Kasabi: Bread made from iuka (yuca)

DID YOU KNOW: Traditionally, bread made from iuka or cassava is known in the Taíno language as kasabi or kasabe. It was created by grating iuka (yuca, cassava/manioc) flour into flat disks and roasting them on flat ceramic griddles called burén over a cooking fire. Today, the baking of kasabi, now more commonly called kasabe, is modernized for increased production, but it is still presented in the original flat, round style. Whether made from bitter or sweet varieties of iuka/manioc, kasabi is known to preserve exceedingly well with a preservative-free shelf life of about 8 months. In the time of the ancient Taino, it was taken on long journeys over land and sea without spoiling, providing a sometimes a much-needed burst of carbohydrates. The bitter cassava is said to produce a kind of kasabi that was virtually “unassailable by vermin” since it retained a small amount of hydrocyanic toxin harmless to humans but harmful or deadly to insects and rodents. Hab jao (jab jao) is the Taíno name still given to the thinnest kasabi in Kiskeia (Dominican Republic). According to Taino tradition hab hao or hau hau (xau xau) was reserved for community leaders and dignitaries. Since the 1970s, kasabe production in Kiskeia has expanded the availability of this ancient Taino culinary tradition from the local to international markets. - © 2012 UCTP Taino News

References

De las Casas, B. (1875). Historia de las Indias (Vol. 1). Imprenta de Miguel Ginesta. (Original work written 1559–1561).

Rouse, I. (1992). The Taínos: Rise and decline of the people who greeted Columbus. Yale University Press.

Sarobei is cotton

DID YOU KNOW - The cotton flower and plant is called sarobei (sarobey) in the Taino language. Traditionally cultivated, harvested, spun, yarn or thread from sarobei was woven into blankets, clothing, aprons, arm-, leg- and head-bands, and even cloth semi (cemi/zemis) – spiritual icons. The Taino word for the cotton spindle is huso (juso) or ‘uso and it is still used in rural communities in Kiskeia (Dominican Republic) and Kuba. Christopher Columbus was one of the first Europeans to comment on the high-quality of the cotton blankets and cloth presented to him as gifts from indigenous Taino people. Today, the two New World varieties of sarobei - Gossypium hirsutum, Gossypium barbadense - first encountered in the Caribbean, South America and Mexico account for the vast majority of modern cotton production. – UCTP Taino News © 2012

Guaikano

DID YOU KNOW: The term guaikano (guaicano) or guaikan is a Taíno word for the remora fish (scientific name: Echeneidae). Sometimes called a suckerfish, the guaikano (remora) is best known for its distinctive dorsal fin, which takes the form of an oval, sucker-like organ allowing them to take a firm hold against the skin of larger marine animals and even boats. Usually found in tropical or temperate waters, guaikano are known to grow between 1-3 ft long (30–90 cm). Among the Taíno, the guaikano was once used by fisherman, specifically, because of its abilities to attach on to larger animals such as turtles and sharks. A cord or “kabuia (cabuya)” would be tied to the guaikano’s tail, and once the fish attached, a Taíno fisherman could simply haul in both the guaikano and its host. - UCTP Taino News © 2011

Illustration: Modesto Garcia 

Tabanuco is a Taino word

Did You Know - The Tabanuko (Dacryodes excels) tree is native to the Caribbean region. Its vernacular names also include gommier and candlewood. The word tabanuko (also spelled tabanuco, tabonuco) is an indigenous Taino term for the tree that is still used today. It is distinguished by broad low buttresses, smooth gray bark, and compound leaves with five to seven fragrant, dark-green leaflets. The tree blooms between May and November while its fruits usually fall from October to December. When wounded, the tree exudes a clear, fragrant resin that hardens and turns white on exposure. This resin is also known as tabanuko. The wood is only slightly resistant to decay, lasting 3 years or less in the ground; however, the resin of tabanuko is used for making candles and torches, for caulking boats, for incense, and for medicinal purposes. Tabanuko is known to be very resistant to the effects of hurricanes and was also one of the woods used in the pre-Columbian era to craft Kanoa (canoes). The endangered Puerto Rican parrot or Higuaka feeds on tabanuko fruit pulp and seeds. - UCTP Taino New © 2011 

Anakaona

DID YOU KNOW:  Kasike (chief) Anakaona, whose name translates to “Golden Flower”, was a well-respected leader on the island known as Bohio (Haiti/Dominican Republic). According to oral tradition, Anakaona was born near present-day Léogane, Haiti. She was sister to kasike Bohechío and considered “Queen” of the Haragua (Jaragua) territory by the Spaniards. Anakaona was the wife of Kaonabo, one of the five regional leaders of the island encountered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus. She was renowned and beloved by the local indigenous peoples not only as a distinguished diplomatic leader but also as a composer of the songs and dances comprising the socio-ceremonial theatrical narratives called areito. In an example of Spanish treachery against the Taíno people, Governor Nicolas de Ovando requested that Anakaona invite the regional chiefs to a feast he would give in her honor. Once the chief’s entered the large indigenous ceremonial hall, the Spaniards blocked the doors and set fire to the building burning most all of them alive. Anakaona who survived the blaze was captured and offered clemency if she "married" a Spaniard. She refused this offer and then hung in a public execution by Ovando in September of 1503. Anakaona was survived by a daughter named Higüemota. - © 2011 UCTP Taino News 

*Image of Anakaona by J. Villalona

References

Danticat, E. (2005). Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490. Scholastic.

Hispaniola: Caribbean chiefdoms in the age of Columbus. University of Alabama Press.

Guabanseh: Taino Spirit of the Storm

Did You Know: The Taíno deity or spirit of the winds and storms is a female entity named Guabanseh (Guabancex). Contrary to the reports of some Spanish chroniclers, in ancient times Taíno did not view this force of nature as something ‘evil’. Traditionally, Taíno viewed Guabanseh as a powerful natural manifestation to be respected and honored with song. Guabanseh has two assistants: Guatauba and Koatriske (Coatrisque). Combined, they manifest as the wind, thunder and floods during intense storms and hurricanes. Guatauba, as the thunder, was the herald who announced Guabanseh's pending arrival. Koatriske followed the wind and thunder and brought the devastating power of the flood. The early chroniclers also reported that it was common for Taíno mariners to curtail long sea voyages during the hurricane season from June to October. One early Spanish chronicler wrote: "They say that when Guabancex becomes angry, she makes the winds and waters move and cast houses to the ground and uproots trees." Additionally, the Spanish colonizers were also quite amazed and remarked on how many of the seemingly simple thatched homes of the Taíno could withstand the intense tropical storms. There are also reports of island caves being used by some communities as places of refuge and storage during these storms.  The english word "hurricane" and the Spanish word "huracan" both derive from the Taíno term "hurakan." Among Taíno today there are some who, similar to the Maya, see the hurakan as a separate spiritual being while others view "hurakan" not as a deity, but an action term describing the "wind or breath from the center" of Guabanseh. The early accounts of the Spanish support the later view. Consciously or on consciously, modern meteorologists long paid homage to Guabanseh via the early tradition of naming hurricanes after females. – © UCTP Taíno News 2011

*Image of Guabanseh courtesy of Michael Auld.