Goranchacha was a

mythical Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

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 ...

'' who was said to have been the

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...

of 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 ...

of South America, in particular of the '' zacazgo'' of the northern

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 ...

. He is considered the son of the Sun, impersonated by the Sun god Sué.Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.13 p.79

Background

In the centuries before the arrival of 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, Can ...

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, ...

es the central highlands of Colombia were ruled by ''

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 ...

s'' (northern

) 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 ...

s'' (southern territories). The Muisca had two main

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...

; Sué, the Sun, and his wife Chía, the goddess of the Moon.

Mythography

According to the Muisca legends, the Sun wanted to reincarnate in human form and performed this via a maid of the village of Guachetá. The maid stayed a

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

because she gave birth after receiving rays of sunlight. This miracle became known in the village and the whole region around it. Upon this curious event, every day the daughters of the ''

'' of Guachetá left their ''bohíos'' (the Muisca houses) and climbed a hill to see the sun rising in the east. They laid down naked under the Sun, waiting to be inseminated by the sunbeams. One of them became pregnant and after nine months bore a very large and pure

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

. The daughter of the ''cacique'' took the emerald and wrapped it in cloths to wear it between her breasts during a couple of days. Finally the emerald converted into a boy, who they named Goranchacha, son of the Sun.Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.13 p.80 On his 24th birthday, the son of the Sun decided to travel across the Muisca territories preaching the wise lessons of the messenger god and educator

Bochica Bochica (also alluded to as Nemquetaha, Nemqueteba and Sadigua) is a figure in the religion of the Muisca, who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense during the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the central Andean highlands of present-day Co ...

, which made him a prophet. In Ramiriquí,

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 ...

, sacred city of the Sun, and in other villages Goranchacha was received as religious leader. When the leader of Ramiriquí, then capital of the northern Muisca, hurt one of his lovers, Goranchacha returned from his travels to the village, killed the leader and took over the throne. He selected a group of servants to his power. One of them was the town crier, an Indian with a long

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammal ...

, who became the second-in-command of the city. Goranchacha's rule was harsh and executed fierce punishments for small offenses. He moved the capital of the northern Muisca from Ramiriquí to Hunza where he became a real dictator. The people feared him and his punishments that consisted of tortures with prickly pear cactus leaves and after that severe beatings. According to

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 ...

Pedro Simón, Goranchacha did not want the people to talk to him and they were not allowed to look him in the face, as that was a sign of disrespect for his rule. Like was present in Sugamuxi, Goranchacha ordered the construction of another Sun Temple in Hunza. For that he demanded materials would be brought from the farthest regions of his reign. On the location where the temple allegedly was constructed is currently the seat of the '' Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia'' in Tunja. He used the temple to worship his father, the Sun and held parties in the temple often with

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherei ...

s. Goranchacha organised

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

s from other areas to the temple that took nine days, so three weeks; three days (1 week) of marching, one week of praying and one week of marching back. He ordered there would be giant columns of rock erected in front of the temple and the stones needed to be transported by the people at night (

Chibcha 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 lan ...

: ''zasca'').Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.13 p.81 The columns were built in as

phallic A phallus is a penis (especially when Erection, erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimesis, mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically— ...

symbols. Goranchacha's assistant, the Indian with a tail like a

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

, helped him with all the activities. One day they gathered all the people ruled from Hunza and Goranchacha prophesied that one day strong and ferocious men would come who would make the people slaves, abuse them and make them work for them [the Spanish

es]. Goranchacha told his people he would leave and return after a few years to see them again. He left but never returned. The jaguar-tailed Indian also left; he turned into smoke.Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.13 p.82

References

Bibliography

* {{Muisca navbox, Mythology and religion, state=expanded Muisca mythology and religion Muisca rulers Muysccubun Demigods Prophets

Background

Mythography

See also

References

Bibliography