Chibcha

“ Most of the writers on the Chibchas have spoken of them as a nation standing almost civilized in the midst of barbarous hordes, and without affinities to any other. Both of these statements are erroneous. The Chibchas proper, or Muyscas, are but one member of a numerous family of tribes which extended in both directions from the Isthmus of Panama, and thus had representatives in North as well as South America. The Chibcha language was much more widely disseminated throughout New Granada at the time of the discovery than later writers have appreciated. ”

“ All these peoples possessed skill in pottery, metal-working, and weaving; and the inhabitants of the Cauca valley were the most advanced of the Colombians in these arts. Indeed, the case of Peru seems to be in a measure repeated; for the Chibcha surpassed their neighbours in the strength of their military and political organization rather than in their knowledge of the arts. It is even possible that the Chibcha had been driven eastward by the western tribes, for the inhabitants of the Cauca valley possessed traditions of a northern origin, claiming to be immigrants ”

“ The worship of mountains, serpents, and lakes was implied in many of the Chibcha rites. Slaves were sacrificed, and their bodies were buried on hill-tops; children, who were the particular offering to the Sun, were sometimes taken to mountain-tops to be slain, their bodies being supposed to be consumed by the Sun; and an interesting case of the surrogate for human victims was the practice of sacrificing parrots which had been [Pg 199] taught to speak. In masked dances, addressed to the Sun, tears were represented on the masks as a supplication for pity ”

“ In culture the Chibchas ranked close to the Quichuas, practicing agriculture by the aid of an extensive system of irrigation, weaving cotton cloth, and working gold with a high degree of skill, although ignorant of the use of copper and bronze. ”

“ The dominating stock was the Chibcha, whose culture may be taken as the type. [29] Like all Andean peoples, they were agricultural, producing maize, potatoes, manioc, beans, and squashes; no domestic animals for transportation; irrigation systems highly developed; salt was made on a large scale and traded to outlying tribes; cotton was raised and weaving highly developed; fine dyeing; no stone buildings, cane and thatch the rule, walls of wattling, plastered with clay; roads and suspension bridges; no copper, but great skill in gold work, in fact, the center of the art for the New World ”

“ The men of rank wore white or dyed cotton tunics, and the women mantles fastened by means of golden clasps. The warlike splendour of the men was characteristically picturesque, their chief decorations being breast-plates of gold and magnificent plumes for the head. They, too, employed as weapons darts, bows and arrows, clubs, lances, and slings. The fate of the Chibchas was, of course, the same as that of the Incas. Their bodies decked with their brilliant feathers and pomp sank into the mire of despond, never again to attain to their former state. ”

“ CHIBCHA LINGUISTIC STOCK.
Aruacs (Aroacos) , in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and on Rio Paramo. Bintucuas, a sub-tribe of the Aruacs. Borucas, sub-tribe of Talamancas. Bribris, sub-tribe of Talamancas. Bruncas, see Borucas. Cabecars, sub-tribe of Talamancas. Chibchas, on upper Rio Magdalena, near Bogota. Chicamochas, about 4° N. lat. Chimilas, in the sierra of Santa Marta. Chitas or Chiscas, near Sierra de Morcote. Duits, near Duitama. Guacicas, east of Bogota, on the head-waters of Rio Meta. Guamacas, a sub-tribe of Aruacs. Guaymis, on both slopes of the Cordillera, in Veraguas. ”

“ Even the descendants of the Chibchas, that make up much of the population of the outskirts and the surrounding country, have a tinge of russet in their cheeks, and are by no means so dark as our copper-skinned aborigines. Daily they swarm into the city that was once theirs. Short, yet sturdy, muscular carriers and arrieros, as often 28female as male, pass noiselessly through the streets with the produce of their country patches. ”

“ The laws of the Chibchas were severe—death was meted out to the murderer, and bodily punishment for stealing. A coward was made to look like a woman and do her work, while to an unfaithful wife was administered a dose of red pepper, which, if swallowed, released the culprit from the penalty of death and entitled her to an apology from her husband. The Chibchas made no use of cattle, and lived on honey. Their houses were built of clay, and were set in the midst of an enclosure guarded by watch-towers. ”

