Cultural changes and a new period in the region's history

Archaeological evidence indicates that the material culture and some of the cultural practices of the inhabitants of the mid-Cauca region underwent a significant change around the ninth century A.D. These transformations are a reflection of change processes that go on in societies, and have led archaeologists to define a "Late Period" in the region's pre-Hispanic history. The large numbers of sites, tombs and objects from this period are evidence of an increase in population numbers and a growing economy, while the tremendous variety of pottery and burial methods suggests a process of cultural diversification and social differentiation. This period lasted until the 16th century, when the inhabitants of the time suffered the devastating impact of the Spanish Conquest. Thanks to the strength of the resistance they put up, some of their descendants have managed to survive until the present day.

Settlements and their houses

Like their predecessors, settlers in this period lived in valleys and on mountain slopes and summits, near to sources of water and wildlife. They preferred a temperate climate, where both weather and terrain are less severe and the soil is fertile; they altered the landscape there by building terraces and agricultural works. Their houses were built close together, forming villages, although some were more scattered. Crops were grown near the houses, and these sometimes occupied large areas along the valley floors. The 16th century conquistadors found small houses for individual families in some regions, but elsewhere they encountered large buildings where numbers of related people lived together. The homes of their chiefs were bigger, with an area fortified with giant bamboos opposite the main entrance. Settlers in those days found suitable materials in the bamboo plantations for building their water systems, bridges, houses and fortifications. They also used bamboo for making weapons and objects they used in their everyday lives. It is a plant that is strong, flexible, light and versatile, and man's creativity has seen it used in the region since ancient times.

The houses of the dead

The dead were buried in cemeteries during the Late Period, or in isolated spots on hilltops or natural plains, or in housing areas. The shapes of tombs and burial sites were many and varied, and were perhaps related to the social group, family clan, rank or age of the deceased.

Most tombs were of the shaft and lateral chamber type. Before the shaft was filled in, the entrance to the chamber was blocked off with wooden stakes or stone slabs. The corpse was deposited inside the chamber, sometimes on mats or logs, or with the head and feet resting on stones. Around it were placed offerings of food, vessels and other pottery objects, stone artefacts, and occasionally metal ornaments. The tomb and these objects provided the deceased with a home and materials for his existence after death.

Jorge Robledo at the funeral of a chieftain

When chiefs died, they enjoyed the privilege of a very elaborate funeral ritual. Around 1540, the conquistador Jorge Robledo witnessed the funeral of a chieftain near Anserma, and his scribe described this in a detailed account:

"The custom they have when some lord dies is to bury him in the countryside, somewhere hidden... First they place him between two fires on a barbecue like a grill, to run the grease off... and when he is completely dry, they paint the body red with annatto dye... and put his beads on his legs and arms and all the jewels he used to wear at fiestas when he was still alive, and they wrap him in lots of cotton blankets made specially for the purpose that have been kept for a long time... and then they carry him to the grave they have ready for him, where they kill two of the indians that used to serve him and place one at his feet and the other at his head. The grave is very deep, and inside it there is a large vault which they close off with a number of sticks that do not rot... [There] they put his weapons and the chairs he used to sit on, and the cups he used to drink out of, and vessels full of wine and plates full of the delicacies he used to eat, and they say they do this so he can eat at night, and they listen from above the grave for many days to see if they can hear him".

Account of the journey by Captain Jorge Robledo to the provinces of Anserma and Quimbaya. Pedro Sarmiento, 1540.

War and cannibalism

These groups went to war over territorial expansion, competition for resources, and power disputes. War was also a ritual, with warriors setting out covered in ornaments and paint, to the sound of trumpets and drums. Cannibalism was ceremonial in nature, and related to appropriating the spirit or dominating and avenging an enemy. Some groups displayed heads as trophies on poles around the chieftain's house. War and these customs intensified after the European invasion.

Everyday life

Settlers engaged in a range of different activities in this period. They grew crops in the valleys and on the hillsides where, to prevent landslides and erosion, they built channels running in the direction of the gradient and planted perpendicularly to them. They produced different varieties of corn, their main crop, and gathered in two harvests a year in temperate and hot climates. After a number of years, they moved their sown land elsewhere, to allow the soil to recover. They extracted salt from brackish water sources and gold from river sand. They made cotton textiles and fabrics from other vegetable fibres. Part of what they produced in these activities was set aside for bartering with neighbouring and also distant groups.

"Stones" for grinding corn

"The indian women grind their corn on a slightly concave stone, using another round one which they hold in their hand, merely by the strength of their arms... They make a sort of paste or dough, which they shape into a roll... and they wrap it in a sugar cane leaf or something similar, and then they cook it... If they don't want to cook them, they grill these rolls over flames... and they end up like white bread".

