The Taino Woman

Although possibly dated in some respects, Jalil Sued Badillo's La mujer indígena y su sociedad is a very valuable read for anyone interested in the Taino. The author does an excellent job outlining the basic known factors in that complex mosaic of Tainoness found in the Antilles. Explaining the rise of cacicazgos, the greater development of stratification in said societies, and the importance of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola in this process, the author then examines what is known about indigenous women for various topics. It becomes clear that women were vital players in most aspects of society, particularly in the wielding of power and providing the labor for much of the subsistence, arts, crafts, and sociocultural activities of the Taino. Consequently, the Spanish conquerors quickly realized this, so the colonial order established by Europeans was very much a gendered one.

For instance, in religion and myth, women are, unsurprisingly, central. Perhaps as a product of the common pattern in ancient farming communities, women were associated with the land, fertility and the moon, all important associations in the Taino cosmovision and daily life. This significance is reflected in what is known of Taino religion from the Spanish sources. For instance, Guabancex,and her role in storms known as hurricanes. Or the mother of Yucahu, who had 5 names. Indeed, having so many names was, to the Taino, a sign of power. Some of the mythological figures we know of, like Guahayona, were a source of power. As illustrated by Guabonito, through whose aid Guahayona receives guanin and symbols of cacical authority (acquired through matrilineal succession patterns). All of these religious and mythological associations are connected to the associations of femininity with fertility, the moon, land, and, through myth, as the source of power. In addition, women also serves as shamans or behiques, according to at least one source from early colonial Hispaniola.

The Taino woman also played necessary and essential roles in agriculture, labor, artisanry and production. Women's labor was key in agriculture, preparing casabe, and producing a number of utilitarian tools and objects for daily life. Women similarly were artisans, involved with producing cotton textiles or objects associated with trade and ceremony. An example not cited by Sued Badillo can be seen in the role of women in La Gonave as producers of fine wooden objects. Women may have even been involved in gold mining, something we do not know enough about yet. Thus, women's labor was essential for subsistence, ceremony, arts and for items of exchange between communities. For these reasons, control of women's labor must have been one of the factors contributing to conflicts between communities or caciques. 

From what can be deduced on Taino family structure and the life cycle of women, it appears that women may have went through initiations upon puberty and possibly followed marriage customs similar to those observed in the Lesser Antilles and South America. We know from the Spanish chroniclers that girls began to wear a short skirt upon reaching puberty. Then, once they married, women wore longer skirts, especially those from the Taino elite. There were likely rituals or initiations attached to puberty and marriage. Divorce, on the other hand, may have been a simpler affair. In terms of sexuality, it seems likely that women before marriage were allowed to have sexual partners. Women as wives were additionally important for establishing alliances and kinship between different cacicazgos. As suggested by Sued Badillo, perhaps Agueybana's relations with Andres de Higuey were based on a marriage of relatives. However, unlike male caciques or nitainos, we have no evidence of female rulers having multiple husbands. Likewise, one wonders if husbands or males were ever buried with a deceased cacica to accompany them. Sued Badillo speculates that such a practice may have been a late development in the precolonial Caribbean for wives of caciques to be buried with them.

Besides in the areas of religion, economy, and arts, the Taino woman was similarly important in other areas of life. Women were participants in the batey games. They were also participants in areytos, with the famous report of 300 maidens involved in one for Anacaona of Jaragua. This reveals that women were not excluded from major community events that were of a public, communal nature and tied to the history and cosmovision of the Taino. Moreover, women could exercise authority themselves as cacicas. These female rulers likely enjoyed all or most of the prerogatives that their male counterparts possessed. So, not only was access to the position of cacique usually through the female line (patrilineal descent may have been in the process of spreading), but women could emerge as leaders in their own right. Even mothers of caciques exercised a political influence, as Agueybana's mother had been a major voice in favor of peace with the Spanish. Sued Badillo ends the essay by outlining a few examples of cacicas of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, such Anacaona and Ines de Cayacoa.

Unfortunately for the Taino, the gendered dynamics of the Spanish conquest severely weakened the sources of authority and basis for their civilization. The dramatic decline, for instance, of the Indian labor force at the Hacienda Real de Toa from 1513-1530, is partly related to this process. Using the cacique Caguas and his successors at this hacienda, Sued Badillo makes a clear case for matrilineal succession and female rulers. However, the Spanish helped destroy the naboria population serving under these caciques through their manipulation of a cacica named Maria. Sexually exploited and then married off to Diego Muriel, Maria must have been powerless to save the remnants of her community. While caciques and nitainos received better treatment and pay in the encomienda system, the inability of caciques to protect their flock must have contributed to an erosion of their authority. This is hinted at by another cacica mentioned by Sued Badillo, one whose encomienda naborias had largely fled. Due to this, and the Spanish subverting of a cacica's authority via marriage and exploitation of resources, one cannot help but wonder if the dramatic decline of the Hacienda Real de Toa's population from 2000 to 30 was in part a result of flight and erosion of actual power of the indigenous elite. After all, if your traditional leaders are unable to protect you from exploitation, rape, and overwork, why would you continue to obey them, especially if they marry the European invaders who are busy destroying your society's foundations?

In summation, the Taino woman, our foremothers, deserve our attention and respect. Although the precolonial order was no utopia, women were, in many instances, capable of reaching high positions and participating in various sectors of the economy, culture, and religion. One cannot romanticize this past, but compared to what transpired during and after the Conquest, one cannot help but lament the destruction of indigenous society. The imposition of colonial rule undoubtedly relied on gender as mostly male Europeans exploited local women for labor, sex and access to resources. In so doing, they further weakened the indigenous authority and undermined the cultural and economic bases for Taino society.