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1. Baramaya
Taíno Page— “Baramaya is a yukayeke of Taíno
families questing to learn their Taíno culture and traditions…”
2. BIARAKU
--An excellent web resource overall: heavily loaded with samples of art
work, poetry, personal testimonies, history, discussions, documents, reports,
and excellent links. A resource worthy of high praise.
3.
Bobby
Gonzalez --Native American/Latino lecturer,
storyteller, and poet.
6. Ciboney
Tribe of Florida History, Culture, Organization,
Services, Marketplace, Comments, Newsletter. Descendants of the original
tribes of the island of Cuba founded the Ciboney Tribe in June 1998 as
a non-for profit organization in the State of Florida. It was formed to
provide leadership within our community, ensure that the necessary legislation
is put in place to protect and recover our patrimony, to research, document
and archive the cultural phenomenon of our region, and most importantly
to provide management and conservation of our cultural Cuban Indian heritage.
Jorge Luis Salt, Pres. Tamara Cunill-Salt, V.Pres. Robert Cunill,Sec. Rosy
Vazquez,Treas.
8. The
Jatibonicu Taíno Tribal Nation Home Page: This
is an official tribal Government web site of the Jatibonicu Taíno Tribal
Nation of Boriken Puerto Rico. We as a part of the greater Taíno nation
of the Caribbean and Florida are recognized as the very first Native American
Indian Nation to greet and meet Christopher Columbus in the year 1493.
9. The
Jatibonicu Taíno Tribal Band of New Jersey "This
is the web page of the Jatibonicu Taíno tribal band, a 1930's migratory
tribal band with its origins from Puerto Rico. It forms part of the three
Taíno tribal bands of the Jatibonicu Taíno Tribal Nation of Boriken."
10. KU
KAREY SPIRITUAL CIRCLE, INC. Ku Karey Spiritual
Circle, Inc. is dedicated to maintaining Taíno culture, its language and
spirituality as we connect with all indigenous people from North, Central
and South America and the islands of the Greater and Lesser Antilles. Ku
Karey Spiritual Circle, Inc. was established for the purpose of giving
all people the opportunity to gather in a spiritual Native & Taíno
manner and to discuss topics of interest that encourage spiritual growth.
11. Maisiti
Yukayeke Taíno People Maisiti
is a community of Taíno families from all walks of life. We come together
to pray,play together and to learn the ways of our ancestors. We teach
our children to respect and honor everything on Mother Earth. Everything
we do reflexs us as a people.We help each other in times of need and celebrate
life to the fullest. We respect our elders. Grandparents are asked for their
blessing for all the people. The children are the responsibility of the
entire yukayeke. The woman are treated with high respect. We teach of the
importance of keeping the family together, for the strength of the yukayeke
are in families united and working together. That being Taíno is a way
of life. We are peaceful, patient and humble, warriors. [this page has been
retrieved from the Internet Archive]
12. Presencia
Taina: Mountain Wind Group Roger Atihiuabancex:
Taíno documentation research and development projects on Caribbean Indigenous
Cultural Arts since 1990. This website works to strengthen Taíno arts and
crafts collaborative workshop projects to promote and preserve our Caribbean
indigenous cultural arts via supplementary and alternative educational
arts programs.
13. Presencia
Taina TV: "Presencia Taina.TV has been created
to help disseminate the productions of multi-media presentations that highlight
the ancestral cultural heritage of the Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean"--includes,
Educational Videos (1/2 and 1 hour VHS productions); Research Books (rare
and out of print copies available); Maps (featuring colorful and historical
educational aides); Historical References (accomplished research assistance);
Photographs (action Taíno photos); Music (CDs and cassettes).
14. Taíno
Ancestry Legacy Keepers
Taíno
Ancestry Legacy Keepers, Inc., is a non-profit organization dedicated to
support and promote public awareness, the preservation of Taíno historical
sites, sacred ceremonial grounds, Taíno ancestry and genealogical record
keeping. Talk, Inc. fosters a positive image and serves as a supportive
source in educating and maintaining Taíno legacies and cultural events.
Talk, Inc. encourages and assists individuals in their own search for Taíno
lineage by maintaining and preserving genealogical records of Taíno culture
and its people.
17.
Taíno
Pride-- This page is dedicated to our ancestors
the Taínos, with the purpose of showing to all the different cultures who
the Taínos were. I believe it's important to educate ourselves and learn
where we came from. [Includes: Roots, Vocabulary, Legends, Characteristics,
Casabe Secrets, Anacaona, Medical Plants, Bibliography]
20. Tekesta
Taíno Tribal Band of Bimini Florida "The Tekesta
Indians lived in what is now Dade and Broward Counties, southeast Florida,
and had a capitol town, probably also called Tekesta, in Miami. Today the
Tekesta Taíno society is reorganized under the Tekesta Taíno Tribal Band
of Bimini Florida is organized and based in the area of Miami and West
Palm Beach Florida."
