Ometepe & Ometepinos

I am going to have the opportunity - I think - to go to Nicaragua for about a month for outreach, to work with an orphanage on Ometepe Island in Lake Nicaragua. What you see below is the island! The island is basically two volcanoes ... described by one Mark Twain as, "two magnificent pyramids, clad in the softest and richest green, all flecked with shadow and sunshine, whose summits pierce the billowy clouds. They look so isolated from the world and its turmoil, so tranquil, so dreamy, so steeped in slumber and eternal repose." Concepccion (1610 m) and Maderas (1340 m) are the two volcanoes. Concepcion erupted as recently as December 11 2009! Maderas is reported to be speckled with waterfalls, and to be home to a great diversity of wildlife, especially primates!

The island consists of about 42,000 inhabitants, with two "major" towns on the island, they are Altagracia and Moyogalpa. The islanders are called, Ometepinos, and are involved in fishing and agricultural industries; growing plantains, rice, tobacco, coffee, bananas, sesame seed and other crop species. Agriculture makes perfect sense, since the temperatures range between 24-32 Celsius (75-89 F). 


Religiously, Roman Catholicism rules and reigns. But roots of ancestry animism are vividly displayed in the annual "Baile de Zompopo" (Dance of Leaf Cutter Ant). The celebration is rooted in animistic Chorotega Indian mythology, who sought to appease the Leaf Cutter Ants which prehistorically destroyed crop stands on the island. Other such "superstitions"  include a well known legend about Charco Verde ... or the lake and ranch at Green Pool, which is watched over by the ghost of Chico Largo.


The history of the island includes many indian tribes migrating to the island from Mexico, the first of which are Los Mangues or Chorotegas, followed by the Nahuas, then the Mayas. The mixing of cultures led to one cohesive and meshed indigenous culture and religious system, characterized by the use of animal-like carving in totemism. They had rituals such as Quetalcoatl, Quiatoet, and "deities" such as Xochiquetzal, and sun god

The island was discovered by Spaniards in the early 1500's, and with discovery came mandated "religious reform" and evangelism. Franciscan monks arrived in the early 1600's teaching new customs, new language (Spanish), and new beliefs, and indigenous gods were replaced with Christian saints.


Thats the best brief history I can provide. I am sure there are gaping gaps in it, but its what I got. I hope you enjoy it.