﻿Vol.2] 
  MOGUEX-COCONUCO 
  — 
  LEHMANN 
  973 
  

  

  CULTURE 
  

   SOCIAL 
  AND 
  POLITICAL 
  ORGANIZATION 
  

  

  We 
  know 
  very 
  little 
  indeed 
  about 
  the 
  social 
  structure 
  of 
  these 
  

   tribes. 
  Tradition 
  has 
  it 
  that 
  the 
  Puben 
  cacique 
  lived 
  on 
  the 
  small 
  

   artificial 
  plateau 
  near 
  the 
  town 
  of 
  Popayan, 
  where 
  the 
  mill 
  of 
  Mosco- 
  

   pan 
  now 
  stands. 
  We 
  do 
  not 
  know 
  whether 
  he 
  was 
  chief 
  only 
  of 
  the 
  

   Puben 
  or 
  whether 
  he 
  had 
  other 
  tribes 
  under 
  his 
  domination. 
  It 
  

   seems, 
  however, 
  that 
  several 
  Indian 
  tribes 
  formed 
  a 
  confederation. 
  

   The 
  Indians 
  who 
  fought 
  the 
  advance 
  of 
  Belalcazar 
  in 
  the 
  neighbor- 
  

   hood 
  of 
  El 
  Tambo 
  belonged 
  to 
  several 
  tribes, 
  who 
  had 
  united 
  to 
  fight 
  

   the 
  Spaniards, 
  and 
  we 
  may 
  infer 
  that 
  there 
  existed 
  among 
  them 
  a 
  

   relative 
  subordination 
  of 
  tribal 
  interests 
  at 
  that 
  time. 
  But 
  apart 
  

   from 
  this, 
  we 
  have 
  no 
  information 
  concerning 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  their 
  

   government. 
  

  

  General 
  Mosquera 
  wrote 
  (1852, 
  p. 
  42 
  ff.) 
  of 
  the 
  social 
  organization 
  

   of 
  the 
  Puben 
  and 
  Coconuco: 
  

  

  They 
  have 
  a 
  supreme 
  chief, 
  called 
  Yasguen, 
  who 
  is 
  like 
  a 
  king. 
  The 
  caciques 
  

   governed 
  divisions 
  of 
  peoples 
  (pueblos) 
  ; 
  under 
  them 
  were 
  the 
  caschus, 
  the 
  equiv- 
  

   alent 
  of 
  governors. 
  [The 
  word] 
  carabic 
  designated 
  lesser 
  authorities 
  who 
  were 
  

   comparable 
  to 
  mayors. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  modern 
  Indian 
  reservations, 
  the 
  system 
  of 
  government 
  is 
  

   based 
  on 
  ancient 
  tribal 
  laws 
  which 
  were 
  changed 
  and 
  unified 
  by 
  the 
  

   colonizers 
  and, 
  later, 
  by 
  the 
  legislators 
  of 
  the 
  Republic. 
  All 
  reserva- 
  

   tions 
  now 
  have 
  a 
  native 
  cabildo, 
  formed 
  by 
  a 
  governor, 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  

   mayors, 
  and 
  several 
  policemen 
  (alguaciles) 
  . 
  The 
  Indians 
  of 
  Guambia 
  

   today 
  designate 
  the 
  mayor 
  (alcalde) 
  , 
  the 
  governor, 
  and 
  other 
  leading 
  

   men 
  as 
  "karowix" 
  (equivalent 
  to 
  Mosquera's 
  " 
  carabic"), 
  which 
  seems 
  

   to 
  mean 
  " 
  superior.' 
  ' 
  

  

  According 
  to 
  Andagoya, 
  there 
  were 
  100,000 
  houses 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  

   of 
  the 
  Popayan 
  Valley, 
  which 
  would 
  indicate 
  a 
  total 
  population 
  of 
  

   500,000. 
  The 
  historian 
  Sergio 
  Arboleda, 
  editor 
  and 
  author 
  of 
  part 
  

   of 
  the 
  "Historia 
  General 
  de 
  la 
  Gobernacion 
  de 
  Popayan," 
  by 
  Jaime 
  

   Arroyo 
  (1907), 
  thinks 
  that 
  this 
  is 
  too 
  high 
  a 
  figure; 
  according 
  to 
  him, 
  

   the 
  total 
  population 
  of 
  the 
  Popayan 
  Valley 
  did 
  not 
  exceed 
  100,000. 
  

   Be 
  that 
  as 
  it 
  may, 
  the 
  neighboring 
  hills 
  show 
  numerous 
  remains 
  of 
  

   dwellings 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  signs 
  of 
  previous 
  cultivation. 
  

  

  CANNIBALISM 
  

  

  According 
  to 
  the 
  chronicles, 
  all 
  the 
  Indians 
  were 
  primitive 
  cannibals 
  

   except 
  the 
  Coconuco. 
  It 
  seems 
  that 
  such 
  customs 
  have 
  often 
  been 
  

   grossly 
  exaggerated 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  justify 
  the 
  acts 
  of 
  cruelty 
  committed 
  

   against 
  the 
  Indians. 
  

  

  