Spanish university students set to explore Dominican Taino legacy

Tahina-Can Bancaja Expedition begins today

Santo Domingo.- 60 university students from Spain will arrive today Friday in the Dominican Republic to participate in the 3rd Tahina-Can Bancaja Expedition, for an 18 day tour of this Caribbean country, itinerary that includes adventure, cooperation and journalism.

The Tahina-Can Expedition is a project organized by the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Bancaja Foundation, consisting in traveling to study in a Latin America country, where students of all disciplines and Spanish universities take part.

Within the trip’s framework, students receive conferences and workshops on the visited country and conduct different journalistic works. Each student receives 400 euros from Bancaja to finance his trip.

Under the title "Across the Land of the Tainos: The door to the new world," the Tahina-Can Expedition will tour the Dominican Republic, so the expeditionaries know the legacy of the Taino culture, study Columbus’ first voyages and experience this Caribbean country’s history.

*Source: Fundacion Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE). Iban Campo.

**Photo of Petroglyphs from Las Caritas, Lago Enriquillo, Dominican Republic

Manatee Seen as a Good Sign to Taino People

New York, NY (UCTP Taino News) - A recent sighting of a massive manatee traveling up New York’s Hudson River is seen as an important event by Taino Indians in New York. A representative of the United Confederation of Taino People, Roberto Mucaro Borrero noted that “for some of our community this rare occurrence is seen as a positive prophetic sign.”

The Taino were the first Indigenous Peoples in the Western Hemisphere to encounter Columbus and manatee is a Taino word. Manatees are commonly associated with the warm waters of Florida and the Caribbean.

“We relate this sighting to another that took place some years ago in Boriken (Puerto Rico). Both of these occurrences are seen as an opportunity for a renewed relationship with the natural world and responsible action” continued Borrero.

The Taino traditionally view the manatee in a manner similar to the way North American Plains Indians view the buffalo.

Borrero also observed that “this manatee comes to New York at a perfect time as we will commemorate the 12^th International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples at United Nations headquarters tomorrow on August 9^th and we will certainly bring the spirit of this sacred sea-going relative to the United Nations.”

While a rare sight it is not unprecedented for manatees to travel this far north a few have been sighted along the shores of Long Island and even as far north as Rhode Island.

The manatee has been spotted at 23rd Street near Chelsea Piers, West 125th Street, and later in Westchester County. It appeared to be healthy.

UCTP Taino News 08.08.2006