Taíno: Pre-Columbian Art and Culture from the Caribbean 1885254822, 9781885254825

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,

TAINO

Pre-Columbian Art and Culture from the Caribbean

Edited by FAT[MA BERCHT,

ESTRELLITA BRODSKY,

JOHN ALAN FARMER, AND DICEY TAYLOR

With contributionsby Ricardo E. Alegria, Jose Juan Arrom, Marco Biscione, Manuel A. Garcia Arevalo, Susan C. Griswold, Susana Torruella Leval, Shirley McGinnis,Joanna M. Ostapkowicz, Jeffrey Quilter, Peter G. Roe, Peter E. Siegel, Dicey Taylor, Marcio Veloz Maggiolo, Jeffery B. Walker, and Samuel M. Wilson

EL Mu,Eo THE

DEL BAR.RIO

MONACELLI

PRESS

Contents

This publication accompanies the exh1b1t1onTaino: PreCof11111b1ar1 Art and Culture from the Caribbean, organized by El Mu~o del Barno, New York, September 25, 1997Mnrch. 29, 199H, a project directed by Fatima Berchr and Estrellua Brodsky

The Rockefe!Jer Foundation Goya Foods, Inc The Chase Manhattan Bank The Nathan Cummings Foundation City of New York Department of Culrural Affam New York State Council on the Ans Anonymous Donor Nanonai Endowment for the Arts The Reed Foundation, Inc. New York Council for the Humamue, Lila Wallace-Reader's Dige ..t Fund Furthermore, the pubhc:nion program of the J.M.Kaplan Fund Mr. and Mrs. Roberto Bonetn Amencan A.Jtl..me~ ABC, Inc. Foundation Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc

;i~:t

~u:~~::: ;r;:,:

l~;~ited \cares of Amenca in t 997 by

10 East 92nd 'itreet, New York, New York 10128 Copyrightdelec-

by any !nformati~n -.torage and retrieval sysre~, wi;h~~~• or pernuss1on m wnrmg from the publisher. Inquiries should be sent to The Monacell1 Press, Inc

Primed

6

e Chavon, Dom1mca11Republic. Photograpfr by Dirk Bakker.

Unless otherwise indicated, dues of obJecc.sare 12th-15th cemury A.O. Dimension, are in centimeters

The exhibuion ha-. been made possible by

1

:rom co,ver: Th~ee_-poimer.M,mo Arq11eol6gicoRegional, Altos Bae~ ~o~er:_~emi. Museo \:aziouafe Preisloricoed Etnografico

A. GAflCiA

AflEVALO

jusl WaslingAway: Ta/no Shamanism and Conceptsof Fertility P1TE1t G.Ror

181 SelectedBibliography

hi,coria

Preface and Acknowledgments

T

he Taino people flourished in the Caribbean from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century A.O., and their cultural

legacy remains vital to this day. Stemming from the Arawak people of South America, the Taino were the first American~ to make contact with

the Spani..h in 1492. Although they had no written lang~agc, they left a rich cultural heritage, evi-

m

denced the beauty and my,tery of the splendid object illustrated m thi, book. These artifacts of ceremonial or. daily use speak eloquencly of the complex layermg ofTaino beliefs,which arose from natural,social, and spuitual ,ources.

This book, the most ambitious of its kind ever to be published m English, has been produced in

the_book respond to El Musco de! Barrio's curato_na1ffilS\IOn to address diverse communities with common Latin American root . They also fulfill the mu,eum' educational mi~,ion to serve

the general public as well as ,cholars. The book was designed to summarize current knowledge

ofTaino an and culture by bringing together three generations of scholar,hip, a"iwdl as to encourage research in thoi..e areas that de-;erve

further study. ~ur most sincere thanks goe, fi[)t to _the

D onorable Fernando Fernandez, Pm,dent of the orrumcan Republic, for his genero'1ty m allowmg u, to pre"ienchi,:;country\ arti~tic patrimony.

conJu~ct1on with an exhibition of the same title

El M_useode! Barrio 1 also indebted to many

or_gamzedby El_Museo del Barrio in New York City. The exh1bmon and book represent the realization of an_mstituttonal dream. 1n 1973 El MU\eo de! Barno presented,joiruly with The

ind1v1dualsfor their as\istance in bringing chi\ endeavor to fruition. We an:·e,pecially grateful to:

