Carib << KAR ihb >> were a warlike group of South American tribes who lived mainly in the Amazon River Valley and the Guiana lowlands. These fierce people were said to eat their war captives. Our word cannibal comes from the Spanish name for these tribes. About 1300, the Carib moved from northeastern South America to islands in the Caribbean Sea now known as the Windward Islands. They captured these islands from the Arawak (see Arawak).
The Carib were farmers and raised cassava, a root crop. They also fished, hunted, and gathered wild plants for food. They lived in small, independent villages. The people had no tribal chiefs or permanent village chiefs, but followed special leaders in time of war. The Carib, especially those who lived on the islands, were expert canoeists. They used large, planked dugouts. They hunted with traps, javelins, and clubs, and shot fish with poison arrows. The Carib are said to have valued personal independence so highly that they looked down on Spaniards who took orders from others.
Like other aggressive tribes, the Carib trained their sons for war from childhood. A boy had to prove his skill and endurance with weapons when he came of age. If he passed the tests, the tribe accepted him as a warrior and gave him a new name. Most of the Carib died from warfare and disease soon after the Spanish invasion. Today, hundreds of Carib live on the islands, in the Guianas, and in the Amazon Valley.
