Exploring the history of the cacicazgo of Maguana is exceedingly difficult. Caonabo, its leader at the time of Columbus's arrival in Hispaniola is one of the few figures from its precolonial past of which some written sources exist. Speculation and the use of the meager details of his life are among the best clues available to researchers. In addition, the topography of the island, Maguana's relations with other cacicazgos and the traditions of Indian misterios which have survived in the region of San Juan de la Maguana are the other types of evidence one must consult. Besides these aforementioned sources, the brief references in the Spanish chronicles and some of the encomienda records are most of what one can work with. This paper will draw on the chronicles, Columbus's writings, and other types of sources to reconstruct a plausible theory for Maguana. Then, with a review of 20th century scholarship and more contemporary studies, we shall endeavor to understand the features of the Maguana chiefdom. It will be shown that Caonabo's political career and function as a stranger king made him, more than any other cacique, well-poised to understand the threat the Spanish posed to the balance of power on the island.
Non-Spanish Early Sources
First, the non-Spanish chronicles and histories. Moreau de Saint-Mery wrote that Maguana was bordered to its south by the sea, on its north by the mountain chains, on its east by the Jayna (Haina) River, and on its west by the mountains of Bahoruco.[1] For Charlevoix, the Jesuit historian, Maguana included the Cibao. Its leader, Caonabo, was the most powerful monarch on the island. Supposedly, Maguana was able to, with the aid of its allies no doubt, muster 100,000 warriors led by Manicatex, a brother of Caonabo.[2] Cuneo, a much earlier source, attributed the total forces Caonabo was capable of mustering to be 50,000, so one may presume Manicatex was receiving reinforcements from a broader alliance.[3] Nau, the 19th century Haitian historian of the island's indigenous peoples, repeated the narrative of Caonabo's Carib origin. One of Maguana's provinces included Niti, too.[4] Unsurprisingly, Nau likely drew on the same sources as the earlier Francophone chronicles and texts.
An anonymous Frenchman writing in the 1700s, who presumably drew on oral tradition, also wrote about Caonabo. In his case, the treasure of Caonabo was thrown in the river by a wife after she heard the god of the Spanish was gold. This lost treasure apparently consisted of 300 plaques of gold, 52 charges of gold, a throne (presumably a duho) and a gold table. Locals even reported that the treasure of Caonabo was still somewhere in this river.[5] Moreover, the region around San Juan de la Maguana was perceived by some non-Spanish writers as a part of the island in which people with mixed-race Indian ancestry could be found.[6] Thus, even into the 17th century, the area around San Juan de la Maguana had a partly recognizable indigenous heritage. Indeed, even Thomas Madiou reproduced a discourse by a commandant of San Juan de la Maguana from the 1820s which reiterated the notion of indigenous ancestry.[7]
Last, but certainly not least, Robert Schomburgk visited the site of the Corral de los Indios, a ceremonial center that is often said to be the largest plaza in the Caribbean. Although Schomburgk referred to it as a "Cercado de los Indios," it is obvious he was referring to the same corral.[8] Its tremendous size and the use of a rock with evidence for eyes and a mouth near the center of the plaza must have held some kind of cosmological or ritual significance.
Despite their limitations, these pre-20th century French and English sources do give a sense in which indigenous traditions may have survived in the region of San Juan de la Maguana. Naturally, this could very well be part of the legacy of Maguana and provide possible clues to the region. Consequently, the association of water with indigenous spirits in the region today could very well be an example of indigenous retentions.[9] Taken together, these non-Spanish accounts of Maguana’s martial strength, its lost royal treasure, and the persistence of its sacred landscape into the colonial and even the nineteenth century depict a paramountcy substantial enough that Caonabo’s rise to its head, as a political outsider, demands explanation — a question the Spanish-language sources, and the stranger king model explored later in this essay, help illuminate.
