Two months have passed since the encounter with the jaguar. The skin tanned carefully with bark of the tzalon tree and the chicle tree, hung stretched between slender skins of the mainmast inside the hut. Some weeks later, they would roll it up and wrap it in deer hide. He planned to take it to Valladolid to give to his mother as a gift to make a chair.

Jacinto came to the door and asked, "How is Leonor? Is it true that she isn't feeling well?"

"She is a little sick in the mornings." answered Marcelo. "The women say that she probably is pregnant. She gets dizzy and sometimes she throws up. She said that your mother says that's what it is. What do you think?"

" You are worried, aren't you. It is natural. Marcelo couldn't hide a big smile "The truth is I hadn't thought about a baby, but if that's what it is, that's fine. She is very happy about it, but she's so young".

"At her age, Marcelo, the women have had at least one child".

"I know that, but she is so fragile, so delicate, and now with the loss of appetite. She doesn't want to eat right, only sour things and that's not nourishment, I have told her to eat eggs and meat, but she doesn't feel like it".

"Soon she will start to eat, you will see. Do you know what? We want to go to the coast, near Tulu'um, there's good hunting around there and when we get there we can eat a lot of fish. Many of us have never tasted fish. The older ones say that walking north, and West we will come to some very ancient ruins, and following a "sac-be" to the east, we will go directly to the sea. Will you go with us? I have told the other that if you go with us you can explain many things that we don't understand and don't know. How old is Tulu'um? The old ones say that nobody knows how old it is. That our ancestors lived there; that the "sac-bes" coming from very old and faraway cities like Chichen go directly there and over them the ancient Mayas traveled; that they adored other gods, and that the "aluxo'ob" now watch over the sac-be.''

Marcelo listened with interest:

"The history books talk about Tulu'um.- he answered- It was one of the first places visited by the Spanish when they came to conquer Yucatan. But it was already abandoned. They say that the Maya who sailed along the coast rested at the ruins when they came back from their commercial trips. Not far from there to the North, is Xel-ha. Have you heard of Xel-ha? The Spanish made their first camps there, The called it Salamanca de Xel-ha but they abandoned it because of the sickness and deaths that they suffered".

Jacinto was interested in everything, and he exclaimed.

"Tell us everything, Marcelo"

" I will tell you when we get there. When do we leave ?," -He expressed smiling.

A few days later the line of máasewaalo'ob stopped when the guide raised his hand. Marcelo took the shotgun off his shoulder, putting in an oblique position in front of his chest, while with his left hand he took a cartridge out of his shirt pocket. For a few seconds, he watched how the leader whiffed the air, which hardly moved a few of the highest branches of the vegetation Surely they were near the coast because frequently now there were puddles of water in the land and they saw the first mangroves.

"I believe we are close to the sea, Don't you hear the noise? He pointed while he rested his a shot-gun on the ground, and got rid of the "big sabucan, which contained the food that had been prepared for the journey from the village to the sea"

"There is not much breeze, the insects are going to torture us."

Jacinto strained, trying to hear the sound of the sea. He didn't hear it.

"I am sure, Jacinto, when we were going to Sisal from Hunucma, that I heard from far away the sound of the sea. If there were more breeze, I'm sure we would be able to hear it clearly".

"How far away to you think we are, Marcelo?

"No more that 20 mecates, the vegetation is strange here. Generally in Yucatan, the land near the coast is swampy and the vegetation is different. Near Celestun there are big mangroves and spots of thick woods zapotes, "tahuches" and many other kinds of trees near the sea, here I can't say but I think I can smell in the breeze the odor of the sea".

The guide, an old máasewáal who had gone to the coast sometimes before, pointed out.

"So it is, professor, I believe that we are near the sea. Let's rest a while and wait for the sun to go down a little more, if we walk in a straight line with the sun at our backs, we'll be there in a few minutes. We will have to pass through brush and lagoons and puddles; but I am sure that before, much before the sun goes down we will be at the sea. Then we will continue to the south along the shore, and early tomorrow we will arrive in Tulu'um. The town is a little bit inland, a league more or less. It has been many years since I have been here."

After they rested for a moment, the group prepared a fire where they heated the "primo'ob", especially prepared with plenty of lard, salt and chile pepper and they refreshed themselves with a big "jicara" of "pah-queyem" sweetened with honey. They chewed some pieces of dry, salted venison, which they had brought from Tok'tuunich and finally, they laid down under a leafy tree, whose shade sheltered them from the hot sun.

