Defense
The Taino themselves were peaceful people, but they did have to defend themselves from the Caribs who were cannibals. The Caribs of this area lived around the area which is now Puerto Rico, but some did live in northeast Hispaniola, an area that today is the Dominican Republic. The Caribs were war cannibals. They often raided the Tainos, killing off the men, stealing and holding the women for breeding, and fattening the children to eat.
| The Taino had some weapons which they used in defense. They used the bow and arrow, and had developed some poisons for their arrow tips. They had cotton ropes for defensive purposes and some spears with fish hooks on the end. Since there were hardwoods on the island, they did have a war club made of macana this was about 1" thick.
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For transportation Tainos dugout canoes (Kanoa) that were made in various sizes, which could hold anywhere from 2 to 150 people. A normal sized Kanoa would hold about 15 - 20 people.
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