Nicarao people: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Fixed error; the huetares and the nahuas ceased warfare against each other when the Spanish arrived, according to the source I provided
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
→‎History and Spanish contact: Reworded sentence, diplomacy wasn't the right vocabulary
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
Line 24: Line 24:
==History and Spanish contact==
==History and Spanish contact==
[[File:Monument of cacique macuilmiquiztli ruler of the nicarao.jpg|thumb|Monument to [[Macuilmiquiztli]], ruler of the Nicarao]]
[[File:Monument of cacique macuilmiquiztli ruler of the nicarao.jpg|thumb|Monument to [[Macuilmiquiztli]], ruler of the Nicarao]]
After the Nicarao split from their [[Pipil people|sister tribe]] and migrated further south into what is now western Nicaragua and northwestern Costa Rica, they waged war and displaced many neighboring tribes including the [[Cacaopera people|Cacaopera]], the [[Chorotega people|Chorotega]], and the [[Huetar people|Huetares]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/983406|title= The Ethnic Affinities of the Guetares of Costa Rica}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/antropologia/article/view/1968|title= The Nicarao, The Voto Indians and the Huetares In Conflict}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/482092|title= Ethnohistoric Sources on the Pipil-Nicarao of Central America: A Critical Analysis}}</ref> The Nicaraos also enslaved and captured Cacaoperas for human sacrifice and further displaced them from [[Jinotega Department|Jinotega]], [[Esteli Department|Esteli]], [[Boaco Department|Boaco]], and parts of [[Matagalpa Department|Matagalpa]], particularly the [[Sébaco|Sebaco valley]], one of the most fertile areas in Nicaragua which the Nicarao still inhabit today.<ref>Ibarra Rojas, 1994, p. 236</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://territorioindigenaygobernanza.com/web/nnic_09/|title = Nahoas. Territorio indígena y gobernanza}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://visitaboaco.mcnicaraguense.org/boaco-al-desnudo-libro.html?start=25/|title = Naked Boaco}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mapanicaragua.com/cultura-de-esteli/|title = Culture of Esteli}}</ref> Although the Nicarao displaced rival tribes through warfare, they also developed [[commerce]] and trade relations with smaller tribes, maintaining hegemony over the region through military superiority and diplomacy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/nicarao|title= Nicarao}}</ref> At the time of Spanish contact the Nicarao were ruled by a ''[[cacique]]'' that the Spanish called [[Nicarao (cacique)|Nicarao]], whose real name was Macuilmiquiztli, meaning "Five Deaths" in the [[Nahuatl]] language.<ref>"Nicarao" </ref><ref>"Encuentro" </ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Sánchez|first1=Edwin|title=De Macuilmiquiztli al Güegüence pasando por Fernando Silva|url=https://www.el19digital.com/articulos/ver/titulo:47267-de-macuilmiquiztli-al-gueguence-pasando-por-fernando-silva|access-date=April 12, 2017|work=El 19|date=October 3, 2016|trans-title=From Macuilmiquizli to Güegüence through Fernando Silva|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Silva|first1=Fernando|title=Macuilmiquiztli|url=http://archivo.elnuevodiario.com.ni/cultural/118693-macuilmiquiztli/|access-date=April 12, 2017|work=El Nuevo Diario|date=March 15, 2003|language=es}}</ref> Macuilmiquiztli governed the Nicarao from his capital [[Quauhcapolca]], not far from the modern town of [[Rivas, Nicaragua|Rivas]].<ref>McCafferty and McCafferty 2009, p. 186.</ref> Seemingly not understanding the threat, Macuilmiquiztli initially welcomed the Spanish and their [[Tlaxcaltec|Tlaxcalan]] translators, but later waged war against the invaders. Nicarao warriors forced the Spanish to withdraw back to Panama.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/fruit-and-axes-of-gold-consuming-indigenous-heritages-in-nicaragua/|title = Fruit and Axes of Gold Consuming Indigenous Heritages in Nicaragua}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historicas.unam.mx/publicaciones/publicadigital/libros/religion/137_04_01_Testimonios.pdf|title = The Testimonies and Origins of the Nicaraos}}</ref> The Nicarao hegemony over the region came to an end during the [[Spanish conquest of Nicaragua]] in 1524 CE, resulting in the Nicarao experiencing a devastating demographic and societal collapse from a combination of disease, war against the Spanish and their Tlaxcalan allies, and being sold into [[Slavery in the Caribbean|slavery]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.noticonquista.unam.mx/amoxtli/2619/2619|title = The Tlaxcalan Memory of the Conquest}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/nicarao|title= Nicarao}}</ref>
