Buying a Wardrobe.--Crowd of Loungers.--Visit to the Ruins.--A long
Edifice built by the Spaniards.--Interesting Well.--Indian Legend.--The
Mother of the Dwarf.--Exploration of the Well.--Remains of large
Mounds.--Cogolludo.--Ancient and curious Painting.--Books and ancient
Characters of the Indians burned by the Spaniards.--Archives of
Mani.--Important Documents.--Ancient Map.--Instrument endorsed
on its Back.--Important Bearing of these Documents.--What was
Uxmal?--Argument.--No Vestiges of a Spanish Town at Uxmal.--Churches
erected by the Spaniards in all their Settlements.--No Indications of a
Church at Uxmal.--Conclusions.--Suspicions of the People.--Church and
Convent.--Extensive View from the Top of the Church.
Early in the morning Albino was in quest of some gentleman who might
have a spare camisa and pantaloons which he would be willing to part
with, and, by one of those rare pieces of good luck that sometimes
illuminate the path of a traveller, he procured both, the latter having
an elegantly embroidered bosom, which fell to Doctor Cabot; and, with
my cast-off blouse, which was in better condition than his, and a thin
frock-coat, that considered itself cast-off some time before, for
myself, we were able to make a dashing appearance in the streets.
Notwithstanding our perplexities, I had an uncommon degree of
satisfaction at waking up in Mani. I had heard of this place on my
first visit to Uxmal, of relics and heirlooms in the hands of the
cacique, and of ruins, which, however, we were advised were not worth
visiting. The morning, nevertheless, did not open with much promise. On
first emerging we found about the door of the casa real a crowd of
loungers, of that mixed race who might trace their ancestry to the
subjects of Tutul Xiu and the conquerors, possessing all the bad
qualities of both, and but few of the good traits of either. Some of
them were intoxicated, and there were many half-grown, impudent boys,
who kept close to us, watching every movement, and turning aside to
laugh when they could do so unobserved.
We set out to look at the ruins, and the crowd followed at our heels.
At the end of a street leading to the well we saw a long building,
pierced in the middle by the street, and part still standing on each
side. We saw at a glance that it was not the work of the antiguos, but
had been erected by the Spaniards since the conquest, and yet we were
conducted to it as one of the same class with those we had found all
over the country; though we did meet with one intelligent person, who
smiled at the ignorance of the people, and said that it was a palace of
_El Rey_, or the _king_, Montejo. Its true history is perhaps as much
unknown as that of the more ancient buildings. In its tottering front
were interspersed sculptured stones taken from the aboriginal edifices,
and thus, in its own decay, it publishes the sad story that it had
risen upon the ruins of another race.
Near this building, and at the corner of the street, is the well
referred to in the conclusion of my legend of the House of the Dwarf at
Uxmal. "The old woman (the mother of the Dwarf) then died, but at the
Indian village of Mani there is a deep well, from which opens a cave
that leads under ground an immense distance to Merida. In this cave, on
the bank of a stream, under the shade of a large tree, sits an old
woman, with a serpent by her side, who sells water in small quantities,
not for money, but only for a criatura, or baby, to give the serpent to
eat; and this old woman is the mother of the Dwarf." The entrance to
the well was under a great shelf of overhanging rock, forming the mouth
of a magnificent cavern, wild enough to sustain the legend. The roof
was high, and the villagers had constructed steps, by which, walking
erect, we reached a large pool of water, whence women were filling
their cantaros. At one side was an opening in the rock above, which
should have been, and was intended to be, made directly over the water,
for the purpose of drawing it up in buckets; and as this mistake
occurred in a cave where the water is but a short distance from the
mouth, and the passage is wide, it shows the difficulty, without any
knowledge of the use of instruments, of fixing on the surface the
precise point over the water in the other caves, which have long,
narrow, and winding passages.
In the yards of some houses on a street at the rear of the casa real
were the remains of large mounds. In the wall round the square of the
church was a large circular upright stone, like those heretofore called
picotes, or whipping-posts, and our guide told us that in the suburbs
there were other mounds; but, without leaving the streets, we saw
enough to satisfy us that Mani stood on the site of an ancient town of
the same general character with all the others.
