Muisca
Encyclopedia
Muisca was the Chibcha-speaking tribe
that formed the Muisca Confederation of the central highlands of present-day Colombia. They were encountered by the Spanish Empire
in 1537, at the time of the conquest
. The Muisca comprised two confederations: the Hunza (Tunja) of the northern area, whose sovereign was the Zaque; and the Bacatá of the southern area, whose sovereign was the Zipa. Both confederations were located in the highlands of modern-day Cundinamarca
and Boyacá
(Altiplano Cundiboyacense
) in the central area of Colombia
's Eastern Range.
The territory of the Muisca spanned an area of 46972 square kilometres (18,136 sq mi) (a region slightly larger than Switzerland
) from the north of Boyacá
to the Sumapaz Páramo
and from the summits of the Eastern Range to the Magdalena Valley. It bordered the territories of the Panches and Pijaos tribes.
At the time of the Spanish Conquest, the area had a large population, but the precise number of inhabitants is unknown. The languages of the Muisca were dialects of Chibcha
, also called Muysca and Mosca, which belong to the Chibchan
language family. The economy was based on agriculture
, metalworking
and manufacturing
.
The Muisca people were organized in a confederation
that was a loose union of states that each retained sovereignty. The Confederation was not a kingdom, as there was no absolute monarch, nor was it an empire
, because it did not dominate other ethnic groups or peoples. The Muisca Confederation cannot be compared with other American civilizations such as the Aztec
or the Inca empires. The Muisca Confederation was one of the biggest and best-organized confederations of tribes on the South American continent.
Every tribe within the confederation was ruled by a chief or cacique
. Most of the tribes were part of the Muisca ethnic group, sharing the same language and culture, and relating through trade. They united in the face of a common enemy. The army was the responsibility of the Zipa or Zaque. The army was made up of the güeches, the traditional ancient warriors of the Muisca people.
The Muisca people were organized into two confederations. The southern confederation, headed by the Zipa, had its capital at Bacatá (now Bogotá
). This southern polity included the majority of the Muisca population and held greater economic power.
The northern confederation was ruled by the Zaque, and had its capital at Hunza, known today as Tunja
. Although both confederations had common political relations and affinities and belonged to the same tribal nation, there were still rivalries between them. Among the confederations, there were four chiefdoms: Bacatá, Hunza
, Duitama, and Sogamoso
. The chiefdom was composed by localities. The tribes were divided into Capitanías (ruled by a Capitan. There were two kinds: Great Capitania (sybyn) and Minor Capitania (uta). The status of Capitan was inherited by maternal lineage.
Confederation (Zipa or Zaque)
--> Priests (Iraca)
--> Chiefdoms (Cacique)
--> Capitanía (Capitan)
--> Sybyn
--> Uta
The Muisca legislation was consuetudinary
, that is to say, their rule of law was determined by long-extant customs with the approval of the Zipa or Zaque. This kind of legislation was suitable to a confederation system, and it was a well-organized one. The natural resources could not be privatized: woods, lakes, plateaus, rivers and other natural resources were common goods.
. When the Spaniards came into the territory, they found a rich state. The Muisca Confederation was mining the following products:
The Muisca traded their goods at local and regional markets by a system of barter
. Items traded ranged from those of basic necessity to luxury. The abundance of salt, emeralds, and coal made those commodities serve as a de facto
currency
.
Having developed an agrarian society, the people used terrace farming and irrigation in the highlands.
Another major economic activity was weaving. The people made a wide variety of complex textiles. The scholar Paul Bahn said, "the Andean cultures mastered almost every method of textile weaving or decoration now known, and their products were often finer than those of today."
, or Macro-Chibcha. It was spoken across several regions of Central America
and the north of South America
. The Tayrona Culture and the U'wa, related to the Muisca Culture, spoke similar languages, which encouraged trade.
Many Chibcha words were absorbed or "loaned" into Colombian Spanish:
The Muisca people were an agrarian and ceramic society of the Andes
of the north of South America
. Their political and administrative organization enabled them to form a compact cultural unity with great discipline.
The contributions of the Muisca culture to the national Colombian identity have been many.
, has survived. Also important were matches of wrestling
. The winner received a finely woven cotton blanket from the chief and was qualified as a güeche (warrior).
Oral tradition suggests that every family offered a child as sacrifice. The child was treated as sacred and cared for until the age of 15, then offered to Sue, the Sun-god.
(June 21). It was then the Day of Sue, the Sun-god. The Sue temple was in Sogamoso
, the sacred city of the Sun-god and the seat of the Iraca (priest). The Muisca name of the city, Suamox or Sugamuxi, means The City of the Sun. On the solstice, the Zaque went to Suamox for a major festival. Ritual offerings were made. It was the only day of the year when the Zaque showed his face, as he was considered a descendant of the Sun-god.
, Cundinamarca
, Colombia.
goddess. To do so, the Zipa covered himself with gold (el dorado means the gilded person). This tradition was well-known outside the Confederation, as far as the Caribbean Sea
; the Spaniards were attracted by the stories of a "city of gold" that actually did not exist. Indigenous people sometimes got rid of the ambitious Spaniards in that way, pointing them in the direction of other peoples. The Guatavita lagoon was widely explored by the Conquerors, looking for gold offerings from the Zipa to the goddess. The legend grew until the term became a reference to a mythical place that attracts people.
The Muisca people did not make big stone structures. They did not use the abundant rock to leave monumental ruins as has happened with other American cultures. Their houses were built with materials such as clay, canes, and wood. The houses had a conical form, most of them to the point that Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
, founder of Bogotá
, gave the area the name Valles de los Alcázares (valley of the palaces). The houses had small doors and windows, and the dwellings of the higher rank citizens were different. The Muisca people did not use a lot of furniture as they typically sat on the floor.
(the highlands of Cundinamarca
and Boyacá
departments) show evidence of human activity since the Archaic stage at the beginning of the Holocene
era. Colombia has one of the most ancient archaeological sites of the Americas: El Abra
, which is calculated to be from 13,000 years ago. Other archaeological traces in the region of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense have led the scholars to talk about an El Abra
Culture: In Tibitó, tools and other lithic artifacts date to 9740 BCE; in the Bogotá Plain, especially at Tequendama Falls
, other litic tools dated a millennium later were found that belonged to specialized hunters.Human skeletons were found that date to 5000 BCE. Analysis demonstrated that the people were members of the El Abra Culture, a group different from the Muisca people. For this reason it is possible to say that the Muisca tribes did not occupy an empty land.
