The Maya Chronicles
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12. When the Spaniards came to the towns of this land there were no
Indians who had a will to pay tribute to the first Spaniards; therefore
the first Spaniards made an account of what towns were to be given to be
governed. I, Nakuk Pech, I first received the town here, in the district
Chac Xulub Chen, when first they came with orders to take it, with the
chiefs, and captains and priests, whose names are Ah Kul Matu and (Ah)
Kul Che; and the first priests arrived, the priest Cocom, the priest
Tacu; and the captains arrived, the captain Nachan Cen and the captain
Xuluc, as their names were, the captains who commanded when they came to
this land Maxtunil, with the priest Chuc and his captains, to take
possession; thus they found the town here, Chac Xulub Chen, when came
the soldiers and ensigns, Ensign Kan, Ensign Xuluc, Ensign Pot, Ensign
May, Ensign Ek, such were the names of the ensigns, the names of those I
commanded as chief when I, Nakuk Pech, came to this town Chac Xulub
Chen; thus my mind was strengthened when these things happened, and when
I came here to settle here in the land and district Chac Xulub Chen.
13. I, Nakuk Pech, came here by (order of) the governor that I should
strengthen the town Chac Xulub Chen; then among old men there was no
sign that the Spaniards would come here to this land, nor was the
village of Chac Xulub Chen strengthened then; it was when they heard the
account, when the Spaniards came to the city of Merida and Christianity
was received by the men of the province of Ceh Pech. I finished by
gathering together all the town of Chac Xulub Chen, I, Don Pablo Pech,
and my father, Don Martin Pech, Conquistador of Xulkum Cheel.
14. When the war against the Spaniards began we spread out our forces
together with them, and went with my father, Ah Macan Pech, of the first
lineage of Yaxkukul, and Ixkil Y[c]am Pech, of the first lineage of
Cumkal, and I went after them to the war; then began the obligation of
tribute to our rulers for the Spanish governors in the town; when we
went to the war there was _pinole_ and _tuce_ to drink, because they
were disgusted with the Christians; for six months we and my companions
followed the Christians in their misfortunes; my father was then
governed by the regidors, who saw that all that I write in my
information truly happened, everything, in order that it may be known by
my family, my sons, in the hereafter, until the end of the world, for my
title and evidence given me by our Lord God and our great lord, the
reigning king; I have no tribute nor do I pay tribute, nor will my sons
nor my daughters pay tribute, because our Lord God released me from it
in the fear of my heart; before I had seen the face of the Spaniards I
had been given willingness that I should deliver myself and all my town
into the hands of the Spaniards, in order that they might be inhabited
by the captains, the Adelantado and the first conquistadores who came
here to this land, Yucatan; and the year the first foreigners came here
to the land of the Cupuls was the year 1511.
15. In former times no one saw Spanish foreigners, not until Jeronimo de
Aguilar was captured by the natives of Cozumel; then first the whole of
the country became known, because all the country was marched over; but
because the whole of the land was not made use of I spoke of it before
the king, when there went before the king Ah Macan Pech, Don Pedro Pech,
and his followers, and the first of his lineage, and all his chiefs
after him; they went after him to honor the king, that he might see the
faces of his servants; then fifty of the principal men went afterwards
to the lord the ruling king, to obey him at table, far off in Spain, and
those remained to obey before the ruling King; then the ruler said that
all should pay tribute and all their sons, even we the Pechs of the
first lineage in this land, and the first lineage of the Cupuls; then it
was said, there is a great province, and many men and things in the
land, and an account shall be made of it before our great king, and now
they shall come to fix the limits of the land for our beloved king. Thus
the land was discovered by Aguilar, who was eaten by Ah Naum Ah Pat at
Cuzamil in the year 1517. In this year the katun ended, and then ended
the placing of the town stone, for at each twentieth stone they came to
place the town stones, formerly, when the Spaniards had not yet come to
Cuzamil, to this land; since the Spaniards came, it has ceased to be
done.
16. In the year 1519 first came the Spaniards here to Cuzamil, for the
third time, Fernando de Cortes and Espoblaco Lara. On the 28th of
February, there came to Cuzamil for the first time those who knew to
speak the true words. In this year the eaters of anonas first arrived at
Chichen, and then for the first time Chichen Itza became known to the
great Spaniards, (and) to Don Francisco de Montejo, Adelantado, the
governor, when they were posted at Chichen Ytza.
