﻿Vol.2] 
  THE 
  CHIBCHA 
  — 
  KROEBER 
  899 
  

  

  Cubio 
  tubers 
  (Tropaeolum) 
  were 
  important. 
  Quinoa 
  (Chenopodium) 
  

   was 
  leached 
  against 
  its 
  bitterness, 
  but 
  soon 
  went 
  out 
  of 
  use 
  in 
  Colonial 
  

   times. 
  Other 
  foods 
  were 
  the 
  nonpoisonous 
  yuca 
  or 
  manioc, 
  arracacha, 
  

   sweet 
  potatoes 
  (camotes), 
  beans, 
  squashes, 
  tomatoes, 
  and 
  aji. 
  The 
  

   fruits 
  mentioned 
  — 
  aguacate, 
  pineapple, 
  guayaba, 
  pitahaya— 
  are 
  dis- 
  

   tinctly 
  more 
  tropical, 
  and 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  brought 
  up 
  from 
  the 
  lower 
  

   valleys. 
  Where 
  the 
  cotton 
  was 
  grown 
  is 
  not 
  clear; 
  some 
  at 
  least 
  came 
  

   from 
  the 
  Panche. 
  

  

  Coca 
  and 
  tobacco 
  were 
  both 
  cultivated. 
  Datura, 
  the 
  other 
  reli- 
  

   gious 
  narcotic, 
  probably 
  grew 
  wild. 
  Alcohol, 
  in 
  fermented 
  maize- 
  

   chicha, 
  was 
  standard 
  at 
  public 
  ceremonies 
  and 
  feasts, 
  when 
  everyone 
  

   drank 
  until 
  unconscious. 
  

  

  Salt 
  was 
  gotten 
  at 
  salinas 
  at 
  Nemoc6n, 
  Tausa, 
  and 
  Zipaquird, 
  was 
  

   boiled 
  down 
  in 
  hemispherical 
  pottery 
  pans, 
  and 
  was 
  traded 
  in 
  these. 
  

  

  Meat 
  and 
  fish 
  can 
  have 
  formed 
  only 
  a 
  small 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  diet, 
  rabbits 
  

   and 
  the 
  curi, 
  or 
  cavia, 
  being 
  the 
  most 
  important. 
  Deer 
  were 
  abundant, 
  

   but 
  to 
  kill 
  them 
  without 
  the 
  chief's 
  permission 
  was 
  forbidden— 
  or 
  did 
  

   the 
  Spaniards 
  read 
  European 
  law 
  into 
  Chibcha? 
  

  

  HOUSES 
  

  

  Houses 
  rested 
  on 
  posts, 
  had 
  walls 
  of 
  cane 
  with 
  mud 
  daub, 
  thatched 
  

   roofs, 
  and 
  were 
  either 
  rectangular 
  with 
  gabled 
  roof, 
  or 
  circular 
  with 
  

   conical 
  roof 
  and 
  sometimes 
  double 
  walls. 
  Palaces 
  and 
  temples 
  seem 
  

   to 
  have 
  been 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  construction. 
  Palaces 
  and 
  towns 
  were 
  en- 
  

   closed 
  in 
  palisades 
  of 
  canes 
  between 
  posts, 
  above 
  which 
  rose 
  occasional 
  

   crow's-nests 
  perched 
  on 
  poles. 
  Stone 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  adobe 
  masonry 
  seems 
  

   to 
  have 
  been 
  totally 
  lacking. 
  Ten 
  scattered 
  stone 
  columns, 
  mostly 
  

   cylindrical, 
  3 
  to 
  6 
  m. 
  (about 
  10 
  to 
  20 
  ft.) 
  long, 
  near 
  Kamiriqui, 
  may 
  be 
  

   Chibcha 
  or 
  pre-Chibcha. 
  

  

  Beds 
  were 
  cane 
  grids, 
  covered 
  with 
  cotton 
  cloaks. 
  Low 
  chairs 
  or 
  

   stools, 
  with 
  or 
  without 
  backs, 
  carved 
  out 
  of 
  single 
  blocks 
  of 
  wood, 
  were 
  

   reserved 
  for 
  rank; 
  ordinary 
  folk 
  squatted 
  on 
  the 
  ground. 
  Most 
  

   houses 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  rather 
  bare. 
  

  

  DRESS 
  

  

  Dress 
  was 
  of 
  cotton 
  and 
  ordinarily 
  consisted 
  of 
  two 
  white 
  pieces, 
  

   called 
  mantles 
  by 
  the 
  Spaniards, 
  for 
  both 
  men 
  and 
  women. 
  The 
  

   lower 
  was 
  wrapped 
  around 
  the 
  waist, 
  the 
  upper 
  probably 
  knotted 
  over 
  

   a 
  shoulder 
  by 
  men, 
  fastened 
  in 
  front 
  with 
  a 
  tupu 
  pin 
  by 
  women. 
  The 
  

   feet 
  were 
  bare, 
  the 
  hair 
  long, 
  headdresses 
  general. 
  Distinguished 
  

   people 
  had 
  red 
  or 
  black 
  designs 
  painted 
  on 
  their 
  clothes 
  with 
  a 
  brush. 
  

   Successful 
  racers, 
  rewarded 
  by 
  the 
  chief 
  with 
  mantles, 
  wore 
  these 
  with 
  

   one 
  end 
  dragging 
  on 
  the 
  ground. 
  The 
  habitual 
  full 
  covering 
  of 
  the 
  

   body 
  by 
  both 
  sexes 
  was 
  probably 
  instigated 
  by 
  the 
  cool, 
  foggy 
  climate. 
  

  

  