The warm and humid long wind from the coast wrapped the lush Caribbean islands. On the seaside outside the Taino Village, novel-style longships were docked, from which the Kingdom’s Warriors, clad in armor and ard with spears, disembarked. Erging from the round-roof huts, Taino villagers held food and drinks, their faces gleaming with joy. Under the embrace of the blazing sun and the vast sky, distant tribes t as if reuniting after years, with only enthusiasm and sincere welcos to offer.
Soon, jars of tobacco were ignited, the fragrant scent wafting everywhere in the air. Young Taino n and won, full of curiosity, stood on both sides, observing the Lake Central Tribe mbers disembarking one after another.
Huitu Puap, carrying a bronze axe and a long spear on his back, cautiously alighted from the ship. He grasped the bronze axe at his waist, first glancing at the village n.
"Ah! Chief Divine, why are they all so tall? Their clothing is strange too..."
The Taino n were generally tall and robust in physique, yet their appearances were simple and gentle. They all bore shoulder-length short hair, with cat whisker-like black stripes painted on their profile, and necklaces of shells, white stones, pearls, and thin bones adorned their necks. So n even wore several necklaces, adorned with peculiar engravings that seed related to the Divine. As for their clothing, most were bare-chested, with rough upper bodies and short loincloths wrapped around their lower bodies, their feet wide and bare.
"Such attire seems to lack cotton fabric, not very affluent indeed!"
Puap squinted and moved his gaze, resting it on the n’s empty hands. Most n’s hands bore only calluses on the knuckles and palm surfaces, possibly from using daggers and small tools. Only the fishern descending from the canoes had long harpoons on their backs, their grip marked by thick calluses. As for thumbs thickened by prolonged use of bows and arrows, they were virtually absent among the crowd.
"Eh? Chief Divine witness! How co these Taino people, not one holds long spears, nor has wielded a hunting bow? Their faces appear naïve, as though they’ve never seen blood, nor killed soone..."
The thoughtful Huitu Warrior Puap observed for a while and pursed his lips. Finally, he confird in his way that these island-dwelling, tall Taino had neither battle threats nor malicious traps. These Taino n generally stood at a ter seventy-eight, taller than him by a head. But in his eyes, they were like a harmless herd of deer in a gray wolf’s view.
"Ha! No weapons, can’t kill, a pity for such tall, sturdy bodies!"
Puap slightly shook his head, shifting his gaze to the surrounding won. In just a mont, the eyes of the Huitu Warrior were seemingly magnetized, a gasp of astonishnt escaping his lips.
"Ah this?... This is too?... Tsk tsk!"
The Taino won of the village saved even more fabric than the n. Only the slightly older, married won wore short loincloths to shield the gaze of outsiders. The unmarried girls wore complete naturalness, waiting like fawns for a Hunter’s pursuit and exploration. Uniquely, Taino won painted bright and abstract patterns with white lacquer on their abdons, like a mysterious allure.
"Hiss! Two spikes tilted up, a vertical line going down, connecting three critical points... this symbol?"
Puap widened his eyes, gazing at the most beautiful Taino maiden. On her wheat-colored abdon was a mysterious three-spike symbol like the "Y" shape of a branch. He inexplicably felt a familiarity with this symbol and watched it for a long ti.
"Ahem! Old Pu, stop staring! The village chief wants us to talk in his round-roofed hut."
Chiwaco turned his head, vigorously patting Old Pu’s shoulder. Puap shivered, licking his lips, and followed the old militia into the round, tall leader’s hut.
Such a large hut could only accommodate thirty to forty people. Most of the Kingdom’s Warriors stayed outside. The Taino villagers warmly offered soft cassava breads and fernted sweet cassava drinks. The cold, hard faces of the Kingdom’s Warriors gradually unfolded into smiles. Supplies running low, paddling the canoe halfway, they were indeed hungry.
"Yay, another Y-shaped symbol? Is this a wood carving dedicated to the Divine?"
