Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1912-12-28

before reach it. But. according to the sto-
ries, the bottom of the lake is where the richest
treasures are"
We have most Of us heard in our childhood
that the Spaniards of the sixteenth century
dreamed of eel Dorado" the land of gold, and
that they sought for ii in strange and savage
and hopeful ways among strange and saw
age peoples We have read how the lust Of gold
seized the adventures of Spain, and they press
ed into the wilderness and found and conquered
more and more land without finding the land
Of gold. But, a matter OF fact, the Spanish
explorers did find Ell Dorado. Only FL Dorado
not the land of gold it was the golden man.
And the treasure of the golden mans gift not
a treasure that could be found on the land; 1t
lay at the bottom of lake. and the Spaniards
could not drain 1t. The story of the real Ell
Dorado is the story of the religious festivals of
the Chibchas.
The tribes of the Chibchas, according to recent
historians, occupied the plateau region Of the
northeastern province of Colombia, and were
among the richest, the most magnificent, and the
most enlightened of South American tribes In
their wealth, their barbaric splendor and their
handcrafts, they ranked with the Aztecs of Mex
leo and the Incas of Peru. Their land was rich
in emeralds. Gold they procured In great guam
titles from their immediate neighbors. Rich tex
tiles and dyed cotton stuffs well the feath-
of beautiful birds added to the wealth and
their magnifcence. Amber they obtained from
their neighbors, and apparently from the other
side OF the world they procured in some unknown
manner some quantity of jade
Savage, uncontrolled in their indulgence OF
the arts of pleasure that they had cultivated
eagerly than the arts of war, they
we're yet thoroughly religious people. Their
hierarchy OF gods and goddesses had passed be-
yond the simple worship of the forces of nature
and included definite deties with definite powers
-deitles to be propitiated. Occasionally they
offered up human beings to their gods; often
they sacrificed talking parrots to avert calamity
But for the most part they gave their possessions
to their deties, and worshipped, with barbaric
wealth of sacrifice, at the sacred lakes.
There were five of these lakes in the district
that we now know as Colombia-Guatavita. Guas
ca, Siecha, Teusaca, and Uhaque; of the five
Guatavita by far the most important, Ubaque
being its nearest rival The people made pill
grimages to all the lakes, but to Guatavita most
of ALL and with the richest gifts And it at
the lake of Guatavita that the great ceremony
Of the Chibcha tribes took place-the installation
of the chief. Guatavta the most important
center of the Chibchas, the religious capital of
the tribe.
The chief who came to his kingdom with sac
rifces to the holy water OF the plateau was an
absolute monarch whose power rested largely on
the assumption that he was semi-divne. No sub
ject dared look his leader In the face, but in the
royal presence turned aside assumed stoop
ing attitude No messenger might approach the
chief without bearing a gift not to win the royal
favor, but merely to do homage to the royal state
Over every detail of his subjects lives he ruled
and IL of Guatavita wished to alter the
style of his dress he must ask his leaders per-
mission and receive the garment from the
royal hand In his South American Archaeol-
ogy" T. Athol Joyce Of the British Museum de-
scribes the state Of the Zipa of Bogota: "His gar
ments of the finest cotton, his throne
of gold studded with emeralds and he travelled
in litter hung with golden plates. His head
dress of gold, and golden crescent
mented his brow; nose and ear ornaments were
of the same material, and also the breastplate
he upon his chest"
For five years more before a Chibcha chief
became his peoples ruler he must remain In
cluson, preparatory to the great ceremony OF
the lake At the end of his rigorous period of
probation-for II was also a period OF stern self
denlal-the chiefs nose and ears were pierced
for the ornaments of his rank, and he made gold
offerings to the gods Professor Joyce who
in his book describes the ceremonies OF the sa
cred lake as historically attested facts quotes
from the history Of the conquest and discovery
OF New Granada, by Juan Rodriguez Fresle.
written In 1886: