The stamp is designed after a colored aquatint made circa 1860, and shows us a champán which transport a white family over the Magdalena River.
From Aak to Zumbra gives:
“champán”: Very large dugout canoe used to carry passengers on the larger rivers, especially the Magdalena River in Colombia.
Ends sharp and elongated. Most of the hull covered with a mat house, compartmented into rooms and stores. Poled from the roof, or paddled.
Average ca 22 in crew.
Steered with a large oar from the stern platform.
Reported lengths 20 – 25m, beam ca 3m.
The following is from an article on the internet.
During colonial times and the beginnings of the Republic, the Magdalena River was the most used access road to connect the Andean region with the Atlantic Ocean to Europe. The ships that entered Cartagena from Spain supplied New Granada not only with groceries but also with clothes, tableware, and furniture, which were distributed by the river to the main provinces of the country. The trip was carried out aboard champáns that departed from Santa Marta and made a journey through the well-known lower Magdalena until they reached the port of Honda, from where it was necessary to travel by land to reach the capital.
The source of information that served as the basis for this article was the stories made by foreign travelers of the 19th century, who wrote their impressions during the trips along the Magdalena River. This river was one of the most widely used routes at the time to connect the capital with the ports of Cartagena and Santa Marta, and various import and export products circulated through it, as well as the inhabitants of the Kingdom who traveled in canoes and champáns.
These early 19th-century chronicles on the Magdalena river crossings are suitable for many interpretations, as they reflect the temperament and personality of each of the writers. Some were optimistic and enjoyed what they saw on their voyage. Others, however, complained and disagreed throughout the trip, suffering from the heavy journey and the discomfort they had to undergo due to the circumstances of the transport.
When eating on board the champáns, it is also possible to perceive this type of contradiction, since the food was prepared in different ways depending on the cook, who was normally one of the bogas, and the ingredients that were obtained along the way. The passengers relished or endured this maintenance and some of them valued the landscapes and studied the customs and vegetation that surrounded them. Others, for their part, hated the food, the heat, the mosquitoes, and the discomfort, so much so that at the end of the three-month-long trip many arrived at Honda with less weight, destroyed by insects, hungry and numb from lack of mobility.
The champán
The introduction of the champán as a means of navigation on the Magdalena River is recorded in the middle of the 16th century and was carried out by the captains Alonso de Olalla and Hernando de Alcocer, who were trustees of the towns located on the banks of the Magdalena and were looking for better transportation. For access to different regions of the country. The base of the champán was "a canoe 15 yards long or more by 2 wide and one meter deep ... Half towards the center which was covered in the shape of an arch using wood, by the way, that it should support a palm roof ... at the stern a kind of rustic stove or stove constituted the kitchen. In the roofed part the cargo and passengers were placed, who often had to endure the persistent caresses of the smoke ”.
The distribution inside the boat was as follows: the cargo merchandise and the occupants' suitcases went in the center, while the passengers were located at the ends, where there was not enough roof to protect them against the frequent storms. The price of the ticket depended on the political conditions of the country because if any danger was perceived on the route or if the passenger had any urgency or novelty, the ticket seller could increase its price, with the precedent that it was paid in advance. The crew consisted of the captain and the bogas. The latter were black men hired to move the champán and their number depending on the size of the boat. The mobilization of the boat required experience since between Santa Marta and Honda it was necessary to navigate against the current, for which the bogas used the pole or lever near the shore and also took advantage of the ravines to push the boat with force, while shouting obscenities, insults, and prayers. On the way down, that is, from Honda to Santa Marta, the crew used a paddle with the pilot's help.
The mess for the bogas
The bogas' diet consisted of a portion of salted beef, plantains, and occasionally rice. This ration was served in metal pots on the same oars as a table and, in the absence of cutlery, the machete was worth a knife and the hands as forks.
The American John Stewart (1836) describes the bogas at the time of their daily meal: “… an immense pot of red clay is placed hot, steaming, in the middle of the wild group… squatting in the bow, each one with a totuma and a wooden spoon with which he removes the jumble of boiled rice, bananas, and pieces of beef jerky… ”. After eating they drank water from the river.
Travelers had to submit to the whims of the bogas, who often left their jobs when they arrived in a town to go get drunk and have fun. This behavior was repeated several times during the tour, which meant long delays in the trip. Returning bogas were punished, but in some cases, they demanded a salary increase and received extra money.
