Indigenous Ancestry in Puerto Rico (2026)

 

Although each update of Ancestry DNA tends to raise new problems or recreate new ones, their algorithm seems to be on the right track with indigenous ancestry in Puerto Ricans. From our own results and those of close matches, it looks like the inflated estimates are a thing of the past. Our results are quite close to 23andMe now. The next move is for Ancestry to correct their description of the region and perhaps, like 23andMe, add historical samples from pre-Columbian Caribbean populations.

Hanyguayaba Mystery

Whilst randomly re-reading parts of Granberry and Vescelius's Languages of the Pre-Columbian Antilles, we noticed that the authors proposed defining ha or hai as the word for high in Taino. This makes sense given the name of Haiti itself, with the meaning of high or mountainous land. But what about Hanyguayaba, that poorly known chiefdom or cacicazgo in the Southwest of Haiti? Probably centered on the area of the Les Cayes plain, where the Spanish built a town after the conquest of that part of the island, the region was part of the "anus" of Hispaniola. Alternatively, we could read accept the hai in Haiti as tall or high and iti as upland or hills. 

But with the word Haniguayaba, Granberry and Vescelius's hä- (han) seems to fit (meaning uppermost). This is followed by a i could mean near or eastern. So uppermost of the near guayaba (guava). But another definition might be han+i+guaya (meaning furthest back)+ba (big, great, or large). Thus, Hanyguayaba or Haniguayaba could have meant something like the "the upper, big and nearest part of the farthest" section? If one views the island through the indigenous perspective with the "anus" being the Tiburon peninsula of today's Haiti, that "behind" was quite far from other parts of the island. Perhaps the Les Cayes plain was the base for the largest area or concentration of settlements and was considered the "upper" section for its proximity to the "anus" of the island? Alternatively, reading it simply as the uppermost guava is possible? The Spanish sources from the 1500s certainly suggest the rich areas of mamey trees. Perhaps the area closer to Haniguayaba had lots of guava trees in the hills above the plain? 

The guayaba reading seems more likely than our own tortured attempt at using Granberry and Vescelius, however. However, there's uncertainty about the toponym as Las Casas also presented it as Haniguayagua. Moreover, Martyr d'Anghiera did not include it among his cantons or districts in the "anus" of the island. Instead, he listed a place called Guabaqua (perhaps Guabagua?). This might have been the Haniguayagua of Las Casas? Or Zavana (or, savanna, where the Spanish settlement was built after the colonial conquest) could have been an alternative name for Haniguayaba?

Revisiting Guarionex and Maguá

 

A part of northeastern Hispaniola in Alonzo de Santa Cruz's Islario general. 

What was Maguá? Often described in the early Spanish sources and later works drawing from those texts as one of the 5 major “kingdoms” or polities on the island, it was ruled by a cacique named Guarionex. To some extent, much is known about Guarionex through his initial alliance and later conflicts with the Spanish. Through the short account of Ramón Pané, even more is known about some of the central beliefs of the “Taíno” in that part of the island. Indeed, Guarionex initially supported the evangelization efforts of Pané. Through Las Casas and other sources, it is also clear that Guaricano, the town or settlement of Guarionex, was located near the initial site of Concepción de la Vega. Guarionex, who allegedly succeeded his father as cacique of Maguá, was also said to have controlled the plain of La Vega and ruled about 70 leagues of the interior or middle part of the island. Since this region included the Cibao and parts of the gold-producing centers so vital to Spanish interests, the region’s population was incorporated into the exploitative tribute system and expected to provide gold for the Europeans.

Yet Maguá and Guarionex remain an enigma for those interested in uncovering more about this part of the island’s indigenous geopolitical features before 1492. To what extent was Guarionex truly a paramount chief? Were his domains, however loosely held together, the better portion of Cayabo based on the Morales map of the island? Was succession in Maguá actually patrilineal? And what happened to the sister of Guarionex married to Diego Colón, the Indian interpreter from the Lucayan islands? To what extent can the c. 1514 repartimiento records illuminate aspects of Maguá’s history prior to 1492? This brief article will suggest that Guarionex’s chiefdom was perhaps better understood as a confederacy of aligned vassal chiefs participating in a partly ritualized network. This will become evident through a cursory examination of the various chronicles and relevant archival documents pertaining to the early colonial period. Though tentative, it shall be seen that Wilson’s view of Guarionex as a “first among equals” within his greater cacicazgo is the most appropriate model.

