Arawak
Pre-Columbian island people
Arawak refers to a group of indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and South America, or to their family of languages.
The Arawak were among the first peoples encountered by Columbus in 1492.
Historically, they inhabited much of the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, and parts of coastal South America.
Today, Arawakan languages survive primarily in mainland communities.
The word also functions as an adjective: Arawak culture, Arawak traditions.
Native chief or strongman
- chiefdomPolitical unit under chief
- matrilinealDescended through maternal line
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
Hanging fabric bed
- canoeSlender paddled vessel
- hurricaneViolent tropical windstorm
- barbecueSlow-cook over coals
- tobaccoDried smoking leaf
maize · iguana · manatee · guava · papaya · savanna · cassava · potato
Hanging fabric bed
- cassavaStarchy tropical root vegetable
- canoeSlender paddled vessel
- potteryFired clay objects
- weavingInterlacing strands into fabric
body paint · featherwork · tobacco · ball game · petroglyphs · mythology · spirits · ancestor worship
Caribbean island arc
- Greater AntillesMajor Caribbean island chain
- BahamasAtlantic island nation
- CubaCaribbean island country
- HispaniolaCaribbean island, two countries
Puerto Rico · Jamaica · Trinidad · Guyana · Suriname · Venezuela · Orinoco · coastal
Americas before 1492
- ColumbusOhio's seat of government
- contactCommunication or physical touch
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
- encomiendaForced indigenous labor grant
decimation · resistance · assimilation · survival · diaspora · legacy · archaeological · artifacts
Concerning language study
- phonologyScience of language sounds
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- vocabularyOne's word collection
- oral traditionCulture passed by speech
cacique
Native chief or strongman
- chiefdomPolitical unit under chief
- matrilinealDescended through maternal line
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
hammock
Hanging fabric bed
tobacco · maize · iguana · manatee · guava · papaya · savanna · cassava · potato · cannibal
hammock
Hanging fabric bed
weaving · body paint · featherwork · tobacco · ball game · petroglyphs · mythology · spirits · ancestor worship · ceremonies
Antilles
Caribbean island arc
- Greater AntillesMajor Caribbean island chain
- BahamasAtlantic island nation
- CubaCaribbean island country
Hispaniola · Puerto Rico · Jamaica · Trinidad · Guyana · Suriname · Venezuela · Orinoco · coastal · islands
pre-Columbian
Americas before 1492
- ColumbusOhio's seat of government
- contactCommunication or physical touch
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
encomienda · decimation · resistance · assimilation · survival · diaspora · legacy · archaeological · artifacts · excavation
linguistic
Concerning language study
- phonologyScience of language sounds
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- vocabularyOne's word collection
- CaribbeanJamaica, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Haiti
- Native AmericansCherokee, Apache, Navajo, Sioux, Mohawk
- seafaring peoplessailors, navigators, Vikings, fishermen, Polynesians
- Americas LanguagesSpanish, Portuguese, Nahuatl, Quechua, Mayan
- Caribbean historyJamaica, Haiti, Barbados, Cuba, Trinidad
- Indigenous American LanguagesNavajo, Cherokee, Nahuatl, Quechua, Ojibwe
Arawakconquistadors
Spanish colonial soldiers
European settlers · Christopher Columbus · Spanish Empire · colonizers