'He went about all covered with powdered gold, as casually as if it were powdered salt. For it seemed to him that to wear any other finery was less beautiful, and that to put on ornaments or arms made of gold worked by hammering, stamping, or by other means, was a vulgar and common thing.' Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo, 1535-48
The Muisca towns and their treasures quickly fell to the Conquistadores. Taking stock of their newly won territory, the Spaniards realized that - in spite of the quantity of gold in the hands of the Indians - there were no golden cities, nor even rich mines, since the Muiscas obtained all their gold from outside. But at the same time, from captured Indians, they began to hear stories of El Dorado ('The Gilded Man') and of the rites which used to take place at the lagoon of Guatavita. There were Indians still alive who had witnessed the last Guatavita ceremony, and the stories these Indians told were consistent. Every one of the Spanish chroniclers refers to the Gilded Man, but probably the most authoritative account comes from Rodrígues Freyle, who learned it from his friend, Don Juan, nephew of the last independent lord of Guatavita.
'The ceremony took place on the appointment of a new ruler. Before taking office, he spent some time secluded in a cave, without women, forbidden to eat salt and chilli pepper, or to go out during daylight. The first journey he had to make was to go to the great lagoon of Guatavita, to make offerings and sacrifices to the demon which they worshipped as their god and lord. During the ceremony which took place a the lagoon, they made a raft of rushes, embellishing and decorating it with the most attractive things they had. They put on it four lighted braziers in which they burned much moque, which is the incense of these natives, and also resin and many other perfumes. The lagoon was large and deep, so that a ship with high sides could sail on it, all loaded with an infinity of men and women dressed in fine plumes, golden plaques and crowns... As soon as those on the raft began to burn incense, they also lit braziers on the shore, so that the smoke hid the light of day.'
'At this time they stripped the heir to his skin, and anointed him with a sticky earth on which they placed gold dust so that he was completely covered with this metal. They placed him on the raft ... and at his feet they placed a great heap of gold and emeralds for him to offer to his god. In the raft with him went four principal subject chiefs, decked in plumes, crowns, bracelets, pendants and ear rings all of gold. They, too, were naked, and each one carried his offering .... when the raft reached the centre of the lagoon, they raised a banner as a signal for silence. The gilded Indian then ... (threw) out all the pile of gold into the middle of the lake, and the chiefs who had accompanied him did the same on their own accounts. ... After this they lowered the flag, which had remained up during the whole time of offering, and, as the raft moved towards the shore, the shouting began again, with pipes, flutes, and large teams of singers and dancers. With this ceremony the new ruler was received, and was recognized as lord and king.'
This account of the ceremony of El Dorado gave way to the persisting legend of the unimaginable wealth lying on the bottom Lake Guatavita. Attempts to drain the lake started almost immediately after the first rumor was passed on. Today the surrounding hills bare a curious notch carved by Antonio de Sepulveda, a Bogotan merchant, who, in the 1580's, attempted to drain the lake to uncover the mythical wealth. The effort was abandoned when the hillsides caved in and covered and killed many of the workers, even though gold was discovered. The loot went to King Philip II of Spain.
It was not too long after these expeditions that the story of El Dorado was embellished with accounts of this golden city, the mythical Manoa where even the cooking utensils were made of gold. Explorers and adventurers took off on the hunch that the city was located somewhere in the unexplored forests of the Amazon valley, and vanished into the jungle, scores never returning. Sir Walter Raleigh, who is perhaps the best known of these dreamers, also lost his life in quest of the legendary Manoa. When his second expedition failed in 1618, he was executed on the order of England's Queen Elizabeth I.
Soon the Golden Man faded from memory, but the place for wealth unknown continued to live and assumed the name Eldorado. For the next two centuries the expeditions continued in the Andes and the Amazon jungle. No one has reported having found any shining metal.
Lake Guatavita was the site of the initiation ceremony of Muisca chiefs. Numerous attempts were made to drain the lake to reveal the gold. The niche in the volcanic rim of the lake is the result of one such attempt by Antonio de Sepulvada in the 1580's.
~*~
El Dorado became a myth and a dream; a city, personage or kingdom, it always lay beyond the next range of mountains, or deep in the unexplored forests. The search for this other, non-existent, El Dorado, in various parts of South America, was to occupy men's efforts for another two centuries.
