Lempira (Lenca ruler) Lempira (Lenca ruler) Lempira was a war 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. Jorge Lardé y Larín argues that the name "Lempira" comes from the word "lempira," derived from words of the Lenca language: "lempa", meaning "lord" as a title of hierarchy, "i" meaning "of", and "era", meaning "hill or mountain". Thus, Lempira,
Lempira (Lenca ruler) Governor, Francisco de Montejo, attacked Lempira at the Peñol de Cerquín, near Gracias Department. According to Herrera, Lempira retreated to a fortified hill top where he resisted the Spaniards for many months. Finally, the Spaniards lured him out to talk, and a concealed Spanish soldier with an arquebus shot and killed him. On seeing this, Herrera reports, the Lenca surrendered. This is essentially the official version that is taught to Honduran children in school. The Spanish then ate his corpse in disrespect, many of lempiras men fought the Spanish and taking a victory for their leader. In the 1980s, the