i Patrick W. Staib Anthropology This dissertation is approved, and it ...

Telpaneca and San Juan de Telpaneca had important roles in the 1881 indigenous
revolt. The indigenous warriors who invaded the city of Matagalpa were rumored to have
come from throughout the Segovias, not just from the immediate surroundings.
Telpaneca likely served as a refuge for retreating rebels once Chamorro’s government
responded with ethnocide (Téllez 1999).
Pedro Joaquin Chamorro’s Conservative government (1875–1885) enacted harsh
repercussions for native communities and actively sought to intimidate and force natives
from their communal land. Chamorro’s agrarian laws even declared communal land
illegal. According to Wheelock, Chamorro was eager to expand latifundio further into
previously protected rural areas for the burgeoning coffee market (Wheelock 1980:109).
During the colonial era, all of Telpaneca belonged to the Pueblo de Indios and
land-use decisions were delegated to the Consejo de Ancianos (Council of Elders). After
the 1881 revolt, surviving the government repression and attempts at eradication became
paramount. In the next fifty years, Telpaneca’s landscape changed and San Juan de
Telpaneca would become the independent municipality of San Juan del Río Coco.
The awarding of land grants for latifundios in the Segovias came later than it had
in Matagalpa because of latter region’s better access and proximity to Managua. After the
military counterattack on Indian culture and communities, the natives abandoned the
town of Telpaneca in search of safety. They left the town to ladinos and the clergy. Many
undoubtedly sought refuge in the mountaintop villages that are known today by San
Juaneños as native settlements. I was able to visit a few of these villages: El Chile, El
Achiote, El Carbonal, El Lechón, Santo Domingo, San Lucas, and Quibuto.
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