The Muisca (also called the Chibcha more loosely) were an indigenous pre-Columbian culture and ethnic group of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense before the Spanish colonization of the Americas and later colonial communities, many of whose customs lasted up to the beginning of the 19th century and Colombian independence.Manuel Arturo Izquierda Peña, The Muisca Calendar: An approximation to the timekeeping system of the ancient native people of the northeastern Andes of Colombia, 2008, p. 14 The Muisca and their descendants today are among the indigenous peoples of Colombia in a process of cultural re-definition and revitalization.Paola Andrea Sánchez-Castañeda, Memory in Sacred Places: The Revitalization Process of the Muisca Community, 2020 They traditionally spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan language family, also called Muysca, Mosca and Chibcha, Muysccubun, the language of the Muisca – Muysccubun dictionary online which is part of an important revival effort. The first known contact with Europeans in the region was in 1537 during the Spanish conquest of New Granada.
In New Spain, Spanish clerics and civil officials had a major impact on the Muisca, attempting to Christianize and incorporate them into the Spanish Empire as subjects.Gamboa Mendoza, Jorge. Los muiscas y su incorporación a la monarquía castellana en el siglo XVI: Nuevas lecturas desde la Nueva Historia de la Conquista. Tunja: Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia.Cobo Betancourt, Juan F. (2024). The Coming of the Kingdom: The Muisca, Catholic Reform, and Spanish Colonialism in the New Kingdom of Granada. Open access. Cambridge University Press.
Postconquest Muisca culture underwent significant changes due to the establishment of the New Kingdom of Granada. Sources for the Muisca are far less abundant than for the Aztec Empire of Mesoamerica or the Inca Empire and their incorporation to the Spanish Empire during the colonial era. In the New Kingdom of Granada and into the colonial era, the Muisca became "the official 'tribe' of the Colombian nation" and "a local version of the Aztecs and Incas".quoted in Cobo Betancourt, The Coming of the Kingdom. 25Langebaek, Carl Henrik. Los herederos del pasado : indígenas y pensamiento criollo en Colombia y Venezuela. Bogotá: Universidad de los Andes: Ediciones Uniandes 2009 Recent scholarship on the Muisca by archeologists, anthropologists, and historians is revising the understanding of the Muiscas' prehispanic and colonial era past.
History of the Muisca Subgroupings were identified chiefly by their allegiances to three great Muisca rulers: the hoa in Hunza, ruling a territory roughly covering modern southern and northeastern Boyacá and southern Santander; the psihipqua in Muyquytá and encompassing most of modern Cundinamarca, the western Llanos; and the iraca, religious ruler of Suamox and modern northeastern Boyacá and southwestern Santander.
The territory of the Muisca spanned an area of around from the north of Boyacá to the Sumapaz Páramo and from the summits to the western portion of the Eastern Ranges. Their territory bordered the lands of the Panche in the west, the Muzo in the northwest, the Guane in the north, the Lache in the northeast, the Achagua in the east, and the Sutagao in the south.
At the time of the Spaniard invasion, the area had a large population, although the precise number of inhabitants is not known. Estimates vary from 1 million to over 3 million inhabitants. Their economy was based on agriculture, salt mining, trading, metalworking, and manufacturing.
Due to Spanish colonization, the population of the Muisca drastically decreased and assimilated into the general population. The descendants of the Muisca are often found in rural municipalities including Cota, Chía, Tenjo, Suba, Engativá, Tocancipá, Gachancipá, and Ubaté.Wiesner García, 1987 A census by the Ministry of Interior Affairs in 2005 reports a total of 14,051 Muisca people in Colombia.
Much of the historical knowledge about the Muisca comes from the testimony of conquisadores and colonists: Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada; Spanish poet, soldier, and Catholic priest Juan de Castellanos (16th century); Bishop Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita; and the Franciscan Pedro Simón (17th century).
More recently, Javier Ocampo López and Gonzalo Correal Urrego have contributed notable scholarship.
Knowledge of events up until 1450 is mainly derived from mythological contexts. Thanks to the Chronicles of the West Indies, we have descriptions of the final period of Muisca's history before the Spanish arrival.
Archeology
Excavations in the Altiplano Cundiboyacense (the highlands of Cundinamarca and Boyacá departments) show evidence of human activity since the Archaic Period at the beginning of the Holocene. Colombia has one of the most ancient archaeological sites of the Americas: El Abra, which is estimated to be approximately 13,000 years old. Other archaeological traces in the region of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense have led scholars to talk about an El Abra Culture: In Tibitó, tools and other lithic artifacts date to 9740 BCE; on the Bogotá savanna, especially at Tequendama Falls, other lithic tools dated a millennium later were found that belonged to specialized hunters. Human skeletons were found dating back to 5000 BCE, and an analysis demonstrated that the people were members of the El Abra culture.
Muisca era Scholars agree that the group identified as Muisca migrated to the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Formative stage (between 1000 BCE and 500 CE), as shown by evidence found at Aguazuque and Soacha. Like the other formative-era cultures of America, the Muiscas were transitioning between being hunter-gatherers and becoming sedentary farmers. Around 1500 BCE, groups of agrarians with ceramic traditions came to the region from the lowlands. They had permanent housing and stationary camps, and worked the salty water to extract salt. In Zipacón, there is evidence of agriculture and ceramics; the oldest settlement of the highlands dates to 1270 BCE. Between 800 BCE and 500 BCE, a second wave of migrants came to the highlands. Their presence is identified by multicolor ceramics, housing, and farms. These groups were still in residence upon the arrival of the Spanish invaders. They left abundant traces of their occupation that have been studied since the 16th century, allowing scientists to reconstruct their way of life. The Muisca may have integrated with more ancient inhabitants, but the Muisca were the ones who molded the cultural profile and the social and political organization. Their language, a dialect of Chibcha, was very similar to those peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Kogi, Ijka, Wiwa, and Kankuamo) and the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy (U'wa).
