#ciboney

This is a complex question. I would say the biggest thing to remember is that the term “Taíno” is an umbrella term to reference many different ethnicities of Arawak-Speaking Indigenous Caribbeans. There were many types of Taíno people, including Timucua and Tequesta in Florida, Lucayo in the Bahamas, Ciguayo in Kiskeya and Igneri in Boriken.

As for the term Ciboney, some say it was a separate tribe but the general consensus is that they were a Taíno ethnicity with a separate but mutually intelligible language. They were connected culturally to groups from Jamaica, Florida, Bahamas and modern day Haiti, where as Taínos of the eastern Caribbean were closer in culture. They also had language connections to the Macorix and Guanahatabeys being Waroid languages, aka where we get the term Guajiro. So the Ciboney are a Taino-Arawak group that had ancestrally mixed with the Waroid Guanahatabeys but still maintained moslty Taíno culture.

There were also many other groups who weren’t Taíno. The most well known is the Kalinago, but the Guanahatabey is one from Cuba that is also known to actually have been in Cuba BEFORE the Taínos got there. They had a culture very similar to the Calusa of Southwest Florida. And this is all pre-Colonization, so these groups were already interacting and moving around for thousands of years.

Then with colonization, many Native groups were transported to other places, and in Cuba specifically we have Taíno migrations from the East to the West very early on. We also have Natives from Florida and Mayans from Mexico, and more natives being brought in to cuba and intermarrying with other ethnic groups. These migrations all affected indigenous communities and led to alot of cultural exchange and mixture, as well as loss.

As for Indigenous Cuban Identity, I claim Taíno or Ciboney Taíno because after colonization any remaining Guanahatabeys were assimilated to Taíno Cimarron (maroon/runaway) groups. I consider Guanahatabeys part of my ancestors but I choose to identify as Taíno or simply Indigenous Caribbean. My family all identify as Guajiros, as do I, which is more a lifestyle but definitely has ties to the Classic Taino, Ciboney and Guanahatabey traditions passed down.

As for trusting sources, I would say read EVERYTHING with a grain of salt. Academics often lack cultural nuance and understanding, which can mean alot of their inferences are flat out wrong so try to stick with confirmed info. It is confirmed the Tainos and Guanahatabeys and Ciboneys all moved around and lived in the same parts of the Island at the same time and separately. As for non-academic sources, just be aware that much of what is passed off as Taino or Indigenous Caribbean culture is actually just Pan-Indigenous or straight up a different culture.

Trust yourself, use your intuition and discernment and always be committed to improving and striving for a culturally authentic, fulfilling and respectful practice that is well rounded in both Spirituality and Community! Whether that is with a yukayeke, with the Indigenous tribes you live near locally or with your own indigenous family and friends! So many Yukayekes in the Modern Taíno community try to claim superiority or that they have all the secrets knowledge and the only correct beliefs. You should be weary of anyone trying to restrict you when their own elders often are reconnecting or were just scholars before becoming pop-up Caciques.

If you go to the Cuban version of Wikipedia, when it is active, you can find better information on the Guanahatabey and Ciboney than on American wiki. Try researching the terms ‘Guayabo Blanco’ and ‘Cayo Redondo’ for information on Ciboney culture and beliefs, and how even within this sub-group there were MORE sub-groups. As the Guanahatabeys were not a ceramic culture, we have very little info on them academically. Try researching Calusa beliefs as they had similar environments and were connected through trade routes.

If you have any more questions I would love to answer them but you should ask them on insta or in chat so I can link easier and answer in more depth!!

My asks are always open still tho :)