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In the Muisca raft the Indians described in their own way the ceremony of El Dorado at Lake Guatavita. Votive offering. 10.2 x 19.5 cm.
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Muisca |
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Towards the 7th century AD the high plains of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia were populated by the Muiscas, a group linguistically related to the Taironas. At the time of the Spanish conquest they had expanded over an area of 25,000 square kilometres and comprised more than a million inhabitants. Farmers cultivating maize, potatoes and other Andean tubers, they lived scattered over the slopes and valleys, subject to chiefs who governed from villages. Two principal chiefs, the Zipa and the Zaque, ruled over the south and north of the territory respectively. The piece known as the Muisca Raft is technically speaking a votive figure (votive offering) in the form of a raft on which there are persons. It is an outstanding piece, because it is the only known example in this form that currently exists. It has traditionally been interpreted as representing the investiture ceremony for the chieftain of the village of Guatavita. It is known from the chronicles of the Spanish conquistadors that when the chieftain of this Muisca village died, the nephew who succeeded him in the hierarchy was recognised by his people in a ceremony which took place on a lake and included sailing on a wooden raft, when offerings consisting of pieces of gold and emeralds were made to the lake. The truth of this ceremony was confirmed when this piece in the form of the ceremonial raft was found, although it was not discovered in Guatavita lake. |
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Double figure in a chiefly enclosure: the two heads share a single body. 9.1 x 5.7 cm.
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| The people gathered together from time to time for rituals in which gold played a fundamental part. Idols or tunjos, small rough figurines made by specialists who depicted human beings, animals and scenes of political and social life, were deposited in temples, caves and sacred lakes as offerings. | ||||||
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