Zoratama (the Indian Princess): Colombia Indigenous History and Legend

This outstanding and wonderful legend, which has suddenly elicited the admiration of the poet, multilingual philologist, cordial friend and intimately involved translator of my works into English, Mr. Armand Petrecca, whose valued criterion has caused him deem this short book my masterpiece __until [...]
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This outstanding and wonderful legend, which has suddenly elicited the admiration of the poet, multilingual philologist, cordial friend and intimately involved translator of my works into English, Mr. Armand Petrecca, whose valued criterion has caused him deem this short book my masterpiece __until now__. In any event, his judgment has induced me to write this preface, which will make the reader anxious not only to acquaint himself with a fabulous history and legend but also to comprehend deeply the great importance of a previous empire and a major civilization, whose roots and vestiges continue to exist, because I have also considered that, after this introductory note, the ordinary reader, the student, the researcher and those who are especially drawn to this subject matter will be provided with interesting incentives to reflect on and will find, in this work of historical, pedagogic and literary importance a veritable treasure house of art, of love, and of legend. And for these reasons, I have thought it essential to compose this preface, which will serve as a stimulus for the reading and for a greater acquaintance with this major civilization, which is centered principally in the Colombian Andes. In the indigenous language, the word "Muisca" signifies a person or people. And, according to very serious researchers, the Muisca natives appear to have descended from the Asiatic peoples who populated Central America, whence they doubtless continued on to Panama, the territory of which once belonged to Colombia, and thence to Peru, Ecuador and elsewhere. Indeed, the "Chibchas" or "Muiscas" may be looked upon as descendants of Asiatics, because their ancestral lawgiver, Chicha-cum, had straight, black hair, a ruddy complexion, slanted eyes and a great resemblance to these natives. All of which is apart from the fact that certain customs, and the names, with which the Muiscas designated their towns, indicate that they came from somewhere in Central China. Let us consider closely, and without haste, these indigenous names, after having broken them down into their component syllables Zipaquira, Chiquinquira, Moniquira and Ramiquira..., all of which surely leads us to a form of syllabic phonetics that is closely similar to the cultural and legendary China, cradle both of the earliest inventions and of a great civilization. By the same token, it has been affirmed that the Phoenicians also settled in America and that they implanted their great civilization here. This culture was then put into practice by the Muisca natives, which relates them to the building of the "Temple of the Sun" in Sogamoso and to the fabulous constructions of a tile-paved road, three meters in width, which connected the Eastern Plains, from El Meta to Firavitoba in the Andes, by way of which it is known that a great many Eastern caravans proceeded in both directions. In the same way, there is evidence of another branch which led to the Sacred Sanctuary of San Martin for those who rendered adoration to the sun. Further evidence of Phoenician culture is the region of San Agustin in the department of El Huila in Colombia, wherein there exist a great many petroglyphs of fabulous sculptures of stone. According to researchers, the customs of those Eastern indigenous peoples, their culture, their religion, the cotton which originated in the valley of the Nile, the black wheat which resembles sorghum, the use of looms and the manufacture of colored fabrics, the turban, money in the form of coins, commercial activity, credit with interest the sacrifice of children and the worship of the crocodile were all implanted by those caravans that came from the Old Continent and which created an ancient civilization now vanished, along the Orinoco valley through El Meta and the Ariari of Colombia, and by way of the Upper Amazon valley to Ecuador and Peru. These cultures were later exterminated by the Caribe tribes.