The Mokaná (also Mocaná) are an indigenous people living in the Atlántico Department of Colombia. They are the only indigenous community in the department.[1] The Mokaná language, part of the Malibu family of languages, is extinct; only 500 words have been preserved.[2]
History
The first contact between the Mokaná and Europeans occurred in 1529 when the Portuguese conquistador Jerónimo de Melo led an expedition overland from Santa Marta to Malambo, a settlement on the Rio Magdalena named for the Mokaná cacique Pedro Malambo who governed it at that time.[3] The Mokaná largely converted to Christianity in the 16th century.
In 1766, the Spanish Crown granted the Mokaná ownership of 17,500 hectares of land by royal decree.[2]
During the Spanish American wars of independence, Mokaná fought in the Magdalena Campaign of 1812 and the siege of Cartagena de Indias in 1821.[3]
On 2 May 1998, the Mokaná were officially recognized as an ethnic group by the Government of Colombia.[2]
References
- ^ a b "Lo que cuenta la 'piedra pintada' de los indígenas Mokaná". elheraldo.co (in Spanish). El Heraldo. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ a b c ALVARO OVIEDO (9 December 2001). "EN BUSCA DE ELDORADO... EN ESPAÑA". eltiempo.com (in Spanish). Editorial El Tiempo. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ a b Álvaro Baquero Montoya; Ada de la Hoz Siegler (July 2011). "La historia de los Mokaná. Un capítulo de la historia en la región Caribe Colombiana" (PDF). Memorias (in Spanish) (8–14). Baranquilla, Colombia: Universidad del Norte. ISSN 1794-8886. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
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