Caribbean Amerindian Centrelink
(CAC)
Online Encyclopædia Entries and Other Reference
Materials
Encyclopaedia Resources:
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Encyclopaedia
Britannica entry for “Arawak”: Excerpt—“ American Indians of
the Greater Antilles and South America who spoke languages of the Arawakan
linguistic group. The Antillean Arawak, or Taino, were agriculturists who
lived in villages, some with as many as 3,000 inhabitants, and practiced
slash-and-burn cultivation of cassava and corn (maize). The people were
arranged in social ranks and gave great deference to theocratic chiefs.
Religious belief centred on a hierarchy of nature spirits and ancestors,
paralleling somewhat the hierarchies of chiefs. Despite the complex social
organization, the Antillean Arawak were not given to warfare. They were
driven out of the Lesser Antilles by the Carib shortly before the appearance
of the Spanish…”
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The Catholic Encyclopaedia:
Arawaks
(Also Aruacans). -- The first American aborigines met by Columbus -- not
to be confounded with the Aroacas or Arhouaques, linguistically allied
to the Chibohas of Columbia -- an Indian stock widely distributed over
South America.
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Encarta
Encyclopedia entry for “Arawak”: Excerpt—“a once-predominant
group of Native Americans originally inhabiting an area that stretched
from present-day Florida down through the islands of the West Indies and
the coastal area of South America as far as southern Brazil. The group
is in the Arawakan linguistic family. The Arawak were the first natives
of the Americas encountered by the Italian-Spanish navigator Christopher
Columbus. A number of Arawak tribes have been extinct for several hundred
years. Those of the Lesser Antilles were subjugated in fighting with the
Carib peoples in the late 15th century. The Arawak population in the West
Indies fell from a probable 2 to 3 million to a few thousand by the early
16th century; by the end of that century, island Arawak were extinct. This
catastrophic mortality rate was due to the introduction of European diseases,
damage to the Arawak's food supplies, and Spanish brutality and enslavement….”
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Columbia Encyclopedia
on Looksmart: Arawaks: Arawak -- Pronunciation: [ä´räwäk]
(key) linguistic stock of indigenous people who came from South America
and, at the time of the Spanish Conquest, occupied the islands of the Greater
Antilles, the Bahamas, Trinidad, and other areas of Amazonia.
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The Columbia Encyclopedia:
Sixth Edition, 2000: Arawak Indians—“… linguistic stock of indigenous
people who came from South America and, at the time of the Spanish Conquest,
occupied the islands of the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, Trinidad, and
other areas of Amazonia. Before the arrival of the Spanish they were driven
from the Lesser Antilles by the Carib. Most of the Arawak of the Antilles
died out after the Spanish conquest….”
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The Catholic Encyclopaedia:
Caribs
-- Next to the Arawaks, probably the most numerous Indian stock, of more
or less nomadic habits, in South America.
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Columbia Encyclopedia
on Looksmart: Caribs: Pronunciation: [kar´ib] (key) native
people formerly inhabiting the Lesser Antilles, West Indies. They seem
to have overrun the Lesser Antilles and to have driven out the Arawak about
a century before the arrival of Christopher Columbus.
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The Columbia Encyclopedia:
Sixth Edition, 2000: Carib Indians— “They seem to have overrun
the Lesser Antilles and to have driven out the Arawak about a century before
the arrival of Christopher Columbus. The original name by which the Caribs
were known, Galibi, was corrupted by the Spanish to Caníbal and
is the origin of the English word cannibal. Extremely warlike and ferocious,
they practiced cannibalism and took pride in scarification (ritual cutting
of the skin) and fasting….”
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Encarta
Encyclopedia entry for “Carib”: Excerpt—“ Carib, tribe of Native
Americans of the Cariban linguistic stock, occupying various regions of
South and Central America. The Caribbean Sea is named after them. The Carib,
who probably originated in the valley of the Orinoco River, were noted
for their ferocity. The tribe practiced cannibalism; in fact, the word
cannibal is derived from the Spanish term for these Native Americans, Caníbales.
