Muisca Confederation | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
c. 800 [1] –1540 | |||||||||
Flag of the Muisca Confederation | |||||||||
Capital | Bacatá (Bogotá), Hunza, and Suamox, Tundama (800–1540) | ||||||||
Common languages | Muysccubun | ||||||||
Religion | Muisca religion | ||||||||
Zaque and zipa | |||||||||
• ~1450–1470 | zaque Hunzahúa zipa Meicuchuca | ||||||||
• 1470–1490 | zaque Saguamanchica zipa Michuá | ||||||||
• 1490–1537 1490–1514 | zaque Quemuenchatocha zipa Nemequene | ||||||||
• 1514–1537 | zipa Tisquesusa | ||||||||
• 1537–1540 1537–1539 | zaque Aquiminzaque zipa Sagipa | ||||||||
Historical era | Pre-Columbian | ||||||||
• Established | c. 800 [1] | ||||||||
March 1537 | |||||||||
20 April 1537 | |||||||||
• Conquest of Hunza | 20 August 1537 | ||||||||
• Destruction of the Sun Temple | September 1537 | ||||||||
6 August 1538 20 August 1538 | |||||||||
6 August 1539 December 1539 | |||||||||
1540 | |||||||||
Area | |||||||||
1537 | 46,972 km2 (18,136 sq mi) | ||||||||
Population | |||||||||
• Early 16th century [2] | 2 million | ||||||||
• Density | 42.58/km2 (110.3/sq mi) | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Today part of | Colombia - Cundinamarca - Boyacá - Santander |
The Muisca Confederation was a loose confederation of different Muisca rulers ( zaques , zipas , iraca , and tundama ) in the central Andean highlands of what is today Colombia before the Spanish conquest of northern South America. The area, presently called Altiplano Cundiboyacense, comprised the current departments of Boyacá, Cundinamarca and minor parts of Santander.
According to some Muisca scholars the Muisca Confederation was one of the best-organized confederations of tribes on the South American continent. [3] Modern anthropologists, such as Jorge Gamboa Mendoza, attribute the present-day knowledge about the confederation and its organization more to a reflection by Spanish chroniclers who predominantly wrote about it a century or more after the Muisca were conquered and proposed the idea of a loose collection of different people with slightly different languages and backgrounds. [4]
Climate charts for the extremes and four most important settlements of the Muisca Confederation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The climates (Af-Cfb-Cwb) of the geographic (NW, NE, SW and SE) and topographic extremes and for the four main settlements of the Muisca Confederation situated on the Altiplano, from SW to NE; Bacatá, Hunza, Suamox and Tundama are rather constant over the year with wetter periods in April–May and October–November | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the times before the Spanish conquest of the Muisca, the central part of present-day Colombia; the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes was inhabited by the Muisca people who were organised in a loose confederation of rulers. The central authorities of Bacatá in the south and Hunza in the north were called zipa and zaque respectively. Other rulers were the iraca priest in sacred City of the Sun Sugamuxi, the Tundama of Tundama and various other caciques (chiefs). The Muisca spoke Chibcha, in their own language called Muysccubun; "language of the people".
The Muisca people, different from the other three great civilisations of the Americas; the Maya, Aztec and Inca, did not build grand stone architecture. Their settlements were relatively small and consisted of bohíos; circular houses of wood and clay, organised around a central market square with the house of the cacique in the centre. Roads were present to connect the settlements with each other and with the surrounding indigenous groups, of which the Guane and Lache to the north, the Panche and Muzo to the west and Guayupe, Achagua and Tegua to the east were the most important.
Early Amerindian settlers led a hunter-gatherer life among still extant megafauna living in cool habitats around Pleistocene lakes, of which the humedales in Bogotá, Lake Suesca, Lake Fúquene and Lake Herrera are notable examples. Multiple evidences of late Pleistocene to middle Holocene population of the Bogotá savanna, the high plateau in the Colombian Andes, have been found to date. As is common with caves and rock shelters, Tequendama was inhabited from around 11,000 years BP, and continuing into the prehistorical, Herrera and Muisca periods, making it the oldest site of Colombia, together with El Abra (12,500 BP), located north of Zipaquirá and Tibitó, located within the boundaries of Tocancipá (11,740 BP). [5] [6] The oldest human remains and the oldest complete skeleton were discovered at Tequendama and has been named "Hombre del Tequendama" or Homo Tequendama. Other artefacts have been found in Gachalá (9100 BP), Sueva (Junín) and Zipacón. [7] Just west of the Altiplano, the oldest archaeological remains were found; in Pubenza, part of Tocaima and have been dated at 16,000 years Before Present. [8]
Timeline of inhabitation of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia | |
Period name | Start age | End age |
---|---|---|
Herrera | 800 BCE | 800 |
Early Muisca | 800 | 1200 |
Late Muisca | 1200 | 1537 |
Kruschek, 2003 [1] | ||
The Herrera Period is a phase in the history of Colombia. It is part of the Andean preceramic and ceramic, time equivalent of the North American pre-Columbian formative and classic stages and age dated by various archaeologists. [9] The Herrera Period predates the age of the Muisca people, who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense before the Spanish conquest of the Muisca and postdates the lithic formative stage and prehistory of the eastern Andean region in Colombia. The Herrera Period is usually defined as ranging from 800 BCE to 800 AD, [10] although some scholars date it as early as 1500 BCE, considered as the "Early Herrera Period". [11]
Ample evidence of the Herrera Period has been uncovered on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and main archaeologists contributing to the present knowledge about the Herrera Period are scholars Ana María Groot, Gonzalo Correal Urrego, Thomas van der Hammen, Carl Henrik Langebaek Rueda, Sylvia M. Broadbent, Marianne Cardale de Schrimpff and others.
