Tainos & Kalinagos

Location and settlement

The Tainos and Kalinagos established their cradle-lands in South
America. The Tainos cradle-lands were located in Bolivia and
the kalinagos cradle-lands were located in Brazil.

Tainos:Around 250 BC they (Tainos) migrated to the Caribbean.

They launch themselves into the Caribbean via Trinidad. They
came from the Orinoco region. They set out from the mouth of
the Orinoco River in South America and moved towards the
islands; their journey through the Caribbean took place in stages.
They spent a while on each island and they often settled for a
number of years before moving on, eventually they reached the
Greater Antilles and settled there because they could
accommodate their large and advanced settlements. They settled
in the following Caribbean islands:
❖Cuba
❖Jamaica
❖Bahamas
The Tainos settled along coastlines, rivers or streams. This
gave them access to fresh water for drinking, cooking,
cleaning and watering their fields. Flat areas made it easy
for them to establish their farms.
Kalinagos: From around 100 AD another group of Amerindians
began to move into the Orinoco region. They subsequently
moved into Trinidad and by the time of the first landfall of
Columbus all the Lesser Antilles were under their control. They
settled in places islands like:
❖St. Vincent
❖Dominica
The Kalinagos settled along the coastline, near rivers and
streams as well as on hill tops which served as look-out
points for imminent attacks from other tribes.
The Tainos and Kalinagos shared the islands of Puerto Rico
and Trinidad.

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Economic Practices

Both Tainos and Kalinagos were subsistence farmers, growing

food mainly for their own needs and with a little left over for
trade. They carried out ‘slash and burn agriculture’, cutting
branches from trees and setting fire to them. Crops were
then planted in the ashes among the blackened tree stumps.
After about five to ten years the soil was exhausted and the
village people cleared fresh land. The Kalinagos did not rely on
field crops for all their food. They were better fishermen than
farmers.

Tainos: Some Tainos used slightly more advanced methods. In

Cuba and Hispaniola, irrigation ditches were dug and fields were
fertilized with a mixture of ash and urine. These simple farming
methods produced a variety of crops. The Tainos main crop was
cassava (yucca). The Tainos hunted and grew just enough food
for themselves and their families. There was little storing or
trading of food. They could provide a majority of food for the
members of their villages.
Farming: the combination of slash and burn and conuco, both
with Taino roots, has been the most common agricultural
technique, even today. The natives utilized smaller plots of land
that were called conucos, where they would simultaneously
grow the principal staples of their daily diet: root crops like
yautia, mapuey, batata, and the beloved yuca (Manihot
utilissima). Manioc was the principal crop, but potatoes, beans,
peanuts, cotton, peppers and other plants were also grown
A great advance in the cultivating techniques of the Taino period
was the use of mound cultivation system, known as mounds
system, which consists of using the piles or mounds formed
from years of conch and other food debris to cultivate in. If they
didn't have the shell mounds, they would create one by piling
quality dirt until it measured approximately, around 12 feet in
diameter and 4 feet high.
Farming in this way, they obtained a significant yield increase,
since the earth didn't erode, maintained the humidity for a long

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time and was fertilized with animal and vegetable scraps which
made an excellent fertilizer. Some mounds were moved at the
end of the harvest which facilitated the recycling of the soil,
making this cultivation system one of the few with some
semblance of environmental conservation.
Fishing: The Tainos fished along the coastline. They caught
grouper, snappers, etc.
Hunting: The Tainos hunted small animals that were available
such as the agouti, manicou, indian coney and tattoo.
Food gathering: The Tainos gathered fruits that were readily
available such as several types of berries, mammee apple,
plums,.

Kalinagos:
Trading: The Kalinagos kept a busy trade with the Tainos and
with people that spoke the Arawak languages. Some things that
they traded were cloth, tools, weapons, furniture, tobacco,
certain fruits and precious metals. They grew crops for their own
needs and left little over for trade.
Farming: Just like the Tainos, they were subsistence farmers
and their farming plots (the conucos) were some distance from
the village. They planted cassava, sweet potato, maize(corn),
yam, tobacco, cotton and arrowroot. The Tainos did not know of
this plant. The men cleared the land in the dry season by burning
the trees and shrubs. The women, who were the skilled
agriculturalists, planted the crops in the rainy season.
Fishing: They were very good fishermen because they were not
afraid of long voyages, their canoes were well built and they
used the bow and arrow while fishing. They would stand for
hours waiting for a suitable fish. They also used nets, traps, line
and hooks made of shells and harpoons. The Kalinagos would
also poison the river pools by mixing the leaves of certain plants
in the water to stun the fish. They caught lobsters, shellfish and
conch.

