Nicarao (cacique)

Nicarao was said to be the name of an indigenous chieftain or cacique who presided over a territory in southwestern Nicaragua during the early 16th century. Based on research done by historians in 2002, it was discovered that his real name was Macuilmiquiztli.

Christopher Columbus, on his 4th and last voyage in 1502, explored the eastern coast of what is now known as Nicaragua but did not venture to its western coast, nor did he come into contact with any indigenous people. In 1522, the Spanish conquistador Gil González Dávila left Panamá with 100 men, beginning the first incursion into the western regions of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. When they arrived in southwestern Nicaragua, they encountered a Nahuat-speaking tribe, and with the help of two indigenous interpreters who had come with González Dávila, he was able to have a discourse with the tribe's cacique, who has since been commonly referred to by the name Nicarao.

The territory or cacicazgo ruled over by Nicarao was situated in the isthmus of what is now known as Nicaragua's Rivas Department, next to Lake Nicaragua, and it extended southward to what is now known as the Guanacaste Province in northwestern Costa Rica. The tribe's capital city or principal settlement was called Quauhcapolca, though it has sometimes been referred to in history books as Nicaraocallí, and it is believed to have been situated near the modern lake port of San Jorge.

According to one theory, Nicaragua gets its name from a portmanteau of the name Nicarao and the Spanish word "agua" which means "water", due to the presence of two large lakes and other bodies of water in the country.

In 2002, through the research done by two separate Nicaraguan historians working independently of each other, it was revealed that the true name of the cacique was actually Macuilmiquiztli, which meant "Five Deaths" in the Nahuatl language.

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Wikipedia