- Culture of Nicaragua
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British possessions. The people of Nicaragua are mostly mestizos, and Spanish is invariably their first language. Nicaraguans are prone to refer to themselves as Nicas, Nicoyas & Pinoleros.
Contents
Culture
Life in Nicaragua 
Art Cinema Cuisine Culture Demographics Education Holidays Human Rights Literature Music Politics Religion Tourism Nicaragua has strong folklore, music and religious traditions, deeply influenced by Iberian culture but enriched with Amerindian sounds and flavors. The west of the country was colonized by Spain and has a similar culture to other Spanish-speaking American countries. The eastern half of the country, on the other hand, was once a British protectorate. English is still predominant in this region and spoken domestically along with Spanish and indigenous languages. Its culture is similar to that of Caribbean nations that were or are British possessions, such as Jamaica, Belize, the Cayman Islands, etc.
Recent immigration by Spanish speakers has largely influenced younger generations, and an increasing number of people are either bilingual at home or speak Spanish only. There is a relatively large population of people of mixed African descent, as well as a smaller Garifuna population. Due to the African influence, in the East Coast, there is a different kind of music. It is the popular dance music called 'Palo de Mayo', or Maypole, which is celebrated during the Maypole Festival, during the month of May. The music is sensual with intense rhythms. The celebration is derived from the British Maypole for May Day celebration, as adapted and transformed by the Afro-Nicaraguans on the Caribbean or Mosquito Coast.Of the many cultures that were present before European colonization, the Nahuatl-speaking peoples who populated the west of the country have essentially been assimilated into the mainstream culture. In the east, however, several indigenous groups have maintained a distinct identity. The Miskito, Sumo, Garifuna, and Rama people still use their original languages, and also usually speak Spanish and/or English.
Language
Languages of Nicaragua Language Speakers Arabic 400 Chinese 7,000 English 20,334 Garífuna 1,500 Miskito 154,400 Sign language 3,000 Spanish 4,347,000 Sumo 6,700 Rama 24 Creole English 30,000 Source: Ethnologue[1] Spanish, or Nicañol as Nicaraguan Spanish is sometimes referred to, is spoken by 90% of the country's population. In the Caribbean coast many afro-Nicaraguans and creoles speak English and creole English as their first language. Also in the Caribbean coast, many Indigenous people speak their native languages, such as the Miskito, Sumo, Rama and Garifuna language.[2] In addition, many ethnic groups in Nicaragua, such as the Chinese Nicaraguans and Palestinian Nicaraguans, have maintained their ancestral languages, which are minority languages, while also speaking Spanish and/or English. These minority languages include Chinese, Arabic, German, and Italian, among others. Nicaragua was home to 3 extinct languages, one of which was never classified. Nicaraguan Sign Language is also of particular interest to linguists.
Spanish
In this map of voseo countries, the spread of the dialect is clearly illustrated. Nicaragua, represented in dark blue in Central America, has spread the dialect as an indirect result of the Nicaraguan Diaspora of the 1980s. Although other countries like Argentina, El Salvador, Uruguay and Paraguay also are represented by dark blue on the map, Rioplatense Spanish is spoken in these regions. It varies in pronunciation compared to the Central American dialect.
Central American Spanish is spoken by about 90% of the country's population. In Nicaragua, the voseo form of Spanish is dominant in both speech and publications. The first nation to formally adopt the voseo dialect, Nicaragua is one two Central American nations (El Salvador is the other) that use voseo Spanish as its written and spoken form of the language. The usage is also seen in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and coastal Colombia.
Pronunciation varies depending on region. Some Nicaraguans pronounce the word vos with a strong s sound at the end. In the central part of the country, regions like Boaco pronounce vos without the s sound. The result is vo, similar to vous in French and voi in Italian.
Unintentionally, Nicaragua has played a significant role in establishing the voseo dialect more widely in Central America. This is largely owing to the Nicaraguan Diaspora fueled by the civil war of the 1980s, as a result of which roughly 1,000,000 Nicaraguans currently live abroad. "Voseo" has spread both to other Central American countries and to cities in the United States such as Miami, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
In the Caribbean coast, many Afro-Nicaraguans and creoles speak English and creole English as their first language, but they speak a very fluent Spanish as a second language. The languages in the North and South Atlantic Regions are influenced by English, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish and French. Many of the indigenous people on the Caribbean coast speak native languages such as the Miskito, Sumo, Rama and Garifuna language.[2] In addition, many ethnic groups in Nicaragua have maintained their ancestral languages, while also speaking Spanish or English; these include Chinese, Arabic, German, and Italian.
