‘The pertinence of the cultural and artistic contributions of the First Peoples to contemporary Caribbean society particularly in Trinidad and Tobago’.
Before the intrusive arrival of the economically ambitioned Europeans, generations of First Peoples inhabited the Caribbean islands as far as 6,000 years ago in the pre-Columbian era. They migrated into the Caribbean from Central and South America during two distinct phases: the archaic period from around 5000BC – 200BC and the saladoid period from around 500BC – 600AD. The First Peoples of Trinidad and Tobago were subdivided into various ethnic groups, the most well-known being the Ciboneys, Arawaks and Caribs. The population consisted of seven (7) tribes and four (4) subtribes:
Tribes:
Aruacas
Chaimas
Tamanaques
Chaguanes
Salives
QuaQuas
Caribes
Sub-tribes:
Neposios
Yaios
Carinepagotos
Cumanagotos
In 1592, at the time of Spanish settlement the Amerindian population was an estimated 40,000. However, their contact with these settlers, led to significant decreases to approximately 15,000-20,000 natives.
The First Peoples have always harmoniously co-existed with the land and all life shared within its expanse. Their affinities with the land is evident as accounts of practices such as placing fish into each hole dug for planting corn, beans or watermelons was compensation for mother earth for having disturbed her in the necessary activity of planting the soil. The First Peoples continued production over the thousands of years before the Europeans as they practiced environmental sustainability. As the conquistadors changed patterns, food security became an issue and the sacred attachments to the land was severely damaged.
However, despite the devastating effects of the Columbian-exchange, the First Peoples descendants still reside in Trinidad and Tobago and by extension across the Caribbean region. They have made attempts to revive their way of life.
In Trinidad and Tobago their contributions to society include:
- Natural features such as Tapana, Nariva and the Aripo mountains; the Aripo and Tamana Caves; the Caroni, Oropouche and Ortoire rivers
- Place names including Arima, Paria, Salybia, Caura, Arouca, Tacarigua, Chaguanas, Carapichaima, Couva, Chacachacare, Mucurapo, Guaico, Caratal, Guayaguayare , Mayaro and others
- Plants and animals such as carat and timite palms, tobacco, cacao, ceiba (silk cotton tree), maize, manicou, agouti, lappe and many more
- Towns and villages are built on ancient Amerindian settlement sites
- Some roads are built on old Amerindian trails which include the Tumpuna Road in Arima and part of the Siparia-Quinam road
- Parang music utilizing both Spanish and Amerindian instruments emanated from the evangelization of the Amerindians
- Arima and Siparia, two large Amerindian mission towns home to two oldest festivals: The Santa Rosa festival and La Divina Pastora
- Wild meat, cocoa, cassava, roucou, corn, maize, chardon beni, warap and barbecue-ing
History Of First Peoples Art
The early inhabitants of the New World migrated to North America from Asia more than thirty thousand years ago. Their descendants reached the Southernmost inhabited regions of South America at least eleven thousand years ago. Yet when Europeans reached the Guiana Coast, they found a stone age people, with no written language and a primitive art, some of which has persisted to the present day. These people lived at the subsistence level and found little leisure to devote themselves to study themselves. Their art consisted chiefly of decoration and decorative designs on implements and articles in everyday use, such as pots and baskets and the use of animal and legendary designs for various purposes. Much of it displays much imagination and skill but must still be classed as primitive. Body painting was also practiced.
Other forms of art consisted of Rock Paintings and Carvings. These are distributed over a wide area of Northern South America. They display some definite form and creative ability but their purpose has not been discovered. Significant differences tend to show that they were done by different groups. Animal and human figures are common and they seem to depict legends, myths or significant events in tribal history.
