Post by Radrook Admin on Jun 22, 2022 18:36:20 GMT -5
Is a Puerto Rican's Identification with Taino Justified?
I just read a very vehement objection that criticized a Puerto Rican for having identified himself with the Tainos, the Native Americans who inhabited the island of Borinquen, later called Puerto Rico, prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. The objection was based on the person supposedly never having been part of the Taino culture. In response to that objection I wrote the following response.
The Puerto Rican culture was influenced by the Tainos in the usage of vocabulary, musical instruments, and cuisine. The island is saturated with geographical locations with names that honor the Taino chieftains of those regions. The DNA of the Taino does repeatedly manifest itself in the Puerto Rican Genotypes. Of course some Puerto Ricans remained closer to Taino cultures than others. Especially those in the interior where the Tainos had fled. Such individuals often have stories about a Taino ancestor whop passed on knowledge of the herbs that the Tainos used for medicinal purposes.]
So the island is not devoid of Taino cultural influences as you seem to assume. Concerning the right of any individual to identify with a group of his ancestors, please note that such a right is very respected in the USA. For example, with a white mother and a black fater, Obama had two identification choices, and he chose black. The rest of African Americans who also have very significant percentages of European ancestry always identify as PURE black. Ni one challenges that claim. There are also many Anglo Americans who claim to be Native American based on a percentage of their ancestry. So if no umbrage is expressed towards them, why then should any be expressed towards any Puerto Rican who exercises that same right?
So the island is not devoid of Taino cultural influences as you seem to assume. Concerning the right of any individual to identify with a group of his ancestors, please note that such a right is very respected in the USA. For example, with a white mother and a black fater, Obama had two identification choices, and he chose black. The rest of African Americans who also have very significant percentages of European ancestry always identify as PURE black. Ni one challenges that claim. There are also many Anglo Americans who claim to be Native American based on a percentage of their ancestry. So if no umbrage is expressed towards them, why then should any be expressed towards any Puerto Rican who exercises that same right?