Areíto

For other uses, see Areito (disambiguation).

The areíto or areyto was a type of performance and ceremony of the Taíno people of the Caribbean. The areíto involved dancing, singing and music, and conveyed elements of Taíno religion and culture. It generally took place on designated grounds in villages.

History

Despite superficial similarity to "airito", the diminutive form of the Spanish word for a musical air, the term areíto is originally a Taíno language word, which was adopted by the earliest Spanish chroniclers to describe local dances, poems, chants and songs of the Taíno people.[1][2] Anacaona was one of the early noted composers of areítos.

Areítos were especially common among the Classic Taíno of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, but they were held in all Taíno areas. Areítos were held for a variety of reasons, including to honor and entertain guests. In the early days of European colonization, Taíno chiefs hosted areítos for Spanish visitors, who recorded information about the ceremonies. According to the historical documentation, areítos often featured assemblies of nobles dancing and singing to music played with rattles and drums. The ceremonies invoked elements of Taíno culture and religious practice, including veneration of the zemis and ancestors. Areítos were held in designated spaces, specifically the public plaza or dance ground outside the chief's house. Classic Taíno villages often featured an elaborate dance court, an outdoor area surrounded by earthwork banks and sometimes stone carvings of the zemis.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Paul A. Scolieri - Dancing the New World: Aztecs, Spaniards, and the ...2013 0292748914- Page 28 "Throughout these accounts, the early chroniclers ubiquitously refer to native performances of music and dance by the Taino word areito.14L Chroniclers used this term in a flexible manner to describe indigenous chants, songs, or poems."
  2. ↑ Dale Olsen, Daniel Sheehy Handbook of Latin American Music, Second Edition 2007- Page 164 "From the descriptions of Arawak musical activities in the writings of the Spanish chroniclers (Cárdenas 1981; Casas 1965; López de Gómara 1965; Pané 1974), we learn that the areyto (also areito)—a celebration that combined poetry, songs, .
  3. ↑ Saunders, Nicholas J. (2005). The Peoples of the Caribbean: An Encyclopedia of Archeology and Traditional Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 16. ISBN 1576077012. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
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