Evidence & Historical Context
Editorially reviewedDocumented identification
A Muisca metal tunjo depicting a female figure holding a smaller person, possibly a child, and a baton, dated broadly to the tenth through sixteenth centuries.
Historical meaning
Tunjos were votive objects made for offering and deposited in sacred or significant settings, including groups and lakes.
Scholarly interpretation
The smaller figure may be a child, but the object does not establish one universal interpretation of motherhood or the identity of the represented people.
Modern associations
Offering, devotion, community and memory are discovery associations grounded in the documented votive practice.
Research warning
Do not turn this particular tunjo into a universal Muisca emblem or claim a fixed meaning of motherhood from the represented figures.
Provenance: Contemporary study based on Muisca female tunjo 1979.206.1050 and the documented votive tradition to which it belongs, simplified without treating the object as a universal cultural icon.
Context note: This is a contemporary study of a documented source from a named culture. It is not an exact reproduction, a universal Indigenous symbol, or a substitute for living cultural and ceremonial knowledge.
Research status: reviewed · reviewed 06/08/2026
Sources
1 referenceFemale Figure (tunjo), Muisca, 10th-16th century, object 1979.206.1050. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Supports: Documents the source as a female votive figure, its represented details, and the deposition of tunjos in groups or lakes.
How to cite this page
Muisca Tunjo Votive Figure. Sanctum Hex Vault. Reviewed 06/08/2026. https://vault.sanctumhex.com/symbols/ancient-americas-documented-signs-motifs-muisca-tunjo-votive-figure
https://vault.sanctumhex.com/symbols/ancient-americas-documented-signs-motifs-muisca-tunjo-votive-figureAncient Americas
Muisca Tunjo Votive Figure
Tunjos were Muisca votive objects deposited in sacred and significant places; this study follows a documented female figure holding a smaller person and a baton.
Own this Symbol
£0.99
Final price payable in GBP.
Commercial Licence Included · Lifetime file updates
Finished examples
Example photography shows the finish and construction; the purchased plaque uses the selected symbol design.
Made-to-order physical piece
Sanctum Hex Archive Plaque
£21.99
UK shipping included. UK delivery only.
- Size:
- 140 × 270 mm · 3 mm thick
- Dispatch:
- within 14 working days
Product details & made-to-order terms
Description: Crafted from 3 mm walnut plywood, chosen for its rich natural grain and warm tone, with a layered 3D laser-cut symbol and coloured inserts that bring the design to life. Each plaque is finished with a clear gloss varnish to deepen the wood’s colour and help protect the surface.
Preview is representative. Colours, materials and minor dimensions may vary slightly during production.
Made-to-order product: Each Archive Plaque is individually produced from natural and manufactured materials. Colour, grain, engraving tone, layer alignment and minor dimensions may vary slightly from the preview. Sanctum Hex may make small production adjustments to artwork scale, spacing, colour or construction where required to produce a durable finished piece while preserving the character of the selected design.
Associated meanings
Purchase & Download
Purchase this symbol or a collection containing it to unlock the downloadable files.
Related Symbols
Shared period: medieval, early modern · Cross-cultural connection
Taino Zemi Cohoba Stand
This Taino stone figure was likely used as a stand during cohoba ceremony; its context also requires distinguishing the carved object from zemi as spiritual and vital presence.
Shared period: medieval, early modern · Cross-cultural connection
Scallop Shell Badge
The scallop shell became one of medieval Europe's most recognisable signs of pilgrimage, carried home from Santiago de Compostela as a visible marker of journey, devotion, and return.
Shared period: medieval, early modern · Cross-cultural connection
Jerusalem Cross
A large cross surrounded by four crosslets, the Jerusalem Cross is rooted in medieval heraldic and eastern Mediterranean contexts and later became strongly associated with Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
Shared period: medieval, early modern · Cross-cultural connection
Mixtec Eight Deer Name Glyph
Eight Deer is the calendrical name glyph of the historical Mixtec ruler Eight Deer Jaguar-Claw, whose genealogy and political career are recorded in the Tonindeye Codex.
Shared period: medieval, early modern · Cross-cultural connection
Mixtec Three Flint Day Sign
Three Flint is a documented Mixtec numeral-plus-day sign in the Tonindeye Codex, where calendrical signs locate events within historical and genealogical narratives.
Shared period: medieval · Cross-cultural connection
Tree of Jesse
Growing from the reclining figure of Jesse, the medieval Tree of Jesse transformed Christ's ancestry into a living tree of kings, prophets and sacred lineage.