The Arawaks of Jamaica

Welcome to Ami Learning Hub. This website was created by Shauna-kay Austin initially to assist students in understanding and building prior knowledge about Arawak of Jamaica.

Did you know that Arawak came to Jamaica before Christopher Columbus?

Well, if you do not know you have to stick around and you will learn a lot more about the Arawak of Jamaica!!!!

https://www.emaze.com/@aiolfizq 

Your task for this lesson is the following:

• Learn about the route traveled by the Amerindians.
• Learn about the Arawak's culture.  

HAVE FUN WHILE LEARNING!!

Hello students!! Before we dive into our lesson, let's watch an informative video about the Arawak. Click on this link to watch the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_CzfvBM5A8

Evaluation to see how much you score, click on Submit Quiz for Marking

STEP ONE:

 Click this link to complete a fun quiz to test your knowledge about the Arawak:

http://www.myquizzes.ca/viewquiz.asp?quiz_id=18148&quizname=Arawaks

The goal of this quiz: To test your knowledge about the Arawak

Make sure you take notes

Once you have completed the Quiz we can move on to our next step... conclusion

http://www.ngopulse.org/article/effective-csi-programmes-need-evaluation

Number of correct answers _____

Number of incorrect answers _____

Candidates result: _______ (Pass/Fail)

Now that you have finished the lesson you should feel a sense of accomplishment!!! Very good work! Here is a review of what you have learned.

The Arawak of Jamaica was like those Columbus found in the other islands. The Arawak were clear-brown in colour. They were short, small built d well-shaped. They had coarse black hair and flat foreheads. This was because boards were tied to the back and front of the heads of their children; this was done to give them hard heads for protection against their enemies’ weapons. It is said that those people were peaceful, simple, and kind.

What language does the Arawak speak?

They speak their native language which is the Arawak language, also known as Lokono. Many Arawak were also bilingual in Spanish, English, French, and Dutch, depending on which country their community is located.

Religion

The Arawak had their own religion. They believed in an ale god who they called ‘Yocahuna.’ They also believed in a female god. They prayed to a number of spirits and images called ‘Zemes’.

The Provinces and the Caciques

Jamaica was divided into provinces (one of the principal administrative divisions of a country or empire). Each province was ruled by a Cacique. A Cacique was usually the son of a Cacique who had died. If a Cacique died and had no son, the eldest son of his eldest sister would become Cacique. The Cacique wore a crown of green, white, and red stones and a cape of feathers.

He was their law-maker, their judge, and their Chief Priest. The village headman helped him to rule. He was greatly respected by his people. All villagers had to obey him. The main duty of the Cacique was to organize the work of the village. This was done in workgroups. Everyone shared in the work to provide for the needs of the villages. The Cacique decided when fields should be planted and when new ones should be cleared. He also led his people in many festivals and religious ceremonies. The Arawak believed that through the Cacique, their gods told them what to do.

 

Enjoyment

These first ‘Jamaica’ were a pleasure-loving people. They enjoyed dancing, singing, playing batos, and smoking. Many festivals were held during the years. Such festivals include the naming of a child, the wedding of a Cacique, and even harvest time.

Pleasure and recreation

The Arawak must have led very happy lives before the coming of the Spaniards. Life was easy, their diet ample and varied and they were kindly and more humane than other Amerindians. Columbus noted that they were very honest and stole nothing from the Sympathy, generosity, and putting others before themselves were other virtues noted by Columbus.

The Arawak had ample leisure time which they occupied with singing, dancing, and reciting epic poems called areytos. Women and men usually danced separately but sometimes both sexes danced together. On these occasions, the pleasure of drinking was added. They also had a ball game, known as batos, which was played on the Batey with two teams trying to hit the ball with any part of the body into their opponent’s goal line, a game somewhere between volleyball and football. The most well-known of the Arawak pleasures was that of smoking. The Arawak called the tobacco plant cohiba, and tobacco referred to the pipe in which the leaves were smoked. The Arawak liked tobacco for peace and contentment, and for helping them to meditate. They made cigar, chewed tobacco, and smoke it in pipes, which was the method they enjoyed most of all.

Before the Spaniards came to the Caribbean the Arawak lived a peaceful life. They feared only drought, hurricanes, and sudden attacks from the Caribs. However, when the Spaniards came to Jamaica, they changed the life of the Arawak. One of the reasons the Spaniards gave for coming was they had come to teach the Arawak about Christianity. However, very little was done to teach Christianity to them. The Spaniards showed more interest in getting wealth in whatever way they could.

They tortured and killed the Arawak to get their land. They made them work very hard. Each Arawak man and woman had to work six to eight months each year for a Spanish master. The Spaniards over-worked and under-fed the Arawak, some of them died of hunger. European diseases such as measles and smallpox killed many more. Others killed themselves. Mothers often killed their children rather than let them live to be slaves to the Spaniards. Many died from Spanish torture.

 

The role of the church

Because Spain was the spearhead of colonisation in the New World, she was expected to carry Christianity to the pagans there. Colonising expeditions would not dare to leave for the New World without the blessing of the Pope as head of the church. The Pope imposed the condition that the colonizers had to convert the heathen to Christianity. Although most of the early Spanish settlers had little regard for religion and still less for converting the native people, sometimes natives were sent back to Spain to be converted. By 1655, when the English took over Jamaica, the Arawak had been all wiped out. Today, a few remains of the Arawaks way of life can be found at White Marl on Caymanas Estate.

 References

Browne, W. Dunn-Smith, P. (1998).Carlong Secondary Social Studies Book 1

Jamaica: Living Together In Society. Carlong Publishers (Caribbean) Limited Pages 75-79

P, Karl. Gammon, M. Grant, G. (1977). The Arawak of Jamaica. Supplementary Reading Materials- Levels 3 Series 3 History/Cultural Patterns. Jamal Foundation 1977 Pages 3-16

Dyde, B. Greenwood, R. Hamber, S. CSEC Amerindians to Africans 3rd edition MACMILLAN CARIBBEAN Pages 10-14

LESSON OBJECTIVES

a. Cognitive Objective- The student will be able to build on prior knowledge about the Arawak of Jamaica.

b. Affective Objective- The student will be able to share their feelings about The Arawak of Jamaica by writing journals.

c. Psychomotor Objective- The student will be able to role-play drama pieces concluding the lesson.

 

The following are the lesson objectives used to create this webquest:

1. Explain briefly the route the Amerindians took to get to the Caribbean.

2. Describe the Arawak of Jamaica in terms of their physical appearance.

3. State the type of language used by these people.

1. Define the term religion.

2. Briefly state what is the Arawak's religion is about.

3. List some of the Arawak's pleasure and recreational activities.

1. Outline the reasons the Spaniards came to the Caribbean.

2. Describe/illustrate the treatment the Arawak received from the Spaniards.

3. State the role of the church in the New World.