Mysteries of America (book)

Introduction

The forgotten universes

It is not easy to unravel the essences and mysteries of our Earth-America. The toponyms have changed and the paths have been obscured by centuries of solitary confinement.

Today we use many words without knowing their historical implications or their original meanings. Some of them are more than just "words." 

These are voices that contain deep senses. They represent forgotten universes of visions and magic. We seek to recover the hidden traces and rethink some aspects of an ancient history, but always present. Our exploration begins in the heart of Central America, in a little known mountain range: the Sierra de Amerrique.

The Sierra de Amerrique

The mountains of Amerrique, also called, Amerique or Amerrisque, are located in the area that extends from Lake Nicaragua to the lowlands that line the shores of the Caribbean Sea, in the current Nicaraguan department of Chontales.

While Amerrique and Amerrisque are well known names by local people, these designations do not appear on most maps. Cartographers and geographers have preferred to identify them as Cordillera Chontaleña or Sierra de Chontales.

Anyway, there are some regional or Nicaraguan maps where the name Amerrique is used with slight variations. The Atlas Rand McNally of the World of 1973(1) uses the name Sierra de Amerique, the French dictionary Larousse of 1982, in its section of Central America(2) calls it Sierra de Amérique, the Atlas of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Sierra of Amerique, the 1997 edition of the same encyclopedia, Amerrique Mts(3) and the maps of Nicaragua of the Nicarao Editions,

Sierra de Amerrique.

Although the words Amerrique or Amerrisque have been neglected in texts and treaties, they remain alive in local language and references. The word Amerrisque is commonly usedin the city of Juigalpa to name the nearby mountain range; There are many businesses, such as pharmacies or butcher shops called Amerrisque and even a local bus has been called Amerisquito.

What was the origin of the name?

The name Amerrique is related to an ancient town that lived in the mountains before the European invasion. Sometimes they are identified as matagalpas(4) or chontales. According to some authors, their language was close to Lenca, a language spoken in Honduras until very recently, as evidenced by a large number toponymy with similar endings.

There are also indications that Lencas and Matagalpas were related to the Mayan peoples. The suffixes ik or ique mean "wind" in most of the Mayan languages. According to Alfonso Valle Candia, "amerrique" would mean "Land of Many Winds."

In addition to these linguistic affinities, there are well established archaeological ties. The stone idols found in the Cordillera Amerrique, which are currently exhibited in the Juigalpa Museum, show clear analogies with statues of Guatemala or Yucatan.

Amerisco in the sea

Similar names are also found on the Caribbean coast, along the beaches that stretch from Bluefields to San Juan del Norte. The area south of Monkey Point, near the mouth of the Corn River or Corn River, is known as Amerisco(5) and there are references about a site near San Juan del Norte, whose name is América(6).

The elements mentioned indicate that, in ancient times, this region of Nicaragua, from the Caribbean Sea to the Lake of Nicaragua, was truly called Amerríque, Amerrisque, Amerisco or even America.

Coincidentally (or not so coincidentally) this region had been visited by Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, Juan Díaz de Solís, Pedro de Ledesma, Albérico Vespucci and Cristobal Colón(7) himself, from 1497 to 1503, several years before 1507(8), when the name of the continent first appeared in a European document8.

Authentic inspiration 

For a long time many people believed that the name America was a tribute to “Américo” Vespucci, a Florentine geographer who participated in several exploration trips around the year 1500. Some researchers of the 19th century, showed that,

At the time of the “baptism” of the continent, the usual name of Vespucci was not Américo or Amerigo (its Italian spelling), but Albérico, and it was probably Vespucci himself who changed his name around 1506-1507, to adapt it to the novel denomination from the recently “discovered” lands(9).

For centuries, most authors, probably without knowing it, have argued. that the word "America", like the invaders, had also come from the other side of the Ocean. We think it was not so. We believe that the one who inspired the name of the continent was not Mr. Vespucci, beyond all his merits,

but the beautiful and rich country of the Americas, land of mountains, forests, gold and idols. Our journey will begin in the high heart of the Sierra, near Juigalpa and will take place through valleys, rivers and lakes, to the beaches and lagoons of the Caribbean Sea, and beyond. I invite you to join me on this journey of learning and redemption.

References

1. The Earth and Man, 1973, p. 282 I 6

2. Grand Dictionnaire Encyclopédique Larousse, Take I, Librairie Larousse, 1982, p.403.

3. Page 654.

4. They are also called Chontales.

5. Ref. Jaime Incer in Indigenous Toponymias of Nicaragua.

6. Name recently identified by Jorge Espinosa.

7. Rand McNally Atlas, 1897.

8. In 1503 Columbus visited the Caribbean coast near the

San Juan river.

9. Jules Marcou, 1888, see bibliography

Misteries of America, Danilo Anton, Piriguazu Ediciones