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Signal Hill Secondary School
Caribbean History
Theme 1: The Indigenous Peoples and the Europeans
At the end of this topic, students will be able to:
1. Describe the migratory and settlement patterns of the indigenous peoples in the Caribbean up to the arrival of the Spanish in
1492.
2. Explain the factors that led to Columbus’ voyages.
3. Assess the impact of the Europeans on the indigenous peoples up to 1600
4. Assess the impact of the indigenous peoples on the Europeans up to 1600.
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The Indigenous Peoples and the Europeans (People who came book 1)
We do not really know how people came to be in the Americas, but there is a theory that they came to America from Asia during the
4th Ice Age. The Bering Strait formed a bridge so that wanderers crossed the straits to the Americas. Most likely, being hunters, they
followed the herds of animals like the giant mammoth, and continued to follow the herd without knowing that they were in a new
land.
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During these years, the newcomers travelled in many directions. Some stayed in North America. Eventually, some of them moved
southward until they reached Mexico and the Isthmus of Panama and some of them continued even further Southward into South
America.
Questions
1. How many reasons can you think of why people might leave their country? Why do people migrate from your country? Why
do others come to your country?
2. Map-work-Imagine that you are a young Siberian, Using your map on page two of this handout, draw arrows which show
how your people migrated from Asia to the Caribbean.
3. Write the words below, then make sentences with each word:
a. Migration
b. Ice bridge
c. Bering strait
d. Siberia
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Tainos
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
Complete the following table (Location Library-Photocopy Text Caribbean Story Book One- Page 7, and an Atlas which
shows the Caribbean)
Amerindian Places
Group
where
they lived
Lucayans
Tainos
Kalinagos
Mayas
Borequinos
Ciboneys
Social Organisation
Food
The Arawaks were farmers, but fishing provided them with as much of their food as did farming. They ate a great variety of fish,
mainly shellfish, but also grouper, snapper and barracuda. In Cuba, fish were bred in artificial pools, and turtles were also caught by
using the remora, or sucker fish. Nooses, snares and nets were used for catching birds and part of an Arawak boy’s education was to
learn to imitate the cry of birds and to make snares and nets.
The Arawaks also did some hunting. The hutia or coney was their favourite prey. They also caught iguana, the yellow snake and the
manatee. The Arawaks were subsistence farmers and used the slash and burn method. This means that they burnt the land in order
to clear it of weeds and bush, and cut down the trees in order to clear space for planting. The burning produced a certain amount of
ash to be used as fertilizer, but it also burnt out essential elements in the top soil and reduced its fertility.
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In planting, the women worked in rows, each woman carrying a bag of soaked grain around her neck. She made a hole with her
digging stick, threw a few grains of corn into it with her left hand, covered the hole with her food and repeated the process until her
share of the planting was finished.
They practiced a type of agriculture called the cunoco. This involved heaping the soil in mounds. In each mound were planted a
variety of crops in such a way as to enrich and protect one another, since the plants took different nutrients from the soil. This type
of planting let the air into the soil and provided ground cover. It also reduced the chance of erosion. The farming practices of the
arawaks were also geared toward supporting a large population.
In addition to planting corn and cassava, the Arawaks planted yams, beans, cotton and tobacco, and supplemented their foodstuff
by fishing. They ate a variety of fishes including groupers, snappers and barracudas.
Political Organisation
The cacique was the leader the the Arawak community. He had two roles:

In his own village, he was the headman and had the power of any other headman.

He ruled over the whole province and could give orders that affected people living in all the villages in that province.
His other roles were:
1. He decided whether the people of a certain island would go to war against a neighbouring island or against another
province.
2. He could levy a kind of tax on the people of his province. This might be in the form of agricultural produce or of weapons.
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3. He might demand that a certain number of men be sent from villages to take part in the raids.
4. He inherited his position. Unlike the Maya however, the Arawak recognized matrilineal descent that is, inheritance
through the mother’s family. Moreover, the Cacique might be a woman.
Privileges of the Cacique
1. He was given part of the harvest for himself and his family.
2. Special cassava cakes were made for him.
3. His house or bohio was built by the villagers and was larger than that of the others.
4. He and his family wore ornaments of gold and copper alloy called guanin for gold was a sign of rank among them.
5. His wives’ skirts were longer than those of the other women, for length of skirt was a sign of high rank.
6. His canoe was the largest in the village and the only one to be painted.
7. When he travelled by land, he was carried in a litter, while his son was carried on servants’ shoulders.
8. At his death, he was burnt in his own hut or buried in a cave or grave.
9. The Arawaks also buried two or more of the favourite wives of the cacique with him. They were provided with a calabash of
water and a portion of cassava. This was to help to feed them on their journey to Coyaba, where they would continue to
serve their husband.