Part of a series on |
Muisca culture |
---|
Topics |
Geography |
The Salt People |
Main neighbours |
History and timeline |
The Muisca were polytheistic and their religion and mythology was closely connected with the natural area they were inhabiting. They had a thorough understanding of astronomical parameters and developed a complex luni-solar calendar; the Muisca calendar. According to the calendar they had specific times for sowing, harvest and the organisation of festivals where they sang, danced and played music and drank their national drink chicha in great quantities.
The most respected members of the community were mummified and the mummies were not buried, yet displayed in their temples, in natural locations such as caves and even carried on their backs during warfare to impress their enemies.
Their art is the most famous remnant of their culture, as living spaces, temples and other existing structures have been destroyed by the Spanish who colonised the Muisca territories. A primary example of their fine goldworking is the Muisca raft, together with more objects made of gold, tumbaga, ceramics and cotton displayed in the Museo del Oro in Bogotá, the ancient capital of the southern Muisca.
The Muisca were a predominantly agricultural society with small-scale farmfields, part of more extensive terrains. To diversify their diet, they traded mantles, gold, emeralds and salt for fruits, vegetables, coca, yopo and cotton cultivated in lower altitude warmer terrains populated by their neighbours, the Muzo, Panche, Yarigui, Guane, Guayupe, Achagua, Tegua, Lache, Sutagao and U'wa. Trade of products grown farther away happened with the Calima, Pijao and Caribbean coastal communities around the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
The Muisca economy was self-sufficient regarding the basic supplies,[ clarification needed ] thanks to the advanced technologies of the agriculture on raised terraces by the people. The system of trade was well established providing both the higher social classes and the general population abundances of gold, feathers, marine snails, coca, yopo and other luxury goods. Markets were held every four to eight days in various settlements throughout the Muisca Confederation and special markets were organised around festivities where merchants from far outside the Andes were trading their goods with the Muisca.
Apart from agriculture, the Muisca were well developed in the production of different crafts, using the raw materials traded with surrounding indigenous peoples. Famous are the golden and tumbaga objects made by the Muisca people. Cotton mantles, cloths and nets were made by the Muisca women and traded for valuable goods, tropical fruits and small cotton cloths were used as money. The Muisca were unique in South America for having real coins of gold, called tejuelos.
Mining was an important source of income for the Muisca, who were called "Salt People" because of their salt mines in Zipaquirá, Nemocón and Tausa. Like their western neighbours, the Muzo—who were called "The Emerald People"—they mined emeralds in their territories, mainly in Somondoco. Carbon was found throughout the region of the Muisca in Eocene sediments and used for the fires for cooking and the production of salt and golden ornaments.
The people used a decimal counting system, based on the digits of the hand. Their system went from 1 to 10 and for higher numerations they used the prefix quihicha or qhicha, which means "foot" in their Chibcha language Muysccubun. Eleven became thus "foot one", twelve "foot two", etc. As in the other pre-Columbian civilizations, the number 20 was special. It was the total number of all body extremities; fingers and toes. The Muisca used two forms to express twenty: "foot ten"; quihícha ubchihica or their exclusive word gueta, derived from gue, which means "house". Numbers between 20 and 30 were counted gueta asaqui ata ("twenty plus one"; 21), gueta asaqui ubchihica ("twenty plus ten"; 30). Larger numbers were counted as multiples of twenty; gue-bosa ("20 times 2"; 40), gue-hisca ("20 times 5"; 100). The Muisca script consisted of hieroglyphs, only used for numerals. [12]
History of the Muisca | |||||||||
Altiplano | Muisca | Art | Architecture | Astronomy | Cuisine | El Dorado | Subsistence | Women | Conquest |
Municipality | Department bold is capital | Ruler(s) bold is seat | Altitude urban centre (m) | Surface area (km2) | Remarks | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bacatá | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2640 | 1587 | Muisca mummy found Important market town Petrographs found | |
Bojacá | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2598 | 109 | Lake Herrera Petrographs found | |
Cajicá | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2558 | 50.4 | ||
La Calera | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2718 | 317 | Petrographs found | |
Cáqueza | Cundinamarca | zipa | 1746 | 38 | ||
Chía | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2564 | 80 | Moon Temple Herrera site Petrographs found | |
Choachí | Cundinamarca | zipa | 1923 | 223 | Choachí Stone found | |
Chocontá | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2655 | 301.1 | Important market town Battle of Chocontá (~1490) Fortification between zipa & zaque | |
Cogua | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2600 | 113 | Muisca ceramics production Petrographs found | |
Cota | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2566 | 55 | Petrographs found Still Muisca people living | |
Cucunubá | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2590 | 112 | Petrographs found | |