Two hours later they took up their march again. And just like the old máasewáal had said, they were putting their feet on the white sand of the Caribbean coast. The sun was low on the horizon. It would be dark soon.

After preparing the wood to keep them warm in the night, all of them refreshed themselves at the seashore completely naked.

Jacinto and Marcelo didn't speak. Both of them near the fire were looking up at the sky, each one lost in their own thoughts. They felt in complete harmony with nature. Later on they both slept soundly, while the old maasewáal fed the fire.

The next day, after enjoying a bath in the sea, the group reunited to leave for the ruins of Tulu'um .

A small breakfast prepared them for what they calculated would be a short trip. In single file, at the edge of the sand hardened by the waves that lapped it intermittently, the men advanced toward the south. The soft, sea breeze refreshed their half-naked bodies. Jacinto enjoyed the view and remembered the quiet waters of the lagoon of Bak'halal, where years before, he had traveled to Belize. A quick and blurry memory, the face of Lola, the girl who had been his first passion came into his mind. What would be of her?

"I was talking to you, Jacinto, didn't you hear me?"

"No" he answered, " I was thinking about the lagoon of Bak'halal. You haven't seen it, it is very beautiful, but this sea is different. I cannot even imagine the other side."

"You would never be able to, the tsuulo'ob who conquered our land, took months to cross it to get here and, you know something else? The old ones also sailed and not just close to the shore, as many believe ."

"The Mayas, Marcelo ?" -asked Jacinto- as if trying to affirm his imagination.

"The Mayans; Jacinto, our ancestors sailed here in their big canoes, bringing and taking merchandise to the south to where we now call Honduras. They took cotton cloth, corn, cocoa, henequen and many other things, and they exchanged them with the Aztecs, there in the south of Tabasco; and from there they brought many things; stones like jade and colored feathers from many different birds that we don't have or are scarce in our land"

"So big is our country? The older ones talk about our brothers of Belize, of Guatemala and Peten Itza, but I didn't know that out people extended so much."

"When we get to Tulu'um I will tell you what the books teach about it. Many things will surprise you, let's keep walking. I think we're almost there".

From far away, at the limit of their vision the group noticed, at first not clearly, the shape of constructions of stone on a slight elevation of the coast. The waves broke near the shore.the sea was stirred up by a strong breeze that came from off shore. The foam crowned the crests that lost themselves in the white sand.

Jacinto hurried, going ahead of the group. Minutes later, the profile of the tall buildings was defined more clearly on a back-drop of sky blue. He stopped to wait for the others, trying not to miss a single detail of the beautiful view.

When his companions caught up to him, he began his march again ahead with his inseparable friend, Marcelo.

Both men were in silence, each one in their own thoughts. Stopping in the edge of the ruin, they contemplated together without saying a word about the majesty of the buildings facing the sea, like constant monuments since the immensity of times.

Marcelo remember the drawings of Mr. Caterwood had made on his visits to the ruins of Uxmal and other such cities of the Mayab, and that he had seen in books during the time he was studying in the library of Merida.

Jacinto absorbed in the contemplation of the impressive constructions eroded by time, compared them with other buildings, ruins and mounds that he had seen in his travels among the towns of the Cruzo'ob. He had seen many and had heard of the ruins of Chichen Itza and Coba, but he never imagined anything like this. The silence was interrupted by the guide's voice, the oldest one who had traveled this coast before.

"Let's find the entrance to the city". He said as he cleared the way through the vegetation with a machete.

In an instant, all of them drew their machetes, clearing away the branches that blocked their way. A few meters ahead became less dense and a few trees were growing; in their shade, they cleaned weeds and advanced parallel with the fallen rocks that marked the limits of the platform on whose upper part was the wall that limited the constructions.

With difficulty, slowly, carefully, they went on until they arrived at on open space in the upper part, they stopped to contemplate the monument in ruins and beyond, in the elevated part, the construction which had defied the sea forever.

Their admiration had no limits. The richness of the worked stone, in columns, in the walls the edges of the roofs, the shapes, the Mayan faces, the wood which held up the rocks over the doors, all of this caused admiration and surprise.

"Let's rest in the shadow of the buildings"-said Marcelo. "Look, there are rocks that will be good for making a fireplace".

The group went toward the rocks placed on the ground that been used for a fireplace to cook food, surely fish, or maybe game meat. They put their load down next to the walls and opted to rest a while from their short walk. Marcelo and Jacinto slowly penetrated the inside of the building to make a brief inspection.

"Be careful Marcelo, the ruins and the "kuuyo'ob" are good places for the "tzan-can", the "koh" and other snakes. They like shade and moisture" he said as he looked around on the floor and the corners of the construction.