21. Turabo
Aymaco Taíno Tribe "The Taíno Native
American Indian Tribe of Turabo Aymaco, Borinken (Puerto Rico) is the modern-day
revival of the ancient Taíno Native American Indian Tribe of the region
of Turabo Aymaco. Our tribe represents those Taíno Native Americans who
died, and fled their homelands during the massacre that came with the arrival
of Christopher Columbus to the Americas in 1492. Our tribe also represents
those survivors and their descendants of the massacre. Our Tribe is made
up of: documented and non-documented, pure blood and non pure blood descendants
of the Taíno Turabo Aymaco Tribe, pure blood and non pure blood descendants
of other various Taíno Tribes from the entire Caribbean, and non-Taíno
friends, families, and supporters of the Taíno People. With this document
we are officially announcing our reclaiming of our ancestral legacy and
tribal sovereignty..."
22.
United Confederation of Taino People
This site features information on the
organization, contact information, a wide variety of educational resources, a
news group and a journal focusing on contemporary Taino, Carib and Arawak
Indians within and outside of the Caribbean Islands. In addition, the site
offers essays and links to affiliated organizations across the Caribbean.
23. War
Party: Telling Our Own Stories WarParty Productions
was established by three indigenous people in 1996. Its purpose is to create
and conceptualize personal stories through the use of both the film and
video medium. We are a Native owned and operated company that has a strong
commitment to the Native community....We are heavily involved in our community
here on the East Coast, providing a monthly cable access show entitled,
"WarParty Productions: An Indigenous Bootleg Network" (named such for the
limited coverage the community gets from the main stream networks.) In
this program we strive to provide access to Native peoples of North, Central,
South America and the Caribbean.
24. Yukayeke
Guajataka,
“A Taíno Yukayeke Bringing the Community Together One Family at a Time”:
this site features photographs of members, a newsletter, and an art gallery.
The group describes itself as follows: “Yukayeke Guajataka is a family
oriented community of Taíno people. We have chosen to reaffirm our social
structure as it was then, with contemporary applications now. We are not
a ‘Club’, ‘Group’ or ‘Nation’. We are a FREE community of people with a
leadership that is not beyond reproach. The leadership is chosen.......by
the people !!. Everyone has a voice !!. We are a gathering of families (Bohios)
that wish to preserve our traditions and insure a future for our children.
We will outreach, recognize, welcome and enjoin with all persons, families,
and communities who wish to reaffirm their Taíno culture and heritage…”
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
-
Chronology of Taíno
Cultural and Biological Survival, by Jorge Estevez--detailed
notes extracted from a wide array of historical sources.
-
Taíno Caves in the Dominican Republic:
An essay accompanied by an
extensive range of photographs of Taíno petroglyphs and pictographs, gathered
and arranged by Dr. Lynne Guitar
-
“The
Admiral and the Chief,” by Samuel M. Wilson, Natural History, pp. 14-19,
3/91: Excerpt, on the relationship between Guacanagari
and Columbus—“ At first, the chief and his people participated in the subjugation
of the island, accompanying the Spaniards as interpreters and allies.
But as Taíno society crumbled under the impact of Old World diseases and
the demands of the Spaniards, and as Columbus was increasingly entangled
in factional disputes among the conquerors.”
-
“Adventure
runs deep in Puerto Rico's underground”, an article on CNN.com, July 7,
2000, from the Associated Press: Tours of Camuy
Cave Park in Puerto Rico and Taíno cave paintings are described in this
article.
-
Antes
del Descubrimiento—La Cultura Taína: A
page on the pre-Columbian history and culture of the Taínos of the Dominican
Republic, focusing on agriculture, petroglyphs.
-
“Los
Aruaco-Tainos en Internet,” from the Internet Archive:
a comprehensive archaeological and anthropometric information resource,
in Spanish, on the origins and evolution of the Taínos from mainland Arawaks,
with information on Baracoa, Cuba, Taíno life, etc.—excerpt: “Los aruacos,
uno de los grupos más expandidos de América, llegaron a asentarse
desde las Lucayas y las Antillas Mayores y Menores, hasta áreas
suramerianas tan amplias como las que comprenden desde la costa norte de
la región hasta Paraguay. Los investigadores creen que su centro
era la costa norte y noroeste de América del Sur. Esa extensión
territorial se vió reducida con posterioridad por la presión
de grupos como los tupi, los caribes y los chibchas…”
-
Books
on Tainos, from the Puerto Rican History and Culture Home Page
-
Books
on Taino Culture History
-
Caciques
de Borikén—a detailed listing of the names
of indigenous chiefs, recorded during colonial times, in different parts
of what is today known as Puerto Rico, provided on the El Boricua website.