Me_cropol1tanMuseum of Art, an exhibition

entitled The Art Heritageof Puert.oRico: PreColumbian to Present, which included approximat~l~ _seventyTaina arnfacts. That important exh1~1t1on respond~d to the young mu,eum·~ mission t~ educate HS fo~nding community, Puerto R1cans, about then- cultural history. At

rhat time, El Museo de! Barrio's director, Martha Vega, called for a future exhibition that would

uexplore in depth each of the phases presented

m this exhibition." Ta{no:Pre•ColumbianArt and

Culturefrom the Caribbeanfulfills that promise a, the most comprehensive pre,entation to date of

the Taino legacy to North American audience\. Fatima Bercht and Estrellita Brod,ky, the project's accomplished co-directors at El Museo del Barrio, guided a large team of scholars, researchers, and educators to the ,uccessful culminat1on of thi, complex undertaking. Their exn·ptional v1)].on,leader~hip, and dedication i

at the core of this project and ha< re,ulted in the excellence they sought from the first. Pan-Caribbean in scope, both the exh1b1tion and

Marta AJJona, Directora de Patrimonio CuJtural, Mimsteno de Cultura, Havana;John B. Carlson, Center for Archaeoastronomy, Maryland; Peggy Dulany, NewYork;Julienne Griffin, ewYork; Mayra Heydrich Perez, Dean, Facultad de Biologia, Univers1dad de La Habana, Havana; David Joralemon, New York;Jay A. Levenson, Director, International Program, The Museum

of Modern Art, ew York; Abil Peralta, Santo Domingo; Olga Tere\a Perez Berra. Culrural Artache to the Permanent Mt -.ion of Cuba to the Unired Nations, ·ewYork;Jane Rubm, !reasurer, the Reed Foundation, New York; ranc1s Schwarz, Dean, College of Humannie , Umversidad de Puerto Rico Rio Piedra Ambaan,and

Italy generously lent objects for the exhibition In the continental United Statt..·-.. we w1,h to

thank: Charle, '>pcncer, Curator of Mexican and Central Amcrtcan Archaeology I)epartment of

~::~;~i~l;~~~~t ~~l~":c"h~i:10::.~::;

1~~~

Mu1,cum of Natural Hiociaces, West Cheo;,cer,Pennsylvania, and

Research Associate, Department of Anthropology, Fidd Museum of Natural Hl\tory, Chicago; Marcio Veloz Maggiolo, Profe\\or, Univer'1dad Auton6ma de Santo Domingo;Jeffery fl.Walker, Research Archaeologist, Caribbean National Forest, Luquillo, Puerto Rico; Samuel M. Wilson, Profe,sor, Department of Anrhropology,

Both the exhibition and the book have benefit-

Univrrs1ty ofTexas at Austin. We al~ extend

ed from the coun'id of the mo,t renowned

our gratitude to Wilham A. Christian,Jr.,

,cholar,

Marguerite Shore, and Ana Maria Simo, who

in

the field ofTaino rudic,. Our adviso-

ry committee: con'1sted of anthropolog1,ts,

translated thre" (Arrom 1974, 49-50). A second piece of evidence is the widespread observation of differences in dress, body painting, and hairstyles among the people of the Greater Antilles. Also revealing is an incident of name-caUing among che caciques, in which one of the most powerful was referred to by his peers as a Carib (Wilson 1990a, 1993) Reading ethnicity from archaeological evidence is very difficult, but there is historical evidence suggesting that the ethnic map of the Lesser Antilles was even more complex than that of the Greater Antilles. European observers, however, tended to call any indigenous people they met there "Caribs." Since the Spanish crown had aUowed the enslavement of the suppo,edly cannibalistic Island Caribs, this approach was politically and economically expedient The underestimation of the ethnic compkx1ty of the region by the Spanish makes It hard for us to see just how important l'thnic diversity was in the prl.'historic Caribbean. The complex society that we know as the Tai no emerged between A.I). 800 and the period of European conquest, and their appearance is related to the multiethnic 55

