Tabio

Tabio is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It is located at 45 km (28 mi) from Bogotá. The population was 20,714 at 2005. The town was officially founded April 8, 1603, by Diego Gómez de Mena, on grounds that were the property of the native muisca people who inhabited the area.

History

The name Tabio comes from the Chibcha word “Teib,” meaning “dent” or “hole,” and which referred to its geographical location, next to the mouth of the Rio Frio river (also called Sinca). Muisca people occupied the current location of Tabio before the Spanish conquest, and were largely devoted to agriculture. The Muisca tribe comprised two confederations of small tribes, the Hunza of the northern area, whose sovereign was called Zaque, and the Bacatá of the southern area, whose sovereign was the Zipa, and which included the territory of Tabio.

The natural hot springs in Tabio were famous among the muisca people, and they were said to have a temple there devoted to the Goddess of Waters. Under the Spanish conquest, the native muisca were expropriated and the area was put under a colonial rule that issued the foundation of Tabio in 1603.