On the champán route
The champán itinerary included passing through various places, where travelers stopped to buy groceries and rowers took the opportunity to rest. Sometimes, the crew spent the night on dry land, as the champán could not navigate in the dark and, therefore, they tied it to a tree near the beach where a bonfire was lit. The passengers often dozed on the boat with their awnings, although enduring a lot of heat and bites. Another option was to have a letter of recommendation and be able to spend the night at the home of a family in the village, to be cared for with a good bed and good food.
One of the most important stops on the route was Mompox, distinguished by its buildings and its agricultural supply: “the Mompox market is good, you can get abundant and fresh meat, a wide variety of fish, fruits and vegetables, grapefruits and pineapples are very good… we saw lots of ducks and wild geese ”. The above is a story by John Potter Hamilton (1830), who also notes: “We drink a very nice fresh drink called guarapo”.
The riparians lived on the riches that the river supplied them and they often contributed for food in the champáns: “they fished manatees, fish such as tarpon, catfish, and other types of fish that the natives took easily, they hunted in the forests for turkeys, paujiles, salvajinas, wild boar, urinas (deer) and tapirs. In the sands of the beaches there were many buried eggs, iguanas, turtles and lizards, which the Indians found as good replenishment”.
In addition to fishing and hunting animals, the riparians also carried out agricultural activities and sold part of the products obtained to the owners of the champáns when they stopped on the banks. Among the most cultivated products were cassava, banana, sugar cane, cocoa, pineapple, papaya, orange trees, peppers and sometimes corn. According to Gaspar Teodoro Mollien (1823), the houses of the riverside residents were built with reeds and their inhabitants used different tools such as axes, machetes, and household utensils represented in gourds, clay bowls, and baskets. In 1825, Charles Stuart Cochrane made a series of recommendations on what to bring in a champán, starting with sleeping furniture: "You need to bring a small cuja ... with an awning or cover of medium-thick cloth to isolate yourself from mosquitoes and small gnats ..." Additionally, travelers had to bring pillows, sheets, and blankets. The selection of clothing, including materials and the colors of the clothes, was also important due to the possible drizzles that could occur during the tour: “The traveler must also procure two or three cotton cloth dresses with socks of the same material… the loose jacket buttoned up to the neck. The white color does not attract the sun and feels cool and pleasant; it is easy to wash and dries quickly when left on the awning”. Cochrane advised wearing wide-brimmed hats, thick cloth shoes, and leather soles.
Most of the travellers used to carry some type of weapon to defend themselves from the animals that were in the river or to hunt some prey. Thus, it was common to see travellers armed with swords, daggers, pocket pistols and shotguns, objects that they used to defend themselves against alligators and snakes or to hunt birds, cranes, guacharacas, pheasants and monkeys, among other animals that destined for the casserole.
The food of travelers
The food that was prepared in the champán, as noted above, depending on the resources found on the way. However, the travelers brought on their own: “wine, tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar and salt, water, as well as cured meat, ham, tongues, live poultry, eggs and biscuits and a lot of bacon or cured pork fat for frying eggs”. The kitchen utensils were part of the tableware and among them were included a pot for chocolate and three pots for soup, stews, and fried foods, as well as other items to prepare and serve food such as plates, glasses, knives, forks, etc. spoons and even small tablecloths. Carlos Augusto Gosselman (1937) corroborated this by stating: “among other things, it was necessary to provide salty meat, bananas, rice, chocolate, rum and wine… the Magdalena water can hardly be drunk without mixing it with them. You also have to bring brandy for the bogas”.
According to Stuart, breakfast was prepared by the bogas, who used a stove made up of a sandbox, placed on some stones where they put the pot. The menu consisted of chocolate, cold meat, soup, bread, fried eggs, and sausage. Other times, fried plantain, fish, pork, and cassava bread were added.
Champán food, described by the Frenchman Augusto Le Moyne (1828) as varied and regular, was made from fish, poultry, eggs, legumes, and fruits bought in nearby villages. A special meal for John Hamilton (1830) was roasted peacock or guacharaca, with wine and roasted green plantain. The iguana cooked in fricassee with white sauce and the pheasant cooked with rice was also exquisite dishes.
Around 1845, steam navigation on the Magdalena River began. The steamboats reached a town known as 'Conejo', where passengers had to change to the old champán and travel 4 more leagues to reach 'Madre de Dios'. Once there, they could continue on foot to Honda. The entry of the steams considerably reduced the work of the bogas, who had to adapt to the new circumstances. On the other hand, this new transport system improved the comfort and food of travelers.
http://www.revistacredencial.com/creden ... -siglo-xix (Google translated)
Colombia 2020 $2.000 sg?, scott?