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Ciboney Indian Language (Siboney)
Ciboney (also spelled Siboney)
was the name of an Arawakan-speaking tribe of the Caribbean Islands, especially Cuba.
Only a few scant wordlists of the Ciboney language remain, but it may have been a dialect of
Taino or a closely related language,
based on reports that the two groups could understand each other. For this reason the Ciboney are
sometimes called "Western Taino" or "Sub-Taino." This relationship is uncertain, however-- the two tribes
could simply have been familiar enough to understand each other's languages due to frequent trade and intermarriage.
The distinctions between Arawakan languages of this region are poorly understood in general. Few records of these languages
were ever made by early colonists, and because so many Arawakan people were killed or displaced immediately after
Europeans arrived, original tribal distinctions became lost as the survivors banded together. Archaeologists
are not always certain of how to classify Arawakan civilizations either (a site in Antigua which was until recently considered Siboney by
researchers has now been recategorized as made by a different Arawakan group.) According to tradition, the indigenous tribes of
the Caribbean Islands were not sedentary but rather moved frequently from place to place, so any given island was likely to have had
inhabitants or at least regular visitors from more than one tribal group. So although the Ciboney civilization was centered on Cuba, they
also had a significant presence on Jamaica and the Bahamas and probably traveled as far as the Lesser Antilles for the purposes of trading.
Books for sale on the Ciboney Tribe
Our organization earns a commission from any book bought through these links
The Ciboney Culture of Cayo Redondo, Cuba:
Archaeology text on the Ciboney civilization.
Art and Archaeology of Pre-Columbian Cuba: 
Cuba Before Columbus:
Books on the Taino and Ciboney prehistory of Cuba.
Ciboneyes, Lucayos and Tainos Languages of the Caribbean Mapa Taino: Tribes of Cuba: Antilles Tribes Map:
Maps showing possible locations of the Ciboney and their neighbors in the Caribbean.
Principal Ciboney Sites:
Map showing the location of Ciboney archaeological sites in Cuba,
The Ciboney:
Pictographs and artifact photos from the Ciboney people of Cuba.
Seafarers and Sculptors of the Caribbean:
Article on the history and lifeways of the Ciboney, Arawak and Carib peoples.
Links, References, and Additional Information
Britannica: Ciboney Wikipedia: Ciboney:
Encyclopedia articles about the Ciboney tribe.
Native Americans of Cuba:
Information about indigenous culture and archaeology in Cuba.
Etnia Siboneyes Los Siboneyes:
Information about the Ciboney people and their language in Spanish.
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