Puap looked around the leader’s hut, finding no decent weapons but many tall wood carvings. At the top were carvings of the moon and water, the sun and mud, seemingly symbolizing the two most significant Divine entities, with the moon before the sun. Following closely were wood carvings etched with the white lacquer Y shape, with hills and cassava at the base. As for the subsequent carvings, they varied widely, depicting hurricanes, serpents, dogs, and trees, along with so abstract humans.
Two low wooden stools surrounded the Divine carvings. On the topmost stool sat the elder Taino village chief. That stool also bore a Y-shaped symbol representing the village chief and the tribe’s na, "Yucama." The Yucama Village Chief lit a censer filled with Divine Smoke, gazing at Chiwaco, indicating the stool beside him. The old militia, not one to refuse, sat on the honored guest stool at the chief’s invitation.
Everyone else sat on the ground, including over ten elder Taino individuals. Huitu Puap also settled next to the elders, watching them take out leather drums and wooden flutes, striking and blowing them while singing ancient welcoming songs for guests.
"Boom boom boom!... Sun and moon, both erged from the Holy Mountain’s cave, ascending high into the sky!
Boom boom boom!... Pure Ancestors also erged from the cave, dispersing across the various islands!
Boom boom boom!... We at the seaside saw distant arriving ships, realizing: ’Ah! Brothers coming from afar...’"
The aged songs arose, accompanied by a low drumbeat, intermittently, as if narrating ancient stories, resembling the origin of the Taino people.
Chiwaco’s expression suddenly turned solemn, his old back straightening. He knew such songs were not only sung for the guests but more importantly, to inform the Divine and Ancestors, to acquire testimony and Blessing.
"Boom boom boom!... Moon Mother Goddess Atabeyra, turned the moon into the sun, illuminating the island people and the sailing ones.
Boom boom boom!... The White God Yucahu, from cassava bore soul, across the sea and hills, bringing us food.
Boom boom boom!... Storm Goddess Guabancex, controlling the sea and the waves, let people et, and let people part.
Boom boom boom!... Divinity Ancestor Maquetaurie Guayaba, transford into a dog, guarding the deceased, deciding our afterlife..."
Moon Mother Goddess, Cassava God, Storm Goddess, God of Death Ancestor... these four Divine entities were the most frequently prayed to in the Tainos’ daily lives.
Chiwaco listened closely, his attention rapt. He couldn’t understand the language of these songs, but he could feel the peaceful and reverential atmosphere and the singers’ full emotion. Those feelings encompassed reverent admiration, calm recollection, and beautiful hopes and aspirations.
"The Taino people are really a friendly tribe... It seems they have no sacrifices and bloodshed, nor so bloody rituals..."
The old militia recalled the indoor and outdoor scenes of the leader’s hut, seeing no common red altars of the xica and Maya tribes. He turned his head, intending to ask Translator Kuba, only to find him moved to tears by the ancestral songs.
"Boom boom boom!... All things have spirits; humans have spirits too. We transform into all things; all things transform into us.
Boom boom boom!... The souls of the departed go deep underground. They beco bats roosting and from bats reincarnated into all things.
Boom boom boom!... Divine and Divinity’s Ancestors, in the sky above, watching our brief lives. We are the roots of trees, connecting souls under the vast earth.
Boom boom boom!... Cassava sprouts erge, producing tubers. Flowers bloom and fall, life arises, and death cos..."
This is the song cherished by the Taino people for millennia, perpetuating the tribe’s spirit and understanding of the world and humanity. With rudintary herbal knowledge, the Taino’s lifespan was usually not long. They lived in village clusters, without complex social structures, generally pure-hearted. They believed in the afterlife and reincarnation, much at ease with life and death.
Divine Smoke swirled in the hut while the leather drum resonated in the heart. The aged chants floated to the outside, drawing in the villagers’ harmonic low singing, like prayers indifferent to life and death, and like peacefulness unhindered by worldly affairs.
"Boom boom boom... Oh, faraway guests! Flowers welco butterflies, cassava welcos birds. We welco you to our village!"
"Let our roots connect, let our fruits grow, let us share the Divine Smoke, let us drink together... until the moon descends, until the tribe endures!"
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