Spanish-Language Early Sources
Moving on to Spanish writings, the language of all the primary sources, scholars have additional details and more questions. First, Columbus and others who visited Hispaniola in the 1490s provide the earliest written sources to mention Caonabo or areas allegedly part of his domains. For example, Columbus, who met Caonabo, referred to him as "a man advanced in years and of great knowledge and very keen understanding.”[10] This suggests that Caonabo was perhaps middle-aged or older by this time. He was not young or politically inexperienced, as Guacanagari of Marien may have been. In fact, Columbus's journal entries on the First Voyage likely allude to parts of Caonabo's territory when referring to places east of Marien: Guarionex, Macorix, Mayonic, Fuma, Cibao, and Coroay.[11] It is highly likely that the Cibao was part of Caonabo's territory, and Mayonic could have been Columbus's garbled rendering of Maguana. In his other writings, Columbus similarly described interactions with Caonabo and the land of Maguana. For instance, he knew of "Cahonaboa" as "el cual posee tierra en que ay mucho oro.”[12]
Elsewhere, in a memorial from 1494, Columbus referred to Caonabo as "que es ombre, según la relación de todos, muy malo e muy más atrevido.”[13] Clearly written during the period of conflict with the powerful native ruler, Columbus acknowledged the bold daring of Caonabo. This is why Columbus urged the sending of European gifts to Caonabo to help lower his guard. The giving of gifts was quickly understood by Columbus to be important in establishing close ties with the indigenous elite of the island. But on Maguana specifically, Columbus's writings report "y este Cahonabo dizen que en la tierra donde vive ay mucho oro mas es tierra muy montañosa."[14] Upon consideration of Caonabo's name, translated as "Lord of the Golden House" by Martyr d'Anghiera, the cacique's territory must have included gold-producing parts of the island. When he visited Maguana itself in 1495, Columbus noted the land's proximity to the sierras and its acequias or irrigation ditches, "como en Granada," to exploit the plentiful sources of water.[15] This reference to the use of irrigation canals or ditches is especially significant. Since the use of the same method of irrigation was used in Xaragua, whose leader at the time was a brother-in-law of Caonabo, one is tempted to consider a technological transfer from Xaragua to Maguana. Alternatively, both regions may have begun using irrigation systems much earlier. Regardless of the origin of this practice, it would have greatly increased the agricultural potential and provided higher population densities. This could explain the large number of houses in Maguana's central settlement, which Lynne Guitar claimed exceeded 1000.[16]
In addition to Columbus, a plethora of other Spanish sources and chroniclers of the first half of the 16th century mentioned Caonabo and Maguana. For instance, Martyr d'Anghiera's De Orbe Novo gave a translation of Caonabo's name. Furthermore, based on Morales's map of Hispaniola and other sources, d'Anghiera located Maguana in Bainoa. Maguana itself was a valley through which the Bahaun River flowed. Caonabo's siege of Alonso de Ojeda in the Fort of Saint Thomas was also mentioned, including the bewildering tale of Caonabo's capture and imprisonment by Ojeda. Like Columbus, d'Anghiera also stressed that Caonabo ruled "Cipangu" (a misunderstanding on the part of Columbus for the Cibao, mistakenly identifying it with Japan). But with a much smaller estimate of warriors, Caonabo's brother was only able to gather 5000 men. And they were defeated by the Spanish (with the brother's capture, too).[17] Ferdinand Columbus, the son of the Admiral, also referred to Caonabo in his biography of his father. In this case, it was to the enmity between Caonabo and Guacanagari, as the former had stolen the wife of the other.[18] Although Columbus's son offered a different narrative of Caonabo's capture, the general picture is consistent with the other sources on Caonabo's destruction of La Navidad and conflict with the Spanish. Las Casas, on the other hand, provided a richer description of Maguana. For this author, Maguana was located near the Cibao and consisted of valleys, rivers, plains, and sierras. It was fertile, enjoyed a moderate temperature, and the Yaqui river passed through its territory. Maguana's name referred to the fact that it was a smaller vega than Maguá, the cacicazgo held by the family of Guarionex.[19] Las Casas even gives some dimensions for Maguana, cited by Sued-Badillo as being 30 leagues long and 25 leagues wide.[20]
