Taino Heritage

Jamaica’s first known inhabitants were a peaceful people called Taino. They were a subgroup of the Arawak speaking American Indians. With bronze complexion, the Tainos were of average stature and with flowing dark coarse hair. Their eyes were on the large side, dark with a slight slant. It is believed that the first wave of Tainos arrived in Jamaica around 650 AD and a second wave arrived between 850 and 900 AD. It is, however, estimated that human habitation of the Caribbean Islands goes back more than 20,000 years. The Tainos’ Arawak name for Jamaica was Xaymaca, which meant “land of wood and water”. The Spanish later substituted a J for the X at the beginning of the word.

The Arawak Indians were natives of the northeast region of South America. Another subgroup of the Arawaks was the warlike Carib. Both groups migrated from South America, through the Lesser Antilles, into Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Cuba and Jamaica. They encountered the Ciboney (meaning rock dwellers) on Hispaniola and Cuba. There is no evidence that the Ciboney inhabited Jamaica. The Caribs often invaded Taino settlements enslaving them and using their bodies for ceremonies, which involved cannibalism.