The chiefdoms of Hispaniola (cacicazgo in Spanish) were the primary political units employed by the Taíno inhabitants of Hispaniola (Taíno: Ayiti, Quisqueya, or Bohio) in the early historical era. At the time of European contact in 1492, the island was divided into five chiefdoms or cacicazgos, each headed by a cacique or paramount chief. Below him were lesser caciques presiding over villages or districts and nitaínos, an elite class in Taíno society. The Taíno of Hispaniola were an Arawak people related to the inhabitants of the other islands in the Greater Antilles. At the time of European contact, they were at war with a rival indigenous group, the Island Caribs. In 1508, there were about 60,000 Taínos in the island of Hispaniola; by 1531 infectious disease epidemics and exploitation had resulted in a dramatic decline in population. The boundaries of each cacicazgo were precise. The first inhabitants of the island used geographic elements as references, such as major rivers, high mountains, notable valleys and plains. This enabled them to define each territory. Each was divided into cacique nitaínos, subdivisions headed by the cacique helpers. The entries below relate the territory of each former cacique to the modern-day departments of Haiti and the provinces of the Dominican Republic. Chiefdom of Marién The cacicazgo of Marién included the entire northwestern part of Hispaniola, bordered to the north by the Atlantic Ocean, the south by the cacicazgo of Jaragua, east by the cacicazgos of Maguá and Maguana, and west by the Windward Passage. It was ruled by the cacique Guacanagaríx, with its capital located in El Guarico, near the present-day city of Cap-Haïtien. It was divided into 14 nitaínos. This cacicazgo was the first to welcome Christopher Columbus and to convert to Christianity. The cacicazgo of Marién fought against the cacicazgo Mairena, which was aided by Caonabo of the cacicazgo of Maguana for control of the mythical 'Mother' goddess Iermao. The 'Mother' Iermao was the goddess of the cacicazgo of Marién, which means "body stone". Geographic scope Dominican Republic Dajabón Monte Cristi Santiago Rodríguez Valverde Haiti Artibonite Centre Nord-Est Nord-Ouest Nord Chiefdom of Maguá The cacicazgo of Maguá was located on the northeastern part of Hispaniola, bordered to the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean, the south by the cacicazgos of Maguana and Higüey, and west by the cacicazgos of Marién and Maguana. This chiefdom's territories are all in present-day Dominican Republic.