Indigenous Cultures

Roatan’s cultural background is what we like to call a “thatchwork” of different influences.

The majority of the Honduran and Roatan population is Mestizo, which is a mixture of Spaniards and one of many Central American tribes.

Many of these tribes are of Mayan descent and include some of the following: Miskito, Tawahka, Pech (Paya), Jicaque, Chorti, Lenca, and Toltec.

But for many years, the largest population in Roatan was the Garifuna. In fact, the Garifuna is still responsible for most of the cultural influence in Roatan today. The story of their origins is a very interesting one.