*~
When Francisco Pizarro marched south from Cajamarca in 1533, he sent the seasoned conquistador Sebastián de Benalcázar to accompany treasure back to the port of San Miguel. Benalcázar responded to the news of Alvarado's unauthorised invasion of Quito in 1534 by launching his own unauthorised invasion.
After the success of the Quitan campaign, Benalcázar settled in Quito and launched small expeditions into modern-day Colombia. He was eventually forced to flee from Quito to escape arrest by Francisco Pizarro, who had wearied of his unauthorised expeditions.
When the legend of El Dorado, the fabled city of fabulous riches, began to appear in 1540, Benalcázar claimed that this had been the goal of all his expeditions, hoping to establish a prior claim to the city should it eventually be discovered. Benalcázar even journeyed to Spain to argue that the city must lie within his territory. He was awarded the governorship of Popayán with a royal licence to market cinnamon, whilst the city of El Dorado proved to be nothing more than a myth.
*~
Now, in modern times, many are still searching for the legendary city of gold, will they ever find it- has it beed found- or shall it forever stay as a wonderful dream to all those who would wish to see it's riches.....?
*~
Sunday, 4 June, 2000, 17:01 GMT 18:01 UK
By the BBC's Daniel Schweimler
American explorer Gene Savoy says he has discovered a pre-Hispanic city deep in virgin rainforest in eastern Peru.
The explorer and his team of archaeologists believe they have uncovered the city of Cajamarquilla - one of the lost cities of the Chachapoyas people who moved to eastern Peru about AD 700.
He said his team had only just begun uncovering the stone city, which contains up to 150 buildings, including houses, temples and burial sites.
El Dorado?
The 65sq km site, which lies on the Saposoa river, includes stone roads weaving through a network of terraced cliffs and at least 36 burial towers.
In the euphoria of their find, some members of the team have even said they might have come across the fabled city of El Dorado - the Golden City long sought by the Spanish conquerors.
But Savoy has stressed that no gold has been found and he has refused to reveal the exact whereabouts of the site for fear of attracting thieves.
Warriors:
The American explorer has, during more than 40 years of working in the region, found several other settlements built by the Chachapoyas, including the city of Gran Vilaya - a complex of 20,000 stone buildings that he believes was the capital of the Chachapoyas empire.
They were tall, fair-skinned warriors who were defeated in the 15th Century by the Incas, shortly before the Spanish conquest of Peru. The Incas so respected their fighting prowess that they used them as their bodyguards.
With the excitement of their discovery still fresh, the explorers are now beginning the methodical task of scraping away the thick jungle vegetation to reveal more details about the little-known Chachapoyas empire.
*~
Scientist: Legendary City of El Dorado Exists
By Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News
Feb. 25 El Dorado, the fabled city of gold, did exist and was even evangelized by Jesuit missionaries, according to the findings of a Lima University archaeologist.
Called "Paititi" by the Incas and "El Dorado" by the Spaniards, the mythical city is thought to have been the last place of refuge for the Incas when they fled with their treasures ahead of the advancing Spanish conquerors in 1532.
Mario Polia, an Italian archaeologist who teaches at Lima's Pontifical Catholic University, discovered an ancient document that describes a city with walls covered in gold leaf.
"Paititi is not a myth, it really existed. It was discovered at the end of the 16th century by missionaries of the Society of Jesus, who converted the king and his court," Polia wrote in the latest issue of the archaeological review Archeo.
The "report of a miracle that took place in the Kingdom of Paititi for God's mercy" is part of a collection called "Peruana Historia" (Peruvian history), kept in the Roman Archives of the Society of Jesus.
It tells of the extraordinary encounter of Father Andrea Lopez with the inhabitants of Paititi, "a very wealthy city adorned with gold, silver and precious stones."
According to the report, the order's Father General informed the Pope of the discovery, asking and obtaining permission to evangelize the area. Polia believes that the Vatican never revealed Paititi's location, fearing a gold rush and mass hysteria.
El Dorado has lured many explorer over the past five centuries: among them famed British army surveyor Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett, who left in search of Paititi in 1925, and more recently, a 1972 Franco- American expedition led by Bob Nichols, and the 1997 exploration of Norwegian anthropologist Lars Hafksjold.
The latest explorer to set off in search of the legend is Jacek Palkiewicz, best known for discovering the real source of the Amazon river in 1996. Palkiewicz left last week for a reconnaissance trip into the inaccessible jungles of the Madre de Dios River basin. He will then begin a systematic search in June with the help of state-of-the art technology.
