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Cacique or Cazique (female form: Cacica) is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. Following their first encounters with the Taino upon their arrival in the New World, the Spanish used the word as a title for the leaders of the other American tribes they encountered predominantly in Latin America. The term is still used in the Portuguese language to describe the leaders of indigenous communities in Brazil. The term cazique is also often used in contemporary American literature (for example, Momaday's House Made of Dawn) to refer to Native American group leaders in the United States.

[edit] See also

• Lonko
• Kalku
• Machi (shaman)

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