What did the Tainos practice?

What did the Taínos practice?

The Taínos were farmers and fishers, and practiced intensive root crop cultivation in conucos, or small raised plots. Manioc was the principal crop, but potatoes, beans, peanuts, peppers and other plants were also grown.

What type of farming did the Taínos practice?

The Taíno had a developed system of agriculture which was environmentally friendly and almost maintenance free. 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.

What did the Taínos worship?

The Taínos were deeply religious and worshipped many gods and spirits. Above the gods there were two supreme beings, one male and one female. The physical representation of the gods and spirits were zemis, made of made of wood, stone, bone, shell, clay and cotton.

What were the Taínos skilled at?

Skilled at agriculture and hunting, Taínos were also good sailors, fishermen, canoe makers, and navigators. Their main crops were cassava, garlic, potatoes, yautías, mamey, guava, and anón. Its believed that Taíno settlements ranged from single families to groups of 3,000 people.

How do you practice Taino religion?

There were three primary religious practices:

1. Religious worship and obeisance to the zemi themselves.
2. Dancing in the village court during special festivals of thanksgiving or petition.
3. Medicine men, or priests, consulting the zemi for advice and healing. This was done in public ceremonies with song and dance.

How did the Tainos get to Jamaica?

They reached Jamaica via the Dominican Republic and soon absorbed the Saladoid culture into their own. The Tainos enslaved the Saladoids, making them a labouring underclass that was denied Taino luxuries such as hammocks and cassava. The Spanish later noted this ‘underclass’ calling them the Naborias.

Who is the Tainos God?

Taíno religion, as recorded by late 15th and 16th century Spaniards, centered on a supreme creator god and a fertility goddess. The creator god is Yúcahu Maórocoti and he governs the growth of the staple food, the cassava. The goddess is Attabeira, who governs water, rivers, and seas.

What is the Tainos god known for?

Yocahu: Yocahu is the leading god of the Taino people. However, like most gods who lead a people, Yocahu lives in the sky to keep watch over the Taino people. He is also considered a god of fertility as well and was associated with the Taino’s main crop, the root known as cassava.

What did the Taino call themselves?

The Taíno name for Puerto Rico was Boriken. This is why Puerto Rico is now also called Borinquen by Puerto Rican people, and why many Puerto Ricans call themselves Boricua. Many Puerto Rican towns still have the original Taíno name (Caguas, Cayey, Humacao, Guayama and others).

What did the Taino people do for a living?

Taíno Society 1 Economy. The Taínos were farmers and fishers, and practiced intensive root crop cultivation in conucos, or small raised plots. 2 Taíno socio-political organization. The Taíno are thought to have been matrilineal, tracing their ancestry through the female line. 3 Taíno gender roles. 4 Art and belief among the Taíno.

What did people do to prepare for zemi?

People induced vomiting with a swallowing stick. This was to purge the body of impurities, both a literal physical purging and a symbolic spiritual purging. This ceremonial purging and other rites were a symbolic changing before zemi. Women served bread (a communion rite), first to zemi, then to the cacique followed by the other people.

Who was the medicine man in the Taino culture?

The shaman (medicine man or priests) presented the carved figures of the zemi. The cacique sat on wooden stool, a place of honor. (There are many surviving stone carvings of the cacique on his stool).

Why are there so many Arawak / Tanio myths?

Because of these powers there are many Arawak/Tanio stories which account for the origins of some experienced phenomena in myth and or magic. Several myths had to do with caves. The sun and moon, for example, came out of caves. Another story tells that the people lived in caves and only came out at night.