Lencan Mythology
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Lenca mythology is the set of religious and mythological beliefs of the
Lenca The Lenca,are an Indigenous people from present day southwest Honduras and eastern El Salvador in Central America. They historically spoke various dialects of the Lencan languages such as Chilanga, Putun (Potón), and Kotik, but today are nat ...
people from
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
and
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
, before and after the conquest of America. Little of these beliefs have been documented, due to colonization and the adoption of the
Catholic faith The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international instituti ...
after the 16th century.


Myths


Creation of man

According to the original Lenca polytheistic religion, the
creation of man The Genesis creation narrative is the creation myth of both Judaism and Christianity, told in the book of Genesis chapters 1 and 2. While the Jewish and Christian tradition is that the account is one comprehensive story, modern scholars of ...
is thanks to a deity known as "Maraguana", she brought the dust of the stars to earth, and when she arrived there she collected the dry grains of
corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...
and
cocoa bean The cocoa bean, also known as cocoa () or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', the cacao tree, from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances) and cocoa butter (the fat) can be extracted. Cacao tree ...
s, and in a grinding stone and a clay pot, he molded a creature different from the others on earth created by the gods, this endowed it with consciousness and intelligence and thus made the first human being. The place called "''Ti Ketau Antawinikil''" Some time later this deity created another human known as "Ti wanatuku", he was born from an egg, which was hatched in a bird's nest on the head of the first human being. Both are considered the ancestors of modern humans.


Comizahual

The legend of the Comizahual (or ''Comizahuatl'') speaks of a
matriarch Matriarchy is a social system in which positions of power and privilege are held by women. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege, and control of property. While those definitions apply in general English, ...
that is said to have appeared around more than two hundred years before the conquest of America, possibly at the end of the 13th century, which is represented with a
zoomorphic The word ''zoomorphism'' derives from and . In the context of art, zoomorphism could describe art that imagines humans as non-human animals. It can also be defined as art that portrays one species of animal like another species of animal or art ...
figure similar to a
jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
and in her human form she is represented as a woman with white skin and hair, she is described as a skilled person as a warrior and wise as a leader. This woman guided and taught some new knowledge about agriculture and warfare to the Lencas that they began to implement during the following years during the post classic mesoamerican period. Fulfilled his mission, he distributed the lands among three men according to some versions these were his sons, in others his brothers, to whom he left instructions for the treatment of his vassals, after that, the matriarch disappeared. Within those described about the Comizahual physique, some interpreted that the description was a white person, who arrived on the continent, being a pre-Columbian contact between Europeans and Americans before the Spanish arrival, similar to that of the Viking explorers with the natives of what today it is Canada, or the theory of Roman contact with
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 ...
. Although there is little evidence of the arrival of Europeans in what is modern day Central america before Columbus. Most academics have said that it is believed that it could be the interpretation of a person with
albinism Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and reddish pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albinos. Varied use and interpretation of ...
.


Deities

The Lenca religion, similar to those of the rest of the Mesoamerican area, was
polytheistic Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one Deity, god. According to Oxford Reference, it is not easy to count gods, and so not always obvious whether an apparently polytheistic religion, such as Chinese folk religions, is really so, ...
and had countless deities in its pantheon of gods, however very few detailed records survived about all of them as well as the indigenous Lenca faith due to loss of the oral tradition or the lack of documentation of its traditions by chroniclers, however, thanks to studies of the Lenca deities, there is still a record.


Itanipuca

Considered to be the main deity of the Lenca people, he was known as "the great father", related to the sky and the movement of the stars possibly also related to
astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
, for the Mesoamerican peoples this element was important within their
cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...
, due to this, it is considered the main Lenca deity. Everything indicates that Itanipuica was the main god or
sky deity The sky often has important religious significance. Many polytheistic religions have deities associated with the sky. The daytime sky deities are typically distinct from the nighttime ones. Stith Thompson's ''Motif-Index of Folk-Literature'' ...
of the Lenca people, It could have parallelism with other Mesoamerican deities such as
itzamna Itzamná () is, in Maya mythology, an upper god and creator deity thought to reside in the sky. Itzamná is one of the most important gods in the Classic and Postclassic Maya pantheon. Although little is known about him, scattered references a ...
or
Tezcatlipoca Tezcatlipoca ( ) or Tezcatl Ipoca was a central deity in Aztec religion. He is associated with a variety of concepts, including the night sky, hurricanes, obsidian, and conflict. He was considered one of the four sons of Ometecuhtli and Omec ...
.