After the Nicarao split from their [[Pipil people|sister tribe]] and migrated further south into what is now western Nicaragua and northwestern Costa Rica, they waged war and displaced many neighboring tribes including the [[Cacaopera people|Cacaopera]], the [[Chorotega people|Chorotega]], and the [[Huetar people|Huetares]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/983406|title= The Ethnic Affinities of the Guetares of Costa Rica}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/antropologia/article/view/1968|title= The Nicarao, The Voto Indians and the Huetares In Conflict}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/482092|title= Ethnohistoric Sources on the Pipil-Nicarao of Central America: A Critical Analysis}}</ref> The Nicaraos also enslaved and captured Cacaoperas for human sacrifice and further displaced them from [[Jinotega Department|Jinotega]], [[Esteli Department|Esteli]], [[Boaco Department|Boaco]], and parts of [[Matagalpa Department|Matagalpa]], particularly the [[Sébaco|Sebaco valley]], one of the most fertile areas in Nicaragua which the Nicarao still inhabit today.<ref>Ibarra Rojas, 1994, p. 236</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://territorioindigenaygobernanza.com/web/nnic_09/|title = Nahoas. Territorio indígena y gobernanza}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://visitaboaco.mcnicaraguense.org/boaco-al-desnudo-libro.html?start=25/|title = Naked Boaco}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mapanicaragua.com/cultura-de-esteli/|title = Culture of Esteli}}</ref> Although the Nicarao displaced rival tribes through warfare, they also developed trade relations with smaller tribes, maintaining hegemony over the region through military superiority and [[commerce]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/nicarao|title= Nicarao}}</ref> At the time of Spanish contact the Nicarao were ruled by a ''[[cacique]]'' that the Spanish called [[Nicarao (cacique)|Nicarao]], whose real name was Macuilmiquiztli, meaning "Five Deaths" in the [[Nahuatl]] language.<ref>"Nicarao" </ref><ref>"Encuentro" </ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Sánchez|first1=Edwin|title=De Macuilmiquiztli al Güegüence pasando por Fernando Silva|url=https://www.el19digital.com/articulos/ver/titulo:47267-de-macuilmiquiztli-al-gueguence-pasando-por-fernando-silva|access-date=April 12, 2017|work=El 19|date=October 3, 2016|trans-title=From Macuilmiquizli to Güegüence through Fernando Silva|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Silva|first1=Fernando|title=Macuilmiquiztli|url=http://archivo.elnuevodiario.com.ni/cultural/118693-macuilmiquiztli/|access-date=April 12, 2017|work=El Nuevo Diario|date=March 15, 2003|language=es}}</ref> Macuilmiquiztli governed the Nicarao from his capital [[Quauhcapolca]], not far from the modern town of [[Rivas, Nicaragua|Rivas]].<ref>McCafferty and McCafferty 2009, p. 186.</ref> Seemingly not understanding the threat, Macuilmiquiztli initially welcomed the Spanish and their [[Tlaxcaltec|Tlaxcalan]] translators, but later waged war against the invaders. Nicarao warriors forced the Spanish to withdraw back to Panama.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/fruit-and-axes-of-gold-consuming-indigenous-heritages-in-nicaragua/|title = Fruit and Axes of Gold Consuming Indigenous Heritages in Nicaragua}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historicas.unam.mx/publicaciones/publicadigital/libros/religion/137_04_01_Testimonios.pdf|title = The Testimonies and Origins of the Nicaraos}}</ref> The Nicarao hegemony over the region came to an end during the [[Spanish conquest of Nicaragua]] in 1524 CE, resulting in the Nicarao experiencing a devastating demographic and societal collapse from a combination of disease, war against the Spanish and their Tlaxcalan allies, and being sold into [[Slavery in the Caribbean|slavery]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.noticonquista.unam.mx/amoxtli/2619/2619|title = The Tlaxcalan Memory of the Conquest}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/nicarao|title= Nicarao}}</ref>