"Bats?" -asked Marcelo, pointing to the marks on the walls and the dry Ramon fruits scattered on the floor.

"Bats"-answered Jacinto " You know that caves and abandoned buildings are their favorite places. Look there in the corner near the roof there are some."

Marcelo looked up.

Jacinto said, "Let's make a lot of smoke to make them leave and then we'll clean the floor. We can spend the night here inside. I think it will be a little bit cooler than on the beach where we slept last night."

"Ok, let's do it".

The two friends left the building to rejoin their group.

Jacinto said: "Well, you said you would tell us what you know about these ruins. This is a good time, while we're resting. Later, we will cut firewood, and try to catch some fish here near the shore. Over there in the rocks, where the sea comes in would be a good place, don't you think," without waiting for an answer, he said to group.

"Who wants to go fishing with me? Will you go, Marcelo? You know more about it than we do. The others will go for firewood and to try and bag some pheasants or any animals to have enough food for the time we're going to be here. Come here, in the shade, we are going to talk about our ancestors that built this city and many others.

The group sat down near the building, some leaning up against and others sitting on the ground.

Marcelo started to talk.

"When the Spanish came to this coast, more than 400 years ago, hundreds of years had gone by, maybe a thousand, since our cities started to be built. Here in Tulu'um and more to the west Coba, Chichen Itza, and to the south Uxmal and other cities more. Mayapan was destroyed more or less a hundred years before the Spanish arrived. The worked stones that we see in all of these ruins and in all of the ancient cities tell the story.

A few years after the conquest, the religious leaders destroyed the ancient writings in Mani. The history could scarcely be recovered through the oral tradition that tells us where our ancestors came from. Several books have been written from the tradition. They are called the "Books of Chilam-Balam"; I am trying to remember many of the things that are said in them, things that I read when I was studying.

"In that time the count was made in months of 20 days and in a group of 20 years that were called "katunes". About a thousand years ago, a group of men called "Itzaes" carriers of the Maya culture came from the South, certainly from the regions of the neighboring country of Guatemala. They arrived at Bacalar, in ancient times known as Ba'akhalal in the present territory of Quintana Roo. From there, this group migrated and settled during 10 katunes, that is to say 200 years. During their journey from Bacalar to Chichen, another three katunes, or 60 years. Without explaining why, the Itzaes abandoned Chichen Itza and went to Chakamputun where they arrived, according to some versions in the year 700. For many years the Itzaes stayed in Chakamputun, returning to what was Chichen Itza around the year 900 or 1000 of the Christian Era.

It seems that in all of the Yucatan Peninsula, in the northern zone there where no other peoples until the Itzaes went back to live in Chichen Itza. After the year 1000, they think that other people from far away, the people of the Chichimecas or Toltecs, came into to Yucatan in the era of Quetzalcoatl, the god of the Aztecs and Kukulcan god of the Mayas. It was Friar Diego de Landa who destroyed the parchments, destroying everything that was written on the skins. The history of our people explains all of this in the oral tradition that comes down to us from our ancestors.

They think that Tulu'um was founded by the same group of people that founded Chichen and Coba, as well as other cities of the area, and later the city of Mayapan, which as I told you, was destroyed about 100 years before the Spanish arrived. It was at the beginning of the 1500's when they began to arrive in our lands.

It is said that the first Spaniards who arrived on our coast, was a group of shipwrecked sailors. The carabela, that's what they called their ships, had been caught by a summer storm, and some men survived. It is said that most of them died and only two men remained alive.History has recorded the exact date of that event. When they arrived at the coast near these ruins it was the year 1511. The two men who survived were: Gonzalo Gerrero, who according to the story married the daughter of the chief of Chehtemal, and the other was a priest named Jeronimo de Aguilar.

These two Spaniards lived among the Maya for 8 years, until the one who had conquered the Aztecs, Hernan Cortes, arrived here in front of Tulu'um, on the island of Cozumel. When he came he was told that there were two white bearded men who were living here, and he sent for them. Of the two men only one wanted to go to him, Jeronimo de Aguilar.

By that time he spoke Maya perfectly. He became very valuable, very useful for Hernan Cortes when he began the conquest of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, which is now called Mexico city.

Jeronimo de Aguilar, knew an Aztec Princess from the region of Maya putum, which is a region of Tabasco, and bordered with the Aztec lands. This Princess was called "Malinche".

She spoke two languages "Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, and Maya.