During the late 15th century, the Carib inhabited most of the islands of
the Lesser Antilles and the coast of what is now Venezuela, territories
from which they had expelled the Arawak people. Carib men valued exploits
in combat above all else. They were not organized into a hierarchical structure
under a chief, but fought as individual warriors and raided other peoples.
Male captives were tortured and eaten; female captives became slave-wives….”—EDITOR’S
NOTE: this entry is a typical example of the perpetuation of colonial stereotypes
and myths, and the reader is cautioned to ignore such unsupported assertions
of cannibalism.
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The Columbia Encyclopedia:
Sixth Edition, 2000: Cannibalism— “[from Span. caníbal,
referring to the Carib], eating of human flesh by other humans. The charge
of cannibalism is a common insult, and it is likely that some alleged cannibal
groups have merely been victims of popular fear and misrepresentation.
Nevertheless, archaeological research suggests that ancient societies did
practice cannibalism, and it has been observed in Africa, North and South
America, the South Pacific islands, and the West Indies…”
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Encyclopaedia
Britannica entry for “Cariban Languages”: “a group of South
American Indian languages that were spoken before the Spanish conquest
from what is now the Greater Antilles to the central Mato Grosso in Brazil;
most of the languages, however, were spoken north of the Amazon River in
what is now northern Brazil, the inland areas of the Guianas and Venezuela,
and lowland Colombia. West Indian Cariban is extinct, and the languages
of the group have undergone a drastic decline in the other areas.”
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The Columbia Encyclopedia:
Sixth Edition, 2000: Dominica— “… The island was sighted by
Columbus in 1493. English and French attempts at settlement were thwarted
by the Caribs, who had taken it earlier from the Arawaks. An Anglo-French
treaty of 1748 left Dominica in Carib hands, but both powers continued
to covet it. The island definitively passed to the British in 1815. Hostilities
between the British and the Caribs led to the virtual extinction of the
Caribs, who number about 500 and occupy a reservation on the eastern side
of the island….”
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Encyclopaedia
Britannica entry for “Guyana—The People”: Excerpt—“ The indigenous
peoples of Guyana are collectively known as Amerindians and constitute
about 4 percent of the population. Indian groups include the Warao (Warrau),
Arawak, Carib, Wapisiana (Wapishana), Arecuna, the mixed "Spanish Arawak"
of the Moruka River, and many more in the forest areas. The Makusí
(Macussí or Macushí) are the most prominent of the savanna
peoples. Sizable concentrations of Amerindians inhabit the far west along
the border with Venezuela and Brazil. They are rarely seen in the populated
coastal areas, although a few have interbred with blacks and East Indians.
Since 1970, traditional Amerindian lands near the international borders
have come under government control, although Amerindians continue to hold
village lands informally throughout Guyana's interior….”
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The Columbia Encyclopedia:
Sixth Edition, 2000: Juan Ponce de Leon—“… From 1502 to 1504
he assisted in the conquest of Higuey (the eastern part of Hispaniola,
now the Dominican Republic) and was made governor of that province. After
finding gold on Boriquén (Puerto Rico) in 1508, he conquered the
island and, as governor (1509–12), made a fortune in gold, slaves, and
land. Hearing tales from the Carib of a wonderfully rich island called
Bimini, said to be N of Cuba, Ponce de León secured a commission
(1512) to conquer and colonize that land….”
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Encyclopaedia Britannica:
The
Maroni
River, between Suriname and French Guiana.
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The Columbia Encyclopedia:
Sixth Edition, 2000: Native American Languages—“…More than 100
distinct linguistic stocks have been proposed for South America, and more
than 1,000 separate languages have been discovered on that continent and
in the West Indies. The latter had two aboriginal stocks, Arawakan and
Cariban, which are also found in South America….”