The other 16th century sources include Oviedo's Historia general y natural de las Indias and the records associated with the 1514 Repartimiento. Oviedo, who came to the island long after the demise of Caonabo, believed the cacique was of Carib origin. Moreover, he also saw the Ciguayos as subjects of Caonabo.[21] This seems unlikely if the Ciguayos were based in Samaná, closer to the territory of Guarionex. The 16th century records on the encomiendas of San Juan de la Maguana and other towns in c. 1514 also allude to some details on Maguana. Of the 1,435 Indians assigned to encomenderos there, some were from the western part of the island. For example, a cacique named Baltasar de Higuamuco likely came from the territory Las Casas described as east of Guahaba. Others who likely came from the cacicazgo of Maguana in precolonial times were assigned to encomenderos in other towns. Thus, Hernando del Maguanabo, perhaps his name referring to "House of Maguana," was assigned to Diego de Ocampo in Bonao.[22] Although his following only consisted of 45 people, his name is highly suggestive of someone who may have hailed from the precolonial Maguana elite. Other familiar names among the indigenous leadership include Enrique, who later led a long-lasting revolt against Spanish authority from the Bahoruco Mountains. As the nephew of Anacaona, the wife of Caonabo, his presence in the Bahoruco area and San Juan de la Maguana must have held some appeal to indigenous people who remembered Caonabo for his fierce resistance to the Spanish.
Another cacique who may have been tied to Maguana was Manicaotex, assigned to an encomendero in La Concepción with 79 indigenous people in his community.[23] There is no evidence this is the same person as the brother of Caonabo with the same name, but a connection is possible. In fact, the name is reminiscent of the Taíno word manicato, perhaps signifying a bold leader. Another cacique who may have been originally from the area of San Juan de la Maguana (or Azua, likely part of the larger cacicazgo of Maguana) was Alonso de Ojeda. Though assigned to an encomendero in La Buenaventura, the Hieronymite Interrogatory of 1517 specifically named him as one of the caciques who conspired to flee and resist Spanish attempts at forced relocations.[24] With 135 indigenous people under his leadership, he may have been one of the more important caciques in the Maguana and Azua area.[25] Read as a whole, this Spanish testimony situates Caonabo less as a native son who quietly inherited Maguana’s leadership than as a figure who had to actively command its irrigated wealth, its gold, and its alliance with Xaragua, and whose authority over the dispersed caciques later recorded in the 1514 Repartimiento appears to have been built and defended rather than simply assumed — precisely the profile a stranger king model would predict.
Lingering Questions and Modern Sources
After reviewing the French and Spanish (and one English article) sources on Maguana before the 20th century, there are many questions which remain. Were Maguana's dimensions as given by Las Casas accurate? Was Caonabo a Lucayo or Carib? To what extent were the people in the Bahoruco and areas near the modern Haitian border part of his domains? And was his marriage with Anacaona a later development in his life after he consolidated his power at the head of Maguana? Undoubtedly, the marriage alliance with Anacaona strengthened his political position among the matunheri caciques of the island. One wonders if Caonabo's political rise, despite his foreign origins, was tied to a guatiao or fictive kinship link with the previous lineage of Maguana. Or, was Caonabo a Lucayo or "Carib" related to the ruling dynasty of Maguana? The question of Caonabo's three or four brothers and the apparent succession of the throne to a brother might be an indication of maternal lineage rooted in the region. Perhaps Caonabo's branch was able to seize power through the effective military leadership of Caonabo. Furthermore, one wonders if the Uxmatex, a cacique and captain of Caonabo, was another one of his brothers.
