 Landscape in Acacías, terrain of the Guayupe | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 250,000[1] (1537) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
Meta, Colombia | |
| Languages | |
| Arawakan,Colombian Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Traditional religion,Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Guahibo,Muisca,Sutagao,Tegua,U'wa |
TheGuayupe are anArawak-speaking[2]Indigenous group of people in modern-dayColombia. They inhabit the westernmost parts of thedepartment ofMeta.[3] At the time of theSpanish conquest, more than 250,000 Guayupe were living in large parts of Meta.[1][4]
The territories of the Guayupe stretched from the neighbouringGuahibo terrains to the east and north and theMuisca territories to the west over an area of 22,000 square kilometres (8,500 sq mi).[5]
Knowledge of the Guayupe has been provided byPedro de Aguado and others.
The territory of the Guayupe before the Spanish conquest stretched from the riversUpía andGuayabero to the peaks of theEastern Ranges of the ColombianAndes.[6] Their area covered around 22,000 square kilometres (8,500 sq mi).[5] The Guayupe lived mostly around theAriari River.[5]
| Name | Department | Altitude (m) urban centre | Map |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acacías | Meta | 498 |  |
| Barranca de Upía | Meta | 200 |  |
| El Calvario | Meta | 1987 |  |
| Cubarral | Meta | 534 |  |
| Cumaral | Meta | 452 |  |
| Fuente de Oro | Meta | 359 |  |
| Granada | Meta | 372 |  |
| Guamal | Meta | 525 |  |
| Restrepo | Meta | 570 |  |
| San Juan de Arama | Meta | 510 |  |
| San Juanito | Meta | 1795 |  |
| Villavicencio | Meta | 467 |  |
The first report on the Guayupe nation is from German conquistadorPhilipp von Hutten, participant of the expedition led byGeorg Hohermuth von Speyer fromCoro in Venezuela to the borders of the Amazon bassin (1535 - 1538). He describes them as "very good looking people and very able in defending themselves."[7] Indeed, Hohermuths army never was able to make peace with the Guayupe, crossing their entire land from the northern shores of Upía river down to the regions south of theGuaviare river. On their way, the conquistadors were engaged in various skirmishes and even in a big battle with the Guayupe warriors. "They tried their luck on us frequently but although they killed and wounded many of us, we always gave them the rawer deal. This nation fights with bow and arrow and spears and shields made of tapir skin, and they throw gins."[7] The Germans were not the first Europeans to encounter the Guayupe. Near the Guaviare river they found some items of clearly European origin. As they knew later, it were belongings of an expedition led byAlonso de Herrera, who likely came up the Guaviare river with boats. In 1534, the Guayupe "had slaughtered 90 of Herrera's men and the survivors escaped downstream. In Coro, we met some of them."[7]
The Guayupe are a tribe of farmers living in the tropical mountain forests of the Eastern Ranges and the Llanos of Meta, Colombia. Inpre-Columbian times they constructed pallisades around their villages consisting of houses around a central square with a ceremonial building in the middle.[8] Because of the sophisticated defence works including palisades, thorn bushes and well-camouflaged pitfalls, the Spanish soldiers in Hohermuth's army nicknamed one of those well fortified villages "Little Salses",[9] referring to the CatalanFort de Salses, an innovative type of fortress at this time. The Guayupe were anagricultural society withyuca one of their main crops.[8] The Guayupe people went naked, only ornamented withgold, feathers and shells.[8]
The Guayupe society was organised around thecaciques; chiefs of the community. Thecacique was regarded as an important person who lived by strict norms in the ceremonial activities; births, marriages and burials. When acacique of the Guayupe died, the body was cremated and his successor had to drink his ash mixed withchicha.[8][10] The society of the Guayupe was egalitarian;caciques only had the use of stools and more feathers on their blankets. At every marriage, half of the bride treasure was going to thecacique.[8]
They built canoes of wood and consumedyuca andcasabe, fish and meat. They did not eat bird meat.[8][11]
According toscholarPedro de Aguado, the Guayupe defecated in the rivers around and not near their houses.[12]
As in theMuisca religion, the main gods were theSun and theMoon who were husband and wife.[8][13] The supreme being of the Guayupe, in the Muisca religion calledChiminigagua, wasInaynagui.[13]
The products the Guayupe used in their rituals werecoca andtobacco.[8] Cannibalism is not reported of the Guayupe.[8]
In 1996, fifteenceramic pots were found, pertaining to the Guayupe culture.[14] In 2011, after the excavation of a Guayupe burial site, the museum of the Guayupe inFuente de Oro was opened, containing bones, burialurns, artefacts and plates.[15] As of 2009 yearly aReina de Guayupe, miss contest in Puerto Santander, located at 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from the urban centre of Fuente de Oro,[10] is held among the Guayupe.[16][17]
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