Munro College

Department of Social Sciences

Caribbean History

October 22, 2022

Teacher: Miss Stewart

Handout

Content:

Importance of Canoes to the Tainos and How They Were Built

The canoes were vital to the Tainos in their trading between certain islands. It was their

only means of transportation. They used the canoes to fish, raid, travel and trade. They traded

cloth, tools, weapons, furniture, tobacco, certain fruits, and gold. The Tainos built long canoes

that could fit up to 80 people. They did not use metal tools to carve out the canoes from trees.

They would use a silk cotton that was first ringed and burnt off at the base. They would then chip

the other side then slowly burn out the interior. Then they would wet the hallowed trunk and

insert wooden wedges of different lengths to widen it in the middle and tape it at the end, to

shape the canoe. The canoe was then buried in damp sand to cure the canoe before being dried

out in the sun.

Village Customs:

It was customary for the Tainos to flatten their babies’ foreheads. It was thought that a flat

forehead was a mark of beauty and that it created a stronger skull and made it easier for boys to

aim bows up into tree tops. They flattened the babies’ foreheads by playing their heads between

two boards. The Tainos practiced subsistence farming, growing food for mainly themselves and
their families. Painting the body in black, white, red and other colour dyes was a common

custom. They painted their faces, eyes, noses, and parts of their heads. The dye was often

obtained from tree bark and certain fruits. As a sign of rank, married women wore straight strips

of cotton cloth hanging from their waist like a small apron. Colourful parrot feathers were worn

in their hair. Bits of gold and copper hammered together to form a metal called guanin and

jewellery made from this was worn by those of higher rank. The wives of the chief wore the

longest cotton apron as a sign of their position. The Tainos used conch shells to make tools and

musical instruments, even jewellery. The chief wore a coat of feathers, string of beads and semi-

precious stones such as jasper and jade.

Dress

Taino men were usually naked except for special occasions, when they might wear decorative

loincloths. They painted their bodies and wore sometimes wore decorations or jewellery. The

chief wore a long apron, a coat of feathers, and jewellery or ornaments. The women usually wore

a piece of cloth over their loins. The chief’s wives would wear the longest cotton apron as a sign

of their position. Sometimes the Tainos wore colourful feathers in their hair. They also painted

their bodies.

Leisure time Activities

The Tainos had ample leisure time which they occupied with singing and dancing, called

areytos. The men and women usually danced separately, however, they would come together on

special occasions in which the pleasure of drinking was added. They also had a ball game known

as batos, which was played on a market field (batey), with two teams trying to hit the ball with
any part of their body into their opponent’s goal line, a game somewhere between volleyball and

football.

Smoking was the most well-known Taino pleasure, with the plant called cohiba and

tobacco referred to the pipe in which the leaves were smoked, the Tainos liked it for peace,

contentment and helping them meditate. They made cigars, chewed tobacco and, most enjoyed

of all, smoked it in pipes. The Tainos also made craft. They made pottery, basketry, weaving,

feather craft, and jewellery. Painting their bodies was also a leisure time activity along with a

custom.

Contribution of Tainos to the Caribbean and the wider world

The Tainos made a few contributions to the world, including the fruits and crops they

grew like cassava, sweet potato, pineapples, and groundnuts which are used worldwide and has

become part of the Caribbean diet. Taino words such as ‘’hurricane’’, ‘’barbecue’’,

‘’buccaneer’’, and ‘’canoe’’ have all become part of the English Language and are frequently

used. Barbecuing has become popular throughout the world and this was a Taino practice.

Pepperpot is a dish still prepared by Caribbean people today.