Nicarao people

The Nicarao are an Indigenous Nahua people who live in western Nicaragua and northwestern Costa Rica. They spoke the Nahuat language before it went extinct in both countries after Spanish conquest.

The Nicarao are descended from Toltecs who migrated from North America and central and southern Mexico over the course of several centuries from approximately 700 CE onwards. This branch of the Nahua originated in Chiapas, which was inhabited by Nahuat-speaking Toltecs for hundreds of years before they migrated further into Central America. Around 1200 CE, the Nicarao split from the Pipil people and moved into what is now Nicaragua. 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, inhabiting Rivas, Jinotega, Chinandega, Nueva Segovia, Masaya, Madriz, Matagalpa, Esteli, Leon, Granada and Managua. In addition the Nicarao controlled Tiger Lagoon, Lake Xolotlan, Lake Nicaragua, and the islands of Ometepe and Zapatera. The Nicarao also settled in Bagaces, Costa Rica after displacing the Huetar people who were already there, resulting in tribal warfare between the Nahuas and the Huetares which lasted until Spanish arrival. 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 pottery and effigies, 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.

History and Spanish contact

After the Nicaraos split from the Pipils and migrated further south into what is now western Nicaragua and northwestern Costa Rica, they waged war and displaced many neighboring tribes including the Cacaoperas, the Chorotegas, and the Huetares. 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. 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. In 1501 after the Tlahtoani of Tenochtitlan Ahuizotl sent groups of pochtecas to explore and establish relations with the indigenous peoples of Central America, commercial relations developed between the Mexica and the Nicarao. Commercial exchange between the Mexica and the Nicarao continued to flourish after Moctezuma II ascended to the throne of Tenochtitlan as Mexica merchants traded and thrived within Nicarao territory. 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. Macuilmiquiztli governed the Nicarao from his capital Quauhcapolca, not far from the modern town of Rivas. 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. 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.

Origin and distribution

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. 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. The Nicarao had a sizeable population concentrated in nucleated villages all over western Nicaragua and what is now northwestern Costa Rica. They displaced both the Chorotega and the Cacaopera that had previously settled the region. The Nicarao appear to have seized control of the most productive land around the western portions of Lake Nicaragua, Ometepe, and the Gulf of Fonseca. The area now covered by Rivas Department appears to have been conquered by the Nicarao shortly before the Spanish conquest.

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

Major settlements

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.

Culture

Like most other Nahua groups, the Nicarao were agriculturalists, and cultivated maize, cacao, tomatoes, avocados, squash, beans, and chili. Modern Nicaraos continue to be mainly farmers and agriculturalists and contribute to the cultivation of countless fruits and crops. In the Masaya department, cocoa production continues to be dominated by the Nicaraos. Chocolate was fundamental to pre-Columbian Nicarao culture as it was drank during special ceremonies in addition to cocoa beans being used as their currency. The Nicarao also dined on various meats such as turkey, deer, iguana, mute dogs, and fish from the sea, rivers, lakes and lagoons. The Nicarao had elaborate markets and permanent temples indicating some level of expertise in architecture, which have since been completely destroyed by the Spanish. Many of the Nicarao were artisans with expertise in crafts such as pottery and goldsmithing. Tattoo artistry across the face and body was prized among the Nicarao, as observed by the Spanish and reflected in effigies and clay artwork they created; this trait was shared by neighboring Nicoyan tribes to the south as well as the Maya people to the north. Among the Nicarao, highly specialized tattoo artists were very expert and lived by their skills.

Although not much is known about Nicarao military structure, they did in fact have a warrior tradition. Nicarao warriors wore long and thick padded cotton armor that extended down to their thighs and knees, fought with spears, atlatls, bow and arrows, clubs edged with stone blades and macanas, a wooden sword edged with obsidian blades similar to the Aztec macahuitl. 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. 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. They also, in common with their Mexican cousins from Aztec culture, practiced ritual confession, and the volador (flying men) ritual.

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. Most Nicaraguans have Nahua ancestry, as proven through DNA analysis. Towns, lakes, islands, and volcanoes bear their place names. Nicaraguan Spanish has been heavily influenced by their native language. Nicaraguan cuisine such as the nacatamal and indio viejo both of which originated from the Nicarao has also cemented itself in the legacy of Nicaraguan gastronomy.

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