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Each village was ruled by a headman, or mitayno or touchaus while the province was ruled by the Cacique. For most Arawak
people, it was the headman’s power which mattered. His functions were as follows:

He organized the work of the village.

He decided when land should be prepared, crops planted and harvested and any surplus stored for distribution in the
community.

He was the religious leader of his village.

He was the judge whose word was law and who could sentence people to death for disobedience.
Nobles
Nobles and mitaynos also inherited their position.
Commoners
People who were born commoners remained in that class. Slaves were usually men and women captured in wars, female
captives were given to outstanding warriors as concubines.
All work was done communally, the commoners and slaves doing the work which the nobles supervised.
Shaman
Each village had a lesser chief called a Shaman. These lesser priests performed a variety of functions including providing cures for
illnesses and making prophecies.
Religion
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1. Their belief was called ANIMISM. It was based on the existence of a spirit world. To them , the forest and river possessed
both good and evil spirits. There were spirits in the trees, rocks and birds. As a result, the Arawaks religious practices aimed
at pleasing the spirit God or asking it for protection.
2. They believed in a supreme being called JOCCHU, and felt that all life came from the sky.
3. The Arawak zemis were idols made of different kinds of material-wood, bone, stone or even cotton-which were felt to
contain the forces of nature or the spirits of the ancestors. Each family had its own zemi, which it prized highly and some
families kept the bones of dead ancestors in a basket for use a zemis.
4. The cacique’s zemis were felt to be more powerful than anyone else’s. It was believed that only the cacique could speak to
the zemis.
5. Even though the ordinary people could not converse with the zemis, each home had its own zemi in a place of honour on a
small table.
6. A bowl of snuff (cahoba) or powdered tobacco was placed before it and when the person wished to pray, he placed the
cahoba on the zemi’s flat topped head and inhaled from it through his nostrils from a y-shaped cane tube. He often rubbed
the zemi with cassava to feed it, for the Arawaks felt that if their zemi went hungry, they would fall ill.
7. They placed great importance on religious ceremonies. The cacique announced the day on which a ceremony was to take
place. Their bodies were washed and painted red, white and black. The men wore their feathered cloaks and the women
decorated their arms and legs with shells and coral.
8. When all were assembled the entire people formed a procession with the cacique at its head. He led them to the sacred hut
on the outskirts of the village and there he and the priests entered to pray. First they tickled their throats with swallow sticks
to make themselves vomit and prove to the zemis that no impurity remained in them. After this, they smoked the cahoba
until they lost consciousness. It was then that the zemis were supposed to speak to them.
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9. The arawaks believed in many gods, whom the zemis represented. The most important among these were the god of the sky
and the goddess of the earth from whom all living things had descended. They also believed in a God of the moon which they
thought was the sun’s twin brother. They also believed in spirits called opia, which belonged to the dead, and who returned
at night to try to enter their bodies. For this reason, they only went out at night in groups and protected themselves by
wearing zemis around their necks or foreheads.
10. Shamans or Piaimen were priests who were singled out to expain the mysterious and control the spirit world. They were said
to possess supernatural powers. The greatest power they had was to drive out diseases. MATTRACAS (rattles), the chief
articles of their trade, were used for chanting while they blew smoke on the diseased person.
Festivals/Entertainment
a. The naming of a baby was a time of rejoicing for the arawaks felt that a child without a name would meet great misfortune.
b. The wedding of a cacique and the inauguration of a cacique were occasions for festivity.
c. Harvest time or the return of a victorious war party were also occasions to celebrate.
d. The Arawaks’ favourite sport was a ball game called BATOS played with a hard rubber ball. The art of the game was to keep
the ball in the air using the thighs only.
e. Ball games as well as other events were occasions for dances. They danced and sang to the accompaniment of drums or to
rattles.
f. They were fond of drinking parties as well.
Food
i.
Their main food was cassava.
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ii.
They made a kind of corn bread with green corn whose kernels they crushed.
iii.
Their main dish was pepperpot.
iv.
They usually ate in the morning and in the evening when they returned from hunting.
v.
Husbands and wives ate apart, and there was very little conversation.
vi.
They caught and ate various types of fish, shellfish, turtle and manatee.
vii.
They ate a lot of fruits such as pineapples, guavas and cashews.
