In 1580, another attempt to drain the lake was made by business entrepreneur Antonio de Sepúlveda. They worked for three months, with workers forming a bucket chain, but they were unable to drain the lake sufficiently to reach any treasures deep within the lake. As they did so, they found gold along its shores, fueling their suspicion that the lake contained a treasure of riches. In 1545, Conquistadores Lázaro Fonte and Hernán Perez de Quesada attempted to drain Lake Guatavita. It was found in a cave in Pasca, Colombia in 1856, together with many other gold objects. Muisca raft, representation of the initiation of the new Zipa in the lake of Guatavita, possible source of the legend of El Dorado. To the Muisca, “El Dorado” was not a city, but the king at the center of this ritual, also called “the Gilded One.” While El Dorado is meant to refer to the Gilded One, the name has now become synonymous with the lost city of gold, and any other place where one can quickly obtain wealth.
This ritual was intended as a sacrifice to the Muisca's god. The raft would be sent out to the center of the lake, where the king would wash the gold dust from his body, as his attendants would throw the pieces of gold and precious stones into the lake. He would be placed upon a highly decorated raft, along with his attendants, and piles of gold and precious stones. During one of these rituals, the new king would be brought to Lake Guatavita, where he would be stripped naked, and covered in gold dust. When a new leader was appointed, many rituals would take place before he took his role as king. Portraits of rulers of Muisca (Wikimedia Commons) According to legend, as written in Juan Rodriguez Freyle’s “El Carnero,” the Muisca practiced a ritual for every newly appointed king that involved gold dust and other precious treasures. Following two migrations – one in 1270 BC and one between 800 and 500 BC, the Muisca tribe occupied the Cundinamarca and Boyacá areas of Colombia. The origins of El Dorado come from legendary tales of the Muisca tribe. In spite of numerous expeditions around all of Latin America, the city of gold remains a legend, with no physical evidence to substantiate its existence. The idea of a city filled with gold and other riches has a natural appeal, drawing the attention of individuals from all over the world in hopes of discovering the ultimate treasure, and an ancient wonder. For hundreds of years, treasure hunters and historians alike have searched for El Dorado, the lost city of gold.
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