17. In the year 1521, on the 13th day of August, the territory of Mexico
was taken by the Spaniards. The third attack on the same Spaniards took
place by all the towns here in the town of Cupul, when they asked Ah Ceh
Pech about the killing at Zalibna, and his companion-king Cen Pot of
Tixkokhoch of the province of Ticanto, with the priest Ich Kak Mo of
Itzmal the companion of Holtun Ake. The year in which the Spaniards
arrived at Chichen Itza for the second time to settle at Chichen Itza
was that when arrived the captain Don Francisco de Montejo, the just
one, leader of the Cupuls. They arrived at the town twenty years after
they arrived at Chichen Ytza (the first time), where they were called
eaters of anonas, biters of anonas.
18. In the year 1542, the Spaniards settled the territory of Merida; the
first speaker, the companion priest Kinich Kakmo and the king of the
Tutulxiu of the capital Mani humbled their heads, and the first families
were settled; then first they came under tribute the third time (the
Spaniards) came to this land, and they established themselves
permanently, and stopped here. The first time when they came here to
Chichen Itza they began to eat anonas; never before had anonas been
eaten, and when the Spaniards ate them they were called anona-eaters;
the second time they came to Chichen they stopped at the house of the
Captain Cupul; the third time they arrived they settled permanently, in
the year 1542 they settled permanently in the territory of Merida, the
13th Kan being the year-bearer, according to the Maya reckoning.
19. In the year 1543 the Spaniards went north of the Chels to procure
Maya men for servants because there were no men for servants at Merida;
they came to procure men for servants for their bidding; when they
reached Popce the tribute was increased by those from Merida, when those
who command arrived at Popce, and they went on to Tikom, and the
Spaniards remained at that time in Tikom more than twenty days before
they departed.
20. In the year 1544 the Spanish Captain Asiesa was posted in Cauaca,
and the chiefs were gathered together from Cauaca for the tribute, and
they gave in Cauca honey, pheasants and maize; then they placed in
prison the priest Caamal from Sisal, and asked for an account of all the
towns; one year he was kept by them in prison; he then served as guide
to the Spaniards when they came to Valladolid, and this priest Kamal of
Sisal entered as chief at Valladolid, and was called Don Juan Caamal de
la Cruz, because he spoke very truthfully; he first introduced the cross
in Cauaca, and he was listened to by the Spaniards, and for this he
entered as chief at Sisal, and being chief a long time he died. He was
also guide to the Spaniards when they went to war with Tixkochnah; and
when the Spaniards had been posted one year in Cauaca, they went forth
and came to Valladolid on purpose to see the men the chief Kamal had
placed in prison.
21. In the year 1545 the Spaniards were posted at Valladolid, and in
this year Christianity began by the fathers of the order of San
Francisco in the port of Champoton; there first came the fathers having
in their hands the Redeemer Jesus Christ by name, that they might teach
the serving men; and first they came to the port of Champutun to the
west of this province called here Ichcansiho, then to Merida, the town
Ichcansiho as it is called. These are the names of the fathers who began
Christianity in this country Yucatan, Fr. Juan de la Puerta, and Fr.
Luis de Villarpando, and Fr. Diego de Becal, and Fr. Juan de Guerrero,
and Fr. Merchol de Benavente, these began Christianity in the west of
this country, before Christianity came here to Cupul; afterwards the
trumpet of Christianity came here, as I was saying, and it began here at
Cupul.
22. In the year 1546 there was a conjuration in the highlands of the
country; on the 9th of November there had been peace for four months,
and it occurred on the 9th day of November of the year 1546 that there
was war after four months: it began and continued for one year among the
men, when they were gathered together for the second time for the
tribute of wax; when the war began it took place that the conjurors came
from the west to deceive the people and to set in order the war; the
conjuror Cunul and Ah Camal came from the west and killed the Spaniards
and two sons of the Spaniards, scholars at Mena; they died at Chamax,
where they wished to remain; then came to Valladolid all the Spaniards
who were well when the war broke out, and then began the massacre; the
conjuror Camal Tipakan, of Pakam, killed Surusano over against Nicte; at
the towns one night the Spaniards were slain because the people fell
sick in their hands and feet; there was then for a day and a night war
in all the towns.
23. In the year 1547 a ship was destroyed by Ex Box at Ecab; then the
Spaniards went to make him fear, and made war against Box of Ecab, son
of Ek Box.
24. In the year 1548 the father Ermitanyo came to Valladolid to begin
Christianity.
25. In the year 1550 there was a general reunion of the towns and their
dependencies at Mani.
26. In the year 1551 the father guardian, Fr. Fernando Guerrero, came
from Valladolid to Sisal and he baptized the people and introduced
Christianity here into all the territory of Valladolid west of the
Chels; they came from Ecab, they came from Cozumel, they came from the
north, they came from the south, and also he began the building of the
monastery Valladolid-Sisal.
