Central+American+Mythology

===﻿ Central American Mythology ===

Introduction:
Central American Mythology mainly focuses on the Natives from the caribbean. In 1492 columbus ran into the Arawaks, the first American aborigines. They would settle at an island and then kept moving to others. Later they were driven out by the Caribs. The Caribs were the second group of Indians met by columbus on the Antilles, and even at that time the name was a synonym for ﻿ "cannibals". The Caribs would kill the Arawak men and capture the women, making them slaves.

The map shows an Island of the Caribs and the Arawaks before it was colonised by spain.

=__ Arawaks __=

** __Introduction__: **
The Arawaks were though to have first settled on the borderland between Bolivia, Peru and the forests between the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers. They migrated northeast to Venezuela and Guyana, where some settled while the rest pushed across the Caribbean. They usually settled on the first island they came to and after a few years they would move again. The reason for this is still somewhat of a mystery today. A sound reason for this sort of 'behavior' was that the coast and islands gave rise to a much easier life in comparison with the harsh jungle climate and equally dangerous animals.

**__ Appearance and dress: __** The Spaniards and other Europeans gave good descriptions of the Arawaks and it can be learned about their appearance from related tribes in South America today. [|Columbus] described the Arawaks and Caribs "as a people in their original simplicity…stark naked as they were born, men and women". It appeared that they were physically weak in comparison with the Africans and Europeans. The picture below shows a typical Arawak family. The Arawaks were considered naturally good-looking but distorted their features by artificial means. Their heads were flattened at the foreheads as babies when the skull was bound between two boards. This elongated head was considered as a mark of beauty. This may have been done to thicken the skull thus it could withstand heavy blows. Tales were told of Spaniards who broke their swords on Arawak heads.The Arawaks saw gold as nothing more than a form of decoration and were ready to trade it with the Europeans. They were bewildered at Columbus' excitement when he saw a woman with a "little gold plate hanging at her nose" and immediately ordered her to be brought on board his ship. It was the first western gold seen by any European.



The Arawaks were subsistence farmers, growing food mainly for their own needs and with a little left over for trade. Women did the planting and were responsible for the preparation of food. Maize was widely grown in the Greater Antilles.Cotton and tobacco were also grown. The Arawaks ate a variety of other fruits and vegetables including pineapples, star apples, naseberries, guavas and cashews. The Arawaks did not touch mammy apples as they believed that it was food for the dead. The picture on the right shows some of the crops that they grew.Since there were no large animals in the Caribbean islands, then it was natural for the Amerindians to focus more on fishing rather than hunting. Huge piles of shells were found on the remains of campsites suggesting that snails, barnacles, shellfish and crab played an important role in the diets of the early West Indian peoples. The Arawaks had two types of houses. The bohio was the cacique's house, but the name was applied loosely to all houses. Because of his status, the bohio should be rectangular, but the Arawaks found that building this was difficult, so a round house was used instead. The other was the caneye or family house. The construction of these houses is rather simple. Wooden posts were put into the ground in a circle and canes were woven between them and tied with creepers. The roof was thatched in a conical shape and a hole was left at the top to allow smoke to escape. There were no windows and only an opening was left for a door. The houses were thoroughly built and could withstand hurricanes.
 * __ Survival: __**
 * __ Housing: __**





__** Religion: **__ The basis for the Arawak religion was a mixture of Zemism and spiritualism with emphasis on nature worship, ancestor worship and protective magic. They believed in a sky-god and an earth-goddess. Since both the sky-god and earth-goddess were too far away to affect them, the Arawaks believed that there were many nature gods and ancestral spirits who controlled the wind, rain, sickness, fire, hurricanes, luck, misfortune and fertility, in the case of the earth-goddess. Each of these gods were represented by a zemi, which were idols made from wood, bone, stone or shell in the form of a human or animal.Arawaks believed that trees, rivers and rocks were the homes of evil spirits. They wore amulets to protect themselves, painted their bodies with sacred designs and took specially prepared medicine. In addition, they also believed in spirits called opia, which belonged to the dead, who returned at night to enter their bodies. For this reason they ventured out at night only in groups, and protected themselves by wearing //[|zemis]// around their necks or on their foreheads. =__ Caribs: __= The Caribs are believed to have migrated from the orinoco River area in South America to settle in the Caribbean islands about 1200 AD. The Carib islanders traded with the Eastern Taíno of the Caribbean Islands. The Caribs produced the silver which Ponce de Leon found in Taino communities. None of the insular Amerindians mined for gold, but obtained it by trade from the mainland. The Caribs were skilled boatbuilders and sailors. They appeared to have owed their dominance in the Caribbean basin to their mastery of warfare.The Caribs were displaced by the Europeans with a great loss of life; most fatalities resulting from Eurasian infectious diseases to which they had no immunity, as well as warfare. Others were assimilated during the colonial period; a few retained areas such as in Dominica. Small populations survive, specifically in the Carib Territory in northeast Dominica. ====
 * __ Introduction: __**

__Religion:__
The Carib are believed to have been polytheists. As the Spanish began to colonize the Caribbean area, they wanted to convert the natives to Catholicism. The [|Kalingo] religion practiced by the Carib had elements similar to the ancestor worship of the Taino. They believed in an evil spirit called Maybouya, who had to be placated for an individual to avoid harm. The chief function of their shamans, called buyeis, was to heal the sick with herbs and to cast spells which would keep Maybouya at bay. The buyeis were very important and underwent special training instead of becoming warriors. As they were held to be the only people who could avert evil, they were treated with great respect. Their ceremonies were accompanied with sacrifices. As with the Arawaks and other native americans, the Carib smoked tobacco in the rituals of their religion. Picture on right shows a Carib family.

Central american myths

__ Citations __
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 * http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03348a.htm
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