Spanish is taught as the principal language. English is taught to students during their high school years and tends to be the national second language. Other languages, particularly Romance languages, can be found sporadically.
Phonetics and phonology
In Spanish, few words end in plosives. However, many such words are borrowed from English. In Nicaragua, all such stops are usually pronounced like 'c's. The Costa Rican ice cream shop Pops, with franchises in Central America is pronounced by many people as Pocs. Internet is sometimes pronounced Internec, Laptop is pronounced lactoc, and robót pronounced robóc. This is sometimes extended to native Spanish words where such stops are found at the end of a syllable. For example, Aceptar is often pronounced Acectar.
A sign in Bluefields in English (top), Spanish (middle) and Miskito (bottom).Some other characteristics of Nicaraguan phonology include:
- /s/ at the end of a syllable or before a consonant is pronounced like [h].
- /j/ (/x/) is aspirated; it is soft like the /h/ in English (e.g.: Yahoo).
- Intervocalic /b/, /d/, and /g/ show no sign of reduction, and are much more pronounced than in most dialects.
- There is no confusion between /l/ and /r/, as in the Caribbean.
- /s/, /z/ and in some cases /c/ (as in cerrar) are pronounced as [s]
- /m/ at the end of a word tends to be pronounced as [n]
Religion
Main article: Religion in NicaraguaReligion affiliation in Nicaragua 
The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Managua Religion Percentage Roman Catholic 58.5% Evangelical 21.6% Moravian 1.6% Jehovah's Witnesses 0.9% None 15.7% Other1 1.6% 1 Includes Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism among other religions. Source: 2005 Nicaraguan Census[3] Religion is a significant part of the culture of Nicaragua and forms part of the constitution. Religious freedom, which has been guaranteed since 1939, and religious tolerance is promoted by both the Nicaraguan government and the constitution. Bishops are expected to lend their authority to important state occasions, and their pronouncements on national issues are closely followed. They can also be called upon to mediate between contending parties at moments of political crisis.[4]
Although Nicaragua has no official religion it is nominally Roman Catholic. Practicing Roman Catholics are no longer the majority and are declining while evangelical Protestant groups and Mormons are growing rapidly have been growing since the 1990s. There are also strong Anglican and Moravian communities on the Caribbean coast.
Roman Catholicism came to Nicaragua in the sixteenth century with the Spanish conquest and remained, until 1939, the established faith. Protestantism and other Christian sects came to Nicaragua during the nineteenth century, but only during the twentieth century have Protestant denominations gained large followings in the Caribbean Coast of the country. Popular religion revolves around the saints, who are perceived as intermediaries between human beings and God. Most localities, from the capital of Managua to small rural communities, honor patron saints, selected from the Roman Catholic calendar, with annual fiestas. In many communities, a rich lore has grown up around the celebrations of patron saints, such as Managua's Saint Dominic (Santo Domingo), honored in August with two colorful, often riotous, day-long processions through the city. The high point of Nicaragua's religious calendar for the masses is neither Christmas nor Easter, but La Purísima, a week of festivities in early December dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, during which elaborate altars to the Virgin Mary are constructed in homes and workplaces.[4]
Music
Carlos Mejía Godoy, a prominent Nicaragua musician and composer.Main article: Music of NicaraguaModern Nicaraguan music is a mixture of indigenous and European, especially Spanish, influences. Musical instruments include the marimba and others common across Central America.
The marimba of Nicaragua is uniquely played by a sitting performer holding the instrument on his knees. He is usually accompanied by a bass fiddle, guitar and guitarrilla (a small guitar like a mandolin). This music is played at social functions as a sort of background music. The marimba is made with hardwood plates, placed over bamboo or metal tubes of varying lengths. It is played with two or four hammers.
The Caribbean coast of Nicaragua is known for a lively, sensual form of dance music that is especially loud and celebrated during the May Palo de Mayo festival. The Garifuna community exists in Nicaragua and is known for its popular music called Punta. Also, soca music, reggaeton and reggae are popular throughout the country.