(between 5500 and 1000 BCE), as shown by evidence found at Aguazuque and Soacha
. Like the other formative-stage cultures of America, the Muiscas were in a transition between being hunters and being agrarians. Around 1500 BCE, groups of agrarians with ceramic traditions came to the region from the lowlands. They had permanent housing and stationary camps, and worked the salty water to extract salt. In Zipacón
there is evidence of agriculture and ceramics. The most ancient settlement of the highlands dates to 1270 BCE. Between 500 BCE and 800 BCE, a second wave of migrants came to the highlands. Their presence is identified by multicolor ceramics, housing, and farms. These groups were still in residence upon the arrival of the Spaniard Conquerors. They left abundant traces of their occupation that have been studied since the 16th century, and allow scientists to reconstruct their way of life. It is possible that the Muisca people integrated with more ancient inhabitants, but the Muisca people were the ones who molded the cultural profile and the social and political organization. Their language, the Chibcha, was very similar to those peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
(Kogui, Ijka, Wiwa
, and Kankuamo) and the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy
(U'wa).
, especially for the possession of the salt mines.
, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
, and Nicolás de Federman, interested in locating El Dorado
, discovered the rich plains of Cundinamarca
and Boyacá
. The presence of the Spaniards gave hope to both sovereigns that, were they to prevail in a war against the Spaniards, could make one Confederation. But the Spaniards prevailed.
The Spaniards killed the last Muisca sovereigns, Sagipa and Aquiminzaque. The reaction of the chief leaders and the people did little to change the destiny of the Confederations. In 1542 Gonzalo Suaréz Rendón finally put down the last resistance and the territories of the Confederations were shared by Belalcazar, Federmann, and Quesada. Later the Spaniard Crown would elect Quesada as the man in charge, with the title adelantado de los cabildos de Santa Fe y Tunja.
s. The Colonial era contributed to the importance of Bogotá, and people from the area would play an important role in the fights for independence and republican consolidation. The wars of independence of three nations (Colombia
with Panamá
, Venezuela
, and Ecuador
) were led by the descendants of the Conquerors. Aboriginal, African, and mixed race people were soldiers, no less important a role.
was dissolved in 1940. The one in Sesquilé
was reduced to 10% of its original size. Tenjo
was reduced to 54% of its original size after 1934. The Reservation of Cota was re-established on land bought by the community in 1916, and then recognized by the 1991 constitution; the recognition was withdrawn in 1998 by the state and restored in 2006.
In 1948 the state forbade the production of chicha
, a corn-based alcoholic drink. This was a blow to the culture and economy of the Muisca. The ban remained until 1991. Since then, the "Festival of the chicha, maize, life, and joy" is celebrated every year in Barrio La Perseverancia, a neighborhood in Bogotá where most of the Chicha is produced.
, Bosa, Cota, Chía, and Sesquilé
. The councils had an Assembly in Bosa on 20–22 September, 2002, called the First General Congress of the Muisca People. In that Congress they founded the Great Council of the Muisca People, affiliated to the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia
(ONIC). They proposed linguistic and cultural recuperation, defense of the territories nowadays occupied by others, and proposed urban and tourist plans. They support the communities of Ubaté
, Tocancipá
, Soacha
, Ráquira
, and Tenjo
in their efforts to recover their organizational and human rights.
The Muisca people of Suba opposed the drying up of the Tibabuyes Lagoon and wanted to recover the Humedal de Juan Amarillo. They defend the natural reserves like La Conejera Hill that is considered by the Shelter's Council to be communal land. Suati Magazine (The Song of the Sun) is a publication of poetry, literature, and essays about Muisca Culture.
The community of Bosa made important achievements in its project of natural medicine in association with the Paul VI Hospital and the District Secretary of Health of Bogotá. The community of Cota has reintroduced the growing of quinua
, and regularly barter their products at market.
Toward the end of 2006 there was a report on the Muisca population:
Some political perspectives say that the Muisca Culture and even the ethnic group disappeared with the destruction of the political Muisca Confederation at the beginning of the 16th century. Some people even say that the Chibcha language is a dead language that disappeared totally at the end of the 18th century. But those perspectives are not objective; it is a form of cultural denial. The Muisca Culture is alive, it is present in the cultural national identity of Colombia, and it is alive in the many farmer groups that have survived the centuries after the destruction of their ancestral state.
invited Italian cartographer Agustín Codazzi, who led the Geography Commission with Manuel Ancízar and did descriptives studies of the national territory and an inventory of the archaeological sites. The result of the expedition was published in Bogotá in 1889 as Peregrinación Alfa (Alpha Travels). Argüello García pointed out that the goal of that expedition in the context of the new nation was to underline the Pre-Hispanic civilizations and in that sense they centered in the Muisca Culture as the main model. A similar tendency can be found in the works of Ezequiel Uricoechea
. Memorias sobre las Antigüedades Neogranadinas (Memoirs of the Ancient Neogranadian Cultures). An objection to that point of view came from Vicente Restrepo: in his work Los chibchas antes de la conquista española (The Chibcha people before the Spaniard Conquest) showed them as barbarians. Miguel Triana, in his work La Civilización Chibcha (The Chibcha Civilization) suggested that the rock art's symbols merely were writing. Wenceslao Cabrera Ortíz was the one who concluded that the Muisca people were migrants to the Highlands. In 1969 he published Monumentos rupestres de Colombia (Colombian Rock-Art Monuments) and reports about excavations in El Abra. Those publications opened a new era in the studies of the Pre-Hispanic cultures in Colombia.
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
that formed the Muisca Confederation of the central highlands of present-day Colombia. They were encountered by the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
in 1537, at the time of the conquest
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
. The Muisca comprised two confederations: the Hunza (Tunja) of the northern area, whose sovereign was the Zaque; and the Bacatá of the southern area, whose sovereign was the Zipa. Both confederations were located in the highlands of modern-day Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca Department
- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....
and Boyacá
Boyacá Department
Boyacá is one of the 32 Departments of Colombia, and the remnant of one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end...
