The Indigenous History of El Salvador

Una Historia Indígena de Arcatao, El Salvador

Arcatao queda en la esquina noreste de Chalatenango, El Salvador, fronterizo con Honduras. Es un lugar caliente, con una abundancia de agua, suelos buenos, y una belleza natural que no fue perdido por los indígenas antepasados.

Hay señales que Arcatao tiene una larga historia indígena. Voy a hablar de cinco tiempos de probable historia indígena:

• La hibridización de maiz de la hierba teosinte, de 7,900 AEC (Antes de la Era Común) hasta 2,000 AEC.
• Los viajes de los Lencas de Lago Olomega hasta Copan (ahora Honduras), pasando por Arcatao, de 2,300 AEC hasta 830 EC (Era Común)
• Los refugiados mayas del volcán Ilopango por 420 EC
• La federación de 60 pueblos Lencas, incluso Arcatao, entre 830 EC y 1525 EC
• La resistencia lenca a la ocupación español entre 1525 y 1550 EC

Nombre de Arcatao

Un clave del origen del nombre Arcatao es la letra ‘r’ que es un poco raro – no existe en nahuatl, ni la mayoria del las lenguas mayas. Solo existe en lenca y maya ch’orti’. Entonces, no es posible que es un nombre pipil (nahuatl) y asi, no significa ‘cueva de serpiente’, propuesta como significado pipil. De los dos posibles orígenes, tiene forma que parece lenca y el lugar tenía mas contacto con los lencas que con cualquier otro grupo. El idioma lenca está cerca de desaparecer. Si se rescata el idioma es posible que se rescata el significado del nombre Arcatao. De los frases conocidos, el único que suena es tana, que significa ‘milpa’ y suena un poquito con el fin de Arcatao.

Arcatao y la Hibridización de Maiz

Los científicos han localizado un ejemplo muy temprano de maiz con fecha de 6700 BCE en el suroeste de México. Tambien se sabe que el maiz viene de la hierba teosinte de tipo balsas, nombrado por el Rio Balsas donde hoy pertenece teosinte balsas. Aunque después se seguia hibridizando maiz con otros tipos de teosinte, como teosinte guatemalteco, es el teosinte balsas que es clave al origen de maiz.

Apariciones del Nombre Teosinte 
Pero qué raro que no hay aparición del nombre teosinte en el area del Rio Balsas. Basado en un estudio por este autor, se determinó que hay 10 apariciones del nombre Teosinte en Mesoamérica. Algunos son rios, otras montañas, otros pueblos. Dos quedan en la costa oeste de México cerca de Puerto Vallarta. Los demás ocho quedan cerca del punto trinacional entre El Salvador, Guatemala, y Honduras, incluso tres en el departamento de Chalatenango.

Yo creo que las ocho apariciones de teosinte indican donde se cultivó maiz desde teosinte por primera vez. Según mi entendimiento del Popol Vuh, el libro sagrado de la maya, habla de un jardín que parece simbolizar la invención de maiz. Además, el cuento tiene lo que parece un indicador de fecha, basado en el calendario de conteo largo de la planeta marte. Tal fecha es 7900 BEC.

En la era de 7900 BEC, la clima fue mas fresca, algunos siglos después del fin de la última Edad de Hielo. Por miles de años durante la Edad de Hielo, diferente plantas crecian en Centroamérica. Yo creo que una de estas plantas fue el teosinte balsas. Cuando la clima se calientó entre 7900 BEC y 5000 BEC el teosinte balsas se migró hacía el suroeste de México. En Centroamérica, como México, teosinte balsas crecía en las altitudes medias, entre 500 y 1,000 metros sobre nivel del mar – lugares como Chalatenango.

Los lugares de experimentación de cultivos como maiz fueron las islas cercanas – Isla Teopán de Lago Coatepeque y Isla Teotipa de Lago Güija. Los cultivos en las islas fueron seguro de la amenaza de los animales y de los enemigos de tal gente – antepasados de la maya.  Del nombre de las islas y de un estudio del idioma ch’orti’, se entera que el nombre Teosinte quiere decir “isla de plantas en rayas”.

