1. 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 beliefs system, this meant that they worshipped
many Gods. They both believed in animals, foods 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 predication of the future.
The Mayans were found in the Mesoamerican region and significantly
assisted in the molding of the cultural representation that that region holds
today. Historian Brinsley Samaroo argues that the Mayan civilization gained
most of its advances from the study of the defeated Olmecs, as they had
passed through their prime seasons of advancement (c.1000 BC) and was
onto their decline. (Samaroo ) It was during this decline that the Mayans
invaded and eradicated the Olmecs (a greatly advanced society) and replaced
them with their own more primitive societies, all the while learning quickly
from the evidence of progress left behind. It was through this motivation for
advancement and the fact that the Mayans had been around hundreds of
years before the Taino’s that lead to the vast differences in development
stages (chiefdom – civilization c. 1400 A.D.). Mayan development although
seemingly advanced at the time this study is aimed at does not indicate a
superior society. In fact, historians have argued that had the Taino’s and the
Mayans began their process of development around the same period and in
the same place and without the assistance of a fallen advanced society
(Olmecs) that the Taino’s would have surpassed the Mayans in their stages of
advancement. That conclusion was derived from an approximation of the
amount of time it took the both societies to reach their chiefdom stage
disregarding other enabling factors like the inheritance of an empire. But as
historical minds would tell us, one cannot assume the outcome of history
when a different course of action is taken because it didn’t happen so that
assumption has no basis or evidence to support its theory.
Mayan history was organized into two significant eras, the classic Maya
period (c. 200 A.D. – 900 A.D.) and the post classic Maya period (after c. 900
A.D.). These two eras for the Mayans marked the most significant change in
their history; the change of the impact of religion on their world view and
2. perspectives and in turn how thy reacted to that change. The political
systems of the Mayan civilization placed great significance on religion as the
basis of their ruling power and therefore were also greatly affected by the
changes occurred during the change of eras. This political organization of
their society consisted of a hierarchal ruling class with a systematic chain of
command similar to the Taino’s.
Taino living arrangements consisted of extended families and sometimes
multiple houses on one plot of land. There was no segregation of the sexes
within the living quarters. These houses were of a particular shape to reflect
the social status of their owners from nobleman/chiefs to tribesman/lower
class man; the circular houses for the lesser ranked whereas the rectangular
houses were for the higher ranked of the two classes. Although houses may
have been large enough to accommodate more activities, their purpose was
strictly for sleep and rest; all other functions were allocated to outdoor
areas. The distribution of people although always increasing was estimated
to be about 300 – 500 per village at this period of their development.
The indigenous people also had a system of gender and age roles, according
to which persons were expected to perform particular tasks. First to be noted
is that Taino society was matrilineal in that Cacique’s and Chiefs passed down
their leadership to the mother’s/sister’s side of the family; although they
preferred to appoint sons, females’ caciques did exist. This leads me to the
point that in this matrilineal society, the structure was nevertheless
decisively patriarchal and men ran the society as the heads. Other than
leadership there was also the division of labour according to which the men
performed to roles of hunting, fishing, slash and burn and defence of village
if need arose, whereas women performed the roles of weaning and weaving,
childcare, crop cultivation and handicraft. The roles were never questioned
but accepted as norms and this blind obedience was contributed by the
acceptance that the appointing of these roles was by a god appointed man;
the cacique. The Taino people were placed into arranged marriages at the
early age of puberty and women were traded off by their parents as
commodities who paid handsome dowries to any suitor that would be willing
to take her as a wife. Polygamy was also practiced by nobles and chiefs who
were able to maintain a particular lifestyle for each of his wives then he
gained a higher status due to the number he accumulated.
3. Taino’s placed great emphasis on religion and could only be performed by
males in society whereas religious mythology placed emphasis on women
and significant contributors to religion. The Taino’s believed in one god with
three manifestations. The first of which was the Head God, considered the
Supreme Being that controlled volcanoes and cassava (the means of
survival). The second was the fertility goddess, said to control the Sea, the
moon, menstruation and child birth. She was considered to be the mother of
the Head God and this system holds significant resemblance to come present
day religions. Her representation lay in three stones worn around the neck of
the cacique which represented good crops, painless child birth, sun and rain.
From belief in her came the world view that from females came the origin of
all life. The final of the three manifestations in the Doglike Deity, he was the
overseer of the gate to the underworld and the recently dead. The Taino’s
placed significance on the communication with their dead ancestors and
believe that they were useful in the prediction of the future and out of belief
in him resulted in another of their world views that was in a form of life after
death. Taino religion although firmly believed was not hermetic but
permeable, allowing other belief to be accepted. K. David along with many
historians interpreted that to be a principle factor leading to the ease in
which the Taino’s were overcome by European intruders. Zemis (sometimes
referred to as Cami’s) were small idols used to communicate with gods and
supreme beings. These artifacts were worshiped and places in positions of
great reverence as they were representations of Gods. Another world view
shared by the Taino was that there was a genesis and in the beginning their
ancestors emerged out of a cave and turned into different gods of natural
resources for example the sun the moon the sea.
As the Taino’s developed definite advancements in technology and education
may by identified. Some of these advancements include canoe building. This
was done by using metal tools to dig out a hollow space in the centre of a
large tree trunk before shaving the bark and painting it with dye. These
canoes were then used to travel alarmingly long distances and even
exchange people between islands. The Taino’s also had methods of weaving
as clothes hammocks and other useful luxuries. This method included using
string with the cotton to make the woven material stronger and longer
lasting. They used methods of slash and burn techniques to prepare the land
for cultivation although they would be considered primitive in today’s
4. standards. They also developed a use of fertilizers but their implication of
there inventive methods was cut short by European intervention and their
recorded method of cultivation was Soil husbandry (exploitation and
recuperation; approximately 3 years of each). They had also developed and
discovered medicines and poisons made mainly from herbs and natural
leaves and plants. The Taino’s had also created pottery and ceramics using
the coil method, they invented dye and used it as body adornments as well
as identification of their own tribesmen. The Taino had also developed a way
of sniffing ground tobacco which was called snuff and used it to get a quick
high for the production of hallucinations in religious practices.
