A History of Isolation and Market Participation Among Nicaragua's Mayangna Indians
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University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1998 Separate but integrated: A history of isolation and market participation among Nicaragua's Mayangna Indians T. Mark Carey The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Carey, T. Mark, "Separate but integrated: A history of isolation and market participation among Nicaragua's Mayangna Indians" (1998). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5425. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5425 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Maureen and Mike MANSFIELD LIBRARY The University o fMONTANA Permission is granted by the author to reproduce this material in its entirety, provided that this material is used for scholarly purposes and is properly cited in published works and reports. ** Please check "Yes" or "No" and provide signature ** Yes, I grant permission VC No, I do not grant permission ____ Author's Signature 1 "vw/L 'U. i L Date /2 0 1 k Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be undertaken only with the author's explicit consent. SEPARATE BUT INTEGRATED: A HISTORY OF ISOLATION AND MARKET PARTICIPATION AMONG NICARAGUA'S MAYANGNA INDIANS t y T. Mark Carey B.A. State University of New York, College at Potsdam presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts The University of Montana 1998 Approved by: hairperson Dean, Graduate School (Q h i f w Date UMI Number: EP40889 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI Dissertation Fybiislwig UMI EP40889 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Carey, T. Mark. M.A.. October 1998 History Separate but Integrated: A History of Isolation and Market Participation Among Nicaragua's Mayangna Indians (142 pp.) Director Pamela Voekel The Mayangna Indians who inhabit the BOSAWAS Nature Reserve in Nicaragua have a unique history compared to many other indigenous groups in the Americas. Since contact, the Mayangnas have remained geographically isolated from non-Mayangnas. In order to preserve their isolation, Mayangnas have consistently chosen to live in the remote mountains of Nicaragua's interior rather than regularly participating in the market economy. Because they have maintained their ability to feed themselves and provide shelter, they still live in isolated communities today, and they are only slightly incorporated into the market economy. The Mayangnas have a long history in eastern Nicaragua, but I argue that they have been in the region much longer than suggested in the historiography. Additionally, I propose that Mayangnas did not inhabit the Nicaraguan littoral at contact. Thus, they have inhabited the ecosystem in which they now live for centuries longer than originally thought by scholars. The Mayangnas' post-contact withdrawal into the remote interior, then, was not initiated from the coast, but rather from inland areas. Mayangnas fled during the colonial era to evade European colonists and Miskitu slave raiders. Rather than a passive, feeble reaction to colonization—which is the traditional view held by many researchers—the Mayangnas' migration was a strategic way to survive the European conquest. By the time rubber tappers, loggers, miners, and Moravian missionaries arrived on Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Mayangnas were accustomed to isolation and limited market interaction. They had always been too far from the market and had therefore not become firmly incorporated into it. But these foreign forces of the nineteenth century penetrated Mayangna communities and created ways for them to engage the capitalist economy. Mayangnas, however, did not delve into the economy; instead they developed a system—a tactic that continues today—by which they participated occasionally in the market, but retained their homes in remote villages. This thesis traces the Mayangnas' historic pursuit of isolation as well as their path toward market integration. Today the Mayangnas inhabit a nature reserve whose enabling legislation stipulates that both natural resources and indigenous homelands should be protected. My discussion should help policymakers understand the Mayangnas' link to the land inside the BOSAWAS Reserve. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work has not come to completion without the thoughts, ideas, encouragement, and assistance of many people and groups. They have all enhanced the final product in their own ways. Financial support for my research trip to Nicaragua came from an Inter- American Foundation (IAF) Fellowship and from a Hammond Fellowship at the University of Montana. The views expressed on the following pages are mine, though, and do not necessarily reflect those of IAF or the Hammond Foundation. Research in Nicaragua was conducted at the Centro de Investigaciones y Documentation de la Costa Adantica (CIDCA) archive in Managua. Without use of their published and unpublished collection of documents, as well as the office space and computer they furnished, research would have been vasdy more difficult Thank you to the CIDCA staff. Also in Nicaragua, the Mayangna people graciously accepted me into their communities. I owe particular thanks to those who were interviewed, those who fed me, and those who guided me by dugout canoe to and from their villages. Here at the University of Montana I have my committee to thank: Pamela Voekel, Dan Flores, and Jim Burchfield. Pamela has guided me into the field of Latin American history and offered unwavering support throughout the graduate program. Her perspective on Latin American history did not always focus on how people interact with the natural environment, but she has always encouraged my propensity to bring environmental history into discussions. I have Dan to thank (and Pamela can blame him) for teaching me how to analyze and ask questions about human-land relationships. Dan's expanded view of the West, one that seems to encompass Nicaragua, has been most helpful and appreciated. Jim's excitement about a Nicaraguan project has been inspiring, and I am grateful for his contributions on the committee. Thanks go to Jill Belsky, too, who commented on a condensed version of this thesis that was presented at the Conference of the Rocky Mountain Council on Latin American Studies in April 1998. As a provider of critical assistance at every stage of this process, Kath McChesney- Lape has been a savior. My "tab" grows exponentially, as does my gratitude. Fellow graduate students have heard much about the Mayangnas; I have appreciated their comments and questions. Of course, the project may never have been started if it weren't for my brother, Bob, who introduced me to the Mayangnas and to the BOSAWAS Reserve. And finally, this thesis has been improved by the keen eye of an editor who demanded that I not alienate my readers. I hope I haven't. Thanks Ronni—for editing and for your patience. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .............................................................. ii Acknowledgments ................................................................ iii Table of Contents ............................................... iv List of Maps ....................................................... v List of Figures .................................................. vi Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast: A Tropical Paradise? .............. 11 Chapter 3: Pre-Columbian Nicaragua: An Indigenous Conundrum ......................... 24 Chapter 4: European Newcomers and Indian Rivals: Retreat in the Colonial Era . 42 Chapter 5: The New Newcomers: Tappers, Loggers, Miners, and Missionaries ........................................................................................ 83 Chapter 6: Separate But Integrated: Isolation and the Market Today .................... 126 Bibliography . 133 i v LIST OF MAPS Map 1: Map of Central Am erica .............................. Map 2: Map of Nicaragua ........................................ Map 3: Map of the BOSAWAS Nature Reserve . LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Life on the River............................................. 15 Figure 2: Running the Rapids .............................................. 17 Figure 3: Mayangna Village ..................................................... 21 Figure 4: Mayangna Boys in a Pitpan . 36 Figure 5: Colonization and the Land ............................................................................. 49 Figure 6: Running UP the Rapids . 73 Figure 7: Agricultural