Moving into the 20th century, several secondary sources shed further light on Maguana with the aid of ethnohistory and newer approaches to the archive. The 20th century Dominican historian, Casimiro Moya, speculated that the territory of Maguana encompassed the Cibao, Maniey, Azua and Banique.[26] Sven Loven, author of a masterpiece on the indigenous Caribbean, seemed to prefer Caonabo as a Lucayo whose success in wars preceded his ascent to the position of cacique of Maguana. He also believed that the Corral de los Indios was a sanctuary site. The crown of Caonabo was also described as having wings and gold-encrusted eyes.[27] Samuel Wilson, based on Las Casas, recounted how Caonabo was captured and the brass bell of La Isabela that could talk.[28] Intriguingly, the fact that it took 18 months before Behechio of Xaragua tried to annex parts of Maguana after the fall of Caonabo was also important, perhaps showing how the defeat of Caonabo and his brother destroyed the paramount chiefdom's stability.[29] E.W. Stone likewise proposes the sacred spaces held by Maguana included El Cacique de Charco de los Indios, Río Chacuey, Cueva Pomier, and Pico Duarte would have enhanced the status of Caonabo.[30]
Besides these 20th century sources, several additional scholars have analyzed aspects of Caonabo's life or the Maguana cacicazgo. Valmé, drawing on a perhaps erroneous method, estimated that the Corral de los Indios site's batey, of 37,994 square meters, could have held 11,400 people. Moreover, Maguana contained more than 45 drainage basins, another sign of the area's agricultural potential and attraction to people.[31] Bernardo Vega, who drew heavily upon the map of Morales and other sources, problematically asserted a Ciguayo origin for Caonabo but failed to provide evidence.[32] Cassá, however, theorized that Caonabo wanted to use Christian cemí power in his war against the Spanish, which could be why Caonabo was willing to accept European gifts.[33] Deagan, in her study of En Bas Saline, the probable site of Guacanagari's capital, has also cited sources on Columbus enslaving 600 of Caonabo's subjects in 1494/5.[34]
Significantly, Jean Fouchard, the Haitian historian, also proposed that a Haitian "Chant de guerre de Caonabo" from the 19th century is an authentic specimen of indigenous literature. First published in La Selve's study of Haitian literature, the song is full of Kalinago words like boutou. There's also a proposal that Caonabo was from Guadeloupe, which is interesting since the indigenes of Guadeloupe were in contact with Puerto Rico.[35] It is not implausible for an adventuresome Kalinago from Guadeloupe or the Lesser Antilles to have reached Hispaniola, too. But the chant's fusion of mostly Kalinago words with a few examples of Taíno words seems more typical of a 19th century Haitian literary style, which sometimes conflated Kalinago and Taíno cultures. Thus, the song is full of words like kouroumon and bayakou. The song also refers to Guacanagari as a traitor, which does match how chroniclers described the animosity between Guacanagari and other caciques of Hispaniola.[36] Since the song's origins are unclear and it is unlikely to be an authentic war song from 1492 or 1493, it is perhaps better seen as an example of how 19th century Haitian authors imagined the areyto. Nonetheless, the claim of an origin in Guadeloupe for Caonabo is not outside the realm of plausibility and has at least some basis in the Spanish chronicles.
The most important sources on Caonabo, however, are the works of Keegan and Ostapkowicz. The former, author of a study on Caonabo as a stranger king, draws extensively on his own archaeological research in the Lucayan islands. Keegan has also tied the notion of Caonabo as "Carib" to a Taíno mythical geography. Moreover, the references in the sources to Caonabo and his three brothers are reminiscent of Deminan and his three brothers in Taíno myth.[37] If Caonabo was a wise, stranger figure whose life could parallel important figures in Taíno mythology, this model may elucidate how he was able to ascend to the status of most powerful cacique on the island. Keegan even suggests that he could have been the guardian of the mythical cave of origin, Cacibajagua, if it was included in his domains.[38] Of course, the author has argued against the location of Cacibajagua in the domains of Caonabo,[39] but the central location of Maguana and the gigantic plaza at El Corral de los Indios likely has cosmological significance that went beyond the confines of Maguana. In terms of archaeology, Keegan has identified a possible site for an important village Caonabo may have come from: the MC-6 settlement established no earlier than 1300.[40] If Caonabo was indeed a Lucayan, as indicated by Las Casas, he could have come from this important, cosmologically charged site that was linked to Hispaniola. Indeed, Maguana may have represented the center of the island and the center of the world from the perspective of the indigenous peoples, a notion also shared by Valmé.
