Dead Men Tell No Tales

Chapter 1. : Story Of Chitta

I awaken, quite fearfully, from my horrifying dream to the sound of thunder rolling in the dark blanket of the night. I had a dream, a bad dream, that foretold a warning from the thunder god about colorful images with razor sharp sticks and other sticks that spoke the sound of the tabor, causing our sands to be stained with blood and our people depression and death.

I carefully exited my caneye and entered my Cacique's Bohio to tell him about my dream, but he called me a mere child and children normally have bad dreams on nights such as these. However, I knew that this was not just a dream ,but a warning. Still I brought my worries with me to slumber land.

Hello! My name is Chitta which means 'the one who sees'.

I am a female Taino of the island Yamaye. I was quite beautiful, with my long black hair that was decorated with colourful parrot feathers and sun kissed brown skin. I have nine younger siblings and 12 older siblings who I love with all of me.

Every day I would wake up from my Hamaca and help to prepare morning meal such as casabe and manatee then plant and reap crops in our conuco and making them smile towards the morning sun. After that I would take my younger siblings to the plaza and play the ball game Bato with them. Then we would gather the flames that brought light as darkness blanketed over us. I'd enjoy the heat from the flame with my family as the flame burn low. After wishing fair dreams I'd drift off to slumber land and have that terrifying dream all over again from my hurricane and drought gods.

One day I saw great canoes swimming queerly towards our coast. I had hidden myself among the trees with my family as the great canoes stumbled upon our land. The canoes spat out three tall, pale creatures wrapped in colorful cloth from top to bottom. They pushed three tall sticks into the sand and from the sticks rolled out more rainbow cloth. Our Cacique came out of his bohio and went to greet his visitors.

"Please do not welcome them, they are not friendly. These are the creatures from my dream, do not welcome them", I tried to tell him but he did not listen. "These are obviously messengers from the hurricane god. Their fur is the color of angry clouds and their skin is of our sand, not like us at all! We must welcome them".

Other Tainos of my village surrounded them in fascination, investigating them. They looked like men, but are not men! They smile wicked smiles unlike men, but claim they are men! They even walked like men but do not speak the tongue of men. I knew ever since my Cacique gave them his crown that welcoming them would be a disastrous mistake.

After we had the welcoming ceremony and everyone was sound asleep, the strange creatures led me and my little sister, Hibiscus, to their canoes with long hard sticks at the back of our heads. They also took two men from our village, one bird and one iguana and some other tools. After sailing far out sea I found the courage to escape so I took my sister and jumped off board into the sea and headed for shore.

For what seemed like a full year I reached shore, hungry and tired.

I felt happy when I arrived only to be killed a million times over when the colorful men dragged me and hibiscus forcefully to shore and pushed me in front of a man he called Captain Columbus.

They then spoke in a language I did not understand. I looked at my homes that once belong to me, only to see depression and sadness among my people. The way they looked one could tell the amount of pain and suffering they have been through and I knew if I did not get away I would have to suffer too.

Days passed since that day, every day I had to scavenge the earth and rob it and others of their gold in order to preserve me and my sister's life as she and I were the only one left out of our entire family. I had to work hard all day only to be treated with little food and disrespect. Hibiscus and I were some of the few who did not catch any disease from the Europeans yet still we knew we had to escape.

So I made a plan. A plan to run to the far hills where the other escapees play, so I no longer have to be under the rule of retched  evil, I no longer have to speak the tongue that did not belong to my mouth and hibiscus could finally be free and happy. Then one day my suffering ended.

One day when we were turning in the gold we found .I got really frustrated and angry at the Europeans for grabbing my breasts and spat in their face. He then stained my face with so much pain I fell to the ground. That's when I grabbed my sister and ran. Run. Running, chasing after freedom! As fast as my short legs could carry me.

Then I heard a bang of the tabor and pain ran down my left arm, another bang of the tabor and pain played in my head. I looked at my sister and then myself and all I saw was blood. Blood oozing out of me like an angry volcano. Still I felt happy, for I was about to experience true freedom. With one finale glare at the Europeans I turn to my crying sister with a comforting smile on my face and whispered to her "Run, be free, chase after freedom and never let it go......."and then I collapsed to her screaming voice. Never to wake up again.

An: to clear up some possible confusion, this story is about a Taino girl. A native in the Caribbean before Christopher Columbus arrived. I wrote this story in what I believed would be a Taino's point of view on Christopher Columbus "discovering" her home land.
The following words are the new age meaning
Caneye : basically their house
Cacique : leader
Bohio : his house
Yamaye: Jamaica
Hamaca : basically a bed
Tabor : a drum that makes a really loud bang! Sound
Canoe : a boat.