Facatativá | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2586 | 158 | Piedras del Tunjo | |
Funza | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2548 | 70 | Important market town | |
Gachancipá | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2568 | 44 | Muisca mummy found Muisca ceramics production | |
Guasca | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2710 | 346 | Siecha Lakes Muisca ceramics production Petrographs found | |
Madrid | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2554 | 120.5 | Lake Herrera Petrographs found | |
Mosquera | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2516 | 107 | Lake Herrera Petrographs found | |
Nemocón | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2585 | 98.1 | Muisca salt mines Preceramic site Checua Petrographs found | |
Pacho | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2136 | 403.3 | Important market town | |
Pasca | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2180 | 246.24 | Battle of Pasca (~1470) Muisca raft found | |
El Rosal | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2685 | 86.48 | ||
San Antonio del Tequendama | Cundinamarca | zipa | 1540 | 82 | Tequendama Falls Fortification against Panche Petrographs found | |
Sesquilé | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2595 | 141 | Lake Guatavita Minor Muisca salt mines | |
Sibaté | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2700 | 125.6 | Petrographs found | |
Soacha | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2565 | 184.45 | Preceramic site Tequendama Herrera site Muisca ceramics production Petrographs found | |
Sopó | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2650 | 111.5 | Herrera site | |
Subachoque | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2663 | 211.53 | Petrographs found | |
Suesca | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2584 | 177 | 150 Muisca mummies found Lake Suesca Muisca ceramics production Important market town Petrographs found | |
Sutatausa | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2550 | 67 | Petrographs found | |
Tabio | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2569 | 74.5 | Hot springs used by the Muisca | |
Tausa | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2931 | 204 | Muisca salt mines Petrographs found | |
Tena | Cundinamarca | zipa | 1384 | 55 | Fortification against Panche Petrographs found | |
Tenjo | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2587 | 108 | Petrographs found | |
Tibacuy | Cundinamarca | zipa & Panche | 1647 | 84.4 | Border with Panche Fortification against Panche & Sutagao Petrographs found | |
Tocancipá | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2605 | 73.51 | Preceramic site Tibitó Muisca ceramics production Important market town Petrographs found | |
Zipaquirá | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2650 | 197 | El Abra Muisca salt mines Important market town Petrographs and petroglyphs found | |
Fúquene | Cundinamarca | zipa zaque | 2750 | 90 | Lake Fúquene | |
Simijaca | Cundinamarca | zipa (1490–1537) | 2559 | 107 | Conquered by zipa Saguamanchica upon zaque Michuá (~1490) | |
Susa | Cundinamarca | zipa (1490–1537) | 2655 | 86 | Conquered by zipa Saguamanchica upon zaque Michuá (~1490) Lake Fúquene | |
Ubaté | Cundinamarca | zipa (1490–1537) | 2556 | 102 | Conquered by zipa Saguamanchica upon zaque Michuá (~1490) Muisca mummy found | |
Zipacón | Cundinamarca | zipa | 2550 | 70 | Agriculture Place of meditation for the zipa Petrographs found | |
Municipality | Department | Ruler(s) | Altitude (m) | Surface area (km2) | Remarks | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Junín | Cundinamarca | chipazaque | 2300 | 337 | Shared between zipa and zaque Petrographs found | |
Municipality | Department | Ruler(s) bold is seat | Altitude (m) | Surface area (km2) | Remarks | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Suamox | Boyacá | iraca Nompanim Sugamuxi | 2569 | 208.54 | Sun Temple Muisca mummy found Muisca carbon mines | |
Aquitania | Boyacá | iraca | 3030 | 943 | Lake Tota | |
Busbanzá | Boyacá | iraca | 2472 | 22.5 | Elector of new iraca | |
Cuítiva | Boyacá | iraca | 2750 | 43 | Lake Tota Statue of Bochica | |
Firavitoba | Boyacá | iraca | 2500 | 109.9 | Elector of new iraca | |
Gámeza | Boyacá | iraca | 2750 | 88 | Herrera site Muisca mummy found Minor Muisca salt mines Muisca carbon mines Petrographs found | |
Iza | Boyacá | iraca | 2560 | 34 | Herrera site Lake Tota Petrographs found | |
Mongua | Boyacá | iraca | 2975 | 365.5 | Petrographs found | |
Monguí | Boyacá | iraca | 2900 | 81 | Petroglyphs Birthplaces (Tortolitas) | |
Pesca | Boyacá | iraca | 2858 | 282 | ||
Tasco | Boyacá | iraca | 2530 | 167 | Muisca mummy found | |
Toca | Boyacá | iraca | 2810 | 165 | ||
Tota | Boyacá | iraca | 2870 | 314 | Lake Tota | |
Socotá | Boyacá | iraca Tundama | 2443 | 600.11 | Muisca mummy found | |
Tibasosa | Boyacá | Tundama iraca | 2538 | 94.3 | ||
Municipality | Department | Ruler(s) bold is seat | Altitude (m) | Surface area (km2) | Remarks | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tundama | Boyacá | Tundama | 2590 | 266.93 | Seat of Tundama In ancient lake | |
Onzaga | Santander | Tundama | 1960 | 486.76 | Important for wool and cotton production | |
Cerinza | Boyacá | Tundama | 2750 | 61.63 | Monument to the Muisca | |
Paz de Río | Boyacá | Tundama | 2200 | 116 | Coca market town | |
Paipa | Boyacá | Tundama | 2525 | 305.924 | Thermal springs | |
Sativanorte | Boyacá | Tundama | 2600 | 184 | Herrera site | |
Sativasur | Boyacá | Tundama | 2600 | 81 | Muisca mummy SO10-IX found Herrera site | |
Soatá | Boyacá | Tundama | 1950 | 136 | Herrera site Coca market town | |
