Mythologies of the Pijao (Pi’pyshavy) Tribe

The Pijao (also Piajao, Pixao, Pinao) are an indigenous people from Colombia. The Pijao or Pijaos formed a loose federation of Amerindians and were living in the present-day department of Tolima, Colombia. In pre-Colombian times, they inhabited the Central Ranges of the Colombian Andes; between the snowy mountains of Huila, Tolima and Quindío, the upper valley of the Magdalena River and the upper Valle del Cauca in Colombia. They did not have a strict hierarchy and did not create an empire. The chiefdom was based on an extended family clan with ancestral lineage. The people did not live in separate households gathered in villages; instead, they lived in carefully built large communal houses made of bahareque, which were placed at distances. They used bonfires to communicate with smoke signs, and these were used to convene different community events. Like many ancient peoples, they relied on waterways for routes of transportation; and due to their navigation skills and knowledge, could get around much of their territory fairly rapidly. They called their best navigators boha (boga). Their boats were called kanoha (canoes), and were carved from a single piece of Saman wood. The Pijao were experts in metallurgy, manufacturing gold articles and clothing. Their work has been seen in gold artifacts from the Tolima, Quimbaya, Calima, and Cauca cultures. They used techniques such as "lost wax" casting, rolled gold, filigree and other methods to make their balacas (ornaments) and other items for ceremonial use, such as the poporos (bowl with lid).

Pijao, Indian people of the southern highlands of Colombia. By the mid-20th century the Pijao were thought to be extinct; however, in the 1990s, having made a successful argument for “cultural reignition,” they were officially recognized by the Colombian government as an indigenous people. Traditionally, the Pijao were agriculturists, raising corn (maize), sweet manioc (yuca), beans, potatoes, and many fruits; they also hunted and fished. They lived in settlements of several families in houses built of wood and plastered with mud and clay. They made pottery, wove cotton, worked stone, and smelted and worked gold and copper. They generally wore no clothing except palm-leaf hats, though they painted the body and adorned it with feathers and sometimes gold ornaments. They deformed the skulls of their infants by tying boards against them. In addition, they were cannibals who devoured their slain enemies. The Pijao worshipped idols and believed that the dead were reincarnated as animals.

The Pijao refused to make peace with the colonizing Spanish, and their population was decimated by the mid-17th century. Pijao tradition stresses their resistance not only to the conquistadors but also to the Roman Catholic Church’s pacification campaigns. Nevertheless, the Pijao worked on the haciendas that sprouted in the area and assimilated into the local peasant economy. As big landowners sought to expand their holdings, the Pijao were dispossessed of their land. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries some Pijao resisted, but by the 1940s and ’50s more and more had accepted state-administered buyouts. Other Pijao participated in government relocation programs. Pijao communities persisted in the department of Tolima, where the bulk of the Pijao population lives today, though a significant number of Pijao also live in Bogotá. By the mid-20th century it had been deemed that the Pijao shared cultural traits with the broader campesino (peasant) community and that they no longer constituted a distinct indigenous group. In the 1990s, however, by demonstrating the validity of their ongoing legends, customs, and traditional beliefs, the Pijao were officially designated an indigenous people.

