History of Cuba (eBook)

Atabei was before all things, and by Atabei all things were created. She was the powerful mother of the world. And for centuries, there was no sound, nor was there light. The world slept deeply in a silent darkness that ached with loneliness. And Atabei, moving through the slumbering universe, felt that loneliness with a keen agony.

Finally, she realized what was missing Life that was not just her own. So, she reached into the depths of the universe and seized magical, invisible, mystical elements in her hands, weaving them together to create living beings other than herself. She called them her sons; they were born simultaneously, perfect twins, none older than the other. She named them Yucajú and Guacar, and the mother of the earth was no longer lonely.

But Yucajú felt that something was still missing. He searched and searched through the dark and unmoving world, and could not discover that which could quell the yearning in his heart. So, he stood above the earth and he created the blazing sun, and the sun brought forth light. The light stretched out across the world, and wherever it touched, it brought life. Yucajú made the moon, but its light was too feeble to illuminate the night, so he gathered armfuls of precious stones and flung them into the sky; they shone where they stuck, and he named them stars.

The light of the sun and moon coaxed the earth to bring forth grass and trees and all green things. Then Yucajú made animals and birds to populate the earth and sea. They swarmed across the world, bringing noise to the earth, and there was life. But it was still not enough for him. One last piece was missing. one final creation that would make the world everything that Yucajú wanted it to be. It was not an animal, and it was not a god. It was halfway in between, and Yucajú named it Locuo. He was the first man.

He was the first soul.

- Taíno creation myth

Thousands of years ago, living in caves and chipping away at the world with tools made of shells, the Guanahatabey inhabited an island that would later be known as Cuba. But in 3000 BC, Cuba didn't have a name, or if it did, it was lost along with the Guanahatabey language.

Cuba's history does not begin with Columbus. Thousands of years before the Spanish would even set eyes on its idyllic shore. The island was populated with complex societies of indigenous peoples.

The First Cubans

Much of the Guanahatabey culture is lost to the mists of time. What little we do know about them comes from brief snippets in reports from 15th-century explorers and from archaeological sites, the oldest one being Levisa, which dates back nearly five thousand years. We do know that these peaceful, primitive people had little in the way of tools or agriculture. They did not have steel or ceramic; instead, they used shells for cutting, eating, and digging. They did not grow any of their own food. They were a gathering and fishing tribe who took what they needed from the world around them.

Apparently unable to build houses, the Guanahatabey tribe often slept under the stars, seeking shelter from the Caribbean hurricanes in caves. Their favorite food was mollusks, supplemented by fish and fruit. They neither hunted nor really fought, and when the Taíno came, they were utterly unprepared.

It's not entirely certain where the Taíno came from; the Amazon Basin is one possibility, and the Colombian Andes another. Either way, when they migrated to modern-day Cuba, the Guanahatabey were swept aside. The Taíno came in vast numbers and bore all kinds of tools and advancements that the Guanahatabey had no concept of, including dugout canoes, houses, and spears. There appears to have been little resistance. The Guanahatabey simply melted away in the face of the Taíno tide, and not for the last time, Cuba was overrun with a new people.

The Era of the Taíno

The Guanahatabey didn't stand a chance against the Taíno, and for good reason. This was a far more advanced people with an organized society that included chiefs, villages, a complex religion, and even ball games.

The Taíno lived in villages consisting of picturesque round houses with thatched roofs known as bohios; Cuban farmers still construct similar houses today. All the Taíno lived in these bohios except for the caciques, or chiefs. Caciques lived in rectangular houses called caneys, which set them apart from the common people. The people were further divided into nataínos, nobles who functioned as sub-caciques, and naborias, who were the lower classes and performed most of the work overseen by nataínos.

Caciques were also assisted by behiques, who were the spiritual leaders and medicine men of the village. Residents of the village would go to the behiques for advice or supernatural aid. Both caciques and behiques were generally male, but if male heirs couldn't be found, women could also become caciques; however, there are no records of female behiques. In fact, Taíno women were fairly independent and held considerable power in their society. Even married women slept in separate buildings from the men, staying in groups of other women and children; this gave them considerable independence and freedom to do as they pleased much of the time. The Taíno also had gender roles: men generally would hunt, while women grew crops and wove cotton into hammocks and aprons. Children commonly gathered shellfish, which was not as important in the Taíno diet as it was in that of the Guanahatabey.

The most important food for the Taíno was yuca. This tuberous root was meticulously cultivated, then harvested, grated, squeezed of its poisonous juices, and ground into flour. The resultant cassava bread lasted for months, even in the humidity of the Caribbean climate. Other crops included cotton, corn, sweet potatoes, and tobacco.

Taíno spent most of their time working in their fields. They were a peaceable people, with only small skirmishes occurring between neighboring chiefs. In fact, much of the time squabbles were not settled by battle, but by ball games.

These games were played on small, flat plazas located at the center of each village. Known as batey, the game was played with a bouncy, rubber-like ball. It appears to have been something similar to volleyball, except that players were not allowed to touch the ball with their hands. The game was played between two teams of up to thirty people, sometimes consisting of opposing tribes who would use it to settle disputes without resorting to warfare. This use of a ball game instead of battle was typical of the Taíno's fun and peace-loving nature.

When arguments couldn't be settled by batey, a more aggressive approach had to be taken. Taíno warfare was not highly organized, nor was weapons crafted with great care. Their weapon of choice was a wooden club/spear hybrid called a macana, which was only about an inch think, but sharp enough to be dangerous.

At the time of Columbus' arrival in Cuba, the island was divided into twenty-nine small chiefdoms presided over by the caciques who required tribute from the people over whom they ruled. Many of the places in Cuba still retain their Taíno names, such as Havana, Bayamo, and Baracoa. In fact, the name “Cuba” is derived from a Taíno word, although it's unclear what exactly the word meant; it probably meant “fertile land.”

Where Did the Taíno Come From?

Scholars are in dispute over the actual origins of the Taíno. The most likely theory is that they came from the center of the Amazon Basin, migrating along the island chains until they reached Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica. The counterargument, known as the circum-Caribbean theory, is that they came from Colombian Andes and from there migrated through the islands and eventually into Central and South America.

Which of these theories is correct has still not been proven. But the Taíno themselves have their own explanation of their origins in the form of their creation story about love, treachery, and loneliness that reflects this forgotten people's passionate emotion and simple practicality—qualities that characterize the Cuban people to this day.

Taíno mythology is rich and complex. They worshiped idols carved from stone and wood, which represented gods and ancestors, and were known as zemís. Atabei remained the greatest power in their mythology, but her and Yucajú's benevolent presence was countered by that of the god of evil. Originally called Guacar, he was Yucajú’s twin brother. Jealous of the things Yucajú had created, Guacar turned to evil and changed his name to Juracán. His special power was wind, and the Taíno blamed him for their one great enemy: hurricanes. In fact, the word “hurricane” is derived from Juracán's name.

Other Indigenous Cubans

After the Guanahatabey dwindled to nearly nothing, Cuba was populated by the Taíno and other nations grouped under the Arawak label, which included many indigenous peoples of Central and South America and the Caribbean. The Classic Taíno—the most common subgroup of the Taíno people—lived throughout the western part of Cuba, while central Cuba was populated mostly by the Ciboney. The Ciboney were a similar group of people to the Taíno, but not as advanced. They lived in harmony alongside their more sophisticated neighbors, and later, they would be persecuted alongside them, too.

Both of these groups thrived in Cuba's nurturing...