(Altiplano Cundiboyacense
Altiplano Cundiboyacense
The Altiplano Cundiboyacense is a set of highlands located on the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes between the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca...
) in the central area of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
's Eastern Range.
The territory of the Muisca spanned an area of 46972 square kilometres (18,136 sq mi) (a region slightly larger than Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) from the north of Boyacá
Boyacá Department
Boyacá is one of the 32 Departments of Colombia, and the remnant of one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end...
to the Sumapaz Páramo
Sumapaz Paramo
Sumapaz Paramo is a large páramo ecosystem located in the Altiplano Cundiboyacense mountain range, considered the largest páramo ecosystem in the world...
and from the summits of the Eastern Range to the Magdalena Valley. It bordered the territories of the Panches and Pijaos tribes.
At the time of the Spanish Conquest, the area had a large population, but the precise number of inhabitants is unknown. The languages of the Muisca were dialects of Chibcha
Chibcha language
Chibcha, also known as Muisca or Mosca, is an extinct Chibchan language of Colombia, formerly spoken by the Muisca people, a complex indigenous civilization of South America and the present-day Colombian region. Scholars believe the Chibcha language arose in South America and then migrated with...
, also called Muysca and Mosca, which belong to the Chibchan
Chibchan languages
The Chibchan languages make up a language family indigenous to the Isthmo-Colombian area, which extends from eastern Honduras to northern Colombia and includes populations of these countries as well as Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama...
language family. The economy was based on agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, metalworking
Metalworking
Metalworking is the process of working with metals to create individual parts, assemblies, or large scale structures. The term covers a wide range of work from large ships and bridges to precise engine parts and delicate jewelry. It therefore includes a correspondingly wide range of skills,...
and manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
.
Political and administrative organization
Confederation
A confederation in modern political terms is a permanent union of political units for common action in relation to other units. Usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution, confederations tend to be established for dealing with critical issues such as defense, foreign...
that was a loose union of states that each retained sovereignty. The Confederation was not a kingdom, as there was no absolute monarch, nor was it an empire
Empire
The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
, because it did not dominate other ethnic groups or peoples. The Muisca Confederation cannot be compared with other American civilizations such as the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
or the Inca empires. The Muisca Confederation was one of the biggest and best-organized confederations of tribes on the South American continent.
Every tribe within the confederation was ruled by a chief or cacique
Cacique
Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...
. Most of the tribes were part of the Muisca ethnic group, sharing the same language and culture, and relating through trade. They united in the face of a common enemy. The army was the responsibility of the Zipa or Zaque. The army was made up of the güeches, the traditional ancient warriors of the Muisca people.
The Muisca people were organized into two confederations. The southern confederation, headed by the Zipa, had its capital at Bacatá (now Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
). This southern polity included the majority of the Muisca population and held greater economic power.
The northern confederation was ruled by the Zaque, and had its capital at Hunza, known today as Tunja
Tunja
Tunja is a city and municipality located in the central part of Colombia, in the region of "Alto Chicomocha". As of the 2005 Census it had 152,419 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Department of Boyacá and part of the subregion of the Central Boyacá Province. It is approximately 145 km...
. Although both confederations had common political relations and affinities and belonged to the same tribal nation, there were still rivalries between them. Among the confederations, there were four chiefdoms: Bacatá, Hunza
Tunja
Tunja is a city and municipality located in the central part of Colombia, in the region of "Alto Chicomocha". As of the 2005 Census it had 152,419 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Department of Boyacá and part of the subregion of the Central Boyacá Province. It is approximately 145 km...
, Duitama, and Sogamoso
Sogamoso
Sogamoso is a city in the Boyacá department of Colombia.The origin of Sogamoso goes back in the cosmogony, Chibcha, to the creation of the Sun. In the valley of Iraca the Sun was born...
. The chiefdom was composed by localities. The tribes were divided into Capitanías (ruled by a Capitan. There were two kinds: Great Capitania (sybyn) and Minor Capitania (uta). The status of Capitan was inherited by maternal lineage.
Confederation (Zipa or Zaque)
--> Priests (Iraca)
--> Chiefdoms (Cacique)
--> Capitanía (Capitan)
--> Sybyn
--> Uta
- Territories of the Zipa:
- Bacatá District: TeusaquilloTeusaquilloTeusaquillo is the 13th locality of Bogotá, capital of Colombia. It is located in the geographic center of the city, to the northwest of downtown. It is an urbanized locality with several green zones in its parks, avenues, and the campus of the National University of Colombia...
, TenjoTenjoTenjo is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
, SubachoqueSubachoqueSubachoque is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
, FacatativáFacatativáFacatativá is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca Department, located about 28 miles northwest of Bogotá, Colombia and 2,586 meters above sea level...
, TabioTabioTabio is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It is located at from Bogotá. The population was 20,714 at 2005...
, Cota, Chía, UsaquénUsaquénUsaquén is a residential and commercial locality in northern Bogotá, capital of Colombia. Although it is designated on maps as Bogotá's #1 locality, it was a separate municipality of Cundinamarca until 1954, when it was annexed into the city. Today, Usaquén is home of more than 480.000 inhabitants...
, EngativáEngativáEngativá, which translates to Chieftain of Inga, was a municipality of Cundinamarca, but became a locality of Bogotá, Colombia when Bogotá was made "Special District" .-Geographical location:...
, SubaSuba-Groups of people:*Suba , a people of Kenya**Suba language*Suba , a people of Tanzania-Individual people:*Suba , Mitar Subotić, a Serbian-Brazilian musician*Mihai Șubă, Romanian chess grandmaster-Places:...
, SopóSopóSopó is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
, UsmeUsmeUsme is the 5th locality of the Capital District of Bogotá, capital city of Colombia. Usme is located in the southwestern part of Bogotá limiting to the north with the localities of San Cristóbal, Rafael Uribe Uribe and Tunjuelito, to the west with the locality of Ciudad Bolívar, to the south with...
, and ZipacónZipacónZipacón is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca.... - Fusagasugá DistrictFusagasugáFusagasugá is a town and municipality in the department of Cundinamarca, in central Colombia. It is located some forty miles from the capital, Bogotá. With 122,000 inhabitants, Fusagasugá is one of the largest municipalities in the department. It was founded in 1562 by Spanish priests.It borders...
