Hunzahúa was the first '' zaque''; ruler of the northern

Muisca The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Muisca spe ...

with capital Hunza, named after him. His contemporary ''

zipa When the Spain, 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 Funza, Muyquytá. The ''Zaque'' was the ...

'' of the southern Muisca was

Meicuchuca Meicuchuca (died 1470) was the first ruler (''zipa'') of Bacatá, as of around 1450. His '' zaque'' counterpart ruling over the northern area of the Muisca territory was Hunzahúa. Biography Little is known about Meicuchuca and many stories ...

Biography

Hunzahúa, heir of Idacansás, was a ''

cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

'' in the sacred valley of the '' iraca'' and was chosen by the other ''caciques'' of the region to make peace between the battling parties. He became the first ''zaque'' of the northern Muisca region based in Hunza, present-day Tunja, and one of his policies was the ban on the use of weapons. According to Muisca scholar Javier Ocampo López, who wrote extensively about the

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

and

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

of the Muisca, his mother was named Faravita and his sister Noncetá.Hunzahúa y su hermana Noncetá
/ref> Legend tells that Hunzahúa fell in love with his older sister and made her his wife when he left Hunza for Chipatá. Faravita, the mother of the ''zaque'', disagreed with the marriage of her two children and attacked the couple, spilling a bowl of

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

. This created the

Hunzahúa Well The Hunzahúa Well (Spanish: ''Pozo de Hunzahúa'') is an archeological site of the Muisca people, Muisca located in the city of Tunja, Boyacá Department, Boyacá, which in the time of the Muisca Confederation was called Hunza. The well is named ...

. When Hunzahúa saw what his mother had done, and the Muisca protesting against his

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

, he damned Hunza and the surrounding valley. Noncetá gave birth to her younger brother's son in

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

, but the young boy turned into a rock. The sad couple traveled further, to the Tequendama Falls. Here, they changed into two rocks at either side of the sacred waterfall. The reign of the northern Muisca spread from the Chicamocha River to the area populated by the Sutagao around

Fusagasugá Fusagasugá (; ) or Fusa is a city and municipality in the department of Cundinamarca, in central Colombia. It is located in the warm valley between the rivers Cuja and Panches, a central region of the Andes Mountains in South America. The mun ...

and from the flatlands of San Juan to the border region with the Panche and

Muzo Muzo () is a town and municipality in the Western Boyacá Province, part of the department of Boyacá, Colombia. It is widely known as the world capital of emeralds for the mines containing the world's highest quality gems of this type. Muzo ...

, including the territories of Vélez. The previous unknown unity of the region permitted the conservation of the

Chibcha language Chibcha, Mosca, Muisca, Muysca (*/ˈmɨska/ * �mʷɨska, or Muysca de Bogotá is a language spoken by the Muisca people, one of the many indigenous cultures of the Americas. The Muisca inhabit the Altiplano Cundiboyacense of what today is th ...

and

Muisca religion and mythology The terms Muisca religion and mythology refer to the pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian beliefs of the Muisca people, Muisca indigenous people of the Cordillera Oriental (Colombia), Cordillera Oriental highlands of the Andes in the vicinity of ...

. Peace was disturbed when the southern Muisca ''zipa''

Saguamanchica Saguamanchica (died Chocontá, 1490) was the second ruler (''zipa'') of Muyquytá, as of 1470. His '' zaque'' enemy ruling over the northern area of the Muisca territory was Michuá. Alternative spellings of his name are Sacuan Machica, Sagua ...

took up arms against the northern ''zaque'' Michuá, succeeding the rule of Hunzahúa in 1470.History of the Muisca
- Banco de la República

Hunzahúa in Muisca history

References

{{Muisca navbox, Caciques and neighbours, state=expanded Muisca rulers Muisca mythology and religion 15th-century births 1470 deaths 15th-century South American people 15th century in Colombia People from Tunja

Biography

Hunzahúa in Muisca history

See also

References