Manatee

Опубликовано: 26 Август 2026
на канале: Amanax' Ri

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The Manti/Manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) is a mammal. That is why its name, which in the Kaliña language means "Breast" is used. Since the Manatee is a mammal that suckles its young.

This animal is one that stays with its young for around two years.

In Borikén the manatee population is about 600 to 700 individuals. In order to conserve this species, since more individuals die than are born, this group has been classified in danger of extinction. This situation, together with its low reproductive rate, is aggravated by the unfavorable conditions created by man.

Our pre-Columbian Caribbean grandparents had great appreciation for this species.

In general, the Kalinago did not consume their meat while the Taino Ancestors did and their bones were used to make ceremonial objects.

The word Manatí was adopted from the Kalí'na language by the Taíno and there is a very similar one that comes from the same etymology in the Eyéri and Kalínago languages.

There is a beautiful story about this beautiful animal that is partly oral tradition and ethnographic story. It is called the story of "Matũm the Generous", I will relate it to you below:

~ The story of Matũm el Generoso, the Manatee of the Karamatex chieftain from the island of Jaití / Kiskeya (Hispaniola) one of the islands of the Taino Nation of the Antilles.

~One day the natives found a small manatee caught in the fishing nets, as it was small and docile, they took it to a narrow lagoon formed by the river so that the Yukayeke could enjoy its presence. Over time the animal grew to a great size, much like the size of fishing canoes. The Karamatex chief found out and went to see the animal, he was so surprised by the nobility and greatness of the animal that he called it Matũm which means in the Ancestral Taíno language, "Generous".

From that moment the children began to call him that, they approached the lagoon and just shouted "Matũm!" Matũm! The animal came out of the water and approached the shore. Matũm ate whatever was handed to him and became the children's spoiled animal, played with the boys, moved to the sound of music and even allowed them to climb on him. He passed men from one parte of the lagoon to the other part, sometimes 10 a time.

But one day the island was filled with silence, some men in strange clothes came from the sea and fought with the people of Karamatex. The natives had to flee towards the jungle defeated by the firearms of the foreigners.

Thus, Matũm was left alone in the lagoon. One afternoon when he was eating herbs from the shore, one of the strangers approached the animal, who, accustomed to the caresses of the natives, continued to eat quietly, but the man threw a spear at him. From that moment, Matũm began to surface just to breathe; Afraid of being harmed, he decided to live underwater.

One morning the sky turned dark and a terrible

hurricane unleashed. The river that connected the lagoon with the sea overflowed and Matũm was swept away by the current, he was never seen again. The water had returned him to his place of origin.

Adapted from an anecdote from De Orbe Novo Decadis (1516) by Pedro Mártir de Anglería, chronicler of the Indies.

The conversation on the video is in the pre-Columbian Eyéri language. One of the Ancestral languages of the Caribbean that existed together with the Taíno language.