Let us begin with the nature of Maguá as the center of a paramount chief in the colonial sources. The earliest written attestation of Guarionex derives from Columbus’s journal of the first voyage in 1492. Mistakenly believing the locals referred to Guarionex as a separate island where gold could be found, he believed Guarionex was an island to the east.[1] This established quite early for Columbus that the territory of Guarionex must be explored and exploited. When Columbus next wrote of Guarionex, he knew better. According to his October 14, 1495 letter, “Guarionex, el cual (es) uno de los tres caçiques mayores de la isla porque él me avía enbiado muchas vezes presentes e a dezir que le plazía de fazer todo lo que yo horderase, y era enemigo d’este Cahonaboa y (a) esto también, porque no se conformase (ny) con otros caçiques para (ir) contra nosotros.” By the end of the letter, Columbus also referred to Guarionex’s sister marrying the Indian interpreter, Diego Colón.[2] Clearly, by 1495, Columbus understood that Guarionex was the name of a powerful cacique who was also interested in an alliance with the Spanish. Moreover, by stressing his enmity toward Caonabó and his marriage alliance with the interpreter of Columbus, a man who would have been central in all negotiations between Columbus and the cacique, Columbus saw in him a powerful and essential ally.

As one can expect, sending Pané to Guarionex’s region was therefore a critical strategic move on the part of Columbus. By endeavoring to evangelize his region and have missionaries learn the universal language of the island, Taíno, instead of the Macorix tongue, the Spanish could begin to increase their influence. To what extent Guarionex was one of the most powerful caciques of the island is still an unanswered question, but control of gold-producing areas and his influence on other caciques may have convinced the Admiral and Adelantado that they had to work through him. Moreover, through Pané’s short account of Indian “antiquities” and their notions of religion or spirituality, one has a glimpse of the role of the cacique and cemís in establishing the chief’s authority. For instance, Pané’s account includes references to what seems to have been the father of Guarionex (“Guarionel”), specifically linking him to the cemí known as Baraguabel. Moreover, Guarionex’s father allegedly told the prophecy from Yucahuguama in which clothed strangers were predicted to come to seize the land.[3] Undoubtedly, caciqual authority was tied to the veneration and communion with cemí figures. Moreover, the prophecy in which Guarionex’s father was involved highlights one of the roles of the cacique as an intermediary between his subjects and powerful cemís. Of course, if the prophecy was already discussed in 1494 when Pané was endeavoring to spread the gospel in Guarionex’s territory, then some of the locals harbored negative views of the Christians. Yet when a coalition of caciques attacked the Spanish in 1495, Guarionex did not join. Indeed, even after abandoning Christian prayer and becoming hostile to them, he did not directly join the coalition. Intriguingly, Pané also referenced Guarionex’s mother, referring to her as “the worst woman I have known in these parts” without explanation.[4]

In addition to Pané and Columbus, an allusion to Guarionex from 1495 may be found in a report on the tribute received in gold and jewels by the Admiral. The list of tribute included gold brought in La Concepción and Santo Tomás by some caciques.[5] Since La Concepción was built near Guarionex’s settlement and he was expected to provide a large amount of gold in tribute to the Christians, one can surmise that Guarionex was part of this group of caciques who presented gold. As the cacique with a degree of influence over several other caciques, this presumably meant naborías or commoners were expected to pan for gold in streams and provide it to the caciques to pass on to the Spanish. Due to insatiable Spanish demand and the unfamiliarity of the Taíno with gold mining on a scale Europeans would have liked, one can imagine these tribute demands were perceived as onerous by subjects of Guarionex and his vassal chiefs. Consequently, he attempted to change the tribute to one of agricultural products, to no avail. Nonetheless, it illustrates one way caciques exerted their authority over their subjects: labor tribute for gold, yucca or other products.