-
Cave
Art from the New World: A collection of Caribbean
Aboriginal inspired paintings of petroglyphic images and motifs, by Glenn
Woddley
-
Cuba
- Indigenous Legacies of the Caribbean, Interdisciplinary Conference And
Intensive Field Study, November 16 To 23, 1997 in Baracoa, Cuba: “This
international encounter will explore and celebrate the legacy of indigenous
peoples of the Caribbean. Participants will examine elements of indigenous
culture and history through conferences, professional exchanges, workshops
and field observations. The conference also features an historic opportunity
for a gathering of Taino culture from the eastern region of Cuba as well
as Puerto Rico and the North American diaspora….”
-
Cuba
- Indigenous Legacies of the Caribbean, A Tour - Conference, January 5
-12, 2001: “An encounter with the origins of Cuban
music, its uses in healing ceremonies with plants and other natural medicines
and its foundation in the use of the land, this January, 2001 tour is an
excellent opportunity to understand the genesis of Cuban culture, while
enjoying the charm and hospitality of eastern Cuba, its forests and coasts,
its people. From the Taino areito to the changiil' of the mountain guajiro,
this seven-day tour/conference traverses through the mountains and coasts
of eastern Cuba, the fabled "Oriente," to study with herbalists and other
medical practitioners in Cuba's health care system and to hear and experience
the rhythms of the most autochthonous instrumental musicians and vocalists
on the island. Participants will meet and share with Native peoples of
Cuba, the Caribbean and elsewhere. They will visit Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo
and Baracoa….”
-
Dominican
Republic: “For at least 5,000 years before Christopher
Columbus ‘discovered’ America for the Europeans, the island which he called
Hispaniola was inhabited by Amer-Indians.”
-
Aia
Na Ha`ina I Loko o Kakou (The Answers Lie Within Us), From Tony Castanha 10
November 1999 —“Boricua Migration to Hawai`i and
Meaning of Caribbean Indigenous Resistance, Survival and Presence on the
Island of Boriken (Puerto Rico), edited, by Tony (Akoni) Castanha, Paper
Presented at the 1999 World Indigenous Peoples' Conference on Education,
Hilo, Hawai`i, August 1-7, 1999. (Copyright, 1999)”
-
“Before
Columbus: Destroyed almost overnight by Spanish invaders, the culture of
the gentle Taino is finally coming to light” By Michael D. Lemonick, in
Archaeology, Vol. 152, no. 16, 19 October 1998 —“It
took no time at all for the native Americans who first greeted Christopher
Columbus to be all but erased from the face of the earth. For about a thousand
years the peaceful people known as the Taino had thrived in modern-day Cuba, the
Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and many other islands in the Lesser and Greater
Antilles. But less than 30 years after Columbus' three ocean-crossing ships
dropped anchor off the island of Hispaniola, the Taino would be destroyed by
Spanish weaponry, forced labor and European diseases.”
-
Caciques,
Nobles and their Regalia (The Taino World, El Museo del Barrio): “Taíno
society was divided into two classes - nobles (nitaínos) and commoners
(naborias) - governed by a hierarchy of greater and lesser chiefs known as
caciques, who were advised by high-ranking nobles and shamans (medicine men)…”
-
“Canada
First Nations Back Taino Treaty”, by José Barreiro/Marie-Helene
Laraque, from Native Americas Magazine, Hemispheric Digest, Winter 1998:
“A
peace treaty signed in 1533 in the Caribbean between a Taino cacique and
a representative of the King of Spain was recognized as the "first international
treaty in the Americas between Indigenous people and Europeans," by over
100 delegates to the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Treaty Conference,
held in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories on Oct. 28….The AFN resolution
recommends recognition of the Taino-Spanish treaty to a United Nations
rapporteur, Miguel Alfonso Martinez of Cuba, presently completing his final
report on treaties with Indigenous peoples around the world.”
-
“Caribbean
Encounters: Cuban Scholars, Indians Host Indigenous Conference”, by José
Barreiro, from Native Americas Magazine, Hemispheric Digest, Winter 1997—“A
planning conference on Caribbean indigenous legacies held in early 1997
in Baracoa, Cuba, gathered Taino descendants and other Native peoples from
countries in the Caribbean as well as the United States and Canada…”
-
Caribbean
Indigenous people: This page includes links on--General
background; Mythology and Culture; Ferdinand letter to the Tainos; From
Canima/Caniba to Caribs and cannibal; The Karibs; The Tainos; Tainos /Caribs
map; and sketches of Caribs.