Amerindian art still represents early stages of man’s history. Painting of the body and the use of bright pigments are still common in some tribes. Tattooing is less common. These are some of the simplest forms of Primitive Art and are common in many parts of the world. . Among the Guiana tribes, designs vary from simple geometrical forms to rather intricate patterns often showing an appreciation of symmetry and effect. As the tribes advanced and acquired some leisure, more effort was devoted to decoration; even stone articles were more finely finished and polished. Punctured designs in pottery gave way to incisions and painted designs. Clay figures of legendary beasts and creatures of the wild or the supernatural were used to decorate pottery. Animal designs were also used in basketry work. Designs were fashioned after animals and as civilization developed domestic and other articles ceased to be plain. As contact with other tribes led to trade, design and decoration acquired an added importance and creative art received a new stimulus. This effect is very obvious up to the present day in many forms of Amerindian art. Especially so in scraped and incised decoration on pottery. Clay figurines of legendary and mythic creatures were also used as ornaments on trade pottery.
Generally a higher degree of ornament is apparent in the manufacture of the interior tribes (Schomburghk). More elaborate patterns are seen in paddles, pottery of all sorts, some colorful feathers are worn and even hammocks are colored, Throughout, ornaments painted on pottery, weapons and walls are simple, mostly curved lines, drawn free hand and according to the will of the artist.
As an illustration of the themes outlined above rock carvings are the most striking and mysterious example of Amerindian art, they consisted of human and animal figures and line drawings. Unlike these carvings, paintings done in red and black pigments on shaded sandstone surfaces are of comparatively recent origin. Here again various figures are depicted.
There are also articles made of clay, in very common use, and even today these are used by remoter tribes; pottery decoration is of a high order.
The burial urns used by the interior tribes were constructed very simply; household articles of clay were often decorated with patterns. Some of the coastal regions were famous for decorated pottery.
The pottery of the early and less advanced tribes was plain and simple; as a higher stage of civilization was reached, much skill was devoted to finishing and decorating. When the earlier settlers arrived, pottery making had reached a fairly high level and often the articles were quite artistically decorated. Decoration was either punched, scraped, incised or painted, and often clay figures were added as further decoration. The warlike tribes of the Coast were particularly proud of their clubs, which they spent much time decorating. After an enemy had been felled by a blow with the sharp edge, he was finished off by punching the pointed end into his ear.
Perhaps the greatest skill of the Amerindian was exercised in the art of weaving hammocks; several native fibers were used and hammocks often took several months to finish; decorations consisted of patterns woven with colored threads and balls of wool. Among most tribes, basket making was, and still is the work of the men who are very skillful, turning them out in different shapes and for different purposes. Head-dresses of feathers were used by most tribes and feathers of several colorful birds were used. Bead aprons in intricate designs are still used by many tribes.
Music Of The First Peoples In The Caribbean
Musical behavior is always embedded in a particular context within the annual cycle of religious rituals. The types of music making and singing were determined by the agricultural cycle of the rainy season (when the dead is down and the harvest is brought in ) and the dry season ( when the earth is tended and plowed). The season also determined the kinds of musical instruments, melodies and dances that should be performed.
Some instruments played were:
Julajulas Panpipes-It is played in pairs whose male member had four stopped pipes and the female has three. The pipes of both instruments are tuned in sequential perfect fourths with the exception of one major 3rd. The seven tones produced by them form a descending anhemitonic pentatonic scale.
( D B A G E ) Each ensemble had 16 players or 8 pairs. The oldest pipes were played by the oldest musicians in the village.
Notched Flutes aka Kena-These are half stopped end blown flutes of various sizes with an infused pitch against which breath is directed. Ensemble consists of 12 to 24 instruments.
Vessel Flutes aka Waugu-Made of clay or the hull of a tropical fruit. It is played together with the Panpipes ensemble.
Natural Trumpets and Reeds aka Pututu and Wagra Pututu-These are animal horns that serve as signaling instruments and are used in the Panpipes ensemble.
Buleador-Made out of wood and animal skin.
Guiro-A gourd, a hollow, dried shell of a fruit carved with ridges. Usually played with a stick that is stroked up and down the carved side.
Places and palitos-Short pieces of wood struck to produce a clicking rhythm.
Cajones-Boxes used to sit on and create rhythms . They used various objects and surfaces that can be found in the household that was available.
