Nemocón is a municipality and town of
Colombia in the
Central Savanna Province, part of the
department of
Cundinamarca. Nemocón, famous for its
salt mine, was an important village in the
Muisca Confederation, the country in the central Colombian
Andes before the arrival of the Spanish. The municipality is situated in the northern part of the
Bogotá savanna, part of the
Altiplano Cundiboyacense with its urban centre at an altitude of 2,585 metres (8,481 ft) and 65 kilometres (40 mi) from the capital
Bogotá. Nemocón is the northeasternmost municipality of the
Metropolitan Area of Bogotá and the
Bogotá River originates close to Nemocón. The median temperature of Nemocón is 12.8 °C. The municipality borders
Tausa in the north,
Suesca and
Gachancipá in the east,
Tocancipá and
Zipaquirá in the south and in the west the rivers Checua and Neusa and the municipality of
Cogua.[1]
Etymology
Nemocón is derived from Enemocón and means "The cry or sadness of the warrior" in the
Chibcha language.[1] Another etymology is that the town is named after zipaNemequene.[2]
The Herrera Period was followed by the culturally advanced civilisation of the
Muisca, organised in their loose
Muisca Confederation. The Muisca Period typically commenced in 800 AD and the people were named Pueblo de la Sal; "Salt People" because of their
trading in the product.[15]"Daza 2013 p22" />
Ceramics of this period found in Nemocón originated from farther away on the Altiplano and ceramics of Nemocón and Zipaquirá found elsewhere on the Bogotá savanna are related to the salt trade.[16][17] Of the central Colombian indigenous peoples, only the
Lache and
U'wa were the other miners of salt. The Muisca exploited halite in various locations in their territories, among others in Nemocón, Zipaquirá,
Sesquilé, Tausa,
Gámeza, and
Guachetá. Nemocón was a market town where the salt was traded.[18] A smaller salt mine was located in
Sopó.[19] Early evidence of salt extraction dates back to the end of the first millennium BC.[20]
The
Muisca women extracted the salt from a brine in large pots.[21][22][23] According to
chronicler Juan de Santa Gertrudis, used the mineral to dry and preserve their fish and meat.[24]
Modern Nemocón was founded on July 26, 1600 by Luis Henríquez.[1] As of 1614,
wheat was successfully cultivated in Nemocón.[26]
Nemocón today
In modern times the extraction of salt continued and the economical activity of the town has expanded to the cultivation of flowers and the extraction of
kaolin.[1]
Tourism
Famous for its salt mine and museum, Nemocón is a touristic village and linked by train from Bogotá. The salt mine is the second-largest of Colombia, after the
Salt Cathedral in neighbouring Zipaquirá. Sunday is market day in Nemocón.[1]
Ferias
Festival del floricultor
September: Festival de Danzas
December: Festival del macramé and Christmas lighting
Cooke, Richard (1998). "Human settlement of Central America and northernmost South America (14,000-8000 BP)". Quaternary International. 49/50. Pergamon: 177–190.
ISSN1040-6182.
Daza, Blanca Ysabel (2013). Historia del proceso de mestizaje alimentario entre Colombia y España [History of the integration process of foods between Colombia and Spain] (PhD thesis) (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain:
Universitat de Barcelona. pp. 1–494.
Rivera Pérez, Pedro Alexander (2013). "Uso de fauna y espacios rituales en el precerámico de la sabana de Bogotá" [Use of fauna and ritual spaces in the preceramic of the Bogotá savanna]. Revista ArchaeoBIOS (in Spanish). 7–1: 71–86.
ISSN1996-5214.