History

The indigenous peoples of the Americas: part 1

OBJECTIVES
By the end of the lesson you should be able to:
1. Describe the migratory pattern of indigenous peoples to the Americas and to the Caribbean -territories (through North, Central and South America) and their interactions.
2.State the geographical location of the Tainos (Arawak), Kalinagos (Carib) and Mayans.
3. Discuss the social organisation of the Tainos and Kalinagos.

The study of Caribbean history begins with an examination of the indigenous peoples (Amerindians/neo-Indians) who populated this area thousands of years ago. These indigenous peoples had developed societies that spread across the Americas, the Caribbean, and parts of South America and Central America.
The ancestors of the indigenous peoples were originally from Central East Asia and came across the frozen Bering Strait/Beringia to North America during the Ice Age. The Bering Strait, in essence, was a frozen ice bridge, which connected Asia to North America. They were nomadic people, and in search of food they wandered from Asia to North America. Their wandering would have taken them southward through

For the purpose of your study, we will focus on three distinct groups, which developed societies in parts of the Caribbean and in Central and South America. The Tainos were located in Hispaniola, Cuba, Puerto Rico and some parts of The Bahamas and Trinidad. The Kalinagos were in Grenada, Tobago, St Vincent, St Kitts & Nevis, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. The Mayans were located in Mexico, Belize,
Honduras

SOCIAL ORGANISATION OF THE TAINOS AND KALINAGOS LABOUR DIVISION
The duties in a Taino village were assigned based on age and sex. In this regard, men and boys undertook tasks such as clearing the fields, hunting, fishing and defense of the village. They were also responsible for house construction and canoe making. Females played important roles as well. They were responsible for crop cultivation, spinning and weaving of cotton, making handicrafts (baskets, hammocks, aprons and utensils) and child rearing. There were significant similarities in the Kalinago society in regard to age and sex and the assignment of duties and responsibilities.

MARRIAGE
Taino women had little choice in marriage as parents often arranged marriages when the girls were close to puberty. Polygamy was a common practice among the noble classes and it was usually the norm for the chief or cacique to have many wives. The ‘ordinary’ Taino men usually had only one wife for economic reasons. This is so as men desirous of marrying had to make payment of a ‘bride price’ and many commoners had to pay for their wives through service to her parents. Elite men and chiefs, however, could afford to pay for their bride in trading goods.

VILLAGE LIFE
Segregating the sexes was practiced in Kalinago societies. Boys were sent to live in communal houses when they reached puberty and would remain living in these dwellings even during adulthood. This was not the case in Taino communities. Taino villages were normally established on sites with easy access to reliable fresh water and to provide them with flat, fertile ground for crop cultivation. Importantly, many villages were located along coastal areas for defense purposes. To prevent the likelihood of surprise attacks, military defense was part of the consideration in setting up these villages. They were generally laid out around a central village square and consisted of individual houses with thatched roofs and timber walls. These villages housed between three and five hundred people.

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

a) Describe the religious organization of the Tainos, Kalinagos and Mayans
b) Discuss the political and economic organisation of the Tainos, Kalinagos and Mayans

RELIGIOUS ORGANISATION
Religion served as an important part of the life of the indigenous peoples. These groups were polytheistic in nature as they believed in many gods.

TAINOS
The Tainos worshipped idols knownas zemis. Each family in the village would have a zemi but the cacique’s was thought to be the most powerful. Zemis were considered to possess potent skills
– they controlled the sickness, crops, weather, war and peace. As such, communication was quite critical with them and this was carried out by the cacique. The zemis were often fed cassava because it was believed that if they went hungry, they themselves would fall ill.

KALINAGOS
Religion and worship were also important to the Kalinagos – they worshipped maboyas. Many Kalinago boys were trained as priests or boyez. During this time he frequently had to fast and abstain from eating meat. The boy had to undergo a rigid initiation process as well. One of the boyez’s duties had to do with overcoming evil spirits; the maboya was used in this process. They felt that each person had his own maboya and that all evils, whether sickness, defeat in battle or even death, came because of a spell put on them by an enemy maboya.

MAYANS
The Mayans worshipped more than 160 gods including Yum Kax (god of corn) and Chac (god of rain). They believed in the immortality of the soul and practiced burying the dead with several of their favorite items, which they would use in the afterlife.

ECONOMIC/AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES
The indigenous peoples were also very good mariners, trading beyond the limits of the Caribbean Sea and further afield to South and North America. To facilitate this trade they made huge canoes from tree trunks, which could be as long as 25 metres, with the capacity for 50 people. In these they transported their wares, like cotton textile goods and ceramics, which they traded with neighboring peoples and others further afield. They also possessed well-crafted stone tools – knives, scrapers and axes – that further facilitated the construction of their important boats and allowed them to make impressive woodcarvings. It was primarily subsistence farming that was practiced by both the Tainos and Kalinagos. Crops cultivated included maize, peanut, sweet potato, hot pepper and cassava. They ate animals such as snails, shellfish, turtle eggs, iguanas, agoutis, birds, yellow snake and their favorite dish, pepperpot. The Kalinagos cultivated crops such as cassava, sweet potato and yam and ate animals such as manatee, birds, agouti and fish. They ate neither pig nor turtle because they believed these foods would make them stupid. They also refused to consume crab before a voyage, as this would have caused rough seas, they believed. The Mayans had a rich seafood diet that included fish and oyster. Their economic system was more complex and they had land and seaborne trade between city-states carried out by the ppolms. A barter system was in place that facilitated the exchange of foods, textile and minerals. Cocoa beans were the official currency.

POLITICAL ORGANISATION
TAINOS
The cacique/chief of the Taino society enjoyed a hereditary position. This was passed from father to son; however, if there were no male heir the eldest son of his eldest sister would assume the title. I should point out, however, that this was quite rare. Nobles or nitayanos assisted the cacique in the village. These were usually older men who were considered wise and mature.
The cacique was entrusted with several responsibilities such as:
a) making the laws
b) distributing land and allocating labour
c) officiating religious and social festivals
d) heading religious ceremonies
e) being the final judge in all disputes.

KALINAGOS
The ouboutou was the chief of the Kalinago society – one had to defeat or kill several enemies in battle to be elected to this position. In essence, he was chosen because of his prowess in combat. Lesser governors for their villages, who ruled in times of peace, assisted the ouboutou. These men were called tiubutuli hauthe and carried out duties such as supervising the fishing and cultivating, as well as leading in social ceremonies. Other leaders included the nobles and priests (boyez), the latter’s primary role being that of a religious nature. The duties of the ouboutou included presiding over victory celebrations and deciding when raids were to be held.

MAYANS
The position of Mayan chief (the halach uinich) was inherited through family lineage; it passed from father to son. However, if the son of the deceased ruler was not competent, one of his brothers became head of state. If this were not successful either, a council of nobles would elect a suitable person from the ruler’s family. Nobles and ppolms (merchants) were other important persons in the Mayan society.
The ppolms were important merchants who had their own laws, worshipped their own gods and did not have to pay taxes.