Besides these early allusions to Guarionex by Columbus and Pané, other sources on him were composed later and relied heavily on oral reports or the writings of Columbus and others. Thus, Peter Martyr d’Anghiera, in De Orbe Novo, referred to a “Guarionexius” valley beyond the Cibao, falling under the remit of caciques called Guarionexius through patrilineal succession. This valley was allegedly 190 miles long east to west, and 30 to 50 miles broad at its widest. Beginning at Canabocoa, it crossed Huhabo and Cahibo, ending in Bainoa at the district of Mariena.[6] Supposedly, Cibao, Cahonao, and Cazabucana bordered it. If one can make sense of this description, the name Guarionex may have been a title used for the ruler of this valley, which may have been a hereditary position. If it ended at Mariena, or Marien, Guacanagarí was in Guarionex’s sphere of influence or very close to it. Cacacubana was said to have been at least partly inhabited by Macoris speakers. If Guarionex’s domains really did border upon those of Guacanagarí of Marien, one can see why the latter may have been so interested in forging an alliance with Columbus.

Las Casas and Oviedo are also very important later chronicle authors who touch upon Guarionex’s chiefdom. Oviedo, who did not arrive on the island until over a decade after Guarionex’s death, relied on the testimony of earlier settlers and perhaps written sources. According to Oviedo, Guarionex ruled all the plain and more than 70 leagues of land in the middle of the island. Furthermore, Guarionex and 14 (other sources claim 15) other caciques battled the Spanish near the site where Bonao was built. Although they were defeated, Oviedo believed that Guarionex only made peace after his wife was seized by the Spanish. He also claimed Mayobanex was a captain general of Guarionex, perhaps illustrating Oviedo’s reliance on oral sources that conflated different moments of Guarionex’s career.[7]

Las Casas, on the other hand, provided a more detailed account and benefitted from his earlier arrival on the island. For example, he is one of the few chroniclers to name Guarionex’s settlement (Guaricano). He also identified one of the vassals of Guarionex who was “lord” of the Cibao, said to have mustered 16,000 men for war when called upon by Guarionex.[8] This could be an allusion to the alleged 15,000 Indians raised by Guarionex and Indian allies against Bartolomé Colón.[9] If so, then the Cibao cacique was probably not capable of solely raising 16,000 men. It nonetheless speaks to the great resources in people of this part of the island. Indeed, later sources estimate that the Cibao may have had a population of 90,000 inhabitants in c. 1492.[10] With access to such an ample supply of labor, Guarionex could easily appear to the Christians as one of the most powerful caciques on the island.

Northeastern Hispaniola in the Morales map.

Besides the chronicles, a few additional insights into the nature of Maguá and its nearby regions may be found from the 16^th century. The 1514 Repartimiento records demonstrate that La Concepción de la Vega’s vecinos continued to enjoy the fruits of the labor of a large part of Hispaniola’s remaining indigenous population. Several caciques whose communities were assigned to encomenderos in La Concepción included names such as Almirantico, Ayraguay, Lucas de Cotuy, Guacoquex, Macote, Manicaotex and others. Among these caciques was Diego Colón, the translator of Columbus who had learned the Spanish language and traveled to Europe.[11] Diego Colón’s group only included 15 Indians assigned to Pero Lope de Mesa, yet one cannot help but wonder if Diego Colón’s claims here were reinforced by his marriage to Guarionex’s sister. Despite Guarionex’s death in 1502, and his earlier flight to the lands of Mayobanex which may have ended any influence of his family in Maguá, perhaps Guarionex’s sister was still alive. Lingering claims to authority or status among the indigenous peoples near La Concepción may have been associated with her as the sister of the last cacique. Regardless, by 1517, Diego Colón was considered a failure in terms of leading an indigenous group freely, despite his education.[12] Further, the distribution of the indigenous population assigned to encomenderos here may have been significantly reshaped by 1514, particularly by population losses, displacement, and the demands of the encomienda system.

