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THE CIVILIZATION OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN SERIES
 The
Maya Chontal Indians
of
Acalan-Tixchel
QiEiEiEiEiEEiEEllilliEillillillillilliEilliE

The

Maya Chontal Indians

of

Acalan-Tixchel
A Contribution to the History and Ethnography
of the Yucatan Peninsula

FRANCE V. SCHOLES
AND

RALPH L. ROYS

with the assistance of

Eleanor B. Adams and Robert S. Chamberlain

^YrS^
^^M^

university of OKLAHOMA PRESS

NORMAN

EiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiEiE!
 IP

Library of Co?igress Catalog Card Number: 68-1^6']']

Second edition 1968 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Publishing

Division of the University. Reproduced from the first edition published
by the Carnegie Institution of Washington in 1948. Manufactured in the
U. S. A. All rights reserved.
 Preface

THE Archivo
PREPARATION
the General
of this volume
de Indias, Sevilla,
was prompted by the discovery
of a unique text in the Chontal
in

language spoken at the time of the Spanish conquest by Indians of Tabasco

and the nearby province of Acalan. This document was found in the summer
of 1933 by Dr. Scholes during a routine search of a series of papers relating to

the services of conquerors and colonists of New Spain. The Text and accom-
panying documents, together with other materials from the same archive,
describe the history of the Acalan people from preconquest times to the seven-
teenth century.
A photograph of the Text was sent to Mr. Roys, who immediately recog-
nized its unusual importance, since it is the only narrative in the Chontal
language that has come down to us from colonial times. After Dr. Scholes
returned to this country in 1934 tentative plans were made to publish the
document, a contemporary Spanish version, and an English translation, with

a short introduction and explanatory notes. But since so little is known con-
cerning the history of the Acalan area, by Cortes in 1525, and the
first visited

Tixchel district, to which the Acalan people were moved in 1557, the original
plan was enlarged to comprise a detailed history of these regions.
Dr. Robert S. Chamberlain, of Miami University, collaborated in the
early phases of the investigation. He participated in the preliminary discussions
concerning the knotty problem of the location of Acalan, and in 1937 he made
a trip to Tixcheland the Candelaria area to obtain firsthand information con-
cerning local geography. He also wrote out a series of notes on various points,
of which we have made some use in the preparation of Appendix B, and he
made a preliminary draft of materials on the Spanish occupation of Acalan,
which has been useful in the writing of Chapter 5. Because of Dr. Chamber-
lain's absence in Guatemala, where he served as Cultural Relations Officer of
the United States Embassy from 1941 to 1945, he was unable to participate in
the final preparation of the volume as planned.
Miss Eleanor B. Adams has rendered great service. She made extracts
of two long series of documents which constitute the most important sources
for this study. She also transcribed the Spanish translation of the Chontal Text
and prepared the modernized version which appears Appendix A. Her Eng-
in
lish translation of this Spanish version was used in working out the final trans-
lation as it now stands in Appendix A. In many other ways Miss Adams has
^ given effective assistance.

CO
•—I
Vlll PREFACE

Although Mr. Roys assumed general responsibility for the ethnological

and linguistic portions of the manuscript, including notes, and Dr. Scholes for
the historical sections, the preparation of the present volume has been a co-
operative project from beginning to end. In personal conferences and in ex-
tensive correspondence we have threshed out numerous problems of common
interest or relating to the sections for which we agreed to assume individual
responsibility. In 1939 we made a trip to Tixchel and the Mamantel area to

obtain further geographical data. In the actual writing of the manuscript there
has been a division of labor, as follows: Chapters 2-4, part of Chapter 5, Chap-

ter 14, and Appendix C were prepared by Mr. Roys; extensive portions of
Chapter 5, Chapters 6-13, and Appendices B and D were prepared by Dr.
Scholes; Chapter i, Appendix A, the final English transla-
the introduction to
tion of the Chontal Text and notes Appendix E, and the Glossary
to same,
represent our joint authorship. The maps were made under Dr. Scholes'
direction, but they include considerable data originally supplied by Mr. Roys.
At all times we have exchanged comments, suggestions, and criticisms, and in
the writing of our respective sections we have freely made use of information,
ideas, and in many cases, sentences and paragraphs sent by one author to the
other. We accept joint responsibility for any errors in the volume.
The omission of accents from Indian words and names, save in direct quo-
tations and bibliographical references, follows the practice of the Division of
Historical Research in its recent publications.
Acknowledgements are made to the following persons for assistance re-
ceived at various times: Sr. Arturo Ramos, owner of Hacienda Tichel; Sr.
Eduardo R. Dubost, Sr. P. A. Gonzalez, and Sr. J. Ignacio Rubio Mane, of
Mexico City; Sr. Pedro C. Sanchez, Sr. Manuel Medina, and Sr. Arnulfo de la
Llave, of the Instituto Panamericano de Geografia e Historia, Tacubaya, D. F.,
Mexico; Mr. Raye R. Piatt, American Geographical Society, New York; Dr.
Robert Wauchope, Tulane University; Miss Wilma Shelton, Mr. Arthur M.
Mc Anally, and Dr. Leslie Spier, of the University of New Mexico; Dr. Walter
S. Adams, Mount Wilson Observatory; Dr. S. G. Morley, Dr. Robert Red-
field, Dr. Sol Tax, Mr. J. E. S. Thompson, and Mrs. W. H. Harrison, of the

Carnegie Institution of Washington. Mr. Leslie Moore and Sr. David Selem,
both of whom are now deceased, provided important information and assist-
ance during our trip to Carmen and Tixchel in 1939.
We also wish to acknowledge the aid and loyal support of Dr. A. V.
Kidder, Chairman of the Carnegie Institution's Division of Historical Research.
France V. Scholes
Ralph L. Roys ^^
 Abbreviations

AGI—Archive General de Indias, Sevilla.

DHY—Documentos para la historia de Yucatan. 3 vols. Merida, 1936-38.
DII —Coleccion de documentos ineditos relatives al descubrimiento, conquista

y organizacion de las posesiones espafiolas de America y Oceania. 42

vols. Madrid, 1864-84.
Fiscal V. —
Lopez El fiscal contra Alonso Lopez, vecino de la villa de Santa
Maria de la Victoria de Tabasco, sobre haberse titulado visitador y
exigido a los indios de la provincia de Tabasco diferentes contribuciones,
1541-45, AGI, Justicia, leg. 195.

Garcia v. Bravo — [Anton Garcia] contra Feliciano Bravo, escribano, y Juan

Vazquez y Juan Monserrate, 1569-71, AGI, Justicia, leg. 250, ff. 1885-
22551^.

Montejo v. Alvarado —El Adelantado Don Francisco de Montejo, gobernador

de las provincias de Yucatan, con Don Pedro de Alvarado, gobernador
de Guatemala, sobre el derecho a los terminos del Rio de Grijalva, que
dicho Montejo habia conquistado y pacificado a su costa, 1530-33,
AGI, Justicia, leg. 1005, num. 3, ramo i.

RY—^Relaciones de Yucatan. 2 vols. Madrid, 1 898-1900.

 . , 1

Contents
Preface vu

Abbreviations ix

1. Introduction i

2. The Chontal of Tabasco and their Neighbors 15

3. The Province of Acalan 4^

4. Aboriginal History of Acalan 74

The Coming of the Spaniards 88

5.

6. Developments in Yucatan, Tabasco, and Acalan, 152 6- 1550.. 123

^ 7. The Impact of the Conquest in Acalan 142

8. The Pueblo of Tixchel 1 68

9. The Zapotitlan Episode 185

10. Developments in the Tixchel Area, i 574-1 604 221

1 1 The Missions of Las Montanas 251

12. The Pretensions of Francisco Maldonado 291

13. Decline of the Tixchel Area in the Seventeenth Century .

299

14. Conclusion 3^6

Appendices

A. The Chontal Text 359

Introduction 359

Facsimiles of the Chontal Text folloiving 366

Spanish Version 3^7

English Translation 383

B. The Location of Acalan 406

C. Matricula of Tixchel, 1569 470

D. Explorations of Feliciano Bravo in Southeastern Ta-

basco and the Peten 49
 . 6

XU CONTENTS

E. Report of Indian Settlements in the Interior of the

Yucatan Peninsula in i 604 503

Glossary 509

References 515

Index 529

Maps
1 The Maya Area facing 2

2. Map of Tabasco by Melchor de Alfaro Santa Cruz, 1579

facing 1

3. The Chontal Area and Adjacent Regions facing 108

4. The Missions of Las Montanas facing 260

 The
Maya Chontal Indians
of
Acalan-Tixchel
 Introduction

THE PAST the attention of the speciahst in Maya research, and indeed
INthat of the interested reader as well, has been largely centered on that
phase of Maya civilization known as the Old Empire, in which the highest art,

most of the finest architecture, and probably the greatest scientific achieve-

ments of aboriginal America were produced. This is very natural and will no
doubt continue to be the case. But since it is doubtful whether historical
legends have come down to us from that time, and a belief is steadily growing
that the inscriptions on monuments contain no historical information,
the
thereis every reason to suppose that any positive knowledge about the Old

Empire will always be confined to such inferences as may be made from

the archaeological evidence.
This phase of Maya culture was succeeded in Yucatan by a period char-

acterized by a strong foreign influence, usually described as Mexican. For a

time art and architecture continued to flourish, as we see from the handsome
buildings and sculptures of Chichen Itza, which combine much of the best in
both Mexican and Maya culture. Prior to the Spanish conquest a decline grad-
ually set in, although it was more marked in some regions than in others. In

some localities the conquerors found the sites of magnificent cities entirely
deserted; in others,towns of thatched structures stood in the shadow of im-
posing vaulted stone buildings which were abandoned and covered with trees
and brush. In spite of this change, strangely enough, agriculture and com-
merce were still thriving, and military organization was distinguished for its

initiative and vigor.

For this period we have a number of historical legends and narratives. Some
of these were related to the Spaniards by the natives. Others dealing with the
history of Yucatan are found in the so-called Books of Chilam Balam, written
during the colonial period in the Maya language but with European script.
The historical material in these books consists of five chronicles, a few isolated
narratives, and many prophecies with historical allusions. In addition, several
Yucatecan Maya land documents refer to events during the century imme-
diately preceding the Spanish conquest.
More or less legendary historical material written in two of the native lan-
guages has also survived in the highlands of Guatemala. The most important of
these narratives are found in the Popol Viih of the Quiche and the Memorial
 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

of Tecpan-Atitlan, also called the Annals of the Cakchiquels. In the former,

thirteen generations of rulers prior to the conquest are recorded. Colonial
Spanish writers also describe a Tzeltal manuscript, which still existed in
Chiapas at the end of the eighteenth century but has since disappeared.
The native literature of these three regions recounts the arrival of foreign
immigrants who evidently became the ruling class in their new homes. A site
variously named Tulapan, Tollan, or Tullan, apparently referring to Tula, the
old Toltec capital north of the Valley of Mexico, is mentioned as the place of

their origin. Such mention, however, is either so vague or so closely associated

with mythological episodes that it might be considered purely legendary, if it

were not for the remarkable similarity between some of the remains at Tula
and those of a Mexican character found at Chichen Itza in Yucatan. These
accounts, like the Mexican historical legends related by Torquemada, appar-
ently suggest a migration of the bearers of a Nahua culture from the highlands
of Mexico to the Gulf coast and another migration of peoples who carried a
more or less modified form of the same culture to the Maya area. An analysis

of these various stories beyond the scope of this study, but it seems evident
lies

at least that there was a cultural connection between Tula and Chichen Itza.

In Yucatan and Guatemala the immigrants were said to have come by

way of a land called Nonoual, which can be identified with reasonable cer-
tainty as the country near Laguna de Terminos and southwestern Campeche.
The intruders actually mentioned in these legends could hardly have been
very numerous, since at the time of the Spanish conquest their descendants
were speaking the languages of the countries in which they had settled. Other
Mexican immigrants, however, evidently came in larger groups, for they were
able to preserve their language. Besides two groups of Mexican towns in
Tabasco, the Spaniards found scattered Nahuatl-speaking colonies in various
parts of Central America, and some of their descendants are still speaking
Mexican dialects down to the present time. Unfortunately no native literature

of these peoples is now available, and the few legends of their past which they
related to the Spaniards are confused and contradictory. They too may have
had the tradition of a Tula origin, but this is only a surmise. Recent investiga-
tions, however, have revealed a similarity between sculptures found in or near

the Pipil area on the Pacific slope and those of southern Veracruz and western
Tabasco.
Generally speaking, however, the historical legends and the Spanish de-
scriptions of native customs constitute an important supplement to the archae-
ological evidence. Above all, we learn from both the native and Spanish
accounts something about personalities and human motives, which gives to
 TIONAL CAPITAL
® STATE OR TERRITORIAL CAPITAL
+ -+ INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY
STATE BOUNDARY
• TOWN OR SETTLEMENT

/^^^ -^^^ - z)/ /S A L V A p R --

Map I -THE MAYA AREA

 INTRODUCTION

the archaeological data a sense of living reality that is lacking for the period

of the Old Empire.

At the time of the conquest the peninsula of Yucatan and the adjoining
lands along the coast of the Gulf ofMexico and the Caribbean Sea may well
be considered to have formed an economic unit. Although this area contained
a large number of small, independent states, the entire region was united by
commercial relations, which constituted a common bond of interest. Yucatan
had what almost amounted to a monopoly of salt production and also made a
speciality of exporting cotton cloth and slaves to her neighbors. In exchange,

cacao, obsidian, copper, gold, feathers, and many other articles of luxury were
imported from Tabasco and the Caribbean coast to the southeast. Merchants
from Xicalango and Potonchan in Tabasco and from Champoton and Cam-
peche in southwestern Yucatan visited the island of Cozumel and had ware-
houses and factors on the Ulua River in Honduras.
This trade was facilitated by the similarity of most of the languages spoken
over As we shall see farther on, Chontal, Choi, and Chorti,
this large area.

which were spoken from Laguna Tupilco in Tabasco to the Ulua River, might
be considered little more than dialects of the same language; and Yucatecan
Maya, although it is a different language, is sufficiently similar so that a mer-
chant from any one of these linguistic areas was able to learn the language of
another with comparatively little effort. In 1533 Alonso de Avila related that
the native interpreter whom he employed during his campaigns in Yucatan
served him equally well when he arrived in northern Honduras.^
This interesting situation, with its various historical, ethnological, and lin-
guistic implications, is hardly to be understood, however, without a more
detailedknowledge than we have hitherto possessed of the various peoples who
inhabited this extensive area. Although we are fairly well informed in regard
to the political geography and ethnology of a large part of northern Yucatan,
comparatively little is known of the south, especially the region east of the
Usumacinta River and south and southeast of Lacuna de Terminos.

The cacicazgo, or province, of Acalan, inhabited by people who spoke the

Chontal language of Tabasco, occupied a strategic position within this eco-
nomic unit. At the time of the Spanish conquest the Acalan dominated the
drainage of the Candelaria River, which flows into Laguna de Terminos, and
they played an important part in the trade carried on between the Gulf coast
and the Caribbean across the base of the Yucatan Peninsula. The merchants of
1 Testimony of Alonso de Avila, Campeche, June 8, 1533, in Archivo General de Indias
(hereinafter cited asAGI), Justicia, leg. 1005, num. 3, ramo i. Cf. note 3, p. 8, infra.
 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Acalan occupied one entire ward of the town of Nito, an important commer-
cial center near the mouth of the Rio Dulce in Guatemala. In the west they

maintained extensive trade with Xicalango, Potonchan, and other parts of

Tabasco. Within Acalan the merchants constituted the dominant class, and
the wealthiest of them, a lord named Paxbolonacha, was the supreme ruler of
the entire cacicazgo. Although many of the Acalan towns, said to number
seventy-six in were probably small settlements, some of them had a fairly
all,

numerous population. Cortes described Itzamkanac, the capital, as a rich and

flourishingtown with many temples, and he evidently regarded it as a more
imposing place than the island city of Tayasal, the chief settlement of the Itza
in the Peten.

Wedged in between Tabasco, the Peten, and southwestern Yucatan, the

Acalan lands obviously must have been subjected to the crosscurrents of
political and cultural influences which characterized the history of the Yu-

catecan Maya in preconquest times. Moreover, postconquest events in the

Acalan area and its environs should have considerable importance in relation
to the history and ethnography of the southern half of the Yucatan Peninsula.
It has long been recognized, however, that less has been known concerning
this region than of almost any other part of the Maya cultural area. Indeed, the
very location of Acalan has been the subject of considerable speculation and
debate. This situation has been due to a notable lack of available source
material, archaeological, documentary, and cartographical, concerning the
Acalan people and the country in which they lived.
Archaeological explorations have been carried on for many years in the
central part of Yucatan and in the Peten, but the archaeology of the Candelaria
area, where the Acalan settlements were located, has been, and to a very great
extent still is, a closed book. The recently published report of E. W. Andrews
describing his reconnaissance in southwestern Campeche in 1939-40 shows
that the Candelaria drainage and adjacent regions are dotted with ruins. The
remains indicate that much of this area was thickly populated in ancient times,
especially in its more habitable portions above the long series of rapids culmi-
nating in the cataract at Salto Grande. Sculptures are notably absent and stand-
ing architecture San Enrique a large ruined site contains many
is scant, but at

mounds once topped by vaulted stone structures. Although he made no ex-

cavations, Andrews found pottery fragments ranging from polychrome sherds
roughly correctable with the latest architectural activity of the Old Empire
cities in the Peten to the crude incensarios characteristic of the period preced-
ing the Spanish conquest in northern and eastern Yucatan. Andrews did not
succeed in identifying the sites of any Acalan towns, but his findings demon-
 INTRODUCTION

strate the archaeological importance of the region and the need for more
intensive investigation at selected sites.

The Spaniards first entered Acalan in 1525 during the course of the epic
march of Hernan Cortes from Mexico to Honduras. On this occasion the
great conqueror established peaceful relations with the ruler of the province,
who gave at least nominal obedience to the Spanish crown and provided
desperately needed supplies of food for the army. The Fifth Letter of Cortes,
written in 1526 after his return to Mexico City and probably based on some
sort of diary or log kept en route, is the most reliable narrative of the expedi-
tion. Here we find the earliest account of Acalan and its far-flung commerce,
brief descriptions ofsome of the towns, and a record of significant events,
including the execution of Cuauhtemoc, last ruler of the Aztec, which oc-
curred during Cortes' stay in the province. This narrative is supplemented by
another eyewitness account in the True History of Bernal Diaz del Castillo,
the soldier chronicler. Although Bernal Diaz' story is valuable for the vivid
recollection of his own impressions and because it contains a certain amount
of data not given in the Fifth Letter, it was written many years later and is

not so trustworthy as Cortes' contemporary report. Secondhand accounts of

the expedition are given by historians of the Indies, notably Gomara and
Herrera, but they add little to the narratives of Cortes and Bernal Diaz.
Ixtlilxochitl, a descendant of one of the lords of Tezcuco who accompanied
Cortes, gives an interesting account of the Cuauhtemoc episode, based on
family traditions and the songs and half-legendary stories of the Mexican
soldiers.

On the basis of information received from Cortes' soldiers, Francisco de

Montejo, who had made an unsuccessful attempt in 1527-28 to occupy Yu-
catan from the east coast, concluded that Acalan might serve as a base of
operations for conquest of the peninsula from the southwest. In 1530 Montejo's
Heutenant, Alonso de Avila, advanced overland from Chiapas to Acalan, where
he founded a Spanish villa and granted encomiendas to his followers. Within a

short time, however, Avila realized that the region was not suitable for the

purpose Montejo had envisaged. He abandoned the settlement and moved on,
first to the Cehache area, or Mazatlan, east of Acalan, and thence to Cham-
poton. Here he was joined by Montejo, and a second attempt was made to
conquer Yucatan, this time from the west.
In 1 541 Alonso de Lujan, an associate of Avila, gave a report of the entrada
to Oviedo, the royal chronicler of the Indies, who incorporated it in his
Historia general y natural de las Indias. Although Lujan's narrative is fairly

reliable, the author apparently did not have so vivid or picturesque a memory
 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

as Bernal Diaz. The section dealing specifically with Acalan is short, and ex-
cept for a statement concerning the size of the capital, Acalan-Itzamkanac, it

adds little knowledge of the life of the Acalan people.

to our
For the period from 1530 to 1548 the colonial chronicles contain no data
concerning events in the Acalan area. In 1548 Fray Lorenzo de Bienvenida,
one of the early Franciscan missionaries in Yucatan, gave a brief account of
the province in a letter to Prince Philip. Here we learn that encomiendas in
Acalan were held by certain colonists in Yucatan, indicating that the region
had been effectively reduced to Spanish authority. According to Bienvenida,
the population, once numerous and prosperous, had rapidly declined since the
coming of the Spaniards, and he recommended that the survivors be moved
to a site near Campeche or Champoton. The printed sources contain no record
was ever carried out, although we now know that
that the friar's suggestion
in 1557 most of the Acalan were actually moved to Tixchel, a former Chontal
site on Sabancuy estuary. Cogolludo, the Franciscan historian of Yucatan,

mentions an expedition to the Acalan area in 1559 in connection with a war

against the Lacandon, and with this entry the history of the province, as re-

lated by the colonial chronicles, comes to an end.

Although the traditional sources mentioned in the preceding paragraphs
record valuable data concerning certain events after the coming of the Span-
iards, they provide no information whatever in regard to the origins of the
cacicazgo of Acalan and its history in aboriginal times, and they tell us rela-
tively little about the political, social, and religious life of the people at the
time of the conquest. Moreover, the chronicles do not indicate the language
spoken in Acalan, although it is evident that the province formed part of the
Maya linguistic area. Other colonial authors, such as Leon Pinelo and Vil-
lagutierre, confuse the Acalan with the Choi-speaking Acala, neighbors of the
Lacandon, and this error has evidently misled certain modern writers. This fact
and the lack of precise geographical data in the chronicles have been largely
responsible for the lack of agreement concerning the location of Acalan that
has characterized writings on the early history of Middle America for the
past ninety years. Some students have correctly located it in the basin of the

Candelaria; others place it farther inland in the drainage of the Rio San Pedro
Martir in southeastern Tabasco and western Peten; and two eminent Ameri-
canists, Orozco y Berra and Maler, state that the Acalan towns were situated
west of the Usumacinta River.
Writers on this subject have also been handicapped by the lack of adequate
maps of the from the lower Usumacinta and Laguna de Terminos east
area
into the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula. Most of the colonial maps are notori-
 INTRODUCTION

ously inaccurate, and they record little data of any kind for this region. Indeed,
one of the best maps of the peninsula, dating from the middle of the eighteenth
century, which traces Laguna de Terminos with reasonable accuracy, does not
even show the Candelaria River.^ In 1843 Prescott called attention to the fact
that none of the Acalan town names mentioned in the early narratives could
be found on any map he had seen, and he prudently made no attempt to fix

their location. Although maps give a location for

several eighteenth-century
the Cehache, the eastern neighbors of the Acalan, we have found only one
which records the name Acalan. This is one of the maps by D'Anville, the
celebrated French cartographer, but his location of the province northeast of
Lake Peten is obviously incorrect. Geographical information slowly increased
during the nineteenth century, although the maps of this period are by no
means reliable. In recent times the growth of the chicle industry has brought
about extensive exploration along the Candelaria and its tributaries, and dur-
ing the past few years a standard-gauge railroad has been built from Campeche
to Tenosique, crossing the Candelaria above Pacaitun. These developments
have added much to our knowledge of the geography of the Acalan country
and its environs, but even the latest cartographical data are obviously incom-
plete in certain respects.