conditions of the islands during that period. The population growch that began in this period, and the simultaneous devdopment of complex political institutions, resulted at least in part from the processes of cLdtural interaction and synthesis that were taking place among the descendants of the Saladmd and Archaic peoples Taino culture was marked by an explosion of innovacion and elaboration in all form~ of expression, and gave rise to significant changes in art, music, and performance as well as in social and political structures. These resulted at least in part from the interaction and synthesis of divergent cultural traditions. The powerful families of the emerging Talno chiefdoms were not confined by traditional ways. Theirs was not a cultural environment that insisted upon conservatism and conformity. Talno art pre\ents the most eloquent argument possible for their creative genius. It offers dramatic evidence of the florescence that resulted when diverse societies coalesced, integrating their respective: achievements and talents to create a new and unique cultural tradition.

To Be Seated with "Great Courtesy and Veneration": Contextual Aspects of the Taino Duho JOA'-

AM.

OSTAPKOWICZ

T

aino wooden sculptures constitute some of the .most visually arresting examples of pre-Hispanic Canbbean art. Given the fact that these objects were made of organic material, their preservation is fortuitous. They have enhanced our perception of the complex nature ofTaino art and have yielded a wealth of information that would normally not survive in the archaeological record. Among the most characteristic ofTaino wooden artifacts are duhos, or ritual seats. They figured prominently in the ethnohistoricaJ literature, with references often aUuding to their importance in the maintenance of political and ideological hierarchies. Du hos were used during important ceremonial occasions, and their presence separated their highranking owners from the rest of the community, marking them as distinct. An indispensable part of ritual paraphernalia, the du hos were intimately linked to hallucinogens and communication with numinous powers. The often elaborate carving~ of the duho represented zemis and ancestors, visually and symbolica.lJy supporting the seated ind1v1duah and lending authority to their posmon and ~tatus.

41. OJ1ho.Dominica11 Republic Wood.Heigh1:45;u,id1h:43 _l\,fuseo de/ Hombre Domlnica110, \'11110

Dom11Jgo,A(XX)117.18-M.

Photograph by Dirk &kker.

The diversity of duho styles, the complexity of their iconography, and the regulations pertaimng to their production, ownership, and distribution provide insights into the development of complex societies within the ..aribbean. Duhos were an integral material component ofTaino cacicaz· gos (chiefdoms), which developed about A.D. 1200 to 1500 in the Greater Antilles. Around the thirteenth century, the population expanded dramatically, authority became centralized, and art reached It\ apogee, evolving from relatively small and finely ornamented arufacts into larger and bolder form,. Thi, was indeed the cas,· with the duho, for although the stool may have b,·en present in a much ,impler form prior to A.O. 1200, it was not until after this period that it seems to have appeared in it charactenstica!Jy daborate form (Curet 1996). Anthropomorphic and zoornorphic figure were commonly depicted

42.Duho.PuertoRico.Wood Height· 11.9; width: 35; depth: 17.5.MuseodeHistori(I, AntropologfayArte,UHiutr· sidadde Puerto Rico, Rio P,edras, 15,374. Photograph by Bruce Schwarz

-I J. D11/m Om11111cn11 Republic

\tom· 1-fei{?.ht: 10; lws1h. 2J C."ol/caio11 o{A111b11.Hndor &:manlo ~~._,n,Snma Don 1111~ 0

-1-1 D11/m Da111111icm1 Rcpublir.

~t~d. U1iv_1h:61 Smw Umi.1 -Ir/ ,\fo>c11111

(Artso{Afrim,

Occmua,a11d1he lmcricns),

p111d1o1:.r by Friends F1111d aud P1i111i1ive. lr1.1 Sncic1y F1111d i,1 ho11oro(\lor1011D..11ay,