Jeronimo de Aguilar translated what Hernan Cortes said, explaining it to Malinche in Maya, and Malinche translated it to Nahuatl to the Aztecs, and then translated what they said back to Jeronimo Aguilar.

It was a very valuable co-incidence, very valuable, for Hernan Cortes."

Marcelo paused to put his ideas in order and Jacinto asked:

"What happened to Gonzalo Guerrero, the other Spaniard who stayed here? "

"Gonzalo Guerrero stayed in the province of Chetumal with the princess, daughter of the chief, they had several children. We know this from a letter that he sent to Cortes by way of Jeronimo Aguilar when he saw him in Cozumel when Aguilar was on his way to the land of the Aztecs.

Cortes didn't take long to conquer this country. In 1519, a few years later one of Cortes' captains, Francisco de Montejo was appointed by the King of Spain to colonize and conquer these provinces. That was in 1527.

Starting in 1527, the Spanish came back to try to dominate our people. They tried several times. The first time after a fruitless effort they managed to establish a small colony in Chakamputun, now called Champoton.

There was where the first big battle occurred, a combat where many Spaniards died, and for that reason it was called the "Bay of the Bad Fight" but that was in 1517, which is to say before Cortes came to this land.

In 1517 the first Spanish captain who explored the Yucatan coast came from Cuba disembarking in Champoton and there the Mayas fought against him causing many casualties. The captain himself died of his wounds in Cuba. Two years later there was another expedition that went to Tabasco, and that was when they discovered the southern part where the Maya people lived, the ones called Mayas-Putunes."

"In 1519 Cortes, with his great fleet arrived in Cozumel, there he found Jeronimo de Aguilar. One of the captains that came with Hernan Cortes, Francisco de Montejo, was who began the conquest of Yucatan, but many years went by, about twenty before the Spanish were able to establish definitely. During this time, they encountered great resistance from the Maya people.

Gonzalo Guerrero, in the south of Chetumal, which we now know as Honduras, died in 1534. His body was found after a battle and the Spaniards recognized him.

Our ancestors never surrendered.

In 1546, three years after the foundation of Valladolid, the Cupules, taking advantage of the absence of Francisco de Montejo, and his nephew and son who had gone to Campeche to greet him, made an uprising recovering almost all the towns that had been given to Spaniards. They killed many of them, they sieged Valladolid but they couldn't take it. When the Spaniards came with troops from Merida and Campeche, the Mayas were defeated. They had to take refuge in what is now the territory of Quintana Roo. Actually, the Cupules never surrendered.

The Itzaes, the group that had abandoned Mayapan when it was destroyed, had immigrated to their place of origin, to a place called Peten at a lagoon whose name is Peten Itza. The Spanish dominated them in the year 1697."

The teacher paused, and in this interval, Jacinto asked.

"Haven't you heard of the rebellion of Jacinto Canek?"

"Yes, Jacinto, he who was named as you are, about the year 1760, rebelled and so many of our people died.

Who among us does not remember the caste wars started by our ancestors around the year 1847?

That is the history of our people."-Marcelo was quiet for a few seconds.

"I understand why we are the way we are", interrupted Jacinto,

"Are we the last Cupulo'ob? We are the descendants of the Cupulo'ob of these towns."

"Yes, we are"-answered Marcelo, "We are the descendants of the last Cupulo'ob."

There was complete silence. Only the noise of the waves that broke over the rocks below the platform could be heard. A soft breeze cooled their faces.

"Enough of history"-said Marcelo, "Let's separate, each with his weapon, and who ever wants to fish come with me, we have to fix our food and prepare a place to sleep before the sun goes down. Let's go."

In the light of the fires, the group sitting in circles enjoyed the meat of wild animals and the grilled fish; the flames of the fires illuminated the faces carved in stone in the walls of the ruins and old temples situated on the platform.

In the sky, the crescent moon shone and at the heat of the fire someone said.

"Tell us more about the rebellion of the Mayas after Zaci was founded."

After a few seconds, Marcelo began his narration.

"Many years ago, after the foundation of Valladolid, in the old town of Zaci which was the capital of the Cupules, four years after the foundation of Merida, of Campeche and of Izamal, these cities formed a square in the peninsula. Inside this square the conquered people lived as prisoners. The "conquistadores" thought that they had finished their job and could rest, exploiting the slaves.

In 1546 Francisco de Montejo " the young" and his nephew, the founder Valladolid, went to Campeche to receive Don Francisco de Montejo "The Father". The conquistador was coming back to the peninsula after almost ten years.