In recent years much new documentary material relating to the history of

Acalan has been accumulated through investigations in the Archivo General
de Indias in Seville by Dr. Scholes and his colleague. Dr. Robert S. Chamber-
lain. These papers, which include the correspondence of colonial officials,

missionary reports, lawsuits, administrative decrees, and probanzas of various

kinds, contain a rich store of information concerning the Chontal of Acalan-
Tixchel from aboriginal times to the first quarter of the seventeenth century.
A complete list is given in the bibliography.
Three expedientes, or series of documents, in this accumulation of new
sources deserve special comment.
The first comprises five probanzas, dated 1530-33, which were intended
to demonstrate the geographical, economic, and linguistic unity of the low-
land area from western Tabasco to the Ulua River in Honduras. They were
formulated to support the claims of Francisco de Monte jo to jurisdiction over
this region as part of his government of Yucatan. For the present publication
the most important of these probanzas is one entitled, "Sobre las provincias de
Acalan y Mazatlan," which was drawn up at Montejo's request in the autumn
2 Piano de la provincia de Yucatan, made in 1766 by Juan de Dios Gonzalez (British Mu-

seum, Add. 17654a). Another eighteenth-century map which shows the Candelaria records the
name of the river as "Osvbisu" (Calderon Quijano, 1944, lamina 4).
 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

of 153 1, a few months after Avila's expedition through these provinces. It con-
tains the testimony of twelve witnesses, all of whom had accompanied Avila,
concerning the location of Acalan, its trade with Xicalango, and certain events
relating to the entrada. Because of its early date and the firsthand knowledge
of the witnesses, the document ranks next to Cortes' Fifth Letter as the most
valuable of the early sources.^
The second series is Anton Garcia, en-
the record of a lawsuit between
comendero of Acalan-Tixchel, and Feliciano Bravo, escribano mayor de gober-
nacion in Yucatan, over the encomienda of the pueblo of Zapotitlan, where
two groups of the Acalan Chontal continued to live after most of them were
moved to Tixchel in 1557. Documents filed during the litigation, which lasted
from 1569 to 1 57 1, contain information concerning the encomienda history
of Acalan, a list of tributaries in Tixchel in 1569 which provides data con-
cerning Acalan personal names and social organization, and an account of
missionary activity in the Zapotitlan area. As we shall see farther on, these

documents and others relating to the Zapotitlan episode also record evidence
which helps to establish the location of Acalan in the Candelaria basin.*

The third and most important expediente contains an extensive file of

documents which we shall designate as the Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers. These
documents, ranging from 1565 to 1628, record the merits and services of Don
Pablo Paxbolon, a descendant of the rulers of Acalan, and of his Spanish son-
in-law, Francisco Maldonado. Included in the series is a lengthy text in the
Chontal language describing the history of Acalan-Tixchel from preconquest
times to 1604.^
This Chontal Text is in three parts. The first is a brief history of the
rulers of Acalan going back six generations before the conquest. The Yu-
catecan Maya chronicles cover a number of centuries, but they are so frag-
mentary and such long intervals of time separate many of the entries that it is

difficult to reconstruct the chronology of events which they recount. The

Acalan narrative, although it deals with a much shorter period of time, at-

3 El Adelantado Don Francisco de Montejo, gobemador de las provincias de Yucatan, con

Don Pedro de Alvarado, gobernador de Guatemala, sobre el derecho a los terminos del Rio
de Grijalva, que dicho Montejo habia conquistado y pacificado a su costa, 1530-33. AGI, Justicia,
leg. 1005, num. 3, ramo i. As the title indicates, Montejo was involved in a controversy with
Alvarado over part of the area described in the probanzas which comprise this group of papers.
There are two copies of the probanza on Acalan and Mazatlan. The entire series will be cited
hereinafter as Montejo v. Alvarado.
* [Anton Garcia] contra Feliciano Bravo, escribano,
y Juan Vazquez y Juan de Monserrate,
1569-71 (hereinafter cited as Garcia v. Bravo). AGI, Justicia, leg. 250, fif. 1885-22551;. This case
record forms part of the first legajo of the residencia of Don Luis Cespedes de Oviedo, gov-
ernor of Yucatan from 1565 to 1571.
^The Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers form part of AGI, Mexico, leg. 138. Copies of parts of
these Papers are also found in AGI, Patronato, leg. 231, num. 4, ramo 16, and Mexico, leg. 359.
 INTRODUCTION

tempts at least to tell something regarding the reign of nearly every generation
of rulers and presents a series of connecting events which give us some idea of
historical cause and effect. It seems possible that the aboriginal history of
northern Yucatan could well be reinterpreted in the light of this narrative and
that a comparison would suggest more satisfactory reasons and motives for
the wars, alliances, and migrations recorded in the Maya chronicles than the
inferenceswhich have been drawn from the latter in the past.
The second part of the Chontal Text lists seventy-six towns and settle-
ments which comprised the cacicazgo of Acalan, In the traditional accounts of
the Cortes expedition we find a few Acalan place names, almost all of them
in Mexican. The list in the Chontal Text gives the Chontal names, many of

which are derived, as we might expect, from the names of plants, trees, animals,
and other natural objects or phenomena.
The third section describes from the native point of view the arrival of

Cortes, the coming of a second Spanish expedition (evidently that of Avila),

the conversion of the Acalan to Christianity, their removal to Tixchel, and
their various activities to 1604. From Tixchel they made a number of expedi-
tions into the interior to bring out groups of pagan Indians, including apostate
fugitives from northern Yucatan, and to them in Christian villages near
settle

the Gulf coast under Spanish jurisdiction. Here the clash between European
and native ideas is admirably portrayed from the point of view of the Indians.
The importance of these Chontal narratives can scarcely be exaggerated.
They supply information concerning the aboriginal history of Acalan, politi-
cal and religious life at the time of the conquest, and various later develop-

ments not available in any other place. They are also an extremely valuable
addition to the corpus of native colonial literature of the Maya. As we have
already noted, northern Yucatan and the Cakchiquel and Quiche areas of the
highlands of Guatemala are well represented in this field, but except for a few
legal documents. Christian prayers, catechisms, and church records, no other
documents written in the native languages have hitherto been discovered for
the extensive area intervening between these widely separated regions. Finally,
the Chontal Text is document of the greatest rarity. For most of
a linguistic

the peoples of the Maya stock a reasonable amount of grammatical and lexico-
graphical material was compiled by the Spanish missionaries in colonial times,
but for the Chontal language of Tabasco and Acalan we have only the word
lists published by Stoll and Sapper and the brief studies made by La Farge and

Becerra in recent years. Becerra writes with regard to Chontal that "for this
dialect there is no literature of any sort."^ It is not too much to say, therefore.

^Becerra, 1910, p. 98.

 lO ACALAN-TIXCHEL

that for the study of Maya linguistics the Chontal Text is the most important
find that has been made in many years.

On the basis of these new sources it is now possible to reconstruct the

history of Acalan from preconquest times to the seventeenth century. For the
first time we learn something about the origins of the cacicazgo, and the
mystery of what happened to the Acalan people after 1559 is cleared up. Data
recorded in these documents also show beyond any reasonable doubt that the
Acalan lands were located in the drainage of the Candelaria River.
The Acalan narrative tells how the ruling family came from northeastern
Yucatan, where, we infer, they were unwelcome intruders from Tabasco.
Subsequently this mobile and aggressive group of warriors and merchants
occupied at one time or another the Usumacinta valley in the neighborhood
of Tenosique, various parts of the region around Laguna de Terminos, and
the Candelaria area where Cortes found them in 1525.During this period they
carried on wars with the people of Tabasco, the Yucatecan Maya of Cham-
poton and Bacalar, and the Cehache in the south-central portion of the
peninsula.

As a result of the Cortes and Avila expeditions the Indians of Acalan were
brought into contact with the Spanish regime established in the New World.
Acalan was not subjected, however, to the rigors of a military conquest, and
the Spaniards never established a permanent settlement in the Acalan lands.
The means by which the Chontal were brought within the orbit of Spanish
administration were the encomienda system and missionary enterprise. The
first encomienda grants, as we have seen, were made by Avila in 1530. Al-
though Avila and his followers withdrew from Acalan after a few weeks, the

tribute obligation of the Chontal was reasserted by Monte jo, who established
headquarters in Campeche, and henceforth the Indians continued to give labor
and tribute to designated Spaniards. The conversion and baptism of the Acalan
occurred in 1550, and the Chontal Text gives an interesting and circumstantial
account of this important event. The decline of population, to which Bien-
venida called attention in 1548, is confirmed by evidence in the tribute docu-
ments. This phenomenon was the result of various causes, of which the
disruption of aboriginal commerce and European diseases were probably the
most important.
The isolation of the region and the swamps and rapids along the Candelaria,
which had protected the Acalan people from their enemies in pre-Spanish

times, now made the country difficult of access for the missionaries, and in
the late 1550's most of the survivors were moved to Tixchel on Sabancuy
 1

INTRODUCTION 1

estuary,from which their ancestors had been driven in former times. Some of
the Acalan resisted the change, and others fled to their old homeland. These
groups settled at a place later known as Zapotitlan, located not far from the
site of the former Acalan capital. In the course of time, however, these rem-
nants of the Acalan people were sought out and eventually settled at sites

nearer Tixchel. Thus within a few decades after the coming of the Spaniards
the old Acalan lands along the Candelaria were almost entirely depopulated.
This undoubtedly explains the fact, noted by Prescott in 1843, that the later

colonial maps do not give locations for the Acalan towns mentioned in the
early colonial chronicles.
Curiously enough, the key to the location of the cacicazgo has been avail-
able for many years on the map of Tabasco made by Melchor Alfaro in 1579
(Map 2) and published in the first volume of the Relaciones de Yucatan in

1898. This map shows a "River called Capotitan" tributary to Laguna de

Terminos. The position of this river on the map identifies it as the Candelaria.

The name undoubtedly indicates an association with the pueblo of Zapotitlan

located in the old Acalan area, but it is only now, on the basis of the sources
relating to this settlement found in the Archive General de Indias, that we
are able to identify this Rio de Zapotitlan as the river leading to Acalan men-
tioned in the traditional sources.
For half a century the pueblo of Tixchel was governed by Don Pablo
Paxbolon, grandson of the ruler of Acalan who received Cortes in 1525. Pax-
bolon was educated by the Franciscans in the convent of Campeche, where
he received training in Spanish, Christian doctrine, and the manual arts. As-
suming the governorship of Tixchel in 1566, he rapidly won the confidence
of the colonial officials and the missionary clergy, and it was largely as a result
of his efforts that the pueblo of Zapotitlan was finally pacified in 1568-69. He
shrewdly identified his own interests with those of the new Spanish regime
and succeeded in becoming a local territorial ruler over an extensive area on
the southwestern frontier of Yucatan. In this region he reduced various
heathen and apostate groups to obedience and helped to advance the mis-
sionary program. About 1590 Paxbolon married his elder daughter to Fran-
cisco Maldonado, a recent immigrant from Spain who became one of the
leading citizens of Campeche. By this alliance the cacique enhanced his prestige

and obtained additional support for his activities as a local Indian leader. Sub-
sequently Paxbolon and his son-in-law, together with other citizens of Cam-
peche, initiated a project to reduce groups of fugitive Indians in the interior of
the Yucatan Peninsula which resulted in the establishment of new missionary
foundations known as the forest missions, "The Missions of Las Montaiias."
 2

1 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

At Tixchel the Acalan people retained their Chontal language, and occa-
sionally clergy were sent there for linguistic training before taking up duties
as missionaries among the Chontal-speaking population of Tabasco. In 1585
the Franciscan mission was made a guardiania with jurisdiction over other
small settlements, Chontal and Maya, in the Tixchel area. In their new homes,
strategically located on the coast, the Indians participated in the local com-
merce carried on between Yucatan and Tabasco and also shared in the contra-

band trade with heathen and fugitive groups in the interior. In 1569 the
lieutenant governor of Yucatan described the inhabitants of Tixchel as
wealthier than the Yucatecan Maya in northern Yucatan, and Ciudad Real, in

his account of the travels of Fray Alonso Ponce, Commissary General of the
Franciscans of New Spain, states that they were more refined than the Maya.
Incidentally, there is no hint in Ciudad Real's report or in the various refer-

ences to Tixchel in Cogolludo's Historia de Yucatan that the Indians of this

settlement were Acalan Chontal. This is another reason why historians have
not been able hitherto to trace the later history of the Acalan people.
Sometime between 1639 and 1643 the pueblo of Tixchel was destroyed
and abandoned, probably as the result of an attack by foreign corsairs. Most

of the Indians apparently moved to nearby Usulaban, founded in 1603-04 as

a settlement of Maya fugitives from northern Yucatan. During the succeeding

half-century the population of Usulaban and other towns in the Tixchel dis-
trict rapidly declined, due to an epidemic of yellow fever in 1648, the flight

of Indians to escape exactions by the Spaniards, continued piratical attacks by

the corsairs, and raids by Maya refugees settled in the interior of the peninsula.
At the same time the Chontal were rapidly absorbed by the Maya, who be-
came the dominant element in the population of the region. Census reports of
1688 show that a majority of the inhabitants of Usulaban now had Maya
names and that in the entire Tixchel district the Maya comprised about 88
per cent of the total population. The sources used in this study come to an
end at this point. It is evident, however, that the merging process continued
into the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and so far as we know there is

no trace of the Acalan Chontal or their language in the southwest portion of

the Yucatan Peninsula at the present time.

Such, in brief, are the main outlines of the history of Acalan-Tixchel as

revealed by the new documentary material. In the chapters which foUow we
shall tell the story of the cacicazgo and its people in full detail on the basis of

all the sources, old and new. We begin, however, in Chapter 2 with a survey
of the Chontal of Tabasco and neighboring Indian groups in order to provide
 3

INTRODUCTION 1

a background, linguistic and ethnographic, for the more elaborate treatment

of the Chontal of Acalan. Chapter 3 is devoted to an analysis of conditions,
political, religious, economic, and social, in Acalan at the time of the conquest,
and in Chapter 4 we give an interpretation of the aboriginal history of Acalan

as recorded in the first part of the Chontal Text.

Chapters 5 and 6 describe the coming of the Spaniards, with special refer-
ence to the Cortes and Avila expeditions, and the establishment of Spanish
suzerainty over Acalan as a by-product of the occupation of Tabasco and
Yucatan. In Chapter 7 we deal with the encomienda history of Acalan, the
introduction of Christianity, and the reasons for the decline of the province
in the first quarter-century after the entrada of Cortes. The removal of the
Acalan to Tixchel, the course of events there to 1569, and the pacification of
Zapotitlan form the subject matter of Chapters 8 and 9. In Chapters 10-13 we
describe the later activities of Don Pablo Paxbolon, the history of the missions
of Las Montanas, the pretensions of Francisco Maldonado to royal favor as
reward for his services and those of his father-in-law, and the decline of the
Tixchel area in the seventeenth century. The final chapter (14) is devoted
to a general review and conclusions.
These narrative chapters are supplemented by five appendices. In view of
the importance of the Chontal Text, we give a facsimile reproduction of the
original manuscript, a printed text of the contemporary Spanish translation,

and an English translation in Appendix A. In this way the narrative is made

available for use by the linguist, the historian who is not trained in the Maya
languages, and the interested reader.
Because of the long debate concerning the location of Acalan, it has seemed
advisable to review this question in a thoroughgoing manner. In Appendix B
we present the views of other writers on the subject and then review the evi-
dence, old and new, in favor of the Candelaria location. The itineraries of
Cortes and Avila from the Usumacinta to Acalan are also discussed in this
appendix in considerable detail, since the conclusions of earlier writers are
largely based on their study of these early expeditions. A detailed examination
of Cortes' route to Acalan in the light of new evidence also seems justified in
view of the fact that his journey of 1524-25 was one of the greatest feats of
overland travel and exploration in American history. In this separate review
of the problem it has been possible to introduce data that would be burdensome
to the reader if included in the narrative chapters.
Appendix C is a study of the Tixchel matricula of 1569, with special ref-
erence to the meaning of Acalan personal names and such inferences as can
be made concerning Acalan family and household organization. Appendix D
14 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

tells the story of certain hitherto unknown explorations in the Peten in 1573
and 1580. This material is included partly because of its intrinsic interest and
partly because it provides significant evidence in relation to the problem of
the location of Acalan. An English translation of an interesting report of 1604
describing Indian settlements in the interior of the Yucatan Peninsula is pre-
sented in Appendix E.
On various questions it is impossible to be as definite as we might wish,
despite the mass of new source material. Archaeological investigation will un-
doubtedly aid in clearing up many puzzling points and provide a better basis
for interpreting trends and cultural crosscurrents in pre-Spanish times. New
documentary sources will probably be found from time to time. But the
materials at hand provide sufficient data to reconstruct in considerable detail

the history and ethnography of a region concerning which we have had little
information in the past and to make a contribution to the growing body of
knowledge concerning the Maya and their civilization.
 The Chontal of Tabasco and their Neighbors

WHEN THE FIRST Spanish explorers sailed along the southern shore of
the Gulf of Mexico, they found a hot, moist alluvial plain, inhabited
largely by a people of the Maya stock, whom they afterward called the Chon-
tal.^ This country was well populated and prosperous, for it produced large
quantities of cacao, the most important article of trade in Middle America. Not
only was the land covered by a network of navigable rivers, but it lay across
the main trade routes connecting the \^eracruz slope, the Valley of Mexico,
and the highlands of Chiapas with Yucatan and the rich coast of northern
Honduras. Consequently it is not surprising that Tabasco was famous for its

commerce in pre-Spanish times.

The Chontal area lies entirely in the hot country. It is noted for its many
swamps and bogs, and the tropical rain forest is interspersed with grassy
savannas, especially where the rivers overflow the surrounding country during
the rainy season.^ The heavy annual rainfall, actually recorded as 2554 mm.
(100.62 in.) for the year 1892-93 at Villahermosa, is probably typical of the
country. Here the precipitation rose from 2 mm. or less for the months of
March and April to 300.5 mm. (11.84 i^i.) in May and reached 618.4 mm.
(24.36 in.) in September.^
The term Chontal was originally applied to these people by the Mexicans,
whose language was almost a lingua franca in many parts of Middle America,
so it was natural for the Spaniards to do the same. We do not know what the
Chontal called themselves. The name
somewhat ambiguous. Chontalli
itself is

is an Aztec term meaning "foreigner," and it was also applied to peoples in

southern Oaxaca and Nicaragua, whose languages are quite unrelated to that
of the Chontal of Tabasco. The latter is one of the lowland group of the
languages of the Maya stock. It is closely related to the Maya of Yucatan
on one side and to the Chiapas group on the other, which includes Tzeltal,
Tzotzil, Chafiabal, and Chuj. Even closer is its resemblance to Choi and Chorti,
which were formerly spoken over a broad area extending eastward across the
base of the Yucatan Peninsula to Copan and in all probability as far as the
Ulua River in northwestern Honduras.
1 As far as we know at the present time, it was only in Yucatan that the natives called

themselves Maya.
2Relaciones de Yucatan (hereinafter cited as RY), i: 319; Sapper, 1897, pp. 183-84 and
map 2. 3 Sapper,
1897, pp. 402-03.

15
 NOTE ON MAP OF TABASCO
On February 6, 1579, Don
Guillen de las Casas, governor of Yucatan, transmitted to the
alcalde mayor of Tabasco royal instructions calling for the preparation of reports on the geog-
raphy, resources, and history of the various parts of the Indies. In accordance with these in-
structions a series of relaciones on the Tabasco area was drawn up, of which two have been
preserved. One of these was prepared by the municipal authorities of the Villa de Santa Maria
de la Victoria; the other was written by Melchor de Alfaro Santa Cruz, citizen of the viUa
and an encomendero of the province. Alfaro's report was made by order of the alcalde mayor,
dated April 10, 1579, in which Alfaro is characterized as "the person who better than any other
can give an account of the land." The alcalde mayor's decree also instructed Alfaro to make a
map "as best he could" of the province. This map, dated April 26, 1579, was filed with Alfaro's
report, dated May 4, 1579.
A statement in Alfaro's report certifies that the author had traveled through most of the
province of Tabasco and that the accompanying map gave a true picture of the land. A similar
statement is made in one of the legends on the map. Although the drawing of the map is dis-
torted, due in part to the circular design, it portrays in a remarkably accurate manner the prin-
cipal features of Tabasco hydrography. Some of the town locations are incorrect, but on the
other hand the map records the sixteenth-century locations of certain towns that have since
disappeared or have been moved to other sites. For the purposes of the present volume the most
important detail is the "River called ^apotitan," which is evidently the Rio de Acalan. (Cf. dis-
cussion of this point in Appendix B, pp. 419-20.) As an historical source the Alfaro map of
1579 is a document of great value.
The Alfaro report and accompanying map, together with the relacion of the Villa de
Santa Maria, are now in the Archivo General de Indias in SeviUa. The map is in color and
measures 57 by 60 cm. (Torres Lanzas, 1900, i: 24-25). The two reports and a full-size color
reproduction of the Alfaro map were published in the first volume of the Relaciones de Yucatan
(Madrid, 1898). A color reproduction of the map, somewhat reduced in size, was also included
in the fifth volume of A. P. Maudslay's translation of the Historia Verdadera of Bernal Diaz
del Castillo (Works issued by the Hakluyt Society, 2d ser., no. 40, London, 1916). Comparison
of these reproductions of the Alfaro map indicates that the second one is more reliable, espe-
cially in regard to the readings of the descriptive legends. The Maudslay copy also bears a
certification by Sr. Carlos Jimenez Placer of the Archivo General de Indias that it is an "exact
reproduction of the original."
The present reproduction is a drawing based on the RY and Maudslay copies, with English
translations of the descriptive legends. In the spelling of Indian names we have tried to adhere
as closely as possible to the original forms, giving preference in most cases to the readings on
the Maudslay copy. In cases of doubt we have also referred to the spellings recorded in Alfaro's
report published in RY.
In view of the certification that Maudslay's copy is an exact reproduction, we have fol-
lowed the latter's rendering of the name of the river where the remains of Cortes' bridge were
still to be seen as "Rio qs de gueimango." It should be noted, however, that the copy in RY
gives the name as "gueiapan." This has the appearance of a good Nahuatl name and could mean
"large river." It is difficult to understand how a Spanish copyist could have made an error of
this sort. Alfaro's report (RY, i: 324) mentions this river, here called an "estero," and the re-
mains of the bridge, but no name is given for the stream.
Some explanation also seems necessary in the case of the "great savannas which they call
cimatans," etc. These savannas were evidently named "cimatanes" for the cimatl plant. AJnong
the Aztec this was a medicinal plant which Emmart tentatively identifies as a species of
Phaseolus. Saliagun describes its fruit as "wild beans" (frijoles silvestres) and states that the
root was edible if cooked a very long time; otherwise it was poisonous (Emmart, 1940, p. 300;
Sahagun, 1938, 3: 229, 232).
An unusual feature of the Alfaro map is its highly conventionalized circular outline, al-
though the subject matter does not call for such a form. In this respect it resembles two colonial
Yucatecan Indian maps. In these, unlike the Alfaro map, the top is toward the east and the
border sites are set between double circles at approximately regular intervals. Since the only
circular European maps known to us are those of a hemisphere or the world, where such an
outline was required by the subject matter, the junior author of this study has elsewhere ex-
pressed the belief that the Yucatecan maps followed a native Maya convention. Although the
Tabasco map is ascribed to Alfaro's authorship, its style suggests the possibility either that he
had a native map before him when he drew this chart or that an Indian collaborator, familiar
with the Maya convention, aided him in his work. (Cf. Roys, 1943, p. 184. We are indebted to
Capt. R. B. Haselden, Curator of Manuscripts in the Huntington Library, for his assistance in
our search for European circular maps.)
M«p ! MAP OF TABASCO BY AilXCHOR DE ALr ARO SANTA CRLZ. 157, rXff «pJ.'jnatory note on f'^cmg page)
 7

CHONTAL OF TABASCO 1

Chontal, Choi, and Chorti are indeed so similar that, as J. E. S. Thompson

suggests, they might well be considered little more than dialectal variants of a

single language.'* This opinion finds confirmation in a Spanish document

written in 1533.