27. In the year 1552 the fathers settled here; in this year they came to
teach and sing here at Sisal, they came from the west to teach and sing
mass vespers with the singing of the organ and flute, and the canto
llano, which never before did we know here.
In the year 1553 the Auditor, Don Thomas Lopez arrived here in this land
of Yucatan from Castilla, and he arrived as a messenger from our great
ruler, the reigning king of Castilla, to protect us against the hand of
the Spaniards here. He put a stop to our being burned by the Spaniards,
he put a stop to our being bitten by dogs, he introduced the appointing
of chiefs in each village by the giving of the baton; he also adjusted
the tribute for the third time, the tribute introduced by the Spaniards,
mantles, wax, pheasants, maize, buckets, salt, peppers, broad beans,
narrow beans, jars, pots, vases, all for tribute to our Spanish rulers,
which we paid before the Auditor had given his attention to these
things. At this time occurred the capture of the priest Chuuc by Ah
Macan Pech when we left Sisal, because he wished the priest Chuc to be
captured, as he had prevented the capture of Ah Ceh Pech here in Cupul;
afterwards the priest Pech, Macan Pech with the servants of Macan Pech
and his captains, came here to this town of Yaxkukul.
28. From the year 1519 when the Spaniards came here to the town of Conah
Itza, here in this land, Yucatan, I have set forth the days, the months
and the years as above stated, I, Don Pablo Pech, the son of Don Martin
Pech of Xul Kum Cheel, conquistador, here at Maxtunil and Chac Xulub
Chen; since we received the Spaniards with good will and heart, nor did
we make war upon them, Don Juan de Montejo, Adelantado, and the rest of
the captains, as their names are in the book; we also first received
Christianity, we the conquistadores, Don Martin son of Don Fernando
Pech, Don Pablo Pech son of Don Martin Pech, on the 13th day of the
month of October, 1518; all my subjects received baptism in Maxtunil;
they were baptized by the first bishop to the Maya people, Don Francisco
Toral; and when he baptized us our father the bishop showed the images
of the saints to all the villages, images of Saint Peter and St. Paul,
and St. John and St. Louis, and St. Antony, and St. Michael, and St.
Francis, and St. Alonzo, and St. Augustin and St. Sebastian, and St.
Diego; and they desired the oils, and he who was called Peter took the
oils.
29. Such is the chronicle of everything I have collected for the books,
in order that the people might know it, whoever wished to know it, as
had decreed it from the beginning our great lord God who governs the
universe. It is the declaration of how the Spaniards came to this land,
here to this country; by the will of the lord, the ruling God, also by
the orders of our lord Don Juan de Montejo, and Don Francisco de
Montejo, who first came here to this land, and gave orders that churches
should be built in the plastered villages, in the outlying districts,
and a town house and a temple for our great ruler, and also a public
house for travelers.
30. Thus also said our great father, Ah Naum Pech, Don Francisco de
Montejo Pech, and Don Juan Pech, as were their names when they were
baptized by the fathers; and as the Adelantado, the Captain, those who
came here to this land Yocol Peten, but called Yucatan by the first
Spaniards, as they the Spaniards, clearly relate. When our lord the
Spaniards said that we are to live eternally with God, and when the Maya
men heard the names, then spoke Naum Pech to those he commanded, with
suavity:--"Know ye, there comes to the town the one God, to the country
the true God, the sign of the true God; go ye to live with Him, joyfully
receive Him, do not war against Him, and if they have not to eat or
drink give them maize, fowls, pheasants, honey, beans to eat, that
Christianity may enter and that we may be servants of God;" thus they
wished it, and they did not make war, but rose up and went to aid the
Spaniards in the conquest and marched together with the foreigners.
31. Thus also Nachi Cocom, who dwelt in the chief town of Zututa in the
province Chichen Itza, that called Chichen Itza, and Ah Cahuot Cocom,
aiding the word of God and our great King, delivered up their standards
and banners for the sake of our great King, for the conquest, and
received the Adelantado and the father the priest in their towns, nor
did they make war, but abstained from all injury, and laid out churches
and town-houses for their followers.
32. And Na[c]i Mabun Chan settled in the district, and understood that
the eternal life had come to his village, and wished that to God truly
would be delivered the Catzins and Chuls in the district of Mani, and
the Tutulxiu, and the Chels in the East, and the (middle) Tan Cupuls and
in Campeche Na[c]acab Canul; thus this earth was given by God to be
redeemed, this land Zacuholpatal Zacmutixtun; and Tunal Pech of Mutul
settled here in this town.