Economic Organization
Trading was an important economic activity which was carried on from village to village, and island to island. Arawaks were farmers,
so Arawak villages were usually near land which could be farmed. They grew cassava, corn, sweet potatoes and tobacco which they
smoked. The role of the women in the economy was vital. They planted and reaped the crops, prepared the food and cared for
the children. On the other hand, men cleared the fields, wove the baskets , fished and hunted. They were also excellent seamen
and fishermen. As mentioned before, trade took place between the islands. Jamaica supplied hammocks and cotton cloth to
Cuba and Haiti, while Haiti produced gold ornaments.
Dress
Women
They wore thin cotton bands on their arms and legs. Those that were married wore a loincloth. Ears, noses and often the lower lip
were pierced so that ornaments usually gold, could be worn.
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Men
They wore ornaments of stone, bone, shell , clay or gold, together with armlets, leg bands and necklaces. They painted themselves
with red, white, yellow and black pigments. Roucou, a red dye, was their favourite paint.
Chiefs
The chiefs wore the GUANIN a plate of gold and copper alloy, and also dressed up in gold crowns and feather headdresses.
Role of women
1. They cooked
2. They did the spinning and weaving of cotton cloth.
3. They tended the fields.
4. They also served as priests.
Role of men
a. They caught fish and meat for the family.
b. They built their own canoes.
c. They built their own homes.
d. They hunted.
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Houses
Several families shared one house, which was called a caneye. It was round and made of wattle and thatch. Sometimes it had
windows, but not always.
The cacique’s house was called a bohio. He lived here with his wives. It was often larger than the others and rectangular in shape.
Except for the zemis and the hammocks and some clay pots which were hung from the roof, there was no furniture in the arawak’s
home.
Warfare
i.
Usually, their wars were on neighbouring tribes, fought to establish fishing or hunting rights. Or they might be wars of
revenge.
ii.
They went to battle under a noble who had put himself forward as their leader.
iii.
They painted their bodies red and carried their round or square shaped shields with spears and clubs.
iv.
Winners at times practiced cannibalism on their defeated enemies, but usually captives were brought home, the men to
be slaves, the women to become concubines.
Artforms
1. Baskets were made from leaves, ropes and vines. The Arawaks also made bamboo baskets to catch crabs. They were kept as
ornaments as well as to store food.
2. They used stone tools. In their art work, they used barks of trees, cotton, wood, stone, bones, clay and shell.
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3. Women wove cotton and made baskets from rope.
4. Pottery bore symbols and designs. They painted on pots, jars, and bowls. Their art reflected their beliefs and the world
around them. They also carved handles and stools as representation of the heads of animals and birds. Pottery included
containers for water bottles and the pepperpot.
5. They made jewelry from shells, bones and barks. The bones and teeth of animals were also popular. They possessed musical
instruments made out of wood and shells.
Customs
Birth-Ordinary People
After the birth of a baby, the mother washed the baby in the sea or river. The forehead of the child was flattened
between two pieces of board. This was seen as a sign of beauty.
Chief
If the child were the son of a chief, there was a special celebration.
Past Paper 2009
Describe the customs of the Taino
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Marriage
Ordinary PeopleBefore marriage, the bridegroom to be had to show proof to the bride’s father that he could support a wife. He had to
either pay the bride a price or give his service to his gather in law. Before marriage, the couple were never seen together
without companions.
The Chief
The Chief was allowed to practice POLYGAMY. Among the wives, there were sometimes as many as thirty to one chief.
One of them was always known as the number one wife.
Funerals
The deceased was sometimes burnt in his house, buried in a cave, or put under the floor of his hut. They also believed in
the afterlife, as objects such as hammocks, bowls, bread and weapons were buried with the dead.
In the case of the chief, a few of his wives were buried with him.
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Caribs
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Social Organisation
Food
The Caribs were expert fishermen. They also used a type of wood which they bruised and threw into the water when the sea was
calm. This released a poison which killed many fish.
The Caribs ate a great quantity of seafood and pepper, but they ate neither salt nor pig not turtle for they thought these foods
would make them stupid. They ate grilled fish served with a sauce called couii and eaten with sweet potato and yam. Their favourite
dish was a stew made with crab and cassava. With this they drank a kind of cassava beer called ouicou.
Entertainment
The Caribs enjoyed their drinking feasts. Dancing was the centre of these feasts. The dance was accompanied by the music of drums,
rattles and bone flutes. For hours, the dancers in procession would stamp around chanting. There were several types of dances:
1. Animal dances
2. Planting and harvest dances.
They also loved wrestling and canoe racing.
