Sugamuxi (died 1539) was the last '' iraca''; ''

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 S ...

'' of the sacred City of the Sun Suamox. Sugamuxi, presently called Sogamoso, was an important city in the

religion 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 supernatur ...

of the Muisca who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the times before the 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, ...

s reached the central highlands of the

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. Fellow Muisca rulers of other territories within 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. T ...

were Tundama in Tundama, '' zaque''

Aquiminzaque Aquiminzaque (Chibcha: ''Aquim ó Quiminza'', died Tunja, 1540) was the last '' hoa'' of Hunza, on which the Spanish city of Tunja (in present-day Colombia) was built, reigning from 1537 until his death. His '' psihipqua'' counterpart in the sout ...

in Hunza and ''

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 ...

Sagipa Sagipa or Zaquesazipa (died 1539, Bosa, New Kingdom of Granada) was the fifth and last ruler ('' psihipqua'') of Muyquytá, currently known as Funza, as of 1537. He was the brother of his predecessor Bogotá but the traditional faction of the Mu ...

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 ...

Biography

Sugamuxi was the successor of Nompanim, as ''cacique'' of Suamox. After the bloody confrontation of the ''zaque'' Quemuenchatocha and ''zipa''

Nemequene Nemequene or Nemeguene (died 1514) was the third ruler ('' zipa'') of Bacatá as of 1490. His '' zaque'' counterpart ruling over the northern area of the Muisca territory was Quemuenchatocha. Etymology Nemequene in the Chibcha language of th ...

, Sugamuxi decided to stay neutral and in favour of peace between the two ever battling parts of the Muisca Confederation.Biography Sugamuxi
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Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatema ...

The seat of Sugamuxi was the

Sun Temple A sun temple (or solar temple) is a building used for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, dedicated to the sun or a solar deity. Such temples were built by a number different cultures and are distributed around the ...

in Sogamoso, that was destroyed by soldiers of

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 ...

in September 1537. At the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, Sugamuxi 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 ...

and was called ''Don Alonso''. He died shortly afterwards.Sugamuxi
- Pueblos Originarios

Sugamuxi in Muisca history

References

{{Muisca navbox, Caciques and neighbours, state=expanded Muisca rulers 1539 deaths Year of birth unknown 16th century in Colombia People from Sogamoso

Biography

Sugamuxi in Muisca history

See also

References