33. And Ah Naum Pech called the youths and said to him--"Know ye, that
on the day called 1 Ymix it will dawn, there will come from the eastern
lands bearded men with the sign of the only God to this land; go to
receive them with true pleasure;" therefore they went and marched under
the trees, under the branches, and they arrived at the house of Na[c]ay
Cab, of Canul at Campech and said:--"He, your guest, is now coming, Ah
Na[c]a Cab of Canul, receive him promptly." Thus they said when the
ships appeared in the port of Campeche, when they saw the banners
waving, the white standard, and they came, when he had cast anchor, to
the Adelantado, and were asked in Castilian by the Christians, and the
Adelantado, whether they had been baptized; but they did not know his
language, and replied: "We do not understand the words;" so they said,
and thus they named this land here Yucatan, (which was known to us as)
the land of the wild turkey, the land of the deer.
34. Thus then the captains and our lord the Adelantado Don Francisco de
Montejo went on; and they made much cloth and thread to cut into
clothing for the horses, as they wished to go to the town of Mani, to
the Tutulxiu. When they came to Yiba they held a talk in Yiba; they
arrived at Nohcacab coming out of Becal; thus the Spaniards passed and
arrived at Mani, to Tutulxiu, and then were appointed the chief Ikeb,
the chief Caixicum and the chief Chuc to go to invite Ah Cuat Cocom.
They were at first taken and placed in a cave by his followers: then
their eyes were put out in that great cave of weasels, and there was not
one who did not have his eyes put out in the cave of weasels; their eyes
were put out and they were given the road to go groping to the
Adelantado at Mani; and thus returned those who were cast out of the
town of Cuat Cocom. Then Ah Naum Pech rose up with both of them and came
to Ah Cuat Cocom; when they arrived, he said to Ah Naum Pech that he had
not seen nor heard of it; he said he had gone to Chichen Itza, and he
came promptly to the towns with the Pechs, and they arrived at Mani to
deliver up promptly (the offenders); and the Cocom said he had not
witnessed what had happened in his village, and he would give permission
that they should be taken who had done it.
35. Then Ah Pech came to the towns in order to see the people governed
in them; the Spaniards also came, but on account of the massacre of the
foreigners by the people, they passed on and went to Ah Batum Pech of
Chel, whom they saw, and passed on, and went to Maxtunil, to Nachi May
and Ah Macan Pech; they then returned to their lands to the towns they
governed at Yaxkukul; Don Pablo Pech, Ah Macan Pech, was governor of all
the district to the west, nor did his captains at all give up their
spirits; soon I was appointed to guard the territory Chac Xulub Chen,
because the serving men were at war on account of the labor given them,
and by taking them the will of God was fulfilled in the towns.
36. Such is the complete history of how passed the Spaniards and how the
first fathers were received, and the names of the first conquerors I
shall set forth according to the register, because this is composed in
order that it may be known how the conquest occurred, and in what manner
they labored here, under the trees, under the branches[TN-26] under the
bushes, in those years and months; and what the people and their sons
found to eat; for from two to three years they labored in the
distribution of the towns, by our rulers the Spaniards; they also
labored in the measuring of the towns, and the measuring of the forests
of the towns by the Auditor Tomas Lopez, holding in his hand the Cedula
of our great lord the king, that forests should be cut by whoever
settled. When there were no towns we were natives here of official
houses, Naum Pech being governor of all, nor at that time had the
Spaniards come here to establish Christianity in this land; but when the
day came that their arrival took place, when the Spaniards came to this
land Yucatan, we received them with a friendly heart, and Christianity
was introduced into this land, and we were appointed to guard the
villages, when as yet there was no church; and now they have ceased
building official houses or villages.
37. Thus I began to relate how the conquest took place and how many
sufferings we underwent with our lords, the Spaniards, from the natives
who were not willing to deliver themselves to God; thus I recount what I
heard concerning the town Maxtunil.
38. We did not settle there, but descended to the town Chac Xulub Chen,
and when the Holy Church was finished in Cumtal, we measured its sides
and took possession so that our children should remain there from the
beginning until the end of the world, so that the natives should not
obstruct us, nor enchant by the throwing of stones anything which had
been given us by God and our lord through the fear of our hearts; for
this our great lord the ruling king gave us the authority; and when the
church was prepared in which to worship our lord and God, and the public
house to the east of the church and the temple of our great king and the
residence.
39. I also built my house of stone to the north of the church. And that
the natives may not in the future say that it belongs to them, for this
I show forth the occurrences as I did them with my father, I, Don Pablo
Pech, Ah Macan Pech, and my father Don Martin Pech, Ah Com Pech, my lord
Senor Don Ambrosio Pech, his native name being Op Pech, and Ixil Yzam
Pech, and Don Esteban Pech, Ah Culub Pech.