Carib Warfare
They used poisoned bows and arrows, wooden swords and knives made of sharp rock.

For special courage in battle, they used a crescent shaped copper medal around their necks which they called Caracolis, and
which they greatly prized.
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
The Caribs worked themselves into a rage and became very drunk before setting out on an attack and would never turn back
once they had started. They fought for the following reasons:
To get food
To get women from their weaker neighbours.



They ate some enemy flesh, smoked and preserved from the last raid.
Each warrior was given a gourd full of pebbles to tell how many days he had to be at war.
They prepared the piraguas and weapons while the women prepared the food for the raids.
The Actual Raid
1. They attacked from canoes. These canoes or piragas sometimes held over 50 men and travelled swiftly.
2. They attacked at dawn or at night when there was a full moon.
3. Their attacks which were often directed at the Arawaks were sudden and very brutal. When the warriors returned home, the
captives were shared out. Women were kept as slaves, or given to the young men as wives. The men were carried to their
captor’s house where they were tied up and starved for 4-5 days. At the end of that time, there was a great ceremony, in
which the captured men were tortured to death and then ceremonially eaten by members of the tribe. The Caribs believed
that by doing this, they increased their power, by adding their enemies’ strength to their own.
Each Carib boy was trained from birth to be a warrior. Much of a boy’s education consisted of teaching him how to make and use his
weapons and hardening him for the test of skill and courage that was to come. Carib boys were trained by being made to shoot their
meals down from the top of trees in order to improve their marksmanship and to shoot accurately while swimming.
Before a Carib boy could become a warrior, he had to undergo a severe initiation ceremony. When the day came, he was seated on
a stool before all the warriors of his village, while his father explained to him what his duties and responsibilities would be in the
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future. Then a bird was beaten to death against his body, scratching and pecking at his body as it struggled. After this, he was deeply
scratched with agouti teeth, and his body was rubbed with the dead bird which had been dipped in hot pepper. During all this, the
boy was expected to show no sign of pain or discomfort. When the beating was over, he was given the bird’s heart to eat, and then
was sent to his hammock and made to fast. Only when he successfully passed through this initiation was he given a warrior’s name,
taught the warrior’s language, and allowed to go on raids.
Appearance
a. They flattened their foreheads.
b. They went naked, with a loincloth for the women decorating their bodies with a dye called roucou.
c. Women wore bracelets called rassada on their arms and legs and men wore necklaces made of their enemies’ teeth strung
on cotton.
d. Both men and women wore bracelets and necklaces of amber, shell, agouti teeth, seeds and coral and bored holes in their
lips and ear lobes into which they inserted smooth fish bones and other ornaments.
e. Around their necks they wore small idols representing the powerful maboya.
f. For special occasions, the men wore feathered cloaks and headdresses of heron or macaw feathers.
g. The Caracoli, an ornament of gold and copper was a mark of distinction among the men.
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Items Produced/Artforms
The caribs engaged very little in agriculture. They produced hammocks made from cotton on which they slept .The Caribs made
adornments out of cotton, which they wore around their arms and legs. They used wooden drums and whistles made out of hollow,
sturdy stalks. They also used conch shells for calling assemblies and for dances.
They made baskets from latania leaves. The baskets had double walls which were watertight. Other baskets were small and
rectangular with covers which were used a jewel boxes. Large baskets were turned upside down and provided with wooden legs.
They served as tables. Basketry was also used for making strainers and mats.
With regard to pottery, they baked potss which were used for beer. They also had bottles for roucou, covered bowls, platters, cups,
dippers and spoons. They were often painted.
The men also carved canoes of wood and made wooden bowls which were used for drinking and stools.
Customs
a. Sons were highly valued. At a son’s birth, there was a special ceremony in which the father was cut with agouti teeth and
expected to bear the pain without flinching so that the son would grow up to be brave. The boy was periodically rubbed with
the fat of slaughtered Arawaks so that he might absorb their courage.
b. A small group of Carib boys were trained to be boyez or priests. When a boy was to be a boyez, he was apprenticed to an
older priest for several years. During this time, he has to fast frequently and to abstain from eating meat. Then the boy had
to undergo an initiation ceremony as severe as that of a warrior. If he passed through the initiation successfully, his teacher
took him to the carbet where fruit, cassava and ouicou were sacrificed to the priest’s maboya.
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Religion
I.
