The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaican Taino

17), grows abundantly on the islands of San Juan (Puerto Rico), Cuba,
Jamaica and Hispaniola.
The Taínos are believed to have used stone tools to fell trees for the clearing
of land (Lovén 1935; Veloz Maggiolo 1997). The stone tool most commonly
recovered in Jamaica is the celt (stone axe blade). Many of the celt
specimens found are petal-shaped, hence the term petaloid celts (Porter 1990,
54). The celts were hafted into wooden handles. Most of the celts are almost
symmetrical and highly polished (ibid.). Celts have been recovered from sites
across the island including Norbrook, St Andrew; Rozelle, St Thomas;
Liberty Hill, St Ann; California, St James; Salt River, Clarendon; and Port
Henderson, St Catherine.
Celts served as knife, hammer and axe. As a general rule, the older, almost
worn-out ones are triangular in shape, while others are double-ended, one end
being a sharp cutting edge and the other a pointed butt. They can measure up
to 25 cm in length (ibid.).The abundance of these celts and other stone implements
suggests that they were used to clear land, carve canoes and possibly to
cut manioc (Veloz Maggiolo 1997). Celts were used, along with fire, to fell
selected trees and hack out the interior. This technique was used in the construction
of dugout canoes, which, according to Ferdinand, were “hollowed like
a tray” (Walker 1992, 58). Despite their distribution across the island, celts do
not necessarily indicate agricultural activities, as they also served other functions;
some highly polished ones were used in religious ceremonies.
Admittedly, it is difficult to prove archaeologically the details of cultivation,
forcing reliance on ethnographic sources. A wooden zemí of Baibrama was
found in Jamaica in 1757. Baibrama is said to have helped cassava to grow
(Rouse 1992, 117); thus the presence of the zemí suggests the cultivation of
cassava. Baibrama is generally depicted in a standing or squatting position
with an erect penis, as if urinating to increase the growth of cassava. Baibrama
is said to be one of the many alternative names for the Taíno supreme deity,
Yocahu Bagua Maorocoti – the giver of the cassava and master of the sea.
Yucahu is said to be the spirit of the cassava, who helped in the growing of
cassava and cured people who were poisoned by the juice of the cassava.
Three-pointed zemís, which represent Yocahu, are said to have mimicked the
triad shape of the cassava tuber.
Cassava was essential to the Taínos, not just as a food staple but also in religious
terms. According to Sven Lovén (1935, 563):
Yocahu is identifiable as a Yuca god, “who gave and increased the natural food
plants of the Antilleans”. Fewkes agrees with this theory. It is probable that the
compound part yoca is the same as yuca. Possibly the Taíno originally received
yuca from Yocahu. But after they had received it, it grows through zemí
co-operation.
T HE E XPLOITATION AND T RANSFORMATION OF J AMAICA’ S N ATURAL V EGETATION
109