Tegua people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 0 (end 19th century) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
Boyacá, Casanare  Colombia
|
|
| Languages | |
| Arawakan, Colombian Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Traditional religion, Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| U'wa, Muisca, Achagua, Guayupe |
The Tegua or Tecua were an Arawak-speakingindigenous people of Colombia who died out in the 19th century.
The territories of the Tegua stretched from Macanal, Boyacá in the west to Aguazul in the east and from Berbeo in the north to Villanueva in the south, on the eastern flanks of the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes.
Knowledge of the Tegua is scarce, but has been provided by pre-modern scholars Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita, Basilio Fernández de Oviedo and Pedro Simón and in modern times by Javier Ocampo López and Pedro Gustavo Huertas Ramírez.
The name of the people Tegua, originally meaning "boy", is presently a word in Colombian Spanish and means "shaman" or "witchdoctor", referring to the advanced knowledge the Tegua had of medicinal plants.
The Tegua inhabited the area of the lower and central Lengupá River valley in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes and the foothills (Piedemonte) towards the Llanos Orientales, such as the Casanare municipalities Recetor, Chámeza and Aguazul. To the south, the Guayupe were living, the eastern part was bordering the territories of the Achagua and the western and northern terrains were inhabited by the Muisca. The Tegua living east of Guatavita paid tribute to the Muisca. The origin of the Tegua people was in Campohermoso, Boyacá, where both the Lengupá and Upía Rivers flow.
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Wikipedia