people of
Nevis during these periods belonged to the Leeward Island Amerindian groups
popularly referred to as Arawaksand Caribs, a complex mosaic of
ethnic groups with similar culture and language. Lennox Honychurch (D.
Phil. in Anthropology) from Dominica, a leading scholar in the history and
culture of Caribs, traces the European use of the term "Carib" to
refer to the Leeward Island aborigines to Columbus, who picked it up from
the Taínos on Hispaniola. It was not a name the Caribs called
themselves. "Carib Indians" was the generic name used for all
groups believed involved in cannibalistic war rituals, more particularly, the
consumption of parts of a killed enemy's body.
The Amerindian name for Nevis was Oualie, land of beautiful waters. The structure of the Island
Carib language has been linguistically identified as Arawakan.
Etymology
In 1498, Christopher Columbus gave the island the name San Martin (Saint