-
“Chief
Torres of Arawak Indian Descent Denies Claims of Genocide”: “We
as a Taino people must start writing to anyone who is presently authoring
articles of misinformation about the extinction of our Taino people and
to correct those who are promoting this kind of misinformation about our
Nation. It is the reponsibility of a people to justly defend their Taino
national sovereignty. In this way putting to rest once and for all, the
false rumors that we as a people are extinct…”
-
Cuba’s
First Nations: “We are not Extinct!”-- Annual
Interdisciplinary Conference and Field Study, December 28 - January 04,
1997.
-
“Death
Toll,” by William Keegan in Archaeology (January/February 1992, p. 55):
Excerpt—“In the absence of reliable population estimated, two opposing
viewpoints have emerged concerning the demise of the Taino. There
are those who believe that Columbus's brother Bartolome made a census of
Hispaniola in 1496 and counted 1,100,000 people. Working from that
number, the historical demographers Sherburne Cook and Woodrow Borah of
the University of California, Berkeley, estimated a population of seven
to eight million Taino in 1492. Those seeking to emphasize the devastating
impact of the Spaniards put the number closer to ten million. Others,
like Mexican scholar Angel Rosenblatt and David Henige, of the University
of Wisconsin-Madison, do not believe that Bartolome Colon's census took
place and estimate the native population in 1492 to have been around 100,000…”
-
“Destruction
of the Taino,” by William F. Keegan in Archaeology (January/February 1992,
pp. 51-56): Excerpt—“ How many Taino were living
in Hispaniola at contact? How devastating was the European invasion?
We can't be certain, but a reasonable estimate of the Taino population
is between 400,000 and two million…. Archaeological surveys have identified
enough villages of sufficient size to confirm that the Bahamian Lucayan
population in 1500 was between 40,000 and 80,000. By the time of
Ponce de Leon's voyage in 1513, the Bahamas were uninhabited….”
-
“The
First Cubans”, in The Timetable History of Cuba, compiled by J.A. Sierra:
“Before the Europeans arrived, Cuba was inhabited by three different cultures:
the Ciboneyes, the Guanahatabeyes and the Taínos…”
-
The
History of Cuban Art: includes selections of pictures
of cave paintings from pre-Columbian times in Cuba
-
Hubert
Montas’ “Early History of Haiti”: “The island
on which Haiti is located (Hispaniola) had been inhabited by various cultures
before the arrival of Columbus. The first known settlers of the island
were the Ciboneys who migrated from what is currently the North American
continent in 450 A.D. These people were followed in 900 A.D by the Tainos
(good people) who were members of the Arawak nation and had origins in
the Amazon valley…”
-
Les
Indiens Tainos, Bons et Nobles: This French-language
site presents a concise introduction to Taino social organization, arts,
and agriculture, with materials on Cuba.
-
“Indigenous
Latino and the consciousness of the Native Americas”, Editorial in Indian
Country Today, 04 February, 2003—Extract: “Borders
between Indian peoples - as psychological as language and as legalistic
as those of national frontiers - are coming down. A sense of relations,
all our relations, is increasingly apparent in the communications between
Indians throughout North America, Central America, the Caribbean and South
America. It is a refreshing trend that we encourage. We note the recent
repatriation of Taino human remains from the United States’ Smithsonian
Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian to a small Indian
enclave in Cuba’s eastern mountains, the community of Caridad de los Indios.
Navajo, Mohawk, Algonquin, Kaw, Paiute, Chicano and other peoples, including
scholars and participants from several countries, witnessed the unique
ceremony, which coalesced the forces of many people to guarantee its success.”
-
“Indigenous
Puerto Rico: DNA evidence upsets established history”, by Rick Kearns,
in Indian Country Today, 06 October, 2003—Extract:
“Dr. Juan Martinez Cruzado, a geneticist from the University of Puerto
Rico Mayaguez who designed an island-wide DNA survey, has just released
the final numbers and analysis of the project, and these results tell a
different story. According to the study funded by the U.S. National Science
Foundation, 61 percent of all Puerto Ricans have Amerindian mitochondrial
DNA, 27 percent have African and 12 percent Caucasian. (Nuclear DNA, or
the genetic material present in a gene’s nucleus, is inherited in equal
parts from one’s father and mother. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only
from one’s mother and does not change or blend with other materials over
time.) In other words a majority of Puerto Ricans have Native blood….”
-
King
Ferdinand's Letter to the Taino People: reproduction
of an important colonial document.
