A brief look at the similarities among the three main Amerindian groups that CXC requires its History candidates to familiarize themselves with.

1. Vere Technical High School
Prepared by Mr. D. Gooden
Amerindian Culture Before 1492 (the arrival of the Europeans)
Society
The Tainos The Kalinagos The Maya
Villages were near the coasts or along rivers.
Houses were built of thatch. The leader of
the Tainos were called caciques and their
houses were called Bohio (usually the largest
and rectangular in shape)while the caneyes
were the regular family homes (usually small
and round).
Village settlements were located near
streams, in strategic positions. They were
made from thatch. The men lived together in
the carbet. Their wives and concubines were
often Taino women whom they captured
when they raided Taino villages.
The Mayan established city-states, some of
which had large populations. They lived in
round huts. They had spectacular buildings
and grounds. Mayan society was divided into
ruling class, working class and merchant
class. They had slaves who were captured
from raids of other tribes who formed the
lowest class, the slaves. The merchant class
played an important role in trade, which was
responsible for the development of Mayan
society.
Politics
The Cacique was the civil leader.His position
was hereditary. He was the law maker as well
as religious leader. He made the important
decisions on all aspects of life. There were
also sub-caciques who assisted him in various
There were no leaders such as caciques.
Village headmen or tiubutuli hauthe made
important decisions in times of peace for his
particular family His position was hereditary.
The war leader was called the ubutu. The
The halach uinic was the head of each city-
state. His position was hereditary, that is,
pass on from father to son. Villages were
govern by batabs. Nacoms were war chiefs
elected for about three years.

2. Politics
duties. There were several famous caciques
in the West Indies. Guancaganari in
Hispaniola and Hatuey I Cuba were among
the strong, fearless leaders.
Cacique
ubutu was one of the most skilled and fierce
warriors who had to lead raids against the
enemy and protect his people from attacks.
This position was not hereditary but rather
based on the prowess of the individual in
warfare. He was elected to lead his people
during wartime. Boys started their warfare
training at age four and were really warriors
for life.
Ubutu
Halach Uinic
Religion
They were polytheistic, that is, they
worshipped many gods and ancestral spirits.
They worshipped the zemi which was an idol
that represented their gods. There were
zemis for almost every aspect of life. The
cacique was the religious head of the
community and it was thought that he
communicated directly with the zemis. They
believed in coyaba – a heaven where his
souls went after death. Tobacco was used in
their ceremonies.
Zemis
They believed in the maboya – these were
evil spirits which the Kalinagos believed
controlled everything. Their priests were
called boyez and these were specially trained
to ward off evil by praying to a more
powerful maboya. Tobacco played an
important role in their ceremonies. They
were cannibals (persons who eat human
flesh) not because they have to, but because
they chose to do so. They often ate the flesh
of those Tainos warriors whom they
considered brave. They would also eat the
flesh of those European invaders after a
conflict (warfare).
The ah kin – priests who were key figures in
Maya society. They calculated days for
harvesting, planting, festivals and sacrifices.
Maya society was very influenced by religious
beliefs. They had areas of huge stone
pyramids with temples on top. These
buildings were decorated with beautiful
writings.
Kinich Ahau – sun god Yum Kax – corn god

3. Religion
Maboya Ah Kin – Mayan priest
Pok a Tok – Mayan ball game
Trade
Agriculture
and Food
They practiced subsistence farming – planting
just enough food for themselves. They
planted maize, cassava, cotton and tobacco
among other crops. They ate fruits such as
pineapples and naseberries. For meat they
ate fish, iguana and turtle meat which were
popular.
Iguana
Pineapple
Cassava Maize (corn)
They practiced subsistence farming, but
spent less time planting. They basically ate
the same as the Tainos with the exception of:
a) Turtle meat – which they believe
would make the eater slow and stupid
b) Pig meat – which they believe would
cause you to develop small beady
eyes
c) Crab meat before a sea voyage –
which they believe would bring about
disasters while at sea.
They practiced surplus farming. That means
that they had more than enough food to
store for the future or to trade with other
tribes. The ppolms and chontals were
merchants and were responsible for trade.
Bartering was popular and a variety of goods
passed hands ranging from food to minerals.
Tha Mayans planted their food crops on
agricultural lands called milpas.
Technology
They made canoes for fishing and as
transport. They used stone tools, and made
pottery and finely woven cloths and baskets.
They had canoes for fishing, general
transport and for making raids (war). They
used stone tools but theirs were more
effectively used in warfare than those of the
Tainos. The Taino women brought their skills
in weaving and pottery-making.
They had impressive architectural style in the
pyramids and temples. They also had a form
of writing called hieroglyphics (a series of
pictures to tell a story). Though very little of
their books remain, much can be seen on
artefacts that survive the coming of the
Europeans. They knew about mathematics
and astronomy and used both to develop
sophisticated calendars.