The Traditional Taino Diet

Did You Know: The traditional diet of the Taino was based mainly on community cultivated agricultural products, supplemented with wild fruits as well as fishing, and limited hunting. Root tubers such as yuka (manioc) and batata (sweet potatoes) were cultivated along with many other diverse food crops like maisi (corn), mani (peanuts), calabasa (pumpkin), iaiama (pineapple), cahuil (cashews), beans, aji (peppers) etc. The hunting of small game such as birds, small mammals, and reptiles such as iguanas, and snakes was also practiced daily by community members. The ocean and rivers were also exploited in a sustainable manner for their bountiful resources. The Taino harvested edible marine-life, including conch, oysters, lobsters, clams, and crabs. Fish were caught with bone and shell hooks, large mesh nets, nasa (fish traps), spears, and bows and arrows. Some of the larger marine-life that the Taino encountered and hunted included the manati (sea cow), tuna, sea turtles, and sharks. Occasionally, even a pilot whale was taken for by various communities. Taino survival was secured by the application of ancient traditional knowledge, which included practical and medicinal knowledge of plants, an deep understanding and symbiotic relationship with their environment, and the ability to apply appropriate tools and techniques. - UCTP Taino News © 2010

Manatee or Manati

Did you know: Manatees are said to have evolved from four-footed land mammals more than 60 million years ago. According to scientists their closet relatives are reported to be the dugong, and the African Elephant (distantly).There are three species of manatees, including the West Indian manatee. The Florida manatee, which can eat up to 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of vegetation a day and weigh a half-ton on average, is a subspecies of the West Indian manatee. Manatees can move readily between salt water and fresh water, but they can't survive in cold water for long periods. In the U.S. the manatee is still listed federally as an endangered species yet in the state of Florida it it is listed only as a “threatened” species. The word manatee is considered an indigenous "loan word" found in both the Taino and Carib languages. Among the Carib the term Manati is said to translate to mean "breast." Traditionally, the Taino consider this animal as sacred as North American Indigenous Peoples consider the buffalo sacred. Prior to colonization Taino hunters used every part of the animal for food, tools, and other resources. – - UCTP Taino News © 2009

Tiburon

DID YOU KNOW: The car companies Porsche and Hyundai both have sports cars with Taino names. Porsche has the Cayman which is the Taino word for crocodile (who reside in cays - another Taino word still in use today) and the Hyundai has the Tiburon, which is one of the Taino words for shark. We have yet to see a car named the Manati or the Coki but it's still pretty cool to see our ancient words being used in the modern world. - - UCTP Taino News © 2009