==Origin and distribution==
==Origin and distribution==

Revision as of 02:11, 4 March 2024

Nicarao
Nahua community in Rivas, Nicaragua
Nahua community in Rivas, Nicaragua
Nahua community in Rivas, Nicaragua.
Total population
20,000+
Regions with significant populations
Western Nicaragua and northwestern Costa Rica
 NicaraguaEstimated 20,000[1][2]
 Costa Rica~1000
Languages
Nawat, Nicaraguan Spanish
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholic
Related ethnic groups
Nahuas, Pipil people, Mexica

The Nicarao are a Nahua people who live in western Nicaragua and northwestern Costa Rica.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] They spoke the Nahuat language before it went extinct in both countries.

The Nicarao are believed to be descendants of migrating Toltecs.[10][11][12] The Nicarao migrated from North America and central and southern Mexico over the course of several centuries from approximately 700 CE onwards.[13] However there is also evidence to suggest that this branch of the Nahua originated in Chiapas and the Yucatan, most likely descended from Toltec invaders of Chichen Itza.[14][15][16][17] Around 1200 CE, the Nicarao split from the Pipil people and moved into what is now Nicaragua.[18] The migration of the Nicarao has been linked to the collapse of the important central-Mexican cities of Teotihuacan and Tula, as well as the Classic Maya collapse. The Nicarao settled throughout western Nicaragua, such as Rivas, Jinotega, Chinandega, Nueva Segovia, Tiger Lagoon, Lake Xolotlan, Lake Nicaragua, Ometepe Island, Matagalpa, Esteli, and parts of Leon, Granada and Managua.[19][20][21][22][23] The Nicarao also settled in Bagaces, Costa Rica after kicking out the Huetar people that were already there, resulting in tribal warfare between the Nahuas and the Huetares which lasted until Spanish arrival.[24][25] As a Mesoamerican group, the Nicarao shared many blended cultural traits with both indigenous North American and Mexican belief systems as well as their Toltec parent tribe, including an identical Toltec calendar, similar organizational treaties, the use of screenfold books, the worship of the Great Spirit and closely related sky deities, Nagual mysticism, the practice of animal and Tonal spirituality, and expertise in medical practice.[26][27][28][29][30]

History and Spanish contact

Monument to Macuilmiquiztli, ruler of the Nicarao

After the Nicarao split from their sister tribe and migrated further south into what is now western Nicaragua and northwestern Costa Rica, they waged war and displaced many neighboring tribes including the Cacaopera, the Chorotega, and the Huetares.[31][32][33] The Nicaraos also enslaved and captured Cacaoperas for human sacrifice and further displaced them from Jinotega, Esteli, Boaco, and parts of Matagalpa, particularly the Sebaco valley, one of the most fertile areas in Nicaragua which the Nicarao still inhabit today.[34][35][36][37] Although the Nicarao displaced rival tribes through warfare, they also developed trade relations with smaller tribes, maintaining hegemony over the region through military superiority and commerce.[38] At the time of Spanish contact the Nicarao were ruled by a cacique that the Spanish called Nicarao, whose real name was Macuilmiquiztli, meaning "Five Deaths" in the Nahuatl language.[39][40][41][42] Macuilmiquiztli governed the Nicarao from his capital Quauhcapolca, not far from the modern town of Rivas.[43] Seemingly not understanding the threat, Macuilmiquiztli initially welcomed the Spanish and their Tlaxcalan translators, but later waged war against the invaders. Nicarao warriors forced the Spanish to withdraw back to Panama.[44][45] The Nicarao hegemony over the region came to an end during the Spanish conquest of Nicaragua in 1524 CE, resulting in the Nicarao experiencing a devastating demographic and societal collapse from a combination of disease, war against the Spanish and their Tlaxcalan allies, and being sold into slavery.[46][47]

Origin and distribution

Spiral petroglyphs found at ancient Nicarao settlements on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua.

The Nicarao people migrated south from North America and central and southern Mexico over the course of several centuries from approximately 700 CE onwards. Around 1200 CE, the Nicarao split from the Pipil people and moved into what is now Nicaragua. The beginning of this series of migrations was likely to have been linked to the collapse of the great central-Mexican city of Teotihuacan, and later with the collapse of the Toltec city of Tula.[48] The dating of Nicarao arrival in what is now Nicaragua has also been linked to the Classic Maya collapse, with the cessation of Maya influence in the region, and the rise of cultural traits originating in the Valley of Mexico.[49] The Nicarao had a sizeable population concentrated in nucleated villages all over western Nicaragua and what is now northwestern Costa Rica.[50][51] They displaced both the Chorotega and the Cacaopera that had previously settled the region.[52] The Nicarao appear to have seized control of the most productive land around the western portions of Lake Nicaragua, and the Gulf of Fonseca.[53] The area now covered by Rivas Department appears to have been conquered by the Nicarao shortly before the Spanish conquest.[54][27]

