Nicaragua

Ethnicity and Culture

Nicaragua has a varied geography and low population density, with most Nicaraguans residing in the fertile Pacific lowlands. Most of the population is of mestizo descent, with Europeans, Creole, and Afro-Nicaraguans, and indigenous peoples comprising the balance. Many Creole and indigenous groups resent the dominant Hispanic cultural majority, whom they call los Españoles. Indigenous cultural identities are legally protected under the Nicaraguan constitution. Nicaragua was plagued by political conflict throughout much of the 20th century, including a military coup and Somoza dictatorship, the rise to power of the socialistic Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN), and the Contra war of the 1990s, funded in part by the United States. President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro's presidency restored stability, although land disputes and other tensions still arise.

Most Nicaraguans are Roman Catholic, with most active practitioners being the urban upper and middle classes. Some Catholic leaders have also been active in political organizations. Evangelical Protestant denominations have been attracting increasing numbers of converts, notably among Afro-Nicaraguans and indigenous groups such as the Miskito peoples. The urban upper and middle classes more actively practice Catholicism. Christian religious holidays such as Holy Week, Easter, and Christmas are marked by communal events, while saints' days are celebrated with large fiestas that often coincide with planting or harvesting. One of the largest of these fiestas is the 10-day celebration in the beginning of August in honor of the patron saint of Managua, Santo Domingo. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception features a weeklong La Purisima celebration in early December. Fifteen-year-old girls hold quince celebrations to mark their social debut.

Nicaraguan society was traditionally hierarchical with little chance of social mobility. The traditional elite was based upon land ownership. Although the Sandinistas sought to redistribute land to peasants and squatters and educate the public, a social hierarchy still remains. A Nicaraguan's social status is based in large part on [Page 656]whether their occupation involves manual labor. Many of the rural poor without land work as migrant farm laborers, living in movable camps as they follow the seasonal harvests. Many urban poor, women, and children work in the informal economy as seamstresses, launderers, carpenters, or street vendor and live in squatter settlements.

Nicaraguan culture, like that of many Latin American countries, centers on extended family relationships. Godparents are also considered part of the family network. Family loyalty, personal honor, demonstrative greetings among friends, and reserved formality among strangers are highly valued social characteristics. People are expected to be hospitable and to show respect to elders or people of higher social positions. Women have achieved greater social roles in large part due to women's neighborhood committees created during the 1980s revolution. Family members are the main form of economic and social support for most Nicaraguans.

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