Subsequent sources during the colonial era add little. The biographer of Columbus, Fernando Colón, attributed Guarionex’s joining of a plot against the Spanish to a Christian seducing or assaulting his wife.[13] If true, this shows how much it took for Guarionex to finally sever his initial alliance with the Spanish. Moving into the 1700s, Luis Joseph Peguero merely described a large plaza near the “palace” of Guarionex in his settlement. Supposedly the population reached 10,000 houses, but one must interpret these figures carefully given the exaggerated numbers in the chronicles upon which Peguero based his work.[14] Émile Nau, the 19^th century Haitian historian, mistook the relative of Guarionex married to Diego Colón for the cacique’s daughter. But little else is reported besides the fanciful theory of Nau that the Ciguayos were relatives of the Caribs based on their bellicose nature.[15] Little is reported here that can be used to ascertain the nature of the Maguá cacicazgo’s political organization.

Fortunately, the picture improves with more recent scholarship on the indigenous peoples of the island. Sven Loven emphasized the densely populated nature of Maguá, suggesting it surpassed all other parts of the island.[16] Ricardo Alegría, in his MA thesis, endeavored to define the borders of Maguá, which may have encompassed lands from the Cape of San Rafael to Macorix on the north coast, including the central, lower and best parts of the Cibao valley. In addition, Guarionex supposedly had 21 nitaínos serving under him, with villages at Batey, Sabanacoa, Corojay, Cotuy, Cabao, Ciguayo, Tuna, Guayhamaca, Goacoa, Janique, Marien, Maymon, Majagua, Macorix de Arriba, Majonix, Maguey, Manicu, Samana, Yaguax, and Yaguahayucu.[17] Alegría likely overextended the domains of Maguá’s cacique, although the chronicles suggest at least 14 or 15 caciques were aligned with Guarionex in some fashion.

In the second half of the 20^th century, newer studies raised novel questions or approaches to interrogate the chronicles on the nature of Taíno sociopolitical organization and the geopolitical configuration of Hispaniola in 1492. Scholars such as Bernardo Vega sought to analyze the map of Morales, the chronicles, and other sources to address the borders of the cacicazgos and how indigenous peoples divided the island. Based on the map of Morales, we know that the Caihabo section included Maguá, Cocacubana, Cubana, Dahaboon, Cybaho, Manabaho, Cotoy and Baiohaigua. Guarionex’s territory, based on Martyr d’Anghiera, may have stretched from Moca to Fort Liberté and definitely included the area where the Spanish built Concepción de la Vega.[18] Vega has also suggested that the Ciguayos occupied the area from Cubao to Macao, from La Vega to Higüey. Maguá itself may have meant valley in the Taíno language. Ultimately, the value of Vega’s intervention here is to question the simple 5 paramount chiefdom model for the island.

On the other hand, some scholars accept the other divisions of the island from the Morales map and Martyr d’Anghiera whilst retaining the paramount chieftaincies model. Gilbert Valmé wrote of the grand village of Guarionex on the Rio Verde as having a population of more than 5,000 people. Maguá, perhaps encompassing the valleys of the Yuna and Camu rivers, was the complex cacicazgo dominating a much larger region. Indeed, Valmé even claims the batey of Guarionex’s village was 15,972 square meters.[19] With its large population and access to river systems and exchange with the coast, Maguá would have been the center of a densely packed region. The spiritual cemí powers and connections of Maguá’s chieftains may have also played a role in their influence on other caciques in the Cibao and nearby locations. For instance, the belief in the cave site of Cacibajagua as an origin for humans on the island could have encompassed ritual pilgrimages and larger networks of kinship that connected Maguá’s rulers with other caciques. In fact, Oliver has suggested the gifting of an areito by Guarionex to the non-Taíno Mayobanex may have been so powerful because it tied that cacique to the cemífied ancestors of Guarionex and Maguá’s leadership.[20]

