Tolimense Culture

The beautiful city of Tolima is located in the Andean region of our country and its capital is the municipality of Ibague.

This department has a population of 1'396.038 inhabitants which in turn are divided into 47 municipalities.

Tolima is bordered by the departments of Caldas on the North side; in the East with the department of Cundinamarca; in the south side with the departments of Huila and Cauca and in the West with the departments of Valle del Cauca, Quindio and Risaralda; the area is of 23.562 square kilometers.

The name Tolima comes from the concept panche Tolima or dulima which refers to snowy river ( río de nieve) or cloud ( nube).

The first mentions of the Tolima's territory  were made by Baltazar Maldonado, He mentions as limit Ibague headquarters of Cayman on August of 1551.

«La cual dicha loma va a dar a un Morro Nevado y aguas vertientes a dicha loma, hacia las poblazones de Tolima, y las dichas poblazones de Tolima sea y nombró por terminó de la ciudad de Ibagué»

Baltasar Maldonado.

History:

In the nineteenth century, in the province of Mariquita, which declared its independence on December 22, 1814; in March 1851 the capital of the province moved to Ibague; the April 12, 1856 the department was created, but it was in 1861 when the sovereign state of Tolima was created to integrate the Grenadine Confederation, the state was created legally under Law 65 November 1909, during colonial times and the nineteenth century stands out as a cultural place with the activity of prestigious personages like Mutis, Humboldt, Bonpland, Jose Rivera and others.

Geography:

Tolima to be located in the region of Ecuador has no seasonal cycle but still has all the mountain thermal levels; with snowy peaks more than 5,000 meters of altitude and freezing temperatures and hot areas in broad valleys below 400 meters of altitude that reach temperatures above 40 degrees C.
The apartment is defined by two types of geographical regions: the first a flat located on the dry valley of the river Magdalena that runs from north to south and the other east slopes that form the apex of the central and western mountains of the Eastern Cordillera .
The department also has a great variety of geological faults distributed throughout its territory and which give rise to several natural parks in the region are a large pool of water, flora and fauna. These parks are:
 Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados, Parque Nacional Natural Las Hermosas, Parque Nacional Natural Nevado del Huila.



                                                Tolimense Culture

Tolima culture is one of the most varied of our country and which presents a variety of religious traditions as well as variety of food, music, dances, musical instruments myths and legends and more.

In the variety of musical instruments used in the region of Tolima, we can find  instrument as Tambora(Wooden drum type, cylindrical, with a piece of leather stretched in its upper end, which is played with two sticks.), flutes made of wood from the region and have been inherited from generation to generation, maracas, one hundred feet is made of bamboo and natural seeds, the "Puerca" that is made of elongated pumpkin, the Mat(esterilla) made of bamboo among other instruments made by craftsmen and are part of their culture for generations and are one of the most outstanding attractions of this region.

Dance is one of the attractions of this region, the first thing that comes to my mind is the Bambuco (Typical of Colombia, which involved couples that mimic the conquest of women by male peasant folk dance; skirt women used to dance it is of many colors and have a great flight.) and San juanero, these dances that are known throughout the country represents very well the artistic traditions of Tolima for its high content scenic. Other dances that are also part of the culture Tolimense are the smuggler, planting, braided guabina, matachines, among others.

 Typical Garb:


The costume to dance the San Juanero used by women has a beautiful skirt of bright and bold colors adorned with washers, lace, ribbons, bows and ribbons passes, is white blouse adorned with ribbons he passes and goes out of her skirt and of course the Alpargatas (Canvas shoes, with soles of esparto, hemp or rubber, which is attached to the foot by pressure or ribbons that are tied to the ankle.); Man wearing shorts and white shirt, sisal backpack, hat and alpargatas with black laces.





Typical Food:

Tolima food has great variety and is very delicious; in this region is include several dishes that are consumed nationwide such as:

Tamal tolimense:
 (Dish consisting of corn dough filled with meat, chicken, chili and other ingredients wrapped in leaves of banana or corn cob and steamed or baked; by country, they vary the ingredients and presents different ways.)

 Lechona:
(The suckling pig is a typical dish of the Colombian region of Tolima Grande. This dish consists of pork and fried peas.)

Chivo relleno:
(Colombia typical dish made with rice, pork, dried peas and spices.)
Pavo en galantita: (Colombia dish of meat, pork, beef, eggs and bacon)

Achiras:
Colombian typical product, made by hand.
its main ingredient is starch Achira, fresh curd combined with fresh eggs, butter and salt.

Ingredients:

- Two pounds of fresh curd
- A pound of starch Achira
- Two egg yolks
- A pound of butter
- salt

Preparation:

All the ingredients are mixed and ground together, stored and allowed to stand.
Then elongated biscuits are made.
They are put into a preheated oven at 350 degrees for ten minutes.



MYTHS AND LEGENDS:

In the department of Tolima there are several myths and legends that are part of their traditions among the most prominent are the Mohan, the Llorona, the Madremonte, the Sombreron, the Tunjo and of course the Patasola.

  Mohan:




Mohan is the most legendary known and respected member of the Tolima region, is also called the Poira, his specialty is chasing girls who have just reached the threshold of puberty












 Llorona:



Is said to be a woman with long hair, his face is a calabera and that in his long and  bony arms she cradling a dead baby, is said that it was his son who died in an unfortunate event and since then she wanders in the jungle screaming and looking for her dead son.









 Madremonte:


The madremonte is the guardian of the tolimenses mountains and is said to be covered with thick bushes and chasing terribly people who menten on their land with bad intentions, they also say that if a cute girl who gets into their lands she appears as a fine lady and high-hat that scares also punishes men who walk the wrong path and who desire other men or women who steal and do not respect other people's land.









 Sombreron:

They say it's a hell unless wearing a huge hat that covers her entire body to the ankles, farmers say that appears to the drunken men and tells them "if you reach, I put" (si te alcanzo, te lo pongo) this diffuses much terror among the Tolima people who say it is real.

 Patasola:

The people of Tolima department refers to her as a woman who introduces him to the drunk men, without shame and do not respect their women to torment and kill them violently, this woman appears as someone very good look beautiful from head to toe and she seduces these evil men and when they are already in its possession is when she decide to kill them.