CHIBCHAS, cheb'-chis, or MUSICAS, a tribe of Indians who, at the time of the con quest of Colombia, occupied the upland country in and around Bogota. When the expedition under Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada came into contact with the Chibchas in 1836, after a toil some, unpleasant and dangerous journey up the Magdalena River, through jungle and forest and over rugged mountains, they were a fairly civilized people living in well-built towns and villages, cultivating the land and carrying on extensive trade and commerce. An organized government, a highly developed religion, a com plicated mythology and a powerful and much venerated priesthood and ruling class bound the Chibchas into a compact nation which was fully aware of its superiority over the other races by which it was surrounded and with which it did business. The Chibchas were skilful artisans, and their work in gold, silver and precious stones was almost the equal of the best of the kind done by the native races of America. In their size, construction and architecture their temples only fell short of the excellence of the sacred edifices of the Peruvians, Aztecs, Mayas and more advanced races of Guatemala. Though they fought val iantly in defense of their homes and their ruler and priests, the Chibchas were defeated oy Quesada and their country renamed by him New Granada (Nuevo Reino de Granada) ; and their capital city was baptized Santa Fe de Bogota and dedicated to the service of the king of Spain (1538). At the time of the con
quest the Chibchas had amassed vast quanti ties of gold, which the Spaniards seized. They had considerable scientific knowledge and pos sessed a hieroglyphic system of writing much like that in use among the neighboring cultured native races. They traded the products of their cold upland country for those of the temperate and hot lands; and they mined em eralds and salt, for which they had a constant and ready market. These are to-day still two of the most important industries of Colombia. The salt and the emeralds from the Chibcha mines were carried down the Magdalena River and distributed all along the neighboring sea coast, and from there carried far into Central America and some of them are believed to have reached the capital of the Aztecs before the discovery of America. The Chibchas also ex cel in weaving, the tanning of skins and the making of pottery. Their complicated religious system, which was based on nature worship, had much affinity with the various creeds of Cen tral America and Mexico.