The Dikutna

Abstract

In the past, there was constantly war on the Atlantic Coast: Miskitos against Sumus, Miskitos against other Miskitos, Sumus against other Sumus.  The alliance of the English with the Miskitos changed the balance of power: suddenly, the Miskitos got firearms, steel machetes and logistical support. The other groups had to look for new forms of defense; they took cover in the mountains, hid behind the streams, got lost in the swamps. But they had other indigenous weapons, which were combinations of technique and magic.  One of these was the dikutna, the “bomb of the sumus”.  The power of the dikutna came from the power of the sukia, the shaman, who related to the spirits of the mountain, of the rivers, of the sky.