An easy way to show the relationships of tribes is by their languages.

The Arawaks of the West Indies include the Taino tribe of the Bahamas, the Nepoya of Trinidad, the Igneri of the Lesser Antilles and the Lucayans of the eastern coast of South America. They belonged to the Ta-Arawak language family wich extends over much of Central and South America.

The Maya people of Central America spoke the Ch'olan, Yukatecan and Tzeltalan dialects of the Maya language, ancestors of almost 40 modern dialects.

There is therefore no connection between the Arawaks and the Maya, except that they are both native American.

A few words in Ch'ol Maya and Arawak will demonstrate the difference:

English...................Maya....................Arawak

one.........................hun......................aba

two.........................cha'......................bian

three.......................ush......................kabyn

four.........................chin.....................bithi

five..........................ho'......................badakhabo

six...........................wik......................bathian

seven.......................wuk.....................bianthian

eight........................washik.................kabynthian

nine.........................bolon...................bithithian

ten...........................luhun...................biandakhabo

sun...........................kin.......................hadali

water........................sac ha..................uini

black........................chikin...................karime

white........................sak......................halhira

yellow.......................kan......................subule

blue or green..............yax.....................imoro