Indigenous peoples of the region

Debbion Hyman, Contributor

Caribbean historians have expelled the notion that the history of the Americas began
with the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the 'New World' in 1492. In actuality,
groups of indigenous peoples had developed societies spread across the Americas.
Our focus will be on the peoples who populated the Caribbean and parts of South
and Central America - the Tainos, Kalinagos and Mayans.

The ancestors of the indigenous peoples (Amerindians) were originally from Central
East Asia and came across the frozen Bering Strait/Beringia to North America during
the Ice Age. They were nomadic peoples who followed their food (mammoth) and
this is presented as a factor that accounted for them wandering from Asia into North
America. The nomads wandered southward through North, Central and South
America, evolving distinct physical and cultural characteristics. Three distinct groups
developed societies in parts of the Caribbean and in Central and South Americas. The
Tainos were located in Jamaica, Hispaniola, Cuba, Puerto Rico and some parts of the
Bahamas and Trinidad. The Kalinagos in Grenada, Tobago, St Vincent, St Kitts and
Nevis, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. The Mayans were located in Mexico, Belize,
Honduras and Guatemala.

These societies were organised primarily on a political, religious, economic and social
basis. In this week's lesson, we will assess the political, religious and economic
organisation.

Political organisation

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 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. Listed below are several of the duties of the cacique.

1. Final judge in all disputes

2. Made laws

3. Head of religious ceremonies

4. Distributed land and allocated labour

5. Officiated religious and social festivals.

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. Listed below are some of the duties of
the ouboutou.

1. He decided when raids would be held.

2. He presided over victory celebrations.

The position of Mayan chief (the halach uinich) was inherited through family lineage.
This position passed from father to son, however, if the son of the deceased ruler
were not competent, one of his brothers became head of state. If he 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 Mayan
society. The ppolms were important merchants who had their own laws, worshipped
their own gods and did not have to pay taxes.

Religious organisation

Religion played an integral role in the life of the indigenous peoples. These groups
were polytheistic in nature as they believed in many gods.

Tainos worshipped idols known as zemis. Each family in the village would have a
zemi, but the cacique's was thought to be the most powerful in the village. Zemis
were considered to possess potent skills - they controlled the weather, crops,
sickness, 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.

The Kalinagos were also idol worshippers with the maboya being the most important.
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.
Instead of idols, the Mayans had several gods; these included Yum Kax (god of corn)
and Chac (god of rain), two of the important ones. They believed in immortality of
the soul and practised burying the dead with several of their favourite items that
they would use in the afterlife.

Economic/agricultural activities

The Amerindians were also very good mariners, they traded beyond the limits of the
Caribbean Sea and further afield to South and North America. To facilitate this trade,
they made huge canoes which could be as long as 25 metres with the capacity for 50
people from tree trunks. In these, they transported their wares, like cotton textile
goods and ceramics, which they traded with neighbouring peoples and farther afield.
They also possessed well-crafted stone tools - knives, scrapers and axes - that
further facilitated the constructing of their important boats and allowed them to
make impressive woodcarvings.

In terms of agricultural practices, it was primarily subsistence farming that was

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.