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Carib [archive]

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Carib

Location: At the time of the Spanish invasion, the Caribbean people lived in Lesser Antilles and parts of the neighboring South American coast.

Language: The Caribbean Sea as well as the English word cannibal are results of the Arawakan equivalent of Carib. Today the term Cariban is used to designate a linguistic group that includes not only the language of the Antillean Carib, but also many related Indian languages spoken in South America. In traditional Caribbean society, Men spoke the Caribe language and women used Arawark.

Daily Life: The Island Carib were warlike immigrants from the mainland. They were expert navigators, who made distant raids in large dugout canoes. Internal conflict was common in their non-stratified society. The men strove to be individualistic warriors and boasted of their heroic exploits. Carib people of the South American mainland lived in the Guianas. Some were also warlike and were alleged to have practiced cannibalism. But, most of them were less aggressive than Antillean people. They lived in small villages and hunted animals by arrow or bow. Their culture was typical of a tribe of the tropical forest.

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Carib
Cariban language family
Carib people
The Caribbean

Carib [archive]

Carib

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