The first report on the Guayupe nation is from German conquistador
Philipp von Hutten, participant of the expedition led by
Georg Hohermuth von Speyer from
Coro in Venezuela to the borders of the Amazon bassin (1535 - 1538). He describes them as "very good looking people and very able in defending themselves." Indeed, Hohermuths army never was able to make peace with the Guayupe, crossing their entire land from the northern shores of Upía river down to the regions south of the
Guaviare river. On their way, the conquistadors were engaged in various skirmishes and even in a big battle with the Guayupe warriors. "They tried their luck on us frequently but although they killed and wounded many of us, we always gave them the rawer deal. This nation fights with bow and arrow and spears and shields made of tapir skin, and they throw gins." Because of the sophisticated defence works including palisades, thorn bushes and well-camouflaged pitfalls, the Spanish soldiers in Hohermuth's army nicknamed one of those well fortified villages "Little Salses", referring to the Catalan
Fort de Salses, an innovative type of fortress at this time. The Guayupe were an
agricultural society with
yuca one of their main crops. According to
scholar Pedro de Aguado, the Guayupe defecated in the rivers around and not near their houses.
Religion As in the
Muisca religion, the main gods were the
Sun and the
Moon who were husband and wife. The supreme being of the Guayupe, in the Muisca religion called
Chiminigagua, was
Inaynagui. In 2011, after the excavation of a Guayupe burial site, the museum of the Guayupe in
Fuente de Oro was opened, containing bones, burial
urns, artefacts and plates. As of 2009 yearly a
Reina de Guayupe, miss contest in Puerto Santander, located at from the urban centre of Fuente de Oro, is held among the Guayupe. == See also ==