Putumayo () is a
department of Southern
Colombia. It is in the south-west of the country, bordering
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...
and
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
. Its capital is
Mocoa.
The word ''putumayo'' comes from the
Quechua languages
Quechua (, ; ), usually called ("people's language") in Quechuan languages, is an indigenous language family spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Peruvian Andes. Derived from a common ancestral language, it is the most widel ...
. The verb ''p'utuy'' means "to spring forth" or "to burst out", and ''mayu'' means river. Thus it means "gushing river".
History
Originally, the southwestern area of the department belonged to the
Cofán Indians, the northwestern to the
Kamentxá Indians, the central and southern areas to tribes that spoke
Tukano languages (such as the
Siona), and the eastern to tribes that spoke
Witoto languages. Part of the Kamentxá territory was conquered by the Inca
Huayna Cápac
Huayna Capac (with many alternative transliterations; 1464/1468–1524) was the third Sapan Inka of the Inca Empire, born in Tumipampa sixth of the Hanan dynasty, and eleventh of the Inca civilization. Subjects commonly approached Sapa Inkas ad ...
in 1492, who, after crossing the Cofán territory, established a
Quechua population on the valley of
Sibundoy
Sibundoy (Camsá: Tabanok "village") is a town and municipality in the Putumayo Department of the Republic of Colombia.
The town existed well before the Spanish came in 1534. The Inca, under Huayna Cápac, conquered the local people in 1492 an ...
, known today as Ingas. After the
Inca defeat in 1533, the region was invaded by the Spanish in 1542, and from 1547 was administered by Catholic missions.
The current territory of Putumayo was linked to Popayan during the
Spanish Colonial Period
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 ...
and in the first
Republican decades belonged to the "
Azuay Department
Azuay Department was created with the 1824 reform of the subdivisions of Gran Colombia.
* Cuenca Province - Capital: Cuenca. Cantons: Cuenca, Cañar, Gualaseo y Girón.
* Loja Province - Capital: Loja. Cantons: Loja, Catacocha, Cariamanga y Za ...
", which included territories in Ecuador and Perú. Later a long process of territorial redistributions began:
* 1831:
Popayán Province.
* 1857:
Estado Federal del Cauca.
* 1886:
Cauca Department.
* 1905: .
* 1909: .
* 1912: Comisaría Especial del Putumayo.
* 1953:
Department of Nariño
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
.
* 1957: Comisaría Especial del Putumayo.
* 1968: Intendencia Especial del Putumayo.
* 1991: Putumayo Department.
Municipalities
See also
*
Santuario Orito Indí-Andé Fauna and Flora Sanctuary
References
External links
Government of Putumayo official websiteTerritorial-Environmental Information System of Colombian Amazon SIAT-AC website
{{Authority control
Departments of Colombia
States and territories established in 1991
1991 establishments in Colombia