THE TAINO CACIQUE MAJAGUA
Dr. Fray Mario Rodríguez León, O.P.
Translated by Ann Shevlin
(c) CopyRight - Prohibido copiar, reproducir
 HE TERRITORY that makes up present-day Bayamón was part
of one of the Taino villages (yucayeques)
on the island of Borinquen (Puerto Rico).
Although the number of Indians who inhabited
the region is unknown, it was probably not
very high. The villages were always built
near flowing water.
The Taino Indians were Arawaks who originated in South America.
They were men and women of low stature, bronze-colored
skin, almond-shaped eyes, prominent cheekbones
and black hair.
In each village there was a chief (cacique)
who was the highest authority for the region.
In turn, these chiefs, while autonomous in
their villages, rendered obedience to a supreme
chief named Agueybana.
Taino society was divided into three main
social groups: the caciques (chiefs) and
the nitaynos (elders and warriors), the bohiques(priests),
and the naborias, who made up the majority
of the population at the base of the societal
pyramid.(1)
Although the true origin of the name of
Bayamón is unknown, it is possible that it
was the name of a chief who has not yet been
determined. Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste considered
Bayamon to be the seat of the chief Majagua.
[See Bayamón coat of arms, at right; read
about Bayamón Coat of Arms].
According to the above-mentioned historian,
in 1510:
...the conuco (garden) of 8,000 hills of
yuca and
sweet potato belonging to the cacique Majagua
is sold in public auction by Juan Ponce de
León:
one hundred pesos to Juan Cerón, and to Marcos
de Andón y Garci Troche, to take care of
the
expenditures of the incipient colony of Borinquen.. (2) |
Bayamón writer Dr. Walter Murray Chiesa is
the person who has done the most study of
the figure of chief Majagua and is his greatest
promoter. (3)
Presently there is a school in Bayamón that
carries the name of Cacique Majagua.
______
NOTES:
1. Gómez Acevedo, Labor y Manuel Ballesteros
Gaibrois: Culturas indígenas de Puerto Rico.
Samarán, Madrid, 1975, pp. 61-71.
2. Coll y Toste, Cayetano: Prehistoria de
Puerto Rico, Bilbao, 1969, p. 23.
3. Autor del hermoso cuento taíno Otoquí.
Don Walter Murray Chiesa constituye uno de
los valores intelectuales de Bayamón y un
ferviente defensor de la artesanía puertorriqueña.
* Learn more about the Taínos. Read: Books about the Tainos.
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