Undoubtedly, the most sophisticated analysis of Guarionex and the Maguá chiefdom can be found in Wilson’s important study of the chiefdoms of the island. For Wilson, the existence of several large villages by the Rio Verde attests to the region’s large population on the eve of European contact. But in the eastern Vega Real, higher levels of rainfall would explain the greater density of population.[21] This would have made Guarionex especially powerful if successful in leading the complex chiefdom’s network of vassal chiefs, as their laborers could be expected through tribute to supply many resources. However, in some respects Guarionex’s position was more of a primus inter pares among the region’s chiefs. He had to use persuasion, kinship, gifts, or displays to ensure other caciques obeyed.[22] Thus, the nature of Guarionex’s authority was hardly despotic and required skillful and dynamic leadership to meet new challenges and maintain the allegiance of the various vassals. This can be seen in his involvement in the 1497 attack against the Christians, which Guarionex may have only joined after the attack on his wife. Certainly, in 1495, Guarionex preferred to maintain peaceful relations with Columbus while some of his subjects desired to use violence. Later, by the time Guarionex fled to the land of Mayobanex, he may have already lost the fragile coalition he once dominated in 1492.

Unable to meet the challenge posed by onerous gold tributes to the Christians or maintain peace, Guarionex fled his lands and later died after years of imprisonment. The story of his capture recalls the ignominious fall of the Haitian, Charlemagne Péralte, during the US Occupation.[23] Nonetheless, Guarionex’s case and the Maguá cacicazgo appear to have been a confederacy exerting great influence over much of the northeastern and parts of central Hispaniola. Control of or influence over regions which held much mythological or symbolic importance, as well as the cemí spirits tied to his lineage and their oracular powers, likely increased Maguá’s power over large swathes of Cayabo. Nonetheless, the nature of this power or authority was likely not very centralized and may have required persuasion, kinship links, ritual feasting displays, gifts, and astute political leadership to maintain. Due to the relatively large population concentrated in this part of Hispaniola in precolonial times, one may assume this access to the labor of the commoners increased Maguá’s power. And even though gold was not mined in a highly productive manner, access to gold deposits as well as other resources likely increased Maguá’s influence on the island of Hispaniola. It would be interesting to compare more closely Maguá and Xaragua as the two polities of the island which appear to have been more effective confederations dominated by chiefly families. In the case of Xaragua, the lack of adequate rain was met through irrigation ditches. The absence of gold was compensated for by Xaragua’s excellent woodcarving and cotton, which could have been items of exchange with Maguá for gold. One also wonders if the marriage of Anacaona to Caonabó was perhaps intended to support a buffer chiefdom against Maguá’s influence in the northeast.

---

[1] Cristóbal Colón, Consuelo Varela Bueno and Juan Gil Fernández (editors), Textos y documentos completos, 182.

[2] Ibid., 316.

[3] Fray Ramón Pané, Susan C. Griswold (trans.), An Account of the Antiquities of the Indians, 30-31.

[4] Ibid., 37. Was she sexually promiscuous or possessed too much political power?

[5] “Relación del oro y joyas que recibió el Almirante después que el Receptor Sebastián de Olano partió de la Isla Española para Castilla , desde 10 de marzo de 1495” in Colección de documentos inéditos relativos al descubrimiento, conquista y organización de las antiguas posesiones españolas en América y Oceanía, sacados de los Archivos del Reino, y muy especialmente del de India, Tomo X, 7.

[6] Probably Marien.

[7] Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, Historia general y natural de las Indias, primera parte, 61.

[8] Bartolomé de las Casas, Apologética historia sumaria, 2654.

[9] Bartolomé de las Casas, Historia de las Indias, Vol. 2, 145.

[10] Alfredo Bueno Jiménez, Virginia Flores Sasso, y Esteban Prieto Vicioso. 2026. «Las Resistencias Tempranas En Cibao y La cuestión Del Santo Cerro, 1494-1497». Fronteras De La Historia 31 (2), 82-83.

[11] Arranz Márquez, Repartimientos y encomiendas en la Isla Española: El repartimiento de Albuquerque de 1514, 555. For more caciques in this area, 555-558, 569, 589. Caciques attached to encomenderos in Santiago, La Concepción and perhaps Puerto Plata may have once been part of the confederacy-like chiefdom of Guarionex. In terms of caciques with the largest number of Indians, Ayala, Barahona, and Diego Enrique each led over 100 Indians. Another, Ynamoca de Casambanas can join this list. In Bonao, a cacique named Francisco, one of the more Westernized indigenous leaders, led many people split between 3 different encomenderos: 94. Meanwhile, Santiago had Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon, served by 191 Indians under a cacique named Escobar.

