From the Diary of a Taino Girl

This blog will be written from the diary of Zaina a native Taino village girl who lived on the island of Hispaniola during the time that Columbus discovered the island. This is her personal account of the European influence on her island and the story of her love for the Spaniard, Fernando Cortes 






May 1511

  It has been quite a few years since the first group of the Eieri' (men) from the land His-span-a came to our land. I was only a Guaili (baby) when they first landed on our shores but I am now almost nineteen years. Aracoel (Grandmother) has become worried that I will not become a Liani (wife) as soon as she hopes I will but I have other plans. She says that my Bibi (Mother) would have found it important that I become a Liani before my time of Caguna (fertility) became limited or worse, passed. I lost my Bibi shortly after I was born for she was taken with the sickness of the Ari' (strangers).
 I met Fernando one day while I was headed to gather Cha'gara (Crayfish) and Ector (a soft, sweet corn) for dinner. Aracoel and I enjoy mixing Dajao (river fish) and Ahi (peppers) together and eat them with Guanamie (bread) for dinner. When Fernando began speaking to me that day, I was not too eager to associate with the Arijua (stranger) but he came and began to speak to me. Now because these men have been apart of my life and have taken apart of my home for as many years as I can remember, I could understand their language enough to speak freely with them. Ho-lah he said to me and I knew from my experience that this was his greeting. This particular Eieri had a seemingly pleasant appearance and his spirit showed no sign of the malice that many of his people have shown to be capable of. He offered to walk with me and to carry my Jaba (basket). He went down to the waters with me that day and helped me gather many Cha'gara and then walked with me back to my Yucayeke (village). I knew if Aracoel saw us at that time she would think that Fernando would try to take me as his Liani as many of the Spanish men have done over the years. Even worse than that, Aracoel would begin to believe that he would force me to take up his ways and stop me from believing in the Ya'ya'a (Taino Creator or the Great Spirit; the Spirit of the Spirits) and pledge my faith to the May-ree (Mary) that he believes so devoutly in. Many people in my Yucayeke have made this change and many women on the island have become the Liani of a Spaniard and have made the conversion as well. Even though this change has been spreading, many of the people around the island are still resisting the changes and with some of them, the Spaniards have become violent and oppressive against if they resisted the conversion. Many like Aracoel refused to give up the ways of their ancestors and resisted the destruction of their Cemies (small figurines fashioned out of stone,wood,shell and cotton. They were the physical representation of Taino spirits). I understand the devotion of my dear Aracoel but I know the capabilities of these people if we resist their ways. My own father lost his life fighting for the preservation of our ways and the beauty of our culture. For me, keeping my people and Aracoel alive and well is the important thing and if conforming to the ways of the Spanish will keep us that way then it is what I need to do. Since the first day we met, I have begun meeting Fernando in secret and we have been learning the ways of one another. He has promised to not subject myself or Aracoel to the harsh treatment that has been forced upon my fellow Taino people if I let him take me as his Liani and she and I become Cath-lic and pledge ourselves to the May-Ree.

"For the Taíno, religion differed from the institutionalized faiths of modern society. ‘‘The world today is accustomed to separate realms for religion and science, church and state, theology and philosophy. But for the Taínos, religion assumed all of these functions through an interlocking system of symbols, rites, and beliefs’’ (Stevens-Arroyo (1988) page 53). For the Taíno, religion incorporated all aspects of life. The central focal point of Taíno religion was the practice of cemeism. Cemies are small figurines fashioned out of stone, wood, shell and cotton. These figurines provided a physical representation of the Taíno cult of spirits. They were a link between the psychic world of humans and nature. They helped explain the chaos of life through rituals of fertility, healing and divination, and the cult of ancestors. ‘‘The cemies served as sacred mediums allowing the power of the numinous to flow in two directions; from the spirit world out into human experience, and from human need into the cosmos’’ (Stevens-Arroyo 1988). Cemies were kept by all members of the society, but those belonging to the cacique (chief) or behique (shaman or priest) were believed to hold higher powers. Cemies could only be constructed with the assistance of a behique. For instance, if a commoner was walking in the forest and came upon a tree which he/she thought held certain powers, he/she would call a behique to come from the village and perform a prescribed ceremony. If the tree was able to answer the behique’s questions correctly and the ceremony was performed correctly, the person was able to cut the tree down and carve his/her cemi (Ramon Pane translated in Bourne 1907). Communication with the cemies was often achieved via the use of a hallucinogenic drug, known as cohoba. This rite of using cohoba was clearly done for religious purposes. It allowed the participant to see beyond the normal."                                      Sources Ryan Martin. "Ceremonial Offerings and Religious Practices Among Taino Indians An Archeologicial Investigation of Gourd Use in Taino Culture." http://www-old.iusb.edu/~journal/static/volumes/1999/Paper11.html The Modern Dictionary of the Spoken Taino Language.  http://members.dandy.net/~orocobix/tedict.html