Taino vs Kalinago
COMPARING TAINO & KALINAGO
TAINO
KALINAGO
SETTLEMENT & LOCATION:
Usually located near the sea or river either on a plain or on the hillside overlooking the sea.
Territories settled:
SETTLEMENT & LOCATION:
Usually located near the sea on the windward side of the island to guard against surprise attacks.
Territories settled:
SOCIAL LIFE:
Taino society had a strong class structure. The most important persons enjoyed certain privileges as well as power. Taino had a hierarchical society.
Cacique Nobles
Village Headman
Commoners
The Taínos were divided in three social classes. The naborias (work class), the nitaínos (sub-chiefs and noblemen) which include the bohiques (priests and medicine men), and the caciques (chiefs)
Appearance:
Brown skinned, medium height, plump, and decorated. Straight black hair, usually worn long, with a fringe/bang. The men were generally naked, but the women sometimes wore short skirts or long skirts for the cacique’s wife. Men and women alike adorned their bodies with paint and shells and other decorations
Housing:
Made of wooden framework of firmly tied posts, covered with reed and thatch, built to withstand hurricane. In all Taino settlements several families shared one house called the CANEYE. It was round, sometimes had window and did not have a smoke hole.
The Cacique’s house (BOHIO) was often larger than the caneye and was rectangular in shape and sometimes had a porch
The house of the cacique contained only his family. However, given the number of wives he might have, this constituted a huge family. The round houses of the common people were also large. Each one had about 10-15 men and their whole families. Thus any Taino home might house a hundred people.
The houses did not contain much furniture. People slept in cotton hammocks or simply on mats of banana leaves. They also made wooden chairs with woven seats, couches and built cradles for their
TAINO
KALINAGO
SETTLEMENT & LOCATION:
Usually located near the sea or river either on a plain or on the hillside overlooking the sea.
Territories settled:
SETTLEMENT & LOCATION:
Usually located near the sea on the windward side of the island to guard against surprise attacks.
Territories settled:
SOCIAL LIFE:
Taino society had a strong class structure. The most important persons enjoyed certain privileges as well as power. Taino had a hierarchical society.
Cacique Nobles
Village Headman
Commoners
The Taínos were divided in three social classes. The naborias (work class), the nitaínos (sub-chiefs and noblemen) which include the bohiques (priests and medicine men), and the caciques (chiefs)
Appearance:
Brown skinned, medium height, plump, and decorated. Straight black hair, usually worn long, with a fringe/bang. The men were generally naked, but the women sometimes wore short skirts or long skirts for the cacique’s wife. Men and women alike adorned their bodies with paint and shells and other decorations
Housing:
Made of wooden framework of firmly tied posts, covered with reed and thatch, built to withstand hurricane. In all Taino settlements several families shared one house called the CANEYE. It was round, sometimes had window and did not have a smoke hole.
The Cacique’s house (BOHIO) was often larger than the caneye and was rectangular in shape and sometimes had a porch
The house of the cacique contained only his family. However, given the number of wives he might have, this constituted a huge family. The round houses of the common people were also large. Each one had about 10-15 men and their whole families. Thus any Taino home might house a hundred people.
The houses did not contain much furniture. People slept in cotton hammocks or simply on mats of banana leaves. They also made wooden chairs with woven seats, couches and built cradles for their