November 9, 2024 Natalia Sánchez Steiner: “Cosmological relations in the Muisca myth of Bachue.”
This talk outlines the cosmological relations found in the Muisca myth of Bachue, a traditional narrative which originated in the sacred lake of Iguaque, located in Colombia (Northern Andes). An interdisciplinary approach was applied, considering archaeological, historical, ethnographic, astronomic, social, and climatic perspectives. It is suggested that Muiscas could have possibly seen in the night sky a huge and curved animal whose back was the Milky Way’s bulge. It is proposed that from El Infiernito archaeological site during the solstices between 700 AD to 1000 AD, when allegedly the Bachue myth originated, there were celestial and landscape alignments involving the Sun, the Milky Way and the Pleiades. The Muisca serpent-adorned cups could be interpreted as a representation of a cosmogonic/cosmological model, as concepts such as origin, opposition, duality, water and death, all present in the myth, were materialised in these unique ceramic pieces.
Natalia Sánchez Steiner completed a master’s degree in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology with distinction (University of Wales Trinity Saint David) and holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering (Universidad Nacional de Colombia). Her research includes studying the cosmologies of contemporary non-indigenous people and skyscape archaeology in Colombia. She is a member of the Interamerican Society of Astronomy in Culture (SIAC) and Galileo Commission. She is currently leading the expansion of the Scientific and Medical Network (SMN) to the Spanish-speaking community.