Key figures
Honduras has a very high birth rate, at around 21.7 ‰, and fertility is over 2.4 children per woman. Life expectancy at birth is around 77.1 years. The literacy rate is 88.6% of the population and 96.10% among young people under 20.
The Honduran diaspora represents around 1 million individuals, or 9.91% of the total population, but has been growing strongly in recent years. The main destinations are the United States (over 78%), Spain and Mexico. The remittances that these emigrants send to their families constitute one of the main forms of foreign currency inflow into the country, and a development opportunity for many individual families. Honduras is a recipient of US$7.4 billion in remittances.
Immigrants - 44,000 people - represent 0.39% of the country's total population, and are mainly Salvadorans.
The indigenous peoples of Honduras
Honduras is a multi-ethnic country. There are currently 5 indigenous groups and 2 ancestral groups spread throughout the country, for a total population of 1,529,400 in 2,128 communities.
More than 4 centuries have passed since the arrival of the Spanish colonizers. During this period, the indigenous Honduran has gone from being the owner of vast resources to a slave, and from a slave to a foreigner on his own land, his situation summed up in 2 words: oblivion and misery. But many of them still retain their customs and traditions intact, their way of life, their worldview and their way of using existing resources.
The indigenous ethnic groups that historically populated Honduras and still exist today are as follows:
The Pesh or Pech live in the thick mountains of the Río Plátano. Little remains of their traditional music. The elders jealously guard the secrets of their music and language.
The Tawahkas or Sumos, as they are also known, are one of the indigenous groups living inland from the Miskito coast. Most of them live in the village of Krausirpi, on the banks of the Patuca River, in the heart of the Honduran jungle zone.
The Tawahkas of Honduras are a small group.
Today'sLenca live in the departments of Intibucá, La Paz, Lempira and southern Santa Bárbara, central and southern Francisco Morazán department, and Valle department. During the Spanish conquest, the Lenca people put up tenacious resistance, with the cacique Lempira being the greatest representative of the defense of his people, land and culture. The Lenca language died out in the last decades of the 19thcentury and the first decade of the 20th century. Today, only a few words heard by their parents or grandparents are still remembered, but the living language has ceased to exist.
The Tolupan or Tolpan (Hicaque, Xicaque or Jicaque). The Xicaque or Tolupán people are found in the department of Yoro, more specifically in the municipalities of Morazán, El Negrito, Victoria, Yorito, Yoro and Olanchito, and in the department of Francisco Morazán, in the municipalities of Marale and Orica. It has a population of around 18,000.
The Chortí or Maya-Chortí. Today, the Chortí population of Honduras numbers around 8,000, located in the southern part of the department of Copán. They are currently considered traditional Chortí peasants, living alongside the mestizo population. The Chortí region, whose cultural center is Copán, was the seat of the civilization of the ancient Mayan empire.
The Nahua. As an indigenous people, the Nahua have historically been subjected to the process of acculturation, which explains why they have not preserved their language. Some of their ancestral and cultural traditions are celebrated on special dates, sometimes linked to the Catholic and Evangelical religions they practice. They retain some of their typical corn-based foods and beverages. The Nahua people are found in the department of Olancho, in the municipalities of Catacamas, Gualaco, Guata, Jano and Esquipulas del Norte.
The Garifunas are the last major ethnic group in Honduras, a mixture of indigenous Kalinago from the West Indies (themselves originally from South America) and black Africans forcibly brought as slaves by the British to the Caribbean, notably to St. Vincent, a sort of natural prison for rebellious or fugitive slaves, which the French and British empires coveted in turn. France supported the Garifunas in their fierce last stand against the English in 1795, for obvious political reasons, even though the French colonists had always maintained good relations with the natives. The Garifunas, led by the legendary Satuyé, were finally subdued, and the English decided to get rid of them, deporting them to the island of Roatán on April 12, 1797 - thinking that the fierce warriors would cause the Spaniards a lot of problems, which they didn't, since they needed manpower and soldiers. This astonishing, tightly-knit culture has spread along the Atlantic coast of Belize, Honduras and Nicaragua, but is especially prevalent in Honduras. Their dance and music immediately evoke the Amazon jungles and African bushes. The traditions are still very much alive. Today, a considerable number of them haunt the streets of Los Angeles or New York: they are cab drivers and send part of their wages to families left behind on the Central American coast.
The Misquitos are one of the indigenous groups of Honduras who live in the northeastern region of Honduras, an area known as "La Mosquitia Hondureña". More precisely, they are found from the mouths of the ríos Wanks, Coco or Segovia to the ríos Tinto or Negro, in the department of Gracias a Dios. The current population of the Misquito people of Honduras is estimated at 76,000, with an equivalent number living in Nicaragua.
It is very likely that the Misquitos are a historical group, a mixture of the indigenous Sumo people who inhabited the region and the African slaves who were shipwrecked near the Misquito Cays in 1641.
The Misquito language is morphologically and syntactically very close to the Tawahka language, but both have marked differences. Modern Misquito or Creole, currently spoken by the Misquitos of Honduras, contains a large number of foreign words from English, Spanish and African languages.
Before the European religious invasion, in particular the Moravian invasion of the Mosquitia region, the Misquito people were polytheists. They believed in the existence of numerous gods and spirits incarnated in the elements and stars of the earth. The religious aspect was represented by a "Zukia" or sorcerer, who was the people's spiritual guide and healer. Some Zukias were healers, others called "Yumuka uplika" specialized in "spirit liberation" and the "upla aikra" specialized in black magic. They were the most sought-after when someone wanted to kill someone.
Women play a very important role in traditional Misquito society. They live in matriarchal households, and newlyweds live close to their wives' families to form clans. From birth, Misquito women are entitled to agricultural plots, which they alone inherit through the female line on the death of their parents. Within the family circle, the grandmother represents the highest authority.
Today, the Misquitos of Honduras perpetuate their history and customs. Although they no longer wear their traditional costumes, they retain many of their traditions, such as their songs and dances. All these songs are accompanied by guitar, drum and lunku. The Misquito elders continue to believe in gods and spirits. They still visit the "Zukias" or "brujos" who perform all kinds of work or witchcraft and act as intermediaries between men and spirits.
The Misquitos' main economic activity is agriculture, but in recent years they have also been employed as temporary wage earners in the shrimp and lobster fishing industry, particularly in the Islas de La Bahía. These companies generate around 700 jobs in the sector, although many of them work in inhumane conditions. On a smaller scale, they are also involved in ecotourism as guides for tourists visiting the jungles of the Honduran Mosquitia.
Languages
Honduras is a culturally diverse country, where different ethnic groups such as mestizos, Garifunas, indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants and others coexist. Although the majority of the population is Mestizo, or a mixture of Honduran, African and European ethnicities, Honduras has nine ethnic groups that have retained their culture and, for the most part, their language. These groups are: the Garífuna, the Miskito, the Tawahka, the Pesh, the Chorti, the Lenca, the Tolupan, the Nahua and the Isleño.
However, the situation of each ethnic group is different. On the one hand, there are the stronger cultures whose languages are less threatened with extinction, such as Garifuna, Miskito and Isleño English. On the other, there are cultures with weaker languages, such as Tawahka, Tol (tolupan) and Pesh. Among the latter, there are also languages that have already disappeared in Honduras, such as Chorti and Lenca. While Chorti still has some hope, since it is still spoken in Guatemala, hope for Lenca is virtually nil. Similarly, the Nahua people have also lost their "Nahuatl" language, although it is still spoken in other countries such as Mexico.
