Where did it get its name?
July 22, 2010 (Thursday)
While looking at the weather maps and the developing weather system that may become a tropical storm or hurricane, I got to thinking about the Caribbean Sea. I asked myself, “Where did that name come from? What does it mean?” So, I looked it up on the good old Internet.
Seems the Caribbean is named after the Carib people, who originated in South America but conquered and lived in some of the Islands to their north. They were a warfaring people with some macabre practices that were misunderstood by Columbus and others. When they defeated a fierce warrior, they tried to take his spirit into themselves by tasting their enemies’ flesh. They would take body parts back home and display them. All this was ceremonial with a significance associated with their beliefs. They were not cannibals (a word assigned by the European conquerors based on a word they heard among the indigenous people), if by “cannibals” we mean they ate human beings as food. That was not the case; it was all about warfare rituals.
Since the explorers from Europe thought they had reached India, they called the people “Indians,” and the name stuck. Extensive studies have revealed to us that the history of the people who lived in this part of the world before it was discovered by Europeans is rich and varied. And sometimes complicated, complete with all sorts of traditions, ceremonies and rituals that the newcomers did not attempt to understand.
Actually the word, “Carib” is not 100% accurate as a designation, because it seems to have been what the foreigners heard when the natives used the right words. But it’s the best we could do. So, welcome to the Caribbean Sea, a beautiful part of the world. But also a highway for hurricanes headed for the U.S.A.