Carib

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.

See also Native American Languages; Native Americans of Middle and South America: Caribbean and Northern Andes.