Education
Main article: Education in NicaraguaSee also: Universities in Nicaragua and List of Schools in NicaraguaEducation is free for all Nicaraguans.[5] Elementary education is free and compulsory, however, many children in rural areas are unable to attend due to lack of schools and other reasons. Communities located on the Caribbean coast have access to education in their native languages. The majority of higher education institutions are located in Managua, higher education has financial, organic and administrative autonomy, according to the law. Also, freedom of subjects is recognized.[6]
Nicaragua's higher education consists of 48 universities and 113 colleges and technical institutes which serve student in the areas of electronics, computer systems and sciences, agroforestry, construction and trade-related services.[7] The educational system includes 1 U.S. accredited English-language university, 3 Bilingual university programs, 5 Bilingual secondary schools and dozens of English Language Institutes. In 2005, almost 400,000 (7%) of Nicaraguans held a university degree.[8] 18% of Nicaragua's total budget is invested in primary, secondary and higher education. University level institutions account for 6% of 18%.
When the Sandinistas came to power in 1979, they inherited an educational system that was one of the poorest in Latin America.[9] Under the Somozas, limited spending on education and generalized poverty, which forced many adolescents into the labor market, constricted educational opportunities for Nicaraguans. A 1980 literacy campaign, using secondary school students, university students as well as teachers as volunteer teachers, reduced the overall illiteracy rate from 50.3% to 12.9% within only five months.[10] The key large scale programs of the Sandinistas included a massive National Literacy Crusade (March–August, 1980), social program, which received international recognition for their gains in literacy, health care, education, childcare, unions, and land reform.[11][12] In September 1980, UNESCO awarded Nicaragua with the "Nadezhda K. Krupskaya" award for their successful literacy campaign. This was followed by the literacy campaigns of 1982, 1986, 1987, 1995 and 2000, all of which were also awarded by UNESCO.[13]
Literature
Main article: Literature of NicaraguaLiterature of Nicaragua can be traced to pre-Columbian times with the myths and oral literature that formed the cosmogonic view of the world that indigenous people had. Some of these stories are still known in Nicaragua. Like many Latin American countries, the Spanish conquerors have had the most effect on both the culture and the literature. Nicaraguan literature has historically been an important source of poetry in the Spanish-speaking world, with internationally renowned contributors such as Rubén Darío who is regarded as the most important literary figure in Nicaragua, referred to as the "Father of Modernism" for leading the modernismo literary movement at the end of the 19th century.[14] Other literary figures include Ernesto Cardenal, Gioconda Belli, Claribel Alegría and José Coronel Urtecho, Alberto Cuadra Mejia, Carlos Martinez Rivas, Pablo Antonio Cuadra, Manolo Cuadra, Pablo Alberto Cuadra Arguello among others.
Distinctive traditional costumes and dance from a very renowned folk dance from Nicaragua, El GüegüenseEl Güegüense
Main article: El GüegüenseEl Güegüense is a satirical drama and was the first literary work of pre-Columbian Nicaragua. It is regarded as one of Latin America's most distinctive colonial-era expressions and as Nicaragua's signature folkloric masterpiece combining music, dance and theater.[15] El Güegüense is performed during the feast of San Sebastián in Diriamba (Carazo department) from January 17 to the 27th.
The theatrical play was written by an anonymous author in the 16th century, making it one of the oldest theatrical/dance works of the Western Hemisphere.[16] It was passed down orally for many centuries until it was finally written down and published into a book in 1942.[17]
El Güegüense represents folklore of Nicaragua, therefore, UNESCO proclaimed it a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" in 2005 making Nicaragua the only country in Central America and one of six in Latin America to have 2 proclaimed masterpieces by UNESCO.[18] The first proclaimed masterpiece was the "Oral traditions and expressions" of the Garifuna.[19]
Legends
Nicaraguans legends are similar to legends found in other Latin American countries. Some popular legends include:
- El Cadejo - There is a good white cadejo and an evil black cadejo. Both are spirits that appear at night to travellers. The white cadejo to protect them from harm during their journey, and the black cadejo (sometimes an incarnation of the devil) to kill them. The cadejos usually appear in the form of a large, cow-sized shaggy dog with burning red eyes and a goat's hooves, although in some areas they have more bull-like characteristics. According to the stories, those who have attempted to kill the black cadejo have failed and perished.
