Ti Taulepa Tepal

Maya - Lenca House

The House of the Jaguar

Lenca Indigenous Nation

Incorporarting all member tribes that inhabit the ancestral lands of Managuara

Today, this land includes El Salvador, Honduras and the Pacific coast of Nicaragua

The UN Declaration of the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of the World,2007

Article 5

"Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions, while retaining their right to participate fully, if they so choose, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the State."

Article 9

"Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right to belong to an indigenous community or nation, in accordance with the traditions and customs of the community or nation concerned. No discrimination of any kind may arise from the exercise of such a right."

The Maya-Lenca House has begun a series of events to raise awareness of the cultural heritage of the Maya - Lenca people. There are more than six million Mayas in the world today, many of whom are living outside Mesoamerica, their ancestral homeland, mainly due to persecution and repression by the contemporary governments that rule their territories. One of the Maya dynasties today is the Maya-Lenca of the Enchanted Valley of Managuara Najochan. This people are the indigenous nation that has inhabited the Eastern lands of El Salvador, Honduras, and Pacific of Nicaragua. Their presence in this region goes back into Paleolithic time. Not only have the Lenca stamped their land with pre-Christian rock and cave art, but most intriguing are the 6000 years old petrified footprints left in two very important corners of the ancient Lenca territory, the Paleo-Indian footprints in Jiquilisco (El Salvador) and the Acahualenca(Acahualinca) footprints near Managua (Nicaragua). They are among the oldest human footprints in the Americas (Brinton, 1887; Harberland et al, 1957).  

In the same way that in pre-Columbian times the Maya people diligently documented their genealogies, mythologies, religious knowledge and Cosmo vision; today the Maya Lenca House has taken the lead in recovering the fragments of oral narratives that survives among the elders.   

The first phase of cultural work begun at the time of the 1993’s proclamation of the Year and the Decade of the Indigenous People by the United Nations Organization (UNO, 1993).  As a response to this global event, the Royal Dynasty of the Maya-Lenca of Enchanted Valley of Managuara Najochan (Eastern El Salvador) officially proclaimed the re-instatement of the said Indigenous Monarchy. The Elder woman and Royal Matriarch Francisca Barbara Romero Guevara, was ascended to the rightful title of Comizahual IV, ancient royal title awarded to all females monarchs in the Lenca land, who are direct descendants form the  Royal Lineage of the Jaguar of Balam Colop.  

There has been wide range of cultural projects undertaken by the House. They include the documentation of the oral tradition of the Dynasty as told by Comizahual IV. In addition, a vocabulary of the Lenca-Managuara language was documented in 1999. Furthermore, the illustration of the oral tradition is an ongoing project undertaken by His Excellency The Lenca Prince and Royal Successor. This project is crucial for the survival of the oral tradition of this dynasty because since the establishment of the Republic of El Salvador and Honduras, the Lenca people have been forced to assimilate and convert to Christianity. Today, very few indigenous remember the ancient stories of their forbears, because under the rule of Spain and also under the modern republics, Indigenous identity has been systematically suppressed. 

Despite religious conversion and state enforced repression against the indigenous traditions, the Maya-Lenca dynasty  has preserved a vast amount of narratives that have been past down from one generation to the next in the Royal Clan.

Mrs. Francisca Barbara Romero Guevara and her grandson and heir Leonel Antonio Chevez (Antonio), are committed to documenting their indigenous history and all cultural components of their native nation. To do this, Francisca has contributed by teaching the oral tradition to Leonel, who in turns has created drawings that best illustrate the narratives. The oral tradition held by Francisca and Leonel is immense and will require a lifetime to be completed. 

To facilitate his work, Leonel has begun establishing contacts with individuals and institution that currently hold “Maya” cultural materials. The aim is to gain access for viewing such materials and in this way be reacquainted with the symbolism and style of pre-Columbian works.

This site will provide information on Mayan issues ranging from art, geography, prehistory, spirituality, cultural rights and so forth. Most importantly, the Maya Lenca House will present the stories from the oral tradition held by the current Royal Matriarch, this narratives tell of the creation of the ancient Ajkmerike homeland, on the pacific coast of El Salvador, this was the "Turtle Land" that among others, it is said to have been the shape of a square. today, cornfields or Milpas in Maya land are still measured in a square, continuing the ancient tradition of sacred geometry. Most indigenous people from Central and North America trace back their origin to Turtle land, the land that one day collapsed beneath the sea. 

Bahtymetry studies of the ocean floor between Tehuantepec and Fonseca Gulf reveals a square landscape that is submerged under the pressure of adjacent tectonic plates. this is what scientist call " Cocos Plate".

Solicitud de Registro en Castellano

Click here to download " The Lineages of the Jaguar"