Wars
Zipa Saguamanchica (ruled 1470 to 1490) was in a constant war against aggressive tribes such as the Sutagao, and especially the Panche, who would also make difficulties for his successors, Nemequene and Tisquesusa. Kalina Caribs were also a permanent threat as rivals of the zaque of Hunza, especially for the possession of the salt mines of Zipaquirá, Nemocón and Tausa.
Political and administrative organization
The Muisca people were organized in multiple confederations that was a loose union of polities that each retained sovereignty. The confederation was not a kingdom, as there was no absolute monarch, nor was it an empire, because it did not dominate other ethnic groups or peoples. It is hard to compare the Muisca Confederation with other American civilizations, such as the Aztec or the Inca empires as it was more similar to a confederation of states, such as the Achaean League. The Muisca Confederation was one of the biggest and best-organized confederations of tribes on the South American continent. Muisca culture – Historia Universal – accessed 20-04-2016
Every tribe within the confederation was ruled by a chief or a cacique. Most of the tribes were part of the Muisca ethnic group, sharing the same language and culture and forming relations through trade. They united in the face of a common enemy. The army was the responsibility of the zipa or zaque. Güeches, the traditional ancient warriors of the Muisca, made up the military.
The Muisca Confederation existed as the union of two lesser confederations. The southern confederation, headed by the zipa, had its capital at Bacatá (now Bogotá). This southern polity included most of the Muisca population and held greater economic power.
The northern territory was ruled by the zaque, and had its capital in Hunza, known today as Tunja. Although both areas had common political relations and affinities and belonged to the same tribal nation, rivalries still existed between them. Among the territories there were four chiefdoms: Bacatá, Hunza, Duitama, and Sogamoso. The chiefdom was composed by localities. The place of religion in the Muisca social organization – Museo del Oro – Biblioteca Luís Ángel Arango The tribes were divided into Capitanías (ruled by a capitan). There were two kinds: Great Capitania (sybyn) and Minor Capitania (uta). The status of Capitan was inherited by maternal lineage.
Confederation (zipa or zaque) → Priests (Iraca) → Chiefdoms (Cacique) → Capitanía (Capitan) → Sybyn → Uta
Territories of the zipa: Bacatá rule: Teusaquillo, Tenjo, Subachoque, Facatativá, Tabio, Cota, Chía, Engativá, Usme, Zipaquirá, Nemocón and Zipacón Fusagasugá District: Fusagasugá, Pasca and Tibacuy Ubaté District: Ubaté, Cucunubá, Simijaca, Susa Guatavita District: Gachetá, Guatavita and Suesca, Chocontá, Teusacá, Sesquilé, Guasca, Sopó, Usaquén, Tuna, Suba Territories of the zaque: Hunza rule: Soracá, Ramiriquí, Samacá, Machetá, Tenza, Tibiritá, Lenguazaque and Turmequé Territory of Tundama: Cerinza, Oicatá, Onzaga, Sativanorte, Sativasur, Soatá, Paipa, Tobasia Territory of Sugamuxi: Busbanzá, Toca, Pesca, Pisba, Tópaga Autonomous chiefdoms: Charalá, Chipatá, Tinjacá, Saboyá, Tacasquirá
Muisca legislation was customary law; that is, their rule of law was determined by long-extant customs with the approval of the zip or zaque. This kind of legislation was suitable for a well-organized confederation system. Natural resources could not be privatized: woods, lakes, plateaus, rivers, and other natural resources were common goods.
Language
Muisca or Muysca, also known as Chibcha, belongs to the Chibchan languages. At the height of its expanse, the language was spoken across several regions of Central America and the north of South America. The Tairona culture and the U'wa, related to the Muisca culture, speak similar languages, which encouraged trade. The Muisca used a form of hieroglyphs for numbers.
Many Muisca words were absorbed into Colombian Spanish: Geography: Many names of localities and regions were kept. In some cases, the Spanish named cities with a combination of Chibcha and Spanish words, such as Santa Fe de Bogotá (Chibcha: "Bacatá"). Most of the municipalities of the Boyacá and Cundinamarca departments are derived from Chibcha names: Chocontá, Sogamoso, Zipaquirá, and many others. Fruits, such as curuba and uchuva. Relations: the youngest child is called cuba.
Economy
The Muisca had an economy and society that was considered to have been one of the most powerful of the American Post-Classic stage, mainly because of the precious resources of the area: gold and emeralds. When the Spaniards arrived in Muisca territory, they found a prosperous state, with the Muisca Confederation controlling the mining of the following products: emeralds: Colombia is the primary producer of emeralds in the world copper coal: the coal mines still operate today at Zipaquirá and other sites. Colombia has some of the world's most significant coal reserves. Ministerio de Minas y Energia – Proexport Colombia salt: there were mines in production at Nemocón, Zipaquirá, and Tausa