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'Ciboney' are pre-Columbian indigenous inhabitants of Florida, Cuba, Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica and some of the Lesser Antilles. Their language Achagua is a member of the Arawak linguistic family of South America. It is believed that the seafaring Ciboney originated from the Guajira Department of Colombia.
At the time of Columbus's arrival in 1492, there were twenty-nine principal Cacique (chieftain) territories on Cuba. The largest Ciboney population was found in the chieftain of Habana. The Ciboney were historical neighbors of the Guanajatabeys, Taino and Carib. The relationship between the other indigenous islanders has been the subject of archeological and anthropological study.
By the 1800s, several Ciboney fishing ''pueblos'' survived. Many had been decimated by European introduced diseases, and forced assimilation into the fishing economy imposed by Spain. A great number of the Ciboney society had been intermarried with the Spaniards, which resulted in mestizo children. Today, there are approximately 253 families of Ciboney ancestry in Florida.