From the Ulua River to the River of Copilco-zacualco it is all one language, and
they all trade with one another and consider themselves to be the same; and all the
Indians of those parts say that those are their boundaries. Beyond the River of
Copilco-zacualco the language is that of New Spain [Nahuatl], and similarly be-
yond the said Ulua River it is another language [ Jicaque? ]
.^

Chontal, Choi, and Chorti are not readily delimitable, and they apparently
merged into one another. Chontal and Choi were divided into various dialects,

and the same was probably true of Chorti. In recent years two dialects have
been noted in Tabasco; one is spoken in the Chontalpa and the other, in the
vicinity of Macuspana. The former is generally known as Chontal, but we do
not know whether the Indians themselves give it this name. The latter, how-
ever, is called Yocotan by the people who speak it.^ The Acalan narrative
published in this volume seems to record a third dialect of the same language,
and there were doubtless The Chontal on the Usumacinta may have
others.
had a dialect of their own, or it may have been very similar to Acalan.
The so-called western Choi spoken around Palenque was formerly known as
Putun, Putum, or Puctun, which reminds us of Putunthan, the name which the
Yucatecan Maya applied to the language of the Acalan at Tixchel. M. J. An-
drade, however, informed us that the local Indians now call it Palencano and are
words Choi and Chontal. He collected a vocabulary of this
unfamiliar with the
dialect,which he found to differ as much from the eastern Choi as it does
from the Yocotan dialect of Chontal.^ To the southeast were the Choi-
speaking Lacandon and the Acala (not to be confused with the Acalan) of ,

whose language we know little except that it was a dialect of Choi. Farther
east lived the northeastern or Manche Choi, whose dialect has survived in a
grammar and vocabulary compiled during the first half of the seventeenth
century by Fray Francisco Moran at San Lucas Tzalac on the Sarstoon River.
Thompson traces the Choi area through northern Verapaz to Lake Izabal and
Santo Tomas on the Bay of Amatique. At the beginning of the seventeenth

* Thompson,1938, p. 590. The language of the eastern Choi was called Cholti, which might
be translated "speech of the Choi, or af the farmers."
as
^ The quotation is translated from a petition of Alonso Lopez, agent of Montejo the

Adelantado, filed before the Council of the Indies in the autumn of 1533. In Montejo v. Alvarado.
6 Blom and La Farge, 1926-27, 2: 468.
'^
Seler, 1904, p. 81; Andrade to Scholes, January 9, 1937.
 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

century a pagan nation called the Toquegua still lived on the slopes of the
mountains east of the lower Motagua. The name sounds Mexican, but Fray
Francisco Ximenez, who does not distinguish between Choi and Chorti, calls

them Loquehuas and states that they were "of the same Choi nation which, as

noted, extended from the land of Esquipulas and Chiquimula to the mountains
on the other side of the river of the gulf [Rio Dulce] ." ^
Somewhere beyond Lake Izabal began the Chorti country. Domingo Jua-
rros found this language in use at Zacapa at the end of the eighteenth century.

It is still spoken in the Department of Chiquimula in Guatemala and about

Copan in Honduras. Although he gives no authority for his statement, J.

Galindo claims that Chorti was formerly spoken Omoa, so it may have been
at

the language of the coast country between the Motagua and Ulua Rivers. In
any case it seems to be well established that the language of this region was
closely related to Choi and Chorti.®
Chorti and Choi are very similar, the principal difference being that the
/ in the latter becomes an r in Chorti. C. Wisdom, who has made a thorough
study of modern Chorti, states that the two are almost mutually intelligible.

In an account of Copan written in 1576, Lie. Diego Garcia de Palacio, oidor

of Guatemala, tells us that "it is certain that the Apay language which is

spoken here is current and understood in Yucatan and the aforesaid provinces,"
the latter being "Uyajal," Lacandon, Verapaz, Chiquimula, and Copan.^^ We
know that Choi was spoken by the Lacandon and in northern Verapaz, and
this statement that some form of Chol-Chorti was understood in Yucatan re-
calls Alonso de Avila's testimony in 1533 that the same interpreter served him
equally well in Yucatan and on the Ulua River.^^
The Maya of Yucatan constituted an important part of a large economic
bloc extending from Laguna Tupilco in Tabasco to the Ulua River. Although
Yucatecan Maya and Chontal-Chol-Chorti are distinct languages, they are
similar enough so that merchants and many other persons living on the coast
of one of these areas seem to have often learned the speech of the other, but
this was hardly true of the ordinary farmer or cacao grower.
On the basis of sound correspondences A. M. Halpern associates Yu-
catecan Maya with his Quichoid and Mamoid groups largely spoken in the
highlands of Guatemala, and he places Chontal-Chol-Chorti in his Chiapas
group with Tzeltal-Tzotzil, Chaiiabal, and Chuj. J. A. Mason, on the other
^ Thompson, 1938, pp. 585-92; Moran, 1935; Remesal, 1932, bk. 11, ch. 20; Ximenez, 1929-31,
bk. 4, chs. 3, 5: bk. 5, ch. 29; Roys, 1943, p. 114.
^Galindo, 1920, p. 595.
^° Garcia de Palacio, 1920, p. 542.
11 Sobre lo del Rio de Ulua,
1533, in Montejo v. Alvarado.
 9

CHONTAL OF TABASCX) 1

hand, puts Maya and Choloid (which includes Chontal, Choi, and Chord) in

one group and the Chiapas languages in another.^^

A comparison of the Chontal Text with a Yucatecan Maya document,
preferably of the colonial period, will show much similarity in sentence struc-

ture as well as in vocabulary, once the sound shifts have been taken into ac-
count. Fray Antonio de Ciudad Real, who was probably the author of the
Maya Motul dictionary and not unfamiHar with the languages of Guatemala
and Chiapas, states that although Chontal is a different language, "in many
words it agrees with Maya, and so, knowing one, the other is easily under-
stood." ^^
From a historical standpoint it is of interest to note that Cortes' interpreters
on his journey to Honduras apparently had no trouble with Chontal, Maya,
and Choi, including the various dialects of these languages, which they en-
countered in crossing Tabasco and the base of the Yucatan Peninsula; but
they found it difficult to communicate with the people of Chacujal on the Rio
Polochic.^^ This town was near the border between Pokonchi and Kekchi,
which Halpern and Mason both associate with a Quichoid group or family.
No grammar or dictionary of Tabasco Chontal has come down to us from
colonial times. ^^ O. StoU has published a word list based upon a vocabulary
compiled by C. H. Berendt in the neighborhood of Villahermosa, and this has
been copied by K. Sapper. Like Stoll and Sapper, M. E. Becerra has published
a vocabulary and made comparisons with other languages of the Maya stock.
Dialectal variations are shown by two word lists presented by O. La Farge.
One, called Chontal, was compiled by W. Gates at Tecoluta in the Chontalpa,
and the other, known as Yocotan, is from the language as it is spoken around
12Halpern, 1942, p. 54; Mason, 1940, p. 71. Halpern, like Stoll and Sapper, uses the form
Tzental instead of Tzeltal. Some of the older writers, like Ciudad Real (1873, i: 472, 479), seem
to consider Tzotzil and Tzeltal a single language, which they call Quelem, or Quelen.
13 Ciudad Real, 1932, p. 347.
" Cortes, 1866, pp. 448-51, and 1916, pp. 400-02.
1^ This probably to be explained by the very con-
paucity of Chontal linguistic material is
siderable proportion of the Chontal population who spoke Mexican as a second language. Many
of the early missionaries had been trained in the Valley of Mexico, and in Tabasco it was not
so necessary for them to know the local language as in many other areas, where such ignorance
made them almost helpless in dealing personally with the natives. Although the friars spread the
knowledge of Nahuatl to some extent by circulating religious songs, especially among the
women, it gradually became evident that their religious functions were impeded by their in-
ability to communicate directly with many Chontal women and children and those of the men
who were not bilingual. As late as 1595 it was reported that during the preceding eighteen years
only three of the missionaries in Tabasco could speak Chontal, and two of these did not know
it very well. These men were now dead, and three friars had recently been sent from Yucatan

to Tixchel to learn the language from the priest at that town, who was the only Chontal linguist
in the district. In 1606 the bishop was still complaining of a lack of Chontal-speaking clergy
(AGI, Mexico, leg. 369) As time went on, other Maya linguists were no doubt sent from Yu-
.

catan to Tabasco. Grammars and dictionaries would have been useful to such men, but the
languages were so similar that such aids could be dispensed with.
20 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

the villages of San Fernando and San Carlos in the district of Macuspana. La
Farge has also made a brief grammatical study of Yocotan. The language of
the Acalan, presented in the Text, is called iiiba tha?i, which might be trans-

lated as "the language here," and it is stated that it is named Chontal in the

Mexican language.^^

Although Tabasco has been little explored archaeologically, it seems evi-

dent that a large part, if indeed not all, of the Chontal-speaking area was once
Old Empire of the Maya. Buildings of brick and mortar
a part of the so-called
apparently dating from this period have been found on an island in Laguna
de Mecoacan, and at Comalcalco, close to the western border of the Maya
area, is a large ruined city of this type.-^''^

The alluvial plain of Tabasco contains no stone, and the structural use of
burned brick in this area is, as far as we know, unique in Middle America. At
Comalcalco the large flat bricks appear to have been burned in open fires,

since a black stripe inside indicates imperfect baking. The platform mounds are
large; one is 35 m. high and 175 m. along one side. These are constructed of

earth held by brick retaining walls, but the buildings with their corbeled
vaults are built of bricks set in thick layers of lime mortar made of burned
oyster shells from the neighboring coast. The walls were covered with stucco,
sometimes modeled with relief carvings of ornamental scrolls, glyphs, and
human figures, all of which are typical of Old Empire Maya art.
We know nothing of the history of Comalcalco, Although the name of
the site is mentioned in a document of 1565,^^ it does not appear in any of the
sixteenth-century lists of Tabasco towns. No dated inscriptions have as yet
been found in the ruins, so it is difficult to place this city in the chronology of
the Old Empire. The remains at Tortuguero and El Retiro are less distant, but
Palenque was the nearest great cultural center. The last is, of course, a stone
city, but Comalcalco resembles it in the use of rectangular piers, the profile of

the roof slope, and the stucco reliefs. Of genuine artistic merit are the relief
sculptures of a number of men modeled on the walls of one of the rooms. Here
is a sound attempt at composition and spatial distribution. These figures wear
rather full loincloths, elaborate headdresses —most of them feathered—wrist-
lets, bead necklaces, and breast pendants. Only one of them has a supernatural

aspect. Otherwise realistically portrayed, he has the leaf-nose of a bat, an

IS Stoll,
1884, pp. 45-70; Sapper, 1897, pp. 407-36; Becerra, 1910; Blom and La Farge, 1926-27,
2: 465-502.
Charnay, 1887, pp. 183-210; Blom and La Farge, 1926-27, i: 104-30.
17

Informacion de servicios de Alonso Gomez de Santoyo, teniente de gobernador y

18 justicia

mayor en la provincia de Tabasco, 1565-66, AGI, Mexico, leg. 98.

 CHONTAL OF TABASCO

animal which plays an important part in the art of Copan and other parts of
the Old Empire and mythology of the Quiche as one of the
figures in the
fabulous creatures of the underworld. We are also reminded of the Tzotzil, or
"bat people," of Chiapas, whose language is closely related to Chontal.
These reliefs have a freshness of aspect which is striking. The drawing is
for the most part excellent, and their realism is amazing. The plain, and yet
unexaggerated, prolapsis of the abdomen in the figures of the older men is an
example of the naturalism with which they are portrayed. Without ceramic
evidence it is difficult to correlate these sculptures with the art of Palenque,
which is famous for its wealth of decoration, its highly developed composi-
tion, and its sophisticated execution of detail. The simpler reliefs of Comal-
calco may be earlier, or the difference may well be due to a peripheral lag in
artistic development.
In Tabasco, as elsewhere, no tradition of that phase of Maya civilization

known Old Empire has been found, and how or why it came to an end
as the

still remains largely a matter of conjecture. What we do know, however, is

that at the time of the conquest the Spaniards found there a people of the

Maya stock, the Chontal, whose manner of living had been affected by an
intrusive Mexican culture and among whom were at least eight, and possibly
more, Mexican-speaking towns.
The presence of these Mexican towns within the Chontal area offers a
problem of considerable historical interest. We know little about how this

alien people came to settle in what had once been a part of the Maya Old Em-
pire. From Tabasco itself no historical legends have come down to us, but their
entrance into the country appears to have been one stage of a movement which
extended to many parts of the Maya area and even much farther south. In
Yucatan the natives told the Spaniards vaguely of a "great descent" of peoples

from the west and more specifically of Mexican intruders, who had come from
Tabasco.-^^ Although few of these accounts are explicit, we believe that they
all deal with migrations of considerable importance, for Nahuatl-speaking
colonies were reported by the Spaniards in various parts of Guatemala, Hon-
duras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Not only have a number of them preserved
their language down to the present time, but archaeological investigations have
confirmed the spread of a Mexican culture to these regions.^^

13 Roys,
1933, pp. 66, 139, 147; 1943, pp. 58-59; Landa, 1941, pp. 32-36 and Tozzer notes. This
"great descent" from the west into Yucatan was apparently so named to distinguish it from a
smaller invasion of the peninsula believed to have come from the east. We
doubt, however, that
any of the migrations into Yucatan were as large as those which resulted in the Nahuatl-speaking
settlements found in Tabasco and Guatemala.
20 Roys, 1943, pp. 117, 120; Thompson, 1941, pp. 32-34 and passim.
22 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

We find some indication that the Nahuatl-speaking peoples who settled

among the Chontal of Tabasco, as well as those who left evidence of a Mexi-
can culture in northern Yucatan, came from the Gulf slope of southern Vera-
cruz or the adjacent part of Tabasco west of the Maya area. Peter Martyr
ascribes a highly developed civilization to southern Veracruz and tells of
courts of justice surrounded by walls and of market places and paved streets.^^
In this region, according to Fray Bernardino de Sahagun, lived a people called
the Olmeca Uixtotin. Olmeca has been translated as "the rubber people" and
Uixtotin, as "the salt water people." They grew cacao and were great traders
and very rich. They were evidently accomplished potters, for a fine orange
ware from southern Veracruz has been found at Chichen Itza and in other

parts of Middle America. They were armed with copper axes, and they wore
rubber sandals and ornaments of gold and precious stones. Sahagun implies
that they were not all of the same stock, and he tells us that "there are many
of these who are Nahuas, or Mexicans." Thompson notes that the languages
spoken in this area are Nahuatl and Mixe-Zoquean. He also observes that the

earlier Olmec art, apparently prior to the introduction of a Nahua culture

into the region, influenced that of the Maya Old Empire, but that its later

manifestations show a marked infusion of Toltec motifs and style.--

Little is known of the archaeology of the Maya Chontal area subsequent
to the Old Empire, but in northern Yucatan there is evidence of a cultural
connection with the highlands of Mexico. The Tutul Xiu rulers of Mani in
Yucatan were generally believed to be of Mexican descent, and in the Book
of Chilam Balam of Mani we read that their ancestors had originally come
from a place named Tulapan, apparently referring to Tula, the ancient Toltec
capital north of Mexico City. This is of outstanding interest in view of the
similarity between some of the remains at Tula and those dating from the
Mexican period at Chichen Itza. Not only do we find the same ceramic horizon
at both sites, but the serpent columns, friezes with jaguars and eagles carved
in relief, and atlantean figures recently excavated at Tula bear a startling

resemblance to sculptures of a similar character at Chichen Itza. Some of these

features have not as yet been discovered in southern Veracruz and western
Tabasco, and the manner in which they were carried to northern Yucatan
still remains a problem. Thompson, however, has shown a number of traits

common to both the southern Veracruz-western Tabasco area and Chichen

Itza, which, since they seem foreign to the art of the Maya Old Empire, were
21 Thompson,
1941, pp. 34-38; Anghiera, 1912, 2: 19.
22 3: 133-34; Vaillant, 1935, p. 121; Thompson, 1941, pp. 37, 42;
Sahagun, 1938, Merwin and
Vaillant, 1932, p. 80; Seler, 1902-23, 4: 431 and map, p. 432.
 CHONTAL OF TABASCO 23

evidently introduced into Yucatan during the period of Mexican occupation.^

Whether or not the legends of a Tula origin, or even the architectural and
sculptural analogies, actually represent a migration from Maya
that site to the
areais somewhat uncertain. The Quetzalcoatl cult was prominent among the
Olmeca and the alleged descendants of the Mexican intruders in the Yucatan
Peninsula, and there was a legend in the highlands of Mexico indicating that
Cholula, Puebla, succeeded Tula as the center of this cult, which spread to
the Gulf coast and parts of the Maya area."^ This is confirmed to some extent
by the archaeological evidence. A post-Teotihuacan culture known as Maza-
pan was abundantly represented at Tula, and G. C. Vaillant points out its

affiliation with certain pottery found on the pyramid at Cholula ascribed by

tradition to the worship of Quetzalcoatl. He also describes the rise of a civili-

zation which he calls Mixteca-Puebla, since it appears to have developed in

the lands of the Nahua of Puebla and the Mixteca of northern Oaxaca. This
was the culture which was carried to southern Veracruz and western Tabasco
and from there, it is generally believed, to various parts of the Maya country.^^
There was also a spread of the Nahuatl language to those regions, but we
know little of the circumstances under which it occurred. It would appear,
however, that the transplanting of Mexican speech and culture to the Gulf
coast and the founding of Nahuatl-speaking towns in Tabasco and on the
Pacific slope of Central America were accomplished by true migrations, in-
cluding women; whereas the mere establishment of ruling dynasties in Yu-
catan and the highlands of Guatemala, but without changes in local tongues
or in the cultural patterns save along ceremonial lines, might have been the

result of Manchulike conquest by small groups of military adventurers, accom-

panied by few or no women.
The intruders into the Maya area considered themselves Mexicans, but, as
Thompson notes, the features at Chichen Itza which remind us so strongly of
the art of central Mexico probably came indirectly. It is not suggested that the
same people who brought them to the Gulf coast actually reached Chichen
Itza, but rather that the invaders of Yucatan were inhabitants of southern
Mexico, who had been strongly influenced by this intrusive culture and had
in turn carried it on to the peninsula, along with some elements of their own.
One evidence of this is the phallic cult, which according to the Book of Chilam
Balam of Chumayel was introduced by the Itza, and this is confirmed by the
archaeological remains. This feature was characteristic of neither central

23 Thompson, 1941, fig. 19.

2* Torquemada, 1723, bk. 3, ch. 7.
25 Vaillant, 1941, 19, 22, 77, 83.
pp.
24 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Mexico nor of the Maya Old Empire, but it was strongly developed in Vera-
cruz and apparently carried from there to Yucatan.^^ The implication, there-
fore, is that the foreign intruders from without the Maya area, although they

were Nahuatl-speaking, were not entirely of Nahua descent and that their
Mexican culture was modified in some respects by that of the Gulf coast.
Kidder, on the other hand, informs us that he considers the resemblances
between the religious architecture of Tula and of Chichen to be so close as
to indicate direct contact. He further feels that the apparently total absence
of any manifestation of such architecture in southern Veracruz or western
Tabasco militates against the belief that that area played a significant role in

the transference of highland Mexican traits to northern Yucatan.

Tabasco as a whole was first described in two reports, written in 1579

by Melchor de Alfaro Santa Cruz and other officials of the Villa of Tabasco,
and these are accompanied by a detailed map of the province by Alfaro (see
Map 2). Here we learn that the most thickly populated part was a region
called the Chontalpa, which certainly included a compact group of twenty-
three Chontal-speaking towns lying between the present Rio Seco, formerly
the Rio de Dos Bocas, and the Rio Nuevo, or Gonzalez. Alfaro, however,
gives the number of towns in the Chontalpa as thirty-three, so this area prob-
ably also comprised five others formerly situated west of the Rio de Dos Bocas
and five more lying a short distance east of the main group
.^''^

At the mouth of the Grijalva River was a large commercial center vari-
ously named Potonchan and Tabasco. Near the coast and on the Grijalva and
its tributaries to the south were a number of other Chontal towns, but they

were few compared to the large area over which they were scattered. These
towns might be roughly divided into three groups. The first would comprise
those on or near the Grijalva. Another was Astapa, Jahuacapa, and Jalapa on
the Rio Tacotalpa. Alfaro calls them the three Caguatanes, but Cortes con-
sidersthem barrios of a single town, to which he gives the name of Cagoatan.
As E. Seler points out, the name was really Ciuatan, "the place of the woman."
Widely scattered on the Rio Chilapa and its tributaries was a third group con-
sisting of Chilapa, Tepetitan, Tepecintila, and Macuspana.-^
According to the Alfaro map, in 1579 there were still five towns on the
Usumacinta River above Jonuta. These were Popane, sometimes
• called
Tamulte Popane or Tamulte de Popane, Iztapa, Usumacinta, Petenecte, and

26 Thompson, 1941, pp. Roys, 1933,

50, 54; p. 83.
27 RY, i: 311-74; Roys, 1943, pp. 99-100.
28 Seler, 1902-23,
3: 583; Alva Ixtlilxochitl, 1891-92, 2: 408; Roys, 1943, pp. 100-01.
 CHONTAL OF TABASCO 25

Tenosique, going upstream in the order named. Besides these, Cortes, Bernal
Diaz, and the Chontal Text mention Ciuatecpan, and the Text also refers to
a place named Balancan. Of all these only Tenosique and Balancan can still
be identified. Petenecte is believed to have been situated not far below^
Tenosique, and Ciuatecpan and Usumacinta were 6 and 22 leagues respec-
tively down the river from Petenecte.^^
Although Yucatecan Maya has been spoken around Tenosique in recent

times and we few Maya surnames from Petenecte in 1573 and 1605,
find a
there is strong evidence that the language of the region was predominantly
Chontal in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. In 1573 Fray Pedro
Lorenzo, a Dominican stationed at Palenque, was acting as missionary for the
river towns. He was a noted Choi and Chontal linguist, but we find no reason
to believe that he spoke Yucatecan Maya.^^ In a report dated 1595 is a plea

for Chontal-speaking clergy in the benefices of Jalpa and Nacajuca in the

Chontalpa and of Usumacinta on the river of that name. Here, we are told,
the language is "foreign to and different from the language of Yucatan, be-
cause the Indians who speak the language of Yucatan do not understand the
Chontal language." Only ten years later Alonso de Mesa, evidently the man
^^

of that name who translated our Chontal Text, was ordered to translate a
petition by the town officers of Tenosique written in Chontal. Although the
number of Yucatecan Maya names may have increased somewhat between
1573 and 1605, it seems evident that in the latter year the language of the
region was still principally Chontal.^-

For the next sixty-six years we have no direct evidence regarding the
language spoken in the river towns, but by 1671 it is plain that the situation
had changed. At this time the governor of Yucatan and Fray Cristobal San-
chez, a prominent Franciscan missionary of that province, received letters of
complaint signed by the Indian officials of Tenosique, Petenecte, and three
settlementswhich now appear for the first time in the documents from this
region. These new
villages were Santa Ana, Canitzam, and Tumulte, or

Multe.^^ They are still found on modern maps. Among the twenty signatures

-9 towns in Appendix B, pp. 438-48, infra.

Cf. discussion concerning these
2° See Appendix D.
1595, AGI^
31 Inf ormacion de servicios de Fray Juan de Izquierdo, obispo de Yucatan,

Mexico, leg. 369. Although the evidence is not conclusive, it is_ possible that a part of the popu-
lation of Iztapa and Usumacinta were Nahuatl-speaking at the time of the conquest. Cf. p. 82,
infra.
3- Informacion de los malos tratamientos que los espaiioles hacen a los indios de la provincia

de Tabasco, 1605, AGI, Mexico, leg. 369.

33 We
believe the Multe of these letters to be the modern village of this name lying be-
tween Santa Ana and Canitzam, or Canizan, and not the Tamulte Popane already mentioned.
The latter was a considerable distance downstream, certainly below Usumacinta and probably
26 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

on one of these letters are eleven familiar Yucatecan names. One, Mamas, may
be the same as Mas, or Maz, which is also a Yucatecan patronymic, and an-
other, Kau, is the Maya word for the grackle, although we have not encoun-
tered it as a name. Possibly Hau, which is a common Maya name, was intended.
Of the remaining seven signatures two, Acat and Patzin,^* are frequent among
the Chontal of Acalan, and the other five are Spanish, The last were in all

probability those of Chontal Indians, since at this time very few Yucatecan
Maya had abandoned from the very first many
their native patronymics, while
Tabasco Indians had adopted Spanish surnames. Not only are the majority
of these names Maya, but the letters themselves are written in that language.^^
There can be little doubt that there were still Chontal-speaking Indians in
the Usumacinta towns above the junction with the San Pedro Martir, but it

seems evident that conditions had changed and that their influence was no
longer as predominant as it had been during the sixteenth century. Of the
two governors mentioned among the officials of the five towns, one had a
Chontal name, although that of the other was Maya. The fact that the people
of all these towns were now called "indios de la montaiia," however, strongly
suggests that a very considerable proportion of the population were Yucatecan
Maya-speaking people who had been brought in from the forests.
How long any large number of Maya-speaking Indians had been living in
these river towns is hard to tell. We have a brief notice of a secular priest who
is said to have brought out many Maya-speaking Indians from the forests to-
ward the end of the sixteenth century, but the report is vague and unsatis-
factory.^'^ In one of the 1671 letters Don Rafael Canche, the governor with
the Maya name, writes, "It is many years since we settled in these towns where
we are"; and he was probably referring to his own people and not merely to

the older Chontal population.