: FusagasugáFusagasugáFusagasugá is a town and municipality in the department of Cundinamarca, in central Colombia. It is located some forty miles from the capital, Bogotá. With 122,000 inhabitants, Fusagasugá is one of the largest municipalities in the department. It was founded in 1562 by Spanish priests.It borders...
, PascaPascaPasca is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca department of Colombia located over the Andes mountains. It belongs to the Sumapaz province.- Name :Pasca in the chibchan language means father's fence, according to Acosta Ortegón....
, and TibacuyTibacuyTibacuy is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca.... - Zipaquirá DistrictZipaquiráZipaquirá is a municipality and city of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. Its neighboring municipalities are Tausa and Cogua to the north; Nemocón, Gachancipá and Sopó to the east; Cajicá and Tabio to the south; and Subachoque and Pacho to the west. Its seat of municipal government is 49...
: NemocónNemocónNemocón is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca.- History :Nemcón means "The cry of the warrior" in the Chibcha language. The city was founded by Spanish settlers in 1537.- Geography and description :...
, SusaSusaSusa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers....
, LenguazaqueLenguazaqueLenguazaque is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
, UbatéUbatéUbaté is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca Department, Colombia. Its name comes from the native name "Ebate" meaning "Bloodied Land". It was at one point populated by Chibcha tribes. It was founded in 1592. It is known as the "Milk Capital of Colombia" and for a Gothic style Cathedral and...
, SimijacaSimijacáSimijaca , from the extinct Chibchan language meaning owl's beak, is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca Department, Colombia. The town is at an altitude of 2559 metres. It is known as "La capital del mundo"....
, and ChocontáChocontáChocontá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It is located on the Pan-American Highway.In 1938 Choconta had a population of 2,041.-History:Foundation date: 06 September, 1538... - Gachetá DistrictGachetaGacheta is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
: GachetáGachetaGacheta is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
, GuatavitaGuatavitaGuatavita is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. There you can find the Guatavita's lake, that were a sacred and ceremonial lake for the Quimbayas indians.- External links :*...
, and SuescaSuescaSuesca is a town in Cundinamarca Department, Colombia.It is located at northern Bogotá, 59 km from Colombian Capital of Bogotá, part of the geographical region called Sábana de Bogotá, or plain of Bogotá. Suesca is a scenic countryside town very close to Bogotá which is well known because its...
- Territories of the Zaque: SoratáSorataSorata is a small town in the La Paz Department in the Bolivian Andes, northwest of the city of La Paz and east of Lake Titicaca. It is the seat of the Larecaja Province and the Sorata Municipality. At the time of census 2001 it had a population of 2,217....
, RamiriquíRamiriquíRamiriquí is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Márquez Province.- Famous people from Ramiriqui :*Mauricio Soler *Jose Ignacio de Marquez - Maps :*...
, MachetáMachetáMachetá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
, TenzaTenzaTenza is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Eastern Boyacá Province....
, Tibirito, LenguazaqueLenguazaqueLenguazaque is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
, and TurmequéTurmequéTurmequé is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Márquez Province.... - Territory of Tundama: CerinzaCerinzaCerinza is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá. Cerinza is also part of the Tundama Province a subregion of Boyaca....
, Ocabitá, OnzagaOnzagaOnzaga is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia....
, Ibacucu, SativaSativaSativa, a Latin word meaning cultivated, may refer to :* Cannabis sativa* The common oat * Sativa Rose , an award-winning pornographic actress* 8 Foot Sativa, a New Zealand-based metal band-See also:* Sativum...
, TibanáTibanáTibaná is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of Márquez Province....
, and others - Territory of Sugamuxi: Bosbanza, TocaTocaToca may refer to:* Toca, Boyacá, a municipality in Boyacá Department, Colombia*TOCA Touring Car series, a series of driving video games*TOCA, organisers and administrators of the British Touring Car Championship...
, SogamosoSogamosoSogamoso is a city in the Boyacá department of Colombia.The origin of Sogamoso goes back in the cosmogony, Chibcha, to the creation of the Sun. In the valley of Iraca the Sun was born...
, and others - Autonomous chiefdoms: Guaneta, CharaláCharalaCharala is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia....
, ChipataChipataChipata, population 98,416, is the capital of the Eastern Province of Zambia. The two languages spoken are Nyanja and English, though you might find some Indian languages, as there is a large number of Zambian Indians located in the town...
, TinjacáTinjacáTinjacá is a town and municipality in Boyacá Department, Colombia, part of the subregion of the Ricaurte Province....
, and others
The Muisca legislation was consuetudinary
Consuetudinary
Consuetudinary is a term applied to law where the rule of law is determined by long-standing custom as opposed to case law or statute....
, that is to say, their rule of law was determined by long-extant customs with the approval of the Zipa or Zaque. This kind of legislation was suitable to a confederation system, and it was a well-organized one. The natural resources could not be privatized: woods, lakes, plateaus, rivers and other natural resources were common goods.
Economy
The Muisca people had an economy and society that was considered one of the most powerful of the American Post-Classic stagePost-Classic stage
The Post-Classic Stage is an archaeological term describing a particular developmental level. This stage is the fifth of five stages defined by Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips' 1958 book Method and Theory in American Archaeology....
. When the Spaniards came into the territory, they found a rich state. The Muisca Confederation was mining the following products:
- emeraldEmeraldEmerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...
s: ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
was the first producer of emeralds of the world. - copperCopperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
- coalCoalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
: The coal mines still operate today at ZipaquiráZipaquiráZipaquirá is a municipality and city of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. Its neighboring municipalities are Tausa and Cogua to the north; Nemocón, Gachancipá and Sopó to the east; Cajicá and Tabio to the south; and Subachoque and Pacho to the west. Its seat of municipal government is 49...
and other sites. Colombia has some of the main coal reserves of the planet. - saltSaltIn chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
: There were mines in production at NemocónNemocónNemocón is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca.- History :Nemcón means "The cry of the warrior" in the Chibcha language. The city was founded by Spanish settlers in 1537.- Geography and description :...