"I have been working on this project for two years. I even pinpointed a waterfall and a square lake which, according to legend, lead to Paititi. There are extremely good chances I will find El Dorado," Palkiewicz told Discovery News.
But Polia is skeptical. "This sounds like another groundless claim. I know for sure Paititi is not in the Madre de Dios area, namely where everybody has been looking," he said.
Brian S. Bauer, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and one of the leading authorities on the Inca, is also skeptical.
"All this only shows that the dream of finding a lost city of gold is as strong for us today as it was for the Spaniards in the 17th century, " he said.
*~
"El Dorado" discovered in Peruvian Amazon, explorers claim
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Story Filed: Saturday, July 27, 2002 5:02 PM EST
Lima, Jul 27, 2002 (EFE via COMTEX) -- An international team of explorers claims to have found the legendary Inca city of gold that the Spanish knew as "El Dorado," deep in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon.
The quest began on June 30, when more than two dozen researchers began combing the wild and unexplored jungle region along the basin of the Madre de Dios River.
El Dorado, called "Paititi" by the region's Indian population, is known as the last bastion of the Incas as they sought refuge from advancing Spanish conquistadors.
The leader of the expedition, the Polish-Italian journalist and explorer Jacek Palkiewicz, told EFE Saturday he was very pleased with the expedition and felt "certain" he had found El Dorado.
After two years of research and exploration, Palkiewicz said, the lost city had been found in an area adjoining the Manu national park, southeast of Lima.
The journey to El Dorado has allowed the researchers to confirm all the written accounts and myths surrounding the lost city, including reports that it was a 10-day walk from Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Inca empire.
Palkiewicz said he was most surprised to learn that stories of the city being under a lake were completely accurate.
The lake has been discovered in a four-square-kilometer (1.5-square-mile) plateau totally covered in vegetation.
Russian specialists taking part in the expedition used terrestrial radar to confirm the existence of an underwater network of caverns and tunnels.
According to legend, the treasures of the last Inca rulers were buried under the lake.
He added that a final extensive expedition would be carried out in October and would include scientists specializing in the study of caves.
Palkiewicz said he had found traces of pre-Inca constructions, which indicate that the Incas had only begun to colonize the area shortly before arrival of the Spanish conquistadors.
The man described by Britain's Guardian newspaper as a "self-styled academic" did not rule out the existence of other Inca constructions, but said the dense jungle and the region's torrential rains prevented the team from investigating further.
The expedition, which was made up of scientists from Argentina, Italy, Poland, Russia and Peru, used terrestrial radar and satellites to locate the lost city.
The journey was planned after two previous visits to the area and was given a further boost by the discovery of a 16th-century manuscript ostensibly proving that El Dorado had been discovered by Jesuit missionaries.
In the manuscript, which was found in the Vatican archives of the Society of Jesus, the pope authorizes the Jesuits to evangelize the Indians of Paititi.
Palkiewicz, a teacher of survival skills who has written some 20 books about his journeys to the most remote areas of the planet, has extensive experience in the Amazon jungles.
In 1996, he led another expedition that succeeded in locating the true source of the Amazon River.
His most recent expedition had a budget of more than $1 million and received the symbolic support of Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, Poland's Aleksander Kwasniewski and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Efforts to locate the legendary city began with the arrival of Spanish conquerors in 1532.
Rumors of a jungle city that supposedly held priceless treasures to be used to pay the ransom of the last Inca ruler, Atahualpa, prompted searches of the region.
Many previous El Dorado expeditions ended in disaster on account of the region's hostile environment and difficult terrain.
One such failed expedition took place in 1925, when famous British explorer Col. Peter Fawcett disappeared in western Brazil while looking for the city.
In 1970, a French-American expedition led by Serge Debru disappeared, most likely at the hands of Huachipairi Indians.
A 1997 expedition led by Norwegian anthropologist Lars Hafksjold also disappeared after setting out for the Madidi River, not far from the site of Palkiewicz's discovery.
By David Blanco Bonilla.
dub/mc/dr
Copyright (c) 2002. Agencia EFE S.A.
All Copyrights © are acknowledged. Material reproduced here is for educational and research purposes only.
Sources:
Discovery News
EFE S.A. Agency News
BBC News
