Imprints on Native Lands Imprints on Native Lands The Miskito-Moravian Settlement Landscape in Honduras Benjamin F. Tillman The University of Arizona Press Tucson The University of Arizona Press © 2011 The Arizona Board of Regents All rights reserved www.uapress.arizona.edu Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tillman, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Farr), 1969-- Imprints on native lands : the Miskito-Moravian settlement landscape in Honduras / Benjamin F. Tillman. p. cm. —(First peoples : new directions in indigenous studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8165-2454-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Miskito Indians—Missions. 2. Miskito Indians—Land tenure. 3. Miskito Indians—Agriculture. 4. Moravians—Missions—Honduras—History. I. Title. F1529.M9T55 2011 972.85004´97882---dc22 2011005497 Publication of this book was made possible, in part, with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and by funding from the AddRan College of Liberal Arts at Texas Christian University. Manufactured in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper containing a minimum of 30% post-consumer waste and processed chlorine free. 16 15 14 13 12 11 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Rosa Maria Tillman Contents List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi 1. Introduction 1 2. The Setting: Mosquito Coast Geography and the Moravian Missionary Impetus 10 3. Miskito Settlements: Change and Continuity 36 4. The Overt Moravian Landscape: Churches and Compounds 65 5. From Top to Bottom: Moravian Modification of Miskito Housing 86 6. Missionaries for Christ, or Early Prophets of Sustainability? Moravian Influence on Miskito Agriculture 104 7. Uncommon Ground: The Material Culture of Miskito Cemeteries 117 Conclusion 145 Appendix A: 2001 Census Population of Selected Settlements in the Department of Gracias a Dios, Honduras 151 Appendix B: Scientific Names of Selected Vegetation 153 Appendix C: Settlements with Catholic, Baptist, and Church of God Congregations 155 Appendix D: Settlement Names 159 Appendix E: Names of Selected Miskito House Parts and Construction Materials 165 viii contents Notes 167 References 169 Index 183 Illustrations Figures 1.1 The Mosquito Coast of Central America 2 1.2 Miskito settlements studied in the Department of Gracias a Dios, Honduras, 1998 5 2.1 Diffusion of the Moravian Church on the Mosquito Coast, 1849–1970 28 2.2 Moravian membership growth in Honduras, 1930–1995 33 3.1 Raised footpath and stilt dwellings in Kruta, 1998 39 3.2 Sticks protecting newly planted fruit trees in Walpata, 1998 45 3.3 Sketch of Cocobila, 1998 49 3.4 Cocobila, 1996 49 3.5 Sketch of Belén, 1998 50 3.6 Sketch of Krata, 1998 51 3.7 Houses on beach ridges, and elongated ponds, 1998 52 3.8 Sketch of Kaurkira’s center, 1998 53 3.9 Sketch of Raya, 1998 54 3.10 Sketch of Tikiuraya, 1998 55 3.11 Sketch of Laka Tabila, 1998 56 3.12 Sketch of Lisangnipura, 1998 57 3.13 Sketch of Mocorón, 1998 58 3.14 Sketch of Puerto Lempira, 1998 61 3.15 Sketch of Ahuas, 1998 62 3.16 Sketch of Brus Lagoon, 1998 63 4.1 A stage-one church in Katski Almuk, 1998 70 4.2 A stage-two church in Twitanta, 1996 71 4.3 A stage-three church in Ahuas, 1998 72 4.4 Hierarchy of Moravian centers, 1998 76 4.5 Sketch of the Kaurkira Moravian compound, 1998 78 4.6 Sketch of the Cocobila Moravian Compound, 1998 79