The Maboya was the most important of the Carib idols. They felt that each person had his own maboya and that all evils
whether sickness, defeat in battle or even death, came as a result of a spell put on them by an enemy maboya.
II.
The Caribs had priests called BOYEZ. Their chief duties were to overcome evil spirits which they believed caused illness
and misfortune. When a person fell ill, the boyez were called in to defeat the maboya’s evil spell.
III.
They believed that everyone had his own good god as well as a maboya.
IV.
When a person died, the body was carefully washed and painted red and the hair was combed and oiled. Then it was
placed on a stool in a grave dug inside the carbet. For ten days, the relatives would bring food and water to the graveside
and the dead man’s possessions burnt. When the grave was completed, there was dancing over it and as a sign of
mourning, the relatives cut their hair.Later, a feast was held over the grave and often the dead man’s house, especially if
he was a chief, was burnt down.
V.
The Caribs believed that all nature was under the control of five classes of spirits-land, air, water, hills, houses and
sickness. There were also mischievous beings called AKATOMBO who played pranks on men.
VI.
The Caribs also believed that different parts of the body had their own spirits. The heart spirit was the only good one.
When a person died, all the other spirits beside the heart stayed in the forests and the sea and did harm.
VII.
To protect themselves, each Carib kept a bat called an ICHIERI as his personal God. In addition, he wore a carving of an
evil spirit around his neck to frighten other evil spirits.
VIII.
They believed in a great and good god who lived in the heavens. Mother earth gave them food and shelter. The sun who
was a male ruled the moon. The moon was a female who ruled the stars.
IX.
The Caribs felt that their ancestors came from the navel of a man named LOUQUO.
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Women’s role
Each wife lived in a separate hut. Wives were treated as servants. Their duties were as follows:
1. Women were expected to carry all the loads.
2. They spun the yarn from which the hammocks were made.
3. They combed and oiled their husbands’ hair. They also dressed him and painted his body.
4. They were responsible for planting and harvesting the crops after the lands were cleared.
5. They were responsible for preparing meals and preserving food.
6. They spun thread, wove baskets and hammocks and made clay vessels for storage.
7. They wove cotton for making hammocks, clothing and adornments.
8. They cleaned and thatched the houses.
Marriage
1. Marriage among cousins was encouraged.
2. Men were allowed to have many wives.
3. Fathers presented their daughters to the successful warriors after each raid.
4. The men with the most wives were considered most powerful.
5. Girls often became engaged during childhood and sometimes were brought up by their fiancé’s family.
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6. The groom had to obtain the consent of the bride’s parents before they were married.
Funerals
1. The Caribs sometimes killed the old and feeble.
2. When a person died, the body was washed, painted, oiled and wrapped in a new hammock.
3. It was placed on a stool in a grave dug in the Carbet.
4. The grave was not filled for ten days and during this time, the relatives brought food and water to the body and mourned.
5. A fire was built aroung the grave to purify it and prevent the deceased from catching a cold.
6. Everything owned by the deceased was thrown into the fire or placed in the grave. Sometimes the house was burned too.
Houses
Their houses were large and rectangular in shape. In addition to hammocks, they often slept on an amais which consisted of a cotton
folded at both ends and hung from the roof. Other furniture included stools made from red or yellow wood and a table. In every
home, there was an idols of the family’s maboya.
Outside they built a small storehouse in which they kept their warclubs, their household utensils, their stone tools and extra beds
and hammocks.
The village Carbet was the mens’ house and the most important building . Women and men lived separately, the women’s carbet
being half the size of that in which the men lived. Women entered the men’s carbet only to serve food to their husbands, standing in
wait until he finished eating. Only then did they return to the women’s house for their own meal.
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Up to the age of four or five, all children lived with their mother, but at that age, all boys were taken away to live among the men.
Girls remained with their mothers until they married.
Customs
1. They would not eat any crab or lizard while at sea. Nor drink any water for fear that the spirits would be displeased and
would prevent them from returning to land.
2. If they were carrying any fresh water in the canoe, they took care not to spill any into the sea as it might cause a storm.
3. If they were to sail over a place where caribs had drowned, they were careful to throw food into the water, so that the
drowned men would not reach up to the boat and capsize it.
4. When they were reaching land, they were careful not to call its name, nor to point to eat, in case any evil spirit was watching
and tried to prevent their getting ashore.
5. Arawak women who were captured during battle were given as wives to the bravest warriors.
6. Caracolis were given to the young men who distinguished themselves during battle, and those warriors were highly prized as
husbands.
