Family: The Indians in Borinquen (Puerto Rico) lived in groups of individual families just as we do. The family was made up of the father, mother, and children. The father’s job was to teach the boys the tribe’s history, as well as respect and obedience towards their cacique or chief. The father would also teach the boys how to hunt, fish, and make weapons in case of war.
The mother’s job was to teach the girls how to prepare the family’s meals. She also taught them how to make utensils using clay, as well as how to make hammocks for sleeping. The mother and daughters also cultivated the fields.
The small children’s job was to keep the birds from eating the fruits and vegetables in the fields. Every member of the family had a job to perform.
Government: The cacique was the highest authority in the political, social and religious life of the tribe. He was assisted by a group of warriors and old wise men from the tribe called “Nitainos.” The cacique distributed all the duties that were needed in order to keep the tribe running in an organized, prosperous manner. To some he assigned the cultivation of the land; to others, the fishing or hunting, etc.
When the tribe was in danger, the cacique would get together with the group of men that assisted him and they would decide on the best way to act.
When a cacique died, the oldest son of his sisters would inherit his position.
Agriculture: The main occupation for the Indians was agriculture. They cultivated a number of fruits and vegetables, as well as tobacco and cotton. The Indians used a long stick of wood to make holes in the ground to plant the seeds. Each tribe had its own fields which the women would start working early in the morning supervised by the cacique and his assistants. During harvest time the Indians celebrated with big feasts to give thanks to the gods for protecting their land.
Fishing: Fishing was another occupation for the Indians. On the beach they would gather clams, oysters, shells, etc. In the water they would use a fishing rod, which they made out of wood and cotton thread.
Turtles were another favorite food for the Indians. They would catch the turtles when they came on the beach to lay their eggs.
Clothing: The Indians wore very little clothing, and generally walked about almost naked. Married women wore small pieces of clothing resembling an apron tied around the waist; they were called naguas and were made of cotton woven by them. It was also the custom for both men and women to wear strings of cotton tied around the ankles and forearms.
Indians also liked to paint their faces and bodies with white and black colors which they obtained from plants and minerals. This served a double purpose, as an adornment and to keep the mosquitoes away.
On their head, Indians wore brightly colored feathers from birds that inhabited the island during that time. They also wore jewelry which they made out of shells, stones, and bones as well as small figures representing their gods or animals, which they believed brought them protection and good luck.
Hunting: The Indians did not have a lot of the domestic animals we have today. Horses, cows, goats, chickens, cats, etc. were brought over from Spain after the island was discovered by Christopher Columbus. The Indians had, however, a great variety of birds including parrots which were a favorite dish, and some small animals which they caught using a bow and arrow.
Transportation: The canoe was the only means of transportation for the Indians to travel across rivers and lakes. The Indians made the canoes out of hollowed tree trunks. Some tree trunks were long enough to carry seventy men plus provisions. Inland the Indians would travel on foot, except the cacique, who had a special chair with handles for the others to carry him.
Furniture: The Indians had very little furniture in their homes or “bohios.” The most important piece of furniture was the bed, a hammock, which was made of cotton threads woven together or from fibers from a plant called “maguey.” The Indians hung the hammocks from beams on the ceiling of their bohios.
The chief of the tribe and other important men in the tribe also had stools to sit on. They were made out of stone or wood and were called “dujos”.
Entertainment: The favorite form of entertainment for the Indians was playing softball. The Indians gathered into two teams; they could be from their own tribe, or from a neighboring tribe. The ball was made from the roots of small plants which they covered with resin from some trees, which, after it dried, would make the ball bounce. The Indians made up rules and whichever team dropped the ball the most, lost the game.
Each of these aspects of Indian life will be studied separately, one day apiece, giving time enough to analyze the reading, get into class discussions, have film presentations, visit the museum, and participate in other activities related to the unit.
Words to learn: migration, wigwams, hereditary, tradition, till, rite, trapped
