Tundama or Saymoso (15th century -

Duitama Duitama () is a city and municipality in the department of Boyacá. It is the capital of the Tundama Province. Duitama is located northeast of Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia and northeast of Tunja, the capital Boyacá. Duitama has ex ...

, late December 1539) was a ''

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 Spa ...

'' of the Muisca Confederation, a loose confederation of different

rulers A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...

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 ...

who inhabited the central highlands (

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 ...

) of the

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 ...

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 ...

. The city 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 C ...

, currently known as Duitama and part of the

Tundama Province The Tundama Province is a province of the Colombian Department of Boyacá. The province is formed by 9 municipalities. Etymology The province is named after ''cacique'' Tundama.Boyacá, were named after the ''cacique''. Tundama ruled over the northernmost territories of the Muisca, submitted last by 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. Tundama was killed late December 1539 with a large hammer by Spanish

Baltasar Maldonado Baltasar Maldonado, also written as Baltazar Maldonado,
– New Kingdom of Granada The New Kingdom of Granada ( es, Nuevo Reino de Granada), or Kingdom of the New Granada, was the name given to a group of 16th-century Spanish colonial provinces in northern South America governed by the president of the Royal Audience of Santa ...

, the name for present-day Colombia and a part of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

in the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

. Knowledge about Tundama has been compiled by

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita (1624, Bogotá – March 29, 1688) was a Spanish Neogranadine Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Panamá (1676–1688) ''(in Latin)'' and the Bishop of Santa Marta (1668–1676).Arzobispo de Pa ...

.Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita about Tundama
/ref>

Background

In the time before the

Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

of central Colombia, there were several main rulers and several independent ''caciques'' who governed the Muisca. From south to north the '' psihipqua'' of Muyquytá, the '' hoa'' of

Hunza Hunza may refer to: * Hunza, Iran * Hunza Valley, an area in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan ** Hunza (princely state), a former principality ** Hunza District, a recently established district ** Hunza River, a waterway ** Hunza Peak, a mou ...

, 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 ...

and the psihipqua of

were the ruling elites of the area. Duitama in those ages was a lake surrounded by hilltops. On the hill ''La Tolosa'' the tundama lived in a ''bohío'' (hut) ornamented with

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

en figures.

Biography

Tundama was the last ''cacique'' of Duitama and the ''caciques'' of Cerinza, Chitagoto, Icabuco, Lupacoche, Sátiva,

Soatá Soatá is a town and municipality in Boyacá Department, Colombia. Soatá is located on the western slopes of the Cordillera Oriental mountain range, at the northeast end of the Department of Boyacá. It is the capital of the Northern Boyacá P ...

and Susacón were loyal to him.Biography Cacique Tundama
- Pueblos Originarios When a new ''iraca'' for Sugamuxi had to be elected alternating between the ''caciques'' of

Firavitoba Firavitoba is a town and municipality in Sugamuxi Province, a subregion of the department of Boyacá in Colombia. Before Spanish colonization, Firavitoba was part of the Muisca Confederation of the Chibcha people in the highlands of the Easter ...

and Tobasía, the ''cacique'' of Tundama intervened in case of conflict.Iraca rulers
- Pueblos Originarios

Spanish conquest and death

In 1536 the Spanish conquistadores led by Licentiate Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada set foot towards the interior of modern-day Colombia from

Santa Marta Santa Marta (), officially Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta ("Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta"), is a city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena ...

. looking for the beginning of the Magdalena River, and a land path ro Peru, and equipped with approximately 800 soldiers, an unknown number of native companions, black slaves, and dozens of horses they started their march to the Andes along the

Magdalena River The Magdalena River ( es, Río Magdalena, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of ...

. The Spanish troops arrived first in the southern Muisca territories, in the early March of 1537. From there they marched north and in August of that year they conquered

, a capital of the northern Muisca. They were informed of the sacred

Iraka Valley 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 ...

around Sugamuxi and found the Sun Temple which soldiers of De Quesada burned by accident in September 1537. Saymoso got notice of the submission of the neighbouring

indigenous groups Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, the Panche,

Guane Guane is a municipality and town in the Pinar del Río Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1602. Geography The municipality is divided into the barrios of Cabo de San Antonio y La Fe, Catalina, Cortés, Hato de Guane, Isabel Rubio (Paso Real d ...

and others and told his

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 ...

s not to bow for the Spanish invaders. When one of his warriors suggested surrender was the best option, Tundama cut off his ears and left hand.Biography Tundama
/ref> The ''cacique'' declared a "death war" against the Spanish and gathered an army of 10,000 guecha warriors. To keep the conquistadores away, he sent a delegation of his people with

emeralds Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p. ...

, gold and mantles to offer the Spanish with the promise that Tundama would surrender bringing eight more of these. Gaining time, Tundama hid his treasures and prepared the defence of Tundama. On December 15, 1539, captain

Baltasar Maldonado Baltasar Maldonado, also written as Baltazar Maldonado,
– Tisquesusa Tisquesusa, also spelled Thisquesuza, Thysquesuca or Thisquesusha (referred to in the earliest sources as Bogotá, the Elder) (died Facatativá, 1537) was the fourth and last independent ruler ('' psihipqua'') of Muyquytá, main settlement of t ...

and ''hoa'' Eucaneme, did not accept and Maldonado attacked Tundama and his army on the island in Vargas Swamp, where 280 years later the

Battle of Vargas Swamp Battle of Vargas Swamp ( es, Batalla del Pantano de Vargas) was a battle that occurred near Paipa, on July 25, 1819. A joint Venezuelan and Neogranadine army commanded by Simón Bolívar was trying to prevent Spanish forces from arriving at San ...

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

would be fought.Battle of Vargas Swamp, 1819
/ref> Maldonado, enforced with 2000

yanakuna Yanakuna were originally individuals in the Inca Empire who left the ayllu system and worked full-time at a variety of tasks for the Inca, the ''quya'' (Inca queen), or the religious establishment. A few members of this serving class enjoyed high s ...

s; natives from Peru and allied people from Muyquytá and

Ramiriquí Ramiriquí is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Márquez Province. Ramiriquí borders the department capital Tunja in the north, in the south Chinavita and Zetaquirá, in the east Ron ...

, was accompanied by the Muisca whose ears and hand had been cut off by Tundama. The Spanish conquistador with his weapons, cavalry and the inside knowledge of the earless Muisca killed 4000 guecha warriors of Tundama. Seeing this battle was fruitless, Tundama fled to Cerinza to ally with the ''cacique'' from there and prepared a new attack on the Spanish and indigenous troops, losing again. The ''caciques'' of northern Boyacá convinced Tundama to not fight anymore and Tundama surrendered to the Spanish troops. Maldonado demanded huge quantities of gold and emeralds to pay his loss to the Spanish. When handing over the valuables, Maldonado deemed the payments not enough and before the end of the year Maldonado killed Tundama with a large hammer.Animated video about Tundama
/ref> After Tundama was killed, according to the Muisca tradition of inheritance, his nephew ''Don Juan'' took over the role of ''cacique''. He was killed shortly after, ending the era of the Muisca in northern Boyacá. The last independent of the Muisca, Aquiminzaque, was killed by public decapitation by Hernán Pérez de Quesada in January 1540. Native caciques continued ruling their towns, working together with a Spanish encomendero.Public execution of Aquiminzaque in Tunja
-

Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

Tundama in Muisca history

References

External links