Where the so-called forest Indians had come from still remains something
of a problem. Discussion of the neighbors of the Chontal of Tabasco and
Acalan will be found elsewhere in this study. It is of interest to note that by
1670 a large part of the Chontal-speaking Acalan in the Tixchel region had

below Iztapa as shown on the Alfaro map. In all probability Tamulte Popane had been moved
up the river to the modern site.
34 Acat is certainly Nahuatl, and Patzin seems to have the honorific suffix -tzin, which is so

common in Mexican names. As we shall see farther on (pp. 61H53, infra), many of the Chontal
had Mexican names.
35 Testimonio de las cartas de los indios de las montanas
y administracion a los dichos del
Rdo. P. Fr. Cristobal Sanchez, y asimismo administracion en el beneficio de Sumacintla, 1671-78,
AGI, Escribania de Camara, leg. 308 A, num. i, pza. 16. The maps now show Santa Ana, "Cani-
zan," and Multe as three different villages.
36 Royal cedulas to the viceroy of New Spain and to the governor of Yucatan, Tordesillas,

July 20, 1592, AGI, Mexico, leg. 2999, libro D-3.

 CHONTAL OF TABASCO 27

been absorbed by the descendants of Yucatecan Maya fugitives who had been
brought into the area from central southern Yucatan. The Maya language,
which is still spoken extensively, even among the mestizo population in the
northern part of the peninsula, has shown a persistence which we have found
among neither the Chontal nor the Choi.
Cortes and Bernal Diaz describe Iztapa as a very large place, and the latter
refers to the caciques and merchants of the town. There was much good farm
land around it, and it lay in a well-populated district. Cortes considered it

an excellent site for establishing a Spanish town. Of Ciuatecpan we know little.

Evidently its temples were set on substructures of some size, for the "houses
of their idols" could be seen from across a large swamp, A large quantity of
food was found at the place, and many farms are mentioned just across the

river from the town. There can be little doubt that the settlement just below
the gorge of the Usumacinta River, which Oviedo calls Tanoche, was Teno-
sique. Here Avila found loo houses in 1530, but the town had already been
subject to continuous raids, and it may have decreased in size. The town of
Usumacinta was evidently farther down the river than the present village of
that name, for below Petenecte and the latter town was
it was 22 leagues
downstream from Tenosique. Usumacinta must have been a settlement of
some importance, since it later became the residence of the beneficed priest

w^ho had charge of the entire region. In 1599 this benefice was still fairly pros-
perous. It contained 350 tributaries, and the salary of the priest was 800 pesos.^^
With very few exceptions, such as Potonchan, Petenecte, and Tenosique,
the Chontal-speaking towns of Tabasco are known to us only by their Mexi-
can names. This was no doubt partly due to the presence in the area of an
intrusive Nahuatl-speaking people. A number of towns were entirely Mexican,
and their influence on the autochthonous population was such that Nahuatl
had become almost a second language to the latter. One group of five Mexican
towns was situated close to the southeastern border of the Chontalpa, and three
others lay in the angle between the Grijalva River and the Rio Seco. Of these
eight Nahuatl-speaking towns Cimatan, which belonged to the latter group,
was the most important at the time of the conquest.^^
In another powerful and important town the dominant element was almost
certainly Mexican. This was Xicalango, a large commercial center. It was
probably situated at the site locally known as Cerrillos near Lake Atasta, a
short distance west of Laguna de Terminos. The archaeological maps continue
3" Cortes, 1866, Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 175;Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-
p. 408; 1916, p. 360;
55, bk. 32, ch. 9; Lopez de CogoUiido, 1867-68, bk. 12, ch. 7; Documentos para la historia de
Yucatan (hereinafter cited as DHY), 2: 118.
38 RY, i: 320, 352; DHY, 2: 64, 65.
28 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

to apply the name to a ruin close to Xicalango Lighthouse opposite Carmen,

but the accounts by Ximenez and Fray Antonio de Remesal of a journey
which several friars made from Carmen to Xicalango indicate clearly that the
town lay some distance inland near the estuaries and lagoons west of Laguna
de Terminos. We know little of the neighboring town of Atasta. Although
the evidence is by no means conclusive, Jonuta on the lower Usumacinta may
have been partly Mexican. The people of Xicalango were moved to this town
some time prior to 1579.^®
A third language, Zoque, was spoken in six prosperous towns near the base
of the sierra on the southern border of the province. Although these might
perhaps be considered a part of the large Zoque area, which spreads over the
mountains immediately to the south, their economic relations with the Mexi-
can and Chontal towns of Tabasco were such that the colonial Spanish writers
seem justified in considering them a part of the same province.'*^
In 1606 Tepetitan, a Chontal town, had a number of Zoque inhabitants,

but we do not know whether or not they were there in pre-Spanish times.

Some Zoque were living at Jalapa, another Chontal-speaking settlement, and

even at Jalpa in the Chontalpa in the nineteenth century, which is an interesting
example of the migrations of mountaineers to the hot country. In the sixteenth
century many of the Mam descended to the Pacific coast near Ayutla; in the

seventeenth, the Santa Eulalia Indians attempted to settle in the valley of the
Ixcan but were driven back by the Lacandon. In the nineteenth, many Kekchi
are known to have spread north to the Peten and southern British Honduras,
and Roys has recently found new settlements of the same people at the mouth
of the Rio Dulce opposite Livingston. It is difficult to escape the conclusion
that all this is simply the continuation of a tendency which existed long be-
fore the Spanish conquest.^-*^ If further linguistic research should continue to
confirm the sound correspondences of the language of the Yucatecan Maya
with those of the highlands, we might well surmise that the relationship was
the result of a migration of this sort at a very early time.

The prosperity of Tabasco was due largely to its commerce and its pro-
duction of cacao, which ripens throughout the year. M. Gil y Saenz writes
that here the yield is divided into four crops. The first is called la invernada,
which comes in January, February, and March. Next is the cosecho principal,
gathered from April to July. The third is el venturero lasting from August
RY, i: 340, 346; Ximenez, 1929-31, bk. 2, ch. 37.
39
*oRY, i: 320; Roys, 1943, p. 106.
*i Nombramiento del obispo de beneficiados a los partidos de Tichel v Tepetitan, 1606,
AGI, Mexico, leg. 2606; Rovirosa, 1888, pp. 5-6; Roys, 1932, p. 122.
 CHONTAL OF TABASCO 29

through October, and finally comes el alegron,which ends sometime in De-

cember. Formerly, he states, looo trees produced lo cargas, or loads, but this
was no longer the case in his time.^^
Water transportation was everywhere available within a comparatively

short distance. Cacao does not grow in the highlands of Mexico, and only a
relatively small amount could be produced in especially favorable locations in
northern Yucatan. Besides large quantities of this highly prized luxury, the
Tabasco merchants exported not only articles of local manufacture, but also
a surplus of imported commodities which they had taken in exchange for their
own products. The Aztec merchants, who were obliged to cross hostile terri-
tory to reach Tabasco, brought handsome fabrics, ornaments and spindle cups
of gold, articles of copper and obsidian, dyed rabbit hair, and slaves to Cimatan
and Xicalango.^^ Slave labor would be especially profitable in a country where
the principal crop was gathered throughout the year, and an extensive com-
merce required many carriers or paddlers.

In exchange the Aztec carried home cacao, finely tanned jaguar and cougar
skins, carved tortoise shell, and various precious stones. Tabasco itself produces
neither metals nor precious stones. In the highlands of Chiapas were mines of
yellow topaz, the so-called amber, from which nose beads were made, but the
origin of the jade and crystalline green stones, which the Aztec purchased in
Tabasco, is unknown. Some of these stones may have come from the upper
Usumacinta River. On a beach of this stream near El Cayo, T. Maler found
many extremely hard stones colored ochre-yellow, green, and red. Some of
them he thought he recognized as pieces of petrified wood, carnelian, ophite,
and jadeite. It seems doubtful that they included jade, since the source of this

mineral in Middle America is still considered an unsolved problem. Other hard

stones resembling jade, however, were also highly prized.^^

Besides the gold brought in by the Aztec, it is probable that some was im-
ported from Honduras and southern Veracruz. The former was known as the

land of feathers, gold, and cacao, and in the latter Juan de Grijalva's expedition
of 1 5 1 8 found a large quantity of the metal. In addition to manufactured ar-

ticles, sheets and plates of gold were probably imported, from which native
metalworkers made ornaments to suit the local taste. Ceremonial wooden
masks were sometimes covered with turquoises and gold leaf, and at Tabasco,
or Potonchan, Grijalva and Cortes obtained gold headbands, necklaces, ear-
plugs, and figures of dogs, ducks, and lizards."*^ It is of interest to note that the
*2 Gil y Saenz, 1872, pp. 36-37.
*3 Sahagun, 1938, 2: 355.
^*Ibid., 2: 356; Herrera y Tordesillas, 1726-30, dec. 4, bk. 10, ch. 12; Maler, 1901-03, 2: 84.
45 Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 17, ch. 3; Blom and La Farge, 1926-27, i: 98.
 .

30 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

last all represented edible fauna. In 1541 Montejo's brother-in-law, Alonso

Lopez, obtained by means of threats a number of gold articles from various
Chontal and Mexican towns in Tabasco. The following list gives some idea of
their character. Most of them were evidently worn on important occasions.

1 piece of gold, thin as paper and the size of a paten.

2 large gold jewels fashioned like marine snails (cobos).
2 gold jewels fashioned like butterflies and with pendants.
I gold "carmel," possibly a floral ornament.
I gold carmel with some pendants.
1 large medal with some gold pendants.
2 gold jewels, one with a butterfly and the other like a small disk (eji tejuelo).
I "gold article which they are accustomed to put on the fleshy part of their
arms at their festivals, which they call changolo.^^

1 gold mask three fingers wide.

2 ear coverings (orejeras), probably the plates of earplugs.
Some ear drops (zcircillos), probably earplugs.
14 strings or necklaces of gold beads.
2 strings of gold grasshoppers (cigarrones)
I necklace of small turtles {hicoteas) with several beads between each turtle
and the next.
I necklace of gold turtles with its small pendants. There were twenty turtles
and between them some gold beads.^^

Salt, cotton cloth, slaves, and probably flint weapons and tools were
brought from Yucatan, and there was an extensive trade across the base of the
Yucatan Peninsula with the northern coast of what are now Guatemala and
Honduras, Much of this passed by way of Acalan, and in 1524-25 Cortes re-
received maps from the merchants of Tabasco, Xicalango, and Acalan showing
this route.^' Another obvious route would appear to have been up the Usuma-

cinta and Rio de la Pasion by canoe and overland across the divide to the
Sarstoon River, which flows into the Bay of Amatique, but little is known
about the Usumacinta above Tenosique during the sixteenth century.
The most suitable land for cacao was in the hands of the Chontal, and they
also raised corn, squash, and beans. Fish, turtles, and manatees were taken
from the Gulf, rivers, bayous, and lakes. Much game was hunted in the forests,
including deer, peccaries, rabbits, armadillos, coatis, iguanas, wild turkeys, and
curassows. In early colonial times the Zoque, whose country was too cold for
46 El fiscal contra Alonso Lopez, vecino de la villa de Santa Maria de la Victoria de Tabasco,

sobre haberse titulado visitador y exigido a los indios de la provincia de Tabasco diferentes con-
tribuciones, 1541-45, AGI, Justicia, leg. 195 (cited hereinafter as Fiscal v. Lopez).
*'^
Cortes, 1866, pp. 397, 419; Herrera y Tordesillas, 1726-30, dec. 3, bk. 6, ch. 12; Diaz del
Castillo, 1939, ch. 177.
 1

CHONTAL OF TABASCO 3

cacao, brought large quantities of maize, chile, beans, and fowl, which they
exchanged for cacao in the Chontalpa and for salt on the lower Grijalva, and
it seems likely that commerce already existed in pre-Spanish times. Monte jo
this

the Younger obtained from the Zoque towns a large number of canoes for the
final expedition to western Yucatan.^^

There were three important commercial centers in Tabasco proper. Of

these Cimatan and Xicalango were either wholly or partly Nahuatl-speaking,
as we have already noted, and Potonchan was Chontal-speaking.
Cimatan was closely associated with two neighboring towns named Con-
duacan and Cuaquilteupa. This group, which was known as the three Cima-
tans, was located on the Grijalva below the point where the
a short distance

Rio de Dos Bocas branched off from it and flowed directly north to the Gulf
of Mexico. During the sixteenth century the Dos Bocas was a mighty river,
but the channel where it left the Grijalva filled with silt, and Dampier, who
observed it in 1676, already described it as the insignificant stream which it is
today. Later all three towns were moved to the site of the modern Conduacan,
two suburbs of which are named Cimatan and Cuculteupa.^^
The three Cimatans occupied an important strategic position commer-
cially, for they were the first Tabasco towns encountered by the merchants
from the Valley of Mexico. Sahagun tells us that before they arrived they sent
word ahead and were met in the hostile territory through which they were
passing by the friendly "lords" of Anahuac Xicalanco, as the Aztec called
the country between Coatzacoalcos and Laguna de Terminos, and conducted
to their towns. Since travel in Tabasco was mostly by water, it may well be
inferred that these merchants were met by canoes, which carried them to
their various destinations. Many
went to Cimatan and Xicalango, but
of them
others traded with the Chontalpa, where they had their factories and ware-
houses at Mecoacan, Chilateupa, and Teutitlan Copilco, the modern Copilco.
Here they sold their goods to local traders who took over the distribution. In
1 54 1 the latter were alsofrom Mexico and resided permanently in Tabasco,
but it is hard to tell whether this was the case before the Spaniards came.^^
At the request of the five Nahuatl-speaking towns lying immediately
southeast of the Chontalpa the Spaniards established a market at Huimango
in 1 541 This suggests that there had been no commercial center in that
. district,

and we infer that these towns had received Mexican commodities through

*8 RY, 371-72; Fiscal v. Lopez.

i:
*^ RY, 338-39 and map; DHY, 2: 64; Dampier, 1906,
i: 2: 213.
50 Sahagun, 1938, 2: 354-55; Fiscal v. Lopez.
32 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Cimatan in pre-Spanish times, although we have found no evidence of any

poHtical connection.^^
At least four Zoque tovi^ns near the border of Tabasco and Chiapas are
known to have been subject to Cimatan. Two of these, Teapa and Ixtapanga-
joya, are on one of the principal passes leading to the highlands of Chiapas; a
third, Nicapa, is at the head of the valley of the Rio Platanar, which flows into
the upper Grijalva; and the fourth, called Gualtipan,is probably the modern

Zoque town of Magdalena Coltipan. It seems evident that Cimatan controlled

the most important trade routes from the highlands of Chiapas as well as that
from the Valley of Mexico. ^^
We know little about the appearance of Cimatan. Building stone and the
materials for making the strong lime-and-sand mortar found near the coast
were obviously lacking here. Also burned brick structures have as yet only
been found associated with lime mortar. There can be little doubt that the
temples of a town of such importance were set on pyramids, and the more
important buildings, on raised platforms, presumably of earth in this locality.

The dwellings at Cimatan were probably the "good large houses" described
by Dampier, with walls of "mud or wattling, plastered on the inside and
thatched with palm or palmetto leaves." Bernal Diaz, who knew the town,
tells uswas defended by palisades equipped with platforms and loopholes
it

for the archers, who were noted for the strength of their long bows and the
accuracy of their aim. When the place was permanently subdued, forty years
after the first Spanish expedition against it, the report of the expedition states
Tecpan Cimatan, Acatan, Naguatan, and
that they pacified the "pueblos" of
Senuchuacan, and that they burned the houses of the idols, which were nu-
merous in Tecpan Cimatan. The name Cimatan is derived from cmiatl, a
medicinal plant believed to be a species of Phaseolus, and tecpan means gov-
ernment house. Since the neighboring towns of Conduacan and Cuaquilteupa
were at peace with the Spaniards, and even took part in the expedition, we
conclude that these four so-called pueblos were really the four quarters of the
town of Cimatan. Such divisions existed at Tenochtitlan and in other parts of

the highlands of Mexico as well as at Itzamkanac in Acalan. Although Cimatan

was surrounded by large savannas and many swamps and bogs, the region was
thickly populated in pre-Spanish times, and there were cacao groves near the
town.^^
The people of Cimatan resisted the Spaniards for many years, although

51 Fiscal V. Lopez.
52 Godoy,
1, p. 468; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, 3: 304.
193
Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 166; Dampier, 1906, 2: 210; Informacion de servicios de Alonso
53
Gomez de Santoyo 1565-66, AGI, Mexico, leg. 98.
. . . ,
 CHONTAL OF TABASCO 33

armed forces and missionaries occupied the town from time to time. About
the year 1550 Fray Hernando de Arbolancha of the Mercedarian Order peace-
fully persuaded the inhabitants to submit to Spanish rule. He promised them
exemption from tribute for two years and apparently made some progress in
their conversion. When opportunity offered, however, the natives burned the
church and fled to the swamps, and later, returning to their homes, they con-
tinued to make war on the Christianized Indian pueblos and the Spaniards. As
late as 1564 they raided the Chontalpa, where they occupied Comalcalco and
prowled about the outskirts of Chichicapa, terrorizing its inhabitants and those
of Amatitan with threats to attack and burn their towns. Their numbers were
probably increased by refugees from other parts of Tabasco, for in 1541 a
principal of Amatitan named Coatl persuaded a large part of the population

to abandon the town for a time and attempted to lead them to Cimatan. In
his confession he later admitted frankly that this was in order to evade service
and tribute to the Spaniards. In 1564, however, Cimatan was finally reduced
to submission by a few Spaniards and a force of native allies from the neigh-
boring town of Cuaquilteupa. Most of the people were settled in other towns,
and in 1579 the able-bodied married men remaining numbered only seventeen.
Gil y Saenz relates that the original town Conduacan was inundated in 1625
of
and the survivors migrated to the present town, which lay between Cuculteupa
and Cimatan. The last are now wards, or suburbs, of Conduacan, and it might
be inferred from this account that their inhabitants had already moved there
before the arrival of the people of Conduacan. Of the Cimatans, only Con-
duacan is mentioned in 1688, and it seems probable that at this time all three
were considered to be a single town on the present site of Conduacan.^^
Just as Cimatan was favorably situated to handle foreign trade from the
south and west, Xicalango enjoyed a very similar advantage in regard to Yu-
catan, Acalan, and the Usumacinta valley. Xicalango, however, evidently
shared this commerce with Potonchan, or Tabasco, since Cortes obtained maps
of the road leading to the Caribbean coast from both these towns, and he men-
tions their merchants in connection with various places along his route. Pil-

grims from Potonchan and Xicalango in Tabasco and from Champoton and
Campeche in southwestern Yucatan visited the shrine of the goddess Ix Chel
on Cozumel Island off the northeastern coast of Yucatan. It may well be in-

^^ Royal cedula to Lie. Alonso Lopez de Cerrato, president of the audiencia of Confines,

concerning the Indians of the province of Cimatan, Valladolid, July 7, 1550, AGI, JVIexico, leg.
2999, libro D-i; Informacion de servicios de Alonso Gomez de Santoyo 1565-66, AGI,
. . . ,

Mexico, leg. 98; Fiscal v. Lopez; Gil y Saenz, 1872, p. 121. Cuaderno de testimonies de los . . .

oficiales reales de Yucatan . de las person as que poseian las encomiendas y su producto, 1688,
. .

AGI, Contaduria, leg. 920, exp. 2.

34 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

ferred that they were mostly merchants whose business took them to that
region. Whether they crossed the base of the peninsula to the Caribbean or
followed the western and northern coasts of Yucatan is still uncertain. We
are inclined to believe that they came by both these routes.^^
As we have already seen, the merchants of Xicalango and various parts of
Yucatan had warehouses and factors on the Ulua River in Honduras. Of
Yucatan we are told that "many merchants of this land had their sons and other
factors there for the aforesaid traffic," and no doubt the same was true of
Xicalango. We are reminded of the son of the murdered Cocom ruler of
Mayapan, who was absent in Ulua on business at the time of his father's death,
and of the brother of the Acalan ruler who governed the quarter of Nito
occupied by the merchants from that country .^^
Fray Juan de Torquemada states, "There is at the present time a town
named Xicalanco, where there used to be much commerce; for from various
parts and distant lands merchants assembled, who went there to trade." °^ In
1532 Juan Mendez de Sotomayor, who had served as alcalde viayor of Ta-
basco, testified that he knew how the Indians of the provinces of Cochistlan
and Acalan came to Xicalango to traffic. The name Cochistlan is of especial
interest, since it is the only well-authenticated Mexican place name for any

part of Yucatan that has come down to us. Sometimes it is applied to Campeche
and sometimes apparently to Champoton, for Mendez refers to the "province
of Cochistlan, and another farther on, which is called Campeche."'*'^ The name
is difficult to translate. Cochiztli means "sleep," but the name might be derived

from cocho, a variety of parrot.

Although we know from Sahagun's account of the expeditions of the
Aztec merchants to Cimatan and Xicalango that these towns were not subject
to the Mexican confederacy, the influence of the latter must have been very
strong at Xicalango. It seems possible that the factors of the Mexican merchants
with their employees and slaves occupied a quarter of the town, just as the

Acalan merchants did at Nito. Such a situation could have given rise to the
story by the authors of the Relacion de la Villa de Santa Maria de la Victoria
that Montezuma had a fortress at Xicalango. ^^ One of the encomenderos of
Yucatan in 1579 wrote a similar and more circumstantial account:

I married the niece of Montezuma, the great lord of Mexico, the daughter of his
brother, who was named Dona Isabel. The aforesaid Montezuma had sent him as
55 Roys, Scholes, and Adams, 1940, p. 5; RY, 2: 54.
56 Sobre lo del Rio de Ulua,
1533, in Montejo v. Alvarado; Landa, 1941, p. 39.
5^ Torquemada, 1723, bk. i, ch. 12.
ssProbanza in jMontejo v. Al-
. . . sobre el rio de Grijalva y provincia de Tabasco, 1532,
varado. 59 RY, i: 364.
 CHONTAL OF TABASCO 35

captain general with a large number of troops to conquer this province [Yucatan].
Thus he established his headquarters at a place called Xicalango, which is between
this land and Tabasco; and when he was already about to begin the conquest of
this land,messengers from Mexico came to him, sent by his brother Montezuma,
informing him how the City of Mexico and all New Spain were [occupied?] by
the Spaniards. And he sent him some Spanish garments, such as a coat, hat, and
other things of value, in order that he might see them and know in truth how he
[Montezuma] was now subject to the Spaniards. And the captain was so greatly
distressed that he died of vexation, leaving his daughter, my wife, a small child.^*^

The story was probably not without some basis of fact; from the analogies we
have cited it might well be surmised that a close relative of Montezuma was
in charge of a colony of Mexican merchants at Xicalango and that he was
planning to extend their activities to Yucatan when Cortes seized Tenochtitlan.
Of the government of Xicalango we know only that a woman could, and
did, succeed to the "lordship," a custom apparently alien to Maya political

tradition, but she gave no commands and a male relative governed in her stead.

Like the Acalan ruler, even he "could do nothing without the counsel and
advice of the principal men, who came every day to his house or assembled
on the square came up."^^
to discuss whatever
The question naturally arises whether Xicalango was Chontal- or Nahuatl-
speaking. All the historical legends point to the latter. To Torquemada's ac-
count of the Olmeca-Xicalanca could be added Fray Diego de Landa's story
of how the Cocom ruler brought Mexican auxiliaries from Tabasco and
Xicalango to Mayapan in northern Yucatan. Then, too, there is the statement
in the Tabasco report that the Mexican language was native to comparatively
few people, "because it proceeds from two strongholds which Montezuma had
in this province and which were Cimatan and Xicalango." While the story is

as apocryphal as that of Fuentes y Guzman, who tells us that the Pipil in-
vasion of southern Guatemala dated only from Ahuitzotl's time and was
instigated by him, it does nevertheless point strongly to an association of the
Nahuatl language with Xicalango. By inference this would also seem to be
confirmed by Sahagun's association of the town with Cimatan, which was
certainly Mexican-speaking. All this, however, is offset by a single item of
contemporary evidence, which it is difficult to gainsay. In the Tabasco report
of 1579 it is stated that there were eight Nahuatl-speaking towns in the prov-
ince. This is repeated in another of 1582, in which these towns are named, and
Xicalango does not appear among them. It should be noted that although the
people of Xicalango had been moved to the site of Jonuta by this time, the

^^ Ibid., 2: 221-22. 61 Remesal, 1932, bk. ch. 10.