Returning to the casa real, we found a new guarda, who came into office
rather more intoxicated than their predecessors in going out. Albino
had inquired of the cacique for the ancient relics of which we had
heard accounts, and the Indians brought a copy of Cogolludo, wrapped up
and treasured with great care in the casa real. This did not astonish
us much, and they opened the book and pointed out a picture, the only
one in it, being a representation of the murder of the ambassadors of
Tutul Xiu; and while we were looking at it they brought out and
unrolled on the floor an old painting on cotton cloth, being the
original from which Cogolludo had the engraving made. The design was a
coat of arms bordered with the heads of the murdered ambassadors, one
of which has an arrow fixed in the temple, intended to represent the
ambassador who had his eyes put out with this weapon. In the centre is
a tree growing out of a box, representing the sapote tree at Zotuta,
under which the murder was committed, and which, the Indians say, is
still standing. This tree I shall have occasion to mention again
hereafter. The painting had evidently been executed by an Indian, and
probably very near the time of the occurrence which it was intended to
commemorate. Cogolludo refers to it as an ancient and interesting relic
in his time, and, of course, it is much more so now. It is an object of
great reverence among the Indians of Mani. In fact, throughout our
whole journeyings, either in Central America or Yucatan, it was the
first and only instance in which we met with any memorial in the hands
of the Indians, tending to keep alive the memory of any event in their
history; but this must not be imputed to them as a reproach. History,
dark as it is on other points, shows clearly enough that this now
abject and degraded race did cling with desperate and fatal tenacity to
the memory of those ancestors whom they know not now; the records of
their conquerors show the ruthless and savage policy pursued by the
Spaniards to root this memory from their minds; and here, in this very
town of Mani, we have a dark and memorable instance.
In 1571, twenty-nine years after the foundation of Merida, some Indians
of Mani relapsed and became idolaters, practising in secret their
ancient rites.
Intelligence of their backsliding reached the ears of the provincial in
Merida, who came to Mani in person, and forthwith established himself
as inquisitor. Some who had died obstinately in the secret practice of
idolatrous rites had been buried in sacred ground; he ordered their
bodies to be dug up, and their bones thrown into the fields; and, in
order to strike terror into the minds of the Indians, and root out the
memory of their ancient rites, on a day appointed for that purpose,
attended by the principal of the Spanish nobility, and in the presence
of a great multitude of Indians, he made them bring together all their
books and ancient characters, and publicly burned them, thus destroying
at once the history of their antiquities. Those envious of the blessed
father, says the historian, gave him the title of cruel; but very
differently thought of the action the Doctor Don Pedro Sanchez de
Aguilar, in his information against the idolaters of this country.
The sight of this painting made me more earnest in pushing my inquiries
for other memorials, but this was all; the Indians had no more to show,
and I then inquired of the alcalde for ancient archives. He knew
nothing about them, but said we could examine for ourselves, and the
key of the apartment in which they were kept was with the second
alcalde.
The schoolmaster of the village, who had received a letter in our
behalf from our friend the cura Carillo of Ticul, accompanied me to
look for the second alcalde, and, after tracing him to several places,
we procured the keys, and returned to the casa real, and when we
unlocked the door we had thirty or forty persons to enter with us. The
books and archives of the municipality were in the back room, and among
them was one large volume which had an ancient and venerable appearance
being bound in parchment, tattered, and worm-eaten, and having a flap
to close like that of a pocket-book. Unhappily, it was written in the
Maya language, and perfectly unintelligible. The dates, however, showed
that these venerable pages were a record of events which had taken
place within a very few years after the entry of the Spaniards into the
country; and as I pored over them, I was strongly impressed with the
belief that directly, or in some incidental expressions, they contained
matter which might throw some light upon the subject of my
investigations.
Being Sunday, a crowd of curious and lazy lookers-on surrounded the
table, but they could not distract my attention. I found that, though
all could speak the Maya, none could read it. Nevertheless; I continued
to turn over the pages. On the 157th page, in a document which bore the
date of 1557, I saw the word _Vxmal_. Here I stopped, and called upon
the by-standers. The schoolmaster was the only one who could even
attempt to give me any assistance, but he was not familiar with the
Maya as a written tongue, and said that this, having been written
nearly three hundred years before, differed somewhat from that of the
present day, and was more difficult to comprehend. Other places were
referred to in the document, the names of which were familiar to me,
and I observed that the words immediately preceding Vxmal were
different from those preceding the other names. The presumption was
that Uxmal was referred to in some different sense.
In turning to the end of the document I found a sheet of foolscap
paper, which had been secured in the book, but was then loose; and upon
it was a curious map, also dated in 1557, of which Mani was the centre.
Vxmal was laid down upon it, and indicated by a peculiar sign,
different from that of all the other places named. On the back of the
map was endorsed a long instrument of the same date, in which the word
_Vxmal_ again occurred, and which, beyond doubt, contained matter
relating to other places named in the map, and to their condition or
state of being at that time. With the assistance of the schoolmaster I
compared this with the one written in the book, and ascertained that
the latter was a recorded copy of the other.