A remnant Nahuat-speaking population existed as late as the mid-19th century, but the Nicarao as a tribal Confederation are now extinct.[50] Today Nicaragua is estimated to have around 20,000 Nicarao people. In Costa Rica the Nicarao population ranges from several hundred to 1000 and are primarily located in the Bagaces District, with smaller pockets inhabiting other parts of Bagaces Canton and elsewhere in Guanacaste. Some of their practices and beliefs continue to survive among their descendants within the Nahua communities of Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Major settlements

Nicarao vase depicting Quetzalcoatl (800-1350 CE), near the Asososca lagoon (Managua), Nicaragua

At the time of contact with the Spanish, the Nicarao were governed from their capital at Quauhcapolca, near the modern town of Rivas. Other principal settlements included Ometepe, Asososca Lagoon (Managua), Mistega, Ochomogo, Oxmorio, Papagayo, Tecoatega, Teoca, Totoaca, and Xoxoyota.[55]

Culture

A pre-Columbian Nicarao effigy of a Techichi, Rivas, Nicaragua.

Like most other Nahua groups, the Nicarao were agriculturalists, and cultivated maize, cacao, tomatoes, avocados, squash, beans, and chili.[56][57][58][59] The Nicarao also had elaborate markets and permanent temples indicating some level of expertise in architecture, which have since been completely destroyed by the Spanish.[60][61] Although not much is known about Nicarao military structure, they did in fact have a warrior tradition. Nicarao warriors wore padded cotton armor, fought with clubs edged with obsidian blades, tecpatl-style daggers with obsidian or flint blades and bow and arrows.[62] Spanish chronicler Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, writing soon after the conquest, recorded that the Nicarao practised cranial modification, by binding the heads of young children between two pieces of wood. Archaeologists have unearthed pre-Columbian burials in the former Nicarao region with evidence of both cranial and dental modification.[63] The Nicarao possessed a number of cultural traits in common with North American tribes as well as the Toltecs of central Mexico, including an identical calendar, the use of screenfold books, worship of the Great Spirit and a Toltec pantheon of deities such as sky spirits, animal spirits and Tonal mythology, Nagual mysticism, and treaties.[64][65][28] They also, in common with their Mexican cousins from Aztec culture, practiced ritual confession, and the volador (flying men) ritual.[66][67]

Legacy

Despite their massive decrease in population and the loss of their native language, the Nicarao, and their culture, are still an integral part of Nicaraguan identity. Towns, lakes, islands, and volcanoes bear their place names, Nicaraguan Spanish has been heavily influenced by their native language, and the popularity of the nacatamal, a national dish of Nicaragua, has cemented itself in the legacy of Nicaraguan gastronomy. The nacatamal is arguably their greatest contribution to Nicaraguan culture.[68][69][70][71][72][73]

