Guane people


The Guane were a South American people that lived mainly in the area of Santander and north of Boyacá, both departments of present-day central-Colombia. They were farmers cultivating cotton, pineapple and other crops, and skilled artisans working in cotton textiles. The Guane lived north of the Chicamocha River, around the Chicamocha Canyon in an area stretching from Vélez in the south to the capital of Santander; Bucaramanga in the north. Other sources state their territory did not extend so far north. Guane, a corregimiento of Barichara, Santander, is said to have been the capital of the Guane people.

Etymology

The word guane in the Chibcha language of the people means "tree" or "lower part of a leaf", or "skirt".

Description

The Guane made their own weapons, including arrows and spears. They interchanged plants for the stewpot with the Chitarero on the east and the Muisca to the south of their territories. The mantle making of the Guanes was well known in pre-Columbian Colombia. Mantles made from cotton have been dated back to the 11th century AD. The Guane cultivated tobacco and made products of fique.
Like the Maya and many other civilizations in the world, the Guane deliberately deformed the skulls of their children.
In 1586 there were still some Guane left but there were no further references found after that date; nevertheless, the local archives indicated that they did not disappear completely. They mixed heavily with the Spanish colonizers, as the Guane were said to have European traits and very light skin.
Like the Muisca, U'wa and Lache, the Guane spoke a Chibchan language. They adored Bochica, the messenger god in the Muisca religion. The Guane traded with their neighbouring indigenous groups; Lache to the east, U'wa to the northeast, Muzo to the south and Muisca to the southeast.
Rock art produced by the Guane have been found around the Chicamocha Canyon and on the Mesa de los Santos, Santander.
The Guane people chewed coca combined with calcitic grains, using poporos.

Municipalities belonging to Guane territory

The Guane inhabited the area of central and south Santander, around the Chicamocha Canyon and a small part of Boyacá.
NameDepartmentAltitude
urban centre		Map
GuaneSantander1336
AratocaSantander1800
CabreraSantander980
CoromoroSantander1518
CuritíSantander1409
EncinoSantander1850
GuapotáSantander1534
Güepsa
Santander1540
JordánSantander425
MogotesSantander1700
OcamonteSantander1398
OibaSantander1420
PalmarSantander1200
PáramoSantander1200
PinchoteSantander1131
San GilSantander1117
San JoaquínSantander1950
Los SantosSantander1310
SuaitaSantander1700
Valle de San JoséSantander1250
VillanuevaSantander1450
San José de PareBoyacá1545
SantanaBoyacá1550