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Nencatacoa - Wikipedia

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Nencatacoa
art(ist)s, dance and festivities^[1]
Member of Muisca religion
Houses (bohíos) Nencatacoa helped being built for the Muisca, allegedly when drunk
Other names	Nem-catacoa
Animals	Fox or bear
Region	Altiplano Cundiboyacense Colombia
Ethnic group	Muisca
Equivalents
Christian	none
Etruscan	Fufluns
Greek	Pan, Dionysus, Apollo
Roman	Bacchus

Nencatacoa or Nem-catacoa was the god and protector of the mantle makers, artists and festivities in the religion of the Muisca.^[1] The Muisca and their confederation were one of the advanced civilizations of the Americas; as much as the Aztec, Mayas and Incas but other than the other three, they did not construct grand architecture. Their gold working however was well-known and respected which made Nencatacoa an important deity and protector.^[1]

Description

Nencatacoa was represented in the form of a forest animal, made of gold and covered with a mantle. Nencatacoa looked most like a fox or a bear,^[2] dressed in gold, because as Pedro Simón noted, "an animal in that shape would appear multiple times".^[1]

He was the protector god of the weavers, an industry that was very important among the Muisca, who used a great variety of materials but mostly cotton and fique.^[1]

Nencatacoa was also the protector of artists and painters who realized their beautiful creations on the cloths, the ceramics, gold metallurgy, sculptures and petroglyphs with different anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and ideogramatic figures.^[3]

Moreover, Nencatacoa was the god of festivities, drunkenness and dance. Traditions tell us that he partied with the people without caring about anything else. The Muisca drank chicha, a type of alcoholic drink based on the fermentation and cooking of maize. When the indigenous peoples were constructing their houses he helped them with lifting the heavy poles. Even during the construction of their houses (bohíos) and temples, the Muisca drank much chicha.^[3]

Also to celebrate the completion of temples, houses or roads and with the arrival of new caciques the Muisca drank much chicha. At times of sowing and harvest, they celebrated with dancing, singing, music (with drums and flutes) and honoured the gods, in particular Nencatacoa.^[4]

Nencatacoa thus appeared to be similar in style and association to the Greek god Dionysus and the Roman Bacchus. Chronicler Pedro Simón described about the Muisca that when they were partying and dancing around the fire and the wind blew that was a sign that Nencatacoa was participating.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Ocampo López, 2013, Ch. 9, p.57
^ (in Spanish) Description Nencatacoa – Pueblos Originarios
^ ^a ^b Ocampo López, 2013, Ch. 9, p.58
^ ^a ^b Ocampo López, 2013, Ch. 9, p.60

Bibliography

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

Muisca

Topics

General	Agriculture Architecture Art Astronomy Calendar Cuisine Economy Mummification Music Muysccubun Mythology Numerals Religion Society Toponyms Warfare Women
Specific	Battle of Pasca (~1470) Battle of Chocontá (~1490) Chicha Duit Emeralds Muisca raft Ruana Tejo Tunjo Zoratama
The Salt People	Zipaquirá Nemocón Tausa Sesquilé

Geography and history

Altiplano
Cundiboyacense

Neighbouring areas

History

Prehistory (<10,000 BP)	Lake Humboldt El Abra Tibitó Sueva Tequendama
Lithic (10,000 - 2800 BP)	Piedras del Tunjo Checua Galindo Nemocón Sáchica Aguazuque Lake Herrera El Infiernito
Ceramic (>800 BC)	Herrera (800 BC - 800) Early Muisca (800 - 1200) Muisca Confederation (~1450 - 1540) Cabildo Mayor (>2002)

Religion and mythology

Deities

Sacred sites

Built	Sun Temple Moon Temple Cojines del Zaque Goranchacha Temple Hunzahúa Well
Natural	Fúquene Guasca Guatavita Iguaque Siecha Suesca Tota Ubaque Tequendama Falls

Mythology

Myths	El Dorado Monster of Lake Tota
Mythological figures	Goranchacha Idacansás Pacanchique Thomagata

Caciques and neighbours

Northern caciques

zaque of Hunza	Hunzahúa Michuá Quemuenchatocha Aquiminzaque
iraca of Suamox	Nompanim Sugamuxi
cacique of Tundama	Tundama

Southern caciques

zipa of Bacatá	Meicuchuca Saguamanchica Nemequene Tisquesusa Sagipa
cacique of Turmequé	Diego de Torres y Moyachoque

Neighbours

Chibcha-speaking	U'wa Sutagao Guane Lache
Arawak-speaking	Achagua Tegua Guayupe
Cariban-speaking	Panche Muzo Yarigui

Spanish conquest

Conquistadors

Major	Gonzalo de Quesada Hernán de Quesada Baltasar Maldonado Gonzalo Suárez Rendón Juan de Céspedes Juan de San Martín
Minor	Antonio Díaz de Cardoso Antonio de Lebrija Bartolomé Camacho Zambrano Gonzalo García Zorro Gonzalo Macías Hernán Venegas Carrillo Juan de Albarracín Juan del Junco Juan Tafur Lázaro Fonte Luis Lanchero Martín Galeano Martín Yañéz Tafur Miguel Holguín y Figueroa Ortún Velázquez de Velasco Pedro Fernández de Valenzuela Pedro Ruíz Corredor

Neighbouring conquests

Research and collections

Scholars	Acosta Acosta Samper De Aguado Arango Broadbent De Castellanos Celis Correal Duquesne Freyle Friede Gamboa Groot Hammen Humboldt Izquierdo Langebaek De Lugo Ocampo De Piedrahita De Quesada Reichel-Dolmatoff Schrimpff Simón Triana Uricoechea Zerda
Publications	Elegías (1589) El Carnero (1638) Epítome (1889)
Research institutes	ICANH Universidad Nacional Universidad de los Andes Universidad La Javeriana University of Pittsburgh UPTC
Collections	Museo del Oro Archaeology Museum of Sogamoso Archaeology Museum of Pasca Metropolitan Museum of Art

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