Gold

I don’t think Spandau Ballet took much inspiration from pre-colonial Colombian culture when writing their 1983 hit, Gold.

However, the chorus does chime fairly perfectly with the practises and beliefs of the era, so who knows what Hadley et al had in mind.

Indulge me then, as I tell you the story of gold in Colombia by breaking down the chorus of this 1980s classic.

A little reminder of the words (as if you need one)…

Gold

(Gold)

Always believe in your soul

You've got the power to know

You're indestructible, always believe in, 'cos you are

Gold

(Gold)

I'm glad that you're bound to return

There's something I could have learned/

You're indestructible, always believe in

Gold

Before the Spanish arrived in the 1500s, Colombia had more than 80 ethnic groups speaking about 64 languages.

Each group had its own traditions and beliefs but a common factor was the importance of gold to their culture. 

Gold’s significance didn’t come from its monetary value as it does today, but because it came from the earth and represented the power of the sun. 

Communities, like those I encountered on my Cuidad Perdida trek, worship the sun and the moon, with special reverence being given to Pachomamma (Mother Earth). 

Incredible craftspeople would work with a gold and copper alloy to create beautiful pieces that reflected the beliefs of the community.

In the 1900s, archeologists began to unearth these treasures (as well as plenty of looters) and started to unravel the secrets of the country’s past.

In the late 1930s, Colombia’s national bank, The Bank of the Republic, thought it might be a good idea to preserve gold finds (rather then melting them down as had previously been its policy) and established Bogota’s famous Museo del Oro (Gold Museum) now housing the world’s finest collection.

It’s become a centre for research into pre-colonial history and absolutely essential to to Colombia’s understanding of its own history, free from the edited version given to the people by their Spanish colonisers. 

Soul

The artworks on display in the museum give an incredible insight into the cosmology of indigenous communities.

For these people, there was very little separation between the human and animal world. Many pieces depict animals, particularly birds, jaguars, snakes, fish and frogs, or even hybrids of them. 

It was thought that it was possible for shamans, through certain meditation practices, to become one of these animals. These meditations were fuelled by the chewing of coca leaves, and the ingestion of substances found on the back of poisonous frogs. 

The shaman was absolutely essential to the life of any community, and in the museum you can find small gold ‘basket men’ that depict people sitting with their arms wrapped around their legs. It was said that wise people had deep baskets. 

Indestructible

Gold wasn’t a way for an individual leader or shaman to showcase their own power, but to harness the power of nature. 

The El Dorado myth - of a city of gold - started because the Spanish witnessed a ritual in which a shaman would head out into a lake on a raft adorned with gold objects and throw them into the water.

What the Spanish didn’t realise, is that communities viewed lakes as the wombs of pachomamma, and the sun as the father of the world, and so by offering gold objects, they were fertilising the earth. 

Three times the Spanish tried to drain Lake Guatavita thinking they’d find El Dorodo in its depths. They didn’t…

Bound to return

Different communities had different burial customs, but one popular one was for people to be buried twice. 

The first time, they’d be laid to rest in the earth in the foetal position, leaving the world as they had entered it. They’d be buried alongside gold jewellery and pieces important to the person or reflecting their position in the community. 

After a few weeks, the body would be dug up, burned and the ashes would be buried again in a clay pot. These pots would have the face or body of the dead person, along with a depiction of the animal it was believed they’d be reincarnated into.

Life is in constant balance, being brought from the earth, returning to it and being born again.

Always believe in… [gold]

It’s only possible for the world to have gained these insights through the painstaking work of archaeologists, anthropologists and researchers over many decades. 

They’ve faced barriers, mainly the theft of so many treasures over the years on an almost industrial scale. So much history has literally melted away. 

But the tide has turned. I read the following in the Gold Museum and I found it really profound:

“The 1991 constitution granted Colombians a valuable cultural right; we are all owners of, and responsible for, the country’s archeological heritage which is testimony to a history that also belongs to everyone. Nobody can appropriate, buy, sell or export that which is the property of all, because it would be a case of robbing everybody else.”

I love that in Colombia, gold - a metal that’s since become all about individual ownership -  is shared by the people. 

So there you have it - the history of gold in Colombia viewed through the lens of a karaoke classic. 

You’re welcome :-)