Let’s talk Taino 66 - Taino Regalia (part1) - Clothing, Feathers, Gold & More - NOTES

Taino Regalia

• Jewelry
• Body paint
• Headdresses
• Clothing
  • Everyday wear
  • Special events
• vary by status

Materials

• Cotton
• feathers
• bone
• shell
• gold
• gold, silver, copper alloy
• semi-precious stones

Cotton (Sarobey)

• cultivated & harveseted
• spun into yarn or thread
• finely woven blankets
• make tunics & capes
• Nagua (skit, spron)
  • everyday waer
  • areyto (ceremonial dance & celebration)
• armbands, leg bands & headbands
• headband of a Kasike (chief/tess) with thousands of beads

Feathers

• feather closthing and headresses
• from
  • macaw & parrot feathers
  • other island birds
  • green was important due to iridescence

Precious medals - Guanin (gold, silver&copper alloy)

• Guanin is called tumbaga in South America.
• Didn’t contain nickel; probably a manganese bronze
• possibly acquired in trade
• some oldest guanin sheets from Broiken (Puerto Rico) dated 70 and 374 AD