Chibchas

Colombia's first inhabitants migrated from North and Central America. Some groups formed permanent settlements. Among those groups were the Chibchas (or "Muiscas" or "Muyscas") and the Tairona.

Geographical Extension

The Chibchas Linguistic communities were the most numerous, the most territorially extended and the most socio-economically developed of the prehispanic Colombians. By the 3rd century A.D., the Chibchas had established their civilization in the central Andes. At one point, the Chibchas occupied part of what is now Panama, and the high plains of the Eastern Sierra of Colombia. The areas that they occupied were the Departments of Santander (North and South), Boyacá and Cundinamarca, which were also the areas where the first farms and first industries were developed, and where the independence movement originated. They are currently the richest areas in Colombia. They represented the most populous zone between the Mexican and Inca empires. Next to the Quechua of Peru and the Aymara in Bolivia, the Chibchas of the eastern and north-eastern Highlands of Colombia were the most striking of the sedentary Indians in South America.

Tribes

In the Oriental Andes, the Chibchas were composed of several tribes, who spoke the same language (Chibchan). Among them: Muiscas, Guanes, Laches and Chitareros.

Pre-Conquest History

The Mesoamericans (Indians originally inhabiting Central America), who arrived in approximately 1200 B.C., introduced the cultivation of corn. The humid and somewhat less hotter climate brought better conditions for the intensive agriculture of corn, sedentarism, demographic growth & the organization of villages. These people built lithic monuments in El Infiernito, Villa de Leyva. They also exploited salt mines in Zipaquirá, Nemocón y Tausa.

They were followed by a second wave of Mesoamericans in 500 B.C. Artifacts from a number of distinct cultures, such as those in the areas around San Agustín (in present-day Huila Department), Tierra Dentro (Cauca Department), and Tumaco (Narińo Department), are believed to date from this period.

Between 400 and 300 B.C., the Chibchas traveled from Nicaragua and Honduras and reached Colombia, shortly before the Arawaks arrived from other parts of South America, such as Brazil, Uraguay, and Paraguay. Near the end of the first millennium A.D., the Caribs migrated from the Caribbean islands. These warlike newcomers supplanted the Chibchas in the lowlands and forced them to move to higher elevations.

Economy

The Chibchas farmed, mined for salt and emeralds, and traded with other groups. They were skilled artists who were known for their pottery, gold work and cotton fabrics. They used emeralds as currency for trading.

The Chibchas had advanced cultivation techniques, and the area they occupied was very fertile. This, coupled with a very disciplined, skilled and experienced pool of agricultral labor, was later used by the Colonial farmers (encomenderos & hacendados).

"El Dorado" myth

In one of their rituals, the top priest or "cacique" covered his body with gold dust, rode a small boat to the center of the Gustavita Lagoon and submerged himself. This ceremony might have been the origin of the myth of "El Dorado", which attracted many Spanish adventurers, who came looking for places where there was plenty of gold, but never existed in reality.

Culture

From the cultural point of view, the chibchas were similar to the Inca. They practiced agriculture with the help of an extensive irrigation system. They made cotton fabrics and were experts with gold, making very fine laminates decorated with wire or strip motives and very stylized anthropomorphic figures.

Linguistics

The Chibcha language (Chibchan) was so important in the area that when the Spanish conquerors came they had a communication problem in their quest to evangelize and use native resources. At some point they thought of using it as a main language for the new Kingdom of New Granada, at the same level of the Quechua, Aztec & Tupi.

On May 10, 1783, through a decree called "cédula real" the Spanish colonialists prohibited the use of native languages.

Religion

The creed of the Chibchas was similar to the pantheistic fetishism of American aborigines in general. Human sacrifices were not uncommon, but most of the offerings consisted of goods such as Gold, Emeralds, and Fruits of the field. Shamans, or Zeques, were numerous, and acted as medicine men, diviners and/or oracles.

One of the Gods of the CHIBCHAS was CHIBCHACUM, protector of the people, of the farmers and the traders. According to a myth, Huitaca put a vengeance plan against the god BOCHICA. Huitaca spread bad teachings between the CHIBCHAS, who then gave themselves to lust, partying and were unwilling to work. This behavior offended CHIBCHACUM, who decided to punish them with torrential rains, which flooded the plains of Bacatá. Seeing that the rains would not stop, they asked for the intervention of the God BOCHICA to stop the malefice of CHIBCHABUM, offering BOCHICA sacrifices and fasting. However, BOCHICA did not respond to their calls until a long time after they started asking him. One day, when the Chibchas already thought that their God had abandoned them, they finally saw the first ray of sunlight after BOCHICA, with a stick of gold, opened a trench where the Bacatá plains had flooded. Thus, BOCHICA created the "Salto del Tequendama". When everything got back to normal, the Chibchas started seeding again and continued their offerings and sacrifices to the God BOCHICA.

The God BOCHICA designated the God CHIBCHACUM to carry the Earth on his shoulders. They called the earth "Pachamama" which means "Mother Earth". At that moment the Earth was sustained over 4 "Guayacanes". Because of this the Chibchas though that all earthquakes were due to the God CHIBCHACUM, who when tired of carrying the earth on one shoulder, passed the earth to the other shoulrder. That is why CHIBCHACUM was considered the God of the Earthquakes. It was also the protector of the traders and the farmers because it would make sure that the Earth would always be guarded and nothing would interrupt its equilibrium.

The myth of the God CHIBCHACUM is similar to some myths of other cultures, such as the Bible's universal deluge or the Greek Atlas designated to carry the Celestial Vault on his shoulders.

Housing

The Chibchas lived in villages, the houses being mostly circular, and of wood and thatch.

Politics

After the Inca, the chibchas constituted states under the strict personal control of the "caciques". They were a culturally developed civilization at the time they encountered the first Spanish conquistadores.

The Chibchas had a Clan System. At the head of each clan stood a Council, guided by the oracular utterances of the leading Shamans, while an elective war-chief (Uzaque or Cacique) represented the executive.

According to tradition, the tribe of Tunja was the most powerful of the Chibcha tribes until the second half of the 15th Century.

Spanish Conquest

The Spanish Conquistadores (conquerors) arrived between 1499 and 1536, looking for gold and emeralds. They dislocated the Chibchas' political and social structures. The first Spanish settlement was established on the Caribbean coast and was called Santa Marta. The capital city of Santa Fé de Bogotá was founded in 1538. The Chibchas submitted to the Spanish conquest (almost peacefully) in 1541. In 1550, military rule was replaced by a civil administration. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish brought in many thousands of slaves from Africa to work in mines and on farms. By the 17th century the Chibcha culture was practically extinguished.

Present Day

The Chibchas are one of the most studied populations in anthropologic historiography, having numerous publications dedicated to linguistics, etnohistory, archaeology & bioanthropology. The region has numerous radiocarbon dates and an extensive Pre-Columbian cemetery.

The museums of Santafé de Bogotá, Tunja, Sogamoso, Socorro, Bucaramanga, Floridablanca and Pamplona offer permanent expositions, domestically and internationally, with many samples of jewelry making, pottery, textiles, mummies and human remains,(bones).

It can be said that the image of the Pre-Hispanic development of Colombia is associated mostly with the Chibchas.

At present the Chibchas have ceased to form autonomous tribes and are practically extinct. Some of their descendants currently live near the Magdalena river, close to Bogotá, the (Capital of Colombia).

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