Idacansás

Did You Know?

• Before the first confirmed human rulers Hunzahúa and Meicuchuca (inaugurated in 1450), chronicles are based on folklore.
• Hunzahúa is considered an heir of Idacansás.
• The Muisca Confederation was ruled by zaques from Hunza and zipas from Bacatá.

Mythography

Cacique Idacansás served alongside Bochica as a priest of the Sun, with his Sun Temple situated in Sugamuxi. The cacicazgo of Sugamuxi in the Iraka Valley was allegedly the only one where a system of democracy existed. According to 17th-century Spanish chronicler Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita, the cacique of Sugamuxi was chosen by the natives of Firavitoba and Tobasía, in an election organized by the caciques of Gámeza, Busbanzá, Pesca, and Toca; in conflicts, the cacique of Tundama (present-day Duitama) would intervene. The cacique of Sugamuxi held a dual role as political and religious leader, serving as High Priest of the Sun, and under his rule the Sun Temple attracted Muisca pilgrims from far away. Idacansás's reign made Sugamuxi a religious centre, comparable to Rome or Mecca for the Muisca. The myth explains the origin of the cacicazgo and the sacred character of the Sun, unique on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, which was otherwise ruled by often brutal dictatorial rulers like Nemequene. To maintain popular support, Idacansás used lies and deceit: he pretended anger and threatened death, diseases, or other methods. He would climb a mountain dressed in coloured mantles with nobles and sprinkle orange or ochre-red dust to announce an epidemic of dysentery, or dress in white and throw ash to foretell ice and aridity destroying crops. He reacted irritably to those who came to him as priest. His rule was widely respected and feared because he could change the chronological order of events. Some Muisca chroniclers equate Idacansás with Bochica.