Belén | Boyacá | Tundama | 2650 | 83.6 | Petrographs found | |
Corrales | Boyacá | Tundama | 2470 | 60.85 | ||
Floresta | Boyacá | Tundama | 2506 | 86 | ||
Nobsa | Boyacá | Tundama | 2510 | 55.39 | ||
Santa Rosa de Viterbo | Boyacá | Tundama | 2753 | 107 | ||
Susacón | Boyacá | Tundama | 2480 | 191 | ||
Tibasosa | Boyacá | Tundama iraca | 2538 | 94.3 | ||
Socotá | Boyacá | iraca Tundama | 2443 | 600.11 | Muisca mummy found | |
Municipality bold is major cacique | Department | Ruler(s) | Altitude (m) | Surface area (km2) | Remarks | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vélez | Santander | cacique | 2050 | 271.34 | ||
Chipatá | Santander | cacique | 1820 | 94.17 | First town conquered by the Spanish | |
Güepsa | Santander | cacique | 1540 | 33.08 | Border with Guane Border with Yarigui | |
Charalá | Santander | cacique | 1290 | 411 | Border with Guane | |
Arcabuco | Boyacá | cacique | 2739 | 155 | Statue honouring the Muisca warriors | |
Betéitiva | Boyacá | cacique | 2575 | 123 | ||
Boavita | Boyacá | cacique | 2114 | 159 | Muisca mummy found | |
Chiquinquirá | Boyacá | cacique | 2556 | 133 | ||
Cómbita | Boyacá | cacique | 2825 | 149 | ||
Covarachía | Boyacá | cacique | 2320 | 103 | Herrera site | |
Guateque | Boyacá | cacique | 1815 | 36.04 | Religious rituals at Guatoc hill | |
Guayatá | Boyacá | cacique | 1767 | 112 | Muisca money (tejuelo) found | |
Moniquirá | Boyacá | cacique | 1669 | 220 | Muisca mummy found Muisca copper mines | |
Pisba | Boyacá | cacique | 2400 | 469.12 | Muisca mummy found | |
Ráquira | Boyacá | cacique | 2150 | 233 | Muisca ceramics production | |
Saboyá | Boyacá | cacique | 2600 | 246.9 | Petrographs found | |
Tópaga | Boyacá | cacique | 2900 | 37 | Muisca mummy found Muisca carbon mines | |
Tutazá | Boyacá | cacique | 1890 | 135 | Muisca ceramics production | |
Tenza | Boyacá | cacique | 1600 | 51 | Tenza Valley | |
Chivor | Boyacá | cacique | 1800 | 108.36 | Muisca emerald mines | |
Úmbita | Boyacá | cacique | 2480 | 148.17 | ||
Carmen de Carupa | Cundinamarca | cacique | 2600 | 228 | Tunjo found | |
Guatavita | Cundinamarca | cacique | 2680 | 247.3 | Muisca ceramics production Main goldworking town Petrographs found | |
Gachetá | Cundinamarca | cacique Guatavita | 1745 | 262.2 | ||
Guachetá | Cundinamarca | cacique | 2688 | 177.45 | Minor Muisca salt mines Petrographs found | |
Manta | Cundinamarca | cacique | 1924 | 105 | ||
Ubaque | Cundinamarca | cacique | 1867 | 104.96 | Last public religious ritual (1563) Lake Ubaque | |
Ubalá | Cundinamarca | cacique | 1949 | 505 | Muisca emerald mines | |
Chipaque | Cundinamarca | cacique | 2400 | 139.45 | Petrographs found | |
Fómeque | Cundinamarca | cacique | 1895 | 555.7 | ||
Quetame | Cundinamarca | cacique | 1496 | 138.47 | ||
Une | Cundinamarca | cacique | 2376 | 221 | ||
Fosca | Cundinamarca | cacique | 2080 | 126.02 | Fortification against Guayupe | |
Yarigui | Guane | Lache | U'wa | ||
Muzo | |||||
Panche | Achagua | ||||
Sutagao | Guayupe | Tegua | |||
Cariban languages • Chibchan languages • Arawakan languages | |||||
Yarigui and Lache not shown on map • Tegua shown as Tecua • U'wa shown as Tunebo | |||||
[14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] | |||||
The sacred sites of the Muisca Confederation were based in the Muisca religion and mythology. The Muisca were a highly religious people with their own beliefs on the origin of the Earth and life and human sacrifices were no exception to please the gods for good harvests and prosperity.
Lake Guatavita , Guatavita, was the location where the new zipa would be inaugurated. It became known with the Spanish conquerors as the site of El Dorado where the new zipa was covered in gold dust and installed as the new ruler of the southern Muisca. [24]
In the legends of the Muisca, humankind originated in Lake Iguaque , Monquirá, when the goddess Bachué came out from the lake with a boy in her arms. When the boy grew, they populated the Earth. They are considered the ancestors of the human race. Finally, they disappeared unto the lake in the shape of snakes. [25]
According to Muisca myths, the Tequendama Falls , outside Soacha, was the site where the first zipa Meicuchuca lost his lover who turned in a snake and disappeared in the waters of the Bogotá River. [26] [27]
El Infiernito , close to the present town of Villa de Leyva was a sacred site where the Muisca erected structures based on astronomical parameters. [28] [29] [30]
The conquest of the Muisca was the heaviest of all four Spanish expeditions to the great American civilisations. [31] More than 80 percent of the soldiers and horses that started the journey of a year to the northern Muisca Confederation did not survive it. [32] [33] [34] Various settlements were founded by the Spanish between 1537 and 1539. [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44]
A delegation of more than 900 men left the tropical city of Santa Marta and went on a harsh expedition through the heartlands of Colombia in search of El Dorado and the civilisation that produced all this precious gold. The leader of the first and main expedition under Spanish flag was Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, with his brother Hernán second in command. [34] Several other soldiers were participating in the journey, who would later become encomenderos and taking part in the conquest of other parts of Colombia. Other contemporaneous expeditions into the unknown interior of the Andes, all searching for the mythical land of gold, were starting from later Venezuela, led by Bavarian and other German conquistadors and from the south, starting in the previously founded Kingdom of Quito in later Ecuador.
