9/19: Bogota, Colombia: Gold, Gold and More Gold & Annie's Folly

Even though the Pope's visit to Colombia was long over by September 19th, the city's buses still welcomed the Pope to the city.

I wondered if Colombian have an unusual number of vision issues as we had never seen so many optical stores anywhere else in the world. I counted NINE of them in just two blocks! That’s probably why I also can’t remember seeing so many people wearing such stylish and colored glasses than in Bogota. Forget about the normal and boring brown or black glasses we’re so used to seeing at home; here people wore shades of reds and blues and even multi-colored ones I hadn’t remembered seeing before. If we’d had the time, I would have been sorely tempted to buy new ones myself as the brown tint for the sun in mine had disappeared and I am squinting all the time in the sun.

I just missed taking a photo of the man with his coffee cart making deliveries up and down the street.

Our name for this lane was Book Alley because of the number of book stores and vendors selling books, magazines and children's puzzles on the street.

We got to the Museo del Oro aka Gold Museum in time for the free, one-hour guided masterpiece tour at 11. It wasn’t something we had ever done before but, since it was overwhelming knowing that 6,000 of the 55,000 pieces of gold and other materials from all the major pre-Hispanic cultures were on display, having someone explain some of the pieces would be helpful. Initially, we had the tour guide to ourselves since we were the only English-speakers but another man joined us a bit later. 

Anjelica, our guide, told us she always varies the tour of the museum’s highlights to make it more interesting for herself and those in the tour. The museum had the largest pre-Colombian collection of gold in the world. Twelve of the societies were gold makers. 

She first introduced us to the section on Cosmology and Symbolism. In the ancient societies, all important decisions were only made by shamans. Candidates for the priesthood were trained for years by wise men and elderly masters. They spent years locked up in temples and caves where they never saw the light of day and where they were subjected to very restricted diets.

This shaman’s eyes were wide open to symbolize the journey he was passing through while sitting on a bench that only belonged to shamans.

Pre-Hispanic gold-working societies developed special ways of understanding the world. Metals, particularly gold, symbolized the fertilizing powers of the sun and expressed the divine origin of the power held by the rulers.

The shaman pieces were normally constructed of clay. Anjelica remarked on the very natural poses from different places.

The seated shaman was able to discover the secrets of the cosmos and control the forces that regulate life during hallucinatory trances.

When chieftains adopted postures and gestures that differed from their lesser beings, they expressed their links with superior beings and levels.

The chieftains controlled economic and ceremonial life. Because they were so prominent in their lifetime, they wore gold luxury objects. When they died, they were privileged to be buried under mounds known as tolas.

Chieftains' homes were political, religious and social centers.  They were often imagined as being situated in the center of the universe.

To harmonize with different parts of the universe, goldsmiths combined different animals with the face of a human and wings of a bird which were a metaphor for the shaman’s flight.

The most important design elements in the sculptures and the highest animals of power were the birds as stated above; snakes as they represented the idea of life and death through the shedding of their skin; and jaguars who were at the top of the food chain, were solitary beings in the rainforest and because their skin is yellow, the same as gold. Anjelica pointed out how the jaguar looked so fierce and that these weren’t just ornaments but tools belonging to magical shamans. 

Images of shaman's assistants:

Imagine wearing such a massive nose ring! Can you see the images of the crocodile on either end?

The consumption of plants in prehistoric societies was very important as they represented knowledge. The yage plant is still used today in Colombia as a psychotic drug. In indigenous societies, only wise men are permitted to use it. Its leaves are roasted and combined with limestone made from crushed shells and baking soda and then mixed with saliva. 

Coca was used by chieftains and shamans to help them think and to renew and transmit sacred knowledge because of the effect it had in activating the powers of concentration, memory and speech. When the shaman was under the effects of plants that gave him power, he connected the various worlds. He was able to journey through the upper, middle and lower worlds, linking all their beings.

When coca leaves are chewed, people don’t feel hungry or tired and it is very helpful to chew them or drink coca tea when at high altitudes. We have been advised to do that later in our trip when we’ll be at high elevations. The consumption of coca is very critical to indigenous people in Colombia.

Anjelica pointed out the shaman’s breast plate with the bird and the jaguar nose ring. Shamans were buried with their ornaments. Gold was an important material so it was used to transport the shamans to an afterlife. 

It was incredible to think this shell was more precious than the gold.

