A nation of which far less has been heard, but which in many respects
resembled the Incas, was that of the Chibchas. The Chibchas inhabited
the country which had for its centre the valley of the Magdalena River.
The country of this tribe, as a matter of fact, is now part of the
Republic of Colombia; thus the Chibchas were situated well to the north
of the Inca Empire. The religion of these people closely resembled that
of the more southern Children of the Sun. Like these others, they
worshipped the masculine Sun and the female Moon, and a certain number
of deities in addition.

The Chibchas have left some ruins of temples behind them, although these
are not of the same magnitude as the Inca edifices. They were an
agricultural people, and, in addition, were skilled in weaving and in
the manufacture of pottery; they were, moreover, supposed to have been
clever workers in gold. The costume of the race showed very similar
tastes to those of their more southern brethren. The men of rank wore
white or dyed cotton tunics, and the women mantles fastened by means of
golden clasps. The warlike splendour of the men was characteristically
picturesque, their chief decorations being breast-plates of gold and
magnificent plumes for the head. They, too, employed as weapons darts,
bows and arrows, clubs, lances, and slings. The fate of the Chibchas
was, of course, the same as that of the Incas. Their bodies decked with
their brilliant feathers and pomp sank into the mire of despond, never
again to attain to their former state.

This very brief study of the Incas and Chibchas concludes the civilized
elements of the Aboriginal South American. To the east of the Andes were
a number of tribes, all of which were, to a greater or lesser degree,
still in a state of sheer savagery. Near the eastern frontier of the
Inca Empire resided such peoples as the Chiriguanos, Chunchos, Abipones,