Rivas () is a department of the Republic of

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. It covers an area of and has a population of 183,611 (2021 estimate). The department's capital is the city of Rivas. The indigenous inhabitants of Rivas are the Nicarao, and was the location of the

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

Nahua The Nahuas ( ) are a Uto-Nahuan ethnicity and one of the Indigenous people of Mexico, with Nahua minorities also in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. They comprise the largest Indigenous group in Mexico, as well as ...

chiefdoms of Kwawkapolkan and Kakawatan.

History

In the

era, Rivas was home to the

nations of Kwawkapolkan, and Kakawatan, as well as neighbouring

Chibcha The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia, Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonizati ...

tribes. Kwawkapolkan was the most powerful chiefdom in pre-Columbian Nicaragua, ruled by chief Macuilmiquiztli, and translates to "place of capulín trees" in

Nawat Nawat (academically Pipil, also known as Nahuat) is a Nahuan languages, Nahuan language native to Central America. It is the southernmost extant member of the Uto-Aztecan languages, Uto-Aztecan family. Before Spanish colonization of the Americas ...

. It's a combination of the Nawat words ''Kwawit'' (tree), ''kapolin'' ( capulín), and ''-kan'' (a locative meaning "place of"). Kwawkapolkan extended from Rivas down to Bagaces in central Guanacaste in Costa Rica. Kakawatan was another Nahua chiefdom in Rivas, ruled by chief Wemak who was Macuilmiquiztli's cousin. Wemak also had a warrior son named Eskuat, though he wasn't mentioned by Spanish sources again. The name ''Kakawatan'' is a combination of the Nawat words ''kakaw'' (Cacao), ''at'' (water), and ''-tan'' (locative suffix meaning land/place of). Therefore Kakawatan translates to "land of cacao water", referring to chocolate drinks, one the most important aspects of Nicarao culture. This tradition is still practiced in the communities of Rivas among the descendants of the Nahuas both indigenous and mestizos alike. Chibcha minorities lived and thrived within Kwawkapolkan and Kakawatan alongside the Nahua majority. Chibchas also served in the Nahua chiefdoms armed forces to further integrate into Nahua society, as military service provided social advancement and assimilation. The cultivation of

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

in Kwawkapolkan and Kakawatan also suggests

cultural diffusion In cultural anthropology and cultural geography, cultural diffusion, as conceptualized by Leo Frobenius in his 1897/98 publication ''Der westafrikanische Kulturkreis'', is the spread of cultural items—such as ideas, styles, religions, technolo ...

between the Nahuas and Chibchas, as the Chibchas introduced potatoes to Nicaragua from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

which did not reach northern

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

. Before and during spanish contact, Kakawatan and Kwawkapolkan had a military alliance and were in a constant state of war with the Chorotegas, the Kingdom of Nicoya, and later fought together against the Spanish. Kwawkapolkan and Kakawatan sent their armies as far north as Carazo during their wars against the Chorotegas, and as far south as the

Nicoya Peninsula The Nicoya Peninsula () is a peninsula on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. It is divided into two provinces: Guanacaste Province in the north, and the Puntarenas Province in the south. It is located at . It varies from in width and is about lon ...

and southern Guanacaste during their military campaigns against the Kingdom of Nicoya and the Huetares.

Overview

Rivas is known for its fertile soil and beaches. Throughout the department, there are many sugar cane, plantain, tobacco, and other crop plantations. The department borders

Lake Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada (, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest fresh water lake in Central America, the List of lakes by area, 19th largest lake in the world (by are ...

to the east and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

to the west. The southern part of the department borders with

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. A small fishermen village, called San Juan del Sur, has turned into a popular tourist attraction because of its access to beaches in the area. Another major tourist attraction is

Ometepe Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes rising out of Lake Nicaragua, located in the Rivas Department of the Republic of Nicaragua. Its name derives from the Nahuatl words ''ome'' (two) and ''tepetl'' (mountain), meaning "two mountains". It ...

, a large volcanic island inhabited by about 32,000 people (2005 census). Nawat Nicarao people still inhabit the department.

Municipalities

Altagracia : : : Altagracia () is a municipality in the Rivas Department of Nicaragua. It is the largest town on the island of Ometepe, above the town of Moyogalpa. Its original name was Astagalpa, meaning ‘house of the herons’ in Nahuatl. This city a ...

* Belén *

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

* Cárdenas *

Moyogalpa Moyogalpa () is a municipality in the Rivas department of Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 a ...

Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...

* Rivas * San Jorge * San Juan del Sur * Tola

References

External links

ViaNica.com - Rivas
including photos, hotels, restaurants and local activities {{Coord, 11, 26, 52, N, 85, 34, 17, W, region:NI_type:adm1st_source:dewiki, display=title Departments of Nicaragua Costa Rica–Nicaragua border crossings