2 minute read
BLOOD AND GOLD
and BLOOD
G O L D
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The legend of El Dorado came as an extraordinary news for settlers settled in Colombia and Venezuela. In a place populated by natives, sacrifices were offered to gods in which the chief was covered entirely with powdered gold, while in his honor the other members threw precious metals and stones into a lagoon.
In his chronicle ‘El Carnero’, Juan Rodríguez Freyle describes this ritual in some detail: “Natives stripped their chief, spread a sticky liquid on him and sprayed him with gold powder, so that he was completely covered from head to toe. They then put him on a raft with a lot of gold and emeralds around him.” Everything (according to the native group’s beliefs) was done with the intention of appeasing an evil dragon that lived at the bottom of the lagoon.
The Spanish settlers always had a clear ambition and a thirst for land, blood, recognition, and especially, gold. This precious metal was above anything else, even religion; so much so that in his diary on board his ship, Christopher Columbus mentioned the word ‘gold’ 139 times and the name of God only 51 times.
By: María José Novoa Ordóñez
When the settlers heard this, they embarked on expeditions in search of “The Golden Prince Lagoon”, but they were unlucky, because over time, natives ended up with this tradition. There was a lot of confusion about the exact location of the lagoon and this led settlers to travel to a lot of dangerous regions while they called every place with gold “El Dorado”.
Still, this didn’t prevent the bloodsheed of innocent people,
looting of significant communities. In a writing titled ‘The Legend of El Dorado’, Marco Antonio Martín García, historian and writer, mentions: “Diego de Quesada, conqueror of New Granada, didn’t find the Golden Prince, because the tradition had been lost. But he stole 246.976 pesos of gold and about 1.815 large emeralds from the natives. Of the 1.300 white men, 1.500 natives and 1.100 horses that started the expedition, only returned 64 white men, 4 natives and 18 horses returned”.
The deceased didn’t matter when precious metals got in the way, and the expeditions through bleak places were insignificant because gold was the greatest reward. After all, the only thing that really mattered capturing the legend of El Dorado, dead or alive, no matter the consequences.
QUE LA RIQUEZA DE NUESTRAS NARRACIONES ORALES NO SE PIERDA
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CONEXIÓN CONEXIÓN CONEXIÓN CONEXIÓN CONEXIÓN CONEXIÓN CONEX CONEX CONEXIÓN CONEXIÓN CONEX CONEXIÓN CONEXIÓN CONEXIÓN CONEXIÓN conexiÓn CONEXIÓN CONEXIÓN CONEXIÓN CONEXIÓN
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