Orocobix was the principal regional

Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

Cacique (chief) of the central mountain region of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

called Jatibonicu in the 16th century. The Jatibonicu territorial region covered the present day municipalities of

Aibonito Aibonito () is a small mountain town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the Sierra de Cayey mountain range, north of Salinas; south of Barranquitas and Comerío; east of Coamo; and west of Cidra, and Cayey. Aibonito is spread over 8 '' ...

Orocovis Orocovis (from Taino language, Orocobix popularly thought to mean "''remembrance of the first mountain''") is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range, north of Villalba and Coamo; south of Morovis and Cor ...

Barranquitas Barranquitas (, ) is a small mountain town and municipality located in the Cordillera Central region of Puerto Rico, south of Corozal and Naranjito; north of Coamo and Aibonito; west of Comerío and Cidra; and east of Orocovis. Barranquit ...

, Morovis and Corozal. The

Taíno language Taíno is an extinct Arawakan language that was spoken by the Taíno people of the Caribbean. At the time of Spanish contact, it was the most common language throughout the Caribbean. Classic Taíno (Taíno proper) was the native language of th ...

name Orocobix or O-roco-bis literally means: 'Remembrance of the First Great Mountain.' The seat of power of Orocobix's kingdom and caney (longhouse) was located in the town of

. Orocobix was the first cousin of Cacique Agüeybaná (The Great Sun). His wife was named "La Cacica" Yayo, she was the mother of Cacica Catalina. Cacique Orocobix and Cacica Yayo were both later enslaved in the year 1514 and worked in the Royal Mines of the

King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

, in

Utuado Utuado () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central mountainous region of the island known as the '' Cordillera Central''. It is located north of Adjuntas and Ponce; south of Hatillo and Arecibo; east of Lares; and west ...

. Orocobix also had a younger brother, named Cacique Oromico, who was the chief of the tribal region of ''Horomico'', that today bears the same name of the town of

Hormigueros Hormigueros (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the western region of the island, northeast of Cabo Rojo; northwest of San Germán; and south of Mayagüez. Hormigueros is spread over 5 barrios and Hormigueros Pueblo ...

. Surveyors in 1952 claimed that Palo Hincado, a barrio in Barranquitas may have been the home of Orocobix.

References

* Aurelio Tanodi (1971) ''Documentos De La Real Hacienda De Puerto Rico,'' Volumen #1 (1510–1519) Indigenous Caribbean people 16th-century indigenous people of the Americas Taíno leaders 16th-century rulers in North America Puerto Rican people of Taíno descent {{PuertoRico-bio-stub

See also

References