OBJECTIVES

• To provide an overview of the Kalinago/

Caribs

• To examine different art forms the

Kalinago/Caribs indulged in

• To provide evidence of their architecture

and food items

• To demonstrate different aspects of their

way of life and cultural practices.
 THE PEOPLE
 The Kalinago are believed to have originally come
from South America

 The Kalinago, also known as the Island Caribs or

simply Caribs, are an indigenous people of the
Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean

 They are the last remaining tribe of the pre-

Columbian Carib Indians going back to about 3000
B.C.

 The remnants of the Kalinago/Carib still occupy a

portion of Dominica called ‘Kalinago Territory’
 They were light brown in complexion,
had dark eyes and are well known for
their straight black hair.

 They wore no clothes except for the

feathers and ornaments used to design
their hair

 The men wore cotton aprons around

their waists, during special occasions
and events.

 The women tied bands around their

legs, below their knees and at the
ankle, in order to tighten their calves
and make them appear to be bigger

 Also attractive to them were babies

with flattened foreheads.
 On feast days, modern Carib Indians of the Nature
Island are beautifully adorned in their traditional
wear, which comprises of dried reeds worn around
the hips of males and females, head dresses
adorned with brilliantly colored head bands and
painting of faces, arms and chests.
 Recently, it has become
common to see both
Kalinago men and women
wearing a brightly colored or
hand painted cloth which is
fastened around the waste,
and falls in two layers at the
front and the back.

 The same material is

fastened around the
woman’s chest area, with
long necklaces of coral and
wooden beads.

 They too paint their arms,

faces, backs and chests.
 They reputedly use 300 different herbs for medicine —
some of the best bush doctors hail from the Territory.

 Dances, traditions, legends, and beliefs have been kept

alive by the elders who pass on theses traditions through
Story-Telling.

 The language is only spoken by a few people today and

traditional dances are performed by Karifuna, their dance
group.

 The Kalinago Territory is well worth a visit. It is almost

spiritual how one is flung centuries back into a cool, calm
place with the most beautiful group of people, amidst the
straw huts and baskets made by the best artisans.
Carvings of gods
Traditional Head Wear

Stone Axes
 ARCHITECT
 
URE
Grouped around a central plaza, the most impressive structure
was the main meeting house, called the Carbet or Taboui.
Smaller, tent-like Ajoupas and Mouinas, built from hardwood and
plant material collected from the forest, surrounded this sixty-
foot-long structure. Roofs were made from thatched palm leaves,
with grass or reeds used also as wattle for the walls. Everything
was tied together with maho, a rope made of bark. Inside,
furnishing was sparse, with hammocks used for sleeping –
another ingenious invention of the Amerindians. Thatched roofs
and walls, permeable to air flow, allowed structures to breathe
naturally.
My people lived off the land,” Kalinago Chief Garnette Joseph
explains. “The forest provided not only building material for
houses, but also food, medicine and gommier wood for dugout
canoes.” These masterly constructed long boats were fast, silent
and agile
 RELIGION and
 
BELIEFS
 Both the Island Arawak and the Island Carib
possessed a notion of a high god

 The Kalinago – Carib's history includes religious

practices that involved the worship of ancestors,
nature and the belief in “Maboya”, the evil spirit, who
they had to satisfy. The chief function of their priests
or “Boyez” was healing the sick with herbs. The Carib
believed in an evil spirit called Maybouya.

 Maybouya had to be placated for any person to

escape harm.
 The buyeis (shamans) were treated with great
respect as they could cast spells to keep the
Maybouya pacified, as well as heal the sick
with herb preparations.
 Also, the buyeis underwent special shaman
training rather than become warriors.
 Ceremonies conducted by the buyeis also
contained sacrifices.
 Tobacco was also smoked during religious
rituals, as is the case with the Arawaks and
other Native Americans.
 The Kalinago religion had a tradition of
keeping bones of their ancestors in their
houses; believing that the ancestral spirits
would look after the bones & protect their
descendants.
 SOCIAL and
POLITICAL
HIERARCHY
 
 The early Carib culture was
patriarchal in nature.
 The important domestic duties,
food & clothing provision, plus
farming were all carried out by the
women (see image of Carib woman
in traditional dress opposite).
 The women, with their children,
also slept in separate houses from
the men.
 The women in Carib society were
held in high esteem.
 Also the island Carib society was
more socially egalitarian than that
of Taíno society
 Ouboutou:
 The leader of the society. He was elected on
the basis of his great strength and skill in
battle.
 He was referred to as the Great Captain

 Tibutuli: they were lesser

governors.Tibutuli’s Duty: ruled in the time
of peace
 Boyez: they were priests

 Boyez’s Duties:
 Performed religious activities
 Trained boys to become priest
 Cared for the gods
 DIET AND
AGRICULTURE
Kalinago farmers had
traditionally cultivated
crops by observing moon
cycles and largely
depended on rainfall
irrigation, with rivers and
streams serving mainly
for leisure , social
interactions and fishing.
 CONCLU
 The Kalinago or Caribs were American Indians who lived in
South America and on islands in the Caribbean Sea.

SION
 The Carib people were medium in height and lean. They had
straight, long, black hair that was worn loose. Their brown
skin was always painted with a vegetable dye called roucou.

 The island Carib were fierce fighters. After torturing and

killing enemy men, they took the women into their tribe as
wives or slaves.

 The Caribs didn't wear much clothing

 CONCLU
 The Caribs fighting equipment were rather simple they

SION
were made from wood, bone and stone

 The Carib Indians were primarily fishing people

 Caribs are known for their reed basketry and gourd

carvings. Some Carib communities also make pottery or
shell jewelry

 Spirituality and religion were important parts of Carib life,

and some people continue to practice traditional beliefs
today
 REFERENCES
Carib, K. (2017). Carib, Island Carib, Kalinago People (Anthropology). [online]
Alchemipedia.blogspot.com. Available at:
http://alchemipedia.blogspot.com/2009/12/carib-island-carib-kalingo-
people.html

Caribterritory.com. (2008). The Kalinago- The History Of The Dominica Carib

Indians. [online] Available at:
http://www.caribterritory.com/kalinago_history_dominica/
Kalinago History | Kalinago Beach Resort. (2017).

Kalinagobeachresort.com. Retrieved 18 June 2017, from

http://kalinagobeachresort.com/kalinago-history/