Sabores-Ancestrales-Digital-1
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Izq. Cultivo de yuca. Arriba,<br />
trigonolito, Colección privada,<br />
N.Y.<br />
Left. Cassava crop. Upper-<br />
Right, Three-pointer, Private<br />
Collection, N.Y.<br />
en acumular tierra, mezclada con desechos orgánicos en un espacio<br />
pequeño, para sembrar, con lo cual mejora la fertilidad del suelo y se<br />
obtiene un mayor rendimiento.<br />
En las labores agrícolas de los taínos era importante el trigonolito, deidad<br />
de piedra con tres puntas que representaba al dios de la agricultura<br />
o ser supremo (Yucahu-Bagua-Maorocoti). Este ídolo mantenía relación<br />
directa con las cosechas, las lluvias y las aguas. Se le enterraba en<br />
los conucos como símbolo de la fecundidad y abundancia, para que<br />
favoreciera el surgimiento de la yuca.<br />
Sus principales instrumentos agrícolas fueron las hachas de piedra y<br />
la coa o pullón, especie de bastón de madera para cavar y es, según<br />
afirma Vega, “el único instrumento de labranza precolombina” que se<br />
sigue utilizando. Con la llegada de los españoles, se inició un trasiego<br />
de semillas, plantas y cepas de diversos productos como el trigo, la<br />
caña de azúcar, la vid, el arroz, plátanos y otros procedentes de Asia,<br />
África y Europa.<br />
small pieces, the brush was cleaned, and then burned. At the end they<br />
would clear the land and fertilize it with a layer of the ash that resulted<br />
from this process. Another advance technique they used was to heap<br />
up mounds of soil to plant their crops. This method served different functions<br />
such as better drainage, soil aeration, better nitrification and pest<br />
reduction. Since farming was an essential part of the Tainos’ culture,<br />
they had special rituals such as burying trigonoliths in the yucca crops<br />
to promote fertility. The trigonoliths were protective idols carved in stone,<br />
in the shape of a pyramid. In their final stage of evolution, the Tainos<br />
implemented the use of irrigation in the arid regions to take care of the<br />
conucos. Its main agricultural tools were the stone axes and the coa or<br />
“pullón”, a sort of wooden cane to dig. According to Bernardo Vega this<br />
is “the only pre-Columbian farming tool” that is still used. With the arrival<br />
of the Spaniards, a transfer of seeds, plants and strains of a myriad of<br />
products, such as wheat, sugar cane, grapes, rice and plantains began<br />
to take place from Asia, Africa and Europe.<br />
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