Muisca rulers were so-called "aggrandizers", that ischarismatic leaders at the head of various factions, who forged alliances and relations of subordination with various communities and ruled over theMuisca, apre-hispanic indigenous group of theAltiplano Cundiboyacense in theEastern Andes.[1] The Muisca communities did not have a unified political entity, but were ruled by severalchiefdoms orcacicazgos, some of which formedconfederations of chiefdoms.[2] At the time of theSpanish invasion, four confederations were thriving in Muisca territory:Bogotá,Tunja,Duitama andSogamoso.[3] Additionally, there were independent chiefdoms in the north-west.[4] The Chibcha-speakingGuane andLache were also ruled by theconfederation of Guanentá and theconfederation of El Cocuy respectively.[5][6]
Power was based simultaneously on prestige and authority,[7][8] in the form ofrules of succession and a degree ofpopular consent.[9][8] Economically, chiefs (orcaciques) are in permanent competition to show strengthen their legitimacy and power (and financeartisanery) by redistributing an accumulated surplus of goods.[8] Chiefs had a distributing role as organizers of Muiscatamsas (erroneously translated as "tributes"), in receiving goods from their subjects and redistributing the accumulated products in exchange for labor.[10]
Muisca chiefdoms were centralized, but not state-like, as communities remained autonomous.[11] There were four or five levels of political hierarchy: At the base, there were the minor matrilineal units nameduta, which constituted major units (sybyn orzybin);sybyn formed chiefdoms, some of which were organized into confederations.[2] Additionally, some chiefdoms of border-areas of the Bogotá confederation wereuzacazgos (likePasca orGuasca),[12] and represented an intermediate level of hierarchy between chiefdoms and confederations.[2] Generally, a sybyn was a village and uta were groups of houses, however cases ave been documented of sybyn and uta existing independently.[13] Potentially, there existed groups of onesybyn (major) and oneuta (minor) unit, as the Muisca had a dualistic thought.[14] Power was loose however, especially when subordinated territoires were far from the political center.[11] In modern-day Colombia, chiefdoms might correspond tomunicipios andcapitanías toveredas.[15]
The Spaniards called basic matrilineal units, whethersybyn oruta, "capitanías", and the rulers of these entities were called "capitanes" (captains) in Spanish.[1] Inmuysccubun, a major captain was calledsybyntiba ortybarogue,[2] and a minor captain was known as atybarogue,[16]utatiba,[17] or justuta.[18]
The position of the ruler was inherited, but the line of succession was notpatrilineal. Instead, the chief was succeeded by his nephew, the oldest son of his oldest sister. There were exceptions, and the ruler's subjects, apparently, had some say in the matter, if only to confirm the successor in his post.[19] Other family members inherited furniture of the chief.[20]
The legitimacy of chiefs was founded on individual prestige and institutional authority.[7][8] The centre of a chiefs domaine is hiscercado or enclosure.[21] The power of chiefs is not measured in terms of gold or money, but by the sumptuous decorations of thecercado's wooden palisades and by the chief's exotic clothing.[8] Insidecercados, the chief possesses multiple structures, including his and his wive's residences and various stockhouses.[7] Powerful chiefs had largecercados, whose vicinity was occupied by markets, feasts and ceremonies, whose surroundings were settled by multiple subordinated entities.[8] However, the traditional interpretation ofcercados as places where powerful chiefs, supposedly belonging to an elite composed of lineages, demonstrated their political domination has not been conclusively proven archaeologically, and is most likely to be associated with colonial misunderstandings.[22] Thecercado legitimised social and political relations as anaxis mundi, and as spatial representation of tradition and continuity.[23] Muisca elites built their legitimacy around the metonymical concept ofgue ("house"; by extension "community" as opposed to "gueba", foreigner or sacrifice of foreigners), considered as aliving thing, and it's needs (feeding).[24] Principles ofseniority (guexica, "grandfather") andrules of succession (guecha, "uncle" or "warrior"), both related to the "gue" concept, were the basis for the chief's legitimacy.[25]Polyginy (a form ofpolygamy) was, contrary to the sayings of some colonial-era writers, most likely a privilege of chiefs and captains.[26][27] The chief's main wife was the only true "partner", of the same rank and power as the chief himself.[28] She was imposed on him by the members theruling class.[29] Before assuming their function, chiefs spend multiple years in a closedbohío, before receiving the ear and lip pendants characteristic of their function.[30] Muisca chiefs' seats are similar to the Caribbeanduho, as they are low and have an elongated form.[21]