, ZipaquiráZipaquiráZipaquirá is a municipality and city of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. Its neighboring municipalities are Tausa and Cogua to the north; Nemocón, Gachancipá and Sopó to the east; Cajicá and Tabio to the south; and Subachoque and Pacho to the west. Its seat of municipal government is 49...
, and TausaTausaTausa is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
. - goldGoldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
: Gold was imported from other regions, but it was so abundant that it became a preferred material for Muisca handicrafts. The many handicraft works in gold and the Zipa tradition of offering gold to the goddess GuatavitaGuatavitaGuatavita is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. There you can find the Guatavita's lake, that were a sacred and ceremonial lake for the Quimbayas indians.- External links :*...
contributed to the legend of El DoradoEl DoradoEl Dorado is the name of a Muisca tribal chief who covered himself with gold dust and, as an initiation rite, dived into a highland lake.Later it became the name of a legendary "Lost City of Gold" that has fascinated – and so far eluded – explorers since the days of the Spanish Conquistadors...
.
The Muisca traded their goods at local and regional markets by a system of barter
Barter
Barter is a method of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. It is usually bilateral, but may be multilateral, and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a...
. Items traded ranged from those of basic necessity to luxury. The abundance of salt, emeralds, and coal made those commodities serve as a de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
.
Having developed an agrarian society, the people used terrace farming and irrigation in the highlands.
Another major economic activity was weaving. The people made a wide variety of complex textiles. The scholar Paul Bahn said, "the Andean cultures mastered almost every method of textile weaving or decoration now known, and their products were often finer than those of today."
Language
Chibchan, also known as muysca, mosca, or muska kubun, belongs to the language family of Paezan languagesPaezan languages
Paezan may be any of several language-family proposals of Colombia and Ecuador named after the Paez language.-Proposed genealogical relations:...
, or Macro-Chibcha. It was spoken across several regions of Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and the north of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. The Tayrona Culture and the U'wa, related to the Muisca Culture, spoke similar languages, which encouraged trade.
Many Chibcha words were absorbed or "loaned" into Colombian Spanish:
- Geography: Many names of localities and regions were kept. In some cases, the Spanish named cities with a combination of Chibchan and Spanish words, such as Santafé de Bogotá. Most of the municipalities of the BoyacáBoyacá DepartmentBoyacá is one of the 32 Departments of Colombia, and the remnant of one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end...
and CundinamarcaCundinamarca Department- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....
departments are derived from Chibchan names: BogotáBogotáBogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, SogamosoSogamosoSogamoso is a city in the Boyacá department of Colombia.The origin of Sogamoso goes back in the cosmogony, Chibcha, to the creation of the Sun. In the valley of Iraca the Sun was born...
, ZipaquiráZipaquiráZipaquirá is a municipality and city of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. Its neighboring municipalities are Tausa and Cogua to the north; Nemocón, Gachancipá and Sopó to the east; Cajicá and Tabio to the south; and Subachoque and Pacho to the west. Its seat of municipal government is 49...
, and many others. - Fruits, such as curuba and uchuva.
- Relations: The youngest child is called cuba, or china for a girl; muysca means people.
Culture
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
of the north of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Their political and administrative organization enabled them to form a compact cultural unity with great discipline.
The contributions of the Muisca culture to the national Colombian identity have been many.
Sports
The Muisca Culture had certain sports which were part of their rituals. The turmequé game, also known as tejoTejo (sport)
-Mechanics:Tejo is a traditional sport in Colombia. The sport originated by the Chibcha people from pre-hispanic central-western Colombia. It is played by throwing a metal plate or disc, named tejo, weighing about 680 g at a target so as to make it strike the "mechas" located in cardinal points...
, has survived. Also important were matches of wrestling
Amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
. The winner received a finely woven cotton blanket from the chief and was qualified as a güeche (warrior).
Religion
Muisca priests were educated from childhood and led the main religious ceremonies. Only the priests could enter the temples. Besides the religious activities, the priests had much influence in the lives of the people, giving counsel in matters of farming or war. The religion originally included human sacrifice, but the practice may have been extinct by the time of the Spanish conquest, as there are no first-hand Spanish accounts of the practice.Oral tradition suggests that every family offered a child as sacrifice. The child was treated as sacred and cared for until the age of 15, then offered to Sue, the Sun-god.
Solar cult
Although they did not have a precise calendar, the Muisca people knew exactly the timing of the SolsticeSolstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...
(June 21). It was then the Day of Sue, the Sun-god. The Sue temple was in Sogamoso
Sogamoso
Sogamoso is a city in the Boyacá department of Colombia.The origin of Sogamoso goes back in the cosmogony, Chibcha, to the creation of the Sun. In the valley of Iraca the Sun was born...
, the sacred city of the Sun-god and the seat of the Iraca (priest). The Muisca name of the city, Suamox or Sugamuxi, means The City of the Sun. On the solstice, the Zaque went to Suamox for a major festival. Ritual offerings were made. It was the only day of the year when the Zaque showed his face, as he was considered a descendant of the Sun-god.
Heraldry
A pre-Colombian Muisca pattern appears in the coat of arms of SopóSopó
Sopó is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
, Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca Department
- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....
, Colombia.
Mythology
The Muisca mythology is well documented. Many of the writers who contributed to the Chroniclers of the West Indies were based in Bogotá. They recorded many of the myths, as they were interested in the traditions and culture of the conquered people. The Muisca territory became the seat of the Colonial administration for the Nuevo Reino de Granada.- Xué or Sue (The Sun-god): He was the father of the Muisca Olympus. His temple was in Sogamoso, the sacred city of the Sun. He was the most venerated god, especially by the Confederation of the Zaque, who was considered his descendant.
- Chía goddess (The Moon-goddess): Her temple was in what is today the municipality of Chía. She was widely worshipped by the Confederation of the Zipa, who was considered her son.
- BochicaBochicaBochica is a figure in the mythology of the Muisca culture, which existed during the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores in areas comprising parts of present day Colombia and Panama...
