Classic Taíno

Taíno

Statue of Agüeybaná II, "El Bravo", in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Total population
Ancestral to mestizo population
Regions with significant populations
Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico
Languages
Taíno
Religion
Indigenous

The Taíno people were among the indigenous people of the Caribbean. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of Cuba, Trinidad, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico. In the Greater Antilles, the northern Lesser Antilles, and the Bahamas, they were known as the Lucayans. They spoke the Taíno language (one of the Arawakan languages).

The ancestors of the Taíno entered the Caribbean from South America and their culture is closely linked to that of Mesoamericans. At the time of contact, the Taíno were divided into three broad groups, known as the Western Taíno (Jamaica, most of Cuba, and the Bahamas), the Classic Taíno (Hispaniola and Puerto Rico) and the Eastern Taíno (northern Lesser Antilles). Taíno groups were in conflict with the Caribs of the southern Lesser Antilles.

At the time of Columbus' arrival in 1492, there were five Taíno chiefdoms and territories on Hispaniola, each led by a principal Cacique (chieftain), to whom tribute was paid. Ayiti ("land of high mountains") was the indigenous Taíno name for the island of Hispaniola, which (on the Western side) has retained its name as Haïti in French.

Cuba, the largest island of the Antilles, was originally divided into 29 chiefdoms. Most of the native settlements later became the site of Spanish colonial cities retaining the original Taíno names, including Havana, Batabanó, Camagüey, Baracoa, and Bayamo. The name Cuba comes from the Taíno language, although the exact meaning of the name is unclear. It can be translated as "where fertile land is abundant" (cubao), or a "great place" (coabana).