Precolumbian Civilizations

The Arawaks had three main deities, evidence of which have been found in stone and conch carvings in many of the Lesser Antilles as well as the well populated Greater Antilles, although their relative importance varied according to the island. The principal male god was Yocahú, yoca being the word for cassava and hú meaning ‘giver of’. It is believed that the Indians associated this deity’s power to provide cassava with the mystery of the volcanoes, for all the carvings, the earliest out of shells and the later ones of stone, are conical. The Yocahú cult was wiped out in the Lesser Antilles by the invading Caribs, and in the Greater Antilles by the Spaniards, but it is thought to have existed from about 200 AD.

A third deity is a dog god, named Opiyel-Guaobiran, meaning ‘the dog deity who takes care of the souls of the immediately deceased and is the son of the spirit of darkness’. Again, carvings of a dog’s head or whole body have been found of shell or stone, which were often used to induce narcotic trances. Many of the carvings have holes and Y-shaped passages which would have been put to the nose to snuff narcotics and induce a religious trance in the shaman or priest, who could then ascertain the status of a departed soul for a recently bereaved relative.

One custom which aroused interest in the Spaniards was the ball game, not only for the sport and its ceremonial features, but because the ball was made of rubber and bounced, a phenomenon which had not previously been seen in Europe. Catholicism soon eradicated the game, but archaeological remains have been found in several islands, notably in Puerto Rico, but also in Hispaniola. Excavations in the Greater Antilles have revealed earth embankments and rows of elongated upright stones surrounding plazas or courts, pavements and stone balls. These are called bateyes, juegos de indios, juegos de bola, cercados or corrales de indios. Batey was the aboriginal name for the ball game, the rubber ball itself and also the court where it was played. The word is still used to designate the cleared area in front of houses in the country.

The ball game had religious and ceremonial significance but it was a sport and bets and wagers were important. It was played by two teams of up to 20 or 30 players, who had to keep the ball in the air by means of their hips, shoulders, heads, elbows and other parts of their body, but never with their hands. The aim was to bounce the ball in this manner to the opposing team until it hit the ground. Men and women played, but not usually in mixed sex games. Great athleticism was required and it is clear that the players practised hard to perfect their skill, several, smaller practice courts having been built in larger settlements. The game was sometimes played before the village made an important decision, and the prize could be a sacrificial victim, usually a prisoner, granted to the victor.

In 1492 Arawaks inhabited all the greater islands of the Caribbean, but in Puerto Rico they were being invaded by the Caribs who had pushed N through the Lesser Antilles, stealing their women and enslaving or killing the men. The Caribs had also originated in South America, from around the Orinoco delta. In their migration N through the Caribbean islands they proved to be fierce warriors and their raids on the Arawak settlements were feared. Many of their women were captured Arawaks, and it was they who cultivated the land and performed the domestic chores. Polygamy was common, encouraged by the surplus of women resulting from the raids, and the Arawak female influence on Carib culture was strong.

Despite rumours of cannibalism reported to Columbus by frightened Arawaks, there appears to be no direct evidence of the practice, although the Spaniards took it seriously enough to use it as an excuse to justify taking slaves. After some unfortunate encounters, colonizers left the Caribs alone for many years. The Arawaks, on the other hand, were soon wiped out by disease, cruelty and murder. The Spanish invaders exacted tribute and forced labour while allowing their herds of cattle and pigs to destroy the Indians’ unfenced fields and clearings. Transportation to the mines resulted in shifts in the native population which could not be fed from the surrounding areas and starvation became common. Lack of labour in the Greater Antilles led to slave raids on the Lucayans in the Bahamas, but they also died or committed collective suicide. They felt that their gods had deserted them and there was nowhere for them to retreat or escape. Today there are no full-blooded Arawaks and only some 2,000 Caribs are left on Dominica (there has been no continuity of Carib language or religious belief on Dominica). The 500 years since Columbus‘ arrival have served to obliterate practically all the evidence of the indigenous civilization.

The decisive date in the shaping of the modern Caribbean was 1492, when Christopher Columbus successfully crossed the Atlantic to make landfall in the Antilles. Although Spain did not exert its influence here to the same degree as on the American mainland, the way was open for Europeans to follow Columbus, take possession of, fight over and exploit the islands for profit. Over the following 5 centuries, the population of the region has been imported and almost all traces of the precolumbian past have been removed. Similarly, the majority of food and cash crops grown have been transplanted from elsewhere.

At one stage, the islands were some of the most valuable colonies ever known, but little of the wealth they generated stayed in the region. Being for the most part small, the territories still depend on the outside world for their prosperity (commodity exports, tourism), but with limited regional organization and economic imbalances there is great inequality of reward. Politically the region is disunited. Its own major events, like the Haitian and Cuban Revolutions, the movement towards black consciousness, have had tremendous, lasting impact outside their immediate realm, but at the same time have been engulfed in wider, global concerns.

The culture that the immigrants brought with them is now confronted by influences of global media systems. Ease of travel has also brought cultural pressures, not solely from the incoming tourist, but also from the large number of emigrants who, having sought work abroad, bring home the culture of their adopted countries. Conversely, emigration, the result of the unemployment which followed the decline of labour intensive agriculture, takes Caribbean culture to Europe and North America. At the same time, though, it causes a social structure which is heavily biased towards female heads of families when the men go elsewhere to work.

Yet for all the new cultural clashes, which build up on top of older ones (French spoken on 'English' islands, islands divided between nations), the struggle for a Caribbean identity continues, particularly in the work of writers and artists. Different colours and faiths coexist; the African and European mix to make some of the most vibrant music; the goal of the Jamaican national motto applies to all: 'Out of many, one people'.