[12] Hieronymite Interrogatory in Emilio Rodríguez Demorizi, Los domínicos y las encomiendas de indios de la Isla Española, 318. A few other educated or acculturated caciques were considered also incapable of living without the tutelage of the Christians, such as cacique el Dotor in Santiago and don Francisco in Bonao.

[13] Fernando Colón, A. Fournier (trans.), Histoire de la vie et des voyages de l’amiral Christophe Colombe, 387. The violence and outrages committed by the Europeans against indigenous women were a frequent cause of unrest.

[14] Luis Joseph Peguero, Historia de la Conquista de la isla Española, Tomo Primero, 67-68.

[15] Émile Nau, Histoire des caciques d'Haïti, 127, 186.

[16] Sven Loven, Origins of the Tainan Culture, 76, 529. He also claimed Mayobanex had given one of his wives to Guarionex, a claim we have not seen in the sources.

[17] Ricardo Alegría, “Cacicazgo Among the Aborigines of the West Indies,” 76.

[18] Bernardo Vega, Los Cacicazgos de la Hispaniola, 17, 26.

[19] Gilbert Valmé, Atabey, Yacayequey, Caney: 6000 ans d'aménagement territorial préhispanique sur l'île d'Ayiti: Haïti/République Dominicaine: une approche holistique du patrimoine aux Antilles: les paysages culturels, 178, 181, 225.

[20] José R. Oliver, Caciques and Cemi Idols: The Web Spun by Taino Rulers Between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, 107-108. One can see this perhaps being used by Guarionex’s predecessors to consolidate their chiefdom’s hegemonic position in La Vega and Cibao, extending or contracting based on the skills of the caciques in politics. When Guarionex failed to successfully eradicate the destructive impact of the Spanish tribute system, he appears to have lost support in the coalition Maguá once dominated. In fact, when he fled to the territory of Mayobanex, 3000 Indians joined the Spanish against him and his allies there. Even Mayobanex’s people wanted Guarionex to be surrendered to the Spanish to end the Christian attacks on their communities. See Anderson-Córdova, Surviving Spanish Conquest: Indian Fight, Flight, and Cultural Transformation in Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, 190.

[21] Samuel Wilson, Hispaniola: Caribbean Chiefdoms in the Age of Columbus, 80-81.

[22] Ibid., 102.

[23] Ibid., 107. The 12 Christians who captured Guarionex and Mayobanex used bixa to change their skin color to black and red, then sneaked into the area where Mayobanex and Guarionex were hiding. Blackface was also used by the US Marine who captured Charlemagne Péralte.

Chalirati

Whilst randomly searching through the Drake Manuscript online for another topic, we came across a familiar animal. Called chalirati here, we suspect it to be a deformation of a Kalinago word for the ray, Chibáli. According to Breton's dictionary, the word was also used to describe the arrows made using the tail of this animal. By the 1600s, the word for the arrow made from the tail of this ray was also used to describe mixed-race people born to Indian men and black women among the Caribs, chibárali. Yet for blacks without any Amerindian admixture, the word used for them was the Kalinago term for the black triggerfish, chiboulli. Why the term for a mixed Black/Indian person was the same as that used for an arrow tipped with the tail of a venomous ray is not clear, but could have been connected to the skin color of such individuals and the ray in question? Based on the Drake Manuscript, it seems to have been brownish in color? 

We are still curious about the other terms used by the Kalinago for mixed-race blacks. One term, cachionna, which may be linked etymologically to the Arawakan-derived term for the Sun among the "Island Caribs." This word was used for children born to white men and black women, as well as Indian men and black women. 

A Tentative Reconstruction of the Maguana Chiefdom, Hispaniola

The island on the Axis Mundi with San Juan de la Maguana as the center of the world (in Valmé, Atabey, Yucayequey, Caney : 6000 ans d'amenagement territorial prehispanique sur l'ile d'Ayiti / Haiti/ Republique Dominicaine).

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 20^th 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.