Enjoy a tour of the Lenca Museum in Comayagua. This virtual tour is very interesting since it talks about the history of the Lencas. Since the video is in Spanish, I have transcribed it in English, you can read this summary of what is shown on the video, I hope you enjoy this virtual visit.

The Museum of anthropology and history in Comayagua, is the only museum in Honduras that has information about the history of the Lencas. Comayagua was the capital of Honduras from 1824 until 1880, when the capital was moved to Tegucigalpa, current capital of the country.

When you see the video the first images inside the house, are of fossilized bones of sloths and jaguars that lived in the region. Also, you will be able to see some petrified sea shells, which leads to believe that a long time ago the main land was covered by the ocean.

Lenca Prehistoric Art of Honduras– Arte Rupestre

The first carved stone was found near the Yohoa Lake in the center of Honduras, it has the image of a feathered serpent, which symbolized the fertility of the land and abundance of water.

Behind the carved stone we can see a replica of caves found in La Paz, which are around 14,000 years old, making it the oldest cave in America that contains pictographic drawings. The Lencas were nomads, so this is why the archeologist have found paintings and sculptures all over the country. The paintings were used to teach children the importance of the ceremonies, in one of the paintings it is possible to observe that the whole tribe, several snakes and the shaman are painted on the stone. Also at the bottom right hand corner, we can see a painting of a ball, which leads the archeologists to believe that the Lencas invented the ball game that the Mayans are famous for. The Mayans came to this region 400 year later than the Lencas.

The main archeological finding of the Lencas is known as Chircal or Miravalle Village. On the video you can observe a model with one pyramid and several houses of the village, the Lencas had to leave their village because a volcanic eruption in El Salvador.

Lenca Cermics and Colored Pottery

First, we can see several small carved stones used to make tattoos and several small statues. Then it is possible to observe different types of pottery with drawings. The pottery usually uses three colors: black, brown and white. Also, the Lencas made collars and earrings of jade and other types of stone.

In the final room, which used to be part of the president’s main office, we can see several oil paintings. In the room we can see that now different types of clothing used by the Lencas are being displayed. If you continue to see the video, there will be no more objects used or made by Lencas. All of the other rooms contain objects of the time that the museum was the presidential house when Comayagua was the capital of Honduras.

The Lenca Trail, is one of the most beautiful tours in Honduras. Is is a 76-mile route spanning from Santa Rosa de Copán to La Esperanza in the western highlands. Throughout this trail you will visit the most charming towns, you will be able to see a many colonial style architecture, churches, historical forts, a Lenca museum and Farmers Markets where the Lenca people sell their vegetables and pottery. Please read our post about the Lenca and their pottery for more information.

Also, the route provides a wonderful scenery with green hills and mountains. On the trail you have the opportunity to visit the National Park “Celaque”, which means “Box of Water” in the lenca language. Celaque is a rain forest where you will find over 230 plant species, 45 species of mammals, and 269 species of birds. The national park is located 9km from downtown Gracias, in the Celaque Mountain. After arriving to the visitor center, the walk in the park is rather pleasant where you will ascend an extra 1,400 to 2,500 meters, where all the flora and fauna typical from a rain forest can be found.

This is an excelent touristic route where you can find living culture, natural scenery, and colonial architecture. Please visit Colosuca for more information about this wonderful trip.

Lempira was a war captain of the Lencas, a Mesoamerican ethnic group, who speak their own language and have lived in Honduras and El Salvador since pre-colombian times. The Lencas are still living in Honduras and recently have gained popularity because of their beautiful pottery and crafts.

Lempira is very important in Honduran history, because he fought against the Spanish around the 1500s, when the Spanish were trying to conquer the territory. He was of medium height, with strong complexity. He was known for his bad temper and since a young age he demonstrated courage and bravery and was known for his love for his people, land, laws and traditions. The name Lempira comes from the word Lempaera, which is the union of two lencan words, Lempa which means Lord – title of dignity and hierarchy, and the word Era, which means hills. Therefore, Lempira would be the “lord of the hills”.

Lempira was very respected among his people and when fighting against the Spaniards, he was able to unite 200 different tribes to create an army of 30,000 soldiers. Because of this organization it was very difficult for the Spaniards to take control of the region during 1537, until Lempira’s death.

There are two versions of Lempira’s death, the first version, which is the traditional story heard in Honduras states that he was betrayed by the Spaniards. Supposedly, they had agreed to meet with Lempira to negotiate peace. When he met with the Spaniards, he was shot by one of the Spaniards. The second version of his death was found on a document called Pobranza de Meritos, in the Archivo General de Indias of Sevilla, written by Rodrigo Ruiz. This version states that the captain “EL Empira” was killed in combat by Ruiz in the middle of an unexpected battle. After Lempira was killed, Ruiz cut Lempira’s head off as a proof of his death.

Because of Lempira’s important role in Honduran history, many things were honored with his name. Honduras currency is el lempira, also there is a city called Puerto Lempira, capital of the department or state Gracias a Dios and finally there is a department called Lempira.

This post will be dedicated to the Garifuna ehtnic group or Garinagu. Their presence in Honduras has incluenced our music, food, and art.

The Garinagu (Garifuna in singular) are an afro-descendent ethnic group found in various regions of Central America and the Caribbean. They live along the Caribbean Coast in Belize, Guatemala, St. Vincent, Nicaragua and Honduras including the mainland, and on the island of Roatán.

The Garinagu are mix of African, Arawak and Carib acenstry. This mix of cultures gave birth to this ethnic groug that has been able to preserve their culture despite of discrimination and migration. Their culture is the perfect union of their ancestors, their language, agriculture and religion are very similar to their Carib Ancestry, meanwhile their dances (known as Punta), music and art have a strong african influence, as you can see in the video.

In wikipedia, they stated that “in 2001 UNESCO proclaimed the language, dance and music of the Garifuna as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Belize. In 2005 the First Garifuna Summit was held in Corn Island, Nicaragua with the participation of the government of other Central American countries.”

As you can see the Garinagu are really important in Honduran culture, and I just had to write a post about them. I hope you enjoy the video with typical dances and music.