Ostapkowicz, on the other hand, brings a keen attention to detail and textual sources with a study of Taíno material culture. In her thesis, a study of the duho, Columbus is cited for Caonabo's explanation that every principal cacique of the island believed that after death, people go to a valley where they see their ancestors, eat, access their wives, and more. Caonabo explained that every cacique believed the valley of the afterlife was located somewhere in their own territory, perhaps implying that Coabay was not located in a single place.[41] In her recent study of cloth and fibrous materials, Ostapkowicz delves into an analysis of various items received in tribute from Caonabo's community in 1495. A combination of belts, masks with gold parts, naguas, hammocks, cotton, and sheets of gold were collected from Caonabo's Indians.[42] The presence of much material using cloth, though not as much as the cloth and textiles found in Anacaona's storehouse, indicates the degree to which cotton and textiles were part of the wealth of a cacique. As one of the most powerful caciques, and one whose name referred to gold, it is striking how so much of the tribute collected from Caonabo's subjects consisted of cloth. While gold was used with the masks and other objects given to the Spanish, one can detect a similar sense of value and wealth in Caonabo's Maguana as that of Xaragua. Given the close ties between Xaragua and Maguana, as well as the use of irrigation canals in both chiefdoms, perhaps cotton was one of the additional sources of wealth for Maguana. Alternatively, cotton may have been given in gift exchanges between Xaragua and Maguana, with the latter possibly serving as a source of gold.
Conclusion
For about 500 years, writers have disagreed on Caonabo’s origin. Keegan's theory of a possible origin in Middle Caicos is intriguing, but of course only a speculation. The "Carib" origin theory could still be true, so academics should explore the links between Hispaniola and the Lesser Antilles. For instance, the finding of Hispaniola-styled duhos at sites in the Lesser Antilles may be evidence of elite exchange or trade, perhaps pointing to a possible Kalinago origin of Caonabo through one of these networks. Moreover, questions remain on the domain of Maguana and how the chiefdom may have looked before 1492. In terms of the chiefdom's characteristics, the existence of irrigation canals or ditches as well as control of gold-producing areas likely made Maguana a populous center of attraction for much of Hispaniola. The alliance with Xaragua, another densely populated region with ample cotton production, likely included military dimensions that may have made Caonabo one of, if not the most, powerful caciques in Hispaniola. Finally, Caonabo's foreign origins and deft navigation of the political landscape of the island made him the best positioned to understand the threat posed by the Spanish. Close examination of extant Spanish, French, and English literature, along with other types of sources, lends some support to a stranger king origin for Caonabo and the Maguana chiefdom.
[1] M.L.E. Moreau de Saint-Méry, A topographical and political description of the Spanish part of Saint-Domingo: containing, general observations on the climate, population, and productions; on the character and manners of the inhabitants; with an account of the several branches of the government, Volume 1, 34.
[2] Pierre-François-Xavier de Charlevoix, Histoire de l'Isle espagnole ou de S. Domingue, Vol. 1, 81-82, 172.
[3] Carl Ortwin Sauer, The Early Spanish Main, 84.
[4] Émile Nau, Histoire des caciques d'Haïti, 116-117.
