What did the Tainos worship?
The Taínos were deeply religious and worshipped many gods and spirits. Above the gods there were two supreme beings, one male and one female. The physical representation of the gods and spirits were zemis, made of made of wood, stone, bone, shell, clay and cotton. gods.
What traditions did the Tainos have?
They continue traditions such as the preparation of cassava bread, traditional weaving, instrument making and other artisania, canoe crafting, and the observance of important ceremonies. To this day, there are many in Puerto Rico who use medicinal plants and farming methods that come directly from our Taino heritage.
What religion did the Taíno practice?
Taíno religion centered on the worship of zemís or cemís. Cemís were either gods, spirits, or ancestors. There were two supreme gods: Yúcahu, which means spirit of cassava, was the god of cassava (the Taínos main crop) and the sea and Atabey, mother of Yúcahu, was the goddess of fresh waters and fertility.
How did the Taíno celebrate?
An areito was a “bailar candanto” or “sung dance”, an intoxicating blend of dance, music and poetry, and it played a significant role in Taíno social, political, and religious life. The stones and embankments were often decorated with carved images of zemis, mythological beings or noble ancestors of the Taíno.
How did the Taíno dress?
Men wore loincloths and women wore aprons of cotton or palm fibres. Both sexes painted themselves on special occasions, and they wore earrings, nose rings, and necklaces, which were sometimes made of gold. The Taino also made pottery, baskets, and implements of stone and wood.
What did the Taíno eat?
Taíno staples included vegetables, fruit, meat, and fish. There were no large animals native to the Caribbean, but they captured and ate small animals, such as hutias and other mammals, earthworms, lizards, turtles, and birds.
What are the basic needs of the Tainos?
Food and Agriculture The Arawak/Taíno diet, like ours, centered around meat or fish as the primary source of protein. There never were many wild animals to hunt on Hispaniola, but there were some small mammals which were hunted and enjoyed.
Why is Taino culture important?
The Taíno culture impressed both the Spanish (who observed it) and modern sociologists. The Arawakan achievements included construction of ceremonial ball parks whose boundaries were marked by upright stone dolmens, development of a universal language, and creation of a complicated religious cosmology.
What did the Taino call themselves?
The Taínos lived on an island which they called Guanahani. After arriving on the island, Columbus renamed it as “San Salvador” (Spanish for “Holy Savior”). It was Columbus who called the Taíno “Indians,” an identification that has grown to encompass all the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere.
What is Taino Indian culture?
Taino Indian Culture Taíno Indians, a subgroup of the Arawakan Indians (a group of American Indians in northeastern South America), inhabited the Greater Antilles (comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola [Haiti and the Dominican Republic], and Puerto Rico) in the Caribbean Sea at the time when Christopher Columbus’ arrived to the New World.
Where did the Tainos live in the Caribbean?
Skip Navigation. Taíno Indians, a subgroup of the Arawakan Indians (a group of American Indians in northeastern South America), inhabited the Greater Antilles (comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola [Haiti and the Dominican Republic], and Puerto Rico) in the Caribbean Sea at the time when Christopher Columbus’ arrived to the New World.
What did the Taíno use for place names?
Taíno place names are still used for such towns as Utuado, Mayagüez, Caguas, and Humacao, among others. Many Taíno implements and techniques were copied directly by the Europeans, including the bohío (straw hut) and the hamaca (hammock), the musical instrument known as the maracas, and the method of making cassava bread.
What did the Taino serve to their zemis?
Taino Indian Culture. They therefore served cassava (manioc) bread as well as beverages and tobacco to their zemis as propitiatory offerings. Maboyas, on the other hand, was a nocturnal deity who destroyed the crops and was feared by all the natives, to the extent that elaborate sacrifices were offered to placate him.