: Though not properly a god, he enjoyed the same status as one. He was a chief or hero eternized in the oral tradition. The land was flooded by Huitaca, a beautiful and mean woman, or by Chibchacum, protector of the farmers. Bochica listened to the complains of the Muisca people about floods. With his stick, he broke two rocks at the edge of the Tequendama FallsTequendama FallsThe Tequendama Falls is a 132m high waterfall on the Bogotá River, located about 30 km southwest of Bogotá in the municipality of San Antonio del Tequendama...
and all the water came out, forming a waterfall. Bochica punished Huitaca and Chibchacum: He made Huitacaher an owl and made her hold up the sky. Chibchacum was tasked with holding up the earth. - BachuéBachuéThe goddess Bachué , is a mother goddess that according with the muisca colombian mythology is the mother of mankind. She emerged of the waters in the Lake Iguaque with a baby in her arms, who grew to become her husband and populate the earth...
: The mother of the Muisca people. It was said that a beautiful woman with a baby came out of Lake IguaqueLake IguaqueLake Iguaque is a lake located in the Boyacá department of Colombia. The lake and the surrounding area were declarated National park of Colombia in 1977.- Description :...
. Bachué sat down at the bank of the lagoon and waited for her son to grow up. When he was old enough, they married and had many children, who were the Muisca people. Bachué taught them to hunt, to farm, to respect the laws, and to worship the gods. Bachué was so good and loved that the Muisca people referred to her as Furachoque (Good woman in Chibcha). When they became old, Bachué and her Son-Husband decided to go back to the deep of the lagoon. That day the Muisca people were so sad, but at the same time very happy because they knew their mother was very happy. Other versions of the legend say that after stepping into the lagoon of Iguaque, Bachué ascended to the sky and became Chía; in other versions Chia and Bachué are two different figures.
El Dorado
The origin of the legend of El Dorado may be located in the Muisca Confederation. The Zipa used to offer gold and other treasures to the GuatavitaGuatavita
Guatavita is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. There you can find the Guatavita's lake, that were a sacred and ceremonial lake for the Quimbayas indians.- External links :*...
goddess. To do so, the Zipa covered himself with gold (el dorado means the gilded person). This tradition was well-known outside the Confederation, as far as the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
; the Spaniards were attracted by the stories of a "city of gold" that actually did not exist. Indigenous people sometimes got rid of the ambitious Spaniards in that way, pointing them in the direction of other peoples. The Guatavita lagoon was widely explored by the Conquerors, looking for gold offerings from the Zipa to the goddess. The legend grew until the term became a reference to a mythical place that attracts people.
Architecture
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in Colombia. He explored the northern part of South America. While successful in many of his exploits, acquiring massive amounts of gold and emeralds, he ended his career disastrously; and has been suggested as a possible model...
, founder of Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, gave the area the name Valles de los Alcázares (valley of the palaces). The houses had small doors and windows, and the dwellings of the higher rank citizens were different. The Muisca people did not use a lot of furniture as they typically sat on the floor.
History of the Muisca people
Until 1450 events are said in a mythologic context, but thanks to the Cronists of the Western Indias it is possible to know the last period of the Muisca history before the Spaniard conquerors came.Background
Excavations in the Altiplano CundiboyacenseAltiplano Cundiboyacense
The Altiplano Cundiboyacense is a set of highlands located on the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes between the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca...
(the highlands of Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca Department
- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....
and Boyacá
Boyacá Department
Boyacá is one of the 32 Departments of Colombia, and the remnant of one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end...
departments) show evidence of human activity since the Archaic stage at the beginning of the Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
era. Colombia has one of the most ancient archaeological sites of the Americas: El Abra
El Abra
El Abra is an archaeological excavation site, located in the valley of the same name, east of the city of Zipaquirá, department Cundinamarca, Colombia; in the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, at an altitude of 2,570 m...
, which is calculated to be from 13,000 years ago. Other archaeological traces in the region of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense have led the scholars to talk about an El Abra
El Abra
El Abra is an archaeological excavation site, located in the valley of the same name, east of the city of Zipaquirá, department Cundinamarca, Colombia; in the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, at an altitude of 2,570 m...
Culture: In Tibitó, tools and other lithic artifacts date to 9740 BCE; in the Bogotá Plain, especially at Tequendama Falls
Tequendama Falls
The Tequendama Falls is a 132m high waterfall on the Bogotá River, located about 30 km southwest of Bogotá in the municipality of San Antonio del Tequendama...
, other litic tools dated a millennium later were found that belonged to specialized hunters.Human skeletons were found that date to 5000 BCE. Analysis demonstrated that the people were members of the El Abra Culture, a group different from the Muisca people. For this reason it is possible to say that the Muisca tribes did not occupy an empty land.
Muisca era
Scholars agree that the group identified as Muisca migrated to the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Formative stageFormative stage
The Formative Stage or "Neo-Indian period" is an archaeological term describing a particular developmental level. This stage from 1000 BCE to 500 CE is the third of five stages defined by Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips' 1958 book Method and Theory in American Archaeology.Cultures of the...
(between 5500 and 1000 BCE), as shown by evidence found at Aguazuque and Soacha
Soacha
Soacha is the city of Colombia on the southern edge of Bogotá, the country's capital. It has an important industrial zone and is home to mostly working class families.-Demographics:...
. Like the other formative-stage cultures of America, the Muiscas were in a transition between being hunters and being agrarians. Around 1500 BCE, groups of agrarians with ceramic traditions came to the region from the lowlands. They had permanent housing and stationary camps, and worked the salty water to extract salt. In Zipacón
Zipacón
Zipacón is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
there is evidence of agriculture and ceramics. The most ancient settlement of the highlands dates to 1270 BCE. Between 500 BCE and 800 BCE, a second wave of migrants came to the highlands. Their presence is identified by multicolor ceramics, housing, and farms. These groups were still in residence upon the arrival of the Spaniard Conquerors. They left abundant traces of their occupation that have been studied since the 16th century, and allow scientists to reconstruct their way of life. It is possible that the Muisca people integrated with more ancient inhabitants, but the Muisca people were the ones who molded the cultural profile and the social and political organization. Their language, the Chibcha, was very similar to those peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is an isolated mountain range apart from the Andes chain that runs through Colombia. Reaching an altitude of 5,700 metres above sea level just 42 km from the Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is the world's highest coastal range...
(Kogui, Ijka, Wiwa
WIWA
WIWA is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish language Christian format. Licensed to St. Cloud, Florida, USA, it serves the greater Orlando area. The station is currently owned by Centro De La Familia Cristiana Inc....