[5] Cultivateur de la Haute-Saône, Observations météorologiques et physiques sur St.-Domingue. Description du Rio-del-Oro, ou Rivière d'Or de Christophe Colomb. Découverte des mines d'or par cet amiral. Renseignemens sur les trésors du cacique Caonabo. Origine des peuples d'Amérique. Description de leur berceau. Ages des deux mondes. Numéro 6 /, 32-33.
[6] Alexander O. Exquemelin, The Buccaneers of America, 36.
[7] Thomas Madiou, Histoire d’Haiti, Tome VI, 356.
[8] Robert Schomburgk, “Ethnological Researches in Santo Domingo,” 91-92.
[9] Martha Ellen Davis, La otra ciencia: el vodu dominicano el vodú dominicano como religión y medicina populares, 138.
[10] Christopher Columbus in Ramón Pané, An Account of the Antiquities of the Indians, 45.
[11] Christopher Columbus, The Journal of Christopher Columbus (During His First Voyage), 141.
[12] Cristóbal Colón, Textos y documentos completos: Relaciones de viajes, cartas y memoriales, 243.
[13] Ibid., 256.
[14] Ibid., 277.
[15] Ibid., 324.
[16] Lynne Guitar, Cultural Genesis: Relationships among Indians, Africans, and Spaniards in rural Hispaniola, first half of the sixteenth century, 121.
[17] Peter Martyr d’Anghiera, De Orbe Novo.
[18] Ferdinand Columbus, The Life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus by His Son, 148.
[19] Bartolomé de Las Casas, Apologética historia sumaria.
[20] Jalil Sued-Badillo, Caribe taíno: Ensayos históricos sobre el siglo XVI, 19.
[21] Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo, Historia general y natural de las Indias, primera parte Vol. 1, 67.
[22] Luis Arranz Márquez, Repartimientos y encomiendas en la Isla Española (El repartimiento de Alburquerque de 1514), 569.
[23] Ibid., 584.
[24] Behique Dunama, “Interrogatorio de los Jeronimos.”
[25] Luis Arranz Márquez, Repartimientos y encomiendas en la Isla Española (El repartimiento de Alburquerque de 1514), 567.
[26] Casimiro Moya, Bosquejo histórico del descubrimiento y conquista de la isla de Santo Domingo y narración de los principales sucesos ocurridos en la parte española de ella desde la sumisión de su último cacique hasta nuestros días: Epoca de la conquista y gobierno de los españoles hasta la sumisión de los últimos indios. Libro primero, Volume 1, 23.
[27] Sven Loven, Origins of the Tainan Culture, West Indies, 97, 509.
[28] Samuel Wilson, Hispaniola: Caribbean Chiefdoms in the Age of Columbus, 86.
[29] Ibid., 91.
[30] E.W. Stone, “The Conquest of Española as a ‘Structure of Conjuncture,’” 371.
[31] Gilbert R. Valmé, Atabey, Yucayequey, Caney: 6000 ans d'amenagement territorial prehispanique sur l'ile d'Ayiti / Haiti/ Republique Dominicaine, 15, 181.
[32] Bernardo Vega, Los Cacicazgos de la Hispaniola, 57.
[33] Roberto Cassá, Los Tainos de la Española, 222.
[34] Kathleen Deagan, En Bas Saline: A Taíno Town Before and After Columbus, 34.
[35] Jean Fouchard, Langue et littérature des aborigènes d'Ayti, 91.
[36] Ibid., 92.
[37] William F. Keegan, Taíno Indian Myth and Practice: The Arrival of the Stranger King, 35, 45.
[38] Ibid., 46-47.
[39] Behique Dunama, “Caonao (Cahonao).”
[40] William F. Keegan, Taíno Indian Myth and Practice: The Arrival of the Stranger King, 182.
[41] Joanna Ostapkowicz, Taino wooden sculpture: rulership and the visual arts in the 12–16th century Caribbean, 518.
[42] Ostapkowicz, Anacaona’s Gift: Cotton and the woven arts of the 11th to 17th century Caribbean, 187-189.
