Arawak People

1. The Arawak People (Lokono)

The original Arawak homeland included:

• Northern South America (Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela)

• The Orinoco River basin

• Later migrations into the Caribbean islands

They were master:

• Farmers (cassava/yuca, maize, sweet potato)

• Canoe builders and navigators

• Potters and weavers

• Astronomical and spiritual knowledge keepers

They lived in circular villages, practiced communal land stewardship, and valued balance with nature.

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2. Arawak and the Taíno Connection

The Taíno of the Caribbean were an island branch of the Arawakan peoples.

So:

Arawak = the great root

Taíno = one sacred branch of that tree

Taíno culture carried Arawakan:

• Language structure

• Zemi (spirit/ancestor deity) traditions

• Cassava bread technology

• Ball courts (batey)

• Clan systems

• Cosmology of sky, sea, and underworld

When Europeans first arrived in the Caribbean, most of the people they called “Arawak” were actually Taíno.

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3. The Arawakan Language Family

This family once stretched across:

• The Caribbean

• Amazon basin

• Andes foothills

• Central South America

Major groups include:

• Lokono (Arawak proper)

• Taíno (extinct but partially reconstructed)

• Wayuu

• Asháninka

• Baniwa

• Campa peoples

It is one of the widest-spread Indigenous language families in the world.

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4. Spiritual Worldview (Simplified)

Arawakan cosmology is based on:

• Three realms: Sky World, Earth World, Water/Underworld

• Ancestral spirits guiding the living

• Sacred balance between human life and natural forces

• Use of chants, cohoba (sacred snuff among Taíno), and ceremony to commune with spirits

The world is not “owned” but stewarded.

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5. Legacy

Despite colonization, disease, and violence:

• Arawak descendants still live in South America and the Caribbean

• Languages like Lokono and Wayuu are still spoken

• Taíno identity is being revived in Puerto Rico, DR, Cuba, and the diaspora

Their legacy lives on in:

• Words: canoe, hammock, barbecue, tobacco, cassava

• Crops that feed the world

• Caribbean culture

• Sacred symbols and cosmology

THE ARAWAK WORLD MAP (Root → Branches)

ROOT ORIGIN (Mainland South America)

Orinoco River Basin

• Modern: Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname

• People: Lokono (true Arawak)

• Role: Ancestral source / mother culture

This is where Arawakan language, agriculture (cassava/yuca), cosmology, and navigation knowledge formed.

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CARIBBEAN EXPANSION (Island Branch)

Migrated north by canoe over generations:

Greater Antilles

• Puerto Rico

• Hispaniola (DR & Haiti)

• Cuba

• Jamaica

People: Taíno (Island Arawak)

They carried:

• Zemi spirit system

• Batey ball courts

• Cassava bread

• Clan-based society

• Sky–Earth–Water cosmology

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AMAZONIAN & ANDEAN BRANCHES

South & west expansion into:

• Brazil (Amazon basin)

• Peru

• Colombia

• Bolivia

Major Arawakan peoples:

• Asháninka

• Baniwa

• Campa

• Machiguenga

These kept forest-based spiritual systems and plant medicine traditions.

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NORTHERN COAST BRANCH

Along the Caribbean coast of South America:

• Venezuela

• Colombia

People:

• Wayuu

• Añu

Still Arawakan speakers today.

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SPIRITUAL GEOGRAPHY (How Arawak saw the world)

Not just land — but cosmic layers: SKY WORLD

     (Sun, Moon, Ancestors)

           │

           │

       EARTH WORLD

   (People, forests, villages)

           │

           │

    WATER / UNDERWORLD

(Spirits, memory, origins) The Caribbean Sea itself was seen as a sacred corridor — not a barrier.

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In short:

• Arawak = the great trunk

• Taíno = island branch

• Amazonian & Andean peoples = southern branches

• Wayuu & coastal groups = northern branches

One civilization.

Many cultures.

Many songs.