7. Sometimes they ceremoniously killed and ate captive men. However, some of the captives were also kept as slaves. The
women were given as concubines to the warriors and the men kept as labourers.
8. The Caribs disliked taking orders, and they had very few laws. If anyone did harm to a carib, the injured man was expected to
take his own revenge, without any interference from the rest of the tribe. He could even kill the person who had injured him.
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Political Organisation
The Ouboutu was the most important man among the Caribs . He was the chief only during war time. His functions were:
a. He decided when the men should be called to the carbet to plan a raid.
b. He decided who should be attacked, how the raid should be conducted and when it should take place.
c. He chose the commanders of the canoes of piragas.
d. He presided over the victory celebrations during which everyone who had killed an arawak chief was allowed to take his
name as a mark of honour.
There were lesser governors who ruled during times of peace. They were called tiubutuli hauthe, and were the heads of
families, for each family lived in its own village.
His functions were:
a. He supervised the fishing and hunting.
b. He led the village in ceremonies and entertainment such as wrestling, canoe racing, singing, dancing and story-telling.
c. He was in charge of the Carbets.
d. He supervised the cultivation of the land.
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Duties of Villagers
1. They were mainly warriors and went out on raids against the Arawaks.
2. They trained their sons in hunting, fishing, swimming, singing, making canoes and shooting the bow and arrow.
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Mayas
Social Organisation
Food
Among the Maya, each married man and each wife was entitled to only 400 sq feet of land called a hun uinic. Surplus grains or other
non-perishable crops were collected and stored in underground storehouses called chultunes.
Tools
The land was tilled with tools made of bone, stone or wood. The Maya had a digging stick called a COA (a pointed stick made of fire
hardened wood). It was used for making holes in the ground into which seeds were planted. They also used a wooden spade called a
TACCGA and a club with a stone ring fastened to the end for breaking up clods of earth.
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Houses
Nobles
Their temple pyramids were large and built of sculptured stone.
Ordinary People
The house of the ordinary man was very small and simple. It was either round, square or rectangular, made of wattle and thatch,
and resting on a stone foundation. The ordinary people lived on the outskirts of the temple city, and only came into the centre to
worship at the temple-pyramid.
Birth
1. At the birth of a baby, the child’s head was flattened between two pieces of board. They also hung a ball of wax in front of
the child eyes , so that the child would squint his/her eyes. This was a special mark of beauty.
2. At the time of a child’s baptism, a lucky day was picked for a feast and the floor of the home was swept clean. Incense and
maize were offered and then thrown away, signifying that evil in the children had been rid of.
Warfare
They used war clubs which sometimes had star-shaped heads made of bronze. They called these Macana. They also used wooden
shields which they decorated with feathers called chimali .
The Maya also sacrificed war prisoners to be Gods, but frequently their wars were fought between the Mayan cities themselves.
They fought for the following reasons:
To gain advantages in trade.
To gain more land for agriculture.
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To get slaves
They did not fight for long, because they were farmers, and when harvest-time came, they wanted to return home. Usually, battles
were fought in October when the farmer-soldier was not needed in his fields. They went to battle under a leader called a Nacom ,
who was elected for three years. Under him were the captains, and under them were ordinary soldiers called Hulcans. These were
paid a small sum by their Captains while the war lasted. If their leader died while fighting, then the war ended.
Religion
1. The Mayas worshipped QUETZALCOATL , the great god and culture hero. He was also known as the wind God and God of the
air.They worshipped 166 gods in total.
2. Sacrifice entailed the offering of human hearts and the piercing of the body to draw blood.
3. Their Priests played an important part in many activities, and many of their great buildings were devoted to religious
purposes. For this reason, their cities were called temple cities because their outstanding buildings were the temples they
built on top of the high flat-topped pyramids.These pyramids were made with a core of earth and rubble, covered with cut
stone, and then cemented with mortar made by burning limestone rock. The entrance to the temple was through a corbelled
arch. Only the priests who performed the ceremonies could enter these temples. The worshippers remained outside, in the
plazas or courtyards surrounding the sacred pyramids. From here they watched the rites and took part by singing and
dancing.
4. They worshipped many Gods. They believed that all of life was a struggle between good and evil, and that there were good
and evil gods. The good gods lived in 13 heavens and the evil ones lived in 9 hells. Great warriors and those who were killed
in sacrifice, were sure to go to heaven. They believed in immortality, and to make sure that the dead would be able to enjoy
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the afterlife, they buried them with a maize drink and the tools of their trade. Paradise was a place of peace where warriors
killed in battle went, along with sacrificed victims, women who died in childbirth and those who committed suicide by
hanging.