, and Kankuamo) and the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy
Sierra Nevada del Cocuy
The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy Chita o Guican National Natural Park The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy Chita o Guican National Natural Park The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy Chita o Guican National Natural Park (or Sierra Nevada de Chita or Sierra Nevada de Güicán, is a national park and a set of highlands within...
(U'wa).
Wars
Zipa Saguamanchica (ruled 1470 to 1490) was in a constant war against aggressive tribes such as the Sutagos, the Fusagasugaes and, especially, the Panches, who would also make difficulties also for his successors, Nemequene and Tisquesusa. The Caribs were also a permanent threat as rivals of the Zaque of HunzaTunja
Tunja is a city and municipality located in the central part of Colombia, in the region of "Alto Chicomocha". As of the 2005 Census it had 152,419 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Department of Boyacá and part of the subregion of the Central Boyacá Province. It is approximately 145 km...
, especially for the possession of the salt mines.
The Spanish Conquest
Rivalries between the Zaque and the Zipa were taken advantage of by the Spaniards as they conquered the heart of what would be Colombia. Some of them, such as Sebastián de BelalcázarSebastián de Belalcázar
Sebastián de Belalcázar was a Spanish conquistador.-Early life:He was born Sebastián Moyano in the province of Córdoba, Spain, in either 1479 or 1480. He took the name Belalcázar as that was the name of the castle-town near to his birthplace in Córdoba...
, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in Colombia. He explored the northern part of South America. While successful in many of his exploits, acquiring massive amounts of gold and emeralds, he ended his career disastrously; and has been suggested as a possible model...
, and Nicolás de Federman, interested in locating El Dorado
El Dorado
El Dorado is the name of a Muisca tribal chief who covered himself with gold dust and, as an initiation rite, dived into a highland lake.Later it became the name of a legendary "Lost City of Gold" that has fascinated – and so far eluded – explorers since the days of the Spanish Conquistadors...
, discovered the rich plains of Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca Department
- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....
and Boyacá
Boyacá Department
Boyacá is one of the 32 Departments of Colombia, and the remnant of one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end...
. The presence of the Spaniards gave hope to both sovereigns that, were they to prevail in a war against the Spaniards, could make one Confederation. But the Spaniards prevailed.
The Spaniards killed the last Muisca sovereigns, Sagipa and Aquiminzaque. The reaction of the chief leaders and the people did little to change the destiny of the Confederations. In 1542 Gonzalo Suaréz Rendón finally put down the last resistance and the territories of the Confederations were shared by Belalcazar, Federmann, and Quesada. Later the Spaniard Crown would elect Quesada as the man in charge, with the title adelantado de los cabildos de Santa Fe y Tunja.
Last Muisca sovereigns
- Zipas of Bacatá:
- Meicuchuca (1450–1470)
- Saguamanchica (1470–1490)
- Nemequene (1490–1514)
- Tisquesusa (1514–1537)
- Sagipa (1537–1538)
- Zaques of HunzaTunjaTunja is a city and municipality located in the central part of Colombia, in the region of "Alto Chicomocha". As of the 2005 Census it had 152,419 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Department of Boyacá and part of the subregion of the Central Boyacá Province. It is approximately 145 km...
:- Michuá (until 1490)
- Quemuenchatocha (1490–1537)
- Aquiminzaque (1537–1541)
Under the colonial regime
When the Muisca structure disappeared under the Spaniard Conquest, the territory of the Confederations of the Zaque and Zipa were included in a new political division within the Spaniard colonies in America. The territory of the Muisca people, located in a fertile plain of the Colombian Andes that contributed to make one of the most advanced South American civilizations, became part of the region named Nuevo Reino de Granada. The priests and nobility of the Muisca people were eliminated. Only the Capitanias remained. Much information about the Muisca Culture was gathered by the Spanish administration. The Spaniards created indigenous areas to keep the survivors, who were obligated to work the land for them in what were called encomiendaEncomienda
The encomienda was a system that was employed mainly by the Spanish crown during the colonization of the Americas to regulate Native American labor....
s. The Colonial era contributed to the importance of Bogotá, and people from the area would play an important role in the fights for independence and republican consolidation. The wars of independence of three nations (Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
with Panamá
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, and Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
) were led by the descendants of the Conquerors. Aboriginal, African, and mixed race people were soldiers, no less important a role.
20th century
After independence in 1810, the new state dissolved many of the indigenous reservations. The one in TocancipáTocancipá
Tocancipá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. The race track is located in the surroundings of the town, here they make vintage auto races as well as gt races....
was dissolved in 1940. The one in Sesquilé
Sesquilé
Sesquilé is a town and municipality in Almeidas Province, in the department of Cundinamarca, Colombia. Sesquile in Muisca language means hot water....
was reduced to 10% of its original size. Tenjo
Tenjo
Tenjo is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
was reduced to 54% of its original size after 1934. The Reservation of Cota was re-established on land bought by the community in 1916, and then recognized by the 1991 constitution; the recognition was withdrawn in 1998 by the state and restored in 2006.
In 1948 the state forbade the production of chicha
Chicha
For the musical genre, see Peruvian cumbiaChicha is a term used in some regions of Latin America for several varieties of fermented and non-fermented beverages, rather often to those derived from maize and similar non-alcoholic beverages...
, a corn-based alcoholic drink. This was a blow to the culture and economy of the Muisca. The ban remained until 1991. Since then, the "Festival of the chicha, maize, life, and joy" is celebrated every year in Barrio La Perseverancia, a neighborhood in Bogotá where most of the Chicha is produced.
21st century
Since 1989 there has been a process of reconstruction of the indigenous councils by the surviving members of the Muisca Culture. Muisca Councils currnetly working are SubaSuba
-Groups of people:*Suba , a people of Kenya**Suba language*Suba , a people of Tanzania-Individual people:*Suba , Mitar Subotić, a Serbian-Brazilian musician*Mihai Șubă, Romanian chess grandmaster-Places:...
, Bosa, Cota, Chía, and Sesquilé
Sesquilé
Sesquilé is a town and municipality in Almeidas Province, in the department of Cundinamarca, Colombia. Sesquile in Muisca language means hot water....