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Encyclopaedia
Britannica entry for Sir Walter Raleigh, 1554-1618
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Encarta
Online: Sir Walter Ralegh
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The Columbia Encyclopedia:
Sixth Edition, 2000: San Blas Islands—“ The inhabitants are
almost pure-blooded aborigines of Carib origin; fishing and coconut gathering
are the chief occupations. Protected by a treaty with the government of
Panama…”
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The Catholic Encyclopaedia:
Saliva
Indians (Venezuela)
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Encyclopaedia
Britannica, entry for “Taino”: Excerpt—“ Arawakan Indians who
at the time of Christopher Columbus' exploration inhabited the Greater
Antilles (comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola [Haiti and the Dominican
Republic], and Puerto Rico) in the Caribbean Sea. As the most numerous
Indian people of the Caribbean, the Taino may have numbered one or two
million at the time of the Spanish conquest in the late 15th century. A
peaceful people, they had long been on the defensive against the aggressive
Carib Indians, who had conquered the Lesser Antilles to the east. The Taino
were easily conquered by the Spaniards beginning in 1493, and enslavement,
starvation, and disease had reduced them to a few thousand by 1520 and
to near extinction by 1550. Although Taino culture was largely wiped out,
groups of Taino survived colonization. Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.
state of Florida are among the regions in which Taino populations flourished….”
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Encyclopaedia
Britannica entry for “Trinidad and Tobago—The People”: Excerpt—“
The original inhabitants of Trinidad were chiefly Arawak. Although there
are inhabitants of the town of Arima who claim descent from Carib royalty,
it is doubtful that the land was settled by Caribs. Tobago was frequently
visited by American Indians, probably both Arawak and Carib, but was not
settled before the arrival of Columbus….”
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“Caribs”
in the 1911 Edition Encyclopedia: sample—“CARIBS, the name, used first
by Columbus (from Cariba, said to mean a valiant man), of a South American
people, who, at the arrival of the Spanish, ocoupied parts of Guiana and
the lower Orinoco and the Windward and other islands in what is still known
as the Caribbean Sea. They were believed to have had their original home
in North America, spreading thence through the Antilles southward to Venezuela,
the Guianas, and north-east Brazil. This view has been abandoned, as Carib
tribes, the Bakairi and Nahuquas, using an archaic type of Carib speech
and primitive in habits, have been met by German explorers in the very
heart of Brazil. It may thus be assumed that the cradle of the race was
the centre of South America; their first migrating movements being to Guiana
and the Antilles….”
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“Caribs
or Canibs?”, from THE HINDU, India’s National Newspaper.
Other Reference Materials:
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The
Caribbean, Island Societies: “The largest group of people living in
the islands of the Caribbean were the Tainos…. The other major group living
in the Caribbean were the more mobile and aggressive Caribs….”
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Discoverers Web: An
extraordinary collection of information by Andre Engels, with a vast series
of links of numerous explorers.
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“Ethnobotanical
survey of the medicinal flora used by the Caribs of Guatemala” by Giron
LM, Freire V, Alonzo A, and Caceres A.—abstract: “An ethnobotanical
survey was conducted among the Carib population of Guatemala in 1988-1989.
In general terms, the sample surveyed possessed a relatively good standard
of living. Results indicated that health services were utilized by the
population, and that domestic medicine, mainly plants (96.9%) was used
by 15% of the population. One hundred and nineteen plants used for medicinal
purposes were collected, of which 102 (85.7%) could be identified; a list
of these together with the information provided for each plant is presented….”
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El
Dorado:
multiple pages of information on El Dorado Myth, Christopher
Columbus, along with full texts of Columbus’s documents
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Medieval
Sourcebook: Christopher Columbus: Extracts from Journal— “This document
is the from the journal of Columbus in his voyage of 1492. The meaning
of this voyage is highly contested. On the one hand, it is witness to the
tremendous vitality and verve of late medieval and early modern Europe
- which was on the verge of acquiring a world hegemony. On the other hand,
the direct result of this and later voyages was the virtual extermination,
by ill-treatment and disease, of the vast majority of the Native inhabitants,
and the enormous growth of the transatlantic slave trade. It might not
be fair to lay the blame at Columbus' feet, but since all sides treat him
as a symbol, such questions cannot be avoided….” Full text free to download.
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Modern
History Sourcebook: The New Laws of the Indies, 1542— “ The Laws and
ordinances newly made by His Majesty for the government of the Indies and
good treatment and preservation of the Indians created a set of pro-Indian
laws - so pro-Indian that they some had to be revoked in Mexico and in
Peru due to settler opposition. where the viceroy was killed when he attempted
to enforce them.”