-
Mama
D.O.C., promoting natural health and natural dyes: dealing with a special
project focused on the Dominican Republic, the site states:
“…while working with the people there, we discovered a group of indigenous
peoples who were thought to be extinct. The land on which the last remaining
Indios of the Dominican Republic are living is owned by the government,
who propose to sell it to tourist developers. Mama D.O.C. is trying to
raise enough money from various ecological development projects and donations
to allow them to buy their land from the government and preserve their
unique way of life…”
-
Miguel
Conesa Osuna’s Digital Portfolio: The painting
“Taino's song at Dawn” is part of a series here inspired by Taino themes.
-
“MtDNA
from Extinct Tainos and the Peopling of the Caribbean”, by C. Lalueza-Fox,
F. Luna Calderón, F. Calafell, B Morera and J. Bertranpetit, in
Annals of Human Genetics, Volume 65 Issue 2 Page 137 - March 2001:
abstract—“ Tainos and Caribs were the inhabitants of the Caribbean when
Columbus reached the Americas; both human groups became extinct soon after
contact, decimated by the Spaniards and the diseases they brought. Samples
belonging to pre-Columbian Taino Indians from the La Caleta site (Dominican
Republic) have been analyzed, in order to ascertain the genetic affinities
of these groups in relation to present-day Amerinds, and to reconstruct
the genetic and demographic events that took place during the peopling
of the Caribbean….”
-
The
New Old World—Antilles: Living Beyond the Myth—samples
of a photographic exhibition hosted by the National Museum of the American
Indian in New York, with a focus on Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominica, and Trinidad.
-
Pedro
Guanikeyu Torres, “The Historical Roots of a Nation”, from the Internet
Archive’s Way Back Machine: essay by the leader
of the Jatobonicu Taino Tribal Nation—excerpt: “As for the so-called ‘Taino
Extinction’ stories told by the Euro-Spanish colonial historians, the Taino
people and their Caribe regional nationality has never been extinct. Although
the nation was suppressed in history and decimated by past and present-day
white Spanish colonists, the Taino nationality has always been waiting
to rise up again, as it did on the of November 18, 1993, following the
long awaited 500 year old prophecy. Many ask the question, ‘How can a group
of people from other Caribbean islands, seeing themselves as Taino indigenous
people, band together and call themselves a ‘Taino Indigenous Caribbean
Nation?’”
-
Pre-Columbian
Hispaniola, Arawak/Taino Native Americans, by Bob Corbett: includes descriptions
of the following-Lifestyle of the Arawak/Taino;
Housing and Dress; Food and Agriculture; Transportation; Defense; Religion
and Myth; The "genocidal end of the Arawak/Taino" (according to Bob Corbett);
Specific Indian leaders at the time of Columbus (The five caciques of the time)
-
Pre-Columbian
Hispaniola Arawak/Taino Indians
-
Native
Americans of the Caribbean and Florida --The history of
Caribbean peoples of Amazonian origin in general, The history of Native
Americans in Bimini (Florida), The history of Native Americans in Boriken
(Puerto Rico)
-
Retrospective
history of the Tainos of Boriken (Puerto Rico); Contemporary history of
the Tainos of Boriken (Puerto Rico)
-
Return
of Native Remains to Cuba, January 18, 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel—extract:
“CARIDAD DE LOS INDIOS, Cuba - Plucked from their graves in 1915 and stored
in the drawer of a New York warehouse, the fragments of bones of seven
Taino Indians finally completed their long journey home. On a hillside
cemetery nestled in the mountains where Tainos once thrived, representatives
of the Smithsonian Institution turned over a cardboard box containing the
pre-Columbian remains to the tribe's descendants….”
-
Siboney,
by Antonio Rafael de la Cova: basic site focusing
on indigenes of Cuba, presenting Siboney pictographs
-
“Surviving
Columbus in Puerto Rico: the myth of extinction”, Editorial in Indian Country
Today, 06 October, 2003—Extract: “The story this
week of a new major DNA study showing considerable American Indian ancestry
in the population of Puerto Rico is intriguing and revealing. Of course,
there has been for over two decades considerable agitation by Taino people
of Puerto Rican nationality, on the island and in the diaspora. But now
Dr. Juan Martinez Cruzado has shown that as high as 61 percent of Puerto
Ricans carry American Indian mitochondrial DNA from their maternal lines.
The level of Native genetic ancestry is impressive and once more evidence
that the legacy of American indigenous peoples, across the Western Hemisphere,
has been all too easily diminished or denied. The claim that all Native
Caribbeans succumbed to war, slavery and disease, that they in fact became
"extinct" as peoples and cultures by the 1600s, has been asserted as truth
by governments and academics for over a hundred years. However, in Puerto
Rico, as elsewhere in the Caribbean, actual, surviving Native communities
and numerous families and people of Native ancestry have increasingly revealed
themselves….”
