100 THINGS...

100 THINGS // EL DORADO

• El dorado "The Golden One" (Spanish) is the name of a Muisca tribal chief who covered himself with gold dust and, as an initiation rite, dived into a highland lake.
• Later it became the name of a legendary "Lost City of Gold" that has fascinated – and so far eluded – explorers since the days of the Spanish Conquistadors. Though many have searched for years on end to find this city of gold, no evidence of such a place has been found.
• Imagined as a place, El Dorado became a kingdom, an empire, and the city of this legendary golden king. In pursuit of the legend city, Francisco Orellana and Gonzalo Pizarro departed from Quito in 1541 in a famous and disastrous expedition towards the Amazon Basin, as a result of which Orellana became the first person known to navigate the Amazon River all the way to its mouth.
• The Muisca towns and their treasures quickly fell to the conquistadores. Taking stock of their newly won territory, the Spaniards realized that — in spite of the quantity of gold in the hands of the Indians — there were no golden cities, nor even rich mines, since the Muiscas obtained all their gold in trade. But at the same time, the Spanish began to hear stories of El Dorado from captured Indians, and of the rites which used to take place at the lagoon of Guatavita.
• The story of El Dorado does not stop in the Middle Ages only. The explorers later centuries are still trying to find the golden city. Even so, attention to lake Guatavita never subside. In 1911, a manufacturer of gold again tried his luck on the lake Guatavita. They managed to remove most of the lake water to make a tunnel and sluice. However, lake mud and rain immediately hardens quickly fill the lake again. They only found a few gold objects are then auctioned off to pay its investors.
• In subsequent years, interest in search of El Dorado seems to be reduced. Most people begin to think that El Dorado may be just a legend. In fact there is one opinion which says that the Indians who told about El Dorado may have lied to divert the attention of the conquerors of their villages. However, a big clue came in 1969. Two workers who were digging in a small cave near Bogota accidentally discovered a gold statue. The statue is shaped raft with a figure of a chief and eight men who were riding on it.
• Today, Lake Guatavita looks lonely. Even the tourists were rarely plasticity. Some time ago, the Government of Columbia decided to close the area because people often throw rubbish into it or wash the car there. There is only one officer assigned to control the lake.

Lake Guatavita

Artefact from El Dorado

Tribal Ceremony

The ceremony took place on the appointment of a new ruler. Before taking office, he spent some time secluded in a cave, without women, forbidden to eat salt, or to go out during daylight. The first journey he had to make was to go to the great lagoon of Guatavita, to make offerings and sacrifices to the demon which they worshipped as their god and lord. During the ceremony which took place at the lagoon, they made a raft of rushes, embellishing and decorating it with the most attractive things they had. They put on it four lighted braziers in which they burned much moque, which is the incense of these natives, and also resin and many other perfumes. The lagoon was large and deep, so that a ship with high sides could sail on it, all loaded with an infinity of men and women dressed in fine plumes, golden plaques and crowns.... As soon as those on the raft began to burn incense, they also lit braziers on the shore, so that the smoke hid the light of day. At this time they stripped the heir to his skin, and anointed him with a sticky earth on which they placed gold dust so that he was completely covered with this metal. They placed him on the raft ... and at his feet they placed a great heap of gold and emeralds for him to offer to his god. In the raft with him went four principal subject chiefs, decked in plumes, crowns, bracelets, pendants and ear rings all of gold. They, too, were naked, and each one carried his offering .... when the raft reached the centre of the lagoon, they raised a banner as a signal for silence. The gilded Indian then ... [threw] out all the pile of gold into the middle of the lake, and the chiefs who had accompanied him did the same on their own accounts. ... After this they lowered the flag, which had remained up during the whole time of offering, and, as the raft moved towards the shore, the shouting began again, with pipes, flutes, and large teams of singers and dancers. With this ceremony the new ruler was received, and was recognized as lord and king.