Michuá or Michica (died Chocontá, 1490) was the second ''

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 ...

'' of Hunza, currently known as Tunja, as of 1470. His contemporary enemy ''

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 ...

'' of the southern Muisca was Saguamanchica.

Biography

Little is known about the history of Michuá, who accessed the throne of the northern Muisca in 1470. He broke the political peace established under his predecessor Hunzahúa and fought a 16-year war with the southern enemies led by Saguamanchica. The latter, supported by his

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. ...

Pasca conquered

Fusagasugá Fusagasugá (; ) or Fusa is a town and municipality in the department of Cundinamarca, in central Colombia. It is located in the warm valley between the rivers Cuja and Panches, a central region of the Andes Mountains in South America. The muni ...

and Tibacuy. Saguamanchica attempted to submit the ''

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 ...

'' of Guatavita who asked Michúa for assistance. Michuá sent a messenger to Bacatá to negotiate the ''zipa'' would listen to the complaints of the ''cacique''. Saguamanchica was not amused by undermining his authority and abused the messenger. When Michuá found out about the mistreatment of his messenger he sent an army of forty thousand

guecha warrior Guecha warriors (Spanish: ''güechas'' or ''gueches'') were warriors of the Muisca Confederation in the Tenza Valley, Ubaque valley and Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the pre-Colombian era. The Guecha warrior was chosen for his merit in attitude and p ...

s to the ''zipa''. Realising the strength of the army Saguamanchica redirected his army against the independent ''cacique'' of Ubaque who attacked Pasca and

Usme Usme is the 5th locality of the Capital District of Bogotá, capital city of Colombia. Usme is located in the south of Bogotá, bordering to the north the localities of San Cristóbal, Rafael Uribe Uribe and Tunjuelito, to the west the locali ...

and defended his reign against Guatavita and the

Panche The following purported languages of South America are listed as unclassified in Campbell (2012), Loukotka (1968), ''Ethnologue'', and ''Glottolog''. Nearly all are extinct. It is likely that many of them were not actually distinct languages, only ...

. Around 1490 Saguamanchica decided to attack the ''zaque'' with an army of 50,000 warriors marching through Guatavita to Chocontá, 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 cultures of the Americas. The Muisca inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense ...

meaning "Garden of the neighbour". In the three hour Battle of Chocontá the stronger army of Michuá lost against the ''zipa'' and both rulers Saguamanchica and Michuá died. Quemuenchatocha took over the ''zaque'' rule for the northern Muisca and Nemequene, nephew of Saguamanchica, became the new ''zipa'' 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 ...

.History of the Muisca
- Banco de la República

Michuá in Muisca history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michua Muisca rulers History of Colombia 15th-century births 1490 deaths 15th-century South American people 15th century in Colombia Warriors of Central and South America People from Tunja Muysccubun

Biography

Michuá in Muisca history

See also

References