“ Chibchachum, says the friar, was god of commerce and industries—a complex divinity, not a mere hero of myth—and Bochica, the most universally venerated of Chibchan deities, was revered as a law-giver, divinity of caciques and captains; served with sacrifices of gold and tobacco, he was worshipped with fasts and hymns, and his image was that of a man with the golden staff of authority. ”

“ If we accept the classification and definitions of the various grades of culture, as given by Morgan in his great [324] work on Ancient Society,9 as many profound thinkers do, we shall be forced to conclude not only that the Chibchas were not civilized, but that they had not even reached the upper status of barbarism.
Civilization implies the existence of a phonetic alphabet or, at least, of hieroglyphics akin to those of the Egyptians, and the use of these in the production of written records. The Chibchas, as we have seen, had neither an alphabet nor written records of any kind. ”

“ The Chibchas, too, in the far north, whose civilization in some respects equalled that of the Incas, might be termed a conquering race. They dominated the north of the Continent, and upheld their empire securely by [Pg 57] force of arms. Yet it is curious that both these nations, representing the chief civilizing and inventive powers of the Continent, presented nothing beyond the most futile resistance to the invaders. ”

“ I offer for comparison the following:
[247] The connection of the Aroac (not Arawak) dialects with the Chibcha was, I believe, first pointed out by Friedrich Müller, in his Grundriss der Sprachwissenschaft, Bd. IV., s. 189, note. The fact was also noted independently by Dr. Max Uhle, who added the Guaymis and Talamancas to the family. (Compte Rendu du Congrès Internat. des Américanistes, 1888, p. 466.)
[248] Pinart, Bulletin de la Société de Geographie, 1885; Berendt, in Bull. of Amer. Geog. Society, 1876, No. 2.
[249] In Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology. Washington, 1888. ”

“ The legends about Bochica resemble in many points those about Quetzalcoatl or Manco Ccapac, as well as those relating to the founder of Buddhism and the first Inca of Peru. The Chibchas offered human sacrifices to their gods at certain intervals, and kept the wretched victim for some years in preparation for his doom. They venerated greatly the Lake of Quatavita, and are supposed to have flung their treasures into it when they were conquered. ”

“ These were the Chibchas, Muyscas, or Mozcas, divided into two kingdoms, with capitals at Bogota and Tunja, but united apparently in spiritual allegiance to the high pontiff of Sogamozo or Iraca. By a long and ascetic novitiate, this ghostly ruler was reputed to have acquired such sanctity that the waters and the rain obeyed him, and the weather depended on his will.163 Weather kings are common in Africa. Thus the [pg 045] Waganda of Central Africa believe in a god of Lake Nyanza, who sometimes takes up his abode in a man or woman. ”

“ Chiapas, Las (270) , a Pacific State of Mexico, covered with forests; yields maize, sugar, cacao, and cotton.
Chiaroscuro, the reproduction in art of the effects of light and shade on nature as they mutually affect each other.
Chibchas or Muyscas, a civilised people, though on a lower stage than the Peruvians, whom the Spaniards found established in New Granada in the 16th century, now merged in the Spanish population; they worship the sun. ”

“ On the western coast were several groups of Nahuatlan tribes who had come from far in the north, probably in recent times; on the other hand, the large Ulvan stock, back from the Mosquito Coast, are regarded as probably of Chibchan kinship, and their territories were contiguous with the Chibchans of Costa Rica, who brought the influence of the southern continent as far northward as the southern shores of the lake; the remaining tribal groups—Lencan, Subtiaban, Payan, Mosquitoan, Chiapanecan, etc.—have no certain linguistic affinity with any other peoples. ”

“ On this part of our journey, Indian girls, with chicha and chupe for sale, are seated at the tops of the steep ascents. Chicha is the favorite drink of the Indians. A party—generally old women—seat themselves around a wooden trough containing maize. Each one takes a mouthful, and mashes the grain between her teeth—if she has any—and casts it back into the trough in the most sickening manner. As the mill-stones are often pretty well worn, the operation requires time and perseverance. ”

