The Jino people have three different legends concerning their origin. In the first, a brother and sister survived a great flood and married. The god who guided them gave them ten calabash seeds that eventually sprouted and produced all the different races of the world. The second legend says that a group of soldiers fell asleep and did not wake up at the bugle call. As a punishment, they were forced to stay and settle where they had fallen asleep, and eventually they became the Jino people. The third recounts the story of a Jino widow. She had seven boys and seven girls who married each other and reproduced.

While the Jinos practice monogamy, prospective brides and grooms are allowed to have sexual relations before marriage. Divorce is rare. In the past, villages were headed by two old, wise men. These men officiated at the spring sowing ceremony, decided when the New Year would begin, and inspected the borders of the village each year. The Jino women are noted for wearing large triangular hoods. Upon death a Jino is buried in a hollowed out tree and a hut is built over the tree.