The ''Cojines del Zaque'' (English: "Cushions of the ''Zaque''") is an archeological site 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 ...

located in the city of

Tunja Tunja () is a city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 it had a population of 172,548 inhabitants. It is the capital of Boyacá department an ...

, Boyacá, which in the time 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 ...

was called Hunza. The ''cojines'' are two round stones used 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 to worship Sun god

Sué Sué, Xué, Sua, Zuhe or Suhé was the deity, god of the Sun in the Muisca religion and mythology, religion of the Muisca. He was married to Moon goddess Chía (goddess), Chía.Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.4, p.33 The Muisca people, Muisca and their Mu ...

and his wife; Moon goddess Chía. When the Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

es arrived, they called them ''Cojines del Diablo''.

Background

During the time before 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 ...

, the central highlands of the Colombian

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

(

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 ...

) were populated by the Muisca. This advanced civilization had its own religion and rituals, centered around the most important deities Sué and Chía. The northern territories were ruled by the ''

iraca The ''iraca'', sometimes spelled ''iraka'',Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.12, p.77Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.14, p.85 was the ruler and high priest of Sugamuxi in the confederation of the Muisca who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense; the central high ...

'' of

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

, the ''

tundama Tundama or Saymoso (15th century - Duitama, late December 1539) was a ''cacique'' of the Muisca Confederation, a loose confederation of different rulers of the Muisca who inhabited the central highlands (Altiplano Cundiboyacense) of the Colomb ...

'' of

Tundama Tundama or Saymoso (15th century - Duitama, late December 1539) was a ''cacique'' of the Muisca Confederation, a loose confederation of different rulers of the Muisca who inhabited the central highlands (Altiplano Cundiboyacense) of the Colomb ...

and the ''

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 ...

'' based in Hunza.

Description

The Cojines are two circular stones made of sandstone located at the base of the San Lázaro hill in Tunja. The northernmost ''Cojín'' measures in diameter and the southern pillow . The stones are oriented with respect to the solar elliptic and consist of an inclined part in the west and a flat part in the east. The rocks were used by the ''zaque'' to kneel down and pray to Sué at sunrise.Cojines del Zaque
- Pueblos Originarios The Cojines were studied as of 1847 and in 1928 the city of Tunja made the stones into an

archeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and ...

.Archaeology of the Cojines del Zaque
- Banco de la República

Rituals and festivities

Every morning the ''zaque'' would go in a procession from his grand ''bohío'' in Hunza to the Cojines. Apart from the daily rituals, also with sowing and harvests, rituals were performed on the ''Cojines del Zaque''.Rituals on the Cojines del Zaque
The

Muisca calendar The Muisca calendar was a lunisolar calendar used by the Muisca. The calendar was composed of a complex combination of months and three types of years were used; rural years (according to Pedro Simón, Chibcha: ''chocan''), holy years (Duquesne, S ...

defined the months of sowing and harvests and those periods would fall on the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

in the months of March and September respectively. To increase the fertility of the lands the Muisca had their

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, they performed festivities to the gods around the Cojines del Zaque. During these festivals, the Muisca danced in groups, holding hands and sang to the

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

of flutes,

ocarina The ocarina is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from c ...

s and other instruments. They danced on the rhythm of drums. During these rituals the Muisca got drunk by drinking their typical ''

chicha ''Chicha'' is a fermented (alcoholic) or non-fermented beverage of Latin America, emerging from the Andes and Amazonia regions. In both the pre- and post-Spanish conquest periods, corn beer (''chicha de jora'') made from a variety of maize land ...

''.Description Cojines del Zaque
/ref> Sometimes twelve year-old boys; ''moxas'', captured from other indigenous peoples in the region would be sacrificed to the gods at the site of the Cojines del Zaque. The heads of the boys would be placed on the cojines and the children decapitated draining the Cojines in blood. The Muisca left their bodies lying there as food for Sué. The bodies would be retrieved after a few days.Leyendas, mitos, espantos y romerías de Tunja

References

{{Muisca navbox, Mythology and religion, state=expanded Muisca mythology and religion Muisca and pre-Muisca sites Rock art in South America Pre-Columbian archaeological sites Archaeological sites in Colombia Buildings and structures in Boyacá Department Tourist attractions in Boyacá Department Buildings and structures in Tunja Muysccubun

Background

Description

Rituals and festivities

See also

References