INDIA APACUANA: BIOGRAPHY OF THE VENEZUELAN HEROINE - HISTORY - 2024

Apacuana was a Venezuelan Indian from the Los Caribes group who led an attack against Spanish conquerors, an event that caused her death. It belonged to the Quiriquires tribe and its existence dates back to the late 1500s.

In Venezuela every October 12 is celebrated the "Day of Indigenous Resistance" to commemorate the struggle of all indigenous Venezuelans who participated in the resistance against Spanish rule.

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The indigenous peoples endured for many years the occupation of the Spanish in territories that until their arrival had belonged to the indigenous tribes. Due to the Spanish power, the natives fell under its dominion and learned over time to live under its power, since they had a high armament endowment.

However, they never did so out of conformity and indigenous groups wanted to regain a mandate over their lands. It was this desire that caused uprisings against the Spanish to begin in the 1500s.

The Apacuana tribe was one of the most rebellious and it was this rebellion that caused its extinction.

Apacuana, a leading woman forgotten in history

Indigenous history has been lost over time. Because they were mostly defeated, it is understandable that their events have wanted to be erased with the passage of time.

This also happened in the case of Apacuana, who, partly because she was a woman, never gave her the importance she deserved.

Part of the story has been recovered by the tradition of telling it from generation to generation in the families of the region. There were many discrepancies regarding this woman.

It was not known if she was considered "cacica" in her time by the tribe or if she was the "piache". Her physical characteristics had also been a problem.

Some describe her as a tall woman with straight hair and others claim that there were never any physical descriptions of her.

History of the conquest and population of the Province of Venezuela

José de Oviedo y Baños was a historian who in 1723, managed to recover part of the history of the Apacuana Indians.

In collecting it, he decided to write about it. However, in his book "History of the conquest and population of the Province of Venezuela", the author explains that it is based only on the oral tradition that has been maintained in the province.

However, this is the first written information about the life of this leader; This book tells the most accepted version of India.

There is no true knowledge of what the Apacuana Indian looked like, but it is known that she was the piache of the Quiriquires tribe. This tribe was in what is today the valleys of the Tuy.

Apacuana was the mother of the Guasema chief. This Indian woman, being a piache, had knowledge in the art of herbs. For that reason and due to her wisdom she was a healer. Besides that, she was an intermediary between the tribe and the gods and spirits.

He was someone highly respected and admired in the tribe to which he belonged.

Battle of Maracapana

The Battle of Maracapana was one of the largest indigenous rebellions in the country. However, there are no exact records of its date. It could be given in the year 1567 or 1568.

Led by the chief Guaicaipuro, leader of the Caribbean groups, this battle was fought in Caracas. There were more than 20,000 warriors participating in combat.

The natives wanted to remove the Spanish from their territory once and for all; they had had constant fights for 7 years keeping their region as indigenous territory.

The natives lost, therefore the Spanish took possession of the entire territory and made allies of the surviving natives of the Teque tribe.

Having conquered such a wide region, the commanders sent Spaniards to pacify the rest of the country's tribes.

They arrived in approximately the year 1577 in the region of the Quiriquire tribe that, knowing what had happened, under the advice of Apacuana, they "surrendered" to the conquerors and had to accept to live under their mandate.

Apacuana leads his tribe to regain his freedom

Although the Indians had accepted the conquest, they were never satisfied or in agreement with the imposition.

The reason behind this decision was simple; they were not numerous or strong enough to resist. In addition, they were accompanied by indigenous people from the Teque group, who were enemies of the Quiriquire. As a result, the Apacuana Indian knew that she had to wait for the right moment to attack.

Oviedo y Baños recounts in his book that Francisco Infante and Garci González de Silva (Spanish conquerors) were surprised by how helpful the Quiriquire tribe was.

They collaborated, they built huts and did not have to use force to subdue them. For this reason, the tribe managed to win the full trust of the Spanish.

While they waited for the right moment, Apacuana persuaded his tribe to plan a strategy to kill the 4 encomenderos who had arrived.

The night before the departure of the Spaniards was the chosen moment. They had tied up the dogs and fell asleep, leaving their weapons unprotected, thus demonstrating the level of trust they had in this tribe.

The Apacuana Indian took advantage of this moment to protect all the weapons and together with her tribe to attack the 4 Spaniards who were in their lands.

They executed two of them, but Infante and González de Silva were only seriously injured; both managed to flee badly injured to the settlements of the Teque group.

The revenge of the Spaniards and the death of Apacuana

Infante and González de Silva tended to their wounds and planned their counterattack. It was not difficult to convince the Teque Indians, due to the hatred that existed between both tribes.

When informing those in charge in Caracas of the situation, they decided that this group should be punished for having risen up.

Sancho García leads the revenge with 50 Spanish soldiers and several Teque Indians. García, persecuted the Quiriquire until he finished with more than 200 indigenous people.

The Apacuana Indian was recognized as the instigator. As a result, she was punished with whipping and then hanged in the village. The instruction was given never to lower it, to serve as a warning to the other rebels.

This persecution was the one that killed most of the members of the tribe.

Apacuana India in history

Although the story about the Apacuana Indians has not been widely disseminated, it has begun to give it the relevance it deserves.

On March 8, 2017, his remains were taken to lie in the National Pantheon together with great figures from the Venezuelan independence process.

In this way, he was given recognition for having carried out the rebellion of a whole tribe to get rid of the dominion of Spain in their lands.

References

1. Monasterios, M (2017) "El Tuy was called Salamanca Valley in 1577. Knowing our local history N ° 3" Retrieved on July 16, 2017 from Escribidor30.blogspot.com
2. Peralta, L (2010) "Apacuana, symbol of indigenous resistance to the National Pantheon" Retrieved on July 16, 2017 from aporrea.org
3. Almarza, L (2017) "Apacuana, leader of the Quiriquires" Retrieved on July 16, 2017 from albaciudad.org
4. Díaz, A (2017) "Pantheon will receive the remains of Apacuana, Hipólita and Matea during Women's Day" Retrieved on July 16, 2017 el-carabobeno.com
5. Almeida, M (2016) "In the Quiriquires the rebellion had a woman's name" Retrieved on July 16, 2017 from rielesyneblinas.wordpress.com
6. Ovideo y Baños, J (1723) "History of the conquest and population of the Province of Venezuela" PDF. Retrieved on July 16, 2017 from books.google.co.ve.