5,
36 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

town had not lost its identity. It still remained a political entity for purposes
of government and taxation.®^
It seems possible, nevertheless, to reconcile this conflicting evidence. The
existence of a woman cacique at Xicalango is a feature common in Mexico,^
but we have not found it in Yucatan or Guatemala. This suggests that, in

addition to an Aztec trading colony, the ruling class of the town, including
the more important local merchants, was Nahuatl-speaking. The mass of the
population, however, could well have been Chontal.
Although Xicalango was one of the first Tabasco towns to be occupied by
the Spaniards for any length of time, little is known of its appearance or archi-
tecture. In an account of a visit by some of Bishop Las Casas' companions in
1 544, we are told that a league east of the town they came to a small Christian
chapel on a small square, and little farther on they reached a larger plaza,
where they were entertained by the local cacique and spent the night in a
which had been constructed as a rest house for travelers.
large portico (portal) ,

Some of them slept on an arrangement of boards, and others were given rush
mats, handsomely woven in red and black patterns. At Xicalango they were
received by "all the nobles of the town with the governor, who acted as the
principal cacique." They found it a pleasant place with its shady plaza and
fresh groves of trees, but the mosquitoes were troublesome. The unmarried
youths were still sleeping in the municipal men's house, as was customary in

Mexico and Yucatan.*^

The name of the site today, Cerrillos, indicates that the temples and some
of the more important public buildings were set upon substructures. The latter
were probably of earth, but may well have been faced with a layer of mortar
composed of quartz sand and a lime of burned shell, such as has been found
near the former site of Potonchan.
In Tabasco proper the third important commercial center was Potonchan
near the mouth of the Grijalva River. The Spaniards renamed both the town
and the entire province after the cacique of the town, according to several of
the early chroniclers. If so, they evidently added the suflix -co, which is very
common Mexican place names and means "place of." A
in Spanish town was
founded near by and was named Santa Maria de la Victoria in memory of
Cortes' victory at Centla in 15 19, but it was often called the Villa de Tabasco.
There is probably little doubt that Potonchan wasChontal-speaking. Geronimo
de Aguilar, who understood and spoke the language of the town according to
Cortes and Bemal Diaz, was able to act as interpreter for Cortes' expedition,
62 RY, i: 320, 364; DHY, 2: 64, 84; Fuentes y Guzman, 1932-33, 2: 90.
63 Roys, 1943, p. 166.
64 Remesal, 1932, bk. 5, ch. 10; Ximenez, 1929-31, bk. 2, ch. 37.
 CHONTAL OF TABASCO 37

and we know that Aguilar was ignorant of Nahuatl. This of course is not
entirely conclusive evidence, since even if it had been Mexican, many people

would no doubt have understood Chontal, but the inference is confirmed by

Gomara, who states that the local name for canoe was "tahucup," and hucup is
still the Chontal word for canoe. ^^
It was evidently a populous town. Bernal Diaz tells of thousands of war-
riors opposing the Spaniards there, "because at that time that town had much
commerce, and subject to it were other large towns; and they were all

equipped with every kind of arms of the sort they used."*^ We have no spe-
cific information regarding the subject towns. Among them no doubt were
Centla, Taxaual, and Chayala, which were close by, and others may well have
been situated some distance up the Grijalva River.
Scanty as it is, the description of Potonchan is the only one of a Tabasco

town that has come down to us from the time of the conquest. Along the
river bank it was defended by a palisade of thick timbers. The town covered
a large area, for the houses were separated from one another by gardens. The
finer dwellings were set on earth substructures, which may well have been
faced with plaster or mortar. The Spaniards reported that such houses were
constructed of lime, brick, and stone, but it is obvious that building stone was
not available on this alluvial plain. No remains of the actual houses have as yet
been discovered in the region, but at a neighboring site, believed to be that of
Centla, Berendt excavated some earth platforms, which were faced with a

thick layer of mortar and ascended by stairs constructed of burned brick,

mortar, and pounded earth. The mortar, which is excellent, is composed of
sand and a lime made from burned shell. On one of the mounds Berendt found
evidence which convinced him that the ruins at Centla were occupied at the
time of the Spanish conquest.^^
65
Herrera y Tordesillas, 1726-30, dec. 3, bk. 7, ch. 3; RY, i: 361; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch.
31; Lopez de Gomara, 1943, i: 82; Blom and La Farge, 1926-27, 2: 471. In the name Tabasco, if
we consider -co a suffix signifying "place of," we are reminded of the Aztec tlauatztli, which
means "something dry." Such a description would seem appropriate for a town site in a low
wet district. Rovirosa derives Tabasco from tlalli ("land") and paltic ("something wet") and
Aguilera less plausibly from "tlauashco" (tlauaxco"?), which he interprets as "the place which
has a master" (Rovirosa, 1888, p. 30; Aguilera, 1942, p. 5). We
have, however, found new
evidence to connect the name Tabasco with that of the native ruler of the town. In 1543 he
was Don Francisco (^ipaque (Cipac), apparently the successor of a Don Hernando "Azbaque,"
who was cacique in 1541 and said to be 50 years old at that time (Fiscal v. Lopez). The letter
b does not occur in Nahuatl, but Spaniards ignorant of the language sometimes substituted it for
p. Moreover, Acipac is a variant of the name Cipac among the Chontal Acalan, so it is obvious
that Azbaque was intended for Acipac (cf. p. 62, infra). If the elements Ta- and -co, so fa-
miliar in the place names of the region, are considered simply a prefix and suffix, it seems
extremely likely that the remainder is simply a Spanish corruption of this name.
66 Diaz del Castillo,
1939, ch. 31.
'^'^
Ibid., ch. 31; Lopez de Gomara, 1943, i: 98-99; Anghiera, 1912, 2: 34; Brinton, 1896, p. 265;
Seler, 1902-23, 5: 150-51; Roys, 1943, p. 103.
38 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Most of were thatched structures, presumably

the houses of Potonchan
with pole or wattle walls. Gomara and Peter Martyr give descriptions sug-
gesting that some of the more substantial buildings were covered by flat,
beamed roofs topped with mortar. Many of the dwellings were probably
large ones, since in Tabasco there is evidence of multiple-family homes hke
those in Yucatan.^^
The town was like a large courtyard, and there
principal square of the
was Around it were various buildings, some
a great ceiba tree in the center.

of them the pyramidal temples which the Spaniards called cues. Others were
great halls said to be the quarters of the persons who served the idols, which
indeed appear to have been found in all the buildings. We surmise that one of
the buildings was probably the tecpoji, or government house, and that possibly
another might have been the unmarried men's quarters. Both such buildings
could have contained oratories with idols.^^

y Saenz relates that Potonchan had once been subject to Xicalango,

Gil
but he does not disclose the source of his information. The town was depopu-
lated some time subsequent to the Spanish conquest, and in 1579 a few sur-
viving families were still living at Tabasquillo a short distance to *:he south on
an arm of the Grijalva. Here they were chiefly occupied as fishers and potters
and in raising fowl and fruit, which they sold at the Villa of Tabasco.'^*'

In the mountains of Chiapas southwest of the Chontal area is a large area

inhabited by the Zoque. In language, and probably also in their basic culture,
they are closely related to the Mixe of southeastern Veracruz and Oaxaca. The
latter have always been described as a rude, uncultivated people, and the
former, while more intelhgent, have been placed in much the same category.
So far as the Zoque are concerned, the seventeenth-century reports do not
seem to bear this out, although no doubt their civilization in pre-Spanish times
was inferior to that of the Nahua, Zapotec, and most of the peoples of the
Maya stock. Thomas Gage tells us that the Zoque area was the richest part of

Chiapas and the people were witty and ingenious. In his time they were manu-
facturing fine silk fabrics, which were exported to Spain. At the time of the
conquest Teapa was a very large place and Ixtapangajoya was described as a
pleasant town of 500 houses with good plazas and fine buildings. They may
well have been influenced by the civilization of the Gulf coast, since both
were subject to Cimatan.'^^
^^ Lopez de Gomara, 1943, i: 98-99; Anghiera, 1912, 2: 34; Roys, 1943, p. 103.
^9 Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 31; Tapia, 1939, p. 51; Ximenez, 1929-31, bk. 2, ch. 37.
'0 Gil y Saenz, 1872, p. 77; RY, i 346.
:

'^i
Bancroft, 1882, i: 669; Gage, 1928, pp. 167-68; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 166; Godoy,
193 1, p. 468.
 CHONTAL OF TABASCO 39

The Zoque country was mostly too cool for growing cacao, and it pro-
duced maize, chile, cotton, cochineal, The yellow topaz, which
and honey.
the Spaniards called "stone amber" and which the Aztec and Maya used to
make lip and nose beads, was mined at Tapalapa and probably exported mostly
to Tabasco. The site lies near the headwaters of the Sayula, Platanar, and
Teapa Rivers, all of which were controlled by Cimatan. The Aztec supply of
this commodity is reported to have been obtained from Zinacatan in the

Tzotzil area farther east. The other Zoque products were also marketable in
Tabasco, where a large part of the population devoted most of their energy to
growing cacao.'^^

In pre-Spanish times the Zoque appear to have exported fine fabrics to both
the Valley of Mexico and the Maya area. One of these was a netlike cloth, ap-
parently a gauze, and the other is described as a brocading of sheer plain weave.
Fragments of both are reported to have been recovered from the Sacrificial

Cenote at Chichen Itza, and large quantities of decorated cloth are said to
have been brought to the Valley of Mexico from the Tabasco-Chiapas regions
as tribute. This is probably true, but it seems most unlikely that the Zoque
towns of Tabasco and Chiapas were tributary to the Aztec confederacy at

the time of the conquest, although it is known that the latter had conquered
the Tzotzil town of Zinacantan.^^
Some of the Zoque towns were subject to the Chiapanec, but many of them
apparently consisted of independent groups, each yielding obedience to the
largest or strongest town of the group, as was the case with Quechula and
Solosuchiapa. We know nothing about their political or social organization,
except that there was a hereditary ruling class.^'*

Since the latter half of the sixteenth century a Choi-speaking people are
known to have dwelt in the mountainous region of northern Chiapas between
the Zoque towns of Tabasco and the Usumacinta valley, and some of their
descendants are still living at Palenque, Tumbala, and Tila. We first hear of
this area about the seventh decade of the sixteenth century. At this time the
Dominican Fray Pedro Lorenzo was in charge of these towns and those on
the Usumacinta River with his headquarters at Palenque. We have found no
record of any military expedition sent to conquer the district, and it was ap-
parently sparsely inhabited. Pedro Lorenzo, however, who had settled- a num-
ber of Choi Lacandon at Ocosingo in 1564, is credited with having brought
many more of the same people to the Palenque region, and it is believed that

^2 Herrera y Tordesillas, 1726-30, dec. 4, bk. 10, ch. 12; Sahagun, 1938, 2: 356-57; Roys, 1943,
p. no.
^3 Cordry and Cordry, Sahagun, 1938,
1941, passim; 2: 356.
^4 Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 166; Godoy, 193 1, p. 468.
40 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

the present Choi-speaking inhabitants are largely descended from these con-
vertsJ^
In view of the archaeological importance of Palenque it would be of con-
siderable interest to be able to identify the occupants of the area at the time
of the conquest. By the time of Pedro Lorenzo's arrival the Spaniards had
occupied Tabasco for at least a generation, and we hear nothing of any
Chontal or Mexican settlement in the region. The Tzeltal are still living imme-
diately to the south and to the southeast were the Choi Lacandon, but it is

difficult to determine who were the predecessors of Pedro Lorenzo's converts.

It is hard to believe that the district was uninhabited at the time of the Spanish
conquest.
Culturally these western Choi are now to a large degree Hispanicized, but
early in the eighteenth century they revolted, killed their priests, and aposta-
tized until a military force brought them back into the fold. J. L. Stephens'

reference to their "impious adoration to an Indian female" would indicate that

this was a part of the Tzeltal insurrection of 17 12, and it suggests that at this
time at least they were influenced more by the Tzeltal than by the Chontal,
although their language might be more closely related to that of the latter.
Only a century ago Stephens found some of them still wearing loincloths
and was much impressed by their wild appearance.™
In the large area between the Usumacinta and the highlands of Chiapas,
extending southeast from the Chacamax River near Palenque to the Salinas on
the Guatemala border, lived a Choi-speaking people known as the Lacandon.
The word is a Hispanicized form of Lacantun, which still survives as the name
of one of the larger rivers of the region. It is apparently descriptive of a site,

since in Maya lac am tun is defined as "large rock." Here also are a river and a
lake called Lacanha, which by analogy would mean "great water," and, indeed,
Lake Lacanha is one of the two largest lakes in the area. The country is mostly
hilly or mountainous and covered with tropical rain forest, but it is inter-

spersed with occasional savannas. The region is well watered with rivers,

smaller streams, and lakes.^'

The people lived by agriculture, fishing, and hunting, but were also war-
like. In colonial times they raided their Tzeltal and Chafiabal neighbors in
the highlands of Chiapas and the Ixil town of Chajul in Guatemala, and it

may well be surmised that these forays were only a continuation of their wars
in pre-Spanish times. There was probably some provocation, for, as we have

^5 Thompson, Ximenez, 1929-31, bk.

1938, p. 587; 4, chs. 47, 48, 66.
'^^
Stephens, 1841, 2: 273, 286; Cristobal Molina, 1934, p. 360.
'''^
Thompson, 1938, pp. 586-90; Motul Dictionary, 1929, p. 534; Tozzer, 1907, pp. 14-19.
 1

CHONTAL OF TABASCO 4

seen, the highland peoples sometimes tended to move down into the fertile

hot country.
In 1559 Lie. Pedro Ramirez de Quiiiones led the expedition mentioned in
the Chontal Text from Comitan into the Lacandon country. After a march
of fifteen days he came to the so-called Laguna del Lacandon, on which they
found an island stronghold. Ciudad Real tells us that "the lake is not very
large, but it is deep and circular." It was large enough, however, so that the
Spaniards constructed a barge (berganthi) of considerable size to get to the
island. Here, above the water, on a great bare rock was a town of "very good,
spacious, and white" houses. No idols were found in the temples, and the
inhabitants worshipped only the sun, "differing in this from the Itza and the
other nations of those forested regions, who possessed, worshipped, and sacri-

ficed to countless idols." Remesal states that the sun was their "god of battles,"
and we are reminded of the Temple of the Sun at Palenque. Here was a large
relief carving portraying the face of the sun on a shield supported by two
crossed spears, so it seems evident that this religious conception had come
down from a much earlier period. Like the Manche Choi and other peoples
little affected by Mexican influences, they probably also worshipped moun-
tains, river whirlpools, and other natural features. It is true that idols were
found at the Lacandon town of Dolores in 1695, but this may have been due
to a late intrusive culture, which had spread from the Yucatan Peninsula.'^^
In view of this description of the site and the meaning of the name La-
cantun, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that the town on the rock was
Lacantun and that the term was later applied to the entire region and its in-

habitants.

Some of the people were taken captive and others escaped in canoes down
a large, swift river "in the direction of Yucatan." After sacking and burning
the town, the Spaniards went on to two other important Lacandon settle-
ments. For these only Mexican names are given. Possibly they had long been
visited by Nahuatl-speaking traders from Xicalango, who had given Mexican

names to them, as we have seen to be the case in Acalan. The first of these
towns beyond the lake was Topil tepee, and farther on was Pochutla ("place
of the ceibas".^ ) The latter was on an island in another lake. We do not know
.

its size, but some of the Indian allies of the Spaniards are said to have fought

in the water, swimming more than a league from some places to others.'^®
^8 Ciudad Real,
1873, i: 473; Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. x, ch. 11; Remesal, 1932, bk.
10,ch. 12; Tozzer, 1913, passi?n; Thompson, 1938, p. 594. Our knowledge of the Choi Lacandon is
derived largely from a letter written in Dolores in 1695 and from Villagutierre Soto-Mayor.
Ethnological studies based on these sources have been made by Thompson and by Tozzer, who
published the letter.
^3 Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. i, ch. ii; Remesal, 1932, bk. 10, ch. 12. Water com-
42 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

It would be of interest to know the location of the famous town on the

rock. Ximenez tells us that it was opposite Comitan and that it was foohsh
for the Barrios expedition in 1695 to enter the region by way of Ocosingo.^
The Lacandon continued their depredations, and in 1586 Juan de Morales
Villavicencio led a second expedition to the lake of the island stronghold,
starting from Comitan. Ciudad Real, who was in the latter town shortly after
the return of Morales, states that the Lacandon were still at the town on the
rock at this time but escaped again. Morales, desiring to explore the country,
descended the outlet of the lake with canoes and proceeded downstream until
the river narrowed and the party came to rapids which they dared not pass.
They were unable to continue by land, since the rocky banks on either side
were inaccessible. Ximenez believes they had reached the Rio de Sacapulas,
which he says was known locally as the Ixlean. By the Sacapulas he means
the Usumacinta, for he considers the Chixoy, Salinas, and Usumacinta to be all

the same stream, which indeed they are, and he elsewhere distinguishes be-
tween this river and the Lacantun. His mention of a river named "Ixlean,"
however, suggests the upper Lacantun, which begins at the junction of the

Ixcan and Jatate Rivers. Possibly the association of the name Ixlean with the
Usumacinta is an error, and the Ixcan River or its continuation below the
Jatate is meant. Lake Miramar, which is in the Jatate drainage, seems larger
than the lake of the rock, as described by Ciudad Real, and we do not know
that it contains a high rocky island. The lake on which Pochutla was situated

was evidently of some size, and Miramar and Lacanha are the only large lakes
shown on the maps. There are probably other unmapped lakes, but it is doubt-
ful that any as large as these two remain to be disco vered.^^

Some time subsequent to the Morales expedition the inhabitants of the

"Pueblo de Lacandon" retired farther to the south or southeast, where Don
Jacinto de Barrios Leal, president of the Audiencia of Guatemala, found them
over a century later at a town which he named Dolores. Ximenez locates this
place near the Lacantun, apparently north or northwest of the river, and some
distance above its junction with the Usumacinta. One exploring party in 1 696
reported that they descended the Lacantun for 32 leagues before reaching the
great river, which was evidently the Usumacinta. Maler, in the light of the
evidence we have cited, places Dolores not far from the Jatate.®"
munication between the southern Lacandon and Xicalango was rendered difficult by many dan-
gerous rapids between Anaite and Tenosique.
8" Ximenez, 1929-31, bk. 4, ch. 66.
^'^
Ciudad Real, 1873, i: 476. Mrs. Stone (1932, p. 240) suggests that the
Ibid., bk. 4, ch. 70;
lake of the rock was probably L. Miramar.
82 Ximenez, 1929-31, bk. 4, ch. 66, and bk. 5, ch. 74; Maler, 1901-03, 2: 106-107. A previous

expedition had gone down the Lacantun from Dolores, some of its members by land and others
 CHONTAL OF TABASCO 43

Here the Barrios expedition found a settlement of i oo dwellings and three

communal buildings, the largest of which was the temple. The houses were
thatched. Their walls were of thick poles or timbers on three sides, and they
were open in front. Various apartments are mentioned, each containing a
hurdle bed large enough for four people. A prisoner, who was captured before
reaching the town, told of a group of more than sixty houses, each of which
was occupied by more than twenty persons. This was not confirmed in the

report of the occupation of Dolores, but it would indicate that multiple-family

houses existed, as among the Manche Choi, the Itza, and the Yucatecan Maya.
The temple building was also the men's house and was divided into three parts.
In two of these the unmarried youths and the husbands of the pregnant women
slept. The town does not appear to have been fortified.^^

We know little of the political or social organization of the Lacandon.

Groups are mentioned, which the Spaniards, perhaps from analogies in the
highlands, called calpuls, or chirimitals.^"' The principal cacique headed the
largest group in the town. He was also high priest and was treated with much
ceremony. Under him were two important chiefs, each with considerable
following, and six minor caciques with small chirimitals are also mentioned by
name.^^
Juan de Villagutierre Soto-Mayor states that both men and women wore
only loincloths, but we doubt that this was true of the women. The prisoner
mentioned above wore in addition to his loincloth a sleeveless jacket of coarse

or thick cotton cloth {manta gorda). This was the garment called a xicul and
worn only by the upper class in northern Yucatan, but the man seems to
have been only an ordinary farmer. As in Yucatan, a smock of bark cloth was
also worn on certain ceremonial occasions connected with religion. The men
wore long hair and were decorated with earplugs and nose beads. Some of the
lastwere inserted in the septum; others, which were round and about the size
of a silver real, were "of the paste {pasta) commonly called amber, from
which rosaries are made." We are reminded of the yellow topaz nose and lip
beads which were worn in Mexico and Yucatan.^®

by boat. Although they were absent for a considerable time, they do not appear to have reached
the Usamacinta.
83 Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. 4, ch. 14 and bk. ch. 6; Ximenez, 1929-31, bk.
5, 5,
ch. 63; Thompson, 1938, p. 599.
®* We
also read of calpuls on the highlands of Guatemala. In Mexico the calpulli was a land-
holding lineage group, and the term was also applied apparently to the building where the
council of this organization convened. Chirimital may be a corruption of chinamitl, a Cakchiquel
word defined as "people of the town"; but, if so, it evidently had a more specialized meaning
as used here. Cf. Villacorta, 1934, p. 366. It is referable to the Aztec chinamitl, town or enclosure^
and in Pipil chinainit means "town" (Stoll, 1884, p. 17).
85 Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. 5, ch. 5; Thompson, 1938, p. 602.
86 Ximenez, 1929-31, bk.
5, ch. 62; Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. 5, ch. 6.
44 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

These people were still practically in the stone age, although they probably
had a little copper and gold. Well-shaped axes of a hard green stone were used
to clear the fields. The only weapons mentioned were bows and arrows, but
they also had blowguns. It seems likely that these were used only for hunting
small game, and the missile was a clay pellet as in Yucatan.^'^

Dolores was the principal town at this time. A little more than 1 2 leagues
before reaching the settlement, the expedition had passed a lake of some size
containing many small islands. Captain Pedro Alvarez de Miranda, who ob-
served it from a hill, noted in his diary that it appeared to be larger than Lake
Atitlan. This was no doubt an exaggeration, but it was evidently a considerable
body of water. Ximenez expresses a belief that it was the Laguna del Lacandon
and not that of Pochutla. The Dolores Indians later reported that there had
been five settlements around this lake and a number of others elsewhere. After
the arrival of the Spaniards the inhabitants fled to the banks of the Usumacinta
and other rivers to the north. The following year, however, two towns were
discovered by the Spaniards four days' journey from Dolores. One, named
Peta ("circular water"), had a population of 1 17 families, and the other, Mop
(Mexican wine palm?), had 105.^^

The principal enemies of the southern Lacandon were the Itza of Lake
Peten, with whom they had no intercourse. In spite of the distance, which
was said to be a journey of twenty days, the Itza raided the Lacandon towns
by night, killing the people and stealing their boats.^^

From the records of the first expedition by Feliciano Bravo in 1573 to

the head of canoe navigation on the San Pedro Martir we know that this
enmity was of long standing. About this time 200 Indians from Pochutla and
Lacandon attempted to raid this area, but they were defeated and most of
them were killed. Later a Yucatecan Indian, who had been in the region at
the time of Bravo's expedition, stated that the latter reached a point only a
day's journey from a large town in the province of Taitza, which evidently
extended some distance west of Lake Peten at the time. In 1580 a cacique, said
to be of Pochutla, and some of his men, who accompanied a subsequent ex-
pedition to the same region, pointed out to the Spaniards the sierras around the
Itza capital in the distance. From this it would appear that these Lacandon
Indians had at some time visited Lake Peten.®*'
87 Thompson, 1938, p. 598.
88Ximenez, 1929-31, bk. 5, ch. 62; Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. 4, ch. 18, and bk. 6,
ch. 6. The present Laguna Petha was probably more than four days' journey from Dolores.
89 Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk.
4, ch. 18. Lake Peten was a considerable distance from
this region, but a journey of twenty days seems excessive for a war party. Perhaps the round trip
was meant.
90 See Appendix D.
 CHONTAL OF TABASCO 45

The identification of the Lacandon, of whom the colonial Spanish chron-

iclers write, as a Choi-speaking people has only recently been established by
Thompson's investigations, although some of them had been considered to be
of this stock. The problem was complicated by the circumstance that in
modern times only a sparse population speaking Yucatecan Maya has been
found throughout the entire area. They have been known as Caribs or
Lacandon, and their presence in the region has given rise to speculations as

to what became of the Choi Lacandon as well as how and when a Yucatecan
people came into the country .^^
Stephens tells us that in 1840 the Chacamax River was the boundary be-
tween the Christian Indians living around Palenque and the pagan people of
the forests to the southeast, who were known as Caribs, but he has nothing
to say of the language of the latter. We might well infer that it was Choi, for
he adds that fifty years before, some of these Indians living near the Chacamax
requested and received Christian instruction from the priest at Palenque.
Sapper, writing at the end of the nineteenth century, believed that all the sur-
viving Lacandon spoke Maya at this time, but he was told at Palenque that a
few decades before, Choi-speaking Caribs still came to the Chacamax River
to trade.®^