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Hunting: the Kalinagos hunted animals such as the agouti,
manicou, lizards and birds.
Question: Do you know what the Kalinagos did not eat?
Answer: They did not eat turtle meat for fear of making them
stupid. They deprived themselves of easily obtainable meat.
They also did not eat salt, pig and fat. Crab was not eaten before
a sea voyage because they thought it would bring storms.
Question: What was their favourite dish?
Answer: It was a stew made with crab and cassava seasoned
with tomali sauce.This was made with lemon juice, peppers and
the green meat of the crab near the shell.
They also ate grilled fish which they cooked slowly on a
wooden grid. They drank a kind of cassava beer called ouicou
which was very intoxicating

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Political Organization

Tainos: The Taíno of Hispaniola were politically organized at

the time of contact into at least five hereditary chiefdoms called
cacicazgos. Each casicazgo had a clearly recognized territory, a
system of regional chiefs (caciques) and sub-chiefs, and a
paramount ruler.The cacique was the head of a Taino society
and below him were graded ranks down to the commoners.
Cacique was a hereditary title which was passed from father to
son. If he died without a son the title passed to the eldest son of
his eldest sister. The cacique was more of a ceremonial ruler
than a lawmaker. He dealt with the distribution of land, the
ordering of labor on the land and the planting and distributing of
the crops.
He had his own zemis which were felt to be more powerful than
any others and thus he commanded additional respect and
obedience.

Kalinagos: The Kalinagos had no such organization as the

Tainos with their caciques. The Kalinagos had two separate
leaders; the Ubutu and the Tiubutuli hauthe.
● In peacetime they had few laws, only those made by the
tiubutuli hauthe (village headman) who was the head of the
family since each family lived in a separate village.
● During times of war the ubutu was in charge. He planned
the raids, chose the captains and distributed the prizes. He
was greatly feared among his men for his power. His title
was awarded to him for prowess during war. During war
time, each canoe was captained by a strong warrior. The
captain of the canoe that demonstrated prowess was name
Ubutu for the rest of his life.

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Cultural Artforms
Tainos
The Tainos had ample leisure time which they occupied with
singing and dancing, called areytos. Women and men usually
danced separately but sometimes both sexes danced together.
 They had musical instruments fashioned from wood and
seashells and they played a ball game similar to that played in
Hispaniola. The Tainos were excellent basket weavers and they
also made pottery. Taíno artisans produced a wide variety of
craft items, including elaborate decorated ceramics, cotton and
cotton products, ground and polished stone beads and
ornaments, carved shell and bone ornaments, tools of stone,
shell and bone, baskets and hammocks, carved wooden objects,
tobacco, various foodstuffs, and exotic birds and feathers..
● Architecture-

● Music-

● Pottery-

● Dance-

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 ● Painting-

Kalinagos:
They were better at making pottery than the Tainos. They
created baskets, fish traps and lobster pots. They were very
artistic when it came to creating their designs. They made
different patterns and gave their creations colour.
● Architecture-

● Music-

● Pottery-

● Dance-

● Painting-

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Religious Practices (ancestral and nature worship)

Tainos: During their occupation of Hispaniola the Spaniards

learnt that religion played a very important part in the lives of
the Tainos. There were two supreme gods: Yúcahu, which
means spirit of cassava, was the god of cassava (the Taínos main
crop) and the sea and Atabey, mother of Yúcahu, was the
goddess of fresh waters and fertility. They also believed in a
sky-god and earth-goddess. Other minor gods existed in Taíno
religion; some of them related to the growing of cassava while
others were related to the process of life, creation and death.
They made zemis to represent the forces controlled by these
gods, like rain, wind, hurricanes and fire, or like fertility in
the case of the earth-goddess’s zemi. They also worshiped
their ancestors and made zemis for them, often out of the
bones of these ancestors. The Tainos buried their dead and
believed in a life after death in coyaba (heaven), a peaceful
place which was free from natural calamities like sickness and
hurricanes. There they thought they would meet their ancestors.
Ordinary people could not communicate with gods or ancestors
through the zemis so the priests had to pray to cure sickness or
bring good weather or make the crops grow, or keep away
enemies. In religious ceremonies the priests often used tobacco
or cohoba (powdered tobacco) which they inhaled directly into
their nostrils to induce unconsciousness, the best state for
communication with the zemis. If the priests failed to have his
prayer answered by the zemi, it was felt that the power of the
zemi was too strong. For an important religious ceremony the
village would be summoned by blowing o conch shell and the
cacique would lead a procession of the whole village. The
priests would make themselves vomit by tickling their throats to
clear away all impurity before communicating with the zemis.
The Tainos’ religious beliefs were very deep especially their
belief in coyaba, which explains why so many committed
suicide rather than enduring life under the cruelty of the
Spaniards.