Notes

  1. ^ "Indigenous peoples in Nicaragua".
  2. ^ Nicaragua. https://minorityrights.org/country/nicaragua/
  3. ^ "Las culturas indígenas y su medioambiente".
  4. ^ "Central American Nahua".
  5. ^ "The Kingdom of this world".
  6. ^ "The Aboriginals of Costa Rica".
  7. ^ "Do you know the origin of the word Guanacaste".
  8. ^ "Guanacaste is a practically autonomous ethnolinguistic area and different from the rest of the country".
  9. ^ "Culture, art and reading, visit Bagaces Guanacaste by the UCR".
  10. ^ "Migraciones de lengua Náhuatl hacia Centroamérica".
  11. ^ "Were the Toltecs an Historic Nationality".
  12. ^ "Las migraciones nahuas de México a Nicaragua según las fuentes históricas".
  13. ^ "Nicarao".
  14. ^ Campbell, Lyle (January 1, 1985). The Pipil Language of El Salvador. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 10–12. ISBN 978-3-11-088199-8.
  15. ^ "NAHUA IN ANCIENT MESOAMERICA: Evidence from Maya inscriptions".
  16. ^ "Chichen Itza: The Tollan of the Yucatan".
  17. ^ "Toltec".
  18. ^ Fowler 1985, p. 37.
  19. ^ "Nahoas. Territorio indígena y gobernanza".
  20. ^ "Laguna de Asososca: The Ultimate Guide to This Hidden Gem".
  21. ^ "Laguna de Asososca o Laguna del Tigre".
  22. ^ "Nicaraguan Anthropology".
  23. ^ "Culture of Esteli".
  24. ^ "The Ethnic Affinities of the Guetares of Costa Rica".
  25. ^ "The Nicarao, The Voto Indians and the Huetares In Conflict".
  26. ^ Eagle, Obsidian (2020-11-25). "Who Were The Toltecs?". Medium. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  27. ^ a b Manion, Jessica (2016). "Remembering the Ancestors: Mortuary Practices and Social Memory in Pacific Nicaragua" (PDF). University of Calgary. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  28. ^ a b Frost, Melissa June (August 10, 2017). "Herbs That Madden, Herbs That Cure: A History of Hallucinogenic Plant Use in Colonial Mexico" (PDF). University of Virginia. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  29. ^ Fowler, William R. (1989-01-01). "The Cultural Evolution of Ancient Nahua Civilizations The Pipil Nicarao of Central America". The Cultural Evolution of Ancient Nahua Civilizations the Pipil Nicarao of Central America.
  30. ^ "Contemporary Transformations of Indigenous Medicine and Ethnic Identity".
  31. ^ "The Ethnic Affinities of the Guetares of Costa Rica".
  32. ^ "The Nicarao, The Voto Indians and the Huetares In Conflict".
  33. ^ "Ethnohistoric Sources on the Pipil-Nicarao of Central America: A Critical Analysis".
  34. ^ Ibarra Rojas, 1994, p. 236
  35. ^ "Nahoas. Territorio indígena y gobernanza".
  36. ^ "Naked Boaco".
  37. ^ "Culture of Esteli".
  38. ^ "Nicarao".
  39. ^ "Nicarao"
  40. ^ "Encuentro"
  41. ^ Sánchez, Edwin (October 3, 2016). "De Macuilmiquiztli al Güegüence pasando por Fernando Silva" [From Macuilmiquizli to Güegüence through Fernando Silva]. El 19 (in Spanish). Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  42. ^ Silva, Fernando (March 15, 2003). "Macuilmiquiztli". El Nuevo Diario (in Spanish). Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  43. ^ McCafferty and McCafferty 2009, p. 186.
  44. ^ "Fruit and Axes of Gold Consuming Indigenous Heritages in Nicaragua".
  45. ^ "The Testimonies and Origins of the Nicaraos" (PDF).
  46. ^ "The Tlaxcalan Memory of the Conquest".
  47. ^ "Nicarao".
  48. ^ Fowler 1985, p. 37. Healy 1980, 2006a, p. 339.
  49. ^ Healy 1980, 2006a, p. 337.
  50. ^ a b Fowler 1985, p. 38.
  51. ^ Healy 1980, 2006a, p.338.
  52. ^ McCafferty and McCafferty 2009, p. 186.
  53. ^ Salamanca 2012, p. 14.
  54. ^ Healy 1980, 2006a, p. 336.
  55. ^ Healy 1980, 2006b, p. 21.
  56. ^ Fowler, 1989
  57. ^ "Chocolate in Mesoamerica A Cultural History of Cacao" (PDF).
  58. ^ "Costa Rican Archaeology and Mesoamerica" (PDF).
  59. ^ "The Distribution of Cacao Cultivation in Pre-Columbian America".
  60. ^ "The Kingdom Of This World".
  61. ^ "Costa Rican Archaeology and Mesoamerica" (PDF).
  62. ^ "Costa Rican Archaeology and Mesoamerica" (PDF).
  63. ^ McCafferty and McCafferty 2009, p. 188.
  64. ^ McCafferty 2015, p. 111.
  65. ^ Manion, Jessica (2016). "Remembering the Ancestors: Mortuary Practices and Social Memory in Pacific Nicaragua" (PDF). University of Calgary. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  66. ^ Healy 1980, 2006b, p. 31.
  67. ^ Frühsorge, Lars (2010). "Unwrapping the Sacred Bundle: Problems of Cultural Continuity and Regional Diversity in the Study of Ancient Maya Deities". University of Hamburg. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  68. ^ "The Nahuatl-Spanish Dialect of Nicaragua".
  69. ^ "2 Ways Nahuatl Helped Shape Nicaraguan Spanish".
  70. ^ "Nahuatl Placenames In Nicaragua".
  71. ^ "Current situation of the Nahuatl substrate in Nicaraguan Spanish".
  72. ^ "El sustrato náhuatl en el español de Nicaragua según el Diccionario de la lengua española".
  73. ^ "Situación actual del sustrato náhuatl en el español de Nicaragua".

References

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nicarao_people&oldid=1211720930"