The Taino People of the Caribbean Are NOT Extinct

The Tainos thought Columbus and his men strange enough to be gods, possibly representatives of the four Skydwelling brothers in their Creation Story. The bearded men with hairy, sand-color faces, with ships of many sails and booming sticks that could cut across a swath of trees were thought to come from the sky. Mystically overwhelmed and naturally friendly, the Arawaks' first idea was to make peace. What they had a lot of, food and simple ornaments, they gave freely. Columbus soon re-provisioned his ships' holds with fresh water, dried fish, nuts, calabashes, and cazabi (yucca) bread. During all of Columbus's first trip, in numerous encounters with Tainos, both in Cuba and Santo Domingo, the clothed visitors were welcome and the Tainos attempted to appease all their hungers. Wrote Columbus in his ship's log, "They are so ingenious and free with all they have that no one would believe it who has not seen it; of anything they possess, if it be asked of them, they never say no; on the contrary they invite you to share it and show as much love as if their hearts went with it. . ." (Jane 1930).

There is never any sense in Columbus's writing that the Tainos are incapable, only that they were innocent and well-intentioned. He would come to know that they were completely honest, as if the ability to deceive was not a developed value among them. Columbus wrote that the young men wondered at the shiny things, grabbing sabers by the edge and cutting themselves for lack of experience, but that otherwise they were quick-witted, knew their geography and expressed themselves well. The Indians referred to more than "one hundred islands by name," Columbus said. Later writings of Columbus, Las Casas, Pedro Martir de Angleria and other Caribbean chroniclers gave many instances of Taino quick-wittedness and eloquence of expression. "They are a very loving people and without covetousness," Columbus wrote. "They are adaptable for every purpose, and I declare to your Highnesses that there is not a better country nor a better people in the world than these." And also: "They have good memories and inquire eagerly about the nature of all they see." Columbus noted that after eating, the caciques were brought a bouquet of herbs with which to wash their hands prior to washing in water.

Everything seemed exotic to the Admiral and in fact he was witness to a culture and a way of life arising from a totally different civilization-and a quite logical and compelling culture, one with a significant sense of time and existence but consistently relegated to "primitive" status on the ladder of stages of civilization elaborated by Western scholars. Only leaving aside the ascendancy view of civilization can one envision that Taino civilization was also in a developmental process - one with its own definitions, but just as genuine and important and universal as the European process.