Toda esta explicación quiere decir que los antepasados de la maya visitaron a Arcatao o el pueblo vecino de Teosinte con frecuencia para recoger la hierba teosinte para seguir hibridizando el maiz. Si es cierto que el maiz se cultivó por primera vez en un lago de cráter en el oeste de El Salvador, como creyen los Lencas, las visitas a Arcatao hubieran podido comenzado muy temprano, alli por 7900 BEC. Al contrario, si es cierto que el maiz se cultivó por primera vez en la región del Rio Balsas, Mexico, las visitas a Arcatao para recoger teosinte comenzar mas tarde. Fue en los cerros como La Cañada que el teosinte balsas hubiera podido crecido. Por miles de años se seguía hibridizando maiz con teosinte para perfectarlo.

Los Viajes de las Lencas de Lago Olomega hasta Copan, Pasando por Arcatao

Se sabe que Copán, el sitio famoso de la Maya en el occidente de Honduras, fue poblado por la maya por el año 100 CE mas o menos. Pero antes, mucho mas antes, fue poblado por la Lenca. El primer asentimiento lenca fue entre 2300 BCE y 1400 BCE. Por esa época el enfoque de las Lenca, llamados Potones, fue el Lago Olomega (Olomeka) en el sureste de El Salvador, y los Lencas hicieron el viaje entre Olomega y Copan. Ya por 800 BCE el enfoque se trasladó a Quelepa, siempre en el oriente de El Salvador. Por lo menos 1,500 años los Lencas hacian el viaje entre el oriente de El Salvador y Copan.

En el año 420 CE hubo la explosión del volcán Ilopango, una de las erupciones mas grandes del mundo de los últimos 2,000 años. Cientos, si no miles, murieron. La ceniza volcánica sopló al occidente y al norte. Tanta ceniza cayó por todos los sitios – Chalchuapa, San Andres, etc. – que no fue posible vivir en el occidente de El Salvador por 100 años. Una parte de los “refugiados” ch’olan llegaron a Copán. Ellos habían tenido relaciones amistosas con las Lenca de Quelepa y Tehuácan. Invitaron a los Lencas a mandar una delegación real a vivir en Copán. Y fue entonces que los viajes del oriente de El Salvador y Copán comenzaron de nuevo.

No se sabe sin duda que la ruta Copán-Quelepa pasó por Arcatao. Como sabemos donde ficó la ruta? Por los caminos de hoy dia, por evitar los rios o al cruzar los rios donde sea posible, por seguir los rios o al seguir las crestas, por donde hay pueblos históricos, y por donde hay recursos naturales. Seguramente quedaron al este y al norte del Rio Lempa. Hay dos pueblos de los lenca potón al este de Arcatao. Los tres parecen ser parte de la ruta: Guasquin, Mapulaca, Arcatao. Tal vez se entró Arcatao por Quipure and Gualcimaca y salió por lado de Zazalapa.

La ruta Copán-Quelepa explica la presencia de las piedras dibujadas cerca de Arcatao. Una queda por el otro lado del cerro La Cañada y el otro queda arriba de Zazalapa. Por las descripciones, parecen ser lenca o lenca-olmeca.

Tambien se anota por la mapa que desde entonces, Arcatao ha sido lugar fronterizo. Primero, siendo en la frontera entre la tierra de la Lempa y las montañas el norte. Segundo, Arcatao queda dentro del area de lengua poton lenca, de pueblos potones, pero al pasar Zazalapa, ya habian menos pueblos y la gente habló otro tipo de lenca.

Los refugiados mayas del volcán Ilopango por 420 EC

Como ya se mencionó, en el año 420 EC, mas o menos, el volcán Ilopango entró en erupción, desplazando miles de personas de Chalchuapa, San Andres y el valle Zapotitán, y otros lugares. Alguna gente fue a la ahora Guatemala, otros a Copán y otros lugares de Honduras. Pero los arqueólogos han determinados que algunos quedaron muy cerca y fueron al norte o noreste cruzando el Rio Lempa al llegar al hoy Chalatenango.

No se sabe si llegaron hasta Arcatao. Pero, cuando se considera la importancia de Arcatao, parece que sí, un grupo de los maya cholan (Ch’orti’) hubiera llegado y quedado 100 años o mas, hasta que pudieron vivir de nuevo en los valles volcánicos, como el Zapotitán. Asi que Arcatao hubiera podido servido como retroguardia para los ch’orti’ de los volcanes y terremotos. Ademas, con todos los viajantes lencas pasando por la ruta Copán-Quelepa, seguramente algunos lenca poblaron a Arcatao tambien. Asi que tal vez se hizo un pueblo bicultural.

