Huitaca (goddess)
| Huitaca | |
|---|---|
Witchcraft, sexual liberation, arts, dance, music and Moon | |
| Member of Muisca religion | |
.jpg) Huitaca was cursed by Bochica and turned into a white owl | |
| Other names | Xubchasgagua |
| Affiliation | Chía Bachué Nencatacoa Chaquén |
| Animals | Owl |
| Region | Altiplano Cundiboyacense |
| Ethnic group | Muisca |
| Equivalents | |
| Greek | Hecate |
| Hindu | Mara |
| Roman | Morta |
| Slavic | Marzanna |
Huitaca or Xubchasgagua was a rebelling goddess in the religion of the Muisca.[1] The Muisca and their confederation were a civilization who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Andes. Huitaca has been described by the chroniclers Juan de Castellanos in his Elegías de varones ilustres de Indias,[2] Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita[3] and Pedro Simón.[4]
Spellings and names
[edit]Description
[edit]Huitaca was the goddess of arts, dance and music,[5][6] witchcraft, sexual liberation and the Moon.[7] According to the Muisca legends Huitaca was a goddess of extreme beauty who praised a life full of joy, games, pleasure and drunkenness who was rebelling against the patriarchal Bochica upon which he turned her into a white owl.[1]
Some chroniclers state Huitaca was another name for Moon goddess Chía[8][9] or Bachué, mother goddess of the Muisca.[7]
Huitaca in modern art
[edit]Sculptor Julia Merizalde Price has made a sculpture honouring Huitaca, picturing her after the curse of Bochica.[10]
Photographer Carlos Saavedra has made an exposition showing different indigenous women of Colombia in his search for Huitaca.[11]
Named after Huitaca
[edit]- Huitaca, a genus of Opiliones[12]
- Huitaca boyacaensis, a species in this genus, species name derived from Boyacá, former Muisca territory
- Huitaca ventralis, the type species of the genus Huitaca
- Huitaca bitaco
- Huitaca caldas
- Huitaca depressa
- Huitaca sharkeyi
- Huitaca tama
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Ocampo López, 2013, Ch. 6, p.45
- ^ a b Ocampo López, 2013, Ch. 6, p.46
- ^ a b c Ocampo López, 2013, Ch. 6, p.47
- ^ a b Ocampo López, 2013, Ch. 6, p.48
- ^ Ocampo López, 2007, Ch.V, p.221
- ^ (in Spanish) 2012 - Huitaca, la diosa muisca en el Palacio Liévano - El Tiempo - accessed 28-04-2016
- ^ a b (in Spanish) 2015 - Huitaca y el arquetipo de la diosa rebelde desde la antiguedad hasta nuestros días - accessed 28-04-2016
- ^ (in Spanish) Chía: Moon goddess - Pueblos Originarios - accessed 28-04-2016
- ^ (in Spanish) Chía: mitos y leyendas - accessed 28-04-2016
- ^ (in Spanish) Sculpture Huitaca - accessed 28-04-2016
- ^ (in Spanish) 2012 - Las hijas de la diosa chibcha 'Huitaca' - accessed 28-04-2016
- ^
Data related to Huitaca at Wikispecies
Bibliography
[edit]- Ocampo López, Javier (2013), Mitos y leyendas indígenas de Colombia - Indigenous myths and legends of Colombia (in Spanish), Bogotá, Colombia: Plaza & Janes Editores Colombia S.A., pp. 1–219, ISBN 978-958-14-1416-1
- Ocampo López, Javier (2007), Grandes culturas indígenas de América - Great indigenous cultures of the Americas (in Spanish), Bogotá, Colombia: Plaza & Janes Editores Colombia S.A., pp. 1–238, ISBN 978-958-14-0368-4
