Tuma-La Dalia, one of the 13 municipalities that make up the department of Matagalpa, was created by the National Assembly on August 17, 1989. The municipal district encompasses territories that previously belonged to the neighboring municipalities of San Ramón, Matiguás and Matagalpa.
Coffee Cut
The territory of El Tuma-La Dalia was formerly populated by aboriginal peoples, as evidenced by the vestiges and archaeological sites recently discovered in several communities, the date on which it was populated cannot be accurately dated, however current archaeological studies show us give an idea about the period in which the original peoples of these lands lived, their ethnic groups, their customs and their languages, from which some toponyms survive such as kalkale, kukama, (place or place of the dead), yale (fish), bulbule (chick), wasaka (water from the stones), tapasle (place of the zacatales), kukalam (the hill of La Vieja), kilile and tuma (language) all belonging to the almost extinct Matagalpa language.
Ceramics and archaeological remains with diverse influences have been found that date - according to their typology and characteristics - to pre-Columbian times. For now it is difficult to specify which were the aboriginal populations that inhabited the territory at that time, but thanks to the studies carried out so far it is affirmed that their cultural and linguistic transformation was produced by their contact with Europeans and mestizos, who like the rest of the central region of Nicaragua, caused the peoples not to disappear but only to transform their customs, their cosmology, their language and their traditions, as a result of contact with Europeans who invaded this paradise to plant the coffee that later became the base of the economy of El Tuma-La Dalia.
The first European families to arrive in this territory were the Elster, of German origin, in the second half of the XNUMXth century, and the Bolt at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, also of German origin; his anecdotes about his contact with aboriginal populations have been passed from generation to generation as oral testimony of remote times and of territorial and cultural characteristics totally different from those of today.
At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, the Hernández and Martínez families arrived in what is now La Dalia, the municipal seat, the first mestizo families to arrive at these paradisiacal places and settle in them.
From these times there were waves of mestizos and Europeans pushed by the coffee boom and the ease of obtaining land suitable for coffee growing without any economic cost because it is land considered national, making the communal land tenure of our ancestors invisible, their customs, norms and their relationship harmonize with the land.
In this way, the first coffee plantations were established, including that of the Haslam family, in the Wasaka area, which inherited its name from the municipal seat “La Dalia”.
Peñas Blancas Massif.
The aborigines became part of the haciendas and meant for the ranchers diners, cheap labor and very productive due to their vigor. This interaction quickly transformed the local culture since the aborigines abandoned their original languages to communicate with their employers in Spanish and adopted their customs and, in extreme cases, even their surnames, which is why some surnames are very common in the area, such as Hernández, Martínez, Arauz, López, Pineda, Gutiérrez, among others.
From these times there were waves of mestizos and Europeans pushed by the coffee boom and the ease of obtaining land suitable for coffee growing without any economic cost because it is land considered national, making the communal land tenure of our ancestors invisible, their customs, norms and their relationship harmonize with the land.
In this way, the first coffee plantations were established, including that of the Haslam family, in the Wasaka area, which inherited its name from the municipal seat “La Dalia”.
The aborigines became part of the haciendas and meant for the ranchers diners, cheap labor and very productive due to their vigor. This interaction quickly transformed the local culture since the aborigines abandoned their original languages to communicate with their employers in Spanish and adopted their customs and, in extreme cases, even their surnames, which is why some surnames are very common in the area, such as Hernández, Martínez, Arauz, López, Pineda, Gutiérrez, among others.
Among the most important elements that led to the rapid colonization of the territory that is now El Tuma-La Dalia, the following stand out:
The territory is crossed by an old route that connects the Pacific with the Nicaraguan Atlantic, in ancient times traveled by native aborigines who exchanged products between both regions, later by mules driven by muleteers for several days from section to section.
Coffee fruit
Coffee growing was complemented with other agricultural and livestock activities, making the current territory of El Tuma-La Dalia a prosperous and attractive area, which accelerated population growth as a result of immigration in search of opportunities for prosperity or establishment.
The Tuma-La Dalia has been throughout its recent history a land port from where neighboring communities and municipalities are supplied, its dynamic economic activity and the good management of its municipal government have made this municipality a national benchmark for growth and economic and social development, placing it as the second most important municipality after Matagalpa, the departmental capital.
The prosperity it has achieved and the potential it possesses can be seen in its tourist facilities, commerce, its productive system, the road infrastructure and its coverage of -almost- all of its communities.
In addition to the infrastructure and tourist offer, at present the municipality has an impressive variety of diverse tourist potentials, ranging from enchanting nebliselva landscape that exists in the Macizo de Peñas Blancas protected reserve, one of the highest heights in the country and testimony I live from the birth of Central America with an unequaled biodiversity, it accounts for the last ice age of our planet; farms with agrotourism potential, rivers, lagoons, impressive canyons, archaeological sites, hot springs, water parks, hotels for all tastes and comforts and traditional gastronomy.
All this can be easily accessed thanks to the communication channels that exist and security, you can enjoy all these beauties freely and without exorbitant costs.
El Tuma-La Dalia is a natural and cultural treasure that can be discovered and enjoyed accompanied by the warmth and charm of its people as in an impressive balcony on the heights of northern Nicaragua.
The current development has its starting point in the XNUMXth century, when the incipient settlements of El Tuma and Caratera welcomed migrant families, who arrived with the intention of venturing into coffee cultivation.
reed basket
Later, the town of La Dalia was formed, with the chain of houses that were located on land belonging to the Hernández family, at the crossroads between Wasaka and Hacienda La Dalia.
The administrative organization of August 17, 1989, considering the geographical relationship and the socio-economic links, made the El Tuma-La Dalia municipality official and designated the town of La Dalia as the municipal seat.
Crafts
Reed baskets are made in the workshops, where they will gladly explain the production process of these beautiful baskets. You can learn how to make one of these fabulous pieces guided by the workshop's artisans. They are located in the community of Malacal, La Castilla.
Traditional trades or practices
Coffee cutter: they are those who are dedicated to the collection of ripe grain, it is an activity that mobilizes many people in family groups and that energizes the economy of the entire municipality with various occupations in the production process.
Midwives: women who have inherited the trade from their mothers and grandmothers to advise and assist pregnant women at the time of delivery.
Local legends: The goblin's cave, La llorona and El sisimique.
Gallery
Tourist Offer Map