The Tainos and Kalinagos

THE TAINOS AND KALINAGOS OBJECTIVES ▪ Locate on a map of the Caribbean the settlements of the Tainos and Kalinagos. ▪ Examine the factors influencing the migration and settlement of the Tainos and the Kalinagos ▪ Describe the physical appearance and the dress of the Tainos and the Kalinagos. ▪ Assess the nature of Tainos and Kalinagos architecture. ▪ Discuss the survival strategies, ( farming, fishing, hunting, trading) used by the Tainos the and Kalinagos ▪ Compare the social, religious and political life of the Tainos and the Kalinagos with contemporary society. ▪ Appreciate the Tainos ’and Kalinagos’ ability to manipulate the natural environment in journeying across the Caribbean from South America, surviving natural disasters: hurricanes, floods etc. KEY TERMS ▪ Figure out the meanings of these terms on your own ▪ Do you know them? Indigenous Migration Nomad Amerindian THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE CARIBBEAN ▪The Tainos- spoke Arawak, were peaceful people. ▪The Kalinagos- spoke Carib, were warlike. KEY TERMS ▪ Indigenous-originating and living or occurring naturally in an area or environment. ▪ Migration- is the movement by people from one place to another with the intention of settling in the new location. ▪ Nomad- a member of a people that travels from place to place to find fresh pasture for its animals and has no permanent home. ▪ Amerindian-coined in the beginning of the twentieth century, is a generic term for all of the aboriginal inhabitants of the Americas. THE MIGRATORY PATTERNS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN THE CARIBBEAN WHERE DID THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES COME FROM? WHERE DID THEY SETTLE? ▪ During the Ice Age, humans relied on hunting and gathering their food to survive. ▪ They were nomadic because the animals they hunted moved around in search of food. ▪ The people of Beringia probably followed and hunted caribou, mammoth and deer across the plains. ▪ Humans also depended on animals for their clothing and shelter, camping in animal skin tents as they travelled across Beringia. WHY DID THEY MIGRATE? ▪1. The population might have outgrown their food resources and needed to find new areas to cultivate. ▪2. Climatic change may have affected food supply and health and so they needed a new place to settle. ▪3. The Tainos might have wanted to escape from their enemies- The Kalinagos or other warring groups. ▪Historians assumed that the Caribbean became inhabited as people from South America island hopped from the Lesser Antilles to the Greater Antilles- starting from Trinidad and continued up to Cuba. ▪Sea currents favour travel from south to north and from east to west. ▪The Tainos’ South American ancestors rode these currents out of the Orinoco River and into the Leeward Islands. ▪Modern Historians, based on archaeological evidence believe that some people rowed directly from Venezuela to the Leeward Islands and eastern Puerto Rico. ACTIVITY Two truths and one lie about the Tainos ▪ The Tainos originated in Asia ▪ Some Tainos settled in Jamaica ▪ The Tainos worshipped the Caciques THEY CAME, THEY SAW, THEY STAYED WHY DID THE TAINOS AND THE KALINAGOS SETTLE IN THE CARIBBEAN? 1. The coast served as a defense mechanism 2. For fishing 3. For recreation- swimming, canoe raising. 4. For domestic purposes- cooking, washing, cleaning 5. Farming- The Kalinago did little to no farming 6. For transportation purposes. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE AND DRESS OF THE TAINOS • The Tainos were short to medium height, well shaped but slightly built. • They had flat foreheads • They had straight, long, black, coarse hair. • Their skin was smooth and olive brown as they were of the Mongoloid TAINO DRESS ▪The Tainos often decorated hair with parrot feathers. ▪Ears, noses, and often the lower lip were pierced so that ornaments like gold could be worn. ▪ Bodies of men and women were painted, especially on ceremonial occasions. ▪ The hair was usually worn loose and flowing. STANDARDS OF BEAUTY TAINO FOOD AND DIET ▪They had a good balanced diet consisting of fruits and vegetables which included pineapple, star apples, guavas and cashews. ▪They cultivated cassava (manioc), sweet potatoes and groundnuts. ▪Their favorite dish was pepper pot soup, which was made whichever meat they had, stewed