the process of communicating with the gods

Having festivals and celebrations in honor of the gods

Keeping the gods happy (appeasing the gods)

Offering prayers to the gods for healing, good harvest, protection and so on.

Taino religious symbols

Customs

Every society has its own sets of customs and norms. This is what defines us and sets us apart

from other people and countries. The indigenous peoples were no different.

1. They flattened the children's forehead as a mark of beauty.

2. They were a pleasure loving people. They played ball game called batos, swam and did

wrestling.

3. Only men were allowed to smoke and drink

4. They got married early

5. Married men and women wore loincloth and cotton skirts respectively. The single people went

naked.

6. The most heinous crimes were theft and adultery for which the punishment was a slow and

painful death.

7. There was no private property, possession or wealth. Everything was owned collectively by

the members of the community. (communally)

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com)Gender relations

Women were a very important part of the Tainos society. Gender relation is most clearly seen in

the division and organization of labor. The women were responsible for the planting of the crops.

It was believed that the fertility of the woman would transfer to the crop and vice versa. If she

was barren, mother earth would transfer some of its fertility to her.

The women did the weaving so that the men and children could have loincloths and cotton arm

bands to wear. They were to care for the children and the rest of the family while the men were

away on hunting or fishing trips or out gathering food such as fruits.

The women were only invited to watch at wrestling matches and ball games. They were not

allowed to participate. They formed the cheering committee.

Production

These are the main activities that the Tainos did in their quest to provide food, ‘clothing' and

shelter for their people. They can be considered a step above the early hunters and gatherers.

Hunting

They hunted conies (utia/hutia) and birds with nets and noose that they made from fibres and

vines. They also hunted iguanas, agouti and snakes. They also went in search of and gathered

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com)wild plants and the bark of certain trees as directed by their priests to be used for medicinal

purposes. In the hills of Trinidad and Jamaica for example a lot of wild fruits grew in abundance.

These were gleefully collected and added to the main menu.

Taino community showing farmers, hunters and community members

Farming

The Tainos practiced subsistence farming. That is they did not produce and store a surplus. They

produced enough for the needs of the community. They practiced slash and burn agriculture. The

men did the hard work of clearing the land. They used wooden axes to chop the branches from

the trees and then set them on fire.

The women's duty was to do the actual planting. They planted roots, seeds and vegetables on

their small plots of land or conoucos. They used pointed wooden sticks to dig holes and drop the

corn grains in. corn or maize was their favorite starch. Then they covered them over with dirt.

The ashes from the burnt tree provided fertilizer. Aided by the children they watered the crops as

necessary. It was the children's duty to scare away birds from the newly planted seeds.

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com)They grew a wide variety of crops such as:

1. Fruits: pineapples, guava, naseberry, cashew, soursop, papaya and grapefruit (the only citrus

known to them before the coming of the Europeans)

2. Cassava

Cassava roots

3. Sweet potatoes

Fishing

They would go fishing in the dug out canoes that they made. They used nets made of vegetable

fibres, bone and turtle shell hooks and bone tipped harpoons. They had an ingenious method of

attaching the remora or sucking fish to the canoe by a thin line. The fish would then dart after the

remora hoping to eat it but would only succeed in getting itself sucked onto the powerful remora.

The fisherman would then pull up the remora, take off the fish and deposit the remora once more

in the water to wait for another victim.

Waterfowls were also caught by trickery. The Tainos would allow a number of calabashes to

float on the river. The waterfowls became used to these harmless objects and paid them no mind.

As soon as he was convinced that the fowls were relaxed, the Taino would place a calabash over

his head and quietly slip into the water unnoticed. After a few minutes he would grab a nearby

fowl by the legs, pull it under until it drowned and then put it in the bag that he carried with him.

They caught a wide variety of water animals such as: flying fish, shell fish, crabs and manatee.

Weaving

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com)Hammocks were a favourite item. They were used as beds or just to ‘hang out' and catch the cool

breeze. They also did baskets from straw. These were used as containers for the fishermen's

catch.

Mining

The indigenous peoples did not place much value on gold. They used it mainly as ornaments.

The method of collecting gold was therefore very simple. They would dig a hole at the side of

the river bank and let the water flow through it. They would examine the silt that was left behind.

Any gold found was collected and given to those in charge of making decorative headdress for

the caciques, masks for religious ceremonies or nose rings and bracelets.

1. Pottery

2. Trading

Trading

Let us agree that trading would be limited. Why? First of all, they produced basically the same

things. Secondly, the Tainos' villages were constantly raided by the Kalinagos. Thirdly, they did

not engage in surplus production. They provided just enough for their own use. It was not safe to

venture too far out at sea where the Kalinagos ruled the ‘highway'.

Whatever trading took place was among the Tainos themselves. Different villages would contact

each other when there was a need. It is interesting to note that the Tainos of Jamaica did engage

in some amount of trading with the Mayans of Belize. If you follow on your map you will see

that a straight line connects Jamaica to Belize. This is the route that the logwood people followed

in the 17th century.

Technology

The Indigenous people lived in the Stone Age. They did not know iron. Their tools were

therefore very simple. Most people consider their techniques and methods backwards when

judged by modern methods.

1. The remora or sucking fish used in to catch fish

2. Bows and arrows used in hunting

3. Slash and burn agriculture

4. Fertilizer: ashes, animal and vegetable manure

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com)5. Crude irrigation ditches

6. Crop rotation.

7. Fishing hooks made from bones

8. Fire used as a tool in canoe building

9. Dyeing

Taino axe

The Tainos also painted their bodies. They painted the cacique's canoe with bright designs and

decorated it with intricate carvings

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com)The Tainos had a singing and dancing combination known as arieto. They made their

instruments from the resources available to them. They had drums, gourds, pebbles, rattles and

flutes. The songs were mainly about their religious beliefs, their ancestors and their way of life.

The Tainos settled near the coasts or streams and rivers, for example Priestman's river in

Jamaica. Why?

(a) Fishing was an important source of food: protein

(b) They could easily get water for domestic purposes such as washing their utensils or bathing

(c) They could get water for their crops

(d) They could go swimming

(e) It provided an excellent look out point. From this vantage point they could see the Kalinagos

approaching and get ready to fight or run.