Cacicazgos in the Caribbean and the American Continent

Francisco Moscoso's Cacicazgos en el caribe y continente americano was something of a disappointment. We were hoping for a detailed comparative analysis of the cacicazgo among the Taino, Muisca and Nicarao but the chapters were too brief to flesh out a full analysis. This is no surprise, since the book was part of a chapter of a UNESCO General History of the Caribbean series. However, we still hoped for something new or deeper here. For those who have already read Moscoso's work on the Taino chiefdoms or his work on precolonial Nicaragua, this study basically restates the general proposition of the cacicazo as a state of political development somewhere between the tribe and the state. In general, all three of the highlighted indigenous civilizations here were somewhat similar in that all developed systems of tribute, caciques, some degree of stratification, and a form of production beyond that of bands. Assuming one shares his view on the historical stages of production societies undergo, Muisca, Nicarao and Taino are all similar. However, the Nicarao case does seem to be, in part, a product of ancient Mesoamerican migrations and cultural influences which might explain some of the features of the Nicarao civilization. Nonetheless, it is important to recognize and study the specific transitional state of development represented by the cacicazgo. As something akin to an incipient state, elucidating its origins could shed light on the process of state formation elsewhere. 

On the Muiscas

A good Youtube channel has an episode on the Muiscas now. The Muisca are one of the indigenous cultures of South America we are very interested in learning more about, so please check this one out.

A World Discovered by Columbus

Un mundo que descubrió Colón: las rutas del comercio prehispánico de los metales by Adam Szaszdi Nagy is a fascinating work endeavoring to understand precolonial trade in metals (and shells, slaves, salt, emeralds, and semiprecious stones) across the Americas. Beginning in the Antilles, where Columbus was first informed of places with gold, guanin and precious metals, Nagy takes the Indian guides and informants seriously for testimony on long-distance trade. Guanin, for instance, the gold-copper alloy so highly treasured by the Taino for pectorals and adornment, was indeed acquired through long-distance trade with South America. Guayana, or Guayana, was likely one of the areas from which guanin (also known as caracoli to the Caribs) spread to the Antilles, perhaps through an exchange of slaves. In addition to guanin and other worked metals, the Antilles was also part of an exchange network that connected all the Americas. 

Shells, jadeite, emeralds, salt, slaves, copper, silver, turquoise and textiles connected North and South America via maritime routes through the Caribbean and across the Pacific. Indeed, Nagy draws on evidence of widespread similar uses of guanin for pectorals and nose pieces in the Antilles, Colombia and Central America to posit a long-lasting network of trade. In addition, the ultimate sources of the techniques for advanced metallurgy appear to have first arisen in Peru and Ecuador, from which they spread to Colombia (the Quimbaya, Muisca, Sinu, and Tairona cultures). Then, via trade routes that traveled along South American rivers and overland, guanin or tumbaga reached the Antilles, Mesoamerica, and beyond (as Florida seems to have received some items of South American origin via the Antilles). 

While Nagy seems to uncritically accept some Spanish sources as valid on the cannibalism of the Caribs or those of the Colombian Cauca valley, he interprets them carefully elsewhere to establish the skill and longevity of contact and trade in the Americas. For instance, the Taino of the Greater Antilles told Colombus, Chanca and others of their trade contacts with the mainland (Zuania, or Guania?). Elsewhere, indigenous informants in 16th century Mexico reported the visit of long-distance traders via the sea to the Pacific Coast of Mexico, which is probably evidence of trade contacts with coastal Ecuador. Was there indeed a movement of specialists in metallurgy from Ecuador to Mexico due to Inca expansion in the 15th century is difficult to say with the sources used, but certainly possible. Likewise, Raleigh and others on Guayana indicate how the long-lasting trade in guanin continued as late as the end of the 16th century in South America. Furthermore, was el Turco, the man encountered in the Southwest by Coronada, really a native of Ecuador? Nagy's evidence is insufficient, but certainly suggestive of ancient contacts via trade between Ecuador and Mexico as natives of Ecuador's coast traveled in balsas with sails. 

One wishes more could have been uncovered on direct Taino trade with Colombia and Venezuela without the Carib or Lesser Antilles intermediaries. Nagy argues that Cuba lacked close trade links with the Yucatan and Central America due to the lack of sufficient trade goods that would have attracted merchants from the mainland. But Jamaica, where a cacique's regalia impressed Columbus and resembled that of Indian populations in parts of Panama and Columbia, would presumably have lacked goods to exchange with the mainland, too. Unless, perhaps, captives or carved, wooden objects of Taino artisans attracted a market in the mainland? And what if, contrary to Nagy, the Taino were cultivating cotton in sufficient quantities to export it to the mainland, and trading directly with the coast of Colombia as well as Venezuela?