La Federación de Pueblos Lencas, 830 EC

Por más de 400 años Copán fue uno de los centros mayas mas importante y seguramente el mas importante en el sureste de mesoamérica. Pero al año 830 EC mas o menos, la reina de Copán falló. Los representantes de los lenca en Copán se trasladó a El Salvador por la Ruta Copán-Quelepa y se concentró en Sesori, según la tradición oral de los lenca. La gente del barrio lenca seguramente dispersaron a varios centros lencas incluso en el paracentral y oriente de El Salvador. Estos últimos pasaron por Arcatao en la ruta a Sesori y Quelepa. Llegraron a lugares donde ya había pueblo lenca en el norte y oriente de lo que ahora se llama El Salvador.

Por 900 EC, o dentro de 100 años de la llegada del liderazgo lenca de Copán, los lencas formaron un red o una federación de pueblos lencas. Según la tradición oral que sobrevivió el tiempo y la ocupación española, la federación consistió en mas de 60 pueblos en los departamentos de hoy dia La Unión, San Miguel, Morazán, Usulután, Cabañas, y Chalatenango, y dos en el departamento de hoy de Honduras de Lempira. (Vea http://mayangovernments.org/main/page_the_royal_house.html)

Pueblos en la Red Lenca de 900 EC

Los pueblos se concentraron en lo que hoy es Morazán y el centro de San Miguel. De Quelepa y Sesori organizaron la red. Hicieron convivencias una vez por año, donde llegaron el liderazgo, como directivas, de cada pueblo. Tambien hubo un gran mercado de todo tipo de productos. Llegaron familias, todos. Hubieron bailes en la noche. La convivencia se llamaba guanacaste. Esto viene de guanaco, palabra que quiere decir ‘hermandad’ en potón lenca vieja. El guanacaste es el consejo de la hermandad. Cada vez se realizó el guanacaste en diferente pueblo. Seguramente se hizo el guanacaste en Arcatao de vez en cuando.

Sin duda mas pueblos lencas fueron agregados a la red entre 900 y 1528 EC. Se anota que la mayoria de estos pueblos lencas existen hasta hoy dia. Todos ahora tienen por lo menos 1,100 años.

Es un poco sorprendente la concentracion de pueblos en Chalatenango, bien lejos de los demás pueblos. El primer razón por los pueblos alli es que la ruta Copán-Quelepa pasó por el area, resultando en Guasquin, Mapulaca, y Arcatao. El segundo razón es la llegada de los maya quiche entre 830 y 850 CE de Mexico para establecer Cihuatán, cerca del pueblo de hoy dia Aguilares. Fue casi a la vez de la caída de Copán la llegada del liderazgo lenca de vuelta a El Salvador.

Además de Cihuatán, los quiches establecieron casi una docena de pueblos y templos, algunos en la orilla norte del Rio Lempa, y uno hasta el pueblo de Chalatenango, cual nombre es quiche. Los lenca y los quiche tuvieron buenas relaciones. Los quiche invitaron los lencas a vivir con ellos y asi que hubo un barrio lenca en Cihuatán, según los arqueólogos. Parece que el mismo pasó en Chalatenango por la presencia de un pueblo lenca en el mismo lugar, Silaiquin. Es posible que Silaiquin fue formado por la llegada de familias de Arcatao a Chalatenango. Los quiches huyeron de El Salvador por mas o menos
930 EC después de un ataque mortal de un desconocido enemigo.

Los demás pueblos lencas en Chalatenango son Potonico, Cancasque, Guancora, y Manaquil, el último lo mas cerca de Arcatao. Manaquil y Arcatao tiene una historia compartida de mas o menos 1,000 años.

La colonización y la resistencia lenca a la ocupación española entre 1525 y 1550 EC

El primer español a mandar el territorio de Arcatao fue Miguel Diaz, basado en los archivos de los españoles. Los archivos dicen que en 1548 Miguel Diaz controló el pueblo de Arcatao y el pueblo de Xalocinagua, que queda en la zona costera. (Vea Capítulo 5, “San Salvador” en Guatemala Villages of the 16th Century por Dan Stanislawski.)

