Guane people

Guane

Guane doubled-chambered, ceramic, stirrup-spout vessel, 10th–16th century CE, exhibited at Chicamocha National Park
Regions with significant populations
Santander, Boyacá,  Colombia
Languages
Chibcha, Colombian Spanish
Religion
Traditional religion, Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Lache, U'wa, Muisca, Muzo, Yarigui

Deformed Guane skull

The Guane were a South American people that lived mainly in the area of Santander and north of Boyacá, both departments of present-day central-Colombia. They were farmers cultivating cotton, pineapple and other crops, and skilled artisans working in cotton textiles. The Guane lived north of the Chicamocha River, around the Chicamocha Canyon in an area stretching from Vélez in the south to the capital of Santander; Bucaramanga in the north.^[1] Other sources state their territory did not extend so far north.^[2] Guane, a corregimiento of Barichara, Santander, is said to have been the capital of the Guane people.

Etymology[]

The word guane in the Chibcha language of the people means "tree" or "lower part of a leaf", or "skirt".^[3][4]

Description[]

The Guane made their own weapons, including arrows and spears. They interchanged plants for the stewpot with the Chitarero on the east and the Muisca to the south of their territories. The mantle making of the Guanes was well known in pre-Columbian Colombia. Mantles made from cotton have been dated back to the 11th century AD.^[5] The Guane cultivated tobacco and made products of fique.^[1]

Like the Maya and many other civilizations in the world, the Guane deliberately deformed the skulls of their children.^[6]

In 1586 there were still some Guane left but there were no further references found after that date; nevertheless, the local archives indicated that they did not disappear completely. They mixed heavily with the Spanish colonizers, as the Guane were said to have European traits and very light skin.^[7]

Like the Muisca, U'wa and Lache, the Guane spoke a Chibchan language.^[2] They adored Bochica, the messenger god in the Muisca religion.^[8] The Guane traded with their neighbouring indigenous groups; Lache to the east, U'wa to the northeast, Muzo to the south and Muisca to the southeast.

Rock art produced by the Guane have been found around the Chicamocha Canyon and on the , Santander.^[8]

The Guane people chewed coca combined with calcitic grains, using poporos.^[8]

Municipalities belonging to Guane territory[]

The Guane inhabited the area of central and south Santander, around the Chicamocha Canyon and a small part of Boyacá.

Name	Department	Altitude (m) urban centre	Map
Guane	Santander	1336
Aratoca	Santander	1800
Cabrera	Santander	980
Coromoro	Santander	1518
Curití	Santander	1409
Encino	Santander	1850
Guapotá	Santander	1534
Güepsa (shared with Muisca and Yarigui)	Santander	1540
Jordán	Santander	425
Mogotes	Santander	1700
Ocamonte	Santander	1398
Oiba	Santander	1420
Palmar	Santander	1200
Páramo	Santander	1200
Pinchote	Santander	1131
San Gil	Santander	1117
San Joaquín	Santander	1950
Los Santos	Santander	1310
Suaita	Santander	1700
Valle de San José	Santander	1250
Villanueva	Santander	1450
San José de Pare	Boyacá	1545
Santana	Boyacá	1550

See also[]

• Muisca
• Conquest of the Guane
• Muzo, U'wa
• Guayupe, Lache, Yarigui

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guane culture.

• (in Spanish) Video about the Guane people and their culture