Sacred Destination Paper

1142 Words5 Pages
Sacred Destination Paper Brandy Serrano December 22, 2013 HUM 105 Gregory Underwood Sacred Destination Paper El Dorado or the Lost City of Gold as it was called takes place in South America. The legend of El Dorado first originated at Lake Guatavita where it was told that the Muisca king had cover his body in gold dust and dived from a raft into a sacred lake and his people then began throwing gold and precious gems into the lake as a way to worship the Gods. When the Spaniards and Europeans heard of this city they came to South America in hopes to find the gold. The Spaniards and Europeans searched to find El Dorado and drained the lake in hopes to find it but it was never discovered. Many men who search to find this lost city died trying to find it and one of the famous men was Sir Walter Raleigh. Drye (n. d. ), “The scene depicted in this ancient artwork, on display at the Gold Museum in Bogota, Colombia, shows the origin of the El Dorado myth. Legend tells of a Muisca king who would cover himself in gold dust during festivals, then dive from a raft into Lake Guatavita.” The Muisca people had a ritual of throwing gold and precious gem into a sacred lake as a way to worship the Gods. It was believed that the gold and gems feel deep under the water creating a city of gold. Today the Muisca are closely related to the culture of Quimbaya and they are known for their work with gold. Like the Muisca people today people throw coins into pounds or wishing wells in hopes to have a wish granted or even in some cultures a way to worship a goddess. Tabila (n. d.), “An example of a historical wishing well could be found in the county of Northumberland, located in the northeastern tip of England, which has a very famous well that was used to make offerings to the Roman Britain and Celtic goddess Coventina”. A practices of offering to wells carried on in

More about Sacred Destination Paper

Open Document