Ya en 1548 Arcatao tenía una producción elevado. Los pueblos indígenas de Arcatao y sus alrededores pagaron un tributo anual de 600 libras de algodón, 50 pares de cutaras, y 80 pares de alpargata. También pagaron en mano de obra el servicio de cuatro pastores. Sin duda los pares de alpargata refieren a un calzado hecho de zacate u otra planta. Posiblemente los pares de cutara tambien son un tipo de sandalia.

Es probable que el algodón fue cultivado en Arcatao antes que llegaron los españoles, como es nativo a El Salvador y la región. Hubiera sido difícil introducir un nuevo cultivo en tan pocos años, otro razón por pensar que algodón ya fue establecido en los tiempos indígenas, asi como la tela, camisas y ropa de algodón, y hasta los bordados. En los primeros años de la colonia como en los tiempos indígenas Arcatao fue un fuente de ropa y calzado para la región.

El informe de 1548 tambien dice que Arcatao fue en guerra antes y el Miguel Diaz no pudo ocupar el lugar. Eso quiere decir que Arcatao fue un centro de resistencia de los Lencas contra la ocupación española. La resistencia lenca se arrancó por la gran princesa-guerrillera Antu Silan Ulapa cuando los espanoles trataron de entrar el oriente de El Salvador. Después la resistencia fue dirigida por Lempira hasta el último batalle en el cerro Cerquín en Erandique, Honduras. Arcatao queda apenas 30 kilometros al suroeste del Cerro Cerquín. Asi que parece muy posible que Lempira pasó una parte de la guerra en Arcatao.

Asi que Arcatao tiene una historia muy interesante y muy destacada. Seguro que hay mucho mas por recuperar todavia.

Disappointed at National Museum David Guzman

Yesterday morning I spent wondering around the Museu Nacional David Guzman. I have to say I was quite disappointed. In part because of what is missing - such as no mention about the Lenca at all - and in part due to what is said - for example, the time of the Spanish invasion is mostly glossed over.

It was the official history which can't ignore the fact that indigenous lived here in El Salvador but can tell only part of the story. The official story does not inspire, in fact it seems to do the opposite. It does not motivate Salvadorans by helping them know that they, well, at least some, are descendants of people who helped found one of the greatest civilizations the earth has ever known - much greater than what the Spanish conquistadores ever attained. That is the museum I long to visit. But I guess it won't be named after David Guzman. Perhaps it would be the National Museum of Indigenous Pride Anastacio Aquino.

Orioles and Suchitoto

One of the last places where the indigenous of El Salvador resisted the Spanish occupiers was in Suchitoto, a large municipality northeast of San Salvador along the banks of the Lempa River. According to the town's wikipedia entry, the Potón Lenca were finally suppressed there in 1537 at the summit of Zinacatlán hill. I can not locate this hill on any map, so any help from readers in locating it would be appreciated.

1537 was also the year that Lempira was defeated in Honduras. Is it possible that the Lencas fighting in southern Honduras were coordinating with the Lencas fighting in the hills around Arcatao and Suchitoto? We know the name of Lempira but we do not know the name or names of the Lenca heroes who fell resisting the Spanish in Suchitoto. There is no monument to their leader.

The Spanish considered Suchitoto to be one of the most important places in the country, locating their first capital in La Bermuda about ten kilometers south of Suchitoto. They wanted their capital to be close to one of the major indigenous trade centers but also knew as occupiers that they could not be too close. Their first attempt in 1525 was short-lived. They faced so much resistance from the local Lenca that they retreated to Guatemala the next year. They returned in 1528 and the capital remained there for 17 years, growing into a small city with a significant indigenous population, as modern excavations have found. The site was abandoned because of a lack of fresh water and the capital was moved to the present location of San Salvador. When I visited the site in 1992 it was clear that it's main attribute was a defensive location. Fortunately for Salvadorans, the 16th Century Spanish recognized its limit.

When the Spanish began their occupation it was likely that Suchitoto was a multi-cultural city, much like its nearby predecessor from the 9th century, Cihuatán. The name Suchitoto is likely Pipil, the dominant group in western El Salvador from the 11th to the 16th century: it seems to be a nahuat name for a yellow bird, also called costototl or oriole. Both the Baltimore and Bullock's orioles migrate to Central America during the winter. But many of the nearby place names are Lenca, including Guazapa, Copapayo, Cinquera, and Aguacayo, while others are Chorti Maya, including Pepeishtenango, Ichanqueso, and Milingo. 

