Brittney Hudson, a student at Merl Grove High School, conducted research comparing the religions, cultures, beliefs, and customs of the Maya and Taino people in the pre-Columbian period. She found both similarities and differences between the two groups. Some similarities included their polytheistic religions, practices of sacrifice, and importance placed on communicating with ancestors. However, there were also many differences, such as their gods, systems of hereditary leadership, languages spoken, and whether they engaged in nomadic or sedentary lifestyles. Hudson concluded that while some similarities existed, the number of differences between the Maya and Taino societies was vast.

1. Name: Brittney Hudson
Date: January 10, 2013
Territory: Jamaica
School: Merl Grove High School
Year: 2014
Centre #: 100076
Candidate #: 100076-1239

3. Rationale
Initially the researcher selected this theme “The Indigenous People and
the Europeans” because I thought that this theme will be much of an
easier task and a question was structured. From this investigation the
researcher learnt about the similarities and differences relating to the
religion, culture, beliefs and customs of the Mayan‟s and Taino‟s.
The researcher have learnt to express her own point of view and have
developed more knowledge and understanding in the topic.
3

4. Introduction
The aspects that will be examined in this topic is the religion, culture,
Beliefs, customs and practices of the Taino‟s and the Mayans in the pre-
Colombian period. This study will demonstrate the substantial similarities
and differences between the Mayan‟s and Taino‟s society.
2

5. Were there many similarities and differences, among the Maya and Taino
in the pre-Colombian period?
In the pre- Colombian period the Taino‟s and Mayan‟s had their similarities and
differences. There are some similarities between the Taino‟s and the Mayan‟s. The
Mayan‟s and Taino‟s had a Polytheistic belief system, this meant that they
worshipped many Gods. They both believed in animal, food and human sacrifices.
The Taino‟s and Mayan‟s placed significance on communicating with their dead
ancestors and believe that they were useful in the prediction of the future. The
Mayan‟s and Taino‟s lived in extended family group. They worshipped everyday
and are guided by the priest or priestess. The men and older boys did most of the
farm work including hunting and fishing while the women cooked, weaved, carefor
the home and the children.
The Mayan‟s and Taino‟s were great architects, they built tremendous
pyramids and they had calendars. The Mayan‟s made a calendar system which was
accurate as the one we use today but was divided differently. The calendar was
called the haab, it was used to discern the lucky days from the unlucky ones. The
Taino‟s used the same calendar and they used another calendar used for tracking
religious ceremonies and festivals. Every fifty-two years the two calendars would
start on the same day. The Taino‟s were afraid that the world would end on this
day. They performed the New Fire Ceremony on this day. Its purpose was to
4

6. please the Gods so that they would allow the people to exist for another fifty-two
year cycle.
Evidence of Taino cultural characteristics which were obviously borrowed
from the Mayas include the well-documented head-elongation custom. The Taino
and Mayan mothers would strap wooden boards to their babies‟ heads to create an
elongated shape and a flattened forehead in order to create them more „beautiful
and make their head more resistant to a hit. They encouraged body
paintings with bright colours , jewelry made of gold and precious metals for both
men and women. They used litters to carry head chiefs, hirearchic stratification of
society uncharacteristic to the ancestral South American Arawaks, the Taino ball
game of Batos which closely parallels the Maya ball game of Pok a Pok, and much
more.
The Taino ancestors realized that the wisdom of the Mayas was in harmony
with the equally profound spirituality that they themselves possessed and so the
two people traded and adopted aspects of each other's spirituality and mystical
belief just like they did with foods and other cultural exchange.
Since the 1960's Beike Bo Sobaoko Koromo was inspired by his father to develop
a deep respect and admiration for the wisdom of the Mayas, their spiritual
mathematics, their magical calendar and their enlightened astronomy.
5