A few pages beyond was another document, bearing date in 1556, one year
earlier, and in this, again, the word Vxmal appeared. The schoolmaster
was able to give me some general idea of the contents, but he could not
translate with facility nor, as he said, very accurately. The alcalde
sent for an Indian escribano, or clerk, of the municipality; but he was
not in the village, and an old Indian was brought who had formerly
served in that capacity; but, after staring stupidly at the pages as if
looking at a row of machetes, he said he had grown so old that he had
forgotten how to read. My only course was to have copies made, which
the schoolmaster set about immediately, and late in the afternoon he
placed them in my hands. In the evening, by the permission of the
alcalde, I took the book to my quarters, and looked over every page,
running my finger along every line, in search of the word Uxmal, but I
did not meet with it in any other place, and probably the documents
referred to are the most ancient, if not the only ones in existence of
ancient date, in which that name is mentioned.
The copies I carried with me to my friend Don Pio Perez, who discovered
some errors, and, at his instance, my good friend the cura Carillo went
over to Mani, and made exact copies of the map and documents. He also
made diligent search through the Maya archives for other papers
mentioning Uxmal, or referring to it in any way, but found none. He
added to his copies a translation, which was revised by Don Pio, and it
is from his version that what follows is prepared.
[Engraving 35: Map of Mani]
The engraving opposite is a copy of the ancient map, the original of
which covers one side of a sheet of foolscap paper.
The instrument endorsed on the back, as translated, reads as follows:
"Memorandum of having divided the lands by D. Francisco Montejo Xiu,
governor of this pueblo of Mani, and the governors of the pueblos who
are under him.
"There met together Don Francisco Montejo Xiu governor of this pueblo,
and of the jurisdiction of Tutul Xiu; Don Francisco Che, governor of
Ticul, Don Francisco Pacab, governor of Oxcutzcab, Don Diego Vs,
governor of Tekax, Don Alonzo Pacab, governor of Jan-monal, Don Juan
Che, governor of Mama, Don Alonzo Xiu, governor of Tekit, and the other
governors within the jurisdiction of Mani, together with the regidores,
for the purpose of regulating the landmarks, and maintaining the right
of each village respecting the felling of trees, and to fix and settle
with crosses the boundaries of the milpas of their respective villages,
dividing them into parts according to their situation, showing the
lands pertaining to each. The people of Canul, those of Acanceh, of
Ticoh, those of Cosuma, those of Zotuta and its jurisdiction, those of
Tixcacab, a part of those of Peto, Colotmul, and Zuccacab, after having
conferred together, declared it necessary to cite the governors of the
villages, and we answered that they should come to this audiencia of
Mani, each one bringing with him two regidores to be present at the
division of the lands Don Juan Canul, governor of Nunkini, and
Francisco Ci, his colleague; D. Juan Cocom, governor of Ticoh, D.
Gaspar Tun of Cosuma, Don Juan Cocom, governor of Sotuta, D. Gonzalo
Tuyn, governor of Tixcacab, D. Juan Han of Yaxcacab; these received the
donation on the fifth day from Merida, consisting of one hundred
'paties' of fine sheets, each pati or cotton cloth, and thus they
continued receiving by twenties for a beginning, being rolled up by
Juan Nic, Pedro May, and Pedro Coba, assembled in the house of Don
Francisco Montejo Xiu, governor of the village of Mani; three arrobas
of wax, which were sold by them, Don Juan Cocom of Zotuta having first
received them. In Talchaquillo, on the road to Merida, toward the north
of said village, the cross was planted, and called Hoal. In Sacmuyalna
they put a cross; this is the limit of the lands of those of Ticoh. In
Kochilha a cross was placed. In Cisinil, Toyotha, Chulul Ytza, Ocansip,
and Tiphal, crosses were placed; this is the boundary of the milpas and
the lands of those of Maxcanu-al Canules, In Kaxabceh Chacnocac, Calam,
Sactos, are the limits of the fields of the Canules, and there crosses
were placed. In Zemesahal and in Opal were planted crosses: these are
the limits of the grounds of the villagers of Kilhini and Becal. In
Yaxche Sucilha Xcalchen, Tehico Sahcabchen Xbacal, Opichen, crosses
were planted. Twenty-two is the number of the places marked, and they
returned to raise new landmarks, by the command of the judge, Felipe
Manriques, specially commissioned by his excellency the governor, when
he arrived at _Uxmal_ accompanied by his interpreter, Gaspar Antonio,"
&c. The rest of this document I omit.
