Lucayan people facts for kids

The Lucayan people were the first people to live in the Bahamas. They were a group of the Taíno people. The Taíno lived on most of the Caribbean islands.

The Lucayans were the first native Americans that Christopher Columbus met. This happened when Europeans first came to the Americas. Soon after, the Spanish captured and enslaved many Lucayans. By 1520, the Lucayan people had completely disappeared from the Bahamas.

The name "Lucayan" comes from the Spanish word Lucayos. This word came from the Taíno words Lukku-Cairi. It meant "people of the islands." The Taíno word for "island," cairi, became "cay" in English.

Some old skulls and tools were found on Andros Island. These might have belonged to an older group called the Ciboney. But there is no clear proof that the Ciboney lived in the Bahamas before the Lucayans.

Christopher Columbus's diary is the only record from his time about the Lucayans. We learn more about their customs from old tools and villages found by archaeologists. We also compare them to the Taíno culture in Cuba and Hispaniola. Lucayans were different from other Taínos in how big their houses were. Their villages were also set up differently.

Where the Lucayans Came From

Map of The Bahamas (excluding the Turks and Caicos Islands, east of Great Inagua off the right edge of the map)

Around 500 to 800 CE, Taíno people began traveling to the Bahamas. They used dugout canoes from Hispaniola and Cuba.

One idea is that they first came from Hispaniola to the Caicos Islands. Another idea is from Hispaniola or eastern Cuba to Great Inagua Island. A third idea is from central Cuba to Long Island.

The places where they settled in the Caicos Islands look like Taíno settlements in Hispaniola. These settlements appeared after 1200. Some experts think these were Taínos from Hispaniola. They came to the Caicos Islands to find salt.

Great Inagua is very close to both Hispaniola and Cuba. Old sites on Great Inagua have a lot of pottery from Cuba or Hispaniola. Other islands in the Bahamas have more pottery made locally. This local pottery is called "Palmetto Ware."

From Great Inagua Island, the Lucayans spread across the Bahamas. This happened over about 800 years, from 700 to 1500. Their population grew to about 40,000 people.

When Europeans first arrived, more Lucayans lived in the south-central Bahamas. Fewer lived in the northern islands. This shows that the northern islands were settled later. Lucayan villages are found on the 19 largest islands. They are also on smaller islands less than one kilometer away.

Experts believe they moved north from Great Inagua Island. Then they went to Acklins and Crooked Islands, and then to Long Island. From Long Island, they spread to Rum Cay and San Salvador Island. They also went to Cat Island and the Exuma Islands. From Cat Island, they reached Eleuthera. From Eleuthera, they went to New Providence and Andros. They also reached the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama to the north.

Some experts think the Lucayans came from two different places. One group came from Hispaniola to the Turks and Caicos Islands. They then moved through Mayaguana and Acklins to Long Island. Another group came from Cuba through Great Inagua Island to Long Island. Around 1200, the Turks and Caicos Islands were settled again from Hispaniola. These islands then became part of the Classical Taíno culture.

Lucayan Connections to Other Cultures

The Lucayans were part of the larger Taíno community. This community lived in the Greater Antilles. Lucayans, along with Taínos in Jamaica, Cuba, and western Hispaniola, were part of a "Western Taíno" group.

Some experts say there isn't much difference between Lucayans and the main Taínos. Lucayans lived in smaller groups. They had simpler leaders compared to the more complex groups in Hispaniola. Their language and culture had some differences. But they were still Taínos.

The Lucayans were part of a trade network that covered the Caribbean. Columbus saw them trading with Cuba using dugout canoes. A piece of jade found on San Salvador Island likely came from Guatemala.

The Lucayan People

Columbus thought the Lucayans looked like the Guanche people from the Canary Islands. He said they were handsome, graceful, and peaceful. They usually wore very little clothing.

A writer named Peter Martyr d'Anghiera said Lucayan women were so beautiful. Men from other countries moved to the islands to be near them. Women who had grown up wore a small cotton skirt. Men might wear a loincloth made of leaves or cotton.

Sometimes, people wore headbands, waistbands, feathers, bones, and jewelry in their ears and noses. They often had tattoos. They also painted their bodies and faces. They practiced head flattening, which shaped their heads. Their hair was black and straight. They kept it short, except for a few hairs in the back. Columbus saw scars on some men. He was told these came from people from other islands trying to capture them.

Lucayan Genetics

In 2018, scientists studied DNA from a tooth. The tooth was found in a burial cave on Eleuthera Island. It was from around 776–992 AD. The DNA showed the tooth belonged to a woman.

Her DNA was most similar to people who speak Arawakan languages today. These people live in the Amazon and Orinoco Basins. Her DNA was closest to the Palikur people.

Lucayan Customs

Lucayan society passed things down through the mother's family. This was common for all Taíno cultures. The Spanish said that women lived with their husband's family. But some experts think they lived with the husband's uncle's family instead.

Lucayan Homes and Villages

Lucayans, like other Taínos, lived in houses with many families. Spanish descriptions of Lucayan houses match those in Hispaniola and Cuba. They were round like a tent, tall, and made of poles and thatch. They had an opening at the top for smoke to escape. Columbus said Lucayan houses were clean.

