Goranchacha
 |
|
| Grouping | Cacique |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Zaque |
| Parents |
Sué (god of the Sun) daughter of the cacique of Guachetá |
| Mythology | Muisca mythology |
| Other name(s) | Son of the Sun |
| Country | Muisca Confederation |
| Region |
Altiplano Cundiboyacense Colombia
|
| Habitat | Ramiriquí, Hunza |
Goranchacha was a mythical cacique who was said to have been the prophet of the Muisca of South America, in particular of the zacazgo of the northern Muisca Confederation. He is considered the son of the Sun, impersonated by the Sun god Sué.
In the centuries before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores the central highlands of Colombia were ruled by zaques (northern Muisca Confederation) and zipas (southern territories). The Muisca had two main deities; Sué, the Sun, and his wife Chía, the goddess of the Moon.
According to the Muisca legends, the Sun wanted to reincarnate in human form and performed this via a maid of the village of Guachetá. The maid stayed a virgin because she gave birth after receiving rays of sunlight. This miracle became known in the village and the whole region around it. Upon this curious event, every day the daughters of the cacique of Guachetá left their bohíos (the Muisca houses) and climbed a hill to see the sun rising in the east.
They laid down naked under the Sun, waiting to be inseminated by the sunbeams. One of them became pregnant and after nine months bore a very large and pure emerald. The daughter of the cacique took the emerald and wrapped it in cloths to wear it between her breasts during a couple of days. Finally the emerald converted into a boy, who they named Goranchacha, son of the Sun.
On his 24th birthday, the son of the Sun decided to travel across the Muisca territories preaching the wise lessons of the messenger god and educator Bochica, which made him a prophet. In Ramiriquí, Sugamuxi, sacred city of the Sun, and in other villages Goranchacha was received as religious leader. When the leader of Ramiriquí, then capital of the northern Muisca, hurt one of his lovers, Goranchacha returned from his travels to the village, killed the leader and took over the throne. He selected a group of servants to his power. One of them was the town crier, an indian with a long tail, who became the second-in-command of the city.
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Wikipedia