Carib
Tribe
of Native Americans of the Cariban linguistic stock,
occupying various regions of South and Central America.
The
Caribbean Sea is named after them.
The Carib, who probably originated in the valley of
the Orinoco River, were noted for their ferocity.
The tribe practiced cannibalism;
in fact, the word cannibal is derived from the Spanish
term for these Native Americans, Caníbales.
During
the late 15th century, the Carib inhabited most of
the islands of the Lesser Antilles and the coast of
what is now Venezuela, territories from which they
had expelled the Arawak people.
Carib men valued exploits in combat above all else.
They were not organized into a hierarchical structure
under a chief, but fought as individual warriors and
raided other peoples.
Male
captives were tortured and eaten; female captives
became slave-wives.
The Carib were expert canoeists, and their fleets
sometimes included 100 sail-fitted, dugout canoes.
On
land, they lived in small settlements, farmed and
fished, and hunted game with blowguns and bows and
arrows.
Carib
communities were generally made up of several matrilineal
kin groups.
In the 17th century, when several European countries
struggled for control of the Lesser Antilles, the
Carib were all but eliminated.
Groups
remained only on the islands of Saint Vincent and
Dominica. In 1796 the British government deported
almost all of the 5000 remaining members of the tribe
from Saint Vincent to Roatán Island off the coast
of Honduras. They spread over the neighboring mainland
and today survive in Guatemala and on a reservation
in Dominica.
"Carib,"
Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000 http://encarta.msn.com
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