Caribbean History

Created by : Suresh Bedasee

Group Members :Rachael JohnDannah SmartKrystal Sookdeo Tiffany RagoobirRachel Friday

The Caribs

OBJECTIVES INTRODUCTION PATRIARCHY AND THE MEN THE WOMEN Kalifuna (female Kalinago) RELIGION FOOD MUSIC Cannibalism Genocide of 1626 Carib Expulsion Languages Santa Rosa Carib Community REFERENCES

INTRODUCTIONTHE CARIBS (THE KALINGOS )

The Caribs are indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean

Caribs were believed to have migrated from the Orinoco river, in South America to settle in the Caribbean

They Arrived in the Caribbean through Venezuela/Trinidad route.

They were the last group to settle in the Caribbean before the arrival of Columbus and his crew

They were said to be Extremely warlike and ferocious, they practiced cannibalism and took pride in scarification (ritual cutting of the skin) and fasting.

THE CARIBS (THE KALINGOS ) CON’T

The Kalinagos lived in villages near a river or creek, always strategically located in case of an attack from other tribes, such as the Tainos.

The huts were oval-shaped, and their living arrangements also reflected the strong patriarchal culture, since men and boys lived in their larger buildings and the females in a smaller house.

Fishing, agriculture, and basket making were the chief domestic activities. The Caribs were expert navigators, crisscrossing a large portion of the Caribbean

They do not address them self as Carib Indians which was giving to them by Columbus but by their righteous and pre Columbus name Kalinago. (later known as carifuna) Black Caribs

Village chief was the Ouboutou he was selected based on physical strength

Patriarchy and The Men The men were usually armed with a club and long knife, and bows and

arrows. The men were skilled fishermen, who used small nets, hooks and line made

from vines or cotton and even their bows and arrows. Skilled in making dugout canoes and basket weaving. It is even possible that

this warrior tribe brought the technique of cotton spinning to the Guianas Carib men lived together in a large rectangular house receiving food from

woman and slept in hammocks. The Kalinagos had a patriarchal (Male Dominated) culture. Kalinago women weren't even allowed to eat their meals in the presence of

the men. Leaders in war were responsible for planning raids choosing boatmen

captains and distributing prizes including women. Men hunted and protected the woman and children from attacks.

The Women aka Kalifuna (female Kalinago)

The woman reared children, processed and produced food and clothing, sowed and harvested the land

The women with the children lived in separate houses from the men.

Kalinago women were crucial to the tribe’s diet, since they cultivated the crops.

Religion

They were believed to be polytheists. They worshiped their ancestors and nature and believed in evil

spirits called Maybouya. The key functions of their Shamans called Buyeis, was to heal the

sick with herbs and cast spells (Piai). The ceremonies were accompanied by sacrifices and tobacco played a large part in their religious rights.

They kept bones of their ancestors in their houses. part of a belief that the ancestral spirits would always look after the bones and protect their descendants.

Food Cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, beans, peppers, guava and papaya which sustained Iguanas, lizards, crabs, snakes, birds and agouti provided meat.

Music Garifuna music from the Garafuna people, the progenies of Carib,

Arawak and West African people The most famous form of is Punta. Its associated musical style,

which has the dance moves of their hips in a circular motion. Punta was popular across the region especially in Belize; drums

played a very important part in Garifuna music (the primero the tenor drum and the segunda the bass drum).

Cannibalism The Carib word karibna meant "person". It became the origin of the

English "cannibal". Although, among the Carib, it was apparently associated with rituals related to the eating of war enemies,

Some Europeans believed the Carib practiced general cannibalism. these claims prove to be unsubstantiated

Claims of the practice were based on European misconceptions. No evidence, either archaeological or from first hand observations by

Europeans conclusively proves that Island-Caribs Ever consumed human flesh, and second hand accounts cannot entirely be trusted. For example...

Christopher Columbus writes in his diary, "far from there, there are one-eyed men, and others, with the snouts of dogs, who ate men, and that as soon as one is captured they cut his throat and drink his blood."

Genocide of 1626 As the European population on Saint Kitts continued to increase,

Ouboutou Tegremante grew suspicious of the foreigners In 1626, after a secret meeting with Kalinago heads from neighboring

Waitikubuli (Dominica) and Oualie, it was decided that in a secret raid they would ambush the European settlements on the night of the next full moon

The secret plan was revealed to the Europeans by an Igneri woman named Barbe who was recently taken as a slave wife after a raid on the Arawaks. She despised the Caribs and had Fallen in love with an English explorer.

The entire tale of the Kalinago Genocide however, was told exclusively from the perspective and writings of the Europeans and modern scientists estimate that many of their claims were fraudulent or exaggerated in order to justify the killings.

Only the most beautiful Carib women spared death to serve as slaves

Carib Expulsion

The Carib Expulsion was the French-led ethnic cleansing that terminated most of the Carib population in 1660 from present-day Martinique. This followed the French invasion in 1635 and its conquest of the people on the Caribbean island that made it part of the French colonial empire.

In 1635 the Carib were overwhelmed in turn by French forces led by the adventurer Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc and his nephew Jacques Dyel du Parquet

The French colonists imposed French Law on the conquered inhabitants, and Jesuit missionaries arrived to convert them to the Roman Catholic Church.

Languages

The Carib language was spoken only by the men, while the women spoke Arawak. This was so because Arawak women, captured in raids, were taken as wives by the Carib men.

The oldest Carib language materials can be found in documents dating from the mid-seventeenth century.

The Jesuit missionary Pelleprat wrote an account of his experiences in Venezuela from 1653 to 1654, which was published in 1655 and included a 30-page introduction to the Carib language.

Santa Rosa Carib Community The SRCC is the major organization of indigenous people in Trinidad and

Tobago. The Caribs of Arima are descended from the original Amerindian inhabitants of Trinidad; Amerindians from the former encomienda's of Tacarigua and Arouca were resettled to Arima between 1784 and 1786.

The SRCC was incorporated in 1973 to preserve the culture of the Caribs of Arima and maintain their role in the annual Santa Rosa Festival

Starting from 1976,with formal incorporation as a limited liability company organized under the Companies Act, the Santa Rosa Carib Community has developed into a formal organization.

The Santa Rosa Carib Community is led by a President (Ricardo Bharath-Hernandez).  Other leading members are the Secretary (Jaqueline Khan), the Shaman (Cristo Adonis), a Research and Public Relations Officer, the Queen (Valentina Medina) who officiates at the Santa Rosa Festival which is held each year at the end of the month of August.

REFERENCES Caribs (Encyclopedia.com) By: "Caribs." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2015, "Carib." The

Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009, "Carib." World Encyclopedia. 2005, T , and "Carib." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007.

Sweeney, James L. (2007). "Caribs, Maroons, Jacobins, Brigands, and Sugar Barons: The Last Stand of the Black Caribs on St. Vincent", African Diaspora Archaeology Network, March 2007, retrieved 26 April 2007

Jump up "Institutional History of Martinique", Martinique Official site, French Government (translation by Maryanne Dassonville). Retrieved 26 April 2007

Du Tertre, Jean Baptiste, 1667: Histoire Generale des Antilles..., 2 vols. Paris: Jolly.

"Carib Community." Carib Community. Admin, 28 May 2013. Web. 05 Oct. 2015.

"Santa Rosa First Peoples." Santa Rosa First Peoples. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2015.