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Taino Prayer:Wamurethi, Wamikina, bukaWahaiona Tau TauliToka Kamuruko Tauhiakahu.... width="425" height="350" .. Agueybana and his tainos Carib/Karib indians Tekesta Taino, in Bimini (florida) bohios Warawao.In 1999, the University of Puerto Rico asked 56 volunteers with Taino Indian features to volunteer for a DNA test. Seventy percent were found to have Indo-American DNA. Later, they asked for 38 more volunteers with no known family resemblance to Taino features. Fifty-three percent had the DNA. Outside of the DNA tests, the culture of the Taino people never really disappeared and many Puerto Ricans have maintained the Taino identity over the many centuries. Most historians say they were extinct within 40 years of meeting Columbus, yet their language and customs had an immediate and persistent impact on the Puerto Rico, Cuba and other nations. Puerto Ricans affectionately call themselves Boricua, based on the Taino name for the island, Boriken. Cuba, after going through many colonial names settled on an abbreviated form of the original Cubanascnan. The Taino suffered greatly in the days of the conquest, as documented by Bartolomé de Las Casas in his work, "Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies".
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my wifey n anani are Aztecan and Taino calendar's Aztec flag-The sun was important to their religious beliefs, evedent in the large temples they built, and the skull represents the importance of death to them, which then allowed rebirth.
The social structure was as follows: NitaÃnos were the noblemen and were the warriors, craftsmen & artesans. Naborias were the laborers and were the lower class. Kacikes (chiefs) were inherited positions and came from the NitaÃno class. Bohikes (shamans) were from a lineage of bohikes. The social structure was matrilineal - the lineage was carried by the mother. It is not clear if NitaÃnos were born into or earned their social class. The NitaÃnos ruled over the naborias. The Naborias were like serfs. Naborias fished, hunted, and worked the conucos, and generally did the hard labor.The Kacike was an inherited position of great privilege, which transcended individual yucayekes. The Kacike was polygamous. Some of his wives were from political marriages that would unite yucayekes and form alliances.The Kacike also wore a distinctive head covering made from a cotton band with a gold amulet or seal of the tribal chieftains. It was fashioned with blue and red macaw feathers and other parrot feathers of many colors. Kacikes also wore a Mao, which was a round white cotton cover with a center hole used to cover the shoulders, chest and back. The Mao was a status symbol and was also used to keep the sun off the shoulders. Kacikes participated in the cohoba ceremonies. They also owned the most powerful religious symbols, which were carved from wood or stone. A Kacike was carried on a litter by Naborias. Often a Kacike's favorite wife or wives were buried alive with him. First they were given a potion to drink that would allow them to sleep through it.The yucayekes were built close to a source of water with a courtyard in the middle and under tall trees. Yucayekes had four roads that led out from the batey. A tall fence surrounded the village. A road was built leading directly to the water source, with two tall lookout towers at either side. Around the yucayekes were the conucos or farms. Sometimes ball game plazas were built outside the walls.Yucayekes never went to sleep completely. There were lookout posts to be manned, nocturnal fishing and all night rituals to be conducted. The first order of the day was ritual bathing and prayers. A morning meal of cassave bread dipped in the communal pepper pot was served. Labor was then assigned by the leaders according to gender and group.BohÃos were round with conical shaped roofs without windows. The caneys, always located in a prominent location, were rectangular structures with windows, built for the Kacikes and Bohikes only. They were large and sometimes housed 15 families. The shelters were built from bejucos and red de caña and had thick walls. Each bohÃo and caney had storage space made from a flat surface that hung from the roof of the dwelling. The storage space was filled with woven baskets that contained useful items. The floor of the dwelling was made of packed dirt, and was immaculatly clean. A fogón, a burén (griddle) and an olla (a large covered clay pot for cooking) were found along with dujos and hammocks for seating. Tamed parrots and small domesticated dogs were kept.