What language did Taínos speak?
Taino, a now-extinct Arawakan language, once predominated in the Antilles and was the first Indian language to be encountered by Europeans.
Dak'ro buk. (I love you.)
The work that has been done on this new Taino dictionary is due to the great efforts on the part of Chief Pedro Guanikeyu Torres, a teacher of the Taino language. A full Version will Soon be online for your pleasure, Thank you, from the Taino TITC Team of The Taino Language Project.
DNA evidence shows that most Puerto Ricans are a blending of Taino (Indian), Spanish and African according to studies by Dr. Juan Martinez-Cruzado. History is written by the conquerors. The Native peoples of North America know this all too well, as they are still trying to bring the truth to light.
Taíno words are still used for municipalities throughout Puerto Rico; such as Utuado, Mayagüez, Caguas, and Humacao, among others.
The Taínos worshipped zemis, a term that included various gods, goddesses, spirits, and ancestors.
Certain groups of island people identified themselves as Lokono, Lucayan, Carib, Ciboney, Arawak, but most islands were primarily inhabited by people who called themselves Taino, which stood for "the good people" in their language.
Origin of boricua
First recorded in 1945–50; from Taíno Borikén “the great land of the valiant and noble lord” (the name of the island)
Y'ay'a = n : The Creator or Great Spirit. The term Y'aY'a or I'aI'a means Spirit of Spirits.
Hahom (thank you)...
What is the Tainos leader call?
Taíno society was divided into two classes: Nitainos (nobles) and the Naborias (commoners). Both were governed by chiefs known as caciques, who were the maximum authority in a Yucayeque (village).
One formerly English, one French and one Spanish Island which today still speak their respective European languages actually have Taino names: Xamaika for Jamaica; Ayti for Haiti; and Cubao for Cuba.
In appearance the Taino were short and muscular and had a brown olive complexion and straight hair. They wore little clothes but decorated their bodies with dyes. Religion was a very important aspect of their lives and they were mainly an agricultural people although they did have some technological innovations.
The name Haiti is derived from the indigenous Taíno-Arawak name for the entire island of Hispaniola, which they called Ay-ti 'land of mountains'. It was Christopher Columbus who renamed it La Isla Española ('The Spanish Island') when he arrived in 1492.
Modern Taino Heritage
Recent research notes a high percentage of mixed or tri-racial ancestry among people in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, with those claiming Taíno ancestry also having Spanish and African ancestry.
A study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, for example, shows that, on average, about 14 percent of people's ancestry in Puerto Rico can be traced back to the Taino.
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).
We do not accept people anyone unless they have a certified written letter or document as evidence of the candidates withdrawal from the group and this document is already in the hands of the Director Enrollment and the tribal enrollment committee. 2. The person Taino ancestry is not or did not come from Puerto Rico.
The Taíno were declared extinct shortly after 1565 when a census shows just 200 Indians living on Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The census records and historical accounts are very clear: There were no Indians left in the Caribbean after 1802.
Depopulation. Early population estimates of Hispaniola, probably the most populous island inhabited by Taínos, range from 10,000 to 1,000,000 people. The maximum estimates for Jamaica and Puerto Rico are 600,000 people.
What god did the Tainos fear?
They therefore served cassava (manioc) bread as well as beverages and tobacco to their zemis as propitiatory offerings. Maboyas, on the other hand, was a nocturnal deity who destroyed the crops and was feared by all the natives, to the extent that elaborate sacrifices were offered to placate him.
Taíno religion was polytheistic, which is the belief in several gods or di- vinities who are the subject of worship on an independent basis. Their gods were called cemís, religious persons identified with an image or idol worshipped by the community or a particular individual.
Spiral. The spiral is a common symbol found in Taino art. It is a representation of cosmic energy and its unendingness.
The average Puerto Rican is made up of 12% Native American, 65% West Eurasian (Mediterranean, Northern European and/or Middle Eastern) and 20% Sub-Saharan African DNA, so don't be surprised if your family tells you that their ancestors came from somewhere utterly different to your expectations.
Arawak, American Indians of the Greater Antilles and South America. The Taino, an Arawak subgroup, were the first native peoples encountered by Christopher Columbus on Hispaniola.
The indigenous Taíno symbol for coquí, which is ubiquitous in Puerto Rico. The frog-44 like hands seen in Taíno imagery are associated with 'femaleness' and the calls of coquí are 45 associated with female fertility and children (Ostapkowicz, 2015).
