The Creation of the Chibacha Dictionary and the Spanish

In the mid-16th century in Quito, Ecuador which at the time was part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada before being considered Ecuador. When the Spanish arrived in the mid-16th century they were quick to realize upon their arrival that in order to colonize and be able to accomplish the objectives they wanted such as spreading their own religion they needed to learn how to communicate with the Chibcha-speaking people who lived there. The Spanish and missionaries who had arrived during a time when authorities in Quito, Charcas, and Santa Fe de Bogotá made it required that the Chibcha language, the native language, was used in schools, required priests to use it before ordination, and eventually requiring religious services to be given in Chibcha in 1606. This led to the creation of this Chibcha dictionary and grammar glossary that was used by those who did not know the language. It was also used as a way for those who were trying to colonize the region to convince the people of the religious goals they wanted due to the services being in the Chibcha language which allowed for the native people to understand the Spanish and missionaries.

The Spanish believed that spreading their religion was an important and good thing that they were doing great things by trying to conquer and convert those to Catholicism by imploring religious goals to convince the people to be their best selves(Chasteen). Upon arrival, the Spanish and missionaries knew that in order to be able to spread their religion and other goals they had. They had to be able to connect with the native people in some way whether it was voluntary or not and wanted to spread their religion around the world (Chasteen). In which this glossary that contained prayers, sermons, and confessions in the Chibcha language helped out the colonizers by being able to interact with the native people.  

Work Cited

Unknown. Chibcha Dictionary and Grammar. Dictionary. World Digital Library. Ecuador: World Digital Library, February 9, 2021. Library of Congress. https://www.wdl.org/en/item/8988/

Chasteen, John Charles. Born in Blood & Fire. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2016