Thomagata or Fomagata was a mythical ''

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 Spa ...

'' who was said to have been '' zaque'' of Hunza, present-day Tunja,

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 Car ...

, 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 Andean highlands of present-day Colombia before the Spanish conquest of northern South America. The ...

. He is remembered as one of the most religious in the history of the ''zaques'', after Idacansás.

Background

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

s, the central highlands of Colombia were ruled by '' zaques'' (northern

) and '' zipas'' (southern territories of the Muisca). The first confirmed human ''zaque'' and ''zipa'' were respectively Hunzahúa and Meicuchuca, inaugurated in 1450. The time before those rulers are based on Folklore.

Mythography

Thomagata allegedly had a tail, as that of 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 ...

that reached to the ground, hence the name ''Cacique Rabón'' ("Taily Chief"). Thomagata had four ears and only one eye because he was blind on the other. Thomagata was a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

, traveling each night between Tunja and the

Temple of the Sun 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 th ...

in Sugamuxi along the

Iraka Valley 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 ...

. His walks were a pilgrimage, ten times back and forth, praying in the sacred sites he encountered on his way. Muisca traditions tell he was so holy that whom he made angry, he converted into a snake,

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

or other animal. Thomagata got this ability from Idacansás and the Sun. Thomagata looked upon his vassals with disrespect and turned them into animals, so the Muisca didn't dare look him in the face. ''Zaque'' Tomaghata never married.Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.14, p.86 Bishop Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita, chronicler of most of the Muisca mythology and traditions, wrote in the 17th century about Thomagata:

...habiéndose inclinado en su mocedad al matrimonio y queriéndolo efectuar, reconoció que estaba inhabilitado para ello porque desagradado el Sol de semejante pretensión y empeñado en que le sucediese en el reino Tutazúa, su hermano, lo despojó la noche antes de la potencia germinativa, por lo cual vivió toda la vida en celibato y después de ciento y tantos años murió...

translated as

...having tended towards marriage in his youth and wanting to carry that out, he recognized that he was unable for that because the Sun was too ambitious and determined that Tutazúa, his brother, would succeed the reign of the zacazgo kingdom" he Sundeprived him from his genital power so he lived all his life in celibacy and after more than 100 years he died...

Tutazúa succeeded Thomagata as ''cacique'' of Hunza. In the

Chibcha language Chibcha, Mosca, Muisca, Muysca (*/ˈmɨska/), or Muysca de Bogotá, was a language spoken by the Muisca people of the Muisca Confederation, one of the many Indigenous peoples in Colombia, indigenous List of pre-Columbian cultures, cultures of ...

Tutazúa means "son of the Sun". The first confirmed human ''zaque'' of the northern Muisca, Hunzahúa, is said to have descended from Thomagata.

Named after Thomagata

Thomagata Patera, a volcano on Jupiter's moon Io has been named after Thomagata.

References

Bibliography

* {{Muisca navbox, Folklore and religion, state=expanded Muisca mythology and religion Pre-Columbian mythology and religion

Background

Mythography

Named after Thomagata

See also

References

Bibliography