Lempira was a warrior, chieftain of the Lencas of western Honduras in Central America during the 1530s, when he led resistance to Francisco de Montejo's attempts to conquer and incorporate the region into the province of Honduras. Mentioned as Lempira in documents written during the Spanish conquest, he is regarded by the people as a warrior hero whom the conquistadors feared, since they could not kill him. The Spaniards sent a messenger to tell him they wanted “peace”, but when Lempira showed up for negotiations, they captured him, dismembered his body, and buried him in undisclosed locations so no one could pay him respects.
Drawing of Lempira (Lenca de Honduras)
Statue of Lempira in the city of Gracias.
The Lenca, also known as Lepa Wiran, meaning “Jaguar People” or “People of The Jaguar” are an Indigenous people from present day southwest Honduras and eastern El Salvador in Central America. They historically spoke various dialects of the Lencan languages such as Chilanga, Putun (Potón), and Kotik, but today are native speakers of Spanish. In Honduras, the Lenca are the largest tribal group, with an estimated population of more than 450,000.
Lenca at a market in La Esperanza, Honduras
Monument to Lempira, Lencan sovereign ruler.
Lenca people an engraving from the 19th century that shows a little of the condition in which they lived at this time
Julio Victoriano García representing the Lenca people at a Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras conference