168,1981

crouched on foreshortened limbs their heads protruding between the two fron; legs of the stool or present at the up of the backrest, with pmminent male genitalia often depicted on the underside of the extended "tail" or back (cat. 41). The eyes, ears, mouth, and shoulder joints of the carvings were typically inlaid with gold, ,;hell, or stone, and two-dimensional designs ~ere featured on the duho's head, neck, upper egs, and backrest. Although this form has received the greatest amount of attention, anoth~r style, lacking the projectmg back, appears to ave been as prominent as its high-backed counte~·-pan.These "low-backs" dis_playanthropomorp ic imagery, such as a duho in the collecnon of ~e America~ Museum of Natural History, New ork {accession number 25/3812), as well as ~ore abstract forms with complex two-dimensional side panels (cats. 42-43). An atypical third style, of which only two examples are known, is represented by the fully reclined human form, W1th naturafistically n·ndt:red arms and legs that extend from the sides of the seat (cat. 44) Although these have been referred to as duhos, th ere is some question as to whether or not they functioned as seats, perhaps serving as elaborate platters instead. Over one hundred duhos are known and belong to both private and public collections. These ~ange not only in style, but also in sizeetween 18 and 122 centimeters in length-and materials; although most duhos are carved from wood, the Tai no were also known to sculpt them from coral and stone. The majority of du hos originate from Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands; examples from Cuba and Jamaica are relatively rar~. Given the large populations, centralized cacicazgos, and the high levels of artistic development on Puerto Rico and Hispaniola prior to contact, it is not surpri,ing that duhos from the,c islands dominate collections worldwide. In addition, the sw1fr settlement of these islands by th e Spanish, the collecnon and export of du hos ~s native curiosities, and the prominence of both 1 s!ands in the early histoncal wriungs of the cron, st as (chroniclers) were all factors in the d1spt.•rsal of duhos and information pertaining to their use. The presence of such pieu·s in collections is th at much more poignant when one con~idcrs ~hat many did not survive this turbulent period in Caribbean history: elaborate Tai no carvings 59

were considered idols and, as such, were often burned or otht:rw1se destroyed with religious fervor by the Spaniards Hispaniolan duhos, predominantly made of wood, are most frequently high-backed forms showing anthropomorphic or zoomorphic imagery (cats. 16, 45-47). Elaborate detail is often seen in their two-dimensional back and neck panels, with curvilinear and geometric designs dominating the composiuons (Lehmann 1951). Perhaps the most intrigumg Hispaniolan pieces are the two extended exampJes that may have been used as a twinned sec of du hos or platters. The unusual nature o[ thl·se pieces in combination with a number of specific stylistic similarities strongly suggests the possibility that they were made in the same village or, conceivably, in the same workshop (Fewkes 1919).' Although Puerto Rican wooden duhos are known (cat. 42), their scone counterparts tend to dominate collections from this island {cat. 48) Both high- and low-backed stone duhos have been recovered, and these tend to show little of the elaborate two-dimensional iconography seen in many of the wooden du hos-a surprising feature given the high caliber of stonework on rhe island (Walker, this volume). High-backed examples tend to be simple in form, with only the elegancly arched back and a narrow, upraised, and undecorated panel as features. Subtle changes to this shapt.· result in additional levels of meaning in what could best be described as visual punning: a duho m the collection of the Museo de Historia, Antropologia y Arte, Universidad de Puerto R.ico, R.io Piedras (accession number 11,044), is on one level an elegant, abstract duho shape, while on another level it is a representation of a four-legged zoo morph with an upraised tail. This dual naturl' is visually effective because thr head of the creature never breaks the surface of the duho form (cat. 48), unlike the more obviously zoomorphic duho in the collection of the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, W.,shington, D.C. (access1011number 3695). The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands have yielded a considerable number of duhos, including the largest group found together: a cache consi..;ting of three seats found in situ in the Cartwright Cave on Long Island, Bahamas

45. Duho. Dominfo:in Republic Wooda11dmanateebo11e

Height:45; length:62. Museo de/ HombreDominicano,Santo Domirigo 46.Detailviewofcatnlogue number 45

45

(Aarons 1989). Stylimcally, the Bahamian duhos differ notably from their Hispaniolan and Puerto Rican counterparts. featuring some of the most complex anthropomorphic imagery and elaborate two-dimensional art. They are also the largest duho forms recovered from the Greater Antilles.The exceptional duho in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (accession number 30052), found in association with another duho from an unprovenanced cave in the Turks and Caicos Islands, bears testimony to the high caliber ofTaino/Lucayan woodworking skill.' The facial features and shoulders of the piece are deeply carved for the inclusion of gold, st one, or shell inlay, and the neck and back panel show elaborate curvilinear designs. The presence of such duhos in the Bahamian archipelago de~onstrates the importance of such elite 0 bJectsin the formation and maintenance of social and ideological hierarchies. This use of duhos may have been based on the established CUS[omsofTaino groups on the larger islands to th e south. Not only could such items be traded, but they may have been of central importance to alliances between inter- and intra-island groups, providing channels through which the exchange ~f Wealth and ritual authority could flow.The iversity of styles seen in some of the Bahamian duhos, however, could also argue for the possibility of their local reinterpretation and manufacture.