The first phase of the conquest was ended by the victory of the few conquistadors left over Tisquesusa, the last zipa of Bacatá, who fell and died after the battle at Funza, on the Bogotá savanna, April 20, 1537. The arrival of the Spanish conquerors was revealed to Tisquesusa by the mohan Popón, from the village of Ubaque. He told the Muisca ruler that foreigners were coming and Tisquesusa would die "bathing in his own blood". [45] When Tisquesusa was informed of the advancing invasion of the Spanish soldiers, he sent a spy to Suesca to find out more about their army strength, weapons and with how many warriors they could be beaten. The zipa left the capital Bacatá and took shelter in Nemocón which directed the Spanish troops to there, during this march attacked by more than 600 Muisca warriors. [46]
When Tisquesusa retreated in his fort in Cajicá he allegedly told his men he would not be able to combat against the strong Spanish army in possession of weapons that produced "thunder and lightning". He chose to return to Bacatá and ordered the capital to be evacuated, resulting in an abandoned site when the Spanish arrived. In search for the Muisca ruler the conquistadores went north to find Tisquesusa in the surroundings of Facatativá where they attacked him at night.
Tisquesusa was thrusted by the sword of one of De Quesada's soldiers but without knowing he was the zipa he let him go, after taking the expensive mantle of the ruler. Tisquesusa fled hurt into the mountains and died of his wounds there. His body was only discovered a year later because of the black vultures circling over it.
When Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada found out the caciques were conspiring against him, he sent out several expeditions of soldiers. His captain Juan de Céspedes went south to found Pasca on July 15, 1537. [47] Hernán was sent north and Gonzalo himself went northeast, to search for the mythical Land of Gold El Dorado . There he did not find golden cities, but emeralds, the Muisca were extracting in Chivor and Somondoco. First foundation was Engativá, presently a locality of Bogotá, on May 22, 1537. [40] Passing through Suba, Chía, Cajicá, Tocancipá, Gachancipá, Guatavita and Sesquilé, he arrived in Chocontá, founding the modern town on June 9. [41] The journey went eastward into the Tenza Valley through Machetá, Tibiritá, Guateque, Sutatenza and Tenza, founded on San Juan; June 24. [42] On the same day, Hernán founded Sutatausa. [43] Gonzalo continued northwest through La Capilla and Úmbita. He arrived in Turmequé that he founded on July 20. [44]
In August 1537 Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada entered the territories of the zaque , who ruled from Hunza. When the Spanish conquerors entered the outskirts of Hunza and found a hill with poles were bodies were dangling, they named it Cerro de la Horca ("Gallow Hill"). [48] At the time of the conquest Quemuenchatocha was the zaque and he ordered his men to not submit to the European invaders or show them the way to his bohío. He sent messengers to the Spanish conquistadors with valuable peace offers. While this was happening, Quemuenchatocha had hidden his treasures from the Spanish. Hunza was located in a valley not as green as the Bogotá savanna. The advantage of the Spanish weaponry and the use of the horses quickly beat the Muisca warriors. [34]
When Gonzalo arrived at the main bohío of Quemuenchatocha, he found the Muisca ruler sitting in his throne and surrounded by his closest companions. All men were dressed in expensive mantles and adorned with golden crowns. On August 20, 1537, the Spanish beat the zaque and the big and strong Muisca ruler was taken captive to Suesca. There he was tortured and the Spanish soldiers hoped he would reveal where he hid his precious properties. The absence of Quemuenchatocha paved the route for his nephew Aquiminzaque to succeed him as ruler of the northern Muisca, a practice common in Muisca traditions. When Quemuenchatocha was finally released from captivity in Suesca, he fled to Ramiriquí, where he died shortly after. The Spanish soldiers found gold, emeralds, silver, mantles and other valuables in Tunja. They were not able to take all the precious pieces and many were secretly taken away by the Muisca, using folded deer skins. They hid the valuables in nearby hills. [34]
Feb 1537 | First contact @ Chipatá | |||
Mar–Apr 1537 | Expedition into Muisca Confederation | |||
20 Apr 1537 | Conquest of Funza upon zipa Tisquesusa | |||
May–Aug 1537 | Expedition & conquest in Tenza Valley | |||
20 Aug 1537 | Conquest Hunza , zaque Quemuenchatocha | |||
Early Sep 1537 | Conquest Sugamuxi , iraca Sugamuxi | |||
Oct 1537 – Feb 1538 | Other foundations on Altiplano & valleys | |||
6 Aug 1538 | Foundation Santafé de Bogotá , by Gonzalo | |||
20 Aug 1538 | B. of Tocarema; Spanish & zipa beat Panche | |||
6 Aug 1539 | Foundation Tunja, by Gonzalo Suárez | |||
15 Dec 1539 | Conquest Tundama , by Baltasar Maldonado | |||
Early 1540 | Decapitation last zaque Aquiminzaque , Hernán | |||
Name leader in bold | Nationality | Years active | Encountered bold is conquered | Year of death | Image | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada | Granadian | 1536–39 1569–72 | zipa zaque | 1579 | [31] [32] [34] | |
Juan Maldonado | Castilian | 1536–39 1569–72 | Muisca | [32] [note 1] | ||
Gonzalo Macías | Castilian | 1536–39 1569–71 | Muisca | 1571~ | [32] [49] | |
Hernán Pérez de Quesada | Granadian | 1536–39 1540–42 | Muisca | 1544 | [32] [34] | |
