Glossary: I know the Boricuas and other Latinos in the house know what this stuff means. But there may be times when non Latinos surf onto this page and they'll be lost. So this is for their benefit. Borinken/Borinquen: This was the Taino name for the island now known as Puerto Rico.It means "the great land of the valiant and noble Lord". Boricua: This is what Puerto Ricans call themselves. The mixture of what a Boricua is varies in families. There are Boricuas with Taino, French, Spaniard, African, Chinese,and Italian ancestors as well as Irish, and whatever else made its way onto the island in search of a better life. Not all Boricuas have Taino,African, or Spaniard ancestry like I said it all depends. Taino:In spite of having been almost completely wiped out within two decades, the Taínos left us their heritage - a legacy. Traces of Taíno physical characteristics are found in Taíno descendants clustered in areas of Borinquen. The names of many towns (Mayagüez, Coamo), foods (mamey), instruments, trees and plants are original Taíno names. We have little detailed knowledge of Taíno culture, religion and daily life. What we know comes from Spanish documents and from recent excavations. Much has been said of the Taínos lately, but it wasn't until the early 1900's that the study of the Taínos took off. The origin of the Taínos was not proven until 1950 when scientists were able to trace them through their unique white-on-red pottery. Their origins are in the Orinoco and Amazon River basins - what is now Venezuela and Guianas. The Taínos began their migration, in waves, through the Caribbean Islands in approximately 900 BC. Their origins have been traced to the Village of Saladero in Venezuela. As the years passed, the Arawakans, who landed in the Greater Antilles developed a distinct culture that we now call Taíno. This distinct culture was somewhat different from the original Arawak culture and different from that of their brothers, the fierce Caribs of the Lesser Antilles. The Taíno written language was in the form of petroglyphs, or symbols that were carved in stone. They spoke Arawakan. Their society was communal. Polygamy was common. The Taínos were farmers and fishermen. Cristóforo Colombo wrote in his journal that Taínos had beautiful, tall, slender bodies. Their color was dark or olive, and they wore short haircuts with a long hank at the back of the head. They were clean-shaven and hairless. The islands were densely populated. According to Cristóbal Colón, the Taíno tongue was "gentle, the sweetest in the world, always with a laugh." Borikén's head cacique at the time of the arrival of Colón was Agüeybaná. The island was divided into cacicazgos. Puerto Rico had approximately 20 caciques at the time of Columbus. The Island was divided into provinces, districts, and villages, each with a cacique. Until recently it was thought The Taino Indian had gone the way of the dinosaur. DNA research conducted by Dr. Juan Carlos Martínez-Cruzado proved that was not true. His research proved the existence of The Taino among Boricuas today. Taíno mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is being found in an huge percentage of Boricuas.