Panche people

Map of pre-Columbian civilizations. The Panches and Pijaos are grouped as Tolima

File:Guanes deformación craneal.JPG

The Panches performed craneal deformation as part of their culture

The Panche or Tolima people were a Cariban-speaking indigenous group of people in modern-day Colombia. They inhabited the southwestern parts of the department of Cundinamarca and the northeastern areas of the department of Tolima, close to the Magdalena River. At the time of the Spanish conquest, more than 30,000 Panches were living in Colombia. Early knowledge about the Panches has been compiled by scholar Pedro Simón. Acoording to the latter, the word panche in their own Panche language means "cruel" and "murderer".

Panche territory

The Panches were inhabiting the lower altitude southwestern areas of the Cundinamarca department, close to the Magdalena River. Their northern neighbours were the Muzos in the northeast and the Pantágoras in the northwest, in the east the Muisca, in the southeast the Sutagaos and to the south and southwest the Pijaos. The northern limits were defined by the Río Negro and the Guarinó River and the southern limits the Coello and Fusagasugá Rivers.

The Panche people were organized in a loose confederation with different subgroups whose names still remain as municipalities of Cundinamarca.

Description

The Panches were a strong group of warriors who fought numerous battles with the neighbouring Muisca. They walked partially naked and were ornamented with earrings, feathers and golden pieces.

The Panches hunted and fought wars with their enemies using sticks and clubs and poisoned arrows. They used poison of spiders and snakes for their arrows.

Petroglyphs of the Panches were discovered in Tibacuy, Viotá, El Colegio, Cachipay, Albán, Sasaima. Rock paintings have been found in Pandi and Tibacuy.

Like other indigenous peoples of the Americas, such as the Guanes, the Panches performed craneal deformation.

The Panches performed cannibalism on parts of their conquered enemies. Some sources state they ate everything except for the heads, which they hung in their bohíos.

In terms of their burial practices the Panches differed from their neighbours that the dead were not oriented in a fixed position, like the Muisca with their heads to the east and the Muzos with their heads to the west.

History

The Panche civilization has been described from 300 AD onwards. Around the year 1000 migrations from the Caribbean coast of Colombia happened inward.

After the Spanish conquest and the installation of the New Kingdom of Granada, the Panches quickly diminished due to their resistance against the Spanish conquistadores. The first Spanish conquerors who invaded the Panche territories were Juan de Céspedes and Alonso de San Martín.

More than 2000 artefacts from the Panche people are stored in the Museo del Oro in Bogotá.

See also

• Muisca people
• Pijao people
• Sutagao people