All the indications point to a comparatively late penetration of the Maya

into the region southwest of the Usumacinta. Nevertheless some of them had
established themselves there prior to the fifth decade of the seventeenth cen-
tury.About this time authorization to pacify the pagan Indians of Manche
and Lacandon was given to a certain Diego de Vera Ordofiez de Villaquiran,
who named the region El Prospero. Although he did little to carry out this
ambitious scheme, he succeeded in subjecting a settlement of Indians called
Nohaa ("great water") on a lake. A Dominican friar from Chiapas made little
progress in Christianizing the people, since they spoke only Yucatecan Maya,
but subsequently Franciscan missionaries came from Yucatan and lived among
them for a time. Nohaa is described as being about 15 or 18 leagues from
Tenosique on the other side of the river. Later the Barrios expedition to
Dolores came to a deserted site called Prospero 1 2 leagues east of Ocosingo.
We are told that it was sonamed because formerly Villaquiran had established
his headquarters there. Nohaa, however, was evidently farther to the east,
since the accounts of the Barrios expedition do not mention a lake, and Cogo-
lludo tells us that the town was more accessible from the Usumacinta valley
than from Chiapas.^^
91 Thompson, 1938, passim.
92 Stephens, 1841, 2: 286-87; Sapper, 1897, p. 259.
93 Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. 4, ch. 15; Ximenez, 1929-31, bk. ch. 60.
5,
46 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

The missionaries reported that the people Nohaa were monogamous.

of
From what httle we know of their rehgious organization, it somewhat re-
sembled that of the Maya. A priest had charge of their idols. He was assisted
in his ceremonies by an ah kulel, or deputy, and an ah kayom, which means
singer or chanter. A daughter of one of these men prepared the sacred bread-
stuffs, and no other woman was present at the sacrifices. Human sacrifice was
practiced, accompanied by excision of the heart and ceremonial cannibalism.
The victims were only foreigners and not their own people, so we infer that
they sometimes made war on their neighbors. In cases of adultery the priest
acted as judge and took part in the execution of convicted persons. We know
nothing of the functions of the chief.®*

Fray Diego de Cogolludo rather implies that these people came of various
tribes, but this statement is somewhat obscure. He tells nothing of their rela-
tions with the Lacandon, although he mentions the latter. One of the men
of Nohaa had made several visits to a Choi-speaking people called the Locen,
who were neighbors of the Lacandon. The Locen had seven or eight settle-

ments, the largest of which contained 800 houses.®^

It seems very possible that the people of Nohaa had crossed the Usumacinta
only since the Spanish conquest. In any case they were evidently the pre-
cursors of the present Maya Lacandon. We are inclined to ascribe the presence
of these people in the area primarily to the continued flight of thousands of
northern Yucatecans in colonial times to the central southern part of the
peninsula. Although some of them probably joined the Cehache, there must
have been a constant pressure on the latter, who in turn would either press
upon the western Itza near the headwaters of the San Pedro Martir or pass
through their country to the forests beyond the Usumacinta. Here was a

fairly secure refuge so long, at least, as they remained scattered in small vil-

lages and hamlets. Indeed, this has proved to be the case so far as the Maya
Lacandon are concerned. These appear to have been left entirely undisturbed
until lumber operations began in the last decade of the nineteenth century.
After the Spanish conquest of northern Peten at the end of the seventeenth
century this movement was no doubt greatly accelerated. Spanish activities,
which apparently did not continue very long, were confined mostly to the
remaining Choi Lacandon living near the Lacantun in the south. While it is
largely a matter of conjecture, we infer that in the course of the eighteenth
century the Yucatecan intruders, although probably never numerous, grad-
ually outnumbered and probably absorbed the constantly diminishing Choi-
speaking population.

9* Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867H58, bk. 12, chs. ^s Itid., bk. 12, ch,
3, 4, 7. 7.
 CHONTAL OF TABASCO 47

An movement occurs in a letter written about

interesting reference to this

1670 by Captain Juan de Villareal y Alosa of Campeche to the governor of

Yucatan. Many Christian Indians had recently fled from Sahcabchen and other
parts of southeastern Yucatan to the interior to escape the exactions of an
unusually oppressive administration, and the organization of an armed force to
bring them back was being discussed. The captain reported that if soldiers went
against them, they were prepared to retire to El Lacandon and would settle on
a "river which they call Nohku," where it would be impossible to reduce
them. If any of the Christianized Indians ever fled to Lacandon, however, they
must have been very few in number. A. M. Tozzer's ethnological investiga-
tions have revealed little, if indeed any, trace of Christian influences in the
Lacandon religion, and Indians, once Christianized for any length of time,
have usually preserved some features of their new faith, even though they
have reverted to paganism.^*^
3^ Sobre las diligencias que se han hecho para la reduccion de los indios de Sahcabchen y
otros pueblos, 1668-70, AGJ, Mexico, leg. 307; Tozzer, 1907, passim; Roys, 1933, Appendix G;
Scholes and Roys, 1938, passim.
 The Province of Acalan

THE
were
PROVINCE Acalan was
was only
Chontal, it
of
not
a region apart. Although the inhabitants
an independent state but was so separated
from Tabasco by forests and swamps that the Spaniards considered it to be a
part of Yucatan.
The location of this province has long been the subject of much discussion.
It was known to be on a river flowing into Laguna de Terminos and above a
series of rapids and falls, which made it difficult of access. Opinions have
varied, some writers placing it in the Usumacinta-San Pedro Martir drainage
and others, in that of the Candelaria. The documents on which this study is

based, however, plainly identify the Rio de Acalan with the "River called
^apotitan" shown on the Alfaro map (see Map 2), and the latter is evidently
the Candelaria.^
The first modern description of the river is contained in a report written
by "H. Pauling," the owner of Hacienda Candelaria, at Carmen in 1859.^
A certain dramatic interest attaches to the name of the writer, since he can
hardly be other than Henry, or "Henriques," Pawling, the young American
who shared the adventures of the archaeologist, John L. Stephens, on his
famous journey from Guatemala by way of Palenque to Carmen in 1840.^
The river has also been described by J. H. Acevedo in 19 10 and R. S. Cham-
berlain in 1937, but the only detailed description of the region is that of
Andrews, whose account has been used extensively in preparing the present

study.*
For some 40 km. above its mouth the Candelaria is a sluggish
a distance of

estuary passing through low swampy country. On its banks the forest is inter-
rupted from time to time with open, level spaces. Above Suspiro the land be-
1 For a detailed discussion of the evidence concerning the location of Acalan, see Ap-
pendix B.
2 Pawling's report is found Estado de Campeche, Agricultura e
in vol. 5 of Estadistica del
industrias anexas, 1859, MS. in the Howard-Tilton Library, Middle American Research Institute,
Tulane University, New Orleans.
3 Stephens, 1841, 2: who came from Rhinebeck Landing, N. Y., went with
230-31. Pawling,
a circus to Guatemala and later became superintendent of a cochineal plantation near Amatitlan.
Dissatisfied with revolutionary conditions, he joined Stephens' party and left for southern
Mexico. When Stephens went on to Yucatan, Pawling remained at Carmen.
* Acevedo, 1910,
pp. 14-18; Andrews, 1943, passii7i. Chamberlain's description is given in a
letter to F. V. Scholes, written April 20, 1937, after he had returned from a trip up the Candelaria
and Arroyo Caribe. Brief accounts of the Candelaria are also given in Galindo y Villa, 1926-27,
i: 277, and in Pacheco Blanco, 1928.

48
 PROVINCE OF ACALAN 49

Sfins to rise, and from here to Salto Grande the Candelaria is a swift stream
broken by many rapids. Pawling gives the number of these as twenty-one, but
Acevedo states that there were more than forty. The former describesthem
as small cascades approximately 2 to 3 ft. high and tells us that he had opened
gaps or channels through the ledges which caused them, so that boats of 4
or 5 tons' burden were able to pass. Even with these improvements naviga-
tion continued to be difficult and dangerous, for Acevedo writes: "Indescrib-

able is the impression produced by the flight of the 'canoas barqueras^ down
these torrents, which remain mute witnesses of so many fatal disasters." On
either side swamps and savannas alternate with low, forest-covered headlands,
which show traces of a considerable population in times past, although the
mound groups are not of any size.
At Salto Grande there is a cataract 3 m. high, and above this the river

broadens to about 50 m. Chamberlain estimates its width somewhat farther up

as between 60 and 90 m. Above Salto Grande it is now a fairly deep and slug-
gish stream, but in Acevedo's time it was broken by slight drops at Pacaitun
and Salto Ahogado, described as "mere obstructions removable by modern
explosives." Pawling, however, tells us that the elevations {altos) at Pacaitun
Avere formed by hard rocks and had been impassable, but that he had improved
them at the cost of much labor and 1,000 pesos, so that boats of 50 tons' burden
could pass over them. It seems possible that this and later improvements may
have slightly lowered the water in the Candelaria and its tributaries above this

point and drained many of the shallow waterways which were navigable for
canoes at the time of the conquest.
Above Salto Grande as far as San Enrique low hills confine the river on
both sides. At San Enrique a broad swamp begins on the north shore, while on
the south bank the land still rises, often in a steep cliff, but frequently leaving
a level and sometimes swampy strip along the shore. Beyond, a hilly country
is to be seen in the distance. From Salto Grande to the east extends a zone of
heavy rain forest. Little standing architecture remains, but Andrews reports
large mounds, traces of vaulted buildings, and other evidences of a former
large agricultural population. It is of interest to note that up and down the
river he found, in addition to later wares, many polychrome sherds, which,
he believes, may be roughly correlated with the latest ceramic period of the
Maya Old Empire in the Peten.^
At a high hill called Cerro de los Muertos the Candelaria, here over 150 m.
"wide in Acevedo's time, divides into two tributaries about equal in size. One
is the Arroyo Caribe, which extends to the northeast. Chamberlain estimates
-5
Andrews, 1943, p. 49.
50 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

its width as 60 m, at San Rafael, and it is navigable for large motor launches as
far as Laguneta. Above this point it separates into small streams, some of which
drain a number of lakes and swamps. One of the latter, now called Isla Pac, is

the former Bolonpeten, or "nine islands," and covers a large area. Much of it

is permanently under water, but number of islands, from which

it contains a
it derived its name. One branch of the Caribe, which may have been navigable

for canoes in the rainy season, extends east to Concepcion. Broad swamps lie
along the northwest shore of the Caribe, while on the opposite side is a range
of hills extending in the direction of Laguneta.^
South of Cerro de los Muertos is the other main tributary of the Candelaria,
called the Rio San Pedro. Its western shore is hilly, and east of it is a swampy
area. The stream is navigable almost to the Guatemala border, where rapids
and falls are encountered, but beyond this a canoe can go still farther south.
The older maps show a water connection with the Rio San Pedro Martir.
Acevedo of two small swift streams {dos correjitosos
states that this consists

arroyos) named Tablas and Limon, but no such connection appears on the
later maps. It would be of considerable interest if it could be shown that the
Acalan were able to reach the Usumacinta drainage with canoes.
An important branch of the San Pedro is the Arroyo de Esperanza, which
is navigable to Esperanza by motor launch and much farther east by canoe. It

finally divides into smaller streams, one of which, the Rio Paixban, reached the
Cehache area. Villagutierre, who calls it Ixban, describes it as "an estero, or
large arroyo," lying between Chumpich (the modern Cumpich) and Batcab,
which were Cehache settlements.'^

Andrews describes the upper Candelaria drainage as an "alternation of

fairly high headland capped with heavy rain forest and large swampy stretches
with only scrubby growth. These swamps frequently deepen to form lakes
of considerable size. . . . The entire region was heavily populated in ancient
times, and mound sites cover the raised headlands. These sites, often large, are
completely ruined, and no informant has seen a fragment of standing wall or
a piece of sculpture."^ This suggests that the older civilization of the region,
at least in its general cultural aspects, had not been very different from that
which Cortes and Bernal Diaz observed during their journey through Acalan
and the Cehache country in 1525.

Acalan is a Nahuatl word derived from acalli ("canoe"), and the name has
been translated as "the place of the canoes." Since all travel and transportation
6 Ibid., pp. 45-46.
^
Villagutierre Soto-iMayor, 1701, bk. 5, ch. 8.
® Andrews, 1943, pp. 46, 50.
 PROVINCE OF ACALAN 5 I

were by canoe, most of the settlements were probably near navigable waters.
All the reports of the early travelers who came up the Candelaria by boat give
considerable prominence to the rapids which they encountered, while the
accounts by Cortes, Bernal Diaz, and Avila's companions, who entered and
left Acalan by land routes, do not mention any rapids, although some of them,
particularly Bernal Diaz, traveled by water within the province. They do,
however, have much to say about lagoons, bayous, and sluggish rivers. For this
reason it seems safe to put the major Acalan settlements above Salto Grande.
Bernal Diaz tells us that while some of the towns were on terra firma,
others were on "something like islands," and that he departed from the capital

with eighty soldiers by water and obtained one hundred canoe loads of food
supplies from "certain [towns] lying between some rivers."^ Surely this would
seem to indicate that a considerable part of the population lived on the tribu-
taries of the Candelaria above Pacaitun and Salto Ahogado.
Whether or not the Chontal-speaking area at the time of the conquest
included the region northeast of Laguna de Terminos is a problem of ethno-
graphical importance. Certainly the site of Tixchel was uninhabited when the
Acalan were moved there in 1557. Shortly afterward, however, Don Luis
Paxua, their chief, fled to the town of Chiuoha. This was a Chontal settlement
which w-as not yet under Spanish domination, so itwould appear that there
were already some Chontal in the region when the Acalan were brought there
by the Spaniards.
As we shall see from the Paxbolon narrative, the Acalan had previously
established themselves at Tixchel during the fifteenth century and had re-

mained there sixty or eighty years before they were driven back into the in-
terior. It could well be that they encountered other Chontal already living in
this area when they arrived, just as they had found them in the Usumacinta
valley around Tenosique, for the region was easily accessible by inlets and
streams from Laguna de Terminos, but it is also possible that the first Acalan
settlement at Tixchel represented a Chontal movement into Yucatecan Maya
territory. In either case we may well surmise that some of the Chontal-speaking
population continued to remain in the region.
As we have seen, the Chontal of Tabasco are known to us only by a Mexi-
can term, which means "foreigner," and we do not know what name they
gave themselves. Acalan, "the land of the boats," is also Nahuatl, but the in-
habitants of this region called themselves Amactun or Mactun uinicob, mean-
ing the Mactun men or the Mactun people. According to the Text, they called
their country Tamactun. We cannot translate the name with certainty, but ta
^Diaz del Castillo, 1939, chs. 176, 177.
52 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

can mean "at," and in Maya mac means that which covers an aperture, Hke
the Hd of a box or vessel and the stopper of a bottle, or that vs^hich chokes or
obstructs something. Tun means "stone" or "rock" in modern Chontal. In
Maya the term indicates a precious green stone, a soft limestone overlying the
older rock and shell conglomerate, and in compounds something made of
stone.^^ The name Mactun may well have referred to the stone ledges which
obstructed the flow of the Candelaria River. These were the most important
which was the main artery of commerce in the region.
features of the stream
Today the name Mactun survives as that of a site just above some rapids on
the Rio San Pedro Martir in the Peten,^^ and also of a stream that flows into
the Usumacinta near Canizan, but we do not know whether such an obstruc-
tion occurs on this tributary.

The Yucatecan Maya called the language of Acalan Putun than (Putun
"language") and they may also have applied this name to the people. The
term Putun, also written Poton, has long been considered to be of Nahuatl
derivation and designated certain tribes in El Salvador and Honduras. If it is

Mexican, it would be a loan word in the Choi language, where it means

"peaceful" (pacifico)}^

The province of Acalan was well populated and had seventy-six towns
and villages, which are named in the Chontal Text. It is impossible, however,
to identify most of these settlements, inasmuch as the traditional sources record
names and other specific data for only a few of the Acalan towns. Moreover,
there is still some doubt concerninor o the actual location of the settlements
which we can relate to towns mentioned in the chronicles.

The most important town at the time of the conquest was Itzamkanac,
where the Acalan ruler, Paxbolonacha, resided, Cortes describes the settle-

ment, which he calls "Izancanac," as a large place with many temples. Bernal
Diaz refers to it as Gueyacala, "great Acalan," to distinguish it from another
town known as "small Acalan," which we are unable to identify. Most Spanish
employ
writers the general Mexican term Acalan to designate both the capital
and the province. Although the exact location of Itzamkanac cannot be de-
termined at present, it is our belief that the town was situated south of the
Candelaria near the junction of the x\rroyo Caribe and San Pedro branches.
10 Tozzer, 1907, Sapper, 1897, p. 429.
p. 17;
11 Communication by S. G. Morley.
12
(1882, p. 125) cites Gomara's derivation of Poton from
Ciudad Real, 1932, p. 347. Brinton
the Nahuatl poto7iia, "to smell bad." Cf. Morley, 1937-38, i: 16; Roys, 1933, p. 115. Even as early
as 1527 the name Champoton was defined as "lugar hediondo," but we still doubt that this was
the original meaning of Putun (Relacion hecha por Luis de Cardenas AGI, Patronato, leg.
. . . ,

16, num. 2, ramo 6).

 PROVINCE OF ACALAN 53

A broad swamp separated the settlement from the shores of the river.
^^

Of Itzamkanac, Oviedo tells us: "In that city of Acalan are some 900 or
1000 very good houses of stone and plastered white, covered with thatch,
most of them of principal men." We are reminded of this writer's glowing
accounts of other important commercial towns, and one hesitates to accept
them without some reservation. At Chauaca he informs us that most of the
houses were of he\\'n stone, but in the Relaciones de Yucatan another account
of the same town, although it notes the existence of houses "of stone masonry
thatched with straw, where they had their assemblies and markets," also tells

of "the inhabitants (vecinos) of that town having their large houses of wood,
very strong, thatched with palm leaves." No doubt there was a considerable
number of thatched stone structures at Itzamkanac; some of them probably had
walls of stone rubble smoothed with plaster. We are inclined to believe, how-
ever, that many of the "plastered white" houses were not unlike a remarkable
modern native structure at Champoton illustrated by R. Wauchope. Here the
stockade walls with their exterior horizontal stringers are so heavily plastered
that they resemble some of the ancient temple profiles.^'*

In any case Itzamkanac probably presented a different appearance from

the Chontal settlements on the alluvial plain of Tabasco. At the latter what
little stone they had must have been transported a long distance, although near
the coast, as we have seen, structures of burned brick and excellent concrete
have been found. In both regions, however, the more common type evidently
consisted of dwellings with thatched roofs and pole or wattle walls, and in
Acalan, as in Tabasco, many of them were no doubt quite large and plastered
on the inside.

Although multiple-family dwellings are not actually reported from Acalan,

there is reason to believe that they existed. Our principal grounds for this be-
lief are the indications of this manner of living among the Chontal of Tabasco.
It is also of interest to note that in a matricula, or list of tributaries, of Tixchel
made in 1569 there are certain apparent groups of brothers-in-law and of
fathers-in-law and sons-in-law. Assuming that these represent common resi-

dence groups, Dr. S. Tax interprets certain extracts from this list as indicating

a strong tendency toward matrilocal residence. On the face of it, he suggests

the probability that upon marriage most of the daughters brought their hus-
bands to the house and most sons moved out. This material will be studied in
more detail in Appendix C.

1" Cortes, 1866, p. 419; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 175. Cf. discussion of the location of
Itzamkanac in Appendix B.
1* Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32, ch. 5; Wauchope, 1938, p. 67 and pi. 14a.
54 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Contemporary sources tell us that multiple-family houses were common

among the Yucatecan Maya, the Choi Lacandon, the Manche Choi, and the
Itza on Lake Peten.^^ In 1582 small settlements containing large multiple-
family houses were also reported some distance east of Tixchel and north of
the Candelaria drainage/*' At Las Ruinas in the same general region Andrews
reports late pre-Spanish remains of two large houses, one rectangular and the
other apsidal in plan. Both suggest dwellings of some sort; but the latter, which
has three doors in front and one in the rear, reminds us of the residence of a
chief as described by Landa in northern Yucatan.-"^^ The Tixchel matricula of
1569 records nine married couples in the house of the cacique.^®
If there were many multiple-family dwellings at Itzamkanac, 900 houses

would represent an extremely large population, but it is possible that the

number was an exaggeration. In 1548 Fray Lorenzo de Bienvenida wrote a
letter to Prince Philip, informing him that the town called Acalan had been

a mighty province thirty years before, but that the people had melted away

and by this time there were only 200 houses. This would still represent a good
many inhabitants, but we infer from the statement that a considerable part of
the remaining population of the province had come in from other settlements
and were now living at the former capital. In any case, Itzamkanac was un-
questionably a large town at the time of the conquest. Cortes' Spanish soldiers
with their horses were quartered in a single structure near the home of the
ruler, which was probably the tecpan, or government building. Itzamkanac

evidently impressed Cortes more than did the Itza capital Tayasal, for in
describing Chacujal on the Polochic River in northern Guatemala he tells of
the large plaza with temples and other buildings around it and states that

nothing like it had been seen since leaving Acalan.^^

Itzamkanac appears to have been divided into four quarters. When Cortes
entered the country, the ruler, Paxbolonacha, called together his four princi-
pal men from Padzunun, Atapan, Chabte, and Tacacto. The Spanish version
of the Chontal Text states that these were towns, but the Text itself refers to

them as the "chan tzucul cab," which could be translated as the "four divisions
of the town." The Maya word tziicul is defined as "small town, or subdivision
or part of a town."^*^ Since none of the four names appear in the long list of

15 Roys, 1943, pp. 21, 103; Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. 8, ch. 12; Thompson, 1938,
p. 599.
1^ Testimony of Pedro Uc of Tecumche, October 15, 1582, in Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo,
escribano mayor de gobernacion in Yucatan, 1562-82, AGI, Mexico, leg. 109.
i'^
Andrews, 1943, pp. 36, 72-73; Landa, 1941, pp. 85-86.
8 The Tixchel matricula is found in Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 21 i6i'-2i28z'.
19 Cartas de Indias, 1877, p. 75; Cortes, 1866, pp. 447, 448.
20 Motul Dictionary,
1929, p. 268.
 PROVINCE OF ACALAN 55

Acalan towns, we infer that they were the four subdivisions of Itzamkanac,
which heads the list.

Information concerning other towns named in the Text is scant. Cacchute,

the first Acalan town entered by Cortes in 1525, is apparently the same as
Tizatepelt mentioned in Cortes' Fifth Letter. Tuxakha may be identified as

Teutiercas, 5 leagues from Tizatepelt in the direction of Itzamkanac. Concern-

ing Teutiercas (or Teutiaca) Cortes states: "It is a very beautiful pueblo . . .

and has most beautiful mosques, especially the two in which we took up our
quarters after having thrown out the idols." Ixtlilxochitl calls the place Teotilac

and states that it was situated on a large river.^^ We tentatively locate these
towns on or near the San Pedro branch of the Candelaria. The pueblo of
Chakam, where a group of runaway slaves later took refuge, also appears to

have been on or near the San Pedro.

The title of the Acalan chief was ahau, which means "ruler" and is fre-
quently translated from both Chontal and Yucatecan Maya as "king." One of
Paxbolonacha's four principal men, Mututzin Ahau, had the same title, and
the Text mentions a number of other ahaus. The head chief's power was by
no means absolute, for he could take no action without consulting his principal
men, so it is difficult to determine the precise significance of the title.

