What does the spiral mean in Taino?
The spiral is a common symbol found in Taino art. It is a representation of cosmic energy and its unendingness. It is also representative of sweet water. The spiral is a symbol of both material and immaterial concepts and objects.
What does the Taino snail mean?
For the Taino, snails and conches held particular significance. Snails were a source of sustenance and food. They were also used as a hallucinogen during rituals. Conches were used as decorative pieces. Larger conches were used as a communication device during the hunt, due to their distinctive sound.
What does the turtle symbolize in Taino?
Product Description. Each Taino symbol is a representation of God or forces of nature, or a tale of everyday life. Turtles were considered the mother of fertility within the Taíno symbols, humanity and the origin of life.
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).
Are all Puerto Rican Taínos?
According 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.
Did the Taínos 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.”
How do you say Sun in Taino?
Taino Word of the Day: Guey = Sun.
What was the religion of the Tainos?
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.
What god did the Tainos fear?
Juracán is the phonetic name given by the Spanish colonizers to the zemi or deity of chaos and disorder which the Taíno natives in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Cuba, as well as the Island Caribs and Arawak natives elsewhere in the Caribbean, believed controlled the weather, particularly hurricanes (the latter ...
Did the Tainos have facial hair?
They lived in the islands of Cuba, La Española, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and other islands of the northern Caribbean. The first records described them as medium to tall healthy people with tan, bronzed skin. They had no body or facial hair, pronounced cheekbones, full pout, and a good dental hygiene.
What symbols were important to the Tainos?
Puerto Rican Warrior Symbols. The Taino coqui tattoo, which represents the Puerto Rican coqui, the frog, displays an encircled leaping frog – a symbol of longevity. Similar Puerto Rican warrior symbols include lizards, turtles, and snakes – each which translated to survival and strength.
What are twins' elements?
Twins were born in the same cave as the sun and the moon. They represented forces of nature, having both positive and negative elements, such as rain and drought.
What did God Guahoyona do to the children?
Legend has it that God Guahoyona abducted all women from the island, leaving the men to take care of the children, who out of hunger began to cry ‘toa toa’ or mother-mother. When the children could not be consoled by the men, they turned into frogs.
What are birds interpreted as?
Birds like cranes and herons were often given human characteristics, and they usually were interpreted as symbols of being masculine.
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.
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.
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.
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 are some of the most famous Taino instruments?
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. Names of plants, trees and fruits includes: maní, leren, ají, yuca, mamey, pajuil, pitajaya, cupey, tabonuco and ceiba. Names of fish, animals and birds includes: mucaro, guaraguao, iguana, cobo, carey, jicotea, guabina, manati, buruquena and juey. As well as other objects and instruments: güiro, bohío, batey, caney, hamaca, nasa, petate, coy, barbacoa, batea, cabuya, casabe and canoa. Other words were passed not only into Spanish, but also into English, such as huracan (hurricane) and hamaca (hammock) and barbacoa (barbecue).
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.
What does the face represent in the Tainos?
Some of the “face” symbols have been said to represent shamans, gods, animals (bats & owls) and people of the tribes. Tainos may have also carved zemi spirits or gods with human-like faces.
What do they mean?
Whenever anyone views petroglyphs the unavoidable question comes up: What is the meaning of these symbols?
Who Were the Taino People?
The Taíno Indians are a subgroup of the Arawakan Indians who inhabited the Greater Antilles made up of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean Sea .
What did the Tainos see in the Spaniards?
The Tainos saw the Spaniards as gods and feared them. The European brought livestock like horses, sheep, and cattle to America. Their weapons were like nothing they had ever seen. Soon they would be working from dawn to dusk as abject slaves and see their resources depleted as well as their lives. In 1501, black slaves were brought to the island to make up for the many losses of Tainos.
What does the spiral symbol represent?
The Taínos often depicted a spiral symbol, which represented cosmic energy and sweet water. Years later, psychologist Carl Jung said that the spiral is an archetypal symbol that represents cosmic force. The Spiral is also a sacred symbol that represents the journey and change of life as it unfolds.
What did the Tainos contribute to the everyday life of Puerto Rico?
Many towns on the island of Puerto Rico still carry Taino names. Much of our vocabulary still uses Taino words. In fact, the words canoe and hammock in the English language originated with the Tainos.
What happened to the Tainos in 1515?
Their lifespan was short and around the year 1515, in July, a hurricane strikes the island, killing many Tainos. This, as well as the illnesses brought by the Spaniards, their ill treatments at the hands of the conquistadores, and the intermarriage between black slaves and Spaniards all but depleted the Taino people in Puerto Rico.
What is symbolism in culture?
Symbolism… Symbols exist in every culture. In many cases, these symbols overlap many ethnicities and are seen in other cultures. Symbols can be so representative of something that there are some groups that adopt symbols into their own cultures and make them part of their own history.
What did the God Guahoyona do to the children?
Legend has it that the God Guahoyona abducted all women from the island, leaving the men to take care of the children, who out of hunger began to cry Toa Toa or mother-mother. When the children could not be consoled by the men, they turned into frogs.
What is a taino tattoo?
Taino tribal tattoos are inspired by the Puerto Rican culture. Taino culture is rich in bravery, artistic triumph (unique symbols) and innovations. The Taino Indians were native to the Caribbean Indians which consisted of Modern Day Puerto Rico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Jamaica. The aboriginals of these island countries were called Arawak People (named after their unique language Arawakan).
What does the Taino Coqui tattoo mean?
Taino Coqui Tattoo –. The Coqui translates to the frog species found in these islands. The coqui symbol showed a leaping frog on a circle. Its symbolic meaning was good health and long life. Along with the frog, the Taino tribe was also known to show other reptiles such as lizards, snakes, and even turtles.
Why did the Taino people die?
It was evident from the tribal body art of Taino people. The indigenous tribe sadly saw a sudden demise due to the Spanish inquisition (within 40 years of Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the island). However, their legacy lived on as even today the Tribal Taino tattoos are popular globally.
What does the sun represent in a tattoo?
Sun was the most common Taino symbol which represented our planetary star as a god as a life-giver. The design included sun rays along with googly eyes and sometimes a smile.