Women
editTaino society was based on a matriarchal system, meaning that descent was traced through the mother and that women lived together with other women and their children apart from the men. Because of this Taíno women seem to have had a lot of control over their lives, their co-villagers and their bodies.[1] Since they lived separately from men, they were able to decide when they wanted to involve in sexual contact. This is in part what shaped the views of conquistadors who came in contact with Taíno culture. They reportedly perceived women as “macho women” who had strong control over the men.
Societal Role
editMost historical evidence suggests that, although unclear, it seems that Taíno gender roles were non exclusive to most of the activities done in their community.
Taíno women played an important role in intercultural interaction between Spaniards and the Taino people. When Taíno men were fighting intervention from other groups, women were left back home turning into the primary food producers or ritual specialists.[2] Women seem to have participated in all levels of the Taíno political hierarchy, they went up to occupy roles as high up as being caciques.[3] This meant that Taíno women could potentially give permission to other Taíno men and women to take on important tasks and that they could too make important choices for the village.[4] There is evidence that suggests that the women who were wealthier among the tribe collected crafted goods that they would then use for trade or as gifts.
Despite women being seemingly independent in Taíno society, coming into the era of contact Spaniards took Taíno women as an exchange item, putting them in the position of playing a role in diplomacy, but reportedly not an autonomous one. Dr. Chanca, a physician who traveled with Christopher Columbus, reported in a letter that Spaniards took as many women as they possibly could and kept them as concubines.[5] Some sources report that, despite women being free and powerful before the contact era, they somehow became the first commodities up for Spaniards to trade, or often times stole. This marked the beginning of a lifetime of theft and abuse of Taíno women.[6]
References
edit- ^ Saunders, Nicholas J. Peoples of the Caribbean: An Encyclopedia of Archeology and Traditional Culture. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Web.
- ^ Dale, Corrine H., and J. H. E. Paine. Women on the Edge: Ethnicity and Gender in Short Stories by American Women. New York: Garland Pub., 1999. Web.
- ^ Taylor, Patrick, and Frederick I. Case. The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions Volume 1: A-L; Volume 2: M-Z. Baltimore: U of Illinois, 2015. Web. Chapter title Taínos.
- ^ Deagan, Kathleen. "Reconsidering Taino Social Dynamics after Spanish Conquest: Gender and Class in Culture Contact Studies." American Antiquity 69.4 (2004): 597. Web.
- ^ Hotep, Amon. "Women." Race and History.com | TAINO | Women. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
- ^ Sloan, Kathryn A. Women's Roles in Latin America and the Caribbean. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2011. Web.