A cacique (Latin American Spanish: [kaˈsike]; Portuguese: [kɐˈsikɨ, kaˈsiki]; feminine form: cacica) was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles.
What is the role of the cacique?
Each society was a small kingdom and the leader was called a cacique. The cacique’s function was to keep the welfare of the village by assigning daily work and making sure everyone got an equal share. The relatives of the caciques lived together in large houses in the center of the village.
What does the Spanish word cacique mean?
Definition of cacique
1 : a native Indian chief in areas dominated primarily by a Spanish culture. 2 : a local political boss in Spain and Latin America. Other Words from cacique Example Sentences Learn More About cacique.
Are all Puerto Rican Tainos?
According to a study funded by the National Science Foundation, 61 percent of all Puerto Ricans have American Indian mitochondrial DNA, probably from a common Taino ancestry.
Who was the only female cacique?
The Legends of Loiza are many but perhaps the most popular one is about the only female Taino Cacique ( chief) named Yuiza ( Yuisa, Loaiza, Luisa, Loiza). Of all the Taino Chiefs of the Caribbean there were only two who were women, only one in Boriken ( Puerto Rico).
What does the Tainos chief do?
They had functional social, commercial, religious and political systems. The cacique (also spelt kasike/cacike) was the paramount chief of the cacicazgo (chiefdom), which consisted of several villages. The cacique’s power was vast, and he was highly respected.
What did the cacique sit on?
The cacique sat on wooden stool, a place of honor. (There are many surviving stone carvings of the cacique on his stool).
What did the cacique wear?
Here Columbus was greeted by a cacique who Columbus considered “the most intelligent and civilized cacique in the Antilles”, both he and his warriors were splendidly dressed in bright feathered cloaks and head dress with ornaments, made of semiprecious stones, around their necks and on their foreheads, their faces and
Who assisted the cacique?
According to the Spanish chronicles, the nitaínos were equated with nobles, and appear to have assisted the caciques in the organization of labor and trade. Behiques, or shamans, were part of the nitaíno group.
Are Arawak and Taíno the same?
The Taino, also known as the Arawaks, migrated from the Caribbean coast of South America, moving northward along the island chain of the lesser Antilles to the greater Antilles, around 1200 ce. They were agriculturalists whose basic food crops—corn, manioc, and beans—were supplemented by hunting and fishing.
Is Taíno black?
Recent research revealed a high percentage of mixed or tri-racial ancestry in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Those claiming Taíno ancestry also have Spanish ancestry, African ancestry, and often, both. The Spanish conquered various Taíno chiefdoms during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century.
Which way did the Taíno chief gain his position?
They were governed by male chiefs known as caciques, who inherited their position through their mother’s noble line. (This was a matrilineal kinship system, with social status passed through the female lines.)
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