Gonzalo Suárez Rendón | Castilian | 1536–39 | zipa , zaque | 1590 | [32] [34] [50] | |
Martín Galeano | Castilian | 1536–39 1540–45 | Muisca | 1554~ | [32] [34] [51] | |
Lázaro Fonte | Castilian | 1536–39 1540–42 | Muisca | 1542 | [32] [34] | |
Juan de Céspedes | Castilian | 1525–43 | Muisca | 1573 or 1576 | [32] [34] [52] [53] | |
Juan de San Martín | Castilian | 1536–39 1540–45 | Muisca | [32] [34] | ||
Antonio de Lebrija | Castilian | 1536–39 | Muisca | 1540 | [32] | |
Ortún Velázquez de Velasco | Castilian | 1536–39 | Muisca | 1584 | [32] [54] | |
Bartolomé Camacho Zambrano | Castilian | 1536–39 | Muisca | [32] | ||
Antonio Díaz de Cardoso | Castilian | 1536–39 | Muisca | [32] | ||
Pedro Fernández de Valenzuela | Castilian | 1536–39 | Muisca | [32] | ||
640+ conquistadors ~80% | mostly Castilian | April 1536 - April 1537 | Diseases, jaguars, crocodiles, climate, various indigenous warfare | 1536 1537 | [32] [34] | |
Name leader in bold | Nationality | Years active | Encountered bold is conquered | Year of death | Image | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sebastián de Belalcázar | Castilian | 1514–39 | Muisca | 1551 | [31] [34] | |
Baltasar Maldonado | Castilian | 1543–52 | Muisca | 1552 | [55] [56] [57] [58] | |
Nikolaus Federmann | Bavarian | 1535–39 | Muisca | 1542 | [31] [34] | |
Miguel Holguín y Figueroa | Castilian | 1535–39 | Muisca | 1576> | [59] | |
Settlement bold is founded | Department | Date | Year | Altitude (m) urban centre | Notes | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chipatá | Santander | 8 March | 1537 | 1820 | [34] [35] | |
Barbosa | Santander | March | 1537 | 1610 | ||
Moniquirá | Boyacá | March | 1537 | 1669 | [60] [note 2] | |
Santa Sofía | Boyacá | March | 1537 | 2387 | ||
Sutamarchán | Boyacá | March | 1537 | 1800 | ||
Ráquira | Boyacá | March | 1537 | 2150 | [61] | |
Simijaca | Cundinamarca | March | 1537 | 2559 | ||
Susa | Cundinamarca | March | 1537 | 2655 | ||
Fúquene | Cundinamarca | March | 1537 | 2750 | ||
Guachetá | Cundinamarca | 12 March | 1537 | 2688 | [36] | |
Lenguazaque | Cundinamarca | 13 March | 1537 | 2589 | [37] | |
Cucunubá | Cundinamarca | 13–14 March | 1537 | 2590 | ||
Suesca | Cundinamarca | 14 March | 1537 | 2584 | [38] | |
Nemocón | Cundinamarca | March | 1537 | 2585 | [34] | |
Zipaquirá | Cundinamarca | March | 1537 | 2650 | ||
Cajicá | Cundinamarca | 23 March | 1537 | 2558 | [34] [62] | |
Chía | Cundinamarca | 24 March | 1537 | 2564 | [34] [63] | |
Cota | Cundinamarca | March–April | 1537 | 2566 | ||
Funza | Cundinamarca | 20 April | 1537 | 2548 | [34] [39] | |
Settlement bold is founded | Department | Date | Year | Note(s) | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Engativá | Cundinamarca | 22 May | 1537 | [40] | |
Suba | Cundinamarca | May | 1537 | ||
Chía | Cundinamarca | May | 1537 | ||
Cajicá | Cundinamarca | May | 1537 | ||
Tocancipá | Cundinamarca | May–June | 1537 | ||
Gachancipá | Cundinamarca | May–June | 1537 | ||
Guatavita | Cundinamarca | May–June | 1537 | ||
Sesquilé Lake Guatavita El Dorado | Cundinamarca | May–June | 1537 | ||
Chocontá | Cundinamarca | 9 June | 1537 | [41] | |
Machetá | Cundinamarca | June | 1537 | ||
Tibiritá | Cundinamarca | June | 1537 | ||
Guateque | Boyacá | June | 1537 | ||
Sutatenza | Boyacá | June | 1537 | ||
Tenza | Boyacá | 24 June | 1537 | [42] | |
La Capilla | Boyacá | June–July | 1537 | ||
Chivor | Boyacá | July | 1537 | [64] | |
Úmbita | Boyacá | July | 1537 | ||
Turmequé | Boyacá | 20 July | 1537 | [44] | |
Boyacá | Boyacá | 8 August | 1537 | [65] | |
Ciénega | Boyacá | August | 1537 | ||
Soracá | Boyacá | 20 August ~15:00 | 1537 | [66] | |
Hunza | Boyacá | 20 August | 1537 | [66] | |
Name | Department | Date | Year | Note(s) | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sutatausa | Cundinamarca | 24 June | 1537 | [43] | |
Name | Department | Date | Year | Note(s) | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pasca | Cundinamarca | 15 July | 1537 | [47] | |
San Antonio del Tequendama | Cundinamarca | 1539 | [67] | ||
Name | Department | Date | Year | Note(s) | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
El Colegio | Cundinamarca | 1537 | [68] | ||
Cuítiva | Boyacá | 19 January | 1550 | [69] | |
Name | Department | Date | Year | Note(s) | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bojacá | Cundinamarca | 16 October | 1537 | [70] | |
Somondoco | Boyacá | 1 November | 1537 | [71] | |
Une | Cundinamarca | 23 February | 1538 | [72] | |
Name | Department | Date | Year | Note(s) | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tunja | Boyacá | 6 August | 1539 | ||
Name | Department | Date | Year | Note(s) | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Duitama | Boyacá | 15 December | 1539 | [73] | |
Name | Department | Date | Year | Note(s) | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Motavita | Boyacá | 1540 | [74] | ||
Nevado del Sumapaz | Cundinamarca | 1540 | |||
Year(s) | Epidemic |
---|---|
1537 | Tunja Province: ~250,000 est. inh. |
1558< | no data |
1558–60 | smallpox, measles |
1568–69 | influenza |
1587–90 | influenza (or typhus) |
1607 | smallpox |
1617–18 | measles (after food shortages) |
1621 | smallpox |
1633 | typhus |
1636 | Tunja Province: ~50,000 est. inh. -80% |
Not only the Spanish settlers had lost large percentages of their men due to warfare and diseases. The assessed corregimientos of the province of Tunja between 1537 and 1636 shows a decline of the total Muisca population between 65 and 85%. [75] Epidemics were the main cause of the rapid reduction in population. Various have been reported and many undescribed in the first twenty years of contact. [76]