The Mayas began to conspire to upraise against the Spanish while they were gone.

The chiefs, the old princes and priests were the main leaders of the Cupulo'ob whose lands had been taken away by the "conquistadores".

"The conspiracy was plotted in secret, by all the peoples of Yucatan. The conspirators had noticed that the Spaniards went regularly from the cities to their "Encomiendas" to collect taxes. When Montejo Senior arrived in Campeche, and the Spanish leader went to receive him, the cities were some how defenseless. The Cupules set the rebellion for the full moon of November, which fell on the 9^th, on this date they revolted simultaneously in different parts of the old Cupul territory. In a town North of Valladolid, the Spanish landholders were surprised by an unexpected attack and since they weren't carrying weapons to defend themselves, they were taken captive alive by the conspirators.

History tells us what happened then. Some of them were captured alive and tortured to death; some of them escaped and ran to warn those in Valladolid. The Spanish began to prepare a defense, and after the slaughters by the Cupules, who didn't just sacrifice the Spanish, but also the slaves they had brought from Mexico, the Maya gathered in front of the town in great number. The inhabitants were in danger because they say there were only 22 of them, 18 Spanish had been sacrificed in their "encomiendas". Those under siege had with them some mexican Indians who had been brought for the conquest and several servants whose faithfulness had been proved. These helped in the defense. All the soldiers from Merida and Campeche were organized to help Valladolid, and all the Spanish cavalry marched. Don Francisco de Montejo "the young" had orders from his father to try to pacify the Cupules without using arms.

The rebels resisted bravely the first efforts of the Spanish. They said that Spanish and Maya fought all over the provinces, in the land of the Cocomes, and in the far off province of Huamil-Chetumal, where Bacalar was founded.

"In few weeks, the Spanish were able to dominate the Maya. The killings were very big. The repression was extraordinary cruel. The Spanish didn't just kill them but they also mutilated them because the Spanish thought that only by teaching the Cupulo'ob a lesson and by place fear into them, they could be dominated."

The teacher stopped his story. His companions remained silent. Marcelo contemplated their stony faces; his imagination was full of the thousand scenes that he himself had described. Then he began again.

"These are the things that I remember from what I have read in the books that tell of the first big rebellion of the Maya people.

The scholars know all the history, but most people don't know what happened. The caste wars began in 1847. This is something that is better known, surely because it is more recent and what happened has been told to us by our grand father and fathers. The fight by the Mayas in 1546 only lasted a few months. The Cupulo'ob were dominated very quickly. In this same land of the Cupulo'ob where the caste wars started as you know in the towns of Tepich and Tihosuco. The rebellion of our grandfathers lasted for many years about so, our ancestors, those who escaped into these land managed to keep at the fringe of the Spanish conquistadores, you know that better than I do. It finished with the intervention of General Bravo in 1900.

"30 years have passed since then, I think, I am convinced that the Cupulo'ob who formed those towns of the Cruzo'ob can not go on being separated. That time is over."

Jacinto got up, he took some wood to liven up the fire that was dying out, and looking at his companions he said:

"Let's go to sleep, we have to rest because, tomorrow early we have to go fishing. We will try to fish enough to take home.

For two days the group enjoyed the sea and the fishing. At mid-day the hot sun made them seek refuge inside the old building. At night at light and heat of the fires, the stories, the legends and the jokes were told.

The night breeze cooled their burned skin. They slept deeply each one with his own dreams. Those were days deeply enjoyed. One day, with plenty of fish dried from the heat of the fires, they decided to go home to Tok'tuunich. The return trip was calm, without problems. When they arrived, their families enjoyed the abundant fish with them and listened to the tales of their excursion.

Main Page                           Chapter 23  ''Life and Death''

---

Get Flash !

---

 

El Cuyo Yucatán, a new meeting with the nature. . Travelers Guide

 

Concept & Design by

Raúl Mendoza and N'aloy Vargas Cetina.
For further information,  reservations and advertising call (984) 8762234 and (985) 8563178  or fax (985) 8563178 or send an e-mail to: icai@chichen.com.mx

 

This site, Travelers Guide Series and Mayan World see better in Microsoft Explorer.  We highly recommend you install Flash 5.0  ( to see animations ) and  Real Player Basic 8.0 ( to see streaming  videos ).  You can free download them in their respective sites

 

 

 

comments you may have or if you want to buy the book, please call or fax us to (985) 85 6 31 78 or send an e-mail to: icai@chichen.com.mx con copy to: raul_mendoza_alcocer@hotmail.com On line secure Credit Card payment available.