The Goranchacha Temple (Spanish: ''Templo de Goranchacha'') is an archeological site of the

Muisca The Muisca (also called Chibcha) 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 langu ...

located in the city of

Tunja Tunja () is a city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 it had a population of 172,548 inhabitants. It is the capital of Boyacá department an ...

, Boyacá, which in the time of the

Muisca Confederation The Muisca Confederation was a loose confederation of different Muisca rulers (''zaques'', ''zipas'', '' iraca'', and ''tundama'') in the central Andean highlands of present-day Colombia before the Spanish conquest of northern South America. The ...

was called Hunza. The temple is named after the

mythological Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

Goranchacha Goranchacha was a mythical ''cacique'' who was said to have been the prophet of the Muisca of South America, in particular of the '' zacazgo'' of the northern Muisca Confederation. He is considered the son of the Sun, impersonated by the Sun god ...

. The remains of the temple are located on the terrain of the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia in Tunja.

Scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

Javier Ocampo López Javier Ocampo López (born 19 June 1939) is a Colombian historian, writer, folklorist and professor. He has been important in the fields of Colombian folklore and history of Latin America and Colombia, especially contributing on the department ...

has written about the temple and its religious meaning.Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.13, p.81 Knowledge about the temple has been provided by chronicler

Pedro Simón ''Fray'' Pedro Simón ( San Lorenzo de la Parrilla, Spain, 1574 - Ubaté, New Kingdom of Granada, ca. 1628) was a Spanish franciscan friar, professor and chronicler of the indigenous peoples of modern day Colombia and Venezuela, at the time for ...

.Goranchacha
- Pueblos Originarios

Background

During the time before the

Spanish conquest of the Muisca 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 differe ...

, the central highlands of the Colombian

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

(

Altiplano Cundiboyacense 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 Alti ...

) were populated by the Muisca. This advanced civilization had its own religion and rituals, centered around the most important deities Sué and Chía. The northern territories were ruled by the ''

iraca The ''iraca'', sometimes spelled ''iraka'',Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.12, p.77Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.14, p.85 was the ruler and high priest of Sugamuxi in the confederation of the Muisca who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense; the central high ...

'' of

Sugamuxi Sugamuxi (died 1539) 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 be ...

, the ''

tundama Tundama or Saymoso (15th century - Duitama, late December 1539) was a ''cacique'' of the Muisca Confederation, a loose confederation of different rulers of the Muisca who inhabited the central highlands (Altiplano Cundiboyacense) of the Colomb ...

'' of

Tundama Tundama or Saymoso (15th century - Duitama, late December 1539) was a ''cacique'' of the Muisca Confederation, a loose confederation of different rulers of the Muisca who inhabited the central highlands (Altiplano Cundiboyacense) of the Colomb ...

and the ''

zaque When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the n ...

'' based in Hunza. Goranchacha was a mythical ''

cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...

'' who moved the capital of the northern Muisca from

Ramiriquí Ramiriquí is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Márquez Province. Ramiriquí borders the department capital Tunja in the north, in the south Chinavita and Zetaquirá, in the east Ron ...

to Hunza and was feared by the people, ruling as a dictator.Tunja, legendária y culta
- El Tiempo

Description

The Goranchacha Temple was allegedly constructed of two circular structures of rocks, reed and wood, transported from the farthest regions of the

. In the centre was placed a column to support the roof. Goranchacha ordered the temple to be built to worship his father;

Sué Sué, Xué, Sua, Zuhe or Suhé was the deity, god of the Sun in the Muisca religion and mythology, religion of the Muisca. He was married to Moon goddess Chía (goddess), Chía.Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.4, p.33 The Muisca people, Muisca and their Mu ...

, the God of the Sun. The ''cacique'' organised pilgrimages to the temple passing over painted cotton mantles and adorned with flower petals.Leyendas, mitos, espantos y romerías de Tunja
At the temple offerings were made. Pedro Simón wrote about the temple:

"Cerca de las postreras casas del pueblo a la parte del norte donde ahora llaman las cuadras de Porras, hizo edificar un templo a su padre el Sol donde lo hacía venerar con frecuentes sacrificios..."

"Close to the farthest houses of the village in the northern part where today it's called Porras quarter, he ordered the construction of a temple to his father, the Sun, where he venerated him with frquent sacrifices..."

The location of the temple was found using this description in 1937 by Colombian

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

Gregorio Hernández de Alba (1904–1973). He excavated the site.Arqueología del cercado grande de los santuarios - 9
-

Banco de la República The Bank of the Republic ( es, Banco de la República) is the central bank of Colombia. It was initially established under the regeneration era in 1880. Its main modern functions, under the new Colombian constitution were detailed by Congress ...

Today, the remains of the temple are part of the

Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia The Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia (), also known as "La UPTC", is a national public university in Colombia with main campus in Tunja and presence in the country's seven departments. The university has a headquarters, thre ...

in Tunja.

References

Bibliography

* {{Muisca navbox, Mythology and religion, state=expanded Muisca mythology and religion Muisca and pre-Muisca sites Pre-Columbian archaeological sites Archaeological sites in Colombia Buildings and structures in Boyacá Department Tourist attractions in Boyacá Department Buildings and structures in Tunja Muysccubun Temples in Colombia

Background

Description

See also

References

Bibliography