. The councils had an Assembly in Bosa on 20–22 September, 2002, called the First General Congress of the Muisca People. In that Congress they founded the Great Council of the Muisca People, affiliated to the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia
National Indigenous Organization of Colombia
The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia is an organization representing the indigenous peoples of Colombia, who comprise some 800,000 people or approximately 2% of the population...
(ONIC). They proposed linguistic and cultural recuperation, defense of the territories nowadays occupied by others, and proposed urban and tourist plans. They support the communities of Ubaté
Ubaté
Ubaté is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca Department, Colombia. Its name comes from the native name "Ebate" meaning "Bloodied Land". It was at one point populated by Chibcha tribes. It was founded in 1592. It is known as the "Milk Capital of Colombia" and for a Gothic style Cathedral and...
, Tocancipá
Tocancipá
Tocancipá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. The race track is located in the surroundings of the town, here they make vintage auto races as well as gt races....
, Soacha
Soacha
Soacha is the city of Colombia on the southern edge of Bogotá, the country's capital. It has an important industrial zone and is home to mostly working class families.-Demographics:...
, Ráquira
Ráquira
Ráquira, literally "City of Pots" in the Chibcha language, is a municipality and town in Boyacá Department, Colombia, part of the subregion of the Ricaurte Province. It is famous in Colombia for its colony of artisans, who produce traditional northern Andean pottery & hand-woven goods. The Sunday...
, and Tenjo
Tenjo
Tenjo is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
in their efforts to recover their organizational and human rights.
The Muisca people of Suba opposed the drying up of the Tibabuyes Lagoon and wanted to recover the Humedal de Juan Amarillo. They defend the natural reserves like La Conejera Hill that is considered by the Shelter's Council to be communal land. Suati Magazine (The Song of the Sun) is a publication of poetry, literature, and essays about Muisca Culture.
The community of Bosa made important achievements in its project of natural medicine in association with the Paul VI Hospital and the District Secretary of Health of Bogotá. The community of Cota has reintroduced the growing of quinua
Quinua
Quinua can refer to* Quinoa , a species of goosefoot grown as an edible crop* Quinua, Peru, a small town in Huamanga Province...
, and regularly barter their products at market.
Toward the end of 2006 there was a report on the Muisca population:
- 3 Muisca Councils: Cota, Chía, and SesquileSesquiléSesquilé is a town and municipality in Almeidas Province, in the department of Cundinamarca, Colombia. Sesquile in Muisca language means hot water....
, with a population of 2,318 persons. - In the Capital DistrictBogotáBogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
5,186 people are registered as belonging to the Musica ethnic group. - In the municipalities of SubaSuba (Bogotá)Suba is the 11th locality of the Capital District of the Colombian capital city, Bogotá. Suba is located north of the city, limiting to the north with the municipality of Chía in Cundinamarca Department, to the west with the municipality of Cota, to the east with the locality of Usaquén and to the...
and Bosa, 1,573 people are registered. - The report does not include the number of people of the Muisca ethnic group in the entire territory of the ancient Muisca confederations or outside that territory. It does not include Muisca Creole persons, it is to say, those of mixed Muisca ancestry.
Some political perspectives say that the Muisca Culture and even the ethnic group disappeared with the destruction of the political Muisca Confederation at the beginning of the 16th century. Some people even say that the Chibcha language is a dead language that disappeared totally at the end of the 18th century. But those perspectives are not objective; it is a form of cultural denial. The Muisca Culture is alive, it is present in the cultural national identity of Colombia, and it is alive in the many farmer groups that have survived the centuries after the destruction of their ancestral state.
Muisca research
Studies of the Muisca Culture are abundant and have a long tradition. The first sources come from the 'Cronists of the Western Indias', whose work lasted for three centuries during the existence of the Colonial Nuevo Reino de Granada. After the independence wars in 1810 there was a surge of interest in study of the Muisca Culture. White Colombians established the capital of their republic in Bogotá, the former Viceroyal city, which was the capital of the Confederation of the Zipa, and was known as Bacatá. Research shws the place was the cradle of an advanced civilization whose process of consolidation was cut by the Spanish Conquest. This search for an identity resulted in giving emphasis to the Muisca Culture and overlooking other native nations, which were seen as wild people. They wrongly concluded that the Muisca Culture inhabited an empty land and that all archeological finds could be attribured solely to the Muisca people. In 1849 President Tomás Cipriano de MosqueraTomás Cipriano de Mosquera
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera y Arboleda was a Colombian general and political figure. He was president of Colombia four times. The first time was as president of Republic of New Granada from 1845 to 1849. During the Colombian Civil War of 1860-1862 he led liberal forces in a civil war against...
invited Italian cartographer Agustín Codazzi, who led the Geography Commission with Manuel Ancízar and did descriptives studies of the national territory and an inventory of the archaeological sites. The result of the expedition was published in Bogotá in 1889 as Peregrinación Alfa (Alpha Travels). Argüello García pointed out that the goal of that expedition in the context of the new nation was to underline the Pre-Hispanic civilizations and in that sense they centered in the Muisca Culture as the main model. A similar tendency can be found in the works of Ezequiel Uricoechea
Ezequiel Uricoechea
Ezequiel Uricoechea was a Colombian linguist and scientist. He is considered one of the first Colombian scientists and a pioneer in Spanish-language linguistics.-External links:...
. Memorias sobre las Antigüedades Neogranadinas (Memoirs of the Ancient Neogranadian Cultures). An objection to that point of view came from Vicente Restrepo: in his work Los chibchas antes de la conquista española (The Chibcha people before the Spaniard Conquest) showed them as barbarians. Miguel Triana, in his work La Civilización Chibcha (The Chibcha Civilization) suggested that the rock art's symbols merely were writing. Wenceslao Cabrera Ortíz was the one who concluded that the Muisca people were migrants to the Highlands. In 1969 he published Monumentos rupestres de Colombia (Colombian Rock-Art Monuments) and reports about excavations in El Abra. Those publications opened a new era in the studies of the Pre-Hispanic cultures in Colombia.
External links
- Los Muiscas: Una reseña histórica, por El Museo del Oro
- Galeon.com / "Muiscas", en: Culturas americanas.
- Página de historia prehispánica colombiana de la Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas (Bogotá).
- Artículo:Sobre la Conquista del cacicazgo de Bogotá, Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango (Bogotá).