The Sun Temple of Sogamoso was a temple constructed by the

Muisca The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Muisca spe ...

as a place of worship for their Sun god

Sué Sué, Xué, Sua, Zuhe or Suhé was the deity, god of the Sun in the Muisca religion and mythology, religion of the Muisca. He was married to Moon goddess Chía (goddess), Chía.Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.4, p.33 The Muisca people, Muisca and their Mu ...

. The temple was built in Sogamoso,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, then part of the

Muisca Confederation The Muisca Confederation was a loose confederation of different Muisca rulers (''zaques'', ''zipas'', ''iraca'', and ''tundama'') in the central Andes, Andean highlands of what is today Colombia before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, Spanis ...

and called Sugamuxi. It was the most important temple in the

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

of the Muisca. The temple was destroyed by fire brought by the Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

es led by

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (; 1509 – 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory n ...

who was eager to find the legendary ''

El Dorado El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...

''. A reconstruction has been built in the Archeology Museum of Sogamoso.

Structure and worship

The Temple of the Sun was built on the right banks of the small river Monquirá. The temple was a large round structure made of poles and clay with a roof made of reed. The temple did not have any windows. The columns surrounding the temple were built in three concentric rings made of wood harvested in Casanare. The temple represented the cosmos and was built to honour Sun god Sué. The temple also was a burial ground for the most important ''

cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

s'' and priests (

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 ...

: ''ogques'').Temple of the Sun - Sogamoso
- Pueblos Originarios - accessed 04-05-2016 The Muisca had a working knowledge of

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and constructed various sites across their territories. '' El Infiernito'', just outside Villa de Leyva has survived. The Sun Temple was constructed according to the positions of the Sun. At the temple rituals were organised by the ''caciques'' and '' zaques'' of the Muisca Confederation. The

mythological Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

Idacansás held gatherings where children (''moxas'') were sacrificed. He made the city of Sugamuxi a sacred place. Mythical Thomagata was believed to travel each night between Tunja and the temple, a march he repeated ten times per night.Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.14, p.85

Destruction

Spanish conquistador Jiménez de Quesada heard of the Sun Temple and entered Sogamoso in early September 1537. He arrived in the afternoon and decided to wait until the next morning to take the ''cacique'' of Sugamuxi out of the temple. Curious to see the treasures in the temple, two of his soldiers, Miguel Sánchez and Juan Rodríguez Parra went to the sacred place on the night of September 4, lighting their way with torches. When they entered the temple they found rich ornaments and mummies of ancient nobles. While they were collecting parts of the treasures of the temple they accidentally set fire to it with their torches destroying the temple.

Reconstruction

In 1942 archeologist Eliécer Silva Celis uncovered a Muisca cemetery in Sogamoso. The cemetery contained tombs of indigenous Muisca with mummies still preserved. Based on his archeological findings he was able to locate the original site of the temple and decided to reconstruct it. The replica of the temple is high. The symbols in the dome tell the story of the creation of the Earth by Chiminigagua, the Supreme Being of the Muisca. The small openings on the sides serve as a

calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...

; every year on December 22 the sunlight falls right on the central pillar. Around the temple the cemetery with mummies, that were originally displayed inside the temple, is reconstructed. Today the temple is part of the Archeology Museum of Sogamoso, governed by the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia based in Tunja.

Other Sun temples in the world

* Pyramid of the Sun - Teotihuacan religion *

Temple of the Cross Complex The Temple of the Cross Complex is a complex of temples at the Maya civilization, Maya site of Palenque in the state of Chiapas in Mexico. It is located in the south-east corner of the site and consists of three main structures: the Temple of th ...

- Maya religion * Qurikancha - Inca religion * Temple of the Sun - China *

Konark Sun Temple Konark Sun Temple is a Hindu temple, Hindu Surya, Sun temple at Konark about northeast from Puri, Puri city on the coastline in Puri district, Odisha, India.Muisca mummification *

- god of the Sun of the Muisca *

Muisca religion Muisca religion describes the religion of the Muisca people, Muisca who inhabited the central highlands of the Colombian Andes before the Spanish conquest of the Muisca. The Muisca formed a Muisca Confederation, confederation of holy Muisca ruler ...

, Moon Temple, Cojines del Zaque, Piedras del Tunjo

References

Bibliography

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External links

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Temple of the Sun - Sogamoso
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Video about the Sun Temple in Sogamoso

Video of the reconstructed temple
{{Muisca navbox, Mythology and religion, state=expanded Muisca mythology and religion

Buildings and structures in Sogamoso Tourist attractions in Boyacá Department Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia Temples in Colombia