Maritime Interactions in the Greater Caribbean

We are still obsessed with the question of interactions between the Isthmo-Colombian region and the Caribbean in the pre-Columbian past. While much more needs to be uncovered before we can speak confidently about the subject, a number of finds by archaeologists and the probable import of guanin from Colombia suggest long-distance trade and interactions.

Tairona and Muisca

Although they not our Taino, the likelihood of South American indigenous cultures like the Tairona being the source of the Taino guanin is likely. Moreover, the stylistic similarities in Tairona and other indigenous arts of Colombia suggest trade and other forms of relationships with the indigenous peoples of the Antilles.

Shamans and Jaguars

Reichel-Dolmatoff's The Shaman and the Jaguar: A Study of Narcotic Drugs Among the Indians of Colombia is one of those detailed studies of a South American tropical lowland population with potential relevance for the Taino. Although the Tukano live in the Colombian Amazon region and are rather far removed from the Antilles, they share a reliance on manioc, consumption of hallucinogens, ritual purging and fasting and shamanistic practices with the Taino peoples. Indeed, when Reichel-Dolmatoff begins the book with a historical overview, it becomes rather clear that the Taino peoples shared some of these deeply-held and cherished beliefs like the Tukano. Indeed, the prominence of the shaman in healing and the art inspired by hallucinations from using drugs suggests a very deeply rooted use of plants for hallucinations and entry into the other realms. Where the Desana and other related groups differ, however, is the lack of powerful chiefs. Based on Reichel-Dolmatoff's work, one can say that most Tukano in the Vaupes River region lived in malocas with headmen, but the headmen were not nearly as powerful as, say, the caciques were reputed to be. Instead, the indigenous peoples of this region of Colombia resided in exogamous groups who followed similar prohibitions on incest. Their neighbors, including an Arawakan group and the use of Lengua Geral (Tupi), connected them to other ethnic groups who, in the distant past, may have frequently went to war.

In spite of the significant differences between the Tukano and the Taino, one can still find utility in this book for understanding elements of Taino art and culture. The role of phosphenes in the visions seen by the Tukano after yaje and other rituals, for instance, has a direct impact on the decoration motifs and styles used in ceramics, gourd rattles, and house paintings. In addition, some of the vivid images, shapes and colors seen by the Tukano are always interpreted via cultural norms and mythological beliefs. The Taino case was likely similar in which certain recurring motifs and geometric patterns likely reflect the use of cohoba and long-term impact from its use. It is also possible that the Taino Sun lore and astronomical lore likely reflected a possibly similar belief in the role of the Sun, Moon, Stars, and the origins of humanity, culture heroes (like Deminian) and the creation myths. While there may only be a few superficial parallels between the two cultures, the Taino mythology, or the fragments of it available from Pane, indicate similar incest taboos and beliefs in bush spirits and possible anthropomorphic animals. However, without the amazing jaguar and other large feline predators, the island population of the indigenous Caribbean may have mythologically substituted the jaguar with a type of dog and other animals. This may explain some of the elaborate duhos with human and animal features. Moreover, the Taino may have also restricted at least some of the cohoba rituals to males, although we lack enough evidence to understand gender dynamics of Taino shamanism and the ingestion of hallucinogens.

Overall, Reichel-Dolmatoff's work reveals an important role played by yaje and other substances in Tukano ritual, society, and myth. The historical overview of Colombia's indigenous peoples indicates shared or similar practices, such as the Kogi and Muisca. The paye or shamans of the Tukano are, of course, products of specific historical, cultural, and geographic conditions. That said, their practice, background, and intellect suggest possible ways to interpret the Taino behiques of the pre-Columbian Antilles. A study of shamans, hallucinogens and jaguar transformation among coastal lowland populations in northern South America would be even better for our purposes. That said, without an animal comparable to the jaguar, one wonders how Taino beliefs in transformation and possibly perspectivism may have operated. Were there similar beliefs about the role of transforming into a type of dog that allowed one to violate social norms on sex and violence? And is Reichel-Dolmatoff too obsessed with applying a Freudian analysis emphasizing sex in every aspect of Tukano myth and ritual?