Señorío of Cuzcatlán - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

style="margin-left: inherit; font-size: larger; font-weight: bold;" | Señorío of Cuzcatlán

Capital	Cuzcatlán Antiguo Cuscatlan Antiguo Cuscatlán is a municipality in the La Libertad department of El Salvador, southwest of San Salvador and to the east of Santa Tecla. Antiguo Cuscatlán is considered the richest and most urban municipality inside the "Metropolitan Area of San Salvador" as well as in the whole country.It...
Official language Official language An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...	Nahuat Pipil language Pipil is a Uto-Aztecan language descended from Nahuatl which was spoken in several parts of present day Central America before the Spanish conquest. It is on the verge of extinction in western El Salvador and has already gone extinct elsewhere in Central America...
Government Government Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...	Monarchy Monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected... tributary Tagatecu (inherited)
Establishment Dissolution	approx.1200 1528

The Señorío of Cuzcatlán, or The Lordship of Cuzcatlán, was a pre-Columbian

Pre-Columbian

The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...

Nahuat nation of the Post-Classical period that extended from the Paz river

Paz River

The Río Paz is a river in southern Guatemala. Its sources are located in the Quezalapa mountains in the north of Jutiapa. From there it flows in a south-westerly direction and marks the border with El Salvador for most of its way before reaching the Pacific Ocean at .The Paz River is 134 km...

to the Lempa river

Lempa River

The Lempa River is a 422 km long river in Central America. Its sources are located in between the Sierra Madre and the Sierra del Merendón in southern Guatemala, near the town of Olopa. In Guatemala the river is called Río Olopa and flows southwards for 30.4 km before entering Honduras and...

(covering most of the western and central zones of the present Republic of El Salvador

El Salvador

El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...

), this was the nation of Pipils. No codices or written accounts survive that shed light on this señorío. But Spanish chroniclers such as Domingo Juarros, Palaces, Lozano, and others claim that some codices did exist but have since disappeared. In their language (Nahuat), art and pyramids it is revealed that they had significant Aztec

Aztec

The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...

and Toltec

Toltec

The Toltec culture is an archaeological Mesoamerican culture that dominated a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo in the early post-classic period of Mesoamerican chronology...

influence. It is believed that the first settlers to arrive came from the Toltec nation.
The name "Cuzcatlan" comes from the Nahuatl

Nahuatl

Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...

origin "Kozkatlan" (Cozcatlan Spanish form), which is derived from "Kozkatl", meaning "diamond" or "jewel", and "tlan", meaning "next to" or "in between". Kozkatlan means "The Place of the Diamond Jewels".

Origins

The Pipils arrived in El Salvador around the year 900 AD. On arrival, they attacked and conquered the native city states by burning towns and establishing their own. Some city states such as Tehuacán

Tehuacán

Tehuacán is the second largest city in the Mexican state of Puebla, nestled in the Southeast Valley of Tehuacán, bordering the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz. The 2010 census reported a population of 248,716 in the city and 274,906 in its surrounding municipality of the same name, of which it serves...

allowed them free entrance avoiding destruction and eventually with time they became Pipil cities themselves. Others such as Chalchuapa

Chalchuapa

Chalchuapa is a town and a municipality located in the Santa Ana department of El Salvador. The city of Chalchuapa is in a wide valley at 650 meters above sea level, and watered by the Pampe River.- Overview :...

and Cihuatán became allies with the Pipils, but also eventually became Pipil city states. According to legend, the city of Cuzcatlán (the capital city of the Pipil) was founded by the exiled Toltec Ce Acatl Topiltzin, also called Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...

, around the year 1054. In the 13th century the Pipil city states were most likely unified, and by 1400, a hereditary monarchy had been established.

Political organization

The Señorío de Cuzcatlán was divided into chieftainships:

Cuzcatlán
Izalco
Apaneca
Ahuachapán
Guacotecti
Ixtepetl
Apastepeque
Tehuacán

The chieftainships did not form a unified political system and were at first independent, and were obligated to pay tribute/taxes to the chieftainship of Cuzcatlán. With time, they were all annexed by the chieftainship of Cuzcatlán, today the modern city of Antiguo Cuzcatlán a suburb of San Salvador

San Salvador

The city of San Salvador the capital and largest city of El Salvador, which has been designated a Gamma World City. Its complete name is La Ciudad de Gran San Salvador...

Government

The Señor de Cuzcatlán (lord of Cuzcatlán) was the head of state and had the title of Tagatécu. Bellow the chief were the Tatoni or princes, and bellow them the state elders and priests who advised the ruling family.

Upon the death of a chief, the succession was hereditary starting with the eldest son and so on, in case there were no sons available, the closest male family member was chosen by the counsel of elders and priests.

Tagatécus Or Señores de Cuzcatlán

There were many Tagatécus or Señores of Cuzcatlán; most have been forgotten with time, with the exception of the last four. Historical writings by the Spaniard Domingo Juarros reveal who they were.

Cuachimicín: Governed before the Spanish conquest, he was overthrown and executed by the priests.
Tutecotzimit: Successor of the previous one, restored the hereditary system.
Pilguanzimit
Tonaltut
Atlacatl
Atlacatl
Atlacatl is reputed to have been the name of the last ruler of a polity which was based around the center of Cuzcatlán, in the southwestern periphery of Mesoamerica , at the time of the Spanish conquest....

: Was the last and most recognized, he fought off the Spanish conquistadors on their first attempt to colonize their. (See Battle of Acajutla
Battle of Acajutla
The Battle of Acajutla was a battle in 1524 between the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado and a battalion of Pipiles, in the neighborhoods of present day Acajutla, near the coast of El Salvador.- Antecedents :...

). He was eventually captured and executed by the Spanish in 1528.