The Spanish version of the Text refers to the Acalan ruler as the "rey" and
to all the other civil authorities generally as "principales," except in one case
where the local town executives are called "gobernadores." In the Text, how-
ever, the so-called king, the heads of the four quarters of Itzamkanac, and the
chiefs of other towns are designated as ahaus. All the lesser dignitaries are

called "nucalob" or "nuc uinicob," which mean "principal men." These terms
are very similar to the Yucatecan Maya nucil, nuc'il uinicob, and nucbe uini-

cob, which have much the same meaning. In Yucatan, however, the terri-
torial ruler was called the halach uinic, or "real man"; the local town executive

was the batab; and the head of a subdivision of a town, who was also a member
of the council, was an ah cuch cab. The data found in the Acalan narrative,
however, are insufficient to reconstruct the details of the Acalan political or-

ganization. There can be little doubt that there were town councils, of which
at least some of the members were the nucalob or nuc uinicob; also the ruler

and the local town heads may well have had a staff of deputies like the ah
kulels of Yucatan.^^
We are reminded not only of the Mexican political organization, where we
21 Cortes, 1866, pp. 417-18, and 1916, pp. 368-69; Alva Ixtlilxochitl, 1891-92, i: 412.
22 Roys, 1943, p. 62.
^6 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

find a "chief of men" like Montezuma and the captains of the four quarters of
Tenochtitlan, but also of the Nahuatl-speaking Pipil in southern Guatemala,
who also had four captains and a commander in chief. Of the Xiu in Yucatan,
who were of Mexican origin, we read in one of the Maya chronicles that when
Mayapan fell, "the halach uinic Tutul departed with the chiefs and the four
divisions of the town." It is of course quite possible that such an organization
was as much a political tradition among the Maya as it was Mexican, but as

yetwe know of it only among the Nahua peoples or those of the Maya stock
who had been subject to Mexican influences. As we shall see from the num-
ber of Mexican personal names among the Acalan, there are strong indications
"^
that they belonged to the latter class.
The Chontal Text tells us little of Acalan social organization, except that
slaves of the ruler and principals are mentioned. They are called "meya uinic-
ob" or "working people," in Chontal and "esclavos" in Spanish. The Yuca-
tecan Maya manuscripts, with the exception of the Cronica de Calkini, avoid
mention of slavery; but the Choi words for male and female slaves, pentac
and mun, are almost identical with the Maya, which are ppentac and ah inunil,

so it is to be suspected that the Chontal expression mentioned above was a

euphemism. Judging by Mexican and Yucatecan analogies, we surmise that
the free population was divided into nobles and commoners. We have found
no specific term for the nobles unless, as is possible, the words nucalob and
nuc uinicob refer to the ruling social class as well as to actual holders of office.

No description of the temples of Itzamkanac has come down to us, but a

passage in the Text telling of the burning of the idols in 1550 gives us a better
idea of religious organization than the equivalent section in the Spanish ver-
sion. In the former we read: "Then they began to remove their devils: Cukul-
chan, the devil of the ruler, the devil of Tadzunun, that of Tachabte, that of
Atapan, [that of] Tacacto, and the other devils. All these they carried before
Fray Diego de Bejar and he burned them."^^ From this it would appear that
the god of the head chief was housed in the principal temple and that each
of the patron deities of the four quarters had its own sanctuary. This was the
case at Tenochtitlan, where each of the four quarters had a special temple and
was a religious as well as a military and administrative subdivision of the city.^^

Cukulchan, who is to be identified with the Maya Kukulcan and the Mexi-
can Quetzalcoatl, was closely associated with the wind god in Mexico. In
-3Bandelier, 1880, p. 590; Fuentes y Guzman, 1932-33, 2: 90; Roys, 1933, p. 142.
-'*
Although the term devil (cizin) was probably a name given to the gods
Cf. p. 395, injra.
of the underworld, here it was piously applied to all the pagan deities.
2j Bandelier, 1880, p. 685; Waterman, 1917, p. 276.
 PROVINCE OF ACALAN 57

Yucatan he was the deified captain of certain former invaders from Mexico,
the special god of the ruHng class, and, strangely enough, a god of fevers. In

both regions hev^^as thought of as a famous culture hero, the feathered serpent,

and apparently was associated with the planet Venus. At Cholula he was the
god of commerce and special patron of the merchants. The Olmeca Uixtotin
were called the children of Quetzalcoatl, and the Cocom rulers of Mayapan
and Sotuta in northern Yucatan claimed descent from him. Consequently it
seems logical to find him the particular deity of the Acalan ruler, who was
the most prominent merchant in the land."*'

Besides Cukulchan only four deities are named in the account of the de-
struction of the idols by the Spanish missionary. Although their idols were
brought out from hiding we surmise that these were the patrons
at this time,

of the four quarters of the city.They were Ikchaua, Ix Chel, Tabay, and
Cabtanilcab, or Cabtanilcabtan. The first three were prominent in the Yu-
catecan pantheon. Here Ikchaua was known as Ekchuuah, who was the god
of the cacao planters and merchants; Ix Chel was a goddess of medicine and
childbirth; and Tabay was a deity of the hunters. ^^ We are unable to identify
Cabtanilcab.
Ix Chel was evidently a very popular deity among the Chontal generally.
Her shrine on Cozumel Island oif the northeastern coast of Yucatan was visited
by pilgrims from Tabasco, and the site of Tixchel, which was twice occupied
by the Acalan, was apparently named for her. As Seler has pointed out, the
names of Ciuatecpan ("palace of the woman") on the Usumacinta and of
Ciuatan ("the place of the woman") in central Tabasco must refer to her
worship. Landa notes that the Isla de Mujeres ("island of the women") north
of Cozumel was named for the idols of goddesses which were found there. He
names Ix Chel and three others, but Tozzer suggests that at least two of them
were the same deity. In Tabasco on the Rfo Chico, a branch of the Usumacinta,
is a site named Cuyo de las Damas, which may well refer to Ix Chel also. She
was probably the goddess to \\^hom, according to Cortes, the people of Teu-
tiercas in Acalan dedicated their principal temple. In her "they had much faith
and hope." In her honor "they sacrificed only maidens who were virgins and
very beautiful; and if they were not such, she became very angry with them."
For this reason they took especial pains to find girls with whom she would be
satisfied and brought them up from childhood for this purpose."'^
-•5 RY, i: 270; Acosta, 1880, bk.
ch. 9; Seler, 1902-23, 4: 431, 5: 375;
5, Torquemada, 1723, bk.
6, ch. 24. Cf. Gann and Thompson, 193 1, pp. 136-37.
-'•
Landa, 1941, pp. 107, 155, 164. Ix Chel was also a mother of other gods and a goddess of
the moon, and weaving (Thompson, 1939, pp. 129-37).
illicit love,
28 Roys, Scholes, and Adams, 1940, p. 5; RY, 2: 583-84; Landa, 1941,
54; Seler, 1902-23, 3:

pp. 9-10 and note; Cortes, 1866, pp. 417-18.

58 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Except for the Text, the principal source of information regarding the
reHgion of the Chontal is the report from the Villa de Tabasco in 1579, which
is scanty enough. Here we read:
They had idols of clay, wood, and the stones which they call chalchiuites [Aztec,
chalchiuitl, a green precious stone]. These they worshipped and held as gods of
various things; because they had gods of the sun, rain, maize, and the winds, so
that for any thing or season they had its god, and likewise they had a god of battles.
They worshipped these gods with great veneration and much respect, and they
made sacrifices to them of human blood and game birds as well as domestic animals
and whatever they hunted for the purpose. They observed with great vigilance and
care their religious ceremonies and the rules which they had in this respect.

Herrera tells of their "sacrificing men, and eating them, wherein they followed
the example of the Mexicans,"^

In spite of its remote situation and the rapids and cataract on the Candelaria
River, which lay between Itzamkanac and the Gulf of Mexico, the Acalan
capital was an important commercial center. Its merchants traded with Poton-
chan, Xicalango, and the towns of the Chontalpa to the west and overland
with the Cehache and Itza to the east. Their traffic extended to Nito near the
mouth what is now Guatemala. This town seems to have
of the Rio Dulce in
been the outlet for the commerce of the Sarstoon, Polochic, and Motagua
valleys, all of which were rich in cacao; and from its location we may well

infer that there was also much trade with Chetumal and the commercial centers
of northeastern Yucatan.^*'
At Nito, Cortes tells us, one entire ward of the town was occupied by
Acalan merchants, headed by a brother of Paxbolonacha, the Acalan ruler.
Such an arrangement, as we have already noted, was not unusual, for at an
earlier period the "lords" of Chichen Itza traded with northern Honduras by
way of Ascension Bay, and at the time of the fall of Mayapan, about the
middle of the fifteenth century, one of the sons of the Cocom ruler was absent
in the land of Ulua on a trading expedition.^^ Like the merchants of Xicalango

and Yucatan, those of Acalan no doubt reached the Ulua River, but of this
we have found no direct evidence.
According to Cortes, the principal commodities in which the Acalan mer-
chants traded were cacao, cotton cloth, dyestufi^s, body paint, pitch pine for
torches, pine resin for incense, and red shell beads. There was also an impor-
tant slave trade. Whether their slaves were purchased and imported, or
whether they were largely captured in their wars with their neighbors is hard
^9 RY,i: 364-65; Herrera y Tordesillas (Eng. ed.), 1725-26, 3: 352.
30 Cortes, 1866, pp. 417-30, passim; Roys, 1943, pp. 1 14-15.
31 Ciudad Real, 1873, 2: 408; Landa, 1941, p. 39.
 PROVINCE OF ACALAN 59

to tell. Since slaves were brought to Tabasco by the Aztec and to northern

Honduras from Yucatan, it might well be inferred that the Acalan acquired
most of their slaves by capture, employing some at home and exporting the
surplus. They had a little gold, but it was heavily alloyed with copper. Gold
and shell beads were of course imported.^^
Some idea of the more important products of Acalan may be obtained
from a list of articles which they gave the Spaniards as tribute. These con-
sisted of canoes, paddles, honey, copal incense, fowl, cloth, beans, maize,
squash seeds, chile, cotton, and tree gourds. Cortes tells us that Acalan was
"very rich in food supplies and there was much honey"; and his statement is

amply confirmed by the rapidity with which Bernal Diaz obtained a hundred
canoe loads of grain and other food for the expedition. The canoes were prob-
ably made from large Spanish cedars. Although there has been Httle botanical

exploration in the region, the copal gum, which was the principal native in-
cense, was apparently a local product. In northern Peten Frotiwn copal is one
of the common smaller trees in the high forest; and at Tuxpena, just northeast

of the Candelaria drainage, Lundell reports it as a frequent large tree lo to 20

m. high. Even after the Acalan were moved to Tixchel by the missionaries,
they brought down copal and annatto from the neighborhood of the former
capital, and their merchants carried these commodities to the Chontalpa for
sale. Annatto, which has always been widely used for flavoring, is the fruit
of Bixa or ell ana L., a shrub or small tree, which is also used for coloring matter,
and the Maya are said to have employed it for painting pottery. In the Yucatan
Peninsula, as far as we know, it has been found usually in a state of cultiva-
tion; possibly it continued to flourish around the former settlements after
Acalan was abandoned. ^^ Some cacao groves were reported in Acalan, but it

seems doubtful that there was sufficient for exportation, since the Spaniards
did not require it as tribute.

Cortes' encounter with some Acalan merchants between their country and
that of the Cehache affords a little men were re-
further information. These
turning home loaded with cotton which they had received from the
cloth,
Cehache in exchange for salt. Since the nearest salt beds were on the west
coast of Yucatan near Campeche, the latter commodity must have been
brought down the Gulf coast and up the Candelaria, most of the way, if not
entirely, by water, and the remainder of the journey overland.^"*

In spite of what is known of the extensive commerce with Nito, it is

22 Cortes, 1866, pp. 421-22.

33 Garcia v. Bravo, passim; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 177; Lundell, 1934, p. 280; Standley,
«93o> P- 359-^
34 Cortes, 1866, p. 423.
6o ACALAN-TIXCHEL

difficult to determine what route the Acalan merchants followed, Cortes ob-
tained a map at Acalan, which probably showed approximately the route he
followed through the Cehache country and to Lake Peten. Here the Itza ruler
told him that the easiest route to Nito was "by sea." It was no doubt feasible,

without horses, to go overland to the head of canoe navigation, down the

Belize River, and south along the Caribbean coast by sea, but this seems a very
roundabout route. Possibly what the Itza ruler really said was "by water,"
meaning to march south to the Rio de la Pasion, ascend this river and the Rio
Cancuen by canoe, and cross the divide to the head of navigation on the Sars-
toon, which flows into the Bay of Amatique not far from the mouth of the
Rio Dulce. Cortes, however, seems to have passed directly southeast to the
Sarstoon, although he had much difficulty getting his horses across a spur of
the Maya Mountains which intervened. Many merchants were accustomed to
pass along this route, and Cortes found a number of buildings said to belong
to the Itza ruler, apparently rest houses for the travelers; so it seems hkely
that much of the trade between Tayasal and the region around Nito followed
this road.^^

Of the Acalan who were later living on or near the Gulf coast Ciudad Real
tells us that at Tixchel the Indians were "better featured and somewhat more
refined and neater than the Maya." This refinement may have been due to
their commerce and contact with foreign peoples. We are reminded of the
commercial towns on the northeastern coast of Yucatan. Here the Indians
were considered more polished and intelligent than those of the interior, whom
the former called "Ah Mayas, despising them as mean and base people of lo^v
minds and propensities." It seems likely that Tabasco was at this time the cul-
tural center of this commercial empire, which extended from Laguna Tupilco

to the Ulua River; and if this is true, the Chontal may well have been consid-
ered models of elegance. ^^

Besides the eight Nahuatl-speaking towns in Tabasco which can be identi-

fied with certainty and a few which, like Xicalango, were probably partly
Mexican, there can have been but few, if indeed any, others of importance.
Nevertheless, as we have seen, they exercised a remarkable influence on the
Chontal population, many of whom spoke Nahuatl as a second language.
From the sixteenth-century Spanish reports that have come down to us,
it is difficult to make an adequate appraisal of the relations which existed be-

33 Ibid.,
pp. 422-54, passim. Another possible route, although it involved more land than sea
travel, could have been from Lake Peten to San Luis and Pusilha and thence by river to the
coast (communication from J. E. S. Thompson).
3^ Ciudad Real, 1873, 2: 452; RY, 2: 14, 23.
 PROVINCE OF ACALAN 6l

tween the Chontal- and Mexican-speaking populations of the area. If in

northern Yucatan, where the Mexican intruders had been either driven out or
absorbed by the Yucatecan Maya, the former had been able to effect perma-
nent changes in the local religion and the social organization, we may well
believe that the Chontal were more profoundly affected by this intrusive
still

culture in Tabasco, where anumber of Mexican-speaking towns were in

existence at the time of the Spanish conquest. About 1541 the Chontal inhabi-
tants of Amatitan were, as we have already seen, persuaded by their cacique
to desert the town with the intention of fleeing from Spanish oppression to
Cimatan, which was still unconquered. Although the Spaniards were able to
prevent them from going there and they later returned to their homes, it is

significant that theywere move to a Mexican-speaking town.

willing to
With the exception of Potonchan few, if any, Chontal place names have
come down to us in the area west of the Usumacinta River. These names are
all Mexican. As far as we have been able to learn, this is true not only of the

town names, but also of the native names of lakes, arroyos, and the rural
districts on the river banks locally known as riberas. It was no doubt partly
due to the Spanish conquerors and their highland Mexican allies, who have
perpetuated Nahuatl names in non-Mexican areas in many parts of Middle
America, but elsewhere the local native names have frequently survived or
appear in the older Spanish reports. It is difficult to believe that among them-
selves the western Chontal did not employ their own place names at the time
of the conquest, and it seems significant that we do find Chontal names, like
Petenecte, Balancan, and Tenosique, on the upper Usumacinta. Here appar-
ently Mexican influences, although by no means absent, were less marked than
farther west.
The Nahuatl place names are either very similar to, or dialectal variants
of, those found elsewhere in Mexico. Many are derived from those of flora

or fauna and some are descriptive. Most of them have geographical suffixes

such as -tmi (Aztec, -tlan), -co, and -can, indicating various associations, or
like -apaii, which means that it is on a river."^

More important perhaps than these Nahuatl place names are the personal
names of the Chontal of Tabasco proper that have come down to us. Strangely
enough; they are Mexican, not Chontal. It is hard to believe that they would
have given the Spaniards different names from those which they employed
among themselves. These names have been culled from various early Spanish
documents. Many of them were written by scribes who attempted to repro-

3^ Rovirosa, 1888, pp. 28-30; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 11; RY, i: 361. Cf. Brinton, 1896,
passi7n.
62 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

duce them as they would have been pronounced in the classical Aztec of the
highlands, but others were recorded simply as they sounded to the writer of
the document. In the Mexican dialects of the southern Gulf coast the most
noticeable variations are that t replaces the highland tl and o usually becomes
u. We also find these sound shifts in the few Mexican names that have sur-
vived among the Yucatecan Maya and in the Pipil language of Guatemala and
El Salvador. For Aztec ocelotl, a certain leopardlike cat, in the Chontalpa we
find the name Ucelo; in Acalan Celut and Celu; in Yucatan Zalu and Zulu; and
in El Salvador occurs the Pipil place name, Usulutan, or "place of the ocelot."
Of twenty-four personal names from towns in the Chontalpa, eleven appar-
ently correspond with Mexican day names. Sometimes among the Aztec, though
perhaps more often farther south, children were named for the day on which
they were born, but the numerical coefficient of the day was an essential part
of the name. In these Tabasco names, however, the coefficient is lacking. The
following names from the Chontalpa appear to be referable to Mexican day
names. It will be noted that the Aztec -tl form was often retained by the
Spanish scribe.

Chontalpa Mexican

(^ipaque, perhaps also Ba9ipaque Cipactli ("Swordfish," Sahagun)

Coatle Coatl ("Serpent")
Ma9atle, Mazat Mazatl ("Deer")
Tuxtl, Tustle, Tochin, Tochintli Tochtli ("Rabbit")
Izquin Itzcuintli ("Dog")
Malyna Malinalli (a certain medicinal
herb or grass)
Acatel, Hacatl Acatl ("Reed")
Uzelotl, Ocelote,
'
U^elo Ocelotl ("Jaguar")
Olin Olin ("Movement"?)
Tequepal Tecpatl ("Flint")
Suchil Xochitl ("Flower")

Other personal naities from the Chontalpa, which either are, or have the
appearance of being, Mexican, are found written as follows:

Abase Cuccacoatel Ocoyel

Agto Chicoase Quipaque
Aoca Mule Tatuani
Ayoco Oco
Azucoatel Ocoycocoltl
 PROVINCE OF AC ALAN 63

Of these Chicoase evidently corresponds to the Aztec chicuace ("six");

Tatuani, probably to tlatoani ("speaker, gran seiiof) ; and Oco may well refer
to a pine tree. It seems very possible that Cuccacoatel is an error of the Spanish
scribe for Cuccacoatel and a corruption of some form of the Nahuatl day
name Cozcaquauhtli Quipaque might be intended for Cipaque,
("vulture").
although a mistake of qui- for would be somewhat unusual.^^
gi-

The Zoque towns of Tabasco were also influenced by the Mexicans;

indeed, as we have seen, some of them are known to have been subject to
Cimatan. Ever since the conquest their official names have been Nahuatl, but
for at least one of them, Pichucalco, a Zoque name has survived. This is
Jomenas, which, according to Rovirosa, means "tierra nueva." Pichucalco
apparently is not the equivalent of this name, for the same writer derives it

from the Mexican pitzotl ("coati"), calli ("house"), and -co meaning "at." He
also identifies the Rio Poana east of Tacotalpa as Poano, a Zoque name meaning
"rio de los jolocines." Like the Chontal towns, the Zoque apparently made
their reports to the Spanish authorities in Nahuatl, for in a list of tributaries
from Teapa written about 1579 the names, which are Spanish, are occasionally
followed by Nahuatl notations, such as ueuentzin, "old man," and cocosqui,
M^hich is evidently intended for cocoxqui, "sick."^^
On the Usumacinta River above Jonuta we find both Mexican and Chontal
place names in use at the time of the conquest. Iztapa, Usumacinta, and Ciua-
tecpan are Mexican names; Petenecte, or Petenacte, Balancan and Tenosique
(Tanodzic) appear to be Chontal. Popane is difficult to classify. The Nahuatl-
speaking population doubtless had their own names for the Chontal towns.
Cortes and Bernal Diaz give only Mexican names for all the Usumacinta
towns which they mention, with the exception of Petenecte. On the modern
maps a number of other names appear which might be of Chontal origin, but
they could equally well be ascribed to the Yucatecan Maya or Choi who have
come into the region in more recent times.**'

It is only from the long list of Acalan towns in the Chontal Text that we
are able to form a general idea of what Chontal place names were like, and it
may well be inferred that the original names of the Chontal towns of Tabasco
were very similar. Their meanings are not unlike those of the Nahuatl place

2* Fiscal V. Gomez de Santoyo

Lopez; Informacion de senacios de Alonso 1565-66, . . . ,

AGI, Mexico, leg. 98. The

suggested reading of -quauhtli for "-coatel" finds some support in the
Pipil dialect of Izcalco, where the name for the giMtusa or cotusa is kii-tiis and is considered to
be referable to the Aztec quauh-tochtli (Lehmann, 1920, p. 1047). Cf. Seler (1902-27,, i: 437),
who discusses the meaning of the Aztec day name Cozcaquauhtli.
39 Rovirosa, 1888,
pp. 23, 26-27; RY, i: 328-29.
*o Oviedo
y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32, ch. 4; Alfaro map, 1579; Cortes, 1866, pp. 405-12; Diaz
del Castillo, 1939, chs. 35, 36.
64 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

names of Tabasco already discussed, but they seem to follow even more closely
the pattern of Yucatecan place names. From the very tentative translations
which will be found accompanying the English translation of the Text, many
flora, especially trees (Chontal, te). K few
of them are referable to the local
are named for fauna; others for man-made features, like Tapib ("at the pit
oven"), Cacmucnal ("white tomb"), Homolna ("sunken house"), Tamultun
("at the stone mound"), and possibly Tachimaytun ("at the stone deer"?).
Still other names seem descriptive of the location, such as those containing the
word for island (peten), Tahchakan ("at the savanna"), Tuholham ("at the
edge of the open tract" or "swamp"), Kanlum ("yellow earth"), Taniuitz
("at the tip of the hill"), Tuxakha ("where the waters mingle"), and Tan9Ut
("at the turn").
We are unable to translate Itzamkanac. Itzam, which means "lizard," was
also an element of the name of the Yucatecan sky god, Itzamna, and in Maya
art generally the sky is represented by a snakelike lizard monster with a band
of astronomical symbols along its body. As yet, however, we have found no
mention of Itzamna either among the Acalan or in Tabasco.
The Mexican traders from Tabasco evidently had their own names for
some of the Acalan towns. As we have already noted, Itzamkanac was also
known as Acalan or Gueyacalan ("great Acalan") to distinguish it from a

smaller place of that name. Moreover, the towns called Tizatepelt and Teutier-
cas in Cortes' Fifth Letter were apparently the same as Cacchute and Tuxakha
respectively. The latter is also called Teotilac in Ixtlilxochitl's account of
Cortes' entrada.
The Text contains many Acalan personal names, and we also have a ma-
tricula, or tax list, from Tixchel and some baptismal records from Zapotitlan.
Since a more detailed study will be found in Appendix C, this material will be
only briefly discussed here.
The Acalan system of nomenclature is somewhat obscure, and most of the
names are difficult to translate. Certainly they are not patronymics such as
we find in Yucatan. This is readily seen by comparing the names of the Acalan
rulers with those of their fathers. If they also had patronymics, none that we
can recognize have been preserved. About a third of the persons listed in the

Tixchel matricula Have names which appear to be Mexican, and a Nahuatl

linguist could probably identify others. Some names are very similar to Yu-
catecan Maya patronymics, but it is difficult to determine the significance of
these resemblances, since a number of the latter are Mexican and some appear
to be of Chontal origin. The correspondence
what one might expect, if a
is

number of people with Mexican and Chontal names had at some time settled
 PROVIXCE OF ACALAN

among the Yucatecan Maya and some of their names had become patronymics
in their new homes.
A very considerable proportion of the Acalan names, both Chontal and
Mexican, have Chontal prefixes. For men's names these are Pa-, Pac-, Pax-, or
Pap-, but the first three are probably elided forms of pi^p, which means
"father." In the case of women's names, the prefix is either Ix- or Ixna-. Ix is

simply a feminine prefix common in both Chontal and Maya, and na means
"mother." The significance of these "father" and "mother" prefixes is doubt-
ful. They are often absent from the names of persons who had children, no-
tably a number of ancestors of Don Pablo Paxbolon, and among the married
couples listed in the Tixchel matricula frequently only one spouse bears the
prefix. Such prefixes can hardly be associated with middle age, since Luis
Paxmala was only fifteen years old, and Ursula Ixnauit was a girl of sixteen.^^
Several Mexican day names are represented, although probably less than
we found in the Chontalpa. So far, we have noted only one case which is cer-
tainly a Nahuatl day name accompanied by its numerical coefficient, although
this was common practice in some parts of the highlands of Mexico. This was
Martin Navycali of Tixchel, whose name corresponds to the Aztec day name
Naui Calli (4 House). At least one Mexican numeral, Chicnau (9), appears as

a name. Similarly the baptismal records from Zapotitlan for the year 1569 give
the name Juan Bolonlamat, which is Maya day name with its coefficient, 9
Lamat, Lamat by itself is a fairly common name. Chanpel (4?), Bolon (9),
Lahun ( 10) Boluch and Buch (intended for buliich, 11) are apparently Chon-
,

tal numerals employed as names. One of the names in the Text, Buluchatzi,
may well be a Chontal day name with its coefhcient, although we cannot be
certain of this. Not only does buliich mean but atzi resembles the Cakchi-
1 1 ,

quel day name Tzi, which means "dog." The Yucatecan and Tzeltal names for
the corresponding day, which are Oc and Elab, are quite different. We are
ignorant of their meaning, nor do we know what the Chontal day names were.
Tzi, however, means "dog" in Choi and Tzeltal.^-
Some of the Chontal personal names are referable to fauna, such as Bolay
(an unidentified beast of prey), Chacbalam ("red jaguar"), Chacchan ("red
snake"), Chan ("snake"), Ulun (Maya iihmi, "turkey"), and probably Iquin
(Maya icim, "owl"). We find many names extremely difficult to translate;

probably more of them are of Nahuatl origin than we have been able to recog-
nize as such. If transitional forms like Ucelo and Celut had not been found,

*^ Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2ii6v-iii^v.

