Meicuchuca (died 1470) was the first ruler (''
zipa
When the Spain, 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 Funza, Muyquytá. The ''Zaque'' was the ...
'') of
Bacatá, as of around 1450. His ''
zaque'' counterpart ruling over the northern area of the
Muisca territory was
Hunzahúa.
Biography
Little is known about Meicuchuca and many stories about his reign are more mythical than historical. He ruled the southern Muisca territory from around 1450 to 1470 and was succeeded according to Muisca heritage laws by his nephew
Saguamanchica
Saguamanchica (died Chocontá, 1490) was the second ruler (''zipa'') of Muyquytá, as of 1470. His '' zaque'' enemy ruling over the northern area of the Muisca territory was Michuá.
Alternative spellings of his name are Sacuan Machica, Sagua ...
.
Meicuchuca and the snake
The legend of Meicuchuca and the snake tells the story of the ''zipa'' who already had many wives.
Polygamy
Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...
was common practice with the Muisca and the higher the rank, the more wives could be held. The highest position of ''zipa'' could allow to have and sustain 300 wives, while the lower rank ''cacique'' "only" made 100 wives possible.
Meicuchuca allegedly fell in love with a woman outside of the Muisca community. He only had eye for her and spent day and night with the beautiful stranger, forgetting all his other wives.
His primary wife (
Chibcha
The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia, Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonizati ...
: ''gui chyty'') became very jealous and sought the help of a Muisca priest; ''chyquy''. He recommended her to fast and not bathe herself for twelve days. The first wife did what the priest had told her but the lack of food brought her close to death. The priest offered
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
en figures to the gods and ordered the wife to take a bath, put on new clothes and head to the bed of her husband. She was surprised to find Meicuchuca sleeping in the bed and next to him an enormous snake.
The primary wife returned to the priest and told him what happened. The priest ordered the wife next day to take a bath in the
Bogotá River close to the
Tequendama Falls with the lover of Meicuchuca and other
women
A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl.
Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...
of Bacatá. The women went bathing in the river and suddenly the lover of Meicuchuca transformed in a snake again and disappeared in the water. Meicuchuca, terrified by the snake transformation, found the love for his wives again.
Meicuchuca, the lover of the snake
- Pueblos Originarios
Meicuchuca in Muisca history
See also
* Muisca rulers, history of Bogotá
References
{{Muisca navbox, Caciques and neighbours, state=expanded
Muisca rulers
Muisca mythology and religion
1470 deaths
15th century in Colombia
15th-century South American people