Muisca religion
The Muisca formed a confederation of holy rulers and had a variety of deities, temples and rituals incorporated in their culture.
The representation of the two main celestial bodies as husband and wife showed the complementary character of man and woman and the sacred status of marriage.
Modern Muisca scholars who wrote about the religion of the inhabitants of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense are Javier Ocampo López and Eduard Londoño.
[5] Yopo was extracted from Anadenanthera trees, growing in the Llanos Orientales, to the east of the Muisca territories.
The psychoactive seeds of the tree were traded with the Achagua, Guayupe and Tegua and grinded and inhaled using a hollow bird bone or a spoon.
He and his wife Chía followed each other across the skies, forming the perfect couple in conjunction at New Moon and during solar and lunar eclipses.
[8] The ancestor of all the Muisca was Bachué, mother of humankind who emerged from Lake Iguague with a three-year-old boy in her arms.
When her children got old, Bachué returned to Lake Iguague with her son and after a final speech they turned into two giant snakes who submerged in the water, making the site sacred for the Muisca.
He was an old bearded man sent from heaven to educate the people in weaving, mantle making, ceramics production and social, moral and political values.
In the religion of the Muisca, Bochica created the Tequendama Falls, a waterfall west of southern capital Bacatá.
When Bochica found out about her rebellion against his power, he turned Huitaca into a white owl, or alternatively, the moon.
He trained the Muisca to prepare them for wars and the guecha warriors and farmers honoured him to win battles and acquire good harvests.
The pilgrimages were led by a group of priests; ogques in their language Muysccubun, the Spanish called them jeques or xeques.
The sight of these richly decorated yet fragile temples only strengthened the legend of El Dorado that drew the Spanish conquerors inland from Santa Marta.
In the Muisca territories there were a number of natural locations considered sacred, including lakes, rivers, forests and large rocks.
[1] All the chroniclers agree that in ancient times families offered one boy to the priests who raised them as a holy person and at fifteen years (other sources say twelve)[14] these moxas were sacrificed.
