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

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P a g e | 79 used to describe the same social rank in those respective empires and cultures, but overtaken by the Taino term. Chapter III, page 29 True History of the Conquest of New Spain y habría desde el pueblo a donde desembarcamos obra de una legua. Y allí junto había unos pozos y maizales y caserías de cal y canto; llámase este pueblo Potonchán. The next Taino word in the sequence of BDC’s text is very controversial because it describes one of the most important crops in human history and the central element in the diet of most native cultures of our continent: maize > ‘corn’ (Zea mays). Although its agricultural and genetic origins can be traced as far back as 7000 to 15000 years ago to a central Mexican grass plant called teosinte 122 , for some very strange reason, the etymology of the word does not appear related to any synonymic voices of the continental lands such as the Mayan tz ’ite 123 (phonetically closer to the name of the original plant), Yucatec ixi’ im, Totonac-Veracruz Cux’I or the Nahuatl elotl. Instead, the etymology of this term seems closer to the Arawak and many of its South American language families. As a matter of fact, the prefix of this word can be found hidden within what Breton defines as the Carib words mái-ma > ‘garden’ and ni-mäi-nalí > ‘my own garden’ 124 . Moreover, if we analyze the Honduran Garifuna, we come across similar meanings within the words maina > ‘corn field or milpa’ and mainabu > ‘vegetable 122 (Beadle, 1980) 123 (Vuh, 1947) 124 (Breton, 1665, p. 173)
P a g e | 80 garden’. It is correspondingly important to note that the Garifuna word awasi means ‘corncob’. Therefore, it seems that the Taino variants maize, maicí, maix, mahis, maíz, recorded by the Spanish chronicles could have come from the combination of both Arawakan terms mai > ‘garden’ + awasi > ‘corncob’ = maiawasi > ‘corncob garden’. Moreover, comparable terms can be found in two different variables of the Arawakan of Suriname marisi > ‘corn’ and malhisi > ‘corn’ 125 . Even further, deep within the Brazilian amazon jungle, the Yanomami tribes use the term mo sisi > ‘corn husk’, yõno mosi > ‘corn plant’ 126 . These two final languages, cousins of the Taino, were chosen as comparative references because of their geographical location and isolation with respect to the conquest and the events described in BDC’s text and because of the archeological finds of carbonized kernels in the Amazonia, dating as far back as 500 B.C. 127 However, one of the closest approximations of a possible phonology of the original Taino sound of this word in comparison with the current sound and the quoted surviving languages can be found in the lexicalization of the pre-Columbian region of Cuba named Maisí or Maíci, depicted in the map below to describe the Southeast part of the island in what is today known as Santiago de Cuba. 125 (Pet, 2011) 126 (Lizot, 2004) 127 (Rooseveb, 1980)
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Language of the Voiceless: Traces o
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P a g e | 2 CHAPTER I | AN INTRODUC
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P a g e | 16 V Research Limitations
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P a g e | 20 in the surviving cousi
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P a g e | 22 Pic.4 Hoyo de Sanabe C
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P a g e | 24 Higüera es árbol gra
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P a g e | 26 y los otros de allá a
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Page 39 and 40: P a g e | 38 island of the guano of
Page 41 and 42: P a g e | 40 significance because i
Page 43 and 44: P a g e | 42 paragraph, de Las Casa
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Page 47 and 48: P a g e | 46 certain familiarity an
Page 49 and 50: P a g e | 48 ‘hanging’ and atab
Page 51 and 52: P a g e | 50 the different Arawak l
Page 53 and 54: P a g e | 52 a)—Mentions in a 151
Page 55 and 56: P a g e | 54 Diaz del Castillo in 1
Page 57 and 58: P a g e | 56 Y una mañana, que fue
Page 59 and 60: P a g e | 58 ‘not’ + guayacan >
Page 61 and 62: P a g e | 60 The above quote and il
Page 63 and 64: P a g e | 62 words did not make it
Page 65 and 66: P a g e | 64 other words meaning
Page 67 and 68: P a g e | 66 common item to give an
Page 69 and 70: P a g e | 68 assi, es entre las rel
Page 71 and 72: P a g e | 70 Con frutas de siguapas
Page 73 and 74: P a g e | 72 cacique, dijo por señ
Page 75 and 76: P a g e | 74 ‘uppermost’ + ya >
Page 77 and 78: P a g e | 76 differentiation of the
Page 79: P a g e | 78 chief of that place, w
Page 83 and 84: P a g e | 82 Pic.25 Pic.26 Pic.27 P
Page 85 and 86: P a g e | 84 y en esta Española, y
Page 87 and 88: P a g e | 86 into its etymology. Ho
Page 89 and 90: P a g e | 88 and a paragraph in Cha
Page 91 and 92: P a g e | 90 the place where this t
Page 93 and 94: P a g e | 92 Pic.33, 34 Taino trigo
Page 95 and 96: P a g e | 94 describing the term fr
Page 97 and 98: P a g e | 96 + sabra > Spanish corr
Page 99 and 100: P a g e | 98 the introduction of an
Page 101 and 102: P a g e | 100 Nonetheless, if we us
Page 103 and 104: P a g e | 102 However, what is impo
Page 105 and 106: P a g e | 104 hammock, sharing its
Page 107 and 108: P a g e | 106 y con muchos indios d
Page 109 and 110: P a g e | 108 The quote above is fr
Page 111 and 112: P a g e | 110 trees, but of high, a
Page 113 and 114: P a g e | 112 Éstas, por la lengua
Page 115 and 116: P a g e | 114 matase ni hiriese a n
Page 117 and 118: P a g e | 116 the epoch, but also f
Page 119 and 120: P a g e | 118 explain the prevalenc
Page 121 and 122: P a g e | 120 Pic.38 Duho distribut
Page 123 and 124: P a g e | 122 nytainos > ‘nobles
Page 125 and 126: P a g e | 124 am”, does not fit S
Page 127 and 128: P a g e | 126 (Nahuatl), tunuum (Mi
Page 129 and 130: P a g e | 128 after a battle won by
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P a g e | 132 Yanomami of Venezuela
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P a g e | 134 linguistic registry o
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P a g e | 138 b) Encomienda system
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P a g e | 140 the Spanish who carri
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P a g e | 142 Casas, d. L. (2015).
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P a g e | 144 (2007). Caribbean Stu
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P a g e | 146 Robiou Lamarche, S. (
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Language of the Voiceless: Traces of Taino Language, Food, and Culture in the Americas From 1492 to the Present

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