Muisca mythology refers to the pre-Columbian beliefs of the Muisca culture about the origin and organization of the universe.
Contents |
Bague (“the Grandmother”) is a non-material principle of creation, the will, the thought and the imagination of all the things to come. She is a similar concept to the principle of tao in the Chinese mythology.
The time of unquyquie nxie (the first thought) is the time of the cosmic origin, when the thoughts of Bague became actions. This is the time when Bague created the Builders of the Universe and ordered them to create.
The first gods, constructors of the universe built the first Cuca or ceremonial temple. They were: Bachué (The one with naked breasts): The mother goddess, who raised from the underworld to give birth to the human race. Cuza (The one who is like the night): The male principle of creation. Chibchachum (the one who holds the earth). The universal legislator. Bochica (the father of civilization) Nemcatacoa and the Chiminigagua trinity deity, constituted by Chí, Chímini and Chiminigagua.
The gods danced a very long dance (Sas quyhynuca), with the music of the Fo drum, in the first ceremony. This ceremony gave origin to the space and time. Then, the gods created the first materials of the universe: Fiva (the air), Faova (the cosmic cloud) and Ie (the smoke). Then, they created the six directions of the material dimension, and in the middle of the emptiness, they created the center of power Tomsa (bellybutton of the universe). But, still the universe had no consistence, and they waited many bxogonoas eons until the sas bequia, the beginning of the world.
The World starts with Chimi (“the pulp”), the first material object in the world. Then, in the inners of Tomsa, were incubated the embryos of Stars, embryos of land and embryos of stone. When Tomsa was full, the seeds of the earth emerged and the remains were thrown away, forming the Milky Way. The elements were distributed to the deities. The heat to Sua – the sun -, the cold to Chía – the moon-, and the clouds and smoke to the earth, but all the things were still seeds and nothing was germinated. Then, Mnya, the gold, the energy, was united with Chimi, the pulp, and became Chímini, the creative force, which caused the germination of the seeds of all things.
Due to transgressions against the divine laws, Chibchachum brought forth a flood that covered the world and nearly destroyed the human race. Then, the protective god Bochica drove away the waters through the Tequendama Falls, and taught humans the basis of civilization, agriculture, religion, the arts, and crafts. When he was about to leave to his heavenly kingdom, the rainbow appeared and Bochica announced his second coming, far away in the future, in an event marked by death and disease. These events are similar to the biblical histories of Genesis and Apocalypse. .
The pre-Columbian inhabitants of Colombia worshipped many forces of nature, animals and plant species, besides the main gods. Among others: