Muzo religion

The Muzo people were a Cariban-speaking indigenous group who inhabited the western slopes of the eastern Colombian Andes. They were a belligerent people who frequently clashed with their neighbours, especially the Muisca who lived in the highlands at the southeastern border of Muzo territory. The Muzo inhabited the lowland right bank of the Magdalena River. They were known as the Emerald People due to their exploitation of this gemstone. During the time of conquest, the Muzo energetically resisted the Spanish invaders. It took the conquistadors twenty years to overcome this resistance. The Muzo were endowed with good health, yet lived relatively short lives. Their health is attributed to the fact they were vegetarian, although some sources state that they cannibalized captured enemy warriors. Muzo society was divided into the warrior class, the higher castes, and slaves that were commonly captives from surrounding indigenous tribes. The oldest and bravest members of the community were most esteemed, but were not caciques (chiefs) of the tribe. A system of Muzo laws has not been discovered. Warfare and hunting were performed using poisoned arrows, a common practice among the indigenous tribes of South America. Curare, the toxin they applied to their arrows, was obtained from poisonous plants and frogs. The religion of the Muzo consisted of a handful of gods. The creator god was named Are (counterpart of the Musican god Chiminigagua). Maquipa was s deity who cured illnesses. The Muzo also worshipped the sun and the moon. Temples were not constructed for worship. Two mountain peaks bordering the Carare River named Fura and Tena were considered sacred by the Muzo people and were believed to be the parents of humanity. Fura and Tena taught the Muzo agricultural techniques, craftwork, and the art of war. The myth of Furatena includes a tale about a man with blue eyes and blonde beard, Zarbi, who entered Muzo territory searching for the Fountain of Youth. On this journey, he encountered beautiful Fura and they became lovers. Tena, the husband of Fura, became outraged so he killed Zarbi and hung his body upon Fura mountain. After this he killed Fura, then committed suicide. This killing spree gave birth to the two sacred, pointed hills. According to the Muzo legend, the tears of beautiful Fura transformed into emeralds and butterflies. Despised neighboring Muisca tribespeople performed secret pilgrimages to Fura and Tena, anxious to avoid an encounter with Muzo warriors seeking to discover them, and potentially consume their flesh. In the years before the arrival of the Spanish, the Muzo were in continual conflict with the Muisca. They hid their emeralds from their southeastern neighbours. Once, a coruler of the Musica named Tisquesusa entered Muzo territory where he killed a leader and cut the leader's daughters to pieces trying to discover where Muzo emerald deposits were located. To extract emeralds from the surrounding rock, the Muzo used pointed wooden poles called coa. Veins containing the minerals were then washed with water. The Muzo continue to extract emeralds, but in the 1980s, the techniques used to do so were deemed dangerous. Since then, conditions and treatment of workers in the emerald mining industry has improved.