This object, acquired in 1939 by the Banco de la Republica, was the first one in the bank’s collection as they had the gold monopoly in Colombia. The gold objects were considered important because of their value as gold and not because of their historical importance. It was determined that the limestone container was 1800 years old based on carbon dating from the beeswax inside it. Anjelica explained how difficult it was to date metal objects.

The tag noted that 'This sumptuously attired female chieftain has adopted a solemn, engrossed attitude. Shamans, chieftains, potters and goldsmiths performed rituals to ensure that the cyclical process of nature would continue.' The limestone container, also used as a funerary urn, was dated from between 5th century B.C. to 700 A.D. 

Anjelica joked this gorgeous piece was known as Prehistoric Batman. The spirals on both sides of the headdress represented the cycle of life as, when something dies, another thing is born.

Members of the gold-working societies believed that metal that was transformed by goldsmiths returned to its place of origin. Metal objects returned to the earth as gifts to the gods and were offered up in lakes and caves in order to restore balance to the world. 

One of the museum's most prized possessions was the gold boat called the Offering Raft found in 1969. Every so often, the Muisca indigenous group held great ceremonies on the moorland lakes where people gathered with their chieftains and priests to make offerings to the gods. Legend has it that the El Dorado ritual was performed when a powerful chieftain covered in gold dust went on a raft into the middle of Laguna Guatavita with his priests and threw gold and emeralds into the water.  When the gilded chieftain did that, he was making a pact with nature that life be renewed. 

As the real size of the exquisite piece was incredibly small, there was a poster of it enlarged so we could marvel at the detailed craftsmanship. 

Remarkably, the entire raft was cast in just one piece of gold! Anjelica remarked that a PhD student's thesis determined it was made from wax to which charcoal was added, then covered in clay which resulted in the wax melted and gold was added. It took a goldsmith two years to make a reproduction. Imagine how long it must have taken the original indigenous goldsmith.

We were excited to see the photo of Laguna Guatavita as we were going there the next day by ourselves. We were glad that Anjelica had saved the best for last and couldn't believe the tour was already over.

The dark, circular room that we saw next, with over 2,000 gold objects and other gems, was incredible and showed off each to perfection as the light shone, by turn, on different sections. 

Gold-working societies classified flora and fauna and other beings in categories that were based on various principles such as their shape, habitat, food and culture. These classifications were then expressed in their objects.

Mirrors and other objects made of obsidian, quartz and metals were magical and prophetic instruments. Because of their reflective qualities, they were believed to communicate with supernatural worlds and beings.

Symmetry and balance in the shapes and designs of objects were an expression of the concern to find equilibrium in the properties and forces of the cosmos.

Death was considered a transformation into another being or a rebirth. Some people's souls were reincarnated in a descendant as in a bear, a tree or a stone. According to others, the deceased were reborn in tombs, caves or burial mounds and remained near their relatives and intervening in their lives. That allowed the relatives to talk to them and attend to their needs.

The tag said that a goldsmith pressed seven thin layers of gold onto a sea snail. We could see the careful folds and the joints made with small clips. Even though the natural shell had deteriorated, the gold still retained its shape.

None of the gold objects in the museum were 100% pure gold but rather 80% and a combination of other metals including copper.

Scenes from everyday life were depicted in one society's pottery, especially motherhood, eroticism, old age and death.

In indigenous thought, containers were like women as they held substances which were transformed and gave life. 

A funny anecdote before leaving the gorgeous museum: I went into the museum shop as I normally do before leaving any museum to buy postcards or a small trinket as a souvenir. I saw some lovely silk scarves that had images from the museum's collection and I asked the price. When I thought the clerk said in Spanish the cost was about $10 each, I said I wanted two: one for myself and one for a friend who loves fuchsia. I was tickled pink when the scarves were beautifully wrapped in gift boxes and I was so pleased with myself for scoring such a lovely present that I knew she would love.

My phone pinged immediately as it does with every purchase but, stupid me, I neglected to look at the charge. I only noticed the over $200 charge later that night and couldn't believe the clerk must have said each scarf was over $100 and not a tenth of that! I realized I just couldn't stand to wear a scarf that was so expensive so I dragged Steven back to the museum a couple of days later hoping to return them. I spoke to the same woman who had helped me initially who said she couldn't refund the money but I could exchange them for something else instead. Oops!! She was a huge help suggesting an exquisite necklace and earring set that I hope to wear when our oldest child, Nina marries her Will in February. Guess I'll have to improve my understanding of Spanish in a hurry or ask to have the amount written down next time. Steven's not so sure I didn't plan it all out so I would end up with more gold jewelry!

Posted on September 26th, 2017, from Bogota, Colombia.