Guane people

Guane
	Guane doubled-chambered, ceramic, stirrup-spout vessel, 10th–16th century CE, exhibited at Chicamocha National Park
Regions with significant populations
	Santander, Boyacá, Colombia
Languages
	Chibcha, Colombian Spanish
Religion
	Traditional religion, Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
	Lache, U'wa, Muisca, Muzo, Yarigui

The Guane are a South American people that live mainly in the cities of Santander, Bucaramanga and Barichara. A population estimate made by DANE(Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística) in 2005, they are around 812 people in Santander that identify as Guane, with 409 being men and 403 being women.^[1]

Etymology

The etymology of the word Guane is not known with certainty. The most prominent reasoning states that it came from the Muisca people, the Guane’s neighbors, who referred to them as ‘Guatas’ which means ‘tall’ in the Musyccubun language. It evolved to become ‘Guates’ and then eventually Guanes. Guane people from this time period were reported to be as tall as 1.76m, taller than most other native groups at the time.^[2]

Pre-colonial Guane People

Before European-contact the Guane People lived 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.^[3] Other sources state their territory did not extend so far north.^[4] Guane, a corregimiento of Barichara, Santander, is said to have been the capital of the Guane people.

Culture and art

Guane culture during this time period had many aspects to it. They celebrated on many different occasions such as the start of puberty, the teething of a baby, and the start of the new lunar year. ^[5] They had multiple leader for each village, however, all of the Guane were led by a man named Guanetá by the time the Spanish .^[6]

A wallet made from fique, the fiberous plant that the Guane harvest and use

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.^[7] The Guane cultivated tobacco and made products of fique.^[3]

Like the Muisca, U'wa and Lache, the Guane spoke a Chibchan language.^[4]

The Guane also had there own style of music and art. Many illustrations and iconographies are found all over Santander that depict interpretations of people, events, animals, and other forms of artistic expression.^[8]

Colonization and the Spanish Genocide

Like with most Indigneous groups the Guane suffered at the hands of the Spanish, nevertheless they fought back. At first, Spanish explorers entered their territory on friendly terms, however, eventually a Captain named Martin Galeano made his way into their land with an armed force at his back. The Guane, led at the time by Guanetá, fought back with all their projectile weapons in order to slow the advance of the Spanish. The Spanish eventually made it to there position and unleashed a violent attack of which few of the Guane people present were able to escape. Guanetá, in the face of being captured, chose to sacrifice himself instead of being succumbing to the violence of the Spanish.^[8]^[9]

Another rebellion was later led by another Guane leader named Chanchón. Despite the many other Guane leaders that formed diplomatic relationships with Galeano, Chanchón fought against the diplomats that were sent by the Spanish. Chanchón continued to fight numerous battles against the Spanish with the goal being to liberate the Guane territory and remove the Spanish from the region, however, despite his best efforts and collaborations with other Guane leaders, many thousands of Guane were slaughtered at the hands of the Spanish as they contineud their presence in the region.^[9]

Current Guane Culture

Today the Guane People continue to exist. Unfortunately, there are no known speakers of Guane´s original language, however, their culture has evolved and is still practiced.^[10] For example, museums around Santander preserve the culture and claim it as Santandereana Heritage, a woman named Doña Ana Felicia Alquichire continues to make ceramics in the traditional Guane style, and many Santandereanos sing songs about their Guane heritage everyday. ^[11]

The Guane also continue their tradition of gastronomy by preparing of 'hormigas culonas' which translated to big butt ants, arepas, and chicha.^[1]^[8]

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.

Name	Department	Altitude (m) urban centre
Guane	Santander	1336
Aratoca	Santander	1800
Cabrera	Santander	980
Coromoro	Santander	1518
Curití	Santander	1409
Encino	Santander	1850
Guapotá	Santander	1534
Güepsa (shared with Muisca and Yarigui)	Santander	1540
Jordán	Santander	425
Mogotes	Santander	1700
Ocamonte	Santander	1398
Oiba	Santander	1420
Palmar	Santander	1200
Páramo	Santander	1200
Pinchote	Santander	1131
San Gil	Santander	1117
San Joaquín	Santander	1950
Los Santos	Santander	1310
Suaita	Santander	1700
Valle de San José	Santander	1250
Villanueva	Santander	1450
San José de Pare	Boyacá	1545
Santana	Boyacá	1550