Duitama () is a city and municipality in the department of Boyacá. It is the capital 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.Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the largest ...

, the capital city of Colombia and northeast of Tunja, the capital Boyacá.Official website Duitama
/ref> Duitama has existed since pre-Columbian times, when 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 ...

inhabited the hills surrounding a former lake in the valley. The original name of Duitama was "Tundama", named after ''

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 Sp ...

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 Colomb ...

. The elevation of the city is about above sea level and the average temperature is 16 °C. Duitama is known as "The Pearl of Boyacá".

Etymology

The name of Duitama means "to me the tribute" in muyskkubun (Muisca language). In its beginnings, Duitama corresponded to a Muisca village ruled by the cacique Tundama, a word that changed for Duitama, absolute and powerful lord that he had as bosses tributaries to the Onzaga, Soatá, Chitagoto, Susacón or Cabita, Icabuco, Lupachoque, Sátiva, Tutazá and Cerinza caciques. The natives lived in bohíos, looking for the heights of the plain of the Indians, Tigua, today hills of La Milagrosa, Cargua, La Tolosa, San José (La Alacranera) and Tocogua.

Geography

Duitama, situated on the

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 Al ...

is bounded to the north by the department of Santander; Charalá and Encino, to the south by the Boyacá municipalities of

Tibasosa Tibasosa () is a municipality in the Sugamuxi Province, part of the Colombian department of Boyacá. Tibasosa borders Duitama and Nobsa in the north, Nobsa and Sogamoso in the east, Firavitoba in the south and Paipa in the west.

and Paipa, to the east with the municipalities of Santa Rosa de Viterbo and Floresta.

Climate

History

Duitama in the times before the Spanish conquest was called Tundama.

Conquest of Duitama

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 ...

, the Muisca were organized in a loose

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. T ...

.Muisca Confederation
/ref> The confederation was composed of four main political and

religious Religion is usually defined as a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, tran ...

leaders, from south to north; the ''

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 ...

'' based in

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 ...

, the ''

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 ...

'' 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 m ...

, 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 hi ...

'' 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 befor ...

and the ''

'' of Duitama, then called Tundama. Additionally, more independent ''caciques'' governed other villages. The ''Tundama'' ruled over the villages of Onzaga, Soatá, Chitagoto, Susacón, Icabuco, Lupachoque, Sátiva, Tutazá and

Cerinza Cerinza is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, and part of the Tundama Province subregion. Cerinza borders Belén in the north, Encino, Santander in the west, Santa Rosa de Viterbo in the south and Floresta and ...

. The ''Tundama'' lived on the hill currently called ''La Tolosa''. In 1536, 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, ...

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 name ...

set foot from the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean S ...

coastal city of

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 Magdalen ...

towards the inner highlands of then unexplored Colombia with an army of 800 men. After conquering the southern areas of the Muisca, accessed from the shores of 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 o ...

he and a reduced number of troops marched towards the northern Muisca territories. He first submitted Hunza, the seat of the ''zaque'' and in September 1537 he arrived in

, sacred City of the Sun where his soldiers burned the Sun Temple.Biography Cacique Tundama
- Pueblos Originarios
- Pueblos Originarios The ''cacique'' Tundama heard about the invading foreigners and tried to win time while hiding his treasures from the Spanish. One of his men proposed to surrender to the soldiers armed with superior weapons, and Tundama cut off his ears and left hand. At the end of 1539, another Spanish conquistador who proved himself in the

Kingdom of Quito The Cara culture flourished in coastal Ecuador, in what is now Manabí Province, in the first millennium CE. History In the 10th century CE, they followed the Esmeraldas River up to the high Andean valley now developed as the city San Francisco de ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

Baltasar Maldonado Baltasar Maldonado, also written as Baltazar Maldonado,
–

, entered the Tundama territories and after several battles Tundama surrendered to the Spanish rule. Tundama was killed by a hammer of Maldonado in late December 1539.

Tundama in Muisca history

Colonial period

During the colonial period of the newly established state

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 ...

, Duitama was converted to

catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the o ...

s of Santo Domingo, arriving in 1556. They held their positions until 1775. Modern Duitama was not founded until 1819, before

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 ...

liberated the later state of

Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), or Greater Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia ( Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to ...

from the Spanish rule.

Modern age

Duitama was an agricultural community that grew after the installation of the train station in 1923 and the connection with the Colombian capital via highway. From 1950 onwards the city hosted more industry.

International events

In 1995, Duitama was the second city in Latin America to host the

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

. The first city to host that event was San Cristóbal,

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 t ...

in 1977.

Tourism

In Duitama the touristic village '' Pueblito Boyacense'' is a popular destination. The village is composed of colonial houses.

Born in Duitama

* Camila Pinzón, model and Miss World Colombia 2022 * Alberto Camargo, former professional cyclist * Édgar Fonseca, professional cyclist * Daniel Rincón, former professional cyclist * Oliverio Rincón, former professional cyclist * Francisco Rodríguez Maldonado, former professional cyclist

Gallery

File:Duitama (2007).jpg, Duitama's Downtown File:STA60015.JPG, Simón Bolívar (Plaza Libertadores) File:STA60161.JPG, Julio César Rincón Ramirez bull fighting arena File:MONUMENTO AL TORERO CESAR RINCON.jpg, Monument to bull fighter César Rincón File:Iglesia La Trinidad.JPG, Church La Trinidad File:La Trinidad.JPG, La Trinidad File:Iglesia Duitama boy col.jpg, Cathedral of Duitama File:Interior de la Catedral San Lorenzo de Duitama - Boyacá..jpg, Cathedral interior File:Pueblito boyacence Duitama 04.JPG, ''Pueblito Boyacense'' File:Pueblito boyacense2.JPG, ''Pueblito Boyacense'' File:Pueblito boyacence Duitama 05.JPG, ''Pueblito Boyacense'' File:Pueblito boyacence Duitama 01.JPG, ''Pueblito Boyacense''

References

External links

*
Animated video about Tundama, showing the former lake
{{Authority control Populated places established in 1819 1819 establishments in the Spanish Empire