History shows that people had been living on the islands of the Caribbean for thousands of years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492. It is known that several groups of people, known as Amerindians, came from the mainland of South and Central America to settle in the islands we now know as the Caribbean. For us, the Taínos and Arawak are the indigenous tribes of Jamaica and are considered our “First People” making them and their history a significant part of the Jamaican story.
The People
The Taino/Arawaks, among other tribes, originated around the Orinoco River in South America and moved toward the islands. This settlement movement started at about 4000 B.C.. Taínos spread across the Greater Antilles and Caribbean islands including Puerto Rico and Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti today). The Western Taínos were the group that settled in Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Cuba. These original inhabitants of Jamaica named the island Xaymaca, which meant “land of wood and water”. They were known to be mild and simple people that led quiet, peaceful lives.
What did they eat?
The Arawaks brought with them many things on their voyage including fruits like guava, along with supplies of sweet potatoes, yams, corn, and cotton. They also grew cassava, various other fruits and vegetables, and tobacco. After being harvested, the maize was ground into corn flour using mortar and pestle. They also made cassava bread that was dry and brittle like biscuits. It is also noted that to do other work, they often made a dish called “pepperpot” that was always cooking gently in a large pot and always ready to eat. The main ingredient was cassava juice (after the poison was carefully extracted) and included bits of meat, fish, potatoes, yam, corn, herbs, and of course, pepper.
They practiced subsistence living since they had no way of storing food for any length of time so food would come directly from the fields and straight into the pot.
The Taino way of life
Although they built villages all over the island they mostly settled on the coasts and near rivers so could fish for food. As for hunting, they went for small animals such as iguanas, coneys, agoutis which were mostly used in stews. Their weapon of choice for food was a bone-tipped harpoon.
Although the Tainos left no written records we know something of their lifestyle and culture. The Tainos lived in most areas of the island with villages scattered along the coasts and near rivers, with some scattered inland. Their houses (bohios) were made of a wooden framework of firmly tied posts built to withstand hurricanes. The roofs were sloped steeply and covered with palm thatch; their walls were made of plaited reeds and bark. The houses were grouped together around an open square/plaza (caneyes) where ceremonies and dances took place.
Jamaica had over 200 village sites ruled by chiefs or caciques (especially around what is now Old Harbour). The largest house in each village was the bohio where the chief (called cacique) lived. Here, he would gather mitaynos (headmen of the tribe) and discuss government-related issues.
The Tainos’ physical appearance was recorded as them being light brown in colour, short and well-shaped with coarse, black hair. Their faces were broad and their noses flat. The Taino also practiced head shaping, whereby at birth children had their heads bound to flatten their foreheads. Nose and ear piercing were also popular.
Arrival of the Europeans
On arrival at St Ann’s Bay, Columbus found the Arawak Indians inhabiting the island. Initially, he thought them hostile, as they attacked his men when they tried to land on the island. The Spanish then began to attack the Tainos thus allowing Columbus to land and claim the island.
The Spaniards, when they came, forced the Arawak men to work but mostly tortured and killed them to get their land. The colonizers had the natives working in Spanish mines and plantations which led them to slowly experience a lack of food as they were not able to work on their own crops. The massacre of the Tainos was also aided by the introduction of European diseases to which the Arawaks had little or no resistance. Thus, the island remained poor under Spanish rule and Jamaica was reduced to being a supply base for the Spaniards: food, men, arms, and horses were shipped here to help in conquering the American mainland.
Where are the indigenous people today?
It was previously believed that the Tainos became “extinct” shortly after the arrival of Christopher Columbus but thanks to research done by the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, it’s been found that descendants of the Tainos are still living in the Caribbean today.
Their research claims to show clear evidence that there has been some degree of continuity between the indigenous people of the Caribbean and modern communities living in the region today.
Although no one alive today is fully Taino, this research shows that the ancient population didn’t completely go extinct, either.