Guecha warriors (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''güechas'' or ''gueches'') were warriors 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 ...

in the

Tenza Valley The Tenza Valley (Spanish: ''Valle de Tenza'') is an intermontane valley in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The valley stretches over the southeastern part of the department of Boyacá and the northeastern part of Cundinamarca. It ...

Ubaque Ubaque is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Eastern Province of the department of Cundinamarca. Ubaque borders the municipalities Choachí in the north, Fómeque in the east, Cáqueza and Chipaque in the south and in the west is the ...

valley and

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 ...

in the pre-Colombian era. The Guecha warrior was chosen for his merit in attitude and physique rather than by class. He was recognised by his unique status in society and his adornment with gold, feathers and inks.Los güechas o guechas en Cundinamarca "The güechas or guechas in Cundinamarca"
Fernando el Católico Institution

Etymology

In the

Chibcha language Chibcha, Mosca, Muisca, Muysca (*/ˈmɨska/), or Muysca de Bogotá, was a language spoken by the Muisca people of the Muisca Confederation, one of the many Indigenous peoples in Colombia, indigenous List of pre-Columbian cultures, cultures of ...

spoken by 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 ...

people, the word ''Güechá'' has a number of possible meanings. The syllable ''güe'' may mean "people", "I killed", "house" or "place". The syllable ''chá'' may mean "man" or "male". Hence, ''güechá'' may mean "man of the house", "man of the people", or "man who causes death". ''Güechá'' may also mean "the brother from another mother" or "uncle".

Selection process

The güechá warriors were an elite troop of Hamza soldiers. The warriors were chosen from the soldiers of the ''

zipa 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 ...

'' (ruler of the southern

). A noble lineage was not required for selection. Rather, exemplary service as a warrior may provide entry to the noble classes as a ''cacicas''. The Güechá had to be courageous. They had to be able to work around rigid societal rules and those of an

absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constitut ...

.Fiebre de Bicentenario Parte I ("Excitement of a Bientenary")
Altayre blog September 2010. The güechá position was not hereditary; selection was only on merit.
Bitacorasdebogota blog.

Features

The warriors were a privileged group, esteemed for their toughness, and bravery. Their endeavours earned them rewards such as ''

cacicazgo ''Cacicazgo'' is a phonetic Spanish transliteration (or a derivative) of the Taíno word for the lands ruled by a ''cacique''. The Spanish colonial system recognized indigenous elites as nobles in Mexico and Peru, and other areas. Nobles could en ...

s'' (chiefdoms). Those who fell in battle received posthumous honors. For instance, certain

balsam Balsam is the resinous exudate (or sap) which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam (from Latin balsamum "gum of the balsam tree", ultimately from Semitic, Aramaic ''busma'', Arabic ''balsam'' and Hebrew ''basam'', "spice", "perfume ...

s were applied to their bodies and their bodies were carried on the shoulders of their fellow warriors. It was believed the presence of a dead warrior's body could infuse other warriors with life so they might fight again.

Appearance

The

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

friar, Pedro Simón (1578 1620) described the warriors as "men of great physique, bodies, bold, loose, determined and vigilant".

Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita (1624, Bogotá – March 29, 1688) was a Spanish Neogranadine Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Panamá (1676–1688) ''(in Latin)'' and the Bishop of Santa Marta (1668–1676).Arzobispo de Pa ...

(1624 1688) a

catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

described the warriors as "brave and determined men, with big beautiful physiques, lightness and skill". Unlike the common men, the warriors wore their hair very short and were allowed to wear gold beads and ornaments through edge-pierced ears, nose and lips. The warriors carried

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, missiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dar ...

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

s, bows and

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

s, and

slingshot A slingshot is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two natural rubber strips or tubes attached to the upper two ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the pro ...

s. They took Panche and Calima slaves with them to war. The men went into combat with curled plumes of

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoid ...

feathers, and wide ribbons of fine gold encrusted with emeralds. They wore bracelets and fine coral and gold beads. Inks and

Jagua tattoo Jagua tattoo is a temporary form of skin decoration resulting from the application of an extract of the fruit '' Genipa americana'', also known as ''jagua''. This fruit has been used for body ornamentation and medicinal purposes in many areas ...

s were also used.

Etymology

Selection process

Features

Appearance

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading