They arrived from the East
The invaders came from the East. They arrived by sea and occupied the Taino, Caribbean, Ciboneyes and Guanacaste islands. They seized land and people. From the tops of its mountains and volcanoes Amerrique witnessed their arrival.
Amerrique was not just a land of winds, it was also the Rich Coast "la Costa Rica", or as it is said in some native language of the region, huzgalpa or juigalpa, the "country of gold".
Columbus, Vespucci and other Europeans who arrived there were attracted by the brightness of the metal, by the abundant gold, coming from the multiple deposits that existed inside. The Admiral himself said in his Diary of the Fourth Journey: "Gold is very excellent, gold is made a treasure, with whom it has it, it does what it wants in the world, and it reaches its heart to Paradise."
And so, a few years after arriving in the country of the Lucayos and Haiti, the Spanish went to the coast of gold, and even beyond, to the origin of gold, located inside the earth, in the heart of the sierra, ancestral territory of the Amerrique nation, the "place where the wind blows".
The Amerrique people no longer exist, the Sierra de Amerrique is known by the name of Cordillera Chontaleña and the gold mines have Spanish names: Santo Domingo and La Libertad. In spite of everything, even today, in the tops of the Mombachito and Cuizaltepe mountains, in the heart of the Amerrique mountains, the strong and purifying wind still blows. With persistence and remembering them..
Where are they?
Before Nicaragua was called Cocibolca by the mestizos and the chorotegas, the "great cradle of crater" was known as Ukurikitucara by the ancient people of the land.
Ukurikitucara receives the wind of life and its golden sparks from the nearby highlands of Amerrique. She speaks loudly through her mouths of craters in Ometepe and extends her arms to reach Cariari and Amerisco, beyond the mountains, over the sea.
The riches of the water are protected by a thousand and one sharks with sharp teeth and lustrous fins.
Night and day, the spirit of Ukurikitucara lives, she is sister of hurricanes. Although many people think she has no memory, she remembers each and every one of the images that were reflected in its waters.
And more especially, it reminds them. The ancient people. Those who came to their shores with feelings of love and respect, bringing fruits, corn and tobacco.
She knows all too well that one day, very soon, they will return from the fog of time, the sacred idols will stand once more, and the clean and wide sky will once again be their temple, our temple.
They are still here.
They say the amerriques are gone. That they have disappeared. However, if the peaks and valleys of Amerrique are carefully traversed, it is possible to feel them. In the silent rocks. On the steep slopes. On the legendary cliffs. In the hearts of the people of Juigalpa and La Libertad. In all of us. Some call them matagalpas, others chontales.
It is really the same. The wise people who sculpted idols do not need a new name.
They have their ancient, unique ways of calling themselves. We just don't know them. Or maybe we use them every day without realizing it.
From "Mysteries of America", Danilo Antón, Piriguazú Editions
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