10 Fun Facts about the Taino Indians

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Location

1. The Taínos are a subgroup of the Arawak Indians.  They inhabited the Greater Antilles (comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola [Haiti and the Dominican Republic], and Puerto Rico) in the Caribbean Sea.

2. On November 19, 1493, Christopher Columbus on his second trip discovered the island of Puerto Rico that has inhabited by an aboriginal tribe that he called “Indians” because he thought he had discovered India.

Language

3. Words commonly used in both the English and Spanish languages such as barbacoa/barbecue, canoas/canoes, jamaca/hammock, and jurakan/hurricane are words invented by the Taínos. So next time you hop on a canoe and have a barbecue remember where the words come from.

4. They had three very organized social classes social classes: the naborias (working class), the nitaínos or sub-chiefs and noblemen which includes the bohiques or priests and medicine men and the caciques or chiefs, each village or yucayeque had one.

Physical Characteristics

5.  The Taino Indians were medium height, with a bronze skin tone, and long straight black hair. Facial features were high cheekbones and dark brown eyes.  The majority of them didn’t use clothing except for married women who would wear a “short apron” called nagua. The Taino Indians painted their bodies. They earrings, nose rings, and necklaces which were sometimes made of gold.

Dance

6.    Taíno rituals occurred in the batey (picture below).  Sacred dances known as areytos along with music, games, trades, storytelling and Taíno ceremonies were held in the batey.  These dances usually took place in the center of the village surrounded by the bohíos (huts).  You can make a Taíno sensory village with your kids, and have them learn about the yucayeque (Taíno village).

7.  The Taínos written language was in the form of petroglyphs or symbols carved in stones.  Symbols of the sun, pregnant woman, snail, and the coquí can be found in different areas in Puerto Rico.  A great activity for kids to learn about the Taíno rock art can be found here.

Fun and Games

8. The Taínos had fun in many different ways.  and a ball game called batú. They would play batú in an area called the batey (pictured below).  They played the game with a ball made of tree gum, leaves, and roots.  The game has two teams with up to 30 players including men and women.  To play they had to keep the ball in the air with their shoulders, elbows, hips and any other part of their body except for their hands.

9.  Of the 78 municipalities (cities and towns) in Puerto Rico 16 of them honor the Taíno (15) Caciques (male leader) and (1) Cacica (female leader) by being named after them:

1. Arecibo (Arasibo)
2. Bayamón (Bayamongo)
3. Caguas (Caguax)
4. Canóvanas (Canovanax)
5. Cayey
6. Coamo (Coamex)
7. Comerío
8. Humacao (Macao)
9. Jayuya
10. Luquillo (Yuquibo)
11. Morovis
12. Orocovis (Orocovix)
13. Naguabo (Daguao)
14. Utuado (Otoao)
15. Mayagüez (Yagüex)
16. Loíza (Yuiza)

Twenty more municipalities also have Taíno names.  Meaning that at least  46.15% of the island has an indigenous name. This shows that our Taíno heritage is present in our everyday life even after more than 500+ years later.

10.  The Taínos, as very religious people, believed in many deities. The cemí was a spiritual object housing a spirit and a fundamental symbol in the Taíno religion. It was a stone three cardinal points. Did you know that you can visit a museum in the shape of the cemí in Puerto Rico? Read more here.

Just for fun here’s a video of a Taíno  calling song:

Here I am with my son in the Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center (Centro Ceremonial Indígena de Tibes).

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10 Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

10 Fun Facts About Dominican Republic

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Frances

Owner/Blogger at Discovering the World Through My Son's Eyes

Frances is a Latina Mamá on a multicultural and bilingual journey. Shortly before her son turned 4 years old, she started blogging about discovering the world through his eyes, hence the name of her blog. She became passionate about teaching him to be bilingual, and biliterate. She writes about heritage, bilingualism, multiculturalism, children's book and global culture education with lots of hands-on activities and language learning ideas for kids. She can be found musing at her blog Discovering the World Through My Son's Eyes or on Instagram her new favorite social media platform

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