Muisca raft

The Muisca Raft (Balsa Muisca in Spanish), sometimes referred to as the El Dorado Raft, is an artistic figure of pre-Columbian gold votive, drafted by the Muisca culture in a geographic region that currently corresponds to the center of Colombia. The piece is exhibited at the Gold Museum in Bogota. It is estimated that the figure was drawn between 600 and 1600 by lost-wax casting in gold with a small amount of copper.

The figure refers to the ceremony of the legend of El Dorado. It represents the ceremony of investiture of the Muisca chief, which used to take place at Lake Guatavita. During this ritual, the heir to the chieftainship covered his body with gold dust and jumped into the lake along with gold offerings and emeralds to the gods. The piece has a base in the shape of a log boat with dimensions of 19.5 cm x 10.1 cm and various figures on the raft, the largest figure that stands in the middle apparently represents the chief, which is adorned with headdresses, nose rings and earrings, measuring 10.2 cm and is surrounded by his soldiers who carry banners.

Raft

A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is the most basic of boat design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Although there are cross-over boat types that blur this definition, rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrels, or inflated air chambers (such as pontoons), and are typically not propelled by an engine.

Human-made rafts

Traditional or primitive rafts are constructed of wood or reeds. Modern rafts may also use pontoons, drums, or extruded polystyrene blocks . Inflatable rafts use durable, multi-layered rubberized fabrics. Depending on its use and size, it may have a superstructure, masts, or rudders. Timber rafting is used by the logging industry for the transportation of logs, by tying them together into rafts and drifting or pulling them down a river . This method was very common up until the middle of the 20th century but is now used only rarely.

The type of raft used for recreational rafting is almost exclusively an inflatable boat, manufactured of flexible materials for use on whitewater.

Raft (disambiguation)

Raft may refer to:

Raft, as a person, may refer to:

Raft, as a location, may refer to:

Raft may also refer to:

Raft (band)

Raft is a French pop band active in the 1980s, most notable for their 1987 hit single, "Yaka dansé (l'arborigène)".

Biography

The band was a duet composed of Christian Fourgeron (guitar, vocals) and Pierre Schott (guitar, bass, vocals, born 24 April 1958). They begin their musical career in 1985 with their single "Io (c'est ça)" which passed unnoticed in France. However, in 1987, they had their first hit with "Yaka dansé (l'arborigène)", which was a number 2 hit in France, and earned a gold disc. The single was succeeded by "Femmes du Congo", which achieved a moderate success in comparison. The band's songs contained many puns and dealt with grave themes of society, sung on joyful music. In 1988, they released their first album entitled Madagascar and was the opening act for Niagara's concerts. In 1990, the band split up and both members started a solo career.

More recently, the reformed group participated in the concert tour named RFM Party 80, which started in 2006.

Discography

Muisca people

The Muisca are the Chibcha-speaking people that formed the Muiscan Confederation of the central highlands of present-day Colombia's Eastern Range. They were encountered by the Spanish Empire in 1537, at the time of the conquest. Subgroupings of the Muisca were mostly identified by their allegiances to three great rulers: the Zaque, centered in Chunza, ruling a territory roughly covering modern southern and northeastern Boyacá and southern Santander; the Zipa, centered in Bacatá, and encompassing most of modern Cundinamarca, the western Llanos and northeastern Tolima; and the Iraca, ruler of Suamox and modern northeastern Boyacá and southwestern Santander.

The territory of the Muisca spanned an area of around 47,000 square kilometres (18,000 sq mi) - a region slightly larger than Switzerland - from the north of Boyacá to the Sumapaz Páramo and from the summits of the Eastern Range to the Magdalena Valley. It bordered the territories of the Panches and Pijaos tribes.

At the time of the conquest, the area had a large population, although the precise number of inhabitants is not known. The languages of the Muisca were dialects of Chibcha, also called Muysca and Mosca, which belong to the Chibchan language family. The economy was based on agriculture, metalworking and manufacturing.

Muisca (disambiguation)

Muisca may refer to;