Just as La Bermuda was a symbol of both raw power and resistance in the 16th century, it repeated that role in the 20th century. It was at the Hacienda La Bermuda that human rights leader Marienela García Vilas was killed on March 14, 1983, investigating the use of white phosphorous against civilian populations by the Salvadoran armed forces in the country's conflict. She is one of the heroines of the 20th century for progressive Latin Americans.

Now, Suchitoto is the seat of Progreso, one of the five regional organizations of CRIPDES. In the spirit of the Lenca warriors who were the last to fight the Spanish in 1537, a major protest against the privatization of water took place on July 2, 2007, in Suchitoto. There was major repression against the march and even before it began, 14 people were detained, mistreated, and charged with terrorism, in a new law forced in as part of the global wave of the so-called 'war on terrorism'. Eventually they were released. The spirit of the people and the seasonal migrations of the orioles continue forward.

[PostScript note: 'Suchitoto' does not mean oriole. More to come on the real meaning. Jan. 25, 2010]

Never Conquered, the Lenca Federation

The Poton Lenca Federation of 900 AD

Note: Based on list of villages in the Maya Lenca history. Some locations are guessed, such as Camaguayquin, which is coastal, and Silaiquin, which is referred to as the municipal seat of Las Flores, Chalatenango, and could refer to either Chalatenango or Suchitoto. Also, it is not known which Lenca villages in Honduras were part of this federation.

The Maya Lenca history says that this federation was started when noble refugees from Copan arrived after the collapse of Copan in 900 AD. It is possible that these were Chorti Maya, but it is more likely that Lenca nobility were living in Copan prior to its fall and this is who returned to establish a federation based out of Sesori.

A few things are striking when looking at this map. First, the Lenca avoided the central volcanic range where the most fertile soils are. Most likely they had a collective memory of the destruction following Ilopango eruption in 210 AD and later the eruption that buried Joyas de Ceren in about 600 AD.

Second, nearly all of these place names still exist. The only exceptions are Yusique, which was conquered by the Pipiles and became Chinameca, and three which became Spanishized: Queiquin (San Alejo), Saco (San Jose), and Sinsimontique (San Simon). Besides the 60 villages on the map, there are many more Poton place names of villages, mountains, rivers, and streams throughout central and eastern El Salvador.

So even with the Pipiles conquering most of western and parts of central El Salvador and the Spanish taking over the whole country, the Poton names remain. The early Spanish occupiers said that the east was a desolate land not good for much. But I think that the main reason for the predominance of Lenca place names is that the Lenca were never totally conquered. They maintained their identity, their names, and, to a lesser extent, their culture.

And they maintained their fighting spirit. How else do you explain the correlation between the next two maps? The first shows the areas under FMLN control in 1984 and the second the Lenca federation of 900 AD.

 


Note: Source of 1984 Conflict Map, "Promised Land, Peasant Rebellion in Chalatenango, El Salvador," Jenny Pearce.

This is not to suggest that the FMLN had a 'Lenca strategy', but it is hard to consider these two maps without realizing that the former Lenca villages have been the heart of modern rural organizing in El Salvador. And it's not just the mountainous areas of Chalatenango and Morazan, where this is true. Even the Lenca coastal areas of San Miguel and Usulutan had a lot of rural organizing and at times were under FMLN control during the conflict.

That is why I venture to say that the Poton Lenca people have never been truly conquered.

Arcatao, Inspiration of the Maya, the Lenca, and the Bloque Popular

Arcatao, retroguardia of Lempira and the FMLN
inspiration of the Maya, the Lenca, and the Bloque Popular (social movement)

Anyone who has been to Arcatao knows that it is a magical place. It is a place alive with the spirits of those who have gone before. Every tree and rock seems to ooze wisdom, humor, strength, and a humble confidence. So many great leaders of the revolutionary movement have come from Arcatao - Violeta Menjívar, Facundo Guardado, and María Chichilco, to name only a few. Perhaps going back to the beginning will help to explain why.

In Arcatao there is a story about the creation of the town that a long time ago a priest came to people living on a nearby mountain, Iremón, and eventually convinced them to move down to the valley where Arcatao is now located, involving some theatrics of the mysterious moving of the statue of the town's patron saint.