After the foundation of Bogotá and the installation of the new dependency of the Spanish Crown, several strategies were important to the Spanish conquerors. The rich mineral resources of the Altiplano had to be extracted, the agriculture was quickly reformed, a system of encomiendas was installed and a main concern of the Spanish was the evangelisation of the Muisca. On October 9, 1549, Carlos V sent a royal letter to the New Kingdom directed at the priests about the necessity of population reduction of the Muisca. [77] The indigenous people were working in the encomiendas which limited their religious conversion. [77] To speed up the process of submittance to the Spanish reign, the mobility of the indigenous people was prohibited and the people gathered in resguardos. [78] The formerly celebrated festivities in their religion disappeared. Specific times for the catechesis were controlled by laws, as executed in royal dictates in 1537, 1538 and 1551. [79] The first bishop of Santafé, Juan de los Barrios, ordered to destroy the temples of the Muisca and replace them with Catholic churches. [80] The last public religious ceremony of the Muisca religion was held in Ubaque on December 27, 1563. [81] The second bishop of Santafé, Luis Zapata de Cárdenas, intensified the aggressive policies against the Muisca religion and the burnings of their sacred sites. This formed the final nail in the coffin of the former polytheistic society. [80]
The transition to a mixed agriculture with Old World crops was remarkably fast, mainly to do with the fertility of the lands of the Altiplano permitting European crops to grow there, while in the more tropical areas the soil was not so much suited for the foreign crops. In 1555, the Muisca of Toca were growing European crops as wheat and barley and sugarcane was grown in other areas. [82] The previously self-sustaining economy was quickly transformed into one based on intensive agriculture and mining that produced changes in the landscape and culture of the Muisca. [83]
The Muisca are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan language family, also called Muysca and Mosca. They were encountered by conquistadors dispatched by the Spanish Empire in 1537 at the time of the conquest.
Tunja is a municipality and city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 the municipality had a population of 172,548. It is the capital of Boyacá department and the Central Boyacá Province. Tunja is an important educational centre of well-known universities. In the time before the Spanish conquest of the Muisca, there was an indigenous settlement, called Hunza, seat of the hoa Eucaneme, conquered by the Spanish conquistadors on August 20, 1537. The Spanish city was founded by captain Gonzalo Suárez Rendón on August 6, 1539, exactly one year after the capital Santafé de Bogotá. The city hosts the most remaining Muisca architecture: Hunzahúa Well, Goranchacha Temple and Cojines del Zaque.
The Altiplano Cundiboyacense is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca. The Altiplano Cundiboyacense comprises three distinctive flat regions; the Bogotá savanna, the valleys of Ubaté and Chiquinquirá, and the valleys of Duitama and Sogamoso. The average altitude of the altiplano is about 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) above sea level but ranges from roughly 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft).
Gámeza is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the Sugamuxi Province, a subregion of Boyacá. The town center is located at 18 kilometres (11 mi) from Sogamoso and the municipality borders Tasco and Corrales in the north, Tópaga and Mongua in the south, in the east Socotá and westward of Gámeza Corrales and Tópaga.
The Bogotá savanna is a montane savanna, located in the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the center of Colombia. The Bogotá savanna has an extent of 4,251.6 square kilometres (1,641.6 sq mi) and an average altitude of 2,650 metres (8,690 ft). The savanna is situated in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes.
Piedras del Tunjo is an important archaeological park established on a natural rock shelter 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Bogotá in the municipality of Facatativá.
Bacatá is the name given to the main settlement of the Muisca Confederation on the Bogotá savanna. It mostly refers to an area, rather than an individual village, although the name is also found in texts referring to the modern settlement of Funza, in the centre of the savanna. Bacatá was the main seat of the zipa, the ruler of the Bogotá savanna and adjacent areas. The name of the Colombian capital, Bogotá, is derived from Bacatá, but founded as Santafe de Bogotá in the western foothills of the Eastern Hills in a different location than the original settlement Bacatá, west of the Bogotá River, eventually named after Bacatá as well.
Tisquesusa, also spelled Thisquesuza, Thysquesuca or Thisquesusha was the fourth and last independent ruler (psihipqua) of Muyquytá, main settlement of the southern Muisca between 1514 and his death in 1537. The Spanish pronunciation of his name brought about the Colombian capital Bogotá. Tisquesusa was the ruler of the southern Muisca Confederation at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Muisca, when the troops led by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and his brother entered the central Andean highlands.
