Taíno

The Taíno were an Indigenous people of the Caribbean, belonging to the Arawakan language family. They inhabited most of the Greater Antilles and the Bahamian archipelago, with concentrated populations in the islands of Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and Puerto Rico, as well as smaller communities in Jamaica and Cuba. The term Taíno is a scholarly label for a broad group of related peoples; they called themselves nabori or nitainos within a hierarchical social structure.

Society and culture were organized around caciques (chiefs) who governed communities with the help of nabaínos or nitainos (nobles) and bohíques (shamans). The Taíno built villages with thatched bohíos and cultivated crops in conucos (mounded fields). Their economy relied on agriculture, with cassava (yuca) as a staple, supplemented by maize, beans, squash, peppers, sweet potatoes, and seafood. They practiced ritual areytos, songs and dances, and venerated zemí or cemí idols in ceremonial life.

Language and legacy: Taíno language formed part of the wider Arawakan family. It declined rapidly after European contact and the ensuing epidemics and forced labor, becoming effectively extinct as a living language within centuries. Today, Taíno heritage survives in cultural traditions, place names, and a body of vocabulary that entered Spanish and English, including terms such as barbacoa (barbecue), hamaca (hammock), canoa (canoe), and huracán (hurricane).

History and impact: Christopher Columbus encountered Taíno communities in 1492, marking the start of widespread Spanish colonization. Epidemics, coercive labor systems, and displacement led to dramatic population declines. Some Taíno people survived through intermarriage and cultural continuity, contributing to the ethnogenesis of Caribbean societies and influencing regional cultural identities.