-
Die
Tainos: An article in German on the Taino history
of the Dominican Republic.
-
"Revelations
of Carib Heritage", by Bob Krauss, Advertiser Columnist, The Honolulu Advertiser,
Sunday, January 16, 2000: "For Tony Castanha,
the Hawaiian sovereignty movement has become a springboard into his Puerto
Rican heritage. Although he is not Native Hawaiian, he is like many Hawaiians
in that he is learning a lot about who he is".
-
"Taíno:
Ancient Voyagers of the Caribbean", by Dicey Taylor, Ph.D, Guest Curator,
El Museo del Barrio: a paper outlining the archaeological
history, pre-colonial culture, religious beliefs, cosmology, food, and
social structure of the Tainos, ending with a consideration of the their
cultural legacy-this relates to the exhibition, by the same name, hosted
by El Museo del Barrio.
-
Taino
influence in Haitian Vodou, from the American Museum of Natural History—extract:
“Escaped slaves, called Maroons, mingled in mountain hideaways with indigenous
Taino people. Both peoples had much in common. Taino memories are still
evoked by stone celts placed on altars. Other Native American traces persist
in Vodou as well, from words to musical instruments, dance and dress styles,
and weaponry. Although discrete Taino survivals are difficult to isolate,
the secret Bizango rites keep alive the history of the intermingling, as
do bands of Rara performers during their post-carnival celebrations….”
-
Taino
Legends, from CubaHeritage.com: Taino legends
of the rainbow, night, love, stars, the rivers and the sea, the bat, mosquitos,
honey, seeds, tobacco and dangers.
-
Taino
Museum --Welcome to this unique and most complete
collection of hand-crafted creations by the Taino Indian culture. They
were the predominant tribe in the Eastern Caribbean region in the Pre-Columbian
era. Here you'll find over 200 pieces of artwork subdivided in 18 galleries.
These are all faithful replicas, inspired by the works and extensive research
of over 25 years by Antonio Blasini, author of the book: The Eagle and the
Jaguar.
-
Taino
Survival, "The Caribbean Taino Indians have been considered extinct for
hundreds of years, yet they have always been with us": Las
Culturas article criticizing the Taino extinction thesis, with an added
interview between the author and Cacique Pedro Guanikeyu Torres
-
Taino:
Voices from the Past-A brief introduction to Taino culture history: “In
recent years, however, spectacular finds have rekindled interest in the
original inhabitants of the Caribbean. In 1997, for instance, archaeologists
found the remains of a major Taino city on the eastern most part of the
Dominican Republic. The discovery of the city's long-hidden ceremonial
plazas and homes "is going to give us more insight into the Taino than
has ever been known before," says Indiana University archaeologist Charles
Beeker.”
-
The
Taino Indians and the Jose Maria Cave: Taino Indians, Dominican Republic,
1500 AD-An Indiana University website on the
archaeology of the Taino.
-
Tainos:
links
to archaeological resources and artifacts of the Tainos by Antonio Rafael
de la Cova
-
“Los
Taínos”, by Juliette White [Spanish]: a
student summary of Internet articles and sources
-
Tainos
of Haiti: “There is interest in Haiti in Taino
artifacts as well as in the apparent remnant of Taino still thought to
be present in the nineteenth century as evidenced by laws against intermarriage…”
-
“Taino
Journal: In the Cuban heartland, Elian and remembrances of Ingrid”, by
Jose Barreiro in Indian Country Today, 07 June, 2000—Extract:
“There is a growing understanding in Cuba about the survival of Taino-descendant
people in various parts of the country. The assertion of ‘non-extinction’
in Cuba is important to a widespread interest in Taino-guajiro-jivaro cultures
among Indigenous descendants of the Greater Caribbean islands….Panchito's
community of some 2,000 people is one of several documented Cuban Indigenous-descendant
population enclaves along the eastern mountains. Chroniclers, from Father
Bartolome de las Casas, an early human rights advocate, to José
Martí wrote about the Cuban Indian population in the Sierras….’Tell
the world that we are still here, very Indian, very Cuban, very ready to
do for our country,’ he said. ‘And this is not out of sheer good luck.
Our elders knew to protect our songs and our culture of the earth up here
in the mountains’.”
-
The
Taino Legacy in the Contemporary World
-
“Taino
Nation alive and strong”, by Jose Barreiro in Indian Country Today, 24
January, 2001—Extract: “CARIDAD DE LOS INDIOS,
Cuba - No one ever told Panchito Ramirez that his people were extinct.
Though the history books tell us otherwise, here in the remote mountains
of Cuba, the knowledgeable herbalist and healer lives with some 350 Taino
descendants who make up his village and nearby rancheria….”