“ Chicha, the favorite drink of all the Andean Indians, is here brewed from yuca, not from corn and barley as in the Quito Valley. So true is it, as Humboldt remarks, that almost every where man finds means of preparing some kind of beverage from the vegetable kingdom. The Chilotans, Darwin informs us, make chicha from a species of Bromelia. In every zone, too, we find nations in a low degree of civilization living almost exclusively upon a single animal or plant. ”

“ In a grove of tall fir trees, close to the placid waters of the Grand River, Yamanatz erected his tepee, where in the soft, balmy air, fragrant with balsam and cedar, Chiquita could rest and watch the clouds as they made great shadow pictures on the mountain and stream. Like a sentinel, a lone peak stood beyond the cleft in the great divide, whose precipitous sides rose in towering splendor all clad in verdure green. ”

“ It has a taste very much like malt or yeast, and one glassful of it will last a lifetime for an American, although the native will drink it by the quart without injury. It is a rapid intoxicant, but leaves no deleterious effect, and the man who goes upon a chicha spree will not wake up with a headache the next morning. The chicha of Peru is made of the juice of the sugar-cane, and the{651} chicha of Chili of the juice of the grape. All these drinks have a similar taste and a similar effect.
A SIESTA.
Although the Paraguayans use considerable chicha, they are not an intemperate people. ”

“ Was her lineage superior to Chiquita's, the descendant of a long line of rulers whose ancestry stretched back into the dim, remote past as ancient as the hills, the record of whose lives and deeds stood inscribed on the ruined temples and palaces scattered throughout the land where they once dwelt at a time when her European ancestors roamed the wilderness half naked and clad in the skins of wild beasts?
White men of eminence had married Indians and their descendants were proud of their lineage. True, Chiquita was an exception just as she towered above most women of her race. ”

“ Si, Señorita Chiquita, the Indian maiden has said it. The pale-faced sisters of Jack would save their white brothers—even their red brothers and their black brothers. The fair sisters of the white man brave death in many ways for their white brothers. See, Chiquita, the medicine tepee of the white man is great as the high rock. It has many beds, more than the number of all Yamanatz's ponies. The young man who makes the gun, the maiden who makes the pretty cap mebbe so breaks the leg. Mebbe so the big steam cars come together all in big smash—kill many, heap hurt all. ”

“ Chicha is the favourite drink of all the indians, and when well made it is very intoxicating. In some parts of Peru the natives believe that fermentation will not take place if the malted grain be not previously subjected to mastication; from this circumstance many old men and women assemble at the house where chicha is to be made, and are employed in chewing the jora, or malt. ”

“ With wealth untold and accomplishments unattained before by any woman in the world, Chiquita returns to her forest home for peace and contentment. 'In my Father's house are many mansions.' Yes, Jack, and the tepees of the great Indian nation stretch beyond the sky to welcome Chiquita. See, Jack, father, mother, the braves in all their glorious array are waiting for Chiquita! 'Our Father,' the Great Spirit of both the red and white man, welcomes. It is in the peace of the Happy Hunting Ground that we find rest. Adios, Jack. ”

“ Through all the epochs of colonial history the Chicasa people maintained their old reputation for independence and bravery. They were constantly engaged in quarrels and broils with all their Indian neighbors: sometimes with the cognate Cha'hta and with the Creeks, at other times with the Cheroki, Illinois, Kickapu, Sháwano, Tonica, Mobilians, Osage and Arkansas (Kapaha) Indians. In 1732 they cut to pieces a war party of the Iroquois invading their territory, but in 1748 coöperated against the French with that confederacy. ”

“ It is but one moon since Chiquita's pony did paw the deep snow and carry Chiquita on the big divide to meet the Ute braves coming from the Grand River. One sleep, and the white man Jack must get his ponies, and two sleeps before the sun shall show on top of the high mountain. Chiquita will be ready at the tepee of Yamanatz to lead the white man over big divide, where make 'em one camp for Chiquita and one camp for white man Jack. One sleep and Chiquita say adios to white man, then come back Indian village on same day. ”