Meicuchuca (died 1470) was the first ruler (''
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 ...
'') of
Bacatá
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 Fu ...
, as of around 1450. His ''
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 ...
'' counterpart ruling over the northern area 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 ...
territory was
Hunzahúa
Hunzahúa was the first '' zaque''; ruler of the northern Muisca with capital Hunza, named after him. His contemporary ''zipa'' of the southern Muisca was Meicuchuca.
Biography
Hunzahúa, heir of Idacansás, was a ''cacique'' in the sacred va ...
.
Biography
Little is known about Meicuchuca and many stories about his reign are more mythical than historical. He ruled the southern Muisca territory from around 1450 to 1470 and was succeeded according to Muisca heritage laws by his nephew
Saguamanchica
Saguamanchica (died Chocontá, 1490) was the second ruler (''zipa'') of Muyquytá, as of 1470. His ''zaque'' enemy ruling over the northern area of the Muisca territory was Michuá.
Alternative spellings of his name are Sacuan Machica, Saguan ...
.
Meicuchuca and the snake
The legend of Meicuchuca and the snake tells the story of the ''zipa'' who already had many wives.
Polygamy
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...
was common practice with the Muisca and the higher the rank, the more wives could be held. The highest position of ''zipa'' could allow to have and sustain 300 wives, while the lower rank ''cacique'' "only" made 100 wives possible.
Meicuchuca allegedly fell in love with a woman outside of the Muisca community. He only had eye for her and spent day and night with the beautiful stranger, forgetting all his other wives.
His primary wife (
Chibcha
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 lan ...
: ''gui chyty'') became very jealous and sought the help of a Muisca priest; ''chyquy''. He recommended her to fast and not bathe herself for twelve days. The first wife did what the priest had told her but the lack of food brought her close to death. The priest offered
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
en figures to the gods and ordered the wife to take a bath, put on new clothes and head to the bed of her husband. She was surprised to find Meicuchuca sleeping in the bed and next to him an enormous snake.
The primary wife returned to the priest and told him what happened. The priest ordered the wife next day to take a bath in the
Bogotá River
The Bogotá River is a major river of the Cundinamarca department of Colombia. A right tributary of the Magdalena River, the Bogotá River crosses the region from the northeast to the southwest and passing along the western limits of Bogotá. The ...
close to the
Tequendama Falls
The Tequendama Falls () is a high waterfall of the Bogotá River, located southwest of Bogotá in the municipality of Soacha. Established in approximately 10,000 BCE, El Abra and Tequendama were the first permanent settlements in Colombia. On ...
with the lover of Meicuchuca and other
women
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
of Bacatá. The women went bathing in the river and suddenly the lover of Meicuchuca transformed in a snake again and disappeared in the water. Meicuchuca, terrified by the snake transformation, found the love for his wives again.
Meicuchuca, the lover of the snake
- Pueblos Originarios
Meicuchuca in Muisca history
See also
*Muisca rulers
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 ...
, history of Bogotá
The history of Bogotá refers to the history of the area surrounding the Colombian capital Bogotá. The area around Bogotá was first populated by groups of indigenous people that migrated from mesoamerica. Among these groups were the Muisca (th ...
References
{{Muisca navbox, Caciques and neighbours, state=expanded
Muisca rulers
Muisca mythology and religion
History of Colombia
1470 deaths
15th century in Colombia
15th-century South American people
Muysccubun