5. Their priests took part in many activities and almost all their buildings were devoted to religious purposes. Maya cities were
called ‘temple cities’ because their outstanding buildings were the temples they built on the top of high flat topped pyramids.
Only priests entered the temples. The worshippers remained outside in the yards and watched the rites, praying, singing and
dancing.
6. One of the most important Maya gods was the God of corn, Yum Kaax; other gods were also connected with agriculture e.g.
Chac-the God of rain, and Pipil-the God of the sun,
7. Itzamna-The giver of Food and Light, Kukulcan-God of the wind. Above all, they felt that there was one supreme creator.
They called him Kunab-Ku.
Clothing
Men
Maya men wore a simple cotton garment called an ex (pronounced eesh). This was a loincloth wound several times around the
waist and passed between the legs. Over this, they wore a mantle without sleeves. Sandals were tied to the feet with two thongs
and were called keuel.
Women
Women wore the kub-a simple dress with a square neck. Beneath this, they wore a light petticoat. They went barefoot.
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Nobles
In addition to these simple garments, the nobles wore a great deal of jewelry-ear and nose rings as well as bracelets. Moreover, their
garments were dyed in many colours. On ceremonial occasions, the noblemen would decorate themselves with feathered
headdresses made on wicker frames. Only the ruler and outstanding warriors were permitted to use the gorgeously coloured
feathers of the quetzal bird in their head-dresses.
Appearance
1. As soon as a baby was born, its head was flattened by squeezing it gently between two boards.
2. Many mayas were cross-eyed. This was regarded as a special mark of beauty and distinction, and mothers would hang a ball
in front of their children so that they would focus on it and develop crossed-eyes.
Houses
Maya houses were simple. Most were wattled and thatched, although the wealthier nobles might have built theirs of stone. Almost
all homes consisted of one room, with neither windows nor doors. Instead, across the doorway was hung a curtain and small copper
bells. Furniture was very sparse, usually just sleeping racks made of sapling laced with springy branches and covered with a grass
mattress and cotton blankets.
Role of women
1. Cooking was done outside by the women.
2. They were responsible for taking care of the home and children.
3. They also performed a good deal of the agricultural labour, mainly sowing, weeding and reaping of crops.
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4. A woman was supposed to produce many children. If she were barren, it was considered a disgrace. This meant that from her
early teens, a girl married and took on adult responsibilities.
5. As a homemaker, she supplied almost all of her family’s needs. For example, she wove the cloth and then sewed the
garments.
6. She shared the responsibility with other women for making the magnificent feathered head-dresses worn by the nobility .
7. Women were considered inferior persons , and were trained from childhood to accept a subordinate position in society. For
example, when in the presence of a man, a woman always looked down at the ground. To look directly at a man was
considered serious misconduct and she was punished severely. A mother might pinch her daughter, or rub her eyes with red
pepper, or beat her if the girl refused to act ‘properly’ toward men.
8. No woman might inherit a man’s property, not even his mother.
Gender Relations
a. Wives occupied traditional roles as mothers and housekeepers. Leadership within the home and society was male centred.
b. The women played different roles. In public life they were designated a position which seemed to be less important than the
male.
c. Within the family, the women played a prominent role. The woman or the eldest female member was responsible for all
domestic matters.
d. After Mayan children reached the age of maturity, the males spent time with their fathers learning his occupation. Girls
learned the art of housekeeping, cooking, weaving and spinning. As a sign of modesty, Mayan young ladies were taught to
turn their backs to men they met on the streets, while stepping aside to allow them to pass.
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Entertainment
The Maya played a ball game, called pok-a-tok, in which the players had to butt a solid rubber ball through hoops set 10 metres
above the ground.
Achievements of the Maya
They built observatories from which their priests could observe the movement of the stars and planets. Here they
developed complex calendars. They had a 365 day year. This was called Haab and consisted of 18 months or uinals ,
each of 20 days, or kins. This gave 360 days. The 5 days left over at the end were called uayeb and were considered an
unlucky period.
They had a system of numbering which was based on the figure 20. They also discovered the importance of 0.
Their writing was in the form of glyphs. These were sometimes carved on huge stone monuments called stelae.
They also wrote books giving accounts of their stories and legends.
