Taíno Indian Myth and Practice - (Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen) by William F Keegan (Paperback)

About the Book

"Applying the legend of the "stranger king" to Caonabo, the mythologized Taâino chief of the Hispaniola settlement Columbus invaded in 1492, Keegan examines how myths come to resonate as history -- created by the chaotic interactions of the individuals who lived the events of the past as well as those who write and read about them. The "stranger king" story told in many cultures is that of a foreigner who comes from across the water, marries the king's daughter, and deposes the king. In this story, Caonabo, the most important Taâino chief at the time of European conquest, claimed to be imbued with Taâino divinity, while Columbus, determined to establish a settlement called La Navidad, described himself as the "Christbearer." Keegan's ambitious historical analysis -- knitting evidence from Spanish colonial documents together with data gathered from the archaeological record -- provides a new perspective on the encounters between the two men as they vied for control of the settlement, a survey of the early interactions of the Taâinos and Spanish people, and a complex view of the interpretive role played by historians and archaeologists. Presenting a new theoretical framework based on chaos and complexity theories, this book argues for a more comprehensive philosophy of archaeology in which oral myths, primary source texts, and archaeological studies can work together to reconstruct a particularly rich view of the past."--Amazon.com

Book Synopsis

Applying the legend of the "stranger king" to Caonabo, the mythologized Taino chief of the Hispaniola settlement Columbus invaded in 1492, Keegan examines how myths come to resonate as history--created by the chaotic interactions of the individuals who lived the events of the past as well as those who write and read about them. The "stranger king" story told in many cultures is that of a foreigner who comes from across the water, marries the king's daughter, and deposes the king. In this story, Caonabo, the most important Taíno chief at the time of European conquest, claimed to be imbued with Taino divinity, while Columbus, determined to establish a settlement called La Navidad, described himself as the "Christbearer."

Keegan's ambitious historical analysis--knitting evidence from Spanish colonial documents together with data gathered from the archaeological record--provides a new perspective on the encounters between the two men as they vied for control of the settlement, a survey of the early interactions of the Tainos and Spanish people, and a complex view of the interpretive role played by historians and archaeologists. Presenting a new theoretical framework based on chaos and complexity theories, this book argues for a more comprehensive philosophy of archaeology in which oral myths, primary source texts, and archaeological studies can work together to reconstruct a particularly rich view of the past.



A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series

Review Quotes

"An excellent
example of how oral traditions (mythology), historical sources, and archaeology
can work together to provide richer, more complex views of the human past."--Choice

"An open-minded
combination of archaeology, ethnohistory, and cultural anthropology." --Latin
American Antiquity

"Explores the
intersection of myths, beliefs and practices among the different participants
who have written this history."--Times
of the Islands

"In this bold and
original study William Keegan crafts a complex narrative that combines
archaeology, ethnohistory, ethnology, and linguistics to argue that a famous
contact period Taino chief, Caonabo, originated from a specific impressive
site, MC-6 on Middle caicos."--Journal
of Anthropological Research

"Keegan's
discussion of the archaeological data of the Bahamian Archipelago in relation
to Hispaniola provides an excellent, updated synthesis of important work that
is not well known even among Caribbeanists."--Cambridge Archaeological Journal

"Successfully synthesizes over 25 years of
painstaking, innovative research and constitutes a much broader perspective on
Taino myth and society than that offered by previous studies. Keegan's . . .
interpretations are erudite, original, and highly provocative."--American
Ethnologist

"A richly textured, deeply personal interpretation of
one incident in Taino/Spanish contact relations, the capture and death of
Cacique Caonabo, a principal chief of the Island of Hispaniola (now the Dominican
Republic and Haiti) in 1494."--Centro
Journal

"A must read for all serious scholars of Caribbean
prehistory and ethnohistory. Keegan skillfully plays documentary sources
against the archaeological record to reveal the complex nature of Taino-Spanish
interactions and the way mythology, both Taino and Spanish, structured those
relations."--New West Indian Guide