El Dorado: The mythical city of gold
For ages, authors, artists and filmmakers have found the myth of El Dorado irresistible. As a result, countless songs and fictions featured this rich mythical city. One such example is Edgar Allen Poe's famous poem "Eldorado." Filmmakers have been especially fascinated by the myth, as evident from the 1988 Spanish film "El Dorado," screened at the famous Cannes Film Festival. As a matter of fact, Walt Disney Studios was once known to be obsessed with the idea of El Dorado. It was featured in two of their movies, 'Pocahontas' in 1995 and 'The Road to El Dorado' in 2000.
But the questions that have intrigued us all through ages is, “Does it at all exist? If yes, then where?” Though this fictional place is yet to be discovered, El Dorado is presumed to have been located somewhere in the unexplored territory of South America, in and around the Amazon rainforests.
El Dorado, the city of gold!
If you have come across the name El Dorado, you would know that this mythical city is known and sought after for its gold reserve. In fact, the myth became popular between 1530 and 1650. European merchants and discoverers searched miles and miles of jungles, plains, mountains and rivers to spot it. However, it was never found. But till date, adventure seekers believe that El Dorado not only exists but is also adorned with gold-paved streets, golden temples and rich mines of gold.
Failed heists and the birth of El Dorado
You are probably wondering the idea of El Dorado stemmed from. Well, legend has it, that vast fortunes were found in the 16th century in both Mexico and Peru. In 1519, Emperor Montezuma of the Mexican empire Aztec was captured by a trader named Hernan Cortez. He, it is believed, left with thousands of pounds of gold and silver, rendering the Aztecs bankrupt. Another trader by the name Francisco Pizarro followed in the footsteps of Cortez and captured Emperor Atahualpa of the Inca empire in 1533 and looted all his wealth. However, historians believe that none of them could leave the region with so much fortune and left them back in clusters all around South America. All these led to the inception of the elusive land of El Dorado, that has kept adventure seekers and literary geniuses intrigued through centuries. But wait, this is just the beginning, there are other fascinating myths too!
Lost ritual of Cundinamarca and the myth of El Dorado
In the 16th century, Spanish explorers, after reaching South America, came across the story of a tribe called Muisca that lived in Cundinamarca. This is the present-day Colombia, situated largely in the northwest of South America. They had a curious custom where the new chieftain would begin his tenure with a ceremony at Lake Guatavita. He would coat himself in a sticky sap before covering his whole body in gold powder. After that, he would take a leap into the lake in front of his entire kingdom. Gold and precious jewels were also thrown into the lake to please an underwater god. The Spanish explorers started calling the gold-wrapped chief, El Dorado, a word that means ‘the gilded one’ in their language. This ritual got lost when another tribe conquered El Dorado and his subjects.
Spaniards and other European communities caught hold of so much gold among the natives that they believed there must have been a place of amassing wealth somewhere in the interior. El Dorado couldn’t be found, but the Spaniards did find Lake Guatavita. They drained it in 1545 to hunt for the treasure, but all in vain!