Pijao people

Pijao

Natagaima, Coyaima
Statue of a Pijao in Ibagué
Total population
58810 (2005)
Regions with significant populations
Tolima,  Colombia
Languages
Pijao, Colombian Spanish
Religion
Traditional religion, Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Panches, Quimbaya, Guayupes

The Pijao (also Piajao, Pixao, Pinao) are an indigenous people of Colombia.

The Pijao or Pijaos formed a loose federation of Amerindians and were living in the present-day department of Tolima, Colombia. In pre-Columbian times, they inhabited the Central Ranges of the Colombian Andes; between the snowy mountains of Huila, Tolima and Quindío, the upper valley of the Magdalena River and the upper Valle del Cauca in Colombia. They did not have a strict hierarchy and did not create an empire.

The chiefdom was based on an extended family clan with ancestral lineage. The people did not live in separate households gathered in villages; instead, they lived in carefully built large communal houses made of bahareque, which were placed at distances.

They used bonfires to communicate with smoke signs, and these were used to convene different community events. Like many ancient peoples, they relied on waterways for routes of transportation; and due to their navigation skills and knowledge, could get around much of their territory fairly rapidly. They called their best navigators boha (boga). Their boats were called kanoha (canoes), and were carved from a single piece of Saman wood.

The Pijao were experts in metallurgy, manufacturing gold articles and clothing. Their work has been seen in gold artifacts from the Tolima, Quimbaya, Calima, and Cauca cultures. They used techniques such as "lost wax" casting, rolled gold, filigree and other methods to make their balacas (ornaments) and other items for ceremonial use, such as the poporos (bowl with lid).

Like some other ancient cultures, the Pijao practiced skull modification and facial alterations, as well as a variety of body modifications, perhaps to identify or distinguish elites. They tied slats on male babies' heads to alter their frontal and occipital regions, perhaps to give them a look of ferocity. They also modified the shape of their upper and lower extremities using adjusted ropes (Interlaced fiber ropes). They changed the appearance of the nose by fracturing the nasal septum. They pierced the nose and the ear lobes to wear gold ornaments and decorations symbolic of their religion. They called these body ornaments Wua-La-ka (Balak). The crowns of the elite were made of several precious materials; in addition, they wore ceremonial masks, feather crowns, bracelets, nose ornaments and other items.