7. There are a lot of differences between the Mayan‟s and the Taino‟s. They
had different Gods. One of the most important Mayan God that was
connected with agriculture was Yum Kax, the God of Corn, other Gods for
instances Itzamná, the Giver of Food and Light, Chac ,the God of Rain,
Kukulcan, the Wind God, Pipil the Sun God were also connected. Yum
Cimil , God of Death and Ruler of the Underworld. The Taino‟s Gods are
Huitzilopochtli, the God of War, Tlaloc the God of Rain and Quetzalcoatl
was the god of life and wind. His name means "feathered serpent".
Tezcatlipoca was a powerful god associated with many things including
magic, the night, and the earth. His name meant "smoking mirror".
Chicomecoatl was the goddess of agriculture, nourishment, and corn. Her
name meant "seven snakes".
Mayan‟s heredity leader was Halach Uinic but the Taino‟s heredity
leader or religious leader was the Cacique. Mayan‟s believed that having a
Patrilineal and Patriarchal leading would be more effective. The Hierarchy
in which one family is higher than another and in turn the patriarch in that
family is more significant than the others while the Taino‟s had a Matrineal
6

8. and Patriarchal leading, the Cacique and chiefs passed down their
leadership to the mother‟s/ sister‟s side of family and preferably an
appointed son.
The religious aspect of society was structured and significant. Priests were
appointed not only through their religious commitment but also thought their
literacy level. That indicated the importance that Mayan civilizations placed on
literacy where as the Taino‟s didn‟t. Taino‟s established their villages deep
inland near to rivers where they would be better protected from coastal attacks
from unfriendly tribes, and near to rivers where they gained fertile soil, a fresh
water source and means of fishing. This was not the case with the Maya as they
were located on mainland territory and had a structured army for defense. The
Tainos were located mostly in he Greater Antilles and the Mayan‟s were
located Central America. In Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Belize.
Mayans could accommodate up to thirty thousand people while the Taino‟s
could only hold three thousand. They spoke different languages. The Taino‟s
spoke the language Nahuatl and some of the languages that the Mayans spoke
7

9. was Madrid and Dresden. The Mayas practiced surplus farming, which meant
that they planted more than they needed and saved the rest. The Taino‟s
practiced subsistence farming which meant that they grew just enough crops to
fill their immediate needs. The Taino‟s were nomadic, they changed there
settlements regularly and the Mayans stayed at their location for a long period
of time. The Mayan‟s existed before the Taino‟s people.
8

10. Conclusion
From this topic it can be concluded that there are similarities and
differences of the Maya and Taino people in the pre-Colombian period, some
similarities did exist between the two societies but the vast number of
differences far surpassed them. However, a direct effect of the development
stages of the two societies was made. They both included there religion, culture
recreation, architecture and infrastructure, family life and arts and crafts.
9

11. Table of content
Contents Pages
Acknowledgement 1
Introduction 2
Rationale 3
Collection of Data 4-8
Conclusion 9
Appendices 10-11
Bibliography 12
Appendices

12. The Madrid Codex ( Mayan text)
A Mayan Calendar
Mayan hieroglyphics carved in a temple
at Palenque, Mexico.
A Mayan pyramid
Mayan‟s practicing blood sacrifice.
10

13. Taino‟s main crop, cassava.
Taino zemi
Caguana Ceremonial ball court (batos),
outlined with stones.
11
BIBLIOGRAPHY

14. Books:
Norman, A. (1968). The People Who Came Book 1: 1st
Edition.
Harlow “et al”: Longman Group UK Limited.
Claypole ,W & Robottom, J.(2001). Caribbean Story: 3rd
Edition.
Harlow “et al”: Pearson Education Limited.
12
Acknowledgement

15. First and foremost the researcher would like to thank God for giving
her the strength and resources needed to complete this School Based
Assessment, the researcher would like to express appreciation to her
teacher Mrs. Leveridge-Rose for assisting her so that she could meet the
expectations of the SBA, I thank my family and friends for moral
support.