Redistributing the surplus of accumulated goods to the subjects was a fundamental part of achieving legitimacy.[8] Indeed, a certain degree of popular consent was necessary.[8] The chiefs power isindividualistic and notinstitutionalized,[31] and alliances are variously formed withsybyn (major basic units),uta (minor basic units) and individualgue (houses).[1]
In some cases, the function of captain of a minor unit was hereditary, and in others it was assigned by the chief.[1]
The main role of chiefs was to "feed" and serve of the deities, the settlement (aliving thing), and the subjects.[32] Additionally, the role of the chief was to distribute the accumulated goods during "tamsas", falsely translated as "tributes".[10] The chief ofSogamoso, where theSun Temple was located, cumulated religious and political functions.[33]Reciprocity was practiced between members of the elite.[34] Because of the ambiguity of the Spanish term "capitanía", the exact role of captains (at the head of basic matrilineal units) remains uncertain.[1] There is disagreement betweenCarl Henrik Langebaek andJorge Augusto Gamboa on the exact politico.-economic role of chiefs, as the latter argues for a "moduler or cellular" model similar toMesoamerica.[35]
There were four muiscaconfederations ofchiefdoms, and independent territories in the north-west.[3] According to the Austro-ColombiananthropologistGerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff, the north-west chiefdoms offered an idea of the state of muisca organisation prior to the expansion of some chiefdoms to form confederations.[4] The chiefdom of Sogamoso or Iraca was related to the northern sun-cult around Sadigue, a parallel figure toBochica.[33] According to some tales, the chiefs of Iraca were given religious rights by Bochica at his death.[37] The chiefdoms of Sogamoso and Duitama were described as independent of Tunja in colonial documents.[38] The position of theZipa (chief of theBogotá confederation) was such that not even the members of the nobility dared to look him in the face, and it is said if theZipa needed to spit, someone would hold out a piece of rich cloth for him to spit on, because it would be sacrilegious for anything so precious as his saliva to touch the ground. Whoever held the cloth (all the while carefully looking the other way) then carried it off to be reverently disposed of.[19] The histories and battles reported by the colonial-era writers calledSpanish Chroniclers were liekly exaggerated or modified, but contain, according to Martha Herrera Angel, true events.[37] On the other hand,Carl Henrik Langebaek finds them to be moral stories told in the form of mythical narratives and misinterpreted by the Spaniards.[39]
TheZipa was also given the responsibility of offering gold to the gods. He would cover himself with gold and float out on a royal barge to the middle of thesacredLake Guatavita, where he would offer up golden trinkets. This is widely believed to be how the legend ofEl Dorado started.[19]
WhenGonzalo Jiménez de Quesada arrived in the Muisca territories the rulingZipa wasBogotá and theZaque (chief ofTunja) wasEucaneme.
| Muisca rulers ofHunza (Zaques) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Name | Start | End | Details |
 | Hunzahúa | ? | 1470 | Founded city ofHunza, now Tunja |
 | Michuá | 1470 | 1490 | Died in theBattle of Chocontá |
 | Quemuenchatocha | 1490 | 1537 | Ruled when theSpanish arrived in modern-day Colombia |
 | Aquiminzaque | 1537 | 1539 | Last Muisca ruler |
| Muisca rulers ofBacatá (Zipas) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Name | Start | End | Details |
 | Meicuchuca | 1450 | 1470 | According to legend slept with a snake |
 | Saguamanchica | 1470 | 1490 | Died in theBattle of Chocontá |
 | Nemequene | 1490 | 1514 | Introduced the brutalNemequene Code |
 | Tisquesusa | 1514 | 1537 | Ruled when theSpanish arrived in Colombia |
 | Sagipa | 1537 | 1539 | Last southern Muisca ruler |
| Muisca rulers ofTundama,Iraca andTurmequé | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Name | Start | End | Details |
| Tundama | −1539 | Last ruler ofTundama | ||
 | Sugamuxi | −1539 | Lastiraca ofSugamuxi | |
| Nompanim | Second-lastiraca of Sugamuxi | |||
| Diego de Torres y Moyachoque | 1571 | 1590 | Mestizocacique ofTurmequé | |