Parang Music-This is popular at Christmas time in Trinidad and Tobago. It is a hybrid of Spanish and Amerindian musical styles. It was then therefore called Parang. Parang is derived from the Spanish word “Parranda”. It usually consists of the Cuatro, Guitar, Violin, Mandolin,Bandolin, Box bass.
Theatre Aspect Of First Peoples
Religious Beliefs
- Nature Worshipers who believed all natural things had their own mind and should be respected and treated as human beings.
- Religious worship and obeisance to the Cemie themselves.
- They believe in the Great Spirit who is the God they cannot see but, they also believe in Gods who became manifested through nature.
- Medicine men or priest consulting the Cemie for advice and hearing-this was done in public ceremonies with song and dance.
- They believed in good spirits and bad spirits. They have rituals for almost everything, for example when a child is born or before they plant their crops.
- During their rituals they prayed, chanted, danced and played their musical instruments for example the chac chac, whistles, drums.
- They smoked tobacco and burned other herbs to create sacred smoke.
- They believe everything in nature had its own life and it was treated as a human being with respect.
Language
There are many different Cariban Languages. In the Arawak tribe the male and females spoke a different language. They knew each other languages. It was said that the men and women did not necessarily spend too much time together as a man/boy would become soft being around a female environment. Cooking, cleaning and rearing children. Instead they spent the majority of their time hunting, fishing, nd learning to make tools and weapons.
Carib Tribe- Carib means ‘man’ or ‘brave man’ in the Carib languages such as galibi, kalina or karina. Arawak Tribe-This is the tribal name for themselves and comes from the name of their main crop cassava root. Some called themselves ‘lokono’ which means ‘the people.
Clothing
The First Peoples did not wear much clothing as a result of the tropical climate. The men wore only a fitted breechcloth. In some tribes the women wore short cotton skirts while in others they went naked except for beaded necklaces and belts. Some chiefs and other nobles would wear headbands ringed with parrot feathers. Women sometimes decorated their long hair with flowers. They often painted their faces and bodies using bright colors especially for battles and festivities. They also used different colored clay to dye their clothing and wash in seawater after to seal the colors in.
Leadership Structure
- Overall Chief – position usually inherited or elected, depending on circumstances at the time the position became vacant.
- Semichichi (Medicine man) – medicine man must be trained from a very young age or one can be born gifted for this work.
- War Chief or Main Warrior – who was elected based on his skills for the position.
- Elderly Female/Carib Queen- who was the keeper of traditions – a position also inherited in the first instance or can be selected depending on circumstances at the time.
- Two or three elders in the community who would be consulted from time to time by the Chief when a major decision is to be made on matters that will impact the community.
Hyarima
Hyarima was said to be born around the beginning of the 17th century and was probably Nepuyo, which was a tribe of Araucan. He grew up in one of the northern encomiendas, but it was not clear if this was Tacarigus or Arauca. Around 1625, he escaped from the slavery and harsh conditions of the encomienda into the northeastern area of the island which was outside Spanish control.
Hyarima’s military prowess, and relentless determination to rid his country of Spanish colonists made him the obvious choice for warchief. He was an able leader and a great warrior, and he soon formed military alliances with Amerindian groups in the neighbouring islands, as well as with Dutch traders in Tobago.
In 1636 and 1637, he joined with Dutch forces based in Tobago to raid Spanish outposts in Trinidad and along the Orinoci. On October 14th 1637 the most devastating attack was carried out against St. Joseph, the main Spanish settlement on the island. During the attack, the Church and town buildings were looted and burned to the ground, with significant loss of life. The destruction of the town forced the survivors to withdraw temporarily to the mainland.
Hyarima was both feared and respected by the Dutch and Spanish forces, who referred to him as ‘the great Chieftain of the Nepuyo people’, and his military activity in the North East of the island was one reason why the Spanish authorities were never able to effectively establish control of this area. His fierce and profound hatred of the Spanish extended to the Church and its missionaries and he resisted their entry into his lands.