Political Organisation
They lived in independent city-states. Their society was divided into rigid classes, each of which had its own rights and duties, even in
such matters as clothing and personal adornments. The ruler of each city-state was called the Halach-Uinich-the true man or real
man. He was a hereditary ruler. The office descended from father to son. However, if the sons of the dead ruler were no fit to rule,
one of his brothers became head of state. Failing this, some other suitable person from the ruler’s family was elected by a council of
nobles. His functions were as follows:
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1. He was the political head of state.
2. He carried out military and religious functions.
3. He wore a magnificent headdress which marked him as chief.
4. He had one legitimate wife and a number of mistresses.
After the ruler and nobles came the majority of the people who were artisans and farmers. There also existed a group known as the
ppolms or merchants. Their role was as follows:
They had their own God.
They lived according to their own laws.
They did not have to pay any taxes.
They did not have to give any personal service in agricultural labour or road building as the commoners did.
They performed a very important role in foreign affairs and especially in war, for they frequently acted as spies.
They made possible the exchange of goods between the various Maya cities.
Batabobs
Functions
1. They had judicial and military functions.
2. They carried out the wishes of the mayan lord.
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In times of war, there were war captains called NACOMS who led the warriors into battle.
Artforms
Pottery
Their pottery were decorated in designs that reflected nature as well as the simple lifestyle of the people. Mayan sculptors used
stones, as well as wooden mallets as their main tools. They also used chisels and hammer stones. Mayan sculpture was finished by
abrasion and then painted. Their artists made life-like figurines in wood, copper and gold.
Weaving
They had rich and complicated woven fabrics. The art of spinning and looming was carried out by the women of the tribe.
Basketry and Matting
Mayans plaited rope from pliable vines to make baskets. Some baskets were made water-tight by lining the inside of the basket with
a wax type coating. These baskets also held water. They were all-purpose and used for carrying corn or other products.
Instruments
Their main instruments were flutes and whistles made out of ceramics. Special moulds were used to make these instruments. This
was to ensure that there was uniformity in sound. Among their instruments were also clay trumpets, pottery, conch shells, horns
and other instruments made of wood. They also had a wooden drum called a tunkul.
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Economic Organisation
Markets played an important part in the life of the people. Here, they met and exchanged goods. Maize was exchanged for beans,
beans for cocoa and salt for spices. Maize was the main food of the Maya.
A variety of vegetables and fruit were grown. The cocoa beans were valuable and were also used as currency. Women played an
important role in the economy as they were the producers of crops.
Trade
The Maya were the only Amerindians who carried on trade by sea as well as land. It was merchants who made possible the
exchange of goods between the various Mayan cities. They used no money, but instead used cocoa beans as a means of exchange.
Sometimes, small copper bells or red shells or strings were also used. The trade in salt , an important commodity was controlled by
certain tribes. Brightly coloured feathers were carried to the sea coast people.
They traded cotton for weaving Mayan garments, cocoa which was their favourite drink, honey, wax, fish, flint, maize, precious
stones for ornaments, shells, and gold. The Ppolms were the traders used no money, but instead used cocoa beans as a means of
exchange.
They also built great roadways called Sacbeobs to encourage trade between their various cities.
Weapons
Weapons consisted of those which could be made from wood, bone or stone. They used war clubs with a star shaped head made of
bronze called a MACANA. They used very simple weapons. The Maya used hornets’ nests which they threw into enemy villages to
create confusion. They also used wooden shields decorated with feathers called CHIMALLI.
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Interaction of the Arawaks and Caribs
Warfare

It was common for tribes which practiced human sacrifice (Caribs) to raid other settled tribes in order to get victims
for their sacrifice.

Sometimes tribes moved into a region and raided neighbouring tribes to obtain captives. These captives were held to
help tribes increase their numbers, acquire slaves and women as concubines.

Female captives were taken in order to reproduce and increase the numbers of the Carib tribes. They were also
needed to till the soil.

Groups came together in order to trade. A large amount of trade took place by sea with the use of canoes. The main
traders were the Mayas and Arawaks.
Trade
Cooperation

The Caribs of Guadeloupe, Marie Galante and St. Croix united in their attacks against the Lucaynos of Jamaica and the
Bahamas. They in turn never attacked each other, but worked together as one group.

Indigenous people from the Caribbean first visited by Columbus sent out secret messages to warn tribes of
neighbouring islands of an invasion by Columbus and his men. The Spaniards in their attacks on the islands always
tried to kill the chief first. The purpose of this was to leave the tribes defenseless and disorganized without a leader.
Sometimes, tribes from neighbouring islands assisted these tribes, and even kept the chief of these tribes safely from
the Europeans.
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