Knowledge of Muisca mythology has come from

Muisca scholars The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous peoples of Colombia, indigenous people and Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia, culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conq ...

Javier Ocampo López Javier Ocampo López (born 19 June 1939) is a Colombian historian, writer, folklorist and professor. He has been important in the fields of Colombian folklore and history of Latin America and Colombia, especially contributing on the department ...

Pedro Simón ''Fray'' Pedro Simón ( San Lorenzo de la Parrilla, Spain, 1574 - Ubaté, New Kingdom of Granada, ca. 1628) was a Spanish franciscan friar, professor and chronicler of the indigenous peoples of modern day Colombia and Venezuela, at the time for ...

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 ...

Juan de Castellanos Juan de Castellanos (March 9, 1522 – November 1606)Jua ...

and

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 ...

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (;1496 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory named ...

who was the European making first contact with the Muisca in the 1530s.

Muisca mythology

The times 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 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 ...

are filled with mythology. The first confirmed human

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 two capitals

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 ...

and

Bacatá Bacatá is the name given to the main settlement of the Muisca Confederation on the Bogotá savanna. It mostly refers to an area, rather than an individual village, although the name is also found in texts referring to the modern settlement of Fu ...

are said to have descended from mythical creatures. Apart from that other Muisca myths exist, such as the legendary ''

El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

'' and the

Monster of Lake Tota The Monster of Lake Tota is a legendary aquatic animal known in many works es, diablo ballena, lit=devil whale, label=as. The monster is an inhabitant of Lake Tota in present-day Colombia, according to the Muisca, who inhabited the Altiplano C ...

Mythological creatures

Several mythological creatures have been described by the

chronicler A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

s: *

Thomagata Thomagata or Fomagata was a mythical '' cacique'' who was said to have been ''zaque'' of Hunza, present-day Tunja, Colombia, then part of the Muisca Confederation. He is remembered as one of the most religious in the history of the ''zaques'', af ...

, said to have been one of the most religious of the ''zaques'', after Idacansás *

Idacansás Idacansás, Idacansas, Idacanzas or Iduakanzas was a mythical '' cacique'' who was said to have been the first priest of the sacred city of Sugamuxi, present-day Sogamoso, Colombia, then part of the territories of the Muisca. He is characterize ...

, allegedly a mythical priest from

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 ...

who was able to change the order of things *

Goranchacha Goranchacha was a mythical ''cacique'' who was said to have been the prophet of the Muisca of South America, in particular of the '' zacazgo'' of the northern Muisca Confederation. He is considered the son of the Sun, impersonated by the Sun god ...

, a mythical ''cacique'' who moved the capital of the northern Muisca from

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 ...

to the later capital Hunza *

Pacanchique Pacanchique was a person in the mythology of the Muisca. He is said to have been the son of the '' cacique'' of Ramiriquí; Baganique. During that time, Ramiriquí was part of the '' zacazgo'' of Quemuenchatocha of the northern Muisca Confede ...

, according to Muisca myths recovered his fiancé Azay from ruler

Quemuenchatocha Quemuenchatocha or Quimuinchateca (named in the earliest sources Eucaneme) ( Hunza, 1472– Ramiriquí, 1538) was the second-last ''hoa'' of Hunza, currently known as Tunja, as of 1490. He was the ruler of the northern Muisca when the Spanish con ...

by first turning her into a dead person and then bringing her back to life using different plants. He also showed the

Spanish 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 ...

conquistadores the way to Nemequene's palace Other Muisca people where human and mythological character converge are: *

Hunzahúa Hunzahúa was the first '' zaque''; ruler of the northern Muisca with capital Hunza, named after him. His contemporary ''zipa'' of the southern Muisca was Meicuchuca. Biography Hunzahúa, heir of Idacansás, was a ''cacique'' in the sacred va ...

, first ''

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 n ...

'' of Hunza, allegedly committing

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...

with his sister and said to have fled *

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 abou ...

, first ''

zipa 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 n ...

'' of Bacatá, one of his wives mythologically turned into a snakeMeicuchuca, the lover of the snake
- Pueblos Originarios - accessed 05-05-2016

Other Muisca myths

* ''

'', the man or city made of gold, that was not so mythical but a main motive for the Spanish to conquer Colombia. The ritual is represented in the

Muisca raft The Muisca raft (''Balsa Muisca'' in Spanish), sometimes referred to as the Golden Raft of El Dorado, is a pre-Columbian votive piece created by the Muisca, an indigenous people of Colombia in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The pi ...

, a piece of gold working found in

Pasca Pasca is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca department of Colombia located in the Andes. It belongs to the Sumapaz Province. Pasca is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at a distance of from the capital Bogotá. It borders F ...

almost 400 years after the arrival of the Spanish *

, allegedly a monstrous snake or fish living in

Lake Tota Lake Tota ( es, Lago de Tota) is the largest lake in Colombia, located in the east of Boyacá department, inside the Sugamuxi Province, it is the source of the Upia River which flows into the Orinoco River basin. The major town on the lake is A ...

''Mitos y Leyendas de Colombia'', Eugenia Villa Posse; Ed. IADAP, 1993; S. 204
- accessed 05-05-2016 *

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

, a well that according to the mythology of the Muisca originated from spilled

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 ...

when the mother of

caught him and his older sister, Noncetá, while they were copulating.Hunzahúa Well
- Pueblos Originarios * Fura and Tena, the first woman and man created by the god Are to populate the earth. Because Fura was not faithful, they lost their immortality, so they aged and died. Are took pity on them and turned them into rocky crags protected from storms, and Fura's tears became into emeralds.

References

Bibliography

* {{Muisca navbox, Mythology and religion, state=expanded

Muisca mythology

Mythological creatures

Other Muisca myths

See also

References

Bibliography