Quemuenchatocha or Quimuinchateca was the second-last hoa of Hunza, currently known as Tunja, as of 1490. He was the ruler of the northern Muisca when the Spanish conquistadores arrived in the Muisca highlands. His contemporary enemy psihipquas of the southern Muisca were successively Nemequene and Bogotá.
Nemequene or Nemeguene was the third ruler (zipa) of Bacatá as of 1490. His zaque counterpart ruling over the northern area of the Muisca territory was Quemuenchatocha.
Sugamuxi was the last iraca; cacique of the sacred City of the Sun Suamox. Sugamuxi, presently called Sogamoso, was an important city in the religion of the Muisca who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the times before the Spanish conquistadors reached the central highlands of the Colombian Andes. Fellow Muisca rulers of other territories within the Muisca Confederation were Tundama in Tundama, zaque Aquiminzaque in Hunza and zipa Sagipa in Bacatá.
The Hunzahúa Well is an archeological site of the Muisca located in the city of Tunja, Boyacá, which in the time of the Muisca Confederation was called Hunza. The well is named after the first zaque of Hunza, Hunzahúa. The well was called Pozo de Donato for a while, after 17th century Jerónimo Donato de Rojas. The well is located on the campus of the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia in Tunja. Scholar Javier Ocampo López has written about the well and its mythology. Knowledge about the well has been provided by scholar Pedro Simón.
Nompanim or Nomparem was the penultimate iraca; cacique of the sacred City of the Sun; Sugamuxi. Sugamuxi, presently called Sogamoso, was an important city in the religion of the Muisca who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the times before the Spanish conquest of the Muisca conquistadores reached the central highlands of the Colombian Andes. Fellow Muisca rulers of other territories within the Muisca Confederation were Tundama in Tundama, zaque Quemuenchatocha in Hunza and zipas Nemequene and Tisquesusa in Bacatá.
This article describes the role of women in the society of the Muisca. The Muisca are the original inhabitants of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense before the Spanish conquest of the Muisca in the first half of the 16th century. Their society was one of the four great civilizations of the Americas.
The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose confederation of different rulers; the psihipqua of Muyquytá, with his headquarters in Funza, the hoa of Hunza, the iraca of the sacred City of the Sun Sugamuxi, the Tundama of Tundama, and several other independent caciques. The most important rulers at the time of the conquest were psihipqua Tisquesusa, hoa Eucaneme, iraca Sugamuxi and Tundama in the northernmost portion of their territories. The Muisca were organised in small communities of circular enclosures, with a central square where the bohío of the cacique was located. They were called "Salt People" because of their extraction of salt in various locations throughout their territories, mainly in Zipaquirá, Nemocón, and Tausa. For the main part self-sufficient in their well-organised economy, the Muisca traded with the European conquistadors valuable products as gold, tumbaga, and emeralds with their neighbouring indigenous groups. In the Tenza Valley, to the east of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense where the majority of the Muisca lived, they extracted emeralds in Chivor and Somondoco. The economy of the Muisca was rooted in their agriculture with main products maize, yuca, potatoes, and various other cultivations elaborated on elevated fields. Agriculture had started around 3000 BCE on the Altiplano, following the preceramic Herrera Period and a long epoch of hunter-gatherers since the late Pleistocene. The earliest archaeological evidence of inhabitation in Colombia, and one of the oldest in South America, has been found in El Abra, dating to around 12,500 years BP.
This article describes the warfare of the Muisca. The Muisca inhabited the Tenza and Ubaque valleys and the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, the high plateau of the Colombian Eastern Ranges of the Andes in the time before the Spanish conquest. Their society was mainly egalitarian with little difference between the elite class (caciques) and the general people. The Muisca economy was based on agriculture and trading raw materials like cotton, coca, feathers, sea snails and gold with their neighbours. Called "Salt People", they extracted salt from brines in Zipaquirá, Nemocón and Tausa to use for their cuisine and as trading material.
Hernán Pérez de Quesada, sometimes spelled as Quezada, was a Spanish conquistador. Second in command of the army of his elder brother, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, Hernán was part of the first European expedition towards the inner highlands of the Colombian Andes. The harsh journey, taking almost a year and many deaths, led through the modern departments Magdalena, Cesar, Santander, Boyacá, Cundinamarca and Huila of present-day Colombia between 1536 and 1539 and, without him, Meta, Caquetá and Putumayo of Colombia and northern Peru and Ecuador between 1540 and 1542.
Baltasar Maldonado, also written as Baltazar Maldonado, was a Spanish conquistador who first served under Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, and later in the army of Hernán Pérez de Quesada in the Spanish conquest of the Muisca.
The Battle of Tocarema was fought between an alliance of the troops of Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and zipa of the Muisca Sagipa of the southern Muisca Confederation and the indigenous Panche. The battle took place on the afternoon of August 19 and the morning of August 20, 1538 in the vereda Tocarema of Cachipay, Cundinamarca, Colombia and resulted in a victory for the Spanish and Muisca, when captains Juan de Céspedes and Juan de Sanct Martín commanded two flanks of the conquistadors.
The Cabildo Mayor del Pueblo Muisca is an organisation of indigenous people, in particular the Muisca. It was established in September 2002 in Bosa, Bogotá, Colombia. The organisation, member of National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), focuses on defending the rights of the descendants of the Muisca, and the development of cultural and historical heritage, territory and health and the linguistics of the indigenous language, Muysccubun.