Military service

Military service was obligatory from about age 15 until they were unable to serve due to age. The soldier's attire consisted of a corselete or vest (made of cotton) and a mashte (species of loin cloth) and each painted their faces and bodies with unique colored abstract shapes and forms. The soldiers were organized in teams or platoons bearing distinctive names, such as:

The Jaguars
The Eagles
The Brave Owls

The Pipil soldier had a variety of weapons, most made of wood and volcanic rock shards. Some of the documented weapons are described bellow.

Tecuz (Lance): there were two types, a long spear that according to the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico, and in the conquest of Mexico led by Hernan Cortes...

it was 6,30 metres. The second one was a more maneuverable shorter spear.
Macuáhuit (mallet): made out of strong wood with sharpened obsidian at the end.
Tahuítul (bow) and Mit (arrows):
Malacate (disc): Most likely made of sharpened rock and used in the hand-to-hand combat.

Economy

The economy was based on the barter or exchange of agriculture and handcrafted goods such as multicolored textiles. Some products, as in the case of cacao, served even as currency. Other agricultural products grown by the Pipil were cotton, squash, corn, beans, fruits, balsam, some peppers, and chocolate; but chocolate could only be prepared and served to the ruling class.

There was significant mining of gold and silver, but were not used as currency, rather were used as offering to their many gods. Only the priests and the ruling family could use gold and silver as ornaments.

Religion

Through cronistas and archaeology we know that the Señorío de Cuzcatlán was well organized with respect to the priesthood, Gods, rites, etc. One of the peregrination places was the sanctuary to the goddess Nuictlán (constructed by EC Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl) located in the lake of Güija.

Honoring the Creators

The people living in the Señorío of Cuzcatlán attributed cosmic power to the following:
Xipe Totec, Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl

, Ehécatl

Ehecatl

Ehecatl is a pre-Columbian deity associated with the wind, who features in Aztec mythology and the mythologies of other cultures from the central Mexico region of Mesoamerica. He is most usually interpreted as the aspect of the Feathered Serpent deity as a god of wind, and is therefore also known...

, Tláloc

Tlaloc

Tlaloc was an important deity in Aztec religion, a god of rain, fertility, and water. He was a beneficent god who gave life and sustenance, but he was also feared for his ability to send hail, thunder and lightning, and for being the lord of the powerful element of water. In Aztec iconography he...

, Chac mool, Tonatiuh

Tonatiuh

In Aztec mythology, Tonatiuh was the sun god. The Aztec people considered him the leader of Tollan, heaven. He was also known as the fifth sun, because the Aztecs believed that he was the sun that took over when the fourth sun was expelled from the sky...

, Chalchitlicue and others. In addition there were some spirits identified with the Señorío of Cuzcatlán like: Itzqueye. Téotl

Teotl

Teotl is a central idea of Aztec religion. The Nahuatl term is often translated as "god", but it may have held more abstract aspects of the numinous or divine, akin to the Polynesian concept of Mana. In Pipil mythology Teotl is known merely as the creator and the father of life...

, along with Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl

and Itzqueye are the three with strong traces of beings key to the people's spiritual beliefs.

Fall and end of the Señorío de Cuzcatlán

After the fall of the Aztec Empire under Hernan Cortez, Pedro de Alvarado

Pedro de Alvarado

Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico, and in the conquest of Mexico led by Hernan Cortes...

was sent by Cortez to conquer the native city states further south. On June 6, 1524, Pedro de Alvarado crossed the Paz river with a few hundred soldiers and subdued the Cacique

Cacique

Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...

of Izalco

Izalco

Izalco is a municipality in the Sonsonate department of El Salvador.Volcan Izalco is an icon of the country of El Salvador, a very young parasitic cone on the flank of Santa Ana volcano...

(the first major city state on route to Cuzcatlan). Fierce battles were fought in defense of Izalco in Acaxual (today Acajutla in the Spanish version) and Tacuzcalco. On June 17, de Alvarado arrived in Cuzcatlán, the lord of Cuzcatlan, Atlacatl put up a brave defense until defeated during a second approach by the Spanish and was executed. The population fled to the mountains.

On the ashes of the once mighty Cuzcatlan in 1525, Pedro de Alvarado's cousin Diego de Alvarado established the Villa De San Salvador. Over the next three years, various attempts by the native Indians to destroy the newly founded town resulted in the decision to move the town a few kilometers south to its present location, to the valley commonly known as "the valley of the hammocks" (due to significant seismic activity) next to the Quezaltepeque

San Salvador (volcano)

The San Salvador Volcano is a stratovolcano situated northwest to the city of San Salvador. The crater has been nearly filled with a relatively newer edifice, the Boquerón volcano....

(San Salvador) volcano.

Legacy

Many archeological sites abound in El Salvador to give testament of this once great Native American nation. Tazumal is by far the best example of the complexity of their civilization, the main structure of the edifices has similarities to Toltec style pyramids. Other sites, among many, are in San Andres

San Andrés, El Salvador

San Andrés is a pre-Hispanic site of El Salvador, whose occupation began around the year 900 BC as an agricultural town in the valley of Zapotitán in the department of La Libertad...

, Cara Sucia

Cara Sucia

Cara Sucia was one of Venezuela's most popular telenovelas, and its most exported to other countries.Produced by Venevisión and filmed in 1992, Cara Sucia presents the story of Miguel Angel Gonzalez and Estrellita Montenegro .Filled with gaps and loopholes in the...

, Joya de Ceren

Joya de Cerén

Joya de Cerén is an archaeological site in La Libertad Department, El Salvador featuring a pre-Columbian Maya farming village preserved remarkably intact under layers of volcanic ash...

and Cihuatan.

Consulted Web Sites

Sites in Spanish:

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