Culture of El Salvador: Difference between revisions

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The '''culture of El Salvador''' is a [[Central America]]n culture nation influenced by the clash of ancient [[Mesoamerica]] and medieval [[Iberian Peninsula]]. [[Salvadoran]] culture is influenced by [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native America]]n culture ([[Lenca people]], [[Cacaopera people]], [[Maya peoples]], [[Pipil people]]) as well as [[Latin American culture]] ([[Latin America]], [[Hispanic America]], [[Ibero-America]]). [[Mestizo]] culture and the [[Catholic Church]] dominates the country. Although the [[Romance languages|Romance language]], [[Castilian Spanish]], is the official and dominant language spoken in El Salvador, [[Salvadoran Spanish]] which is part of [[Central American Spanish]] has influences of [[Indigenous languages of the Americas|Native American languages]] of El Salvador such as [[Lencan languages]], [[Cacaopera language]], [[Mayan languages]] and [[Pipil language]], which are still spoken in some regions of El Salvador.

==Native Homeland==

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Salvadorans inhabit the lush [[Central American]] nation of [[El Salvador]]. El Salvador is one of seven countries in the giant isthmus of Central America. The surface of El Salvador features tropical forest, jungles, mountains, volcanoes, plains (savanna), rivers, lagoons, lakes, calderas and the Pacific Ocean. The forests of El Salvador contain a wide diversity of flora and fauna. El Salvador is a home to ecosystems, biomes, living, nonliving natural resources and also home to a plethora of diverse species. In terms of nonliving resources, El Salvador contains rich volcanic soil, fertile earth that gives life to lush vegetation. Native vegetation such as ''[[Yucca gigantea]], [[Cassava]], [[Echites panduratus]]'', and ''[[Crotalaria longirostrata]]'' which are used in Salvadoran food. El Salvador also contains gold under its surface, however all type of mining has been abolished in El Salvador. The Native American indigenous ancestors of Salvadorans, have been living in the region for thousands of years. El Salvador is periodically hit with earthquakes and tropical storms, occasionally but rarely by cyclones.

El Salvador celebrates many holidays and traditions, including International Women's Day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Women's Day in El Salvador |url=https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/el-salvador/woman-day |access-date=2022-08-18 |website=www.timeanddate.com |language=en}}</ref>

 

 

== Architecture ==

File:Murales de Ataco 5.JPG|flora and fauna mural

 

 

File:Calles de Ataco 2.JPG|Cat themed mural

===Civil War murals===

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File:War memorial mural - Nuevo Gualcho, El Salvador.JPG|War memorial mural in Nuevo Gualcho

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[[File:Centroamerica prehispanica siglo XVI.svg|thumb|right|This was [[Central America]] at the time the Native Americans roamed the lush and fertile [[isthmus]]. The arrival of the Europeans changed these cultures with colonization, hitting the local population with warfare, oppression and diseases. The indigenous population was powerless to recuperate for centuries.]]

 

Historically El Salvador has had diverse Native American cultures, coming from the north and south of the continent along with local populations mixed together. El Salvador belongs to both to the [[Mesoamerican region]] in the western part of the country, and to the [[Isthmo-Colombian Area]] in the eastern part of the country, where a myriad of indigenous societies have lived side by side for centuries with their unique cultures and speaking different [[indigenous languages of the Americas]] in the beginning of the [[Classic stage]].

The [[Lenca people]] are an indigenous people of eastern El Salvador where population today is estimated at 37,000. The Lenca was a matriarchal society and was one of the [[first civilization]]s to develop in El Salvador and were the first major civilization in the country. The pre-Conquest [[Salvadoran Lenca]] had frequent contact with various Maya groups as well as other indigenous peoples of Central America. The origin of Lenca populations has been a source of ongoing debate amongst anthropologists and historians. Throughout the regions of Lenca occupation, Lenca pottery is a very distinguishable form of [[Pre-Columbian art]]. Handcrafted by Lenca women, Lenca pottery is considered an ethnic marking of their culture. Some scholars have suggested that the Lenca migrated to the Central American region from South America around 3,000 years ago, making it the oldest civilization in El Salvador. Guancasco is the annual ceremony by which Lenca communities, usually two, gather to establish reciprocal obligations in order to confirm peace and friendship. [[Quelepa]] is a major site in eastern El Salvador. Its pottery shows strong similarities to ceramics found in central western El Salvador and the Maya highlands. The Lenca sites of Yarumela, Los Naranjos in Honduras, and Quelepa in El Salvador, all contain evidence of the [[Usulután]]-style ceramics.

El Salvador has two [[Maya peoples|Maya]] groups, the [[Poqomam people]] and the [[Ch'orti' people]]. The Poqomam are a Maya people in western El Salvador near its border. Their indigenous language is also called Poqomam. The Ch'orti' people (alternatively, Ch'orti' Maya or Chorti) are one of the indigenous Maya peoples, who primarily reside in communities and towns of northern El Salvador. The Maya once dominated the entire western portion of El Salvador, up until the eruption of the [[lake ilopango]] super volcano. Mayan ruins are the most widely conserved in El Salvador and artifacts such as [[Maya ceramics]] [[Mesoamerican writing systems]] [[Mesoamerican calendars]] and [[Mesoamerican ballgame]] can be found in all Maya ruins in El Salvador which include [[Tazumal]], [[San Andrés, El Salvador]], [[Casa Blanca, El Salvador]], [[Cihuatan]], and [[Joya de Cerén]].

El Salvador has two [[Nahua peoples]], The [[Mangue language]] people and the [[Pipil people]]. The Mangue people, also known as Chorotega, are an extinct [[Oto-Manguean language]] people, indigenous to eastern El Salvador border, near the gulf. The Pipils are an indigenous people who live in western El Salvador. Their language is called Nahuat or Pipil, related to the Toltec people of the Nahuatl Nation and were speakers of early Nahuatl languages. However, in general, their mythology is more closely related to the [[Maya mythology]], who are their near neighbors and by oral tradition said to have been adopted by Ch'orti' and Poqomam Mayan people during the Pipil exodus in the 9th century CE. The culture lasted until the Spanish conquest, at which time they still maintained their Nawat language, despite being surrounded by the Maya in western El Salvador. By the time the Spanish arrived, Pipil and Poqomam Maya settlements were interspersed throughout western El Salvador. The Pipil are known as the last indigenous civilization to arrive in El Salvador, being the least oldest and were a determined people who stoutly resisted Spanish efforts to extend their dominion southward. The Pipil are direct descendants of the Toltecs, but not of the Aztecs.

 

===Modern Native American people===

{{Latin America topic|Culture of|Latin American culture}}