Sumario de la natural historia de las Indias. Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, 1526

These corn cakes, rolls and other pre-Hispanic corn concoctions are still a fundamental feature not only of regional but also of national cuisine today.

Society

These groups were organised in the form of chieftainships, political units made up of various communities each headed by a chief who came under the control of the main chieftain. They probably grouped together tens of thousands of inhabitants. They were societies where there were differences of rank, and economic surpluses. Certain individuals specialised in specific trades. The chiefs acted as political, military and religious leaders. They probably had the job of forging alliances between communities, controlling bartering, directing community works and maintaining social order. In the 16th century, the Spaniards saw them lead wars and preside over certain rituals in their houses. The Spaniards also saw that they were both respected and feared, and that they enjoyed privileges which marked them out from the rest of the population: they were carried around on platforms or in hammocks, they had several wives, and they wore numerous gold ornaments.

Jaguar-men and lizard-men

There is a belief amongst many American indian societies that the shaman, or religious specialist, can transform himself into a bird or other animal and travel to the supernatural world. The spiritual beings in that world show him cures for illnesses and diseases, teach him chants and give him hunting animals.

The goldsmiths of the Late Period embossed on their breastplates human and animal-man figures, these latter portraying batrachian, reptile and feline figures which probably represented the chiefs as political leaders and as shamans or religious leaders. According to the Spanish conquistadors, some 16th century chieftains wore a long loincloth that looked like a tail, painted their face and body, and had long nails like claws, so as to transform their appearance into that of an animal.

Who lived in the mid-Cauca region in the sixteenth century?

When the Spanish conquistadors reached the mid-Cauca region around 1540, they found a large population, but with local differences in terms of customs and language. Based on these differences and their European way of seeing things, the conquistadors classified the groups into "Provinces", to which they gave names taken from native languages: Caramanta, Cartama, Zopía, Quinchía, Irra, Anserma, Chanco, Arma, Paucura, Pozo, Picara, Carrapa, Quimbaya and Quindo. Several of these names still exist in the region today, or with only slight variations.

The Spanish conquest and what happened afterwards

The Spanish Conquest resulted in most of the groups who lived in the mid-Cauca region in the 16th century disappearing, both physically and culturally. War, disease and harsh treatment quickly decimated the population, while the 'encomienda' system, evangelisation and the relocation of whole 'villages' broke up their organisation and transformed their culture. A few years after the Conquest, indigenous groups organised rebellions in an attempt to regain their autonomy and their land, but these often led to reprisals against the chieftains and to the people being treated even more severely than before. Surviving groups retreated into the mountains or fled into the jungle to the west. Settlers who arrived from Antioquia in the mid-19th century found descendants of these groups. The influx of settlers from Antioquia, the boom in the coffee industry, the growth of the cities and other recent processes have brought about further population movements, people of mixed race, and population changes. These events, coupled to the preceding history going back thousands of years, are the foundations on which present-day society and culture are built.

Present-day indigenous groups

Various indigenous communities live in the mid-Cauca region today. Embera groups, who arrived after the Conquest, have settled in the western cordillera. Other communities, probably descendants of the peoples the Spaniards found, live in the towns of Riosucio and Supía, in western Risaralda. The Emberas are organised in communities that are run by a council, and they own the land they live on. Until recently, their economy was based on farming (corn), hunting and fishing, but the importance of these activities has declined as their land and resources have diminished. Today, they mostly grow plantains, work as day labourers, and sell products in nearby shops. The Embera shaman is called jaibaná. He contacts the spirits to find out the causes of illnesses and how to treat them, attracts fish and animals to be hunted, brings about good harvests, and knows the future. He also presides over ceremonies like the handing over of new houses, funerals, young people's initiation ceremonies and harvest festivals.

 

"What Colombian indians can teach us is not about great works of architecture, sculpture or poetry, but rather their philosophical systems, concepts referring to the relationship between man and nature, concepts about the need to live in peace and harmony, discrete behaviour, the equilibrium option".

Gerardo Reichel-Domatoff. Colombian anthropologist and archaeologist, 1912 - 1994

 

The Quimbaya Gold Museum of the Banco de la República in Armenia is a contribution to the development of a region that has become an attractive national and international tourist centre due to its natural beauty and because of the kindness of the people and their industry.

In the Museum we think about our past and current cultural diversity, and we are extremely proud to show it to the visitors. This also helps us raise the issue of how we wish to build our future and the one of those who will live in this land in the coming centuries.

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