with vegetables, pepper and yellow snake. ▪This dish often served the whole family for several days, as more ingredients were added each time some was eaten. Cassava was an important crop for the Tainos ACTIVITY ▪Imagine that you are Taino and its harvest time. Draw a food basket in which you display the different foods consumed by the Tainos. Your food basket should be creative. TAINO MENU ▪ Create a menu of the foods the Tainos eat. TAINO ARCHITECTURE The Taíno used two primary architectural styles for their homes. The general population lived in circular buildings with poles providing the primary support and these were covered with woven straw and palm leaves. The Caciques were singled out for unique housing. Their house were rectangular and even featured a small porch. Despite the difference in shape, and the considerably larger buildings, the same materials were used. ▪ The houses 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 CHILDREN. KALINAGO ARCHITECTURE The Kalinagos lived in houses made of thatch poles and twigs. A storehouse was constructed beside the hut where they stored furniture, tools weapons and so on. They had a meeting house called a Karbay where men met to plan raids and discuss important matters pertaining to the village. The Kalinago villages were made up of a small number of houses. FISHING, FARMING AND HUNTING SURVIVAL STRATEGIES The Tainos had two main agricultural practices: ▪ Subsistence Farming ▪ Slash and Burn agriculture THE CONUCO ▪ The forest was cleared by burning trees and bushes and then planting crops. ▪ This method of clearing the forest is known as the slash- and-burn technique. ▪ Manioc or cassava was their main crop. They also cultivated other crops such as maize or corn, sweet potato, cotton, groundnuts, and tobacco. ▪ They raised their crops in a conuco, a large mound which was devised especially for farming. They packed the conuco with leaves which improved drainage and protected it from soil erosion. ▪ Since manioc could be harmful, they squeezed the juices out of it before making flour. The flour was then used to make thin, flat cakes or cassava bread. ▪ The Tainos practiced farming and gathering along with fishing and hunting. They caught and ate various types of fish, crabs, lobsters, turtles, shellfish, and manatee (sea cow). The coral reefs around the islands were filled with these animals which were easily caught by harpoon, or by hand. ▪ Turtles were caught by tying a remora (sucker-fish) that was caught on a long line to a canoe. The remora would dive for the turtle and attach itself to the back with its sucker. The turtle would then be pulled into the canoe by the fishermen. ▪ Hunting on land was more difficult as there were few large animals to put in a stew. The iguana, agouti and the Indian coney gave the most meat. Birds such as parrots, doves and wild ducks were also hunted and caught by slipping a noose over their heads. ▪ There was only one type of domestic animal called an alcos (a small barkless dog). These small dogs were used to help the Tainos hunt. THE ROLE OF MEN AND WOMEN POLITICAL ORGANISATION: COMPARISON PRIVILEGES OF THE LEADERS THE CACIQUE ▪ Privileges (cont’d): ✔Had a special ceremonial stool called duho. ✔Zemi was more powerful than all others. - In the larger islands the tribe was divided into provinces or districts and was ruled by sub chiefs or village headmen called Mitayno or Touchau. TAINO AND KALINAGO RELIGION THE KALINAGOS BELIEVED ALSO THAT - Death meant a journey either to a heaven or a hell; cowardly souls went to a dreary desert where they became the slaves of Taino masters. - The dead were buried with bowls and weapons which they would need in the afterlife. TAINO AND KALINAGO SOCIAL LIFE WAYS IN WHICH THEY DEPENDED ON THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT They made use of the following for survival: ▪ Rivers – for fishing and domestic uses such as washing, cooking, cleaning and so on. ▪ Sea- for transportation between the islands and fishing. ▪ Trees – make canoe, houses, utensils, zemi and weapons. ▪ Cotton- used to make cloth, hammock, zemi. ▪ Shells and beads- used to make ornaments. ▪ Seeds – used to make ornaments. ▪ Gold- used to make ornaments. ▪ Stone- used for carvings, stools, weapons and to make zemi. ▪ Fruits- to eat, to make jam and sauce. ▪ Food- such as cassava, pepper, sweet potatoes.