The islands of Jamaica and Cuba have yielded a small number of duhos all of which are made of Wood_Little is known ~f uban examples outside _thecountry, but it is likely that they exist in public collections and private hands (Herrera Frito, 1940; Martinez Arango 1991). From the pieces that are known, it would appear that the ~:o main styles of duho-the high-_and lowc!,s, in both the1r anthropomorphic and absrract forms-were present in Cuba. ~uhos were an important component ofTaino ritual contexts, and prestige and power were intunately linked with their use. Such socially and politically charged event as the greeting and fea ting of foreign dignitaries, allies, and kin presented opportune times to emphasize the status of the hosts. Elite objects-most notably the 0

47

!u: -were bro.ug~t out to mark t~e _occa_sion ne of great significance and to distinguish

~

48

4 7.Duho(frontview).Haiti Wood.Height·42; length:78 Muste dt /'Homme,Paris, M.H.50. 77.1. Photog,aphby Cl.D.Ponsard.

48. Duho. Dominguitas,Puerto Rico. Stone.National Museum oftheAmtr1canlndian,

Smithsonianlnst11tuion,New Yo,k, 3698. Photog,aphby Bruce&hwarz.

archaeological evidence for the burial of individthe visitor and host as individuals of wealth and rank. Such occac;1onswere well noted in the early chro111des,and indeed the first time Columbus sent envoys to meet with the Cuban elite they were given a stately welcome by a

cacique(chief), who personally conducted them into his house, olTered them gold-encrusted duhos for their comfort, and provided them with an elaborate feast. Columbus himself was given such a welcome when he vi,ited the cacique Gaucanagari, who, with "great courtesy and veneration," invited Columbus to be seated

The cohoba ritual, involving the inhalation

of

b . a made co store t~em away fro°: such dama;:~; elements as moisture and sunlight

uals on duhos is quite limited, perhaps due co

the hallucinogenic snuff, enabled those who could partake m the ceremony-notably the cacique, behiques(shamans), and principals-to

the early disturbance of such sites by local collectors. The archaeologist Theodoor de Booy (1912, 103), for example, noted that prior to his

However it ts imporcant to note that Taino

enter into trance states.) These trances allowed for communication with numinous powers, providing insights and guidance for important com-

excavations at Jacksonville Cave, Ease Caicos,

munity decisions. The hallucinogen-induced voyage to the supernatural realm could only occur through regulated procedures dependent

earth. Under such circumstances, che true associ-

pare cat 45 to 16) This cannot simply ~e sical lamed as a reacuon to the myriad p y ex~ b1ochem1cal changes that could naturally an d after an arufact was hidden away,

ation between the burials and the duho was obscured. Adolfo de Hostos (l 951, 77) offers

have occurre l 1tenmg the surface depending darkemng o~ :gec1es and condmons to which

on proper ritual paraphernalia, among which the

another example in which he claims to have found the remains of a duho "reduced to a mere

on the woo p Id seem likely that a numwas s~~~ted :tw::~s-for example, guayacan ber o ~ ere: (SwieteniamahogomJacq )-we1e

in one of the du hos placed for him on a low platform (Las Casas 1951, 1: 287). On other occa,ions, zem1s-idols of stone, cotton, or wood-were placed on duhos positioned beside

the caciquc so that "he (did not sit] alone, but. with a rival" (Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes in Fernandez Mendez 1972, 38). An

duho was key, providing the liminal space for th e meeting between human and ancestor. Rare ceramic effi_giesde_p1ctingindividual seated ~nh du hos provtd~ indirect evidence t~rough w~~c ifto contextualtze the duho and c..·ornate its s1::;1n icance in rituals such as the cohoba (cats. 104,

110). Once the drug was inhaled through slender wooden or bone tubes, the individual would

wooden :rufacts vary cons1der;blyd11:,~:l:'(com-

several skeletons and a duho were recovered by laborers emptying the cave of its guano-rich

some featuring a very ltght-co ore

splinter of crumpled fibre" in a Hispaniolan tomb in 1905. He does not, however, indicate whether the artifac.t was directly a\Sociated wi th a burial, but mentions that when duhos "are

found buried in the open fields together with human remains they have generaUy decayed beyond recovery."

