En los símbolos Taínos, como hemos mencionado, existe una gran cantidad de signos que representan situaciones e historias. Uno de estos es el símbolo de la concha y el caracol, los cuales tuvieron un papel fundamental en la vida de todos los miembros de la tribu.
Full Answer
What is a female Taino called?
The Legends of Loiza are many but perhaps the most popular one is about the only female Taino Cacique ( chief) named Yuiza ( Yuisa, Loaiza, Luisa, Loiza). Of all the Taino Chiefs of the Caribbean there were only two who were women, only one in Boriken ( Puerto Rico).
What do the Taino symbols mean?
Therefore, the symbols used by the Tainos often have special significance. For example, the Taino symbols carved in stone show that the Native Americans respected all living things. The carvings also represent Taino beliefs and religious practices. They frequently highlight Taino gods and the Taino sun god.
What percentage of Puerto Rican is Taino?
61 percentAccording to a study funded by the National Science Foundation, 61 percent of all Puerto Ricans have American Indian mitochondrial DNA, probably from a common Taino ancestry.
Where did the Tainos come from?
The Taíno, a subgroup of the Arawakan Indians from northeastern South America, inhabited the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico).
Did the Tainos have tattoos?
“As a pre-columbian society the Taino had no written alphabet. Instead they had a language called Arawakan, which consisted of petroglyphs, artistic symbols that were carved on rocks. These artful symbols were also tattooed. Taino men had tattoos for spiritual purposes, the women had piercings.”
Do the Taino still exist?
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.
How do I know if I'm Taino?
To find out about your Puerto Rican ancestry, the most scientific way is to take an ancestry DNA testing kit which will give you a definitive answer.
Is Taino black?
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.
How much Taino DNA do Puerto Ricans have?
61 percentAccording 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.
How do the Taínos look?
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.
What god did the Taínos fear?
The zemis, a god of both sexes, were represented by icons in the form of human and animal figures, and collars made of wood, stone, bones, and human remains. Taíno Indians believed that being in the good graces of their zemis protected them from disease, hurricanes, or disaster in war.
Why did the Taínos flatten their foreheads?
Another Taino custom is the flattening of foreheads of newborns. The Taino saw it as a sign of beauty. The newborns heads were bound between two boards to flatten the forehead a few days after the child was born.
Why are the Taino symbols left behind?
Because there is little evidence to prove any of these claims as true, the common acceptance is that these symbols were left behind by the Taino themselves. While some of the symbols relate to deities and nature, others are about depicting their daily life.
Where did the Taino Indians come from?
The Taino Indians were an ancient civilization originating from what is now Puerto Rico. Ancient inhabitants of the region, the Taino Indians left behind narratives and tales in the form of these symbols. The Taino mainly lived off of what they could find on land and were also fishermen.
What did the Taino people live off of?
The Taino mainly lived off of what they could find on land and were also fishermen. Unfortunately, disease, war, and starvation left the Taino destroyed after merely two decades – leaving behind only their symbols. These symbols have been left behind on caves and walls across the region.
When were the symbols of the caves created?
Although carbon dating is not possible on the rocks and caves where these images have been found, the best estimate is that these were created somewhere between 5000 BC to 1700 AD.
What instruments did the Taino use?
Many Taíno implements and techniques were copied directly by the Europeans, including the bohío (straw hut) and the hamaca (hammock), the musical instrument known as the maracas, and the method of making cassava bread . Many Taino words persist in the Puerto Rican vocabulary of today.
When did the Taino Indians arrive in Puerto Rico?
November 23, 2020. by Captain Tim. 06. Aug. Puerto Rico was inhabited by the Taino Indians long before Columbus arrived in 1493. They were primarily farmers and fisherman. After the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores, the Taino population was decimated by famine, disease, and war within twenty years. Today, the Taino’s blood is part of the ...
Is Taino blood part of Puerto Rican heritage?
Today, the Taino’s blood is part of the Puerto Rican heritage and through research and archaeological digs, today there is a clearer idea of their culture and contributions to society.
Los amantes eternos
Uno de los rasgos principales que tenía el pueblo taíno, y que sigue siendo muy diferente en nuestros días, es que estos no compartían el pensamiento o no creían en el concepto de propiedad privada. Esto queda muy reflejado en los símbolos taínos, concretamente en la imagen de los amantes eternos.
La rana o Toa
Otro de los signos taínos más populares dentro de las tradiciones de esta tribu es la rana o Toa, la cual nos cuenta una antigua historia, en la que el Dios Guahoyona raptó a todas las mujeres que vivían en la isla de Puerto Rico en ese entonces con la intención de que todos los hombres tuvieran que hacerse cargo de cuidar y asegurarse de preservar la buena salud de los niños..
El caracol
En los símbolos Taínos, como hemos mencionado, existe una gran cantidad de signos que representan situaciones e historias. Uno de estos es el símbolo de la concha y el caracol, los cuales tuvieron un papel fundamental en la vida de todos los miembros de la tribu.
El Maquetaurie Guayaba
Para nadie es un secreto que la tribu taína adoraba a los dioses y constantemente llevaba a cabo rituales para honrarlos y ofrecerles culto. En estas ceremonias, los participantes solían recurrir a alucinógenos que permitían crear un canal de comunicación más estable con los espíritus.
Los siameses o gemelos
Otra pieza importante dentro de la simbología de esta cultura, son los siameses o gemelos. El origen de este nos remonta a la época antigua, en la que dos gemelos fueron dados a luz en una cueva. Esta fue la misma en la que nacieron el sol y la luna.
Baby
The Taíno’s carried their babies on their backs. Many images often had babies being carried with ropes tied around them.
Bird
Birds like cranes and herons were often given human characteristics, and they usually were interpreted as symbols of being masculine.
Cohoba
Cohoba was the main deity of the Taínos. The plate of his head was used in the ceremony to inhale hallucinogen in ceremonial rituals.
Eternal Lovers
The Taíno society did not believe in private property. Whatever was grown or killed was for the whole tribe. The scene in images may mean solidarity, equality, and fertility. Eternal lovers were figures of birds either beak-to-beak or in a possible love scenes.
Shamans
Shamans were witch doctors. They cured by using plants and herbs. They were considered as priests and led all rituals.
Conchs and Snails
The snail and conch played an integral role in the Taínos’ lives. They ate snails and also used them as a hallucinogen in rituals. They even used their conchs to adorn their bodies as beads. Large conchs were used for the sound that they made, as a communication device during hunting.
Turtle or Tortoise
Turtles were considered as the mother of fertility, mankind, and origin of life. Dimivan Caracaracol (Mother Earth) had developed a tumor; on the removal of the tumor, it turned out to be a live turtle.
Modern Interpretations
There are people today who desperately search, in books or the internet, for the true meaning of these rock-carvings not really knowing the history (or in this case, lack-of historical data) of the Tainos / Pre-Tainos. It is still unclear today of what these petroglyphs or symbols really mean.
How old are these symbols?
Ancient petroglyphs or symbols carved into rock by prehistoric peoples reveal how they envisioned the world around them. But estimating an exact age of most petroglyphs is difficult to determine.
What do they mean?
Whenever anyone views petroglyphs the unavoidable question comes up: What is the meaning of these symbols?