It is often thought that Arima was named after Hyarima, but it is more likely that he took his name from Arima when elected Chieftain, as it was Araucan custom to name their Chiefs and Caciques after the villages and settlements.
Hyarima the folk hero has many attributes of the man – a great warrior and chieftan who devoted his life to preserving the way of life of his people and to expelling the Spanish invaders from their ancestral lands.
First Peoples Dance
Amerindian dances had distinct ritualized movements and features. Traditional dances tend to involve stamping or moving the legs and arms to a fairly regular rhythm with the rest of the trunk and head fairly straight and rigid. Dances in circles and lines were common usually with the genders separated; dancing in couples was extremely rare, if found at all. In Amerindian based religion dance was the open to communication with spirits and this the dance tradition is closely connected to religious ritual. Amerindian dances typically reflected aspects of nature and involved instruments such as whips, rods and shields. The steps were centered around walking, bending, hopping and stretching.
The sun dance (Native American) can be considered one of the rituals which incarnate practically all the major aspects of Amerindian spirituality. The sun dance expresses and celebrates the vital link of the human being with the Great Mystery and the spiritual powers. It incorporates a number of native symbols such as the circle, the medicine wheel, the tree of life, the sacred pipe and the four directions.
The Taino communities had the behiques, also called bohutis, religious functionaries who presided at ceremonial gatherings and provided therapeutic services to individuals in times of sickness. Their characteristic mode of operation was shamanistic in nature; that is, they served their communities and individuals by mediating contacts with the supernatural realm and providing healing. Apparently, some caciques possessed spiritual gifts that allowed them to double as behiques. Along with the caciques, behiques officiated at community ceremonies, including marriages, funerals, and preparation for, or celebration of, battles. The most important ceremony was the arieto, a dance celebration that featured a retelling or reenactment of the myths that undergirded the Tainos sense of themselves. During the arieto, the zemis and ancestors were venerated and propitiated. An arieto usually began with fasting and a purification rite in which a spatula was used to induce vomiting.
They lived closed to the forces of nature and used dance to conciliate those forces. Dance for them was apart of their religion, ritual dances were their assurance against the natural enemies of their lives. Their patterns of movement were geometrical in structure, upright torsos, restricted body movements, light but swift footwork, with all motions directed to the appeasement of their Gods. They were fond of dancing; their songs were called arietos and their musical instruments consisted of rattles, gourds, chac chacs, the flute and the reed.
‘All peoples contribute to the diversity and richness of civilisations and cultures, which constitute the common heritage of humankind.’ -United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Educators must ensure information about First Peoples history is passed on. It is important for current and future generations to truly appreciate the factors that have shaped Trinidad and Tobago as a country and a society. Though the First Peoples population was gravely depleted by the clash of worlds that occurred in the 15th century, the impact of the First Peoples remains profound. Names such as Arima, Mayaro, Chaguanas, Guayaguayare, Mucurapo, Aripo, Tamana, Oropouche, and Ortoire bear witness to this, as well as our flora and fauna: carat, timite, tobacco, cacao, manicou, agouti and lappe.
Like the Orishas, dance was a part of their religion. In Carnival the Fancy Indian mas bands tell a story that a thousand history books have never told. Underlying the colourful feathers and intricate wire-bending is a surprising solemnity. Like African drums that accompany the Nation Dances to the beating of the Tassa at Hosay Celebrations, Parang music serenades at Christmas. From Edith Martinez to Jennifer Cassar the very own Carib Queens of Arima. Great warriors like Hyarima and Chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez are great figures in our history in a hall of fame next to persons like Beryl McBurnie and writers like Errol Hill.
Their marks have been left in the fields of: art, music, theatre and dance and in many ways are reflected in our heterogeneous society and even more than we truly recognize.
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Written by the members of Elysian:
Nazim Mohammed
Rhonda Huggins
Georgia Huggins
Carlon George
Nickolai Hackshaw
Aneeia Ramdhan
Kharysa Gabriel
April Lewis
Ateion Jones
Brilliant Ash
caribbean lab 