The houses had cotton nets, like hammocks, for beds. They were mainly used for sleeping. Each house held a large family. We don't know the exact size of Lucayan houses. But experts guess about 20 people lived in each house.

Taíno villages in Hispaniola often had houses around a central open area. They were also near rivers with good farming land. Lucayan villages, however, were usually long lines of houses along the coast. They were often on the calm side of an island. But they were also found on the windy side if there were protected tidal creeks.

What Lucayans Ate

The Lucayans grew root crops. They also hunted, fished, and gathered wild foods. Their main crop was manioc, also known as cassava. The Spanish said Taínos also grew sweet potatoes, cocoyams, and peanuts. The Lucayans likely grew most of these crops too. Maize (corn) was new to the Caribbean when the Spanish arrived. It was only a small part of the Lucayan diet.

The Lucayans might have grown fruits like papayas, pineapples, and guava.

There were few land animals to hunt in the Bahamas. These included hutias, rock iguanas, small lizards, land crabs, and birds. Taínos kept dogs and ducks. But only dogs were seen by early visitors or found at Lucayan sites. Less than 12 percent of the meat Lucayans ate came from land animals. Most of that came from iguanas and land crabs.

More than 80 percent of their meat came from ocean fish. These fish ate seagrass or coral. Sea turtles and sea mammals like seals provided a very small amount of meat. The rest of their meat came from ocean mollusks.

Other Plant Products

The Lucayans grew cotton and tobacco. They also used plants like agave and hibiscus for fibers. These fibers were used to make fishing nets. One of Columbus's sailors traded for 12 kilograms (26 pounds) of cotton from one Lucayan. Columbus did not see Lucayans using tobacco. But he noted they traded a valuable type of leaf. They used Bixa for red body paint. They used jagua for black body paint.

Lucayan Tools and Art

The Lucayans carved canoes, spears, bowls, and special stools from wood. Stone tools for chopping and scraping came from Cuba or Haiti. Most of their pottery was called "Palmetto Ware." This pottery was made in the islands using local red clay. It was mixed with burnt conch shells. Palmetto Ware pottery usually had no decorations.

Some pottery was imported from Cuba or Haiti. This was usually less than one percent of the pottery found. The Lucayans made fish hooks from bone or shell. They made harpoon points from bone. The Lucayans probably did not use bows and arrows. The Spanish first saw people using bows and arrows in Hispaniola.

One important Lucayan item found in the Bahamas is the duho. Duhos are carved seats found in the homes of Taíno chiefs. They were important for Taíno leaders and their beliefs. They were "seats of power, respect, and ritual." Duhos were made of wood and stone. Wooden ones are rarer because they don't last as long. There are wooden duhoss in museums in Paris and London. One was found on Eleuthera island.

The Lucayan and Spanish Meeting

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain. He had three ships and was looking for a direct route to Asia. On October 12, 1492, Columbus reached an island in the Bahamas. This event is often called the 'discovery' of America.

The Lucayans called this first island Guanahani. The Spanish named it San Salvador. Many experts believe this island was what is now called San Salvador. Columbus visited several other islands in the Bahamas. He was looking for gold before sailing to Cuba.

Columbus spent a few days visiting nearby islands. Lucayans on San Salvador told him he could find a "king" with a lot of gold. This king lived in a village called Samaot. Columbus spent three days sailing along an island looking for Samaot. He tried to sail east, but the water was too shallow. He felt sailing around the island was "a very long way." This description might fit the Acklins/Crooked Islands group.

Amerigo Vespucci spent almost four months in the Bahamas from 1499 to 1500. His records are not very clear. There might have been other Spanish visits to the Bahamas that were not recorded. Old maps from 1500 to 1508 show details of the Bahamas that were not officially reported until later.

European tools from that time have been found on San Salvador, the Caicos Islands, Long Island, and other islands. But these finds don't prove Spaniards visited those islands. The Lucayans could have traded these items among themselves.

Enslavement and Disappearance

Columbus captured several Lucayans on San Salvador. He took some Lucayans back to Spain on his first trip. Vespucci took 232 Lucayans to Spain as slaves in 1500.

The Spanish used the native people of Hispaniola for labor. This quickly reduced their population. So, in 1509, the Spanish king ordered that people be brought from nearby islands to Hispaniola. The Spanish began capturing Lucayans in the Bahamas to work as laborers.

At first, Lucayans were sold for little money. But then it was discovered that Lucayans were skilled at diving for conches. Their price went up a lot. They were sent to the Isle of Cubagua to be pearl divers. Within two years, the southern Bahamas had very few people left. The Spanish may have taken as many as 40,000 Lucayans by 1513.

By 1520, when the Spanish tried to find the remaining Lucayans, they could only find eleven in all of the Bahamas. After this, the Bahamas remained empty for 130 years.

See also

• List of Tainos
• Lucayan Archipelago

Images for kids

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  In Spanish: Lucayos para niños