17. guial: Comes from the English “girl” and is used in Panama and Puerto Rico.
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Motifs:
- Coqui: a small frog native to Puerto Rico. It's also the symbol of the island.
- Sun: Another of the most popular Taino symbols, the Sun and Moon are represented often in petroglyphs.
- Animals: small animals like frogs, turtles and lizards occur frequently in Taino art.
The Tainos believed in two main gods, Yucahu, who was the god of cassava (the main food crop of the Taino) and Atabey, the mother of Yucahu and the goddess of fertility. They also had many other deities, such as Guabancex, the goddess of hurricanes and Maketaori Guayaba, the god of the dead.
nana, la ~ (f) (canción de cuna) lullaby, the ~ Noun.
What does Taíno spell?
or Tai·no. noun, plural Taí·nos, (especially collectively) Taí·no for 1. a member of an Indigenous Arawakan tribe of the Caribbean: the Taíno once dominated the populations of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and the Bahamas, but today the Taíno line survives as part of mixed ethnicity.
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Taino Word Set.
| English (Français) | Taino words |
|---|---|
| Sun (Soleil) | Guey |
| Moon (Lune) | Karaya |
| Water (Eau) | Ni |
The name Taíno was given by Columbus. When he met some native men, they said "Taíno, Taíno", meaning "We are good, noble". Columbus thought that taíno was the name of the people. Rouse divides the Taínos into three main groups. One is the Classic Taíno, from Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.
Taino Word of the Day: Guey = Sun.
Bammy or cassava bread was the staple of the Tainos. The cassava was cut into small pieces, and the poisonous juice was then extracted.
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. Farming was supplemented with the abundant fish and shellfish animal resources of the region.
Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), commonly called sweet potato (from Taino), camote (from nahuatl camohtli) or boniato, is a plant of the Convolvulaceae family, cultivated in much of the world for its edible tuberous root.
The language of the central Arawak or Lokono (meaning the 'people') and the Garífuna language, currently of Central America, are prime examples that are closely related to the Taíno language, which is sometimes referred to as 'Island-Arawak.
The Tainos were known by this distinct bronze coloration of the skin. This was a way of telling who tainos were during the early settling days of Christopher Columbus. this woman is depicted with a branch of a plantain tree, which is a very abundant crop in Puerto Rico.
The Arawaks or the Tainos, as some of them were called, were not tall people; they were of medium height or short and generally slim. Christopher Columbus in his journals described them as neither black nor white. It is believed that they had an olive complexion. They also had long, straight, coarse black hair.
Did Tainos have curly hair?
The significance of brown skin has been attributed to the Taínos, but one phenotypical feature betrays one's African ancestry: curly hair. Both Spaniards and Taínos have straight hair, thus, any waves or curls in one's hair unmistakably indicates Blackness.
The name Cuba comes from the Taíno language; however the exact meaning of the name is unclear but it may be translated either as "where fertile land is abundant" (cubao), or "great place" (coabana).
As a result, Puerto Rican bloodlines and culture evolved through a mixing of the Spanish, African, and indigenous Taíno and Carib Indian races that shared the island.
Today there are two Taino languages: the original Taino tongue--which, though not spoken as a first language today, is being taught to Taino children in an active language revival program--and a unique Spanish-Taino creole, spoken by many Taino people, using Spanish grammar but with half of its vocabulary words Taino ...
The Taíno were an Arawak people who were the indigenous people of the Caribbean and Florida. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti), and Puerto Rico.
According to experts, the Taíno language has the greatest presence in Spanish of all the dialects of the Americas before 1492.
In appearance the Taino were short and muscular and had a brown olive complexion and straight hair. They wore little clothes but decorated their bodies with dyes. Religion was a very important aspect of their lives and they were mainly an agricultural people although they did have some technological innovations.
Arawak, American Indians of the Greater Antilles and South America. The Taino, an Arawak subgroup, were the first native peoples encountered by Christopher Columbus on Hispaniola.
The remaining Taíno were intermarried with Europeans and Africans and were incorporated into the Spanish colonies. The Taíno were considered extinct at the end of the 18th century.
A study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, for example, shows that, on average, about 14 percent of people's ancestry in Puerto Rico can be traced back to the Taino. In Cuba it is about four percent while in the Dominican Republic it is more like six percent.
What is the Tainos God called?
Yocahu: Yocahu is the leading god of the Taino people. He is the son of Atabey and god of the sea.