Tainos Flashcards
What is another name for Tainos?
Arawaks
When did the first group of tainos arrive in the Caribbean?
via Trinidad around 250 BCE from the orinoco region in South America and they moved up the island chain.
What language did they speak?
They spoke a language called arawakan
What were reasons for the tainos migration?
Search for food and resources, they were seafaring people, creating new settlements and fleeing from enslavement or attacks
Why did different groups have different names?
Arawaks/tainos were given different names based on the island they lived
What was the group in the Greater Antilles called?
Tainos
What was the group in the Bahamas called?
Lucayans
What was the group in the lesser Antilles called?
Arawaks
Why was migration important?
It was an important part of their culture passed on to them by their ancestors
Why was the search for food important?
They were not able to live on limited resources in their land.
Why were resources important?
Because it was needed to construct homes.
Why were changes in climatic condition a reason for migration?
Changes in climate affected their health,
Why were Amerindian’s being a seafaring people a reason for migrations?
They could have accidently found an island as they use boats for fishing and other activities and chose to migrate there
Why was creating their own settlements a reason for migration?
The settlers may have wanted to set up their own communities away from larger ones
Why was fleeing enslavement or attacks a reason for migration?
They might have seen islands as places of refuge from the warlike kalinago who were moving into their territory
Why was the kalinago being warlike a reason to migrate?
They probably migrated in search of new prey or targets or in pursuit of the tainos
Why was the urge to explore important?
Some groups may have wanted to explore new lands
What were the reasons the Taino and kalinago settled in different Caribbean groups?
The tainos were the first to enter the Caribbean and when the kalinago came they attacked Taino villages
What was the pre-Colombian name for Jamaica?
Xymaca/Yamaye
What was the pre-Colombian name for Cuba?
Cubanakan
What was the pre-Colombian name for Haiti?
Haiti bohio/Quisqueya
What was the pre-Colombian name for Bahamas?
Lucayo
What was the pre-Colombian name for Puerto Rico?
Boriquen
When did different Taino groups enter the greater Antilles?
Between 250 AD and 1000 AD
What was the size of Taino settlements and the population of villages?
Taino settlements were towns of about 1000 houses and 3000-4000 people. On average, the villages had 150 people.
What were the locations of settlements?
Taino villages were mainly found near the sea, rivers or streams on fertile flat land on the coastal plains or hillsides.
Who ruled each village and province?
A headman ruled villages and a cacique ruled provinces
What were reasons certain locations were chosen?
For domestic use, trading, fishing, and on top of a hill to protect from kalinago attacks.
What were the reasons Amerindian settlements might have maintained contact with one another?
To maintain family ties, aid eachother against hostile groups, share cultural, social and religious activities, and trade with islands
What is a cacique?
The leader of the arawaks who lives in a bohio.
What was the role of the cacique?
Dealt with the distribution of land, ordering the labour of the land, the leader in war, and negotiated to maintain peace
What were some privileges of the cacique?
his house was larger than others, he was given the best foods, he was carried in a litter and some of his wives were buried with him.
What is a Duho?
A special ceremonial stool carved out of wood in the shape of an animal
What would happen when a cacique was not able to perform his duties because he was gravely ill or seriously injured?
He was strangled or replaced by his eldest son
What was the nitainos?
They were also called nobles and were lesser chiefs. They were usually the oldest men in society.
What were duties of the nitainos?
They had to know the borders of their peoples land and remember agreements reached with other groups
What were naborios?
They were the common people who made up most of the population.
What were the daily activities of the Tainos?
Fishing, hunting, gathering and agriculture.
Who always prepared food?
The women
How was cassava prepared?
It was turned into a paste and the poison was extracted out of a wicker.
What other dishes did the women prepare?
Pepper pot, and cassareep which was the juice of a cassava.
What was the tainos favorite dish?
Pepperpot
How was pepperpot made?
It was cooked in a large clay pot with cassava juice from which the juice was extracted, along with beans, peanuts, potato and meat like iguana, turtle and yellow snake and also pepper.
What role did the children play in terms of crops?
They helped with clearing the crops of pests.
What were signs of beauty in the Taino?
Flattened foreheads.
What were the two main types of houses?
The bohio and the caneye.
Who’s and how was the bohio shaped?
The caciques house was rectangular and had several rooms.
Who’s and how was the caneye shaped?
The general populations house was round with a thatched roof
What were reasons of celebration for the Taino?
The naming of a baby, the wedding of a cacique, the inauguration of a new cacique, harvest time and the return of a victorious war.
What happened during celebrations?
On special occasions men and women painted themselves and wore jewelry made of gold.
What were the economic practices of tainos?
They traded goods with each other over long distances.
What are 2 items traded by the Taino?
Volcanic stone and conch shells.
What were methods of obtaining food?
Fishing, hunting, gathering, agriculture, animal rearing and trade.
What are 3 types of fish eaten by the Taino?
Manatee, crabs and lobsters
What are 3 types of animals the Taino hunted?
Birds, lizards and small animals.
What was Agriculture like?
Taino grew crops like cassava, sweet potatoes, yautia, groundnuts, maize and beans mainly for themselves.
What was the slash and burn method?
They burnt the land to clear it of weeds and bush and cut down the trees to make space for planting.
What was the conuco cultivation?
An organized system of large scale agriculture that produces starch-based foods and foods rich in sugar. A family would cultivate a conuco for 2-3 years and moved on to a new fresh plot after the soil became infertile. The old one would be left for the same amount of time and then brought back to production
What was the main crop grown?
Manioc or Cassava. (Manioc is cassava)
What was the tainos religion?
Animism.
What is animism?
The belief that spirits inhabit natural objects.
How many gods did the Taino worship?
More than one as they were polytheistic.
What is a zemi?
Their gods, spirits or idols.
What were the zemis made of?
Clay, cotton, wood, bones of their ancestors or stone
What did each family have?
Each family had its own zemi.
What was said about the cacique for him to hold his power?
The caciques zemi was said to be more powerful a than anyone else’s.
What was believed about the zemi in terms of them controlling things?
It was believed that they controlled sickness, weather, crops, peace and war.
Who were the most important gods among the Taino?
Yucahu and his mother Atabey.
Who is the goddess of rivers and fertility?
Atabey
Who is the god of cassava and the sea?
Yucahu
Who and how was communicating with a zemi done?
Priests of caciques cleaned themselves by vomitong using a special vomit stick and they would inhale cohoba through a fork-tube which caused hallucinations.
What were the various art forms of the Taino?
Architecture, music, painting, pottery, instruments, weaving cotton, basketry, tobacco, canoe building and making jewelry with gold.
