Goranchacha Temple
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Colombia Statue representing Goranchacha, who ordered the construction of the temple | |
  Location within Colombia | |
| Location | Tunja, Boyacá |
|---|---|
| Region | Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia |
| Coordinates | 5°33′8.84″N 73°21′27.76″W / 5.5524556°N 73.3577111°W |
| Altitude | 2,693 m (8,835 ft)[1] |
| Type | Religious site |
| Part of | Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia Muisca sites |
| History | |
| Abandoned | Spanish conquest |
| Periods | (Pre-)Muisca |
| Cultures | Muisca |
| Satellite of | Hunza |
| Site notes | |
| Archaeologists | Gregorio Hernández de Alba |
| Condition | Parts excavated |
| Public access | Yes |
The Goranchacha Temple (Spanish: Templo de Goranchacha) is an archeological site of the Muisca located in the city of Tunja, Boyacá, which in the time of the Muisca Confederation was called Hunza. The temple is named after the mythological Goranchacha. The remains of the temple are located on the terrain of the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia in Tunja. Scholar Javier Ocampo López has written about the temple and its religious meaning.[2] Knowledge about the temple has been provided by chronicler Pedro Simón.[3]
During the time before the Spanish conquest of the Muisca, the central highlands of the Colombian Andes (Altiplano Cundiboyacense) were populated by the Muisca. This advanced civilization had its own religion and rituals, centered around the most important deities Sué and Chía. The northern territories were ruled by the iraca of Sugamuxi, the tundama of Tundama and the zaque based in Hunza.
Goranchacha was a mythical cacique who moved the capital of the northern Muisca from Ramiriquí to Hunza and was feared by the people, ruling as a dictator.[2][4]