It

and ma ogan vino of duhos, with the final selected for th: ca~ su;h qualtues as durab1hty decision iesuno ~er features 1elat1ng more to the and h~rdness ~ncal s1onificance may also have woods meta~ho ces m:de by Taino ca1ver The affected the rded some Taino concepts relaung

c,omstas r;:; Ramon Pane (1994, 55) explained to wood y d o s eak to shamans, that crees were sa1as:o :ow they should be

example of this may be c;een in an elaborate

sit on the stool, elbov,.is resung on knees, body

cohoba stand (cat. 123) from Hispaniola, m

hunched forward, lost in the thoughts and

The Spanish frequently commented on the

which two zemis are depicted seated with their

images chat would result from the drug's swift

e~ceptional workmanship, deep, rich color, and

legs raised on a duho.The apparent equivalency

effect

high polish of these carefully crafted and preserved objects. Fray Bartolomi· de Las Casas (1909, 445) noted that much of the cohobarelated paraphernalia was "made of sc1chbeauti-

mscructmg them was intimately linked w1ch this

ful, smooth and perfect wood, as nothing ~lse more beautiful was ever made of gold or silver;

carved into a ze7:1 h we1e addressed with all to these trees, w tc f h were great lords

between the caciquc and zemi in the above account ic;noteworthy, perhaps stressing the face

that those who had access to such objects shared a special relationship wich deities and ancestors. Ouhos featured prominently during bateyes and cohoba ntuals, ceremonies intimately linked

with Tai no ideology. Bateyes, or ritualized ball games played in central plazas, wnc important community events in which inter- and intravillage rival group.!. would challenge each other, perhaps with the outcome sanctioned by the winning group's ancestors or zem.is. Spectacors would be seated accordjng to their social standing around the arena~those of lesser rank would sit on stone seats, while those of higher status, such as caciques and other principals, would sit

As objects that facilitated communication wi th the supernatural, duhos may themselves have..· embodied significant power. It 1s perhaps in t~is hghc that one can understand the Taino pracnce of secreting du hos m caves: such ritually charged

objects may have needed to be hidden in isolated, peripheral areas away from the community to minimize their potency. In some instances, it appears that considerabli: effort was made to ·bJe conceal the duhos in areas physically inaccess 1

to fully grown individuals: long poles may have been used to push du hos to the back of deep, narrow crevices, indicating that there may not have been a desire to retrieve th1..·objects at a

[they were] almost as black and as bright as azabacheUet]"The numbe, of t1mes the Spaniards made reference to thlS black wood and attested to its inherent bL·auty perhaps indicates th~ir curiosity at finding that the Taino prized

Objects of wood above Objects of gold. Much was made of the material's hardness, durability, and especiaUy its blackness-the last feature being recently interpreted as particLilarlysignifi-

later time (de Ho,tos 1951, 78). Whereas some

cant to the objects' symbolism (Helms 1986). The black color seen by the cronistas may have

have interpreted these cave finds as an attempt co

~een a result of th1..•resinous coating and poh..,h-

on stools of"fine, beauufully carved wood, displaying much relief and concave workmanship" (Fernandez de Oviedo yValdes 1959, I: 145) On the surface, such events provided a stage on which certain elite objects could be shown to

hide important relics from the Spanish, it may be that this was a pracncc already prevalent among

their best advantage and may also have offered

with its owner, having come co embody certain aspects of his or her social persona. Accounts indicate that some duho, were buried with the deceased: the cronista Gonzalo Fernandi:z de

ing of the wood's surface. One way of achieving a surface polish was by taking round nver pebbles from the coals of a fire and rubbing th em Into the wood's surface (Marme d'Angh,eca 1970); this procedure would bring the resin of such woods as guayacfin (C11aiaw111 offici11 ~1e. L. or C. sanctumL.) to the surface, not only scaining

opportunities for the exchange of wealth either chrough trade or in the form of wagers. Underlying this conspicuous display was the desire to impress both rivals and honored guests with the host's power and influence, cement alliances, and gauge the favor of the..·zemis pnor to important undertakings 6-1

the Taino prior to contact.