There is likely to be truth to this story, but it might not have been Catholic priests, as is currently believed. The line of the Potón-Lenca royalty, based in Sesori, San Miguel, traces its lineage back to 900 A.D., when the Chorti Maya city of Copán was collapsing at the end of the Maya Classic period, due to overpopulation and resource depletion. The Chorti people, including leaders and scientists, moved in many directions, including a significant migration to western Chalatenango. One Chorti group went to Sesori and joined with the local Potón Lenca to reinvigorate the Lenca civilization.

The Lenca story says that the civilization was created by founding many towns, stretching from La Unión in the east to eastern Chalatenango. Three towns were created in Chalatenango - Potonico, Guancora (now renamed Comunidad Ignacio Ellacuría, and Arcatao. Who settled these towns? Generally, there may have been a few educated Chortis from Copán who moved to each town in order to provide direction and teach people more advanced agricultural techniques, astronomy, and the rhythm of Mayan life. However, most of the people would have been from the surrounding hills, including La Cañada, Gaulcimaca, and Iremón. The Lencas sent out organizers to live among people, learn from them, but also to help teach and guide them. The social movement of the masas (people of the corn) was already being created in 10th Century AD.

So, it may have been a Chorti or Lenca priest, not a Catholic priest, that helped to found the town 1,100 years ago. However, there is a vague clue that Arcatao may be even older than that. The Salvadoran archeologist and historian, Antonio R. Arocha, has a map in his book, El Salvador, La Antigua Patria Maya, of the Mayan temples and towns that were built in El Salvador, each representing a region and together being a federation of regions. One of the 12 sites on the map is Arcatao. Unfortunately there is no narrative or explanation.

A second source, the entry for Arcatao on Wikipedia in Spanish, says that there are Mayan ruins, including a temple, on top of the Iremón mountain, eight kilometers south of Arcatao. No source is listed for this information. I checked on google earth and I didn't see any temple on Iremón, so I’m not so sure. More importantly, the Mayans were not know to build religious sites on the tops of mountains.

Finally, a third source also points to this possibility. In colonial times the Spanish bishops kept detailed records. In the 17th century El Salvador was part of the Diocesis of Guatemala. The Bishop would make the rounds to various portions of the Diocesis and one year ventured to Suchitoto. From there the Bishop went 10 leagues to the northeast and there visited an old indigenous community where there were also the ruins of a Mayan religious site. Each league for the Spanish was 4.2 kilometers, approximated by how far one can walk in one hour. Arcatao is located approximately 36 kilometers (8.5 leagues) northeast of Suchitoto, but I would guess it would take more than 8 1/2 hours to make that hike, even with a mule.

If there are Mayan ruins in the Arcatao area, they would have to date from the Classic Maya period (400 to 800 AD) or earlier, since the Lencas in the post Classic period (after 900 AD) were not known to construct ceremonial religious sites. I believe that if there is a large Mayan site in Arcatao it is not located up on the mountain but underneath the town’s central plaza and Catholic church. Every time that I have trudged up the steep approach to the plaza I have been reminded of the steep pyramids at Copán and Chalchuapa.

For those who have travelled extensively in Latin America it is typical to hear stories of the Spanish building churches or cathedrals on top of the ancient ruins of holy indigenous sites. This was obviously to wipe out the old religion and replace it with the new, hoping that the veneration for the old religious site would stay associated with the place and the new religion. Could it be that the Bishop who visited the area of Arcatao in the 17th Century ordered that a church be built on top of the old Mayan ruins that may be located there? Perhaps the goats that roam the churchyard know the answer.

One time when I was visiting Arcatao, a Mayan merchant of clothing and cloth ventured into town and stayed for many days. I was struck by how this man arrived in the first place, but even more so by how at home this man was and how he seemed to know the town. It seemed as if it wasn’t by chance that Arcatao was on the trade route of this Mayan merchant. Maybe Arcatao is part of an ancient trade route been Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

One more history of Arcatao is worth telling. In the first century of Spanish occupation, the local viceroy kept meticulous records of the Spanish settlers in order to exact heaving tributes to go to the King of Spain. There is record that Arcatao was settled by Miguel Diaz. In 1548 he was growing cotton, cutaras (can someone translate?), and algarpatas (plant to make rope) there. There is an unclear reference that Arcatao may also have been called ‘Xuzclan’, a Mayan name. It could be that ‘Xuzclan’ is its Chorti Maya name, while ‘Arcatao’ is clearly a Lenca name.