- La Cegua - Also called Cihuanaba, Cegua is probably a romanization of the nahuatl "Cihua" which means woman. La Cegua is a witch who resides in the woods. She takes on several facades. At times she appears in a white corn leaf dress with a veil covering her face. It is said that she has long black hair covering over her face. She is also said to wear a Guarumo Tree leaf dress and her voice is made rasping and hollow by plantain leaves covering her teeth. Others say that her face is ghostly and that her eyes stare into her victim's souls. Still another version says that she is believed to have the face of a horse. Nicaraguans also say that she walks through the woods and back roads naked, waiting for her next victim. Men are drawn to her fantastical silhouette. The words she speaks to these men are so horrific that the victim goes insane instantaneously - something from which they never recover. La Cegua is believed to have super-human abilities and is able to walk through solid objects, gravitate above ground and fly at extreme speeds in her efforts to lure men into her trap. To save yourself from such an encounter you should carry mustard seeds and throw them before her. She apparently will stop to try and pick up the magical seeds. As with other myths in Nicaraguan folklore, the tale of La Cegua is believed to ensure that men come straight home after work.[20]
- La Llorona - Sometimes called the Woman in White or the Weeping Woman is the ghost of a woman crying for her dead children. Her appearances are sometimes held to presage death.
- La Novia de Tola ("The bride from Tola") - Apocryphal legend of a maiden who went insane after her fiancé stood her up at the altar. In current usage, to say that someone was "left like the bride from Tola" is a uniquely Nicaraguan idiom meaning that someone was stood up or left "holding the bag". The city of Tola in the department of Rivas, Nicaragua erected a statue in the town square to honor the legendary bride.[21]
- La Carreta Nagua
- La Taconuda-Is the legend of a woman her fiancé stood her up at the altar. People say that her ghost wakls around the city of Leon Nicaragua searching for her fiancé or other young lonely men. She is called la taconuda for wearing giant heels
See also
- Latin American culture
- Hispanic culture
- Miskito
- El Güegüense
- Museums of Nicaragua
- Universities in Nicaragua
References
- ^ "Languages of Nicaragua". Ethnologue. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Nicaragua. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
- ^ a b "Languages of Nicaragua". Ethnologue. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=NI. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
- ^ "2005 Nicaraguan Census" (in Spanish) (PDF). National Institute of Statistics and Census of Nicaragua (INEC): pp. 42–43. http://www.inec.gob.ni/censos2005/ResumenCensal/Resumen2.pdf. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
- ^ a b Dennis, Gilbert. "Nicaragua: Religion". Country Studies (Library of Congress). http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ni0040). Retrieved 2007-10-30.
- ^ Liu, Dan (2006-12-06). "Nicaragua's new gov't to enforce free education". CHINA VIEW. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-12/06/content_5442752.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
- ^ "Nicaragua Education". http://www.nicaragua.com/culture/education/. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
- ^ "Human Capital: Educationand Training". ProNicaragua. http://www.pronicaragua.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=87. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ "Central American Countries of the Future 2005/2006". 2005-08-01. http://www.pronicaragua.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=87. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ Gilbert, Dennis. "Nicaragua: Education". Country Studies (Library of Congress). http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ni0036). Retrieved 2007-07-02.
- ^ Hanemann, Ulrike. "Nicaragua's Literacy Campaign" (DOC). UNESCO. Archived from the original on 2007-07-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20070703020810/http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/file_download.php/67b39f3aaf8f20da06be3c6a4e4c6dfeHanemann_U.doc. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
- ^ "Historical Background of Nicaragua". Stanford University. http://www.stanford.edu/group/arts/nicaragua/discovery_eng/history/background.html. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
- ^ "Nicaragua Pre-election Delegation Report". Global Exchange. http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/NicaraguaReportOct2001.html. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
- ^ B. Arrien, Juan. "Literacy in Nicaragua" (PDF). UNESCO. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001459/145937e.pdf. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ "Showcasing Nicaragua's Folkloric Masterpiece - El Gueguense - and Other Performing and Visual Arts". Encyclopedia.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-150984344.html. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
- ^ Nicaragua's First Cultural Series to Debut in South Florida
- ^ Event Calendar | National Museum of the American Indian
- ^ El Güegüense o Macho Ratón
- ^ List of masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity
- ^ List of masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity
- ^ http://www.nicaragua.com/culture/folklore/
- ^ Sánchez Ricarte, Noelia (2007-03-14). "Tola con brújula para el turismo" (in Spanish). La Prensa. http://www-ni.laprensa.com.ni/archivo/2007/marzo/14/suplementos/negocios/179004.shtml. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
External links
- Nicaraguan Culture (Spanish) (English)
- 400 elefantes Nicaraguan Literature (Spanish)
- Marcaacme Art, Literature & Cultural Events (Spanish)
- Arte Nicaragüense
- Nicaragua Online Art, history, politics, & more...
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