Muisca religion

Muisca religion and mythology was a system of beliefs and rituals which was integral to Muisca culture and society. Muisca religion describes the religion of the Muisca who inhabited the central highlands of the Colombian Andes before the Spanish conquest of the Muisca. 
The Muisca formed a confederation of holy rulers and had a variety of deities, temples and rituals incorporated in their culture. Muisca priests were educated from childhood and led the main religious ceremonies. Only the priests could enter the temples. Besides the religious activities, the priests had much influence in the lives of the people, giving counsel in matters of farming or war. The religion originally included human sacrifice, but the practice may have been extinct by the time of the Spanish conquest, as there are no first-hand Spanish accounts. 
Knowledge about the Muisca religion was brought to Europe by conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and soldier Juan de Castellanos in the 16th century and by bishop Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita and friar Pedro Simón in the 17th century. Modern Muisca scholars who wrote about the religion of the inhabitants of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense are Javier Ocampo López and Eduard Londoño.
== Deities ==
*Chiminigagua (Supreme Being) Chiminigagua was the creator god of the Muisca who made the light and the Earth. At the beginning of time it was all dark and Chiminigagua sent two large black birds into the skies. From their beaks the light was created and the cosmos illuminated.
*Chía (goddess of the Moon) Chía was the goddess of the Moon and one of the two gods through which Chiminigagua was honoured. She represented fertility of the Earth and of the people. Chía was married to Súe the Sun god, which Chía would join with her husband creating a lunar eclipse.
*Sué (god of the Sun) Súe was the god of the Sun, important for the agriculture of the Muisca. He and his wife Chía followed each other across the skies, forming the perfect couple in conjunction at New Moon and during solar and lunar eclipses.
*Bachué (mother goddes) The ancestor of all the Muisca was Bachué, mother of mankind who emerged from Lake Iguague with a three-year-old boy in her arms. When the boy grew up, Bachué married her son and traveled around the Muisca territories. Everytime she was pregnant, she bore four to six children. The Muisca believed all the people could be traced back to Bachué. When her children got old, Bachué returned to Lake Iguague with her son and after a final speech they turned into two giant snakes who submerged in the water, making the site sacred for the Muisca.
*Bochica (messenger god of civilization) Bochica was the messenger of Chiminigagua and holy teacher of the Muisca. He was an old bearded man sent from heaven to educate the people in weaving, mantle making, ceramics production and social, moral and political values. He settled in Suamox, where the people organized yearly religious festivities. In the religion of the Muisca, Bochica created the Tequendama Falls, a waterfall west of southern capital Bacatá.
*Huitaca (rebelling goddess of sexual liberation) Huitaca was the goddess of happiness, pleasure and sexual liberation who rebelled against Bochica. She used to be a beautiful woman teaching the people a long life full of arts and dances. When Bochica found out about her rebellion against his power, he turned Huitaca into a white owl, or alternatively, the moon.
*Chibchacum (god of rain and thunder) God Chibchacum represented rain and thunder and protected the traders and the working people in general. He was the patron of Bacatá where the Muisca offered him gold. His revenge upon the people who disobeyed was flooding the Bogotá savanna. Bochica stepped in and ordered Chibchacum to carry the Earth on his shoulders, like Atlas in Ancient Greece. Chibchacum was also the god of the numerous earthquakes in the central Andes.
*Cuchavira (god of the rainbow) The rainbow was represented by Cuchavira who was born when Bochica created the Tequendama Falls. He was honoured with gold and other sacrifices. 
*Chaquén (god of sports and fertility) Chaquén was the god of fertility of the Earth and sports. He trained the Muisca to prepare them for wars and the guecha warriors and farmers honoured him to win battles and acquire good harvests. Sexual rituals where the people dressed up in coloured feathered costumes were guarded by Chaquén. He was also the creator of the Colombian national sport: tejo. 
*Nencatacoa (god of arts and dance) Nencatacoa was the Muisca god and protector of artists, painters, builders and drunkenness. The people in the Muisca territories worshipped him in large festivities where they got drunk of chicha. Nencatacoa was represented by a fox or bear, dressed in gold. He helped the Muisca build their bohíos, carrying the heavy wooden poles for the construction.
== Mythological creatures ==
* Thomagata, said to have been one of the most religious of the zaques, after Idacansás
* Idacansás, allegedly a mythical priest from Sugamuxi who was able to change the order of things
* Goranchacha, a mythical cacique who moved the capital of the northern Muisca from Ramiriquí to the later capital Hunza, considered the son of the Sun
* Pacanchique, according to Muisca myths recovered his fiancé Azay from ruler Quemuenchatocha by first turning her into a dead person and then bringing her back to life using different plants. He also showed the Spanish conquistadores the way to Nemequene's palace Other Muisca people where human and mythological character converge are:
* Hunzahúa, first zaque of Hunza, allegedly committing incest with his sister and said to have fled
* Meicuchuca, first zipa of Bacatá, one of his wives mythologically turned into a snake
== Sacred sites ==
To honour the deities, the Muisca had sacred sites to do their worship and offerings. Some of these sites included of temples, lakes and rivers.
The most important temples for the Muisca were the Temple of the Sun for Sué and the Temple of the Moon for Chía.
In the Muisca territories there were a number of lake locations considered sacred. People gathered here to perform rituals and sacrifices mostly with gold and emeralds. Important lakes were Lake Guatavita, Lake Iguaque, Lake Fúquene, Lake Tota, the Siecha Lakes, Lake Teusacá and Lake Ubaque.