The Pijaos, also known as Pi’pyshavy in their native language, are an Amerindian group hailing from the region of Tolima, Colombia, and the surrounding territories. These indigenous people have a rich history and a unique cultural heritage that has been integral to the fabric of Colombia. Let’s delve into the fascinating world of the Pijaos. In the pre-Columbian era, the Pijaos inhabited a vast territory in present-day Colombia. Their ancestral lands stretched across the Central Mountain Range of the Andes, enveloped by the snow-capped peaks of Huila, Quindio, and Tolima. This region encompasses the upper valleys of the Magdalena River and the Cauca River. Unlike some other indigenous groups, the Pijaos did not form a centralized state; instead, they had a federation of towns, each with its own unique character and customs. The Pijaos were known for their distinctive body aesthetics, which set them apart. One remarkable practice was skull modification using orthopaedic splints. They began this process shortly after birth, resulting in cranial deformations that contributed to their fierce appearance. This practice was similar to that of the Tumaco people, with both groups using clay figures to emphasize these cranial features. The Pijaos also altered the shape of their limbs through the use of tightened pitas, ropes made of intertwined fibers. Their personal adornments were colorful and varied. They wore bracelets, modified their noses by fracturing the nasal septum, and adorned them with decorative gold ornaments. To the Pijaos, these body ornaments were known as “balaca.” They also donned crowns, masks, feathered headbands, bracelets, nose rings, and other earrings. During communal events, they painted their bodies red using bija dye, creating a striking and unique appearance. The name “Pijaos” is not their original designation but rather a term attributed to them by outsiders. The Paeces, another indigenous group, referred to the Pijaos as “Ambiguexs,” signifying “Witches” or “Bipxaus.” These days the Pijaos are recognized by the name “Pi’pyshavy” in their native language. They were formidable warriors who controlled extensive territories in present-day Tolima, and they were known for their cultivation of tobacco, which they used for various purposes and traded as a valuable commodity.

The Pijao Indigenous people represent a distinctive and culturally rich group residing in Colombia’s diverse landscape, who have inhabited the central mountain range of Colombia for centuries. They are a small tribe, with a population of only around 10,000 people. The Pijao people have managed to preserve their heritage while navigating the challenges posed by modernization and external influences. The Pijao indigenous people were a powerful and warlike tribe before the arrival of the Spanish. They were known for their fierce resistance to Spanish rule and the Spanish conquistadors were unable to conquer the Pijao for many years. However, they were eventually defeated by the Spanish late in the 17th century. The Pijao people were decimated by disease and forced labor. They were also compelled to convert to Christianity. In the 19th century, the Pijao people were thought to be extinct. However, in the 1990s, the Pijao were officially recognized by the Colombian government as an indigenous group. The Pijao people have deep roots in the pre-Columbian history of Colombia. They are part of the Nasa community, which is one of the four indigenous communities in the Cauca Department of southwestern Colombia. The Pijao, like many other indigenous groups in the Americas, had well-established social, economic and spiritual systems long before the arrival of Spanish conquistadors. The Pijao territory was characterized by a highly organized and complex society with its own unique customs and traditions.

Pijao (Piajao, Pinao) is an unclassified indigenous American language that was spoken in the villages of Ortega, Coyaima (Koyai, Tupe) and Natagaima in the Magdalena River Valley of Colombia until the 1950s. A small vocabulary list was collected in 1943; only 30 Pijao words and expressions are known. The few words which resemble Carib are thought to be loans; toponyms in Pijao country are also Carib. Marshall & Seijas (1973) did not detect significant connections between Pijao and other unclassified languages of the area: Colima, Muzo, Pantágora, and Panche, but these are even more poorly attested than Pijao. Jolkesky (2016) also notes that there are lexical similarities with the Witoto-Okaina languages.

Pijao was an indigenous tribe who occupied the Central Mountain range of the andes between the snowed of Huila and Quindio and specially in TOLIMA , they didn´t live in towns. By the end of century XVI, they prepared a general revolt giving assaults by the nights to the populations by means of ignited arrows. They placed in ambush later to the Spaniards equipping itself in the impenetrable forests; they never let themselves see during the day. The Yulima priestess, who ran a religious sanctuary pijao in the neighborhoods of Machín volcano, was assaulted by the Spaniards and taken prisoner, being lead chained until Ibagué, in whose main seat she incinerated herself to him lives by the conquerors and while she agonized received blessings of a priest so that its soul flew soon to the sky. In 1602 the pijaos, directed by Calarcá, initiated a general war against the European. Spanish cities of this region of New Granada like Cartago, Buga, Ibagué, Neiva and La plata, lived by that time a period on terror. When they attacked cities, they ignited bonfires in decided signal to summon the soldiers. Supposedly the pijaos were anthropophagous and marked the ways with bones of the enemies. The pijaos finally were defeated in 1608 when the Spaniards gained the collaboration of a known indigenous leader like Don Balthasar and in addition, advanced a devastated earth war, in which they burned the cultures of the pijaos. A sad end for this colombian tribe proud of their culture and their race.