The Eastern Mountain Range of the Andes was occupied by one of the largest indigenous communities of our territory, the "Muiscas", who lived in 3 of our departments: Cundinamarca, dedicated to the goddess of the moon "Chía", Boyacá and Santander, dedicated to the father Sun "Xué" Their language was called "Chibcha"and their economy was developed taking advantage of the slopes, cultivation systems, drainage channels and irrigation. Its agriculture was based on the cultivation of corn, potatoes, coca and cotton, they were known as large weavers of textiles and blankets. They were also good hunters and potters. The pottery was used for rituals, offerings, to process salt and domestic use, and were adorned with zoomorphic figures. Its socio-political structure is divided as follows: The Powerful Caciques (kings): Zipa and Zaque, followed by others of lower rank, the Usaques, councilors, the Mamos (priests), the warriors and finally the people, who were farmers, potters, goldsmiths, weavers and merchants. They were polytheists and performed human sacrifices in some of their ceremonies.
In 1939, the Bank of the Republic purchased a piece of gold Quimbaya known as the "Poporo Quimbaya", as the government along with the administration of the bank, to worry about the protection of our archaeological and cultural heritage. Many of these pieces today, are outside our country, others have disappeared forever, but thanks to this effort, many of them could be saved. For that time, the collection was composed of 14 pieces plus poporo. Today, the museum's collection consists of approx. 34,000 pieces of goldsmith's work and 20,000 pieces of other materials, such as rock, ceramics, textiles or precious stones. Among them, there is a piece known as "Balsa Ceremonial" or "Balsa Muisca" which represents one of the most important ceremonies of this community, the Cacique's Possession Ceremony or the so-called Rite of Paid. There were 3 lagoons where this offering was made, the Iguaque lagoon, near the village of Villa de Leyva in Boyacá, the Siecha lagoon, near the town of Guasca, Cundinamarca, and finally in the Guatavita lagoon that was the religious center more important for the Muiscas, near the town that bears his name, in Cundinamarca. During the ritual, the Muisca community gathered around the lagoon and threw gold and emerald objects into it, while the ceremonial raft moved through its waters until it reached the center of it, the "Mamos", or priests, sang, the Accompanying caciques in the raft threw gold and emerald objects into the water, and the Cacique Guatavita, who had been covered in gold dust and jewels, plunged into the waters of the lagoon leaving in it everything that covered it as an offering to the " Pacha Mama - Mother Earth ".