A duho may also have been intimately idenufied

Oviedo yValdcs related how a Hispaniolan cac1que was elaboracdy buried m a subterranean wooden chamber, surrounded by wealth and seatc..·dupnght on his duho. To dace, however,

the wood darker but also providing a natural su'.face protcctant. 1c 1s unknown to what di:~n-e th_isresin-coating process was repeated ~o maintain the protective surface, but it is obvious th at dLiho, were well-preserved objl'CtS,wicb efforts

65 -

carved Cohoba

d was made before the nee

commumcat10nc~:n

was felled, and

early after it had been

61eat respect was accorded

manner of ntles as I t e\d appear that Taino (Helms 1987, 71) ~t;,~~ simply for ,ts physical arnsans did not us

d

propernes but cmploye

also for

its

inherent

It

symbolic attributes

Like the wide range of specialize1 t~e7;;~a:o eguipm~nt ch~t developed

.a\:~;

and. stone collars

1500-mcludmg t_hree-porn I e)-duhos vo um who (Walker and. McG111ms,_rh1s he authority of cac1ques, came under t.

ductjon and distnbucio~.

regulated t~eir pro le a cacica(female chief) Anacaona, or examp , d standing had control of considerabl~ p~::rr ;::ms of valu~ produced o~e:hdcu:~sn~nof~a Gonave and owned scor:o . . b. ther's cacicazgo of Xaragua houses i_nhe~e::uch of present-day Haiti). In a

~e:::~:1:f f~iendshtp and goodwill, Anacaona ::;J

opened

her storehouse to Bartholom~w s durin his vi,it to the region in 1496.

Colu~~ong the\housands of cotton and woodFro"";,·cctsstored for safekecpmg, she pe~sonally ;~e~t~d the finest duhos for her v1s1tor, the

most beautiful of which were black and polished as if they were of azavaja" (Las Casas 1951, I: 447). Such a transaction, involving items intimately linked with authority and status, may have been interpreted by the Talno as a politically binding contract, perhaps along the Imes of an alliance between the Xaragui cacicazgo and the Spaniards. Exchanges of this nature were certainly not unknown among Hispaniolan cacicazgos, and although scant evidence exists for the exchange of du hos, other exchanges of cultural property-including areytos (rituaLzed songs and dances recounting the deeds of ancestors, involving the entire communiry)-were employed to bind separate groups (Las Casas 1951, 462).The significance of the meeting between Anacaona and Bartholomew Columbus is, in microcosm, a model for the encounters that occurred betw"een the Taino and the Spani~h during this early period: when the lack of common language hindered understanding, the exchange of material wealth-whether in the form of glass beads or gold-encrusted duhoswas a means of communication understood by both parties.

(Keegan and Maclachlan 1989; Sued-BadiUo l 993; Wilson 1990a). It has been the unquestioned assumption of many Caribbean scholars that the sole privilege of owning and sitting on duhos belonged to high-ranking men. Considering the evidence presented above for women producing, owning, and distributing these important objecttizos de la montaiia peruana. In De palabra y o~raen el NuMJ Mundo, ed. Jorge K.Jor de Alba, Gary H Gossen, Miguel Le6n Portilla, and Manuel Gutierrez EstCvez, vol. 4: Tramasde la identidad,343-408. Madrid: SigloVeintiuno Roosevelt, Anna Curtenius. 1980. Parmana:Prehis1oric Maize and ManiocSubsirtencealongthe Amazon and Orinoco.New York: Academic Press. --. 1987. Chiefdoms in the Amazon and Orinoco. In Chiefdomsin rheAmericas,ed. Robert D. Drennan and Carlos A. Uribe, 153-85. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America

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