Life After Death: Taíno Burial & Ceremonial Sites
The Taíno Indians who lived in Puerto Rico before Europeans came here were ruled by caciques, or chiefs, who controlled their own villages and several others nearby. The Taínos believed in life after death, which led them to take extreme care in burying their dead. Personal belongings of the deceased were placed in the tomb with the newly dead, and bodies were carefully arranged in a squatting position. Near Ponce, visitors can see the oldest known Indian burial ground in the Antilles, the Tibes Indian Ceremonial Center.
Even at the time of the arrival of Columbus and the conquistadores who followed, the Taínos were threatened by the warlike and cannibalistic Carib Indians coming up from the south. But though they feared the Caribs, they learned to fear the conquistadores even more. Within 50 years of the Spanish colonization, the Taíno culture had virtually disappeared, the Indians annihilated through either massacres or European diseases.
But Taíno blood and remnants of their culture live on. The Indians married with Spaniards and Africans, and their physical characteristics -- straight hair, copper-colored skin, and prominent cheekbones -- can still be seen in some Puerto Ricans today. Many Taíno words became part of the Spanish language that's spoken on the island even today. Hammocks, the weaving of baskets, and the use of gourds as eating receptacles are part of the heritage left by these ill-fated tribes.
Still standing near Utuado, a small mountain town, Parque Ceremonial Indígena-Caguaña (Indian Ceremonial Park at Caguaña), Rte. 111, Km 12.3 (tel. 787/894-7325), was built by the Taínos for recreation and worship some 800 years ago. Stone monoliths, some etched with petroglyphs, rim several of the 10 bateyes (playing fields) used for a ceremonial game that some historians believe was a forerunner to soccer. The monoliths and petroglyphs, as well as the dujos (ceremonial chairs), are extant examples of the Taínos' skill in carving wood and stone.
Archaeologists have dated this site to approximately 2 centuries before Europe's discovery of the New World. It is believed that the Taíno chief Guarionex gathered his subjects on this site to celebrate rituals and practice sports. Set on a 13-acre (5.3-hectare) field surrounded by trees, some 14 vertical monoliths with colorful petroglyphs are arranged around a central sacrificial stone monument. The ball complex also includes a museum, which is open daily from 8:30am to 4pm; admission is $2, free for children under 2.
There is also a gallery called Herencia Indígena, where you can purchase Taíno relics at reasonable prices, including the sought-after Cemis (Taíno idols) and figures of the famous little frog, the coquí. The Taínos are long gone, and much that was here is gone, too. This site is of special interest to those with academic pursuits, but of only passing interest to the lay visitor.
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