40. We received the royal commissions to measure the forests. The
license was given by our great monarch the ruling king through our lord
the first auditor, Tomas Lopez, that he should give us years ago his
order that the uncultivated fields should be measured wherever they are,
here back of the town, that we may know where the boundaries of our
lands pass in order that parents and children may maintain them and give
food to the Encomenderos. Therefore I swear before the people that this
information is true, that they may have it in sight so that no
uncultivated field shall entrench upon another uncultivated field; for
this reason I set forth the truth.
41. The first Encomendero here in Chac Xulub Chen was Don Julian Doncel,
who ordered the chiefs that they should go to place the marks of the
limits of their forest lands here back of the towns they governed, and
thus they were led to measure the boundaries of their lands and the
forests toward the East, the South and the West, for the benefit of all
who dwell therein; because already Christianity was established in this
land of Chac Xulub Chen with our holy lord Santiago the patron who
guards the town of Don Pablo Pech.
NOTES.
1. "The fifth division of the 11th Ahau Katun was placed" (_i. e._ in
the wall or in the Katun Stone), (see page 57, where this expression is
explained). In other words, the first arrival of the Spaniards at Merida
took place at the close of the 11th Ahau Katun. This was July, 1541, and
it is in gratifying conformity with Bishop Landa, who also states that
that month was the commencement of a 20-year period; but he says that at
that date the 11th Katun began, while Pech goes on to say that it was
the next in order, the 9th. (See Landa, _Relacion_, p. 314.)
_Noh cah te ti Ho_, the great town at Ho. This was the native name of
the ancient city which stood on the present site of Merida, and, by the
Mayas, is in use to this day. _Ho_ is the numeral 5, and some have
supposed that the name was given on account of five large mounds or
buildings said to have been conspicuous in the ancient city. That there
were precisely five is not positively stated by the old historians,
though four are specified. This theory would suppose that the name was
given to the city only after these large structures were completed, and
that its name during that time had been lost. But this is not
improbable.
In fact, the ancient name of Merida was not Ho, but _Ichcanzihoo_, as
appears from a later passage in Pech's narrative and from numerous
others in the Books of Chilan Balam. _Ho_ is only the abbreviation of
this long name. It appears to mean "The five (temples) of many
serpents." _Can_ is the generic term for serpent, and _ich_ used as a
prefix denotes a place where there is an abundance of what the noun
means: thus _ichche_=a place where the trees are tall and dense;
_ichxiu_, a place where the grass is tall and thick (_Diccionario de
Motul_). The serpents were probably those sculptured in stone or painted
on the walls. This theory receives additional probability from an entry
in the _Diccionario de Motul_, MS., which relates that the largest mound
in ancient Merida, situated back of the present convent of San
Francisco, was called by the natives _ahchuncan_, and that this was the
name of the idol which used to be worshiped there. Its signification
would be "the first or primitive serpent," or "the first speaker,"
_i. e._ oracle, as _can_ means both serpent and speech.
The temples at Ho were not in use when the Spaniards arrived, nor had
they been for many generations. Apparently only a few huts of wood and
straw made up the village, while these vast ruins were even then covered
to the summit with a heavy growth of timber in all respects like the
virgin forest around them. This is clearly stated by the Friar Lorenzo
de Bienvenida, who came to Merida in 1545. I quote his expressions from
a letter to the King in 1548:--
"La ciudad esta la tierra adentro treinta y tres leguas; llamase la
_ciudad de Merida_; pusieronle asi por los edificios superbos que hai en
ella, que en todo lo descubierto en Indias no se han hallado tan
superbos edificios, de canteria bien labrada, i grandes las piedras; no
hai memoria de quien los hizo; parecenos que se hicieron antes de la
venida de Christo porque tan grande estaba el monte encima dellos como
en lo bajo de la tierra; son altos de cinco estados de piedra seca i
encima los edificios, quatro quartos todo de celdas como de Frailes, de
veinte pies de luengo i de diez de ancho, i todas las portadas de una
piedra, lo alto de la puerta i de boveda, i destos hai en la tierra
otros muchos. Esta gente natural no habitaba en ellos, ni hacen casa
sino de paja y madera, habiendo mas apareja de cal i piedra que en todo
lo descubierto. En estos edificios tomamos sitio los Frailes para casa
de San Francisco; lo que habia sido cultura de demonios, justo es que
sea templo donde se sirve a Dios, etc." (_Carta de Fr. Lorenzo de
Bienvenida, 1548, MS._)
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