Language of the Voiceless: Traces of Taino Language, Food, and Culture in the Americas From 1492 to the Present

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Con frutas de siguapas y macaguas
Y muchas pitajayas olorosas 111 ;
In the poem above we are yet again presented with an early colonial Spanish
intertwined with Taino words, traditions and ritualistic symbolism. Words like naguas,
siguapas, pitahayas and macaguas seem to be part of a new bicultural tradition in
process of development.
CHAPTER 3 | THE TIERRA FIRME OR MAINLAND
From this point of Diaz del Castillo’s narrative we encounter the new cultural and
linguistic reality of the people of the continental lands. Prior to this moment, most
descriptions about the native cultures of the Americas were related to the Taino and
their relatives along the Caribbean, Darién, and other scattered kingdoms in Central
America. However, it is the invasion of New Spain that will mark the cusp of the Spanish
empire and solidify its grasp over the rest of the continent. The Taino words
encountered in this section of the text (given the significance of this event) were part of
the beginning of a new mestizo culture that became the dominant culture of the
Americas. It is important to note that this happened in large measure because 90% of
the indigenous population of the Americas was wiped out by disease in the first century
after European contact. However, what happened in New Spain did not stay there. It
went across the whole continent and beyond. In this chapter we are going to continue
with our main task of identifying Taino words and Taino related elements of culture,
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(Balboa, 1608)