The Lenca are one of the oldest First Nations in the Americas. They have lived continuously in eastern El Salvador since about 8,500 BCE and are a sister people of the Maya. Following the collapse of Copan in the 9th century, the visiting Lenca royalty returned to eastern El Salvador and re-formed the Lenca nation. This royalty, led by Princess Antu Silan Ulap, initiated the resistance against the Spanish conquistadores in 1526, continued by Lempira.
We were fortunate to have a member of the Lenca royalty visiting the San Francisco region early last week, Antonio Chevez. Antonio currently lives in Australia, having been forced into exile soon after El Salvador's civil war ended in 1992. While staying close to his spiritual roots, Antonio takes a modernizing position for indigenous, saying that the Maya and Lenca were at the cutting edge of technology for thousands of years so why shouldn't they continue to accept and develop new technologies. In addition, the Lenca were always known for their ability with language, collectively speaking most languages in the Americas, so modern Lenca should be speaking the world's major languages. The Lenca were also among the primary traders in the Americas, bridging the gap between North and South American products.
The Lenca people and especially the royalty have maintained the traditions through oral history. Antonio was raised by his grandmother and heard many oral traditions and histories growing up, including the creation story. He assumed they were the stories everyone heard.
One of those stories is the Moloilu, a sacred reading, done in a group, which leads to enlightenment, attaining duality. We read the Moloilu with Antonio. It speaks of the 13 levels of heaven and Akú, the provider god. In Ch'orti' Maya, Moloilu (morohiroh) means "open-eyed gathering."
Antonio described the Lenca story of the creation of humans. The creation grandmother had atol (corn paste) and cacao paste, but these were not sufficient to create humans, so she called on her animal friends:
- First came the armadillo which gave a spine and structure to humans
- Then the rabbit gave sexual organs to humans, as well as joy, laugh, and dance
- Next the jaguar gave its belly to humans, as well as speed and a beautiful spotted pelt
- The fourth animal to help creation grandmother was the turtle which gave humans its heart as well as love
- Then the monkey came to give its fingers and toes, writing, math, and wisdom
- Finally the eagle flew in and made a nest on the head of human-in-formation. He left strings inside the head which are the dreams, deep thoughts, and angst that humans have.
Ideally humans are born which each of these six animal spirits. Typically people are strong in two of the six, and these combinations make up the personality types. If a child is too strong in one, the parents and elders will take actions to diminish it. And if a child is weak in one area, parents and elders plan activities that will strengthen that animal, including contact with the actual animal.
Finally, Antonio spoke of the human sacrifice cult in Mexico from about 1300 CE to 1525 CE. This was a cult of the Aztecs and their predessors, including the Tapanec and Mexica. In my own research I have identified the Tapanec and Mexica as coming from the northwest coast area of Nayarit and Mazatlan, Mexico ("Mazatlan" later became "Aztlan"), and were an ancient Quiche Maya remnant who lost some of the Quiche ways over the years.
As the Tapanec and Mexica came to power they enforced the human sacrifice cult. Many neighboring groups suffered great losses and many fled, causing a flow of Nahuat refugees to Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. In El Salvador the Nahuat were called Pipil and settled in the west of the country while the Lenca remained in the east.
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