The Taíno Indian: Culture and Gods worship.

About 50,000 years ago, a group of species came together to become one. This group was called the Taíno. Later became a culture for Puerto Rico from generations. The Taíno Indians are a subgroup of the Arawakan Indians. The Taíno culture impressed both the Spanish (who observed it) and modern sociologists. The Arawakan achievements included construction of ceremonial ballparks whose boundaries were marked by upright stone dolmens, development of a universal language, and creation of a complicated religious cosmology. They imagined many Gods that controlled different situations for the environment. There was a hierarchy of deities who inhabited the sky. Deities are goddess women that are praised as holy gods and worshiped as. Yocahu was the supreme Creator. Another god, Jurakán, was perpetually angry and ruled the power of the hurricane. Other mythological figures were the gods Zemi and Maboya. The zemis, a god of both sexes, were represented by icons in the form of human and animal figures, and collars made of wood, stone, bones, and human remains. Taíno Indians believed that being in the good graces of their zemis protected them from disease, hurricanes, or disaster in war. They therefore served cassava (manioc) bread as well as beverages and tobacco to their zemis as propitiatory offerings. Maboyas, on the other hand, was a nocturnal deity who destroyed the crops and was feared by all the natives, to the extent that elaborate sacrifices were offered to placate him. Taíno Indians used many tools to praise the gods. They would draw symbols that would praise each god. Many symbols looked as if it was from an alien planet or created by extraterrestrials. Other symbols however looked more native and well described. As I interviewed my ancestor, I came to realize that the tribe had its own cult. This cult would praise Maboyas and would send sacrifices for this god. Sadly, these sacrifices were members of the cult. During this time cult members would steal other Indians from other tribes and used them for sacrifices for the god Maboyas. This situation started a war of different tribes in Puerto Rico. One of the conflicting tribes was the Caribs. Fierce, warlike, sadistic, and adept at using poison-tipped arrows, they raided Taíno settlements for slaves (especially females) and bodies for the completion of their rites of cannibalism. Later on tribe leaders would settle the war and resolve the issue with peace. From then on Chiefs were in command of different tribes and created a democracy like culture. The Taíno Indians lived in theocratic kingdoms and had a hierarchically arranged chiefs or caciques. The Taínos were divided in three social classes: the naborias (work class), the nitaínos or sub-chiefs and noblemen which includes the bohiques or priests and medicine men and the caciques or chiefs, each village or yucayeque had one. After Ponce De Leon came to conquer the land, Taíno Indians still presented their culture and kept their lifestyle. The cults that worshiped the Gods faded away and the wars settled down to peace. Still today Taíno Indians and cultures similar still has the belief of more than one God and how each God controls a environmental change on Earth. The tribe could be in fact one of the first to present their worships to more than one God.

Art cannot be explained in a definition. The meaning can be a broad explanation that expands forever. The concept cannot be describe in one context but in many context. Many people have their opinions on what art means to them or what they think art is. If one can look up the definition of art there would be many definitions of art. In the book it explains two different contexts of art. The two types of definitions of art are honorific and classificatory. The honorific definition focuses on properties of the work of art that make it ”good art.” Realism, Expressionism, Formalism and Postmodernist theory are the four main honorific definitions and help to define a good work of art. Classificatory is less focused on defining a good work of art and more on labeling generally what is art and what isn’t.

Overall there are many statements and concepts of what art is. To an artist perpestive, art can be seen through everyone. It is everywhere in the world and can be viewed in many ways, shapes and forms. Art creates beauty, sexuality, negativity, astounshment, and so much more. Art is part of life and art cannot be taken away from existence.