Ilanguipuca

Known as the "Great Mother", couple of Itanipuca, she is related to the land, its forests, rivers, and lakes, she is also related with the fertility of the
crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, Fiber, fibre, or fuel. When plants of the same spe ...
s, she along with Itanipuca are the creators of the world. This goddess can be seen as a type of
mother goddess A mother goddess is a major goddess characterized as a mother or progenitor, either as an embodiment of motherhood and fertility or fulfilling the cosmological role of a creator- and/or destroyer-figure, typically associated the Earth, sky, ...
, or a fertility goddess.


Icelaca

He was another important deity because he was related to the concept of time, which is why the ancient Lencas referred to him as “the lord of time” because he was the cause of the change of the seasons over time during the years. He was also related to winds and meteorological phenomena, the existence of events such as
hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
and electrical storms was attributed to him. This deity could have some few similar elements with the Mayan god
Chaac Chaac (also spelled Chac or, in Classic Maya language, Classic Mayan, Chaahk ) is the name of the Maya civilization, Maya god of rain, thunder, and lightning. With his lightning axe, Chaac strikes the clouds, causing them to produce thunder and r ...
or the Mexica
Tláloc Tláloc ( ) is the god of rain in Aztec religion. He was also a deity of earthly fertility and water, worshipped as a giver of life and sustenance. This came to be due to many rituals, and sacrifices that were held in his name. He was feared ...
. This is certainly the most documented deity of the Lenca people since the one mentioned by the Spanish chronicler Diego García de Palacio, in his Description of the Province of Guatemala of 1576, relates that in Sesori he observed how 4 young men of about twelve years old were
circumcised Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...
. , whose blood was placed on a representation of this deity that had a round shape with two faces full of eyes (to see the past and the future), and to which deer, chickens and rabbits were also sacrificed; to which the chronicler Antonio de Herrera adds that dogs that do not bark and
turkeys The turkey is a large bird in the genus ''Meleagris'', native to North America. There are two extant turkey species: the wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') of eastern and central North America and the ocellated turkey (''Meleagris ocell ...
were also sacrificed to him, and blood, tongue and ears were offered in self-sacrifice, and that the representation of the deity was a large three-pointed stone with a deformed face in each one. Likewise,
Anne Chapman Anne MacKaye Chapman (January 27, 1922 – June 12, 2010) was a Franco- American ethnologist who focused on the people of Mesoamerica writing several books, co-producing movies, and capturing sound recordings of rare languages from the Northern ...
in her book The Children of Copal and the Candela of 1992, mentions that some indigenous people from the village of Manazapa (Honduran department of Intibucá) told her that they had a two-faced deity who saw the past, present and future, to which they performed repairs (domestic and agrarian rites), and they cut people's throats and watered the representation of the deity with their blood while they played drums (decorated with quetzal feathers) and snails. According to the Salvadoran writer María de Baratta in her work Cuzcatlán Tífico of 1951, based on what Aquilino Argueta collected from the indigenous elders of Torola, under the deity of rain (who sometimes manifested as a snake) there were spirits or geniuses who personified the hills, who were asked for a good rain, and to whom a priest (whose title was misilán) sacrificed turkeys, and then collected the blood of the animal in a glass or jug and then poured it over a lagoon that there was before in Torola.


Managuara

Very little is known about this deity because we do not have enough sources that speak in more detail about him but he must appear mentioned in some oral literature and because of this Its main role is still unknown, but it is noted that it was representative of knowledge. It is the deity responsible for the creation of Man, thus endowing him with consciousness. It could have parallels with the Mayan
Kukulkan K’uk’ulkan, also spelled Kukulkan (; "Plumed Serpent", "Amazing Serpent"), is the Snake worship#Mesoamerica, serpent deity of Maya mythology. It is closely related to the deity Qʼuqʼumatz of the Kʼicheʼ people and to Quetzalcoatl of A ...
or Mexica Quetzalcoatl.


See also

*
History of Honduras Honduras was inhabited by many indigenous peoples when the Spanish introduced the wheel to them, in the 16th century. The western-central part of Honduras was inhabited by the Lencas, the central north coast by the Jicaque people, Tol, the a ...
*
History of El Salvador The history of El Salvador begins with several distinct groups of Mesoamerican people, especially the Pipil people, Pipil, the Lenca and the Maya people, Maya. In the early 16th century, the Spanish Empire conquered the territory, incorporating ...
*
Mesoamerican Religion Mesoamerican religion is a group of indigenous religions of Mesoamerica that were prevalent in the pre-Columbian era. Two of the most widely known examples of Mesoamerican religion are the Aztec religion and the Mayan religion. Cosmology The ...


References

{{Reflist History of Honduras History of El Salvador Mesoamerican mythology and religion Archaeological sites in Honduras Culture of Honduras