The other document begins as follows: "On the tenth of August, in the
year one thousand five hundred and fifty-six, the special judge arrived
with his interpreter, Gaspar Antonio, _from Vxmal_, when they reached
this chief village of Mani, with the other caciques that followed them,
Don Francisco Che, governor of Ticul, Don Francisco Pacab, governor of
Tekax, Don Alonzo Pacab, governor of Jan, Don Juan Che, governor of
Mama, Don Alonzo Xiu, governor of Tekit, with the other governors of
his suite, Don Juan Cacom, governor of Tekoh, with Don Gaspar Fun, Don
Juan Camal, governor of Nunhini, Don Francisco Ciz, other governor of
Cosuma, Don Juan Cocom, governor of Zotuta, Don Gonzalo Fuyu, governor
of Tixcacaltuyu, Don Juan Han, governor of Yaxcaba; those were brought
to this chief village of Mani _from_ Vxmal, with the others named, and
the judge Felipe Manrique, with Gaspar Antonio, commissioned
interpreter." Of this, too, the rest is omitted, not being relevant to
this subject.
The reader will observe that, fifteen or sixteen years after the
foundation of Merida, Mani had the same pre-eminence of position as
when Tutul Xiu went up with his dependant caciques to make submission
to the Spaniards. It was the "chief village," the central point for
meeting and settling the boundaries of villages; but it appears, on the
face of these documents, that great changes had already occurred. In
fact, even at that early date we see the entering wedge, which, since
driven to its mark, has overturned all the institutions and destroyed
forever the national character of the aboriginal inhabitants. The
Indians were still rulers over their villages, and meet to settle their
boundary lines, but they meet under the direction of Don Felipe
Manriques, a Spanish officer, specially commissioned for that purpose;
they establish their boundaries by planting _crosses_, symbols
introduced by the Spaniards; they have lost their proud and independent
national title of cacique, and are styled _Dons_ and _Gobernadores_;
under the gentle patting of the hand destined soon to crush their race,
they have abandoned even the names received from their fathers, and
have adopted, either voluntarily or by coercion, the Christian names of
the Spaniards; and the Lord of Mani himself, the lineal descendant of
the royal house of Maya, either that same Tutul Xiu who first submitted
himself and his vassals to the dominion of Don Francisco Montejo, or
his immediate descendant, in compliment to the conqueror and destroyer
of his race, appears meekly and ingloriously under the name of _Don
Francisco Xiu_.
But it is not for the sake of this melancholy tale that I have
introduced these documents; they have another and a more important
bearing. By this act of partition it appears that, in 1667, "the judge
_arrived at Uxmal_, accompanied by his interpreter Don Antonio Gaspar."
And by the agreement it appears that in 1556, one year previous, the
special judge _arrived_ with his interpreter, Gaspar Antonio, _from
Uxmal_, when they reached the chief village of Mani with the other
caciques who followed them. The names are all given, and it is said
these "_were brought to this_ chief village of Mani _from Uxmal_, with
the others named, and the judge Felipe Manrique and Gaspar Antonio,
commissioned interpreter."
Now what was Uxmal? It is clear, beyond all question, that it was a
place at which persons could arrive, at which they could be, and from
which they could come. I am safe in supposing that it was not a mere
hacienda, for at that early period of the conquest haciendas had not
begun to be established; and, besides, the title papers of Don Simon
Peon show that the first grant of it was made for the purposes of a
hacienda one hundred and forty-four or one hundred and forty-five years
afterward, at which time the land was waste and belonged to the crown,
and had small settlements of Indians upon it, who were publicly and
notoriously worshipping the devil in the ancient buildings. It was not,
then, a hacienda. Was it a Spanish town? If so, some remains would have
been visible at the time of the grant, and the great object of driving
away the Indians and breaking up their idolatrous worship would already
have been accomplished. There is no indication, record, or tradition
that a Spanish town was ever established at Uxmal; the general belief
is that there never was any; Don Simon is sure of it, and in that
confidence I fully participate. But as the strongest proof on this
point, I call in this ancient map. It is a fact perhaps more clearly
established than any other in the history of the conquest, that in
every Indian village in which the Spaniards made a settlement, with
that strong religious enthusiasm which formed so remarkable a feature
in their daring and unscrupulous character, their first act was the
erection of a church. Now it will be remarked that nearly all the
places laid down on the map are indicated by the sign of a church; most
of them now exist, all have aboriginal names, and the inference is that
they were at that time existing aboriginal towns, in which the
Spaniards had erected churches, or had taken the preliminary steps for
doing so. Several of these places we had visited; we had seen their
churches reared upon the ruins of ancient buildings, and in their
immediate vicinity vestiges and extensive ruins of the same general
character with those at Uxmal.
