The Lache were an indigenous, agrarian people in the highlands of what is now central Colombia's northern Boyacá and Santander departments, primarily in Gutiérrez Province and García Rovira Province.[1][2] They were part of the Cocuy Confederation[3] and spoke Chibcha, trading predominantly with other Chibcha speakers, such as the Muisca, Guane, Pijao and Chitarero.[4] Trade included salt and textiles, as well as food stuffs.[4][5] The Lache farmed maize, potatoes, quinoa and cotton, among other crops.[6]
 Topography of Santander Department The Lache lived in highlands of the eastern part, continuing into Boyacá | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 0 (2004) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
Santander, Boyacá,  Colombia | |
| Languages | |
| Chibcha | |
| Religion | |
| Traditional | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| U'wa, Muisca, Guane |
In the 17th century, Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita wrote of the habit of the Laches in bringing up younger male children as culturally female.[7][8]
The name Lache is preserved in a barrio of Bogotá known as Los Laches.
Municipalities belonging to Lache territory
editThe Lache inhabited the highlands of eastern Santander and northern Boyacá and a small part of northwesternmost Casanare.[1][9][10]
| Name | Department | Altitude (m) urban centre |
Map |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capitanejo | Santander | 1090 | |
| Carcasí | Santander | 2080 | |
| Cepitá | Santander | 3000 | |
| Cerrito | Santander | 2220-4200 | |
| Concepción | Santander | 2005 | |
| Enciso | Santander | 1484 | |
| Guaca | Santander | 2401 | |
| Macaravita | Santander | 2320 | |
| Málaga | Santander | 2235 | |
| Molagavita | Santander | 2196 | |
| San Andrés | Santander | 1617 | |
| San José de Miranda | Santander | 2381 | |
| San Miguel | Santander | 2200 | |
| Chiscas | Boyacá | 2368 | |
| Chita | Boyacá | 2964 | |
| El Cocuy | Boyacá | 2750 | |
| El Espino | Boyacá | 2128 | |
| Guacamayas | Boyacá | 2296 | |
| Jericó (shared with Muisca) |
Boyacá | 3100 | |
| Panqueba | Boyacá | 2258 | |
| La Salina | Casanare | 1400 | |
| San Mateo | Boyacá | 2500 | |
| La Uvita | Boyacá | 2700 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b (in Spanish) Los Laches y Chitareros y sus caminos a la llegada de los españoles
- ^ Rodríguez 1992, p. 17
- ^ Rueda, Carl Henrik Langebaek (1987). "Tres formas de acceso a recursos en territorio de la confederación del Cocuy, siglo XVI". Boletín Museo del Oro (in Spanish). 18: 29–45.
- ^ a b Rodríguez 1992, p. 18
- ^ Acuña Rodríguez, Blanca Ofelia (2006). "Territorio indígena de la sal en la Sierra Nevada del Cocuy. S. XVI" (PDF). Historia y Espacio (in Spanish) (27). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-10-21. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
- ^ Rodríguez 1996
- ^ Trexler 1999, p. 86
- ^ Tribín, Hugo Armando Sotomayor (June 2003). "Una reflexión histórico - antropológica sobre el maltrato infantil en Colombia (Segunda Parte)". Pediatria (in Spanish). 38 (2). Archived from the original on 5 April 2009.
- ^ (in Spanish) Lache people territories
- ^ (in Spanish) Indigenous groups of Boyacá and surroundings Archived 2011-12-25 at the Wayback Machine - Banco de la República
Bibliography
edit- Rodríguez, José Vicente (1992). "Características Físicas de la Población Prehispánica de la Cordillera Oriental de Colombia: Implicaciones Etnogenéticas". Maguaré. 8: 7–45.
- Rodríguez, José Vicente (1996). Dieta, Salud y Demografía Prehispánica en la Cordillera Oriental de Colombia: Mitos y Realidades Sobre el Bienestar Aborigen. Departamento de Antropología, Facultad Ciencias Humanas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Santafé de Bogotá.
- Trexler, Richard C. (1999). Sex and Conquest: Gendered Violence, Political Order, and the European Conquest of the Americas. Cornell University. pp. 1–304. ISBN 9780801484827. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
Further reading
edit- Ariza, Gonzalo (1952). Los Laches. Villegas Editores.
External links
edit- "La Coctelera: Realidades Colombianas - Historia y Geografía: Asi es Santander 3" (in Spanish). 21 June 2003. Archived from the original on 30 December 2005. Retrieved 5 August 2006.