The Spanish colonial records of the 1540s also state that Arcatao was in the area that recently been at war. This clearly refers to the efforts of the Spanish to subjugate the indigenous peoples. To call it a war means that the subjugation of Arcatao was not a simple, quick process. The Chorti Maya, based out of the area of Nueva Concepción, Tejutla, and Citalá were known to have fought against the Spanish from about 1527 to 1530, when they were defeated. However, the Lenca, led by a joint female-male command of Antu Silan Ulap and Lempira, also fought the Spanish in Honduras and El Salvador from 1528 to 1537. Because Arcatao was primarily a Lenca town and because of its proximity to many Lenca towns in Honduras, I think that the reference to war in Arcatao was part of the war that Lempira fought.

Some of the roots of the struggle for social justice that are so strong in Arcatao are linked back to Lempira and the struggle by the Lenca against the Spanish occupation – roots that Arcatao shares with the current struggle of the people of Honduras for social justice and true democracy against a coup government and those in the international community who support its farcical electoral process.

Today, Arcatao, as described in a community blog, is part of the rural organized communities of El Salvador, CRIPDES, perhaps similar to the Lenca federation that it was part of 1,000 years ago. It received support in the past from Copán and Sesori, today it is supported by the Madison Arcatao Sister City Project.

From la Conquista to Farse Elections: 500 Years of Lenca Organizing

Today (Nov. 29 when first posted) the coup-led government of Honduras is holding a farse election, which most of the people will reject and abstain from. The Quixote Center will have updates throughout the day, as does the Honduras Resists website. One of the main groups that is rejecting the coup and organizing the resistance, especially in the rural areas is COPINH, the Civic Council for Popular Organizations and Indigenous of Honduras. COPINH is based in La Esperanza, Intibucá, the heartland of the Lenca in Honduras. Many of the leaders of COPINH are women, including Bertha Cáceres.

It seems appropriate, then, to talk about another Lenca woman, Antu Silan Ulap, who organized resistance to the domination of the Conquistadores who were in search of profits and riches. In 1524 and 1525, the Spanish entered El Salvador from Guatemala, led by Pedro Alvarado. They faced much resistance from the Pipiles and were not able to reach eastern El Salvador, the area of the Lencas. Finally, with more forces, the Spanish established the garrison town of San Miguel, headed by Luis de Moscoso, in 1526.

Antu Silan Ulap was the crown princess of the Lencas. Her way of dealing with the Spanish was to organize. She went from village to village uniting all the Lencas towns in present day El Salvador and Honduras. Through surprise and large numbers they were able to drive the Spanish out of San Miguel and destroy the garrison. For ten years, the Lencas kept the Spanish from being able to build a permanent settlement.

The Spanish returned with more forces, including about 2,000 forced conscripts from indigenous communities in Mexico and Guatemala. They pursued the Lenca leaders further up into the mountains of Intibucá. Antu Silan Ulap continued leading the forces until, late in pregnancy, she slipped out of the conflicted area to a safe haven, Tihuilotal, to give birth. Tihuilotal is a little southwest of the present city of La Unión, near the source of the sacred Managuara River. She handed over control of the Lenca resistance to Lempira (also called Empira).

In the meantime, the Spanish found gold in central and northern Honduras. They invaded indigenous communities in Guatemala and Honduras to conscript slaves to pan for gold. Soon hundreds of the slaves were dead from disease, mistreatment, and rebellion. The Spanish soon brought African slaves to also pan for gold and begin to work the underground mines. The African slaves also rebelled and the beginning of Honduras’ history of combined resistance by indigenous and former African slaves (Garífuna) began.

Lempira was noteworthy among indigenous leaders in that he mocked the Spanish by wearing their clothes after capturing them and he used their weapons, captured in battle. Lempira fought in command of thousands of Lenca forces for six more years in El Salvador and Honduras until finally he was killed in battle (contrary to the popular story) and the remaining Lenca forces retreated into the hills. The Spanish were able to rebuild their garrison town of San Miguel in 1537 as well as garrison towns in southern Honduras. But Lempira’s history continued to live in the collective memory.

Those who know the Salvadoran and Honduran social movements of the last 35 years will recognize the seeds of the movement in the story of Antu Silan Ulap and Lempira.

Originally posted Nov. 29, 2009 on BlogBox