-
Taíno:
Pre-Columbian Art and Culture from the Caribbean
Website connected to the first comprehensive exhibition of Taíno
art to be presented in North America in 1997-98. It provides an overview
of the remarkable achievements of this ancient Caribbean people. Link to
the Taíno Legacy, an exhibition of photographs and videotapes, which
explores the persistence of Taíno cultural traditions in the present-day
Caribbean and its diaspora. Taino image citations can be accessed by clicking
on the photographs of each work, or visitors can view the complete list
of Taíno images featured on this site. Publications created from
this exhibit also listed.
-
Taino
Presentations by Mel Gonzalez at the National Musuem of the American Indian
-
Taino
Tours in the Dominican Republic, led by Dr. Lynne
Guitar and other specialists on the history, culture and ecology of the
Dominican Republic.
-
The
Taino World
-
Taino
Zemis: this site features a sample of pictures of
zemis.
-
Taino
Zemi Basket, c. 1492-1520: A talented Zemi artist
(probably a woman) made this basket to represent a Zemi god. Note the incorporation
of European mirrors into a traditional belief.
-
“Termination
by denial and hello Columbus”, Editorial in Indian Country Today, 15 October,
2001—Extract: “For example, in the Caribbean,
for the Taino, the people who first greeted Columbus, malice and ignorance
have conspired to keep the myth of extinction alive. Despite a substantial
continuity of evidence to the contrary, from the 1600s to the present,
any assertion of Taino survival can expect to be formally greeted with
hostility, derision, even hatred, by many officials. While many scholars
have accepted the reality of considerable Indigenous-derived culture among
the Greater Caribbean populations and while recent DNA testing (in Puerto
Rico) provides evidence of significant Amerindian mitochondrial DNA among
the island’s contemporary population, and while in Cuba, Dominica and elsewhere
communities exist that have well-documented continuity in place, the efforts
by peoples of Indigenous heritage to reconstitute their societies are more
often attacked than seriously considered….”
-
Three
poems honoring the Taino people, by Ward Kelley
-
Gallery
of Taino Images: courtesy of the Taino Inter-Tribal Council
-
“Under
the Deep Blue Sea”: An article in TIME for Kids
on a children’s book, The Secret Footprints, by Julia Alvarez, including
Taino legends of figures such as the ciguapas. (October 6, 2000).
-
Welcome
to Puerto Rico: Taino Culture -- Welcome
to Puerto Rico is a recently revamped site that provides a comprehensive
overview of Puerto Rico in general. Its pages dealing with CULTURE
and FOLKLORE
also have information on Tainos in addition to the first link above. Their
Taino page also contains links to: "Arawaks, Cacicazgos del Siglo 16, Our
Taino Indians, The Taino Expedition, Taino Legends." The webmaster is Magaly
Rivera.
-
World
History Archives--History of Caribbean peoples of Amazonian origin in general:
Retrospective history, The Taino peoples of the
Caribbean in general, The Taino people of Cuba, The Taino people of Montserrat.
-
"Some
important research contributions of Genetics to the study of Population
History and Anthropology in Puerto Rico: An interview
with Dr. Juan Carlos Martínez Cruzado, Dept. of Biology, University
of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez": from the Delware Review of Latin American
Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2, August 15, 2000, "Profiles"-this is an important article
for those interested in the post-conquest survival of the Amerindian population
of Puerto Rico, contra the extinction thesis.
ONLINE INFORMATION ABOUT ANACAONA
AND OTHER CACIQUES
-
Anacaona,
a concise essay from Anacaona.net: Excerpt—“The
Queen Anacaona was married to the Indian chief Caonabo, king of the Maguana.
Anacaona means ‘Gold Flower.’ She was also tribal chief Boechio Anacauchoa
sister, king of Xaragua or Jaragua….”
-
A
Biography of Anacaona from www.famousamericans.net:
Extracted from Appleton’s Encyclpoedia—excerpt: “ANACAONA, also called
the Golden Flower, was an Indian queen, wife of Caonabo, one of the five
caciques who possessed the island of Santo Domingo when the Spaniards discovered
it and settled there in 1492.”
-
Anacaona,
on the Famous Haitians list: a concise page, in
English, accompanied by an artistic illustration of Anacaona painted by
Marie-Denise Douyon. A link to more information on Anacaona is also provided.
Excerpt: “….In Xaragua, she soon asserted her authority over her brother
and ruled as a queen famed for the ballads, ballets, poetry, plays and
ornaments of her court. Xaragua was the only Taino kingdom on the island
that had not succumbed to Spanish conquest when a new Spanish governor,
Nicholas Ovando, arrived with some 2500 troops in 1502….”
