Paraguachoa
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Paraguachoa is the ancestral name used by the indigenous Guaiquerí people to define their historical territory in northeastern Venezuela, which inicially embraced Margarita Island, Coche, and Cubagua, as well as parts of the Sucre state mainland.[1]
The Guaiquerí maintained their autonomy through the pre-Hispanic period and early colonial contact, and were known for their maritime navigation and fishing.[2]
Etymology
The name Paraguachoa has roots in the Cariban languages, specifically the choto maimur (Coastal Carib) branch, spoken by the Guaiquerí, Chaima and Cumanagoto peoples.[2] It combines paragua ("sea", "large water") and choa (variant choto, "people", "town"), translating to "people of the sea".[3]
Some regional historical texts frequently translate it as "abundance of fish".[4] This variant first appeared in 1921, when Andrés Sánchez offered it merely as a supposition in his Geografía médica de la Isla de Margarita.[5] Later toponymic research, in particular by Luis B. Mata García, has shown that this reading does not fit Cariban morphology and is a later simplification.[2] Colonial records used Paraguachoa as a name for Margarita Island at least until 1594.[6]
Territorial extent
The Guaiquerí territory extended well beyond present-day Margarita Island. Colonial records and ethnohistorical sources show that they navigated the Caribbean Sea in large dugout canoes (curiaras), reaching the mainland coast of Coro and the mouth of the Orinoco River.[4] Ethnohistorical chronicles also place Guaiquerí groups deep into the inland plains (llanos), along the Apure, Guárico, and Cojedes rivers, often migrating to escape colonial slave raids or serving as guides in Spanish expeditions.[7] By the late 16th century, Guaiquerí rowers participated in expeditions deep into Guayana, including a 1582 voyage that reached the Caroní River.[8]
Economy and tradition
The Guaiquerí were primarily fishermen and gatherers, deeply tied to the marine environment.[4] Local oral tradition, recorded by the chronicler José Joaquín Salazar Franco (Cheguaco), emphasizes that the sea and its resources shaped their cosmology and territorial identity.[9] In addition to maritime activities, they practiced small-scale horticulture in inland valleys such as Arimacoa and Paraguarime, where the economy was oriented towards agriculture rather than fishing.[10]
Modern usage
In modern physical geography and ecology the term Paraguachoa is frequently applied to the eastern, mountainous part of Margarita Island (also referred to as Eastern Margarita or Margarita Oriental), in contrast to the arid western Macanao Peninsula. In natural science research, the island is conventionally divided into two main geomorphological sections connected by the narrow La Restinga isthmus: the eastern sector, or Paraguachoa peninsula (area 741 km2 (286 sq mi)), and the Macanao peninsula to the west (330 km2 (130 sq mi)).[11] This spatial division is a modern scientific convention adopted to describe distinct landscapes, microclimates, and endemic species' ranges.
Toponymic legacy
The ancestral name Paraguachoa survives in the modern toponymy of Nueva Esparta state, serving as a linguistic substrate of the extinct Guaiquerí language (a Cariban dialect of the choto maimur branch).[12] The most direct and notable survival is Paraguachí, a town, valley, and historical indigenous settlement located in the Antolín del Campo municipality. Its name derives directly from the ancient ethno-toponym, preserving the memory of the ancestral territory; it is documented in colonial ecclesiastical records as early as 1604, when the Bishop of Puerto Rico ordered the construction of a church in the indigenous settlement of Paraguachí.[13]
See also
- Guaiquerí
- Toponymy of Venezuela
- Margarita Island
References
- ↑ Ayala Lafée-Wilbert, Cecilia; Rivas Gómez, Pedro; Wilbert, Werner (2016). Caballeros del mar: los Guaiquerí, un pueblo con historia (in español). Academia de la Historia del Estado Nueva Esparta. pp. 48–75. Search this book on
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mata García, Luis B. (1998). Toponimia de Pueblos Neoespartanos (in español). Fondo Editorial FONDENE. pp. 13–14. Search this book on
- ↑ Montenegro, Juan Ernesto (1983). Caracas y guayqueríes: razas caribes (in español). Caracas: Ediciones del Concejo Municipal del Distrito Federal. Search this book on
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Subero, Efraín (1996). Los orígenes históricos de Margarita (in español). Caracas: Impresos Omar. pp. 46–47. Search this book on
- ↑ Sánchez, Andrés (1921). Geografía médica de la Isla de Margarita (in español). Caracas: Tipografía Americana. p. 10 – via United States National Library of Medicine. Search this book on
- ↑ Subero, Efraín (1996). Los orígenes históricos de Margarita (in español). Caracas: Impresos Omar. p. 53. Search this book on
- ↑ Ayala Lafée-Wilbert, Cecilia; Rivas Gómez, Pedro; Wilbert, Werner (2016). Caballeros del mar: los Guaiquerí, un pueblo con historia (in español). La Asunción: Academia de la Historia del Estado Nueva Esparta. pp. 75–78. Search this book on
- ↑ Subero, Efraín (1996). Los orígenes históricos de Margarita (in español). Caracas: Impresos Omar. pp. 56–58. Search this book on
- ↑ Salazar Franco, José Joaquín (2002). El Gua, Gua, Gua de los Guaicos (in español). Tacarigua: Fundación Cheguaco. p. 12. Search this book on
- ↑ Ayala Lafée-Wilbert, Cecilia; Rivas Gómez, Pedro; Wilbert, Werner (2016). Caballeros del mar: los Guaiquerí, un pueblo con historia (in español). La Asunción: Academia de la Historia del Estado Nueva Esparta. p. 79. Search this book on
- ↑ Sanz, V. (2007). "¿Son las áreas protegidas de la Isla de Margarita suficientes para mantener su biodiversidad?" (PDF). Memoria de la Fundación la Salle de Ciencias Naturales (in español). 67 (167): 7–28.
- ↑ Ayala Lafée-Wilbert, Cecilia; Rivas Gómez, Pedro; Wilbert, Werner (2016). Caballeros del mar: los Guaiquerí, un pueblo con historia (in español). La Asunción: Academia de la Historia del Estado Nueva Esparta. pp. 53–56. Search this book on
- ↑ Subero, Efraín (1996). Los orígenes históricos de Margarita (in español). Caracas: Impresos Omar. p. 59. Search this book on
External links
- Caballeros del mar: los Guaiquerí, un pueblo con historia (Full text at Academia.edu) Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist.
- Toponimia de Pueblos Neoespartanos by Luis B. Mata García at Academia.edu Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist.
- El Gua, Gua, Gua de los Guaicos by José Joaquín Salazar Franco (Cheguaco) at Internet Archive Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist.
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