But Uxmal, it will be seen, is not indicated by the sign of a church.
This I consider evidence that no church was erected there, and that
while the Spaniards were establishing settlements in other Indian
towns, for some reason, now unknown, perhaps on account of its
unhealthiness, at Uxmal they made none. But it will be seen farther,
that Uxmal not only is not indicated by the sign of a church, but is
indicated by one entirely different, of a peculiar and striking
character, which was manifestly never adopted from caprice or without
cause. In my opinion, this sign was intended to represent what would
most clearly distinguish a large place without a church from those in
which churches had been erected, the characteristic ornaments on the
fronts of the aboriginal buildings, as now seen at Uxmal. It is the
same obvious character or symbol which might serve at this day to
indicate on a map a city like Uxmal, and to my mind the conclusion is
irresistible that at the time when the Judge Don Felipe Manriques
arrived _at_ Uxmal and arrived _from_ Uxmal, it was an existing
inhabited aboriginal town. Farther, in the scanty light that we have on
this subject, the slightest incidental circumstance is not to be
disregarded. In each reference to his arrival at or from Uxmal, it is
mentioned that he was accompanied by his interpreter. He would not need
an interpreter if the place was desolate, or if it was a hacienda, or a
Spanish town. He could need an interpreter only when the place was
occupied by the aborigines, whose language he did not understand, and
such, I cannot help believing, was actually the case. I can easily
believe, too, that its depopulation and desolation within the hundred
and forty years preceding the royal grant for the purposes of a
hacienda, were the inevitable consequence of the policy pursued by the
Spaniards in their subjugation of the country. I would remark that
there is no doubt of the authenticity of these documents. They are true
records of events which occurred at that early period of the conquest
To this day the map and act of partition are good evidence in all legal
proceedings affecting the title to lands in that neighbourhood, and I
afterward saw them enrolled as proofs and forming part of the record in
a contested and protracted lawsuit.
I make no apology for dwelling so long upon this ancient map. Perhaps,
however, it will not interest the reader so much as it did ourselves
and the half-breeds of Mani. These ascribed our curiosity to a much
less innocent motive than that of investigating the history of ancient
cities. In consequence of some recent difficulties, los Ingleses were
somewhat objects of suspicion; the idlers of Mani made close inquiries
of Albino touching our reasons for wanting the map, and, not being able
to comprehend his explanations, which were, perhaps, not very clear,
they said that we intended to seek out and seize the strong points for
fortifications; and, with a spirit unlike that of their warlike sires,
Spanish or Indian, quietly made up their minds that we intended to
reduce the country and make slaves of them.
Toward evening we strolled over to the church and convent, which are
among the grandest of these early structures erected in Yucatan, proud
monuments of the zeal and labour of the Franciscan friars. They were
built under the direction of Friar Juan of Merida, distinguished as a
warrior and conqueror, but who threw aside the sword and put on the
habit of a monk. According to Cogolludo, they were both finished in the
short space of seven months, the cacique who had been lord of that
country furnishing six thousand Indians. Built upon the ruins of
another race, they are now themselves tottering and going to decay.
The convent had two stories, with a great corridor all round; but the
doors were broken and the windows wide open, rain beat into the rooms,
and grass grew on the floor.
The roof of the church formed a grand promenade, commanding an almost
boundless view of the great region of country of which it was once the
chief place and centre. Far as the eye could reach was visible the
great sierra, running from east to west, a dark line along the plain.
All the rest was plain, dotted only by small clearings for villages. My
guide pointed out and named Tekax, Akil, Oxcutzcab, Schochnoche,
Pustonich, Ticul, Jan, Chapap, Mama, Tipika, Teab, the same villages
laid down in the ancient map, whose caciques came up, three hundred
years before, to settle the boundaries of their lands; and he told me
that, under a clearer atmosphere, more were visible. Some I had
visited, and had seen the crumbling remains of the ancient town; and
looking at them from the roof of the church, the old map gave them a
vividness, reality, and life, as they had been three hundred years
before, more exciting than the wildest speculations in regard to lost
and unknown races. The sun went down, and the gloom of night gathered
over the great plain, emblematic of the fortunes and the fate of its
ancient inhabitants.