-
Los
Padres de la Patria, by Luna De Plata: a page
in Spanish on some of the key caciques of Hispaniola, including Caonabo
(Chiefdom of Maguana), Guarionex (Chiefdom of Magua), Bohechio (Chiefdom
of Jaragua), Cayacoa (Chiefdom of Yguayagua), Guacanagarix (Chiefdom of
Marien), and Anacaona (of Jaragua). Excerpt on Anacaona: “….Según
los cronistas, su nombre significaba en lengua aborigen ‘Flor de Oro.’
A pesar de que en un principio ella sintió gran admiración
por los españoles, a quienes consideró superiores, el continuo
abuso que estos cometían contra los indígenas, junto a la
prohibición por parte de Roldán del matrimonio entre Hernando
de Guevara y su hija Higüemota, convirtió en odio y antipatía
esa admiración. A la muerte de su hermano quedó gobernando
el cacicazgo de Jaragua….”
-
Anacaona,
on rincondominicano.com: a short biographic entry,
in Spanish, featured on this Dominican Republic portal site. Its contents
mirror those of the Los Padres de la Patria page.
-
Cacicazgos
(Chiefdoms of Hispaniola), from www.rincondominicano.net:
a very short entry, in Spanish, listing the main chiefdoms of Hispaniola
as encountered by the early Spanish chroniclers.
-
Cacique
(the meaning of the word), from www.rincondominicano.net:
a short entry in Spanish on the cacique, or chief, in aboriginal Hispaniola
and a list of the main chiefdoms.
-
Caciques
of Puerto Rico, from www.elboricua.com: A useful
page that lists the principal chiefdoms, or cacicazgos, of aboriginal Puerto
Rico, indicating their general locations. The site as a whole provides
a wide range of cultural information.
-
Map
of Chiefdoms (Cacicazgos) of Puerto Rico (Boriquen), from taino.com:
an illustration of the names and distribution of known chiefdoms is shown
on this site.
...OTHER PUERTO RICAN PAGES OF
DIRECT TAINO RELEVANCE... -
Caguana
Indian Ceremonial Park
-
Course
Syllabus: “The Heritage and Culture of Puerto
Ricans” by Rose Christoforo-Mitchell, at the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute-includes
lesson plans and readings, with materials on the Tainos.
-
Cultural
History of the Tainos of Puerto Rico, by Ivonne Figueroa, www.elboricua.com:
A detailed page, with references to published sources, covering various
facets of Taino culture, including social and political organization, religious
ceremonies, agriculture and material culture.
-
Institute
of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture—History Resources:
links to various sites featuring information on the Pre-Columbian Tainos
as well as contemporary Taino groups.
-
Lambda
Sigma Upsilon: a Latin Fraternity at Rutgers University
that has adopted the Taino Indian as its mascot.
-
NY
Boricua, Taino Page: a glossary of terms, an article
on the Taino DNA survey, an article on pre-Columbian history (Archaic,
Igneri/Saldoid, Ostionid and Taino culture, caciques) and selections of
photos from the Tumba del Indo, la Piedra Tallada, Caguana Ceremonial Park,
Taino history links, Websites, and related books.
-
"Our
People in Struggle: The History of Puerto Rico", by José Medina:
this
paper begins with introductory material on the pre-colonial and colonial
history of the Tainos in Puerto Rico.
-
Puerto
Rico—Culture/ History
-
Puerto
Rico/Boriken—Taino Culture Page
-
Parque
Ceremonial Tibes
-
Taino
Chieftaincy Map
-
Taíno
Indians of Boriken
-
The
Taino Culture History of Puerto Rico, from ElBoricua.com: "In
spite of being almost completely wiped out within two decades, the Taínos
left us their heritage - a legacy. Traces of Taíno physical characteristics
are found in Taíno descendants clustered in areas of Borinquen.
The names of many towns Mayagüez, Coamo, foods (mamey), instruments,
trees and plants are original Taíno names. We have little detail
knowledge of Taíno culture, religion and daily life. What we know
comes from Spanish documents and from recent excavations."
-
The
Caciques of Puerto Rico: from ElBoricua.com
-
A
Vocabulary of Taino Words: from ElBoricua.com
-
The
Cacique Majagua, by Dr. Fray Mario A. Rodríguez León, O.P.:
Historical
notes on Bayamon.
-
Yukiyú
o Yokahu, dios del bien --Nuestros indios taínos
veneraban con propósitos espirituales la gran montaña del
Yukiyú. Llamada así por estos, en honor a lo que ellos percibían
como su protector segú las historias y anécdotas que han
salido de escritores e historiadores españoles.
-
Walter
Cardona Bonet’s Taino Presence in the Island of Mona
This page last updated:
Sunday, 22 May, 2005
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