Muisca Raft Legend Of El Dorado Offerings Of Gold

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 language family, also called ''Muysca'' and ''Mosca''. They were encountered by conquistadors dispatched by the Spanish Empire in 1537 at the time of the conquest. Subgroupings of the Muisca were mostly identified by their allegiances to three great rulers: the ''hoa'', centered in Hunza, ruling a territory roughly covering modern southern and northeastern Boyacá and southern Santander; the '' psihipqua'', centered in Muyquytá and encompassing most of modern Cundinamarca, the western Llanos; and the ''iraca'', religious ruler of Suamox and modern northeastern Boyacá and southwestern Santander.

The territory of the Muisca spanned an area of around from the north of Boyacá to the Sumapaz Páramo and from the summits to the western portion of the Eastern Ranges. Their territory bordered the lands of the Panche in the west, the Muzo in the northwest, the Guane in the north, the Lache in the northeast, the Achagua in the east, and the Sutagao in the south.

At the time of the Spaniard invasion, the area had a large population, although the precise number of inhabitants is not known. Estimates vary from 500,000 to over 3 million inhabitants. Their economy was based on agriculture, salt mining, trading, metalworking, and manufacturing.

Due to Spanish colonization, the population of the Muisca has drastically decreased and assimilated into the general population. The descendants of the Muisca are often found in rural municipalities including Cota, Chía, Tenjo, Suba, Engativá, Tocancipá, Gachancipá, and Ubaté. A census by the Ministry of Interior Affairs in 2005 reports a total of 14,051 Muisca people in Colombia.

Important contributors to the knowledge about the Muisca have been their main conquistador, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada; Spanish poet, soldier, and priest Juan de Castellanos (16th century); bishop Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita and Franciscan Pedro Simón (17th century); and Javier Ocampo López and Gonzalo Correal Urrego (recent).

History of the Muisca

Knowledge of events up until 1450 is mainly derived from mythological contexts, but thanks to the ''Chronicles of the West Indies'' we do have descriptions of the final period of Muisca history, prior to Spanish arrival.

Background

Excavations in the Altiplano Cundiboyacense (the highlands of Cundinamarca and Boyacá departments) show evidence of human activity since the Archaic stage at the beginning of the Holocene era. Colombia has one of the most ancient archaeological sites of the Americas: El Abra, which is estimated to be approximately 13,000 years old. Other archaeological traces in the region of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense have led scholars to talk about an El Abra Culture: In Tibitó, other lithic tools dated a millennium later were found that belonged to specialized hunters. Human skeletons were found that date to 5000 BCE. Analysis demonstrated that the people were members of the El Abra Culture.

Muisca era

Scholars agree that the group identified as Muisca migrated to the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Formative era (between 1000 BCE and 500 CE), as shown by evidence found at Aguazuque and Soacha. Like the other formative-era cultures of America, the Muiscas were transitioning between being hunter-gatherers and becoming sedentary farmers. Around 1500 BCE, groups of agrarians with ceramic traditions came to the region from the lowlands. They had permanent housing and stationary camps, and worked the salty water to extract salt. In Zipacón there is evidence of agriculture and ceramics. The oldest settlement of the highlands dates to 1270 BCE. Between 800 BCE and 500 BCE, a second wave of migrants came to the highlands. Their presence is identified by multicolor ceramics, housing, and farms. These groups were still in residence upon the arrival of the Spanish invaders. They left abundant traces of their occupation that have been studied since the 16th century, and allow scientists to reconstruct their way of life. It is possible that the Muisca integrated with more ancient inhabitants, but the Muisca were the ones who molded the cultural profile and the social and political organization. Their language, a dialect of Chibcha, was very similar to those peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta ( Kogui, Ijka, Wiwa, and Kankuamo) and the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy ( U'wa).

Wars

''Zipa'' Saguamanchica (ruled 1470 to 1490) was in a constant war against aggressive tribes such as the Sutagao, and especially the Panche, who would also make difficulties for his successors, Nemequene and Tisquesusa. The Caribs were also a permanent threat as rivals of the ''zaque'' of Hunza, especially for the possession of the salt mines of Zipaquirá, Nemocón and Tausa.

Timeline of inhabitation of the Muisca area

Political and administrative organization

The Muisca people were organized in a confederation that was a loose union of states that each retained sovereignty. The confederation was not a kingdom, as there was no absolute monarch, nor was it an empire, because it did not dominate other ethnic groups or peoples. It is hard to compare the Muisca Confederation with other American civilizations, such as the Aztec or the Inca empires. The Muisca Confederation was one of the biggest and best-organized confederations of tribes on the South American continent.

Every tribe within the confederation was ruled by a chief or a ''cacique''. Most of the tribes were part of the Muisca ethnic group, sharing the same language and culture and forming relations through trade. They united in the face of a common enemy. The army was the responsibility of the ''zipa'' or ''zaque''. The army was made up of the '' güeches'', the traditional ancient warriors of the Muisca.

The Muisca Confederation existed as the union of two lesser confederations. The southern confederation, headed by the ''zipa'', had its capital at Bacatá (now Bogotá). This southern polity included the majority of the Muisca population and held greater economic power.

The northern territory was ruled by the ''zaque'', and had its capital in Hunza, known today as Tunja. Although both areas had common political relations and affinities and belonged to the same tribal nation, there were still rivalries between them. Among the territories there were four chiefdoms: Bacatá, Hunza, Duitama, and Sogamoso. The chiefdom was composed by localities.The place of religion in the Muisca social organization
– Museo del Oro – Biblioteca Luís Ángel Arango The tribes were divided into ''Capitanías'' (ruled by a capitan). There were two kinds: ''Great Capitania'' (''sybyn'') and ''Minor Capitania'' (''uta''). The status of ''Capitan'' was inherited by maternal lineage.

:Confederation (''zipa'' or ''zaque'')
::--> Priests (Iraca)
:::--> Chiefdoms (Cacique)
::::--> ''Capitanía'' (Capitan)
:::::--> Sybyn
::::::--> Uta

* Territories of the ''zipa'':
# Bacatá rule: Teusaquillo, Tenjo, Subachoque, Facatativá, Tabio, Cota, Chía, Engativá, Usme, Zipaquirá, Nemocón and Zipacón
# Fusagasugá District: Fusagasugá, Pasca and Tibacuy
# Ubaté District: Ubaté, Cucunubá, Simijaca, Susa
# Guatavita District: Gachetá, Guatavita and Suesca, Chocontá, Teusacá, Sesquilé, Guasca, Sopó, Usaquén, Tuna, Suba
* Territories of the ''zaque'':
** Hunza rule: Soracá, Ramiriquí, Samacá, Machetá, Tenza, Tibiritá, Lenguazaque and Turmequé
* Territory of Tundama: Cerinza, Oicatá, Onzaga, Sativanorte, Sativasur, Soatá, Paipa