Lacking a written form of language before the arrival of Europeans, Kaliʼna history was passed down orally from one generation to the next through tales of myth and legend. For a long time, the few Europeans studying the history of the Amerindian people of this area did not distinguish between the various Caribbean tribes. Once the period of exploration was over, interest in the study of these people diminished greatly and did not re-emerge until the end of the 20th century, when a few French expatriates, notably Gérard Collomb, became interested in the Kaliʼna, and the Kaliʼna themselves began to relate their history, in particular Félix Tiouka, president of the Association of Amerindians of French Guiana (AAGF), and his son Alexis. For the reasons given, historical information regarding the Kaliʼna is rare and incomplete.
Pre-Columbian era Making up for lack of written records,
archaeologists have to date uncovered 273 Amerindian archeological sites on only 310 km2 of the land recovered from the
Sinnamary River by the
Petit-Saut Dam. Some date back as far as two thousand years, establishing the antiquity of the Amerindian presence in this area., The weak historical clues available indicate that before 1492, the Kaliʼna inhabited the coast (from the mouth of the
Amazon River to that of the
Orinoco), dividing their territory with the
Arawak, against whom they fought during their expansion toward the east and the
Amazon River., They were prolific travelers even though they weren't nomads. They often traveled by land and by sea as far as the area around the Orinoco river to visit family, trade, and marry. They often went to the area surrounding the Essequibo river (now in Guyana) to collect pebbles of red porphyry (
takuwa), which Kaliʼna women prized for polishing their pottery. The term
takuwa also refers to jade, which was often traded in the Americas in general.
Colonization The Palanakiłi arrive In their first contact with Europeans, the Kaliʼna thought they were dealing with the spirits of the sea, Palanakiłi, a name they use to this day when referring to whites. One of the first consequences of the arrival of Europeans, as in the case of many other Native American peoples, was a decrease in population due to violence inflicted by European soldiers
genocide, and
diseases brought over by the Europeans. The Kaliʼna quickly succumbed in large numbers, because their
immune systems were not adapted to the viruses and bacteria of the Old World.
Amerindians in Paris The second half of the nineteenth century saw the heyday of
World's Fairs, in which European countries were displaying their wealth with colonial "villages" representing the colonized cultures. Although the World's Fairs of Paris did not have "Amerindian villages", public curiosity was such that Kaliʼna were sent to the capital twice - once in 1882 and again in 1892 - to be exhibited as oddities at the
Jardin d'Acclimatation.,
1882 Fifteen Kali’na, all members of one family living in
Sinnamary and
Iracoubo, were sent to
Pau:wa ("The Land of the Whites") in July 1882. and that they were housed in
huts on the lawn of the Jardin d'Acclimatation. The trip lasted four months, including three in Paris and a month's journey by boat (round trip). They were accompanied by a Creole who acted as intermediary and, presumably, interpreter. There are several portraits of them, taken by photographer
Pierre Petit. ==The Kaliʼna today==