Muisca people

Muisca

Muysca
Muisca raft (1200–1500 CE) representation of the initiation of the new zipa at the lake of Guatavita
Total population
14,051 (2005, census)
Regions with significant populations
Altiplano Cundiboyacense,  Colombia
Languages
Muysccubun, Colombian Spanish
Religion
Muisca religion, Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Guane, Lache, U'wa, Tegua, Guayupe, Sutagao, Panche, Muzo

The Muisca are the Chibcha-speaking people that formed the Muisca Confederation of the central Andean highlands of present-day Colombia's Eastern Range, in particular the Altiplano Cundiboyacense. As one out of four advanced civilizations of the Americas (apart from the Aztec, Mayas and Incas), they were encountered by the Spanish Empire in 1537, at the time of their conquest. Subgroupings of the Muisca were mostly identified by their allegiances to three great rulers: the zaque, centered in Hunza, ruling a territory roughly covering modern southern and northeastern Boyacá and southern Santander; the zipa, centered in Bacatá, and encompassing most of modern Cundinamarca, the western Llanos and northeastern Tolima; and the Iraca, ruler of Suamox and modern northeastern Boyacá and southwestern Santander.

The territory of the Muisca spanned an area of around 47,000 square kilometres (18,000 sq mi) - a region slightly larger than Switzerland - from the north of Boyacá to the Sumapaz Paramo and from the summits of the Eastern Range to the Magdalena Valley. It bordered the territories of the Panche and Pijao tribes.