Areito is Taíno

Members of the Kasibahagua Taíno Cultural Society shared a contemporary areito

 at the 2019 Bear Mountain Pow Wow in New York. 

Did You Know: The term areito (also spelled areyto) is a Taíno word that describes a socio-ceremonial blend of dance, music, song, and poetry. The areito played a significant role in the social, political, and religious life of the Taíno People. In the 15th and early 16th century, Spanish chroniclers in the Caribbean noted that the arieto were presented in the main plaza of the iukaieke (also spelled yucayeque) or village. Sometimes areito were conducted in a designated area in front of the home of a kasike or chieftain. These plazas or ceremonial grounds called batei had their borders defined by standing stones, often decorated or carved with various images, or by earthen embankments. Dances during an areito could vary a great deal. Sometimes there were step-patterns moving along specific pathways. Walking patterns that went no more than a step or two in either direction were also used. According to a few of the descriptions given by Spanish chroniclers, some dances were comparable to what would be called line dances today. All the dances were lead by a tekina (a guide, teacher or dance master) of either sex who would use a call and response pattern of song and steps. Areito leaders determined the steps, words, rhythm, energy, tone, and pitch of a dance sequence. The dances could be based on ancient clearly choreographed steps or new choreography could be presented in this evolving art form. 

Sources 

Maestri, N. Areitos: Ancient Caribbean Taíno Dancing and Singing Ceremonies, ThoughtCo., https://www.thoughtco.com/areitos-ceremony-169589 

Atkinson L-G. 2006. The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaican Taino. Kingston, Jamaica: University of West Indies Press. 

León T. 2016. Polyrhythmia in the Music of Cuba. Polyrhythmia in the Music of Cuba. Diagonal: An Ibero-American Music Review 1(2). 

Saunders NJ. 2005. The Peoples of the Caribbean. An Encyclopedia of Archaeology and Traditional Culture. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. Scolieri PA. 2013. On the Areito: Discovering Dance in the New World. Dancing the New World: Aztecs, Spaniards, and the Choreography of Conquest. University of Texas Press: Austin. p 24-43. 

Simmons ML. 1960. Pre-Conquest Narrative Songs in Spanish America. The Journal of American Folklore 73(288):103-111. 

Thompson D. 1983. Music Research in Puerto Rico. College Music Symposium 23(1):81-96. 

Thompson D. 1993. The "Cronistas de Indias" Revisited: Historical Reports, Archeological Evidence, and Literary and Artistic Traces of Indigenous Music and Dance in the Greater Antilles at the Time of the "Conquista". Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana 14(2):181-201.  

Wilson SC. 2007. The Archaeology of the Caribbean. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Batu is a Taíno Ball Game

Did You Know: Batu is an ancient Taíno ceremonial ball game, which has been regaining popularity in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico over recent decades. Similar to ball games played by Indigenous Peoples in Mesoamerica, opposing teams use a rubber ball in ways reminiscent of volleyball but without a net or the use of their "hands." 15th-century European colonizers marveled at the agility of Taíno ball players, men and women, and the game's main piece of equipment - the rubber ball. Europeans had never before seen this Taíno innovation. The Taíno used the sap/latex from certain trees, together with plant fibers, to construct the ball. Batu was used for conflict resolution, as well as for the fulfillment of certain spiritual and secular community needs. Besides oral tradition, the importance of Batu in ancient Taíno society is affirmed by the number of ball courts or batei "uncovered" by archeologists throughout the islands. The batei (batey) or ceremonial grounds were used not only for the game of Batu but for community ceremonies called "areito". The revival of Batu ball games have been documented in Puerto Rico (Jayuya) and the Dominican Republic (Azua) since the 1970s. The community members in the Dominican Republic currently maintain three Batu leagues each with their own leaders.- UCTP Taino News (c) 2007