Awas Tingni
Encyclopedia
Awas Tingni is an indigenous
Mayagna community of some 2,400 members on the Miskito Coast of Nicaragua
, in the municipality of Waspam
in the Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte
. Awas Tingni is located near the junction of the Rio Wawa and the river Awas Tingni. In Mayagna, "Awas Tingni" means "Pine River" and denotes both the town itself and the river by which the town is situated. Awas Tingni was thus named due to the large pine forest in the area, similar to the Pine barrens
of the United States
.
The population of Awas Tingni is relatively young; there are about 500 members of the community (roughly 1/4 of the population) under the age of five. The community boasts one primary school which has classes for two separate groups of students- one group of students will attend classes in the morning and another group will attend classes in the afternoon. There is also a secondary school which serves about 30 students. In addition, Awas Tingni has one Moravian church and one Baptist church. The number of churchgoers in Awas Tingni is now so great that there is a lack of space between the two churches for all the congregants.
Awas Tingni was hit severely by Hurricane Felix
and as a result has been the site of several revitalization projects. On the outer edge of town is a model farm in which people learn how to grow beans, pineapple
, manioc, bananas, hogs, and chickens, among others. There are also two sets of solar panels which can be used to charge batteries in order to power lights in the primary school when meetings are held there at night. The community has two wells approximately sixty feet deep and two wells approximately forty feet deep. These wells were installed by aid organizations. In addition, many people get their water from the Awas Tingni River.
The people of Awas Tingni speak Mayagna
as a first language. Many are also fluent in Miskito
, and Spanish
is taught in the schools. It is necessary for the inhabitants of Awas Tingni to learn Miskito to interact with the surrounding villages and to learn Spanish, the language of education and government in Nicaragua
.
The people in Awas Tingni raise cattle
, hogs, and chickens, as well as several types of plant crops. Transportation includes a dirt road linking the community to the small town of Piñera and the Waspam
-Puerto Cabezas
road beyond. Dugout canoes are also used for transportation on the Rio Wawa.
judgment, in which the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
established the right of indigenous communities to their land as a basic human right. "The Court found that the right to property, as affirmed in the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights, protects the traditional land tenure of indigenous peoples."
The judgment in Mayagna (Sumo) Community of Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua was made in 2001, but it was not until 2009 that Nicaragua surveyed and titled the land to the Mayagna.
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
Mayagna community of some 2,400 members on the Miskito Coast of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, in the municipality of Waspam
Waspam
Waspam is a municipality in the Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte department of Nicaragua....
in the Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte
Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte
Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte , sometimes shortened to RAAN, is one of two autonomous regions in Nicaragua. It covers an area of 32,159 km² and has a population of 249,700 . It is the largest autonomous region or department in Nicaragua...
. Awas Tingni is located near the junction of the Rio Wawa and the river Awas Tingni. In Mayagna, "Awas Tingni" means "Pine River" and denotes both the town itself and the river by which the town is situated. Awas Tingni was thus named due to the large pine forest in the area, similar to the Pine barrens
Pine barrens
Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pinelands occur throughout the northeastern U.S. from New Jersey to Maine as well as the Midwest and Canada....
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The population of Awas Tingni is relatively young; there are about 500 members of the community (roughly 1/4 of the population) under the age of five. The community boasts one primary school which has classes for two separate groups of students- one group of students will attend classes in the morning and another group will attend classes in the afternoon. There is also a secondary school which serves about 30 students. In addition, Awas Tingni has one Moravian church and one Baptist church. The number of churchgoers in Awas Tingni is now so great that there is a lack of space between the two churches for all the congregants.
Awas Tingni was hit severely by Hurricane Felix
Hurricane Felix
The name Felix was used for four tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean.* 1989's Hurricane Felix - A Category 1 storm that dissipated in the Atlantic without threatening land....
and as a result has been the site of several revitalization projects. On the outer edge of town is a model farm in which people learn how to grow beans, pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
, manioc, bananas, hogs, and chickens, among others. There are also two sets of solar panels which can be used to charge batteries in order to power lights in the primary school when meetings are held there at night. The community has two wells approximately sixty feet deep and two wells approximately forty feet deep. These wells were installed by aid organizations. In addition, many people get their water from the Awas Tingni River.
The people of Awas Tingni speak Mayagna
Sumo language
Sumo is the collective name for a group of Misumalpan languages spoken in Nicaragua and Honduras. Hale & Salamanca classifies the Sumu languages into a northern Mayangna, composed of the Twahka and Panamahka dialects, and southern Ulwa...
as a first language. Many are also fluent in Miskito
Miskito language
Miskito is a Misumalpan language spoken by the Miskito people in northeastern Nicaragua, especially in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region, and in eastern Honduras....
, and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
is taught in the schools. It is necessary for the inhabitants of Awas Tingni to learn Miskito to interact with the surrounding villages and to learn Spanish, the language of education and government in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
.
The people in Awas Tingni raise cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, hogs, and chickens, as well as several types of plant crops. Transportation includes a dirt road linking the community to the small town of Piñera and the Waspam
Waspam
Waspam is a municipality in the Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte department of Nicaragua....
-Puerto Cabezas
Puerto Cabezas
Puerto Cabezas is a municipality in, and capital of, the North Atlantic Coast department of Nicaragua....
road beyond. Dugout canoes are also used for transportation on the Rio Wawa.
Human Rights Case
The community sued the Nicaraguan government and won a landmark human rightsHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
judgment, in which the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial institution based in the city of San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it makes up the human rights protection system of the Organization of American States , which serves to uphold and...
established the right of indigenous communities to their land as a basic human right. "The Court found that the right to property, as affirmed in the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights, protects the traditional land tenure of indigenous peoples."
The judgment in Mayagna (Sumo) Community of Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua was made in 2001, but it was not until 2009 that Nicaragua surveyed and titled the land to the Mayagna.