Caribbean Matters is a weekly series from Daily Kos. Hope you’ll join us here every Saturday. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.

The legendary Taino goddess Guabancex has struck the Caribbean once again, this time wreaking havoc on Jamaica, Cuba and points north in the form of Hurricane Melissa. It was clocked as one of the most powerful storms to hit the region in recorded history.

We often forget where the word “hurricane” comes from.

“The term ‘hurricane’ finds its roots in the Caribbean, where the indigenous Taíno people of the Greater Antilles worshiped a storm deity named Juracán,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s official website explains. “This god’s name may also have come from

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