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 Kalinagos:
The Kalinago shared the belief that death led to a life in another
form. From this arose the belief that their living bodies could
become homes for souls of dead enemies, so eating the flesh of a
brave warrior would give them his strength and courage.
Enemies killed in a raid were cut up and favorite portions were
eaten on the spot. They believed in an evil spirit called
maybouya who had to be placated in order to avoid harm. The
chief function of their shamans, called boyez, was to heal the
sick with herbs and to cast spells (piai) which would keep
maybouya at bay. The boyez were very important and underwent
special training instead of becoming warriors. As they were held
to be the only people who could avert evil they were treated with
great respect. Their ceremonies were accompanied with
sacrifices. As with the Tainos, tobacco played a large part in
these religious rites.The Kalinagos used zemis too. These were
visual representations of their gods. Zemis were made of wood,
stone or cotton. Some zemis were even worn as jewelry.

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Social Practices

Tainos: The Taíno are thought to have been matrilineal, tracing

their ancestry through the female line. At least two distinct
social categories were recognized by the Taíno as subordinate to
the caciques. According to the Spanish chronicles, the nitaínos
were equated with nobles, and appear to have assisted the
caciques in the organization of labor and trade. Behiques, or
shamans, were part of the nitaíno group.
The Tainos contained two classes of people in their society. The
Naborias were the commoners and the Nitainos were the nobles.
There were also chiefs known as Caciques. Chiefs could be
femal or male. The Caciques were advised by a priest or healer
known as bohiques. The bohiques were very important in
decision making because they could speak to the gods. Men and
sometimes women, might have two or three spouses, and the
caciques would marry as many as 30. There were divisions
between the work of women and men, as there were with the
Maya. The women and girls of the village worked together to
plant the crops. They did the cooking. Meals were eaten first by
the men and then by the women and young children. The women
also did the spinning and weaving of cotton and made the
hammocks. Men cleared the fields for women’s gardening plots,
made the houses and the canoes. They did not farm but they
caught the village’s fish and meat. These trades were learned by
boys.
Kalinagos: In the kalinago village, extended families were
organized in separate villages. Carib men lived together in the
village meeting ouses which they called karbay and women
carried the food to them when they were undergoing warrior
training. They women otherwise lived separately. The Obutu
was the village commander; he was assisted by a lieutenant
known as Ubuto Maliarici. Each clan elected a commander of
the canoes known as the Naharlene as well as the captain
(tiubtutli canao) of each crew.

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Technology and Inventions
Tainos:
How were canoes built:
Dugout canoes were made with great skill without the aid of any
metal tools. A wide silk-cotton tree was first ringed and burnt
off at the base. The trunk was hollowed by chipping the upper
side and slowly burning out the interior. The canoe was shaped
by wetting the hollowed trunk and inserting wooden wedges of
different lengths to widen it in the middle and slightly taper it at
each end. It was then buried in damp sand to cure before being
dried in the sun. Some Taino canoes were large enough to carry
seventy or eighty people or a ton of trading goods.
Process of making pottery:
Pottery was made from the local red, brown and grey clays. Pots
were not glazed but were decorated with markings different for
each village. They were often made in fanciful shapes of frogs,
birds or heads with wide eyes and large ears to serve as handles.
Materials used for making weapons:
Flint, obsidian (a volcanic rock) and other hard stones were
shaped and smoothed with great patience to make weapons.
How they built their houses:
The general population lived in large circular
buildings (bohio), constructed with wooden poles, woven straw,
and palm leaves. These houses would surround the central plaza
and could hold 10-15 families. 

Kalinagos:
How canoes were built:
The kalinagos built several different kinds of boats and rafts.
Their war canoes, piraguas, were narrow with high prows at the
front. They were easy to maneuver and could cover great
distances.
Process of making pottery:
The Kalinagos were better potters than the Tainos and gave their
pots rim at the top to add strength and make pouring easier.
They also made pots from several layers of clays and then cut
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patterns through the layers to give their designs different
colours. Pots were decorated with markings from each
village.They were very creative, they used the most elaborate
pots were used as funeral urns for holding ancestors’ bones or
placing food in the grave.
Materials used for making weapons:
Kalinago weapons were altogether more deadly. They used fire
and poison-tipped arrows.
How they built their houses:
The Kalinagos’ houses were made out of woven thatch reaching
almost down to the ground (looking like beehives). They made
the woven thatch strong and flexible so that it could withstand
hurricanes.
Summary
We know that much of the interaction between the Tainos and
the Kalinagos was hostile and involved violence, bloodshed and
death. Through this constant warfare the Kalinagos obtained
Tainos as prisoners and they were used as slaves. They also
captured some of the women and used them as their wives or
took away their parts of their land as we see in Trinidad and
Puerto Rico. In instances such as these the people in these
territories spoke a mixture of Arawak and Carib language. There
was also a mixing of cultures in the diet since the women were
the ones who prepared the food. It is also said that the Tainos on
these two islands were not as docile as the others and that in fact
they were quite hostile. Children born out of this force union
also helped in the interaction. Some Kalinagos came to have
Tainos name and so on. The cultivation of food crops also
increased as more and more Taino women were captured and
brought to live with the Kalinagos.

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