The Moon Temple of Chía was a temple constructed 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 ...

as a place of worship for their Moon goddess Chía. The temple was built in

Chía, Cundinamarca Chía is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca department of Colombia, located to the north of Bogotá on the main road to Zipaquira. Its history dates back to the pre-Columbian era. Due to its proximity to Bogotá, Chía has effectivel ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, then part 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 ...

. It was one of the most important temples in the

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

of the Muisca.Ocampo López, 2007, Ch.V, p.226 The temple was destroyed during 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 ...

on the

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 ...

. Little is known about the temple built on the Tíquiza Hill in western Chía bordering

Tabio Tabio is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It is located at from Bogotá. The town was officially founded April 8, 1603, by Diego Gómez de Mena, on grounds that were the property of the native Muisca who in ...

.Muisca Precolombino

Structure and worship

The Temple of the Moon was built on the Tíquiza Hill west of the urban centre of Chía. The Muisca had an advanced knowledge of

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

and constructed various sites across their territories. ''

El Infiernito ''El Infiernito'' (Spanish for "The Little Hell"), is a pre-Columbian archaeoastronomical site located on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes ...

'', just outside

Villa de Leyva Villa de Leyva, also called Villa de Leiva, is a touristic colonial town and municipality, in the Ricaurte Province, part of the Boyacá Department of Colombia. The town is a Colombian National Heritage Town and is on the tentative list for UNES ...

has survived, while the

Sun Temple A sun temple (or solar temple) is a building used for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, dedicated to the sun or a solar deity. Such temples were built by a number different cultures and are distributed around the ...

Sugamuxi Sugamuxi (died 1539) was the last ''iraca''; ''cacique'' of the sacred City of the Sun Sogamoso, Suamox. Sugamuxi, presently called Sogamoso, was an important city in the Muisca religion, religion of the Muisca people, Muisca who inhabited the Al ...

has been reconstructed. Just like the Sun Temple, the Moon temple was constructed according to the positions of the respective celestial body.Templo de la Luna in Chía
- Pueblos Originarios At the temple rituals were organised by the ''caciques'' and ''

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 ...

s'' of the Muisca Confederation. The ''caciques'' and priests at the Moon Temple wore white robes, different from those at the Sun Temple that were red. The Moon Temple not only formed a place of worship, also education to the new ''caciques'' and

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 n ...

was provided near the temple (''Seminario de la Cuca'').Education at the Moon Temple, Chía
/ref>Chía, Ciudad de la Luna
- El Tiempo

Other Moon temples in the world

Pyramid of the Moon The Pyramid of the Moon is the second-largest pyramid in Mesoamerica, after the Pyramid of the Sun, and located in modern-day San Martín de las Pirámides, Mexico. It is found in the western part of the ancient city of Teotihuacan and mimics th ...

- Aztec religion * San Gervasio - Maya religion * Temple of the Moon - Inca religion * Temple of the Moon - China * Somnath - Hinduism

References

Bibliography

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External links

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The Muisca of Chía
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon Temple (Chia) Muisca mythology and religion Chía

History of Colombia Buildings and structures in Cundinamarca Department Temples in Colombia

Structure and worship

Other Moon temples in the world

See also

References

Bibliography

External links