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"Taíno: Ancient
Voyagers of the Caribbean", by Dicey Taylor, Ph.D, Guest Curator, El Museo
del Barrio: a paper outlining the archaeological history, pre-colonial
culture, religious beliefs, cosmology, food, and social structure of the
Tainos, ending with a consideration of the their cultural legacy-this relates
to the exhibition, by the same name, hosted by El Museo del Barrio.
Free Books:
Films:
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“El Espíritu de mi Mamá/
Spirit of My Mother”, a Garifuna Woman’s Journey to Honduras—a movie by
Alí Allié: “Sonia is a Garifuna woman, raising a young
daughter alone in Los Angeles. Disturbed by dreams of her deceased mother,
Sonia journeys back to Honduras with her daughter and returns to her native
village to seek guidance from relatives and elders. Through semi-documentary
footage, we see Sonia reintroduced to the ceremony and rituals of her culture,
and through this discovery of self- and cultural- identity, a healing process
begins. An altogether original take on the mother/daughter story, The Spirit
of My Mother (El Espíritu de Mi Mamá) is a unique film essay.
Blending narrative and documentary techniques, director Allié tells
the story of one woman's quest to reach out to her mother, and to the ancestral
traditions and endangered culture of the [Garifuna]…”—this site includes
reviews of the movie, photos from the film, video clips, music clips, and
contact information.
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QUEST OF THE CARIB CANOE,
Directed by Eugene Jarecki (Documentary, 50 minutes, 2000)— "QUEST
OF THE CARIB CANOE tells the story of a group of contemporary Carib Indians
who undertake a sea voyage in a hand-built canoe, leaving their Caribbean
island home to return to their ancestral homeland in South America. For
Jacob Frederick, a Carib artist and activist, the voyage is the culmination
of a boyhood dream. Centuries before Columbus came to the islands of the
Caribbean, Jacob's ancestors had come as settlers themselves, migrating
northward from the Orinoco Delta in great ocean-going canoes. Five centuries
of European colonization followed, all but erasing the Carib people and
their culture. In 1994, Jacob's dream captured the attention of fellow
Caribbean artist Aragorn Dick-Read. Together, the two men lead a group
of Caribs to carve a dugout canoe and sail it nearly a thousand miles of
sea and river. Their journey would reconnect Dominica's Caribs with their
mainland ancestry and make a first step toward rebuidling their fragmented
nation. Purchase Price: $150.00"-----THE LINK WILL TAKE YOU TO "LATIN AMERICAN
VIDEO TITLES" WHERE YOU WILL HAVE TO SEARCH FOR THIS FILM WITH THE ABOVE
TITLE
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The
Garifuna Journey, special project by Cultural Survival: "Beginning
in 1994, Garifuna tradition bearers, artists, and technicians collaborated
with filmmakers Andrea E. Leland and Kathy Berger in producing The Garifuna
Journey, a documentary project focusing on a remarkable story of resistance
and continuity of culture in the face of overwhelming odds. Cultural traditions
specific to the Garifuna were collected on audio and videotape…."
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"Le bouillon d'awara
(Awara Soup)": A documentary set in a French Guyanese village, centred
on the making of this soup, a symbolic metaphor for the mixture of peoples
in what the promoters argue is one of the most cosmopolitan places on the
planet-"We meet descendants of indigenous Galibi Indians, of Bushnegroes
who escaped slavery in the jungles, of mixed race Creoles who remained
in the French towns and of Javanese contract rice laborers, as well as
more recent immigrants, Taki Taki-speaking refugees from political strife
in next-door Surinam, Brazilian migrant workers and Hmong farmers resettled
after the Vietnam war…"
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Banyan
Archive Database: A complete listing of all video footage gathered
by Banyan, including a large variety of footage on Caribbean Amerindians
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Summary of the
Banyan Archives: a condensed listing of major television programs produced
by Banyan, organized according to subject category, including Indigenous
Peoples of the Caribbean.
This page was last updated: Saturday, 03 April, 2004
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