Xtabi

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Xtabi
Cove
Cave at Xtabi, Jamaica (February 2007).jpg
An Xtabi cave.
Jamaica location map.svg
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Xtabi
Coordinates: 18°16′12″N78°22′05″W / 18.2700215°N 78.3679515°W / 18.2700215; -78.3679515 Coordinates: 18°16′12″N78°22′05″W / 18.2700215°N 78.3679515°W / 18.2700215; -78.3679515
Country Jamaica
Parish Westmoreland
Town Negril
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)

Xtabi is a cove on the cliffs of Negril, in Westmoreland, Jamaica. It consists of a labyrinth of caves and passageways carved from solid rock over millennia of ocean water striking it. [1]

Contents

An eponymous hotel sits atop the cliffs.

History

The first inhabitants of Xtabi were the Ciboney Indians, who arrived from the coast of South America around 500 B.C. [2] The Ciboney who were also known as “Cave dwellers” lived along the cliffs of Negril for hundreds of years before eventually being displaced by the Arawaks in 750 A.D. The name Xtabi is derived from an Arawak word, which means “meeting place of the gods”. [3]

Cave at Xtabi, Jamaica (external view - February 2007).jpg

See also

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References

  1. Jamaica Underground: The Caves, Sinkholes and Underground Rivers of the Island, Alan G. Fincham, University of the West Indies Press, 1998-03-31, page ?, ISBN   978-976-640-036-1.
  2. Jamaica.Sean Sheehan & Angela Black, Marshall Cavendish Children's Books, October 2004, page 21, ISBN   978-0-7614-1785-9.
  3. Xtabi, Frommer's Review (defines the Arawak word).