Although the men spoke either a Carib language or a pidgin, the Caribs' raids resulted in so many female Arawak captives that it was not uncommon for the women to speak Kalhíphona, a Maipurean language (Arawakan). In the southern Caribbean they co-existed with a related Cariban-speaking group, the Galibi, who lived in separate villages in Grenada and Tobago and are believed to have been mainland Caribs.
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Although the men spoke either a Carib language or a pidgin, the Caribs' raids resulted in so many female Arawak captives that it was not uncommon for the women to speak Kalhíphona, a Maipurean language (Arawakan). In the southern Caribbean they co-existed with a related Cariban-speaking group, the Galibi, who lived in separate villages in Grenada and Tobago and are believed to have been mainland Caribs.
History
The Caribs are believed to have left the Orinoco river area in South America to settle in the Caribbean. Over the century leading up to Columbus' arrival in the Caribbean archipelago in 1492, the Caribs are believed to have displaced the Maipurean-speaking Arawaks who settled the island chains earlier in history.
The islanders also traded with the Eastern Taíno of the Caribbean Islands. The Caribs were the source of the silver which de Leon found in the possession of the Taíno; gold was not smelted by any of the insular Amerindians, but rather was obtained by trade from the mainland. The Caribs were skilled boatbuilders and sailors, and seem to have owed their dominance in the Caribbean basin to their mastery of the arts of war.
The Caribs were themselves displaced by the Europeans, and most were eventually killed in battle, assimilated during the colonial period, or retained areas such as in Dominica. However, there are still small populations, specifically in the Carib Territory in northeast Dominica.
The Black Caribs (Garifuna) of St. Vincent inherit their ethnicity from a group of black slaves who were marooned in a 1675 shipwreck possibly after seizing power from the crew. In 1795, they were deported to Roatan Island, off Honduras, where their descendants, the Garífuna, still live today. Carib resistance delayed the settlement of Dominica by Europeans, and the Carib communities that remained in St. Vincent and Dominica retained a degree of autonomy well into the 19th century.
The last known speakers of Island Carib died in the 1920s.
People
Because of Dominica's rugged area, Caribs were able to hide from European forces. Today, on the island's east coast, there is a territory granted by the Crown in 1903. There are only 3000 Caribs remaining after many years of brutal treatment by the Spanish, French and British colonists. They elect their own chief. In July 2003, Caribs observed 100 Years of Territory. In July 2004, Charles Williams was elected as Carib Chief. It is said that they are the only remaining native Carib people. However, some of them are married with the local population.
There are several hundred ethnic Caribs in Trinidad, as well as a Carib population in St.Vincent, the size of which is not known. Some ethnic Carib communities remain on the South American mainland, in countries such as Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname. The sizes of these communities differ.