*- Ibid., f. 19631'. Thompson also reports the name Bolon among the Alopan in British Hon-
duras.
66 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

we should hardly have ventured to associate the Acalan Celu with the Aztec
ocelotl. It is quite possible that the name Celu, or Celut, which is very frequent
in the Tixchel list, may have another association than with the day Ocelotl.
The name means "jaguar," and it may be referable to one of the Nahua mili-
tary orders,whose members wore the jaguar skin. Indeed, among the Aztec
"eagles and jaguars" was the conventional designation of the brave warriors.
However, since many women in this list bear the name Celu, or Celut, we-
have preferred to associate it with the day name. It should also be noted that
Balam, a common Yucatecan patronymic which has the same meaning, is not
^^
a day name nor, in all probability, is it referable to one of the military orders.
In both the Chontal Text and the Tixchel matricula are a number of
double, or hyphenated, names, like those of the rulers, Macua-abin and Pax-
bolon-acha, and Patzin-chiciua, one of the latter's principal leaders. As yet the
reasons for such names is somewhat doubtful. Possibly it is significant that the
mother of Don Pablo Paxbolon, whose full name after baptism was Pablo

Antonio Paxbolon-acha, appears to have been Isabel Acha, although the evi-
dence is somewhat conflicting.^^ If this is true, it could imply that descent was
reckoned in both the female and male line, as in Yucatan, although there can-
be little doubt that in both regions the latter was the more important. So far
as Don Pablo is concerned, however, another explanation is possible. Acalan
culture was a mixture of Nahua and Maya traits, and among the Aztec they
not only named a child for his birth date or for some animal, but they would
also often "give the child the name of one of his ancestors, in order that it

might bring the fortune and success of the person whose name they bestow."
Perhaps Don Pablo was named in full after his famous grandfather, Pax-
bolonacha, who founded Itzamkanac and later received and aided Cortes. The
43 Roys, 1933, p. 199, and 1940, passim. As explained in Appendix A, in the notation em-

ployed in the Chontal Text, c is always hard, even before e and /. The Spanish scribes who re-
corded the Tixchel list and that of Zapotitlan, however, write qii to indicate this sound before
e and i.
4* Information concerning the mother of Don Pablo Paxbolon, cacique of Tixchel and

descendant of the rulers of Acalan, is found in a probanza formulated in 161 2-14 bv Paxbolon's
son-in-law, Francisco Maldonado. This probanza, of which the Chontal Text forms a part, com-
prises Part I of the Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers. (Cf. Chapter 12 and Appendix A.) The
probanza proceedings were instituted on June 8, 161 2, when Maldonado presented various
documents illustrating Paxbolon's services and a long interrogatory for the examination of
witnesses. This interrogatory was evidently based, in part at least, on information Maldonado
had obtained from his father-in-law. In two of the questions Isabel Acha is specifically named
as Paxbolon's mother. Most of the witnesses were Spaniards, and although they gave affirmative
answers to the questions relating to genealogy, they did not specifically mention Isabel Acha by
name. In May 1614 certain Indians of Tixchel gave testimony in reply to the genealogical ques-
tions and named Isabel Acha as Paxbolon's mother. At the same time, however, they also gave
affirmative replies to two additional questions, in one of which it would appear that the wife of
Lamatazel, father of Paxbolon, was Catalina Ixnazelu. It is difficult to explain or reconcile these
conflicting data. But the burden of the evidence, taking the probanza as a whole, favors Isabel
Acha as the mother of the Tixchel cacique.
 PROVINCE OF AC ALAN 67

problem as to how the first Paxbolonacha came to have a double name would,
however, still remain unsolved.^^
It seems likely that many of the Acalan spoke Nahuatl as well as Chontal.
We know that Acalan merchants attended the markets or fairs at Xicalango,
which was at least partly Mexican-speaking, Moreover the first document of
the report was written originally in Nahuatl by the town clerk of Tixchel in

1567 and later translated into Chontal by another clerk of the town in 1612.
Juan Bautista Celu, who wrote the original report and later signed the Tixchel
matricula, had a Mexican name, it is true, but we see no reason to believe that
this circumstance has any connection with his ability to write Nahuatl, since
his name was apparently not a patronymic at that time, and we find father and
son or two brothers, one with a Mexican name and the other with a Chontal
appellation.

The eastern neighbors of the Acalan were a Yucatecan Maya people

known as the Cehache or Mazateca. Bernal Diaz tells us that they were so
named because they worshipped the deer and did not kill them. Like the mod-
ern Maya, they no doubt believed in certain supernatural deer, but we doubt
the chronicler's statement that they never hunted them. Possibly the name
Cehache it might be translated as "an
really refers to their country, since
abundance of deer."^^ The Mexicans called the land Mazatlan, which means
"the place of the deer."
The Cehache occupied the lacustrine belt lying between the rolling coun-
try covered by the rain forest, in which most of the Acalan towns were sit-
uated, and the hilly dry forest farther east. This is a large area of lakes and
logwood swamps alternating with fertile low headlands which extends from
Mocu and Cilvituk south into the Peten. During the rainy season the surplus
waters from the northern part of this zone probably drain into arroyos leading

to the Mamantel, and from the southern end, into some tributary of the San
Pedro Martir, but little is known of the hydrography of either region. In the
center, however, for a distance of nearly 100 km. north and south, the country
is drained by the widely spread tributaries of the Candelaria.^^
The most prominent feature of the central zone is the great unexplored
swamp known as Isla Pac. Andrews states that it drains southward into the
Arroyo Caribe.^^ Various missionary reports of the seventeenth century indi-
45 Roys,
1940, pp. 37-38; Sahagun, 1938, 2: 214. This use of the day name was somewhat
rare amongr the Aztec but very frequent among the Mixteca.
*6Redfield and Villa, 1934, pp. 117, 118; San Buenaventura, 1888, f. 2or; Diaz del Castillo,
1939,. ch. 178.
4^ Andrews,
1943, p. 12; Lundell, 1934, p. 259.
*® Andrews, 1943, p. 37.
68 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

cate, however, that in earlier times there was at least a seasonal drainage afford-

ing communication by canoe through this region west to the Mamantel.*^

In this connection attention is document of 1 604 giving
called to data in a
a list of Indian settlements, most of them inhabited by apostate fugitives from
northern Yucatan, situated in the south-central part of the peninsula. The first
name in the list is "Nacaukumil-taquiache." Ukimt means "estero" or "river" in
Yucatecan Maya, and naca may possibly mean "close to" the river in question.
Although this was not a Cehache settlement, taquiache unquestionably refers
to the land of the Cehache. Inasmuch as Nacaukumil-taquiache was only a f ew^
leagues east of Popola, situated on the upper Mamantel, the name apparently
indicates that this stream led to the Cehache country.^^
In 1526 Cortes crossed the southern part of the Cehache area on his way
from the Acalan lands on the Candelaria to Lake Peten. The town of Yasun-
cabil, "last of the Cehache settlements," was five days' journey from the lake,
apparently in the region of Chuntuqui in the northern Peten. Five years later
Alonso de Avila passed through Cehache country en route from Acalan to
Champoton, and Lujan's narrative of the entrada describes a town named
Mazatlan situated midway between these points. Such a location would place"
the settlement in the general area of Mocu and Cilvituk.''^ A probanza of
Francisco de Monte jo, Adelantado of Yucatan, formulated in 153 1, stresses

the proximity of both the province of Acalan and that of Mazatlan to the Gulf
coast.^^ Thus it appears that at the time of the conquest the Cehache inhabited
an extensive area north to south, with the southern limits in the neighborhood
of Chuntuqui.
A number of these people were apparently still living near the northern
end of the lacustrine belt in 1582. In that year an Indian of the Hecelchakan
district told of a journey he had made into the interior of the peninsula and
stated that after several days of leisurely travel, hunting along the way, he had
come to a small settlement "called Cehach." From the nature of his testimony
itwould appear that he could not have traveled much farther south than some
point in the Matamoros-Cilvituk-Chan Laguna region, ^^ Although the pres-
sure of numerous fugitives from northern Yucatan had already begun, the
latter seem to have been in some fear of the Cehache. In the course of time,
49 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II; Sobre las diligencias que se ban hecbo sobre la
reduccion de los indios de Sahcabchen y otros pueblos, 1670, AGI, Mexico, leg. 307. Cf. also pp.
276-77, infra.
^0 See Appendix E.
^1 Cf. discussion of the routes of Cortes and Avila in Appendix B.
52 Sobre las provincias de Acalan y Mazatlan, 153 1, in Montejo v. Alvarado. Cf. Appendix
B, pp. 412-13, infra.
53 Testimony of Pedro Che, Campeche, October 12, 1582, in Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo,,
AGI, Mexico, leg. 109.
 PROVINCE OF ACALAN 69

however, the northern intruders so increased in number that they appear to

have absorbed some of the autochthonous inhabitants and to have driven others
into the southern portion of the Cehache area. Missionary reports of 1605-15
place the major Cehache settlements southeast of the Mamantel and south of
Tzuctok, located near the modern site of Concepcion.^^
There is some indication, however, that a few of the Cehache settlements
continued to exist in the lakes and swamps in the northern part of the lacustrine
belt until the end of the seventeenth century. Early 695 Alonso Garcia de
in 1

Paredes attempted to make a preliminary survey and begin opening a road

from northern Yucatan to Lake Peten. After covering 8 leagues of road, which
had been constructed several years before from Cauich to Sucte, he left his

pioneers and proceeded with an armed force into the wilderness. Villagutierre
tells us that "after traveling for some distance through the forest, they en-
countered some hamlets of many pagan and apostate Indians of the Cehache
tribe." A fight ensued and some of the natives were taken prisoner. "They
declared through interpreters that they were of the Cehache tribe and that
many persons of that and various other tribes inhabited those forests." Although
we are not told what distance the expedition had traveled, it seems plain that
Paredes was still far to the north of the present Guatemala-Mexico boundary,
where most of the Cehache tribe were living at this time.^^
Later the same year, during the construction of the road, no Cehache towns
were encountered until Paredes reached a lake called Chunpich, evidently the
modern Aguada Cumpich.^^ Altogether a dozen of their settlements were
found here, at "Ixban" (Paixban), Batcab, and along or near the road as far

as Chuntuqui. Apparently the southern limit of the Cehache country at this

time, as in that of Cortes, was in the region of Chuntuqui.

The Cehache appear to have been divided into subdivisions, which were
named either for the ruling family or from the predominating lineage of the
group. Near Batcab was a town of Indians, whom Villagutierre calls "Choc-
moes," but the name evidently corresponds to the Yucatecan Maya Chacmo,
which means "red macaw." In the Mopan Maya dialect the Yucatecan chac
("red") becomes chuc. Mo is a common patronymic in northern Yucatan.
There was also a group of "Chanes," who lived at Pachechen 14 leagues from
Chuntuqui. We do not know in which direction, but we are told that the trail
54 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II; Expediente formado a instancia del Capitan Pedro
Ochoa de Leguizamo . . . , AGI, Patronato, leg. 20, num. 9, ramo 25.
55Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. 4, ch. 6; Molina Sob's, 1904-13, 2: 340.
56 Villagutierre Soto-Mayor
(1701, bk. 5, ch. 8) records the distance by road from Chum-
pich to Batcab as 9 leagues, and the best modern maps place Aguada Cumpich 26 km. by airline
north^of Batcab. Since the present road is shown to wind through a large swamp, these distances
seem to correspond.
70 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

to this town lay through swamps and bogs and that the Itza visited them to
trade for iron tools. We infer that they lived in the lake country to the north-
west and were probably in either direct or indirect communication with native
merchants from the region of Sahcabchen, who were accustomed to carry
Spanish goods to the unconverted tribes of the interior.^'

Our only descriptions of the Cehache towns are those by the first ex-
plorers.They were all strongly defended, not only against foreign enemies,
but also apparently against neighbors of their own nation. The first town
visited by Cortes and Bernal Diaz was newly built upon a rock beside a lake.
The previous homes of its inhabitants had been destroyed by invaders. It had
a double fortification. The first was a ditch and wooden breastwork, and be-
hind it was a palisade of heavy timbers twice the height of a man. The latter
contained loopholes or embrasures (troneras), and at intervals it was sur-
mounted by high protected platforms {garitcis) for shooting arrows and hurl-
ing stones. Inside, the town was similarly defended with barricades (traveses)
and embrasures. The ruler was a boy, and an uncle governed in his stead.^^
Seven leagues away was another much larger town called Tiac, which was
at war with the first. Not only was it surrounded by a ditch and palisade, but

each of its subdivisions, or wards, was separately enclosed in much the same
way. Bernal Diaz states that this place was on an island in a lake, which they
reached by wading. A day's journey distant was a third town, which Cortes
calls Yasuncabil. The name might be reconstructed as Yaxumcabil, or "town

of the quetzal," although Ixtilxochitl calls it Xuncahuitl, a Nahuatl name.

Cortes remarks on the handsome house of the ruler, but he adds that it was
a thatched building. Bernal Diaz puts this town on a lake also, but it seems
possible that he confused it with one of the others.''^

Avila traveled from Itzamkanac in a northerly direction and reached one

of the Cehache towns apparently in the region of Mocu and Cilvituk, although
no lake is mentioned in the account of his journey. Like the others, this place
was defended by a ditch crossed by a narrow bridge, and behind it was a

palisade.*^^

Archaeologically the lacustrine belt, which formed a large part of, if not
the entire, Cehache area, has been little explored. Andrews has made a recon-
naissance of the Mocu-Cilvituk region, and his report gives us some idea of a

still larger part of the area.

5'^
Thompson, 1931, p. 204; Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. 5, ch. 9, bk. 8, cli. 19; letter of
Antonio Laynez to the governor of Yucatan, August 29, 1669, AGI, .Mexico, leg. 30-.
^^^ Cortes,
1866, p. 425; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, chs. 177-7S.
•''^Cortes, 1866, pp. 425-26; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 178; Alva Ixtlilxochirl, iS9!-92, 1: 421.
60 Oviedo
y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32, ch. 5.
 PROVINCE OF ACALAN 7 I

South of the Guatemala boundary and west of Batcab and Chuntuqui no

geographical account of the country is available and the maps are practically
a blank. North of Guatemala, however, the lake country lying between the
tributaries of the Candelaria has been exploited for chicle, and the ancient
remains in this region appear to be much like those immediately to the west
in what we believe to have been a part of the Province of Acalan. Here, as we
have already noted, on the higher ground between the lakes and swamps
were frequent ruined sites, but neither standing walls nor sculptures had been
noted by Andrews' informants.
North of the Arroyo Caribe swampy region now called Isla Pac but
in the

formerly known as Bolonpeten ("nine islands") many surface pottery frag-

ments were reported to Maler by the people of Chan Laguna.*^^ The term
Bolonpeten is recorded as early as 1605, and we also have several references to
a settlement of this name in documents of the later seventeenth century relat-

ing to the history of what is now southeastern Campeche.*^^

Around Lake Mocu at the northern end of the lacustrine belt are various
groups of mounds, one of them containing an extensive system of plazas. No
standing architecture or sculptures were seen, but there were indications of
fallen vaulted buildings. Between Mocu and Lake Cilvituk are many mounds
and platforms of this sort, and on a hill near the latter lake is an acropolis
composed of courts, plazas, and mounds. Although details are lacking, the de-

scription of these remains suggests that they antedate the Spanish conquest by
a very considerable period; indeed, it seems possible that they lie beyond the
horizon of Yucatecan historical tradition.^^
More pertinent to our present inquiry are some remains in the same region
which might be assigned to a much later time. At Las Ruinas, scattered among
the older ruins, are low v/alls of unshaped stone blocks forming apsidal en-
closures. Apparently these are the lower walls of thatched buildings, larger but
similar in form to the modern houses with rounded ends which are so familiar
in northern Yucatan today. Wauchope expresses a doubt that in Yucatan such
a ground plan goes back even to the conquest, but we found among the older
ruins at Calotmul the remains of a large apsidal structure like those described
at Las Ruinas. Calotmul was occupied at the time of the conquest but dis-
appears from history about the middle of the seventeenth century. Although
a very early house foundation with rounded ends has been unearthed at Uaxac-
61
Maler, 1910, p. 146; Andrews, 1943, p. 37.
62
Fray Juan de Santa Maria to the governor of Yucatan, Ichbalche, January 31, 1605, in
Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II; Sobre las diligencias que se ban hecho para la reduccion
de los indios de Sahcabchen y otros pueblos, 1668-70, AGI, Mexico, leg. 307. Cf. also p. 278, infra.
63 Andrews,
1943, pp. 34-38.
72 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

tun, according to Wauchope, Lundell assigns apsidal or dumbbell-shaped

foundations in central Peten to the period after 1450, and the well-preserved
standing walls at Las Ruinas may also date from the century preceding the
conquest. South of the city of Campeche modern houses with rounded ends
are rare, but from the information available the possibility that these remains
at Las Ruinas date from colonial times cannot be excluded.^^
On an island in Lake Cilvituk are two other sites to which a fairly late date
might also be assigned. The first was discovered by Maler nearly half a century
ago and has recently been examined again by Andrews, Here are two temples
faced with squared stone blocks. One certainly had a thick beam-and-mortar
roof painted a bright red. The which was probably covered in a similar
other,
manner, has a row of square columns on each side, and on it are painted decora-
tions and glyphs. At the other site is a building with well-preserved walls only
a meter high. The lack of debris indicates that they were topped by a perish-

able structure and covered with a thatched roof like those described by Gri-
jalva's chaplain on Cozumel Island and by Avendano at Tayasal, The sub-
structure beneath it has a painted fa9ade on which is still preserved a somewhat
damaged human figure rudely modeled in stucco relief. The head and shoulders
are bent downward and hang over the molding below, not unlike the stucco
ornaments on one of the friezes at Tulum, which suggests that the builders
were influenced by the art of the east coast.^^

It would probably be difficult to determine the precise age of the buildings

on the island without excavation and ceramic studies. Surface sherds were
found, including fragments of the coarse incensario ware usually ascribed
to the last period preceding the Spanish conquest. On one of them is a sun
symbol, which Andrews notes is similar to those in a fresco at Santa Rita,
British Honduras, and he finds parallel forms in a Mexican codex and in fres-
coes at Mitla. These sherds seem to indicate worship on the island at a late date,

but we cannot be certain that the temples were still in use at the time. Thomp-
son notes that he found a late incensario just below the ground in front of an
Old Empire stela. Nevertheless, although beam-and-mortar roof construction
in the Maya area goes back to the Old Empire, the preservation of the color
of the wall painting in exposed positions at Cilvituk and the resemblance of
the stucco figure to those at Tulum would rather indicate that the buildings
on the island were not extremely old. If the low stone walls were topped by a
perishable structure, as has been assumed, it would suggest that some of these

buildings may have been very late. This evidence, however, is not conclusive,

6* Ibid., p. 36; Wauchope, 1940, p. 234.

^° Andrews, Juan Diaz, Means, 1917, pp. 18-19.
1943, pp. 38-43; 1939, p. 22;
 PROVINCE OF ACALAN 73

since we do not know how old this style of architecture was at the time of the
conquest.^^
The culture of the Cehache was evidently similar to that of the other Yu-
catecan Maya. They were an agricultural people and probably manufactured
some of the cotton cloth which we know they bartered for salt with the
merchants from Acalan. At Tiac Cortes found a guide who. had been in Nito
and had seen the Spaniards there, so they were evidently in communication
with the Bay of Honduras. As in Yucatan, the local chiefs were called batabs,
^'^
and the priests had a voice in the government of their towns.
®s Andrews, 1943, p-'74-
^^ Cortes, 1866, p. 426. See also Appendix E.
 Aboriginal History of Acalan

THE CHONTALwhich
TEXT
Pablo Paxbolon, is
begins with an account of the ancestry of
of unusual interest. Not only does it
Don
constitute
the only native historical source for pre-Spanish history that has come down
to us from the extensive area lying between the highlands of Guatemala and
northern Yucatan, but also it is the only connected narrative in a native lan-
guage which deals with the history of the lowland Maya over any considerable
period of time. As already noted, we have from northern Yucatan Indian
manuscripts which furnish a large amount of historical information, but they
were evidently compiled from various sources in the seventeenth century, and
the attempts of the native recorders to fit these fragments of history into a
single consecutive scheme are not entirely successful. A considerable number
of episodes are recounted, but their historical significance in many cases re-
mains to be determined. A consistent chronological framework into which
they can be fitted will in all probability be reconstructed eventually largely
from the archaeological evidence.
Yucatecan Maya historical tradition, as we have seen, probably does not
go back of the advent of certain foreign invaders, who were the bearers of a
Mexican culture and who established themselves in the country as a new ruling
caste. Neither they nor their descendants were interested in the history of
their predecessors. At the time of the Spanish conquest even the most erudite
among them appear to have known as little of the Maya Old Empire, perhaps
even less, as did the classical Greek historians of the pre-Hellenic Aegean
civilization. This abrupt break in historical tradition is probably reflected in
the local nomenclature of some of the archaeological sites in the hills of west-
ern Yucatan. Although the depopulation of two of these cities, Kabah and
Uxmal, and the occupation of the latter by the Xiu are recorded in the Books
of Chilam Balam, other imposing ruins are known to the natives by such names
as Labna ("old ruined building"), Xlabpak ("old ruined wall"), and Mul-

ultzekal ("heap of loose stone"). This seems the more strange because the
Yucatecan Maya are on the whole conservative in the preservation of place

names. Even now, four centuries after the Spanish conquest, many of the
Indians still refer to Merida and Valladolid by their old names, T'hoo and
Saci.^
1 Roys, 1943, pp. 58-59; 1933, p. 82.

74
 -

ABORIGINAL HISTORY OF AC ALAN 75

In the Chontal Text we are told that an ancestor of the Acalan ruhng
family had come to the Chontal area with a group of followers from an island
near the northeastern coast of Yucatan, and there is abundant evidence of
A4exican influence in the personal nomenclature of the Acalan people, as well
as similar indications in their religion and political organization. In view of
these circumstances it seems pertinent to our present inquiry to consider
briefly the intrusion into Yucatan of immigrants from continental Mexico.
These people have left both Nahuatl and Chontal words in the Yucatecan

Maya language. Probably most of them were bilingual, but of this we cannot
be certain.
This phase of pre-Spanish history in Yucatan has been divided into two
archaeological periods. The first covers the* so-called Mexican period at
Chichen Itza, during which art and architecture were superior to what fol-
lowed later. In the second, architectural activity had ceased at Chichen Itza,
but Mayapan in the west and Tulum on the east coast were now in their prime.

Walled cities came into existence. Vaulted edifices were still being con-
structed, but flat beam-and-mortar roofs apparently became more frequent.
The handsome stone veneer of Chichen Itza was now replaced by a masonry
of rough stone blocks, and new sculptural forms appeared.
In the west this period ended with the destruction of Mayapan about the
middle of the fifteenth century. The belief has been expressed that the hand-
some structures at Tulum were still in use when the Spaniards arrived, owing
no doubt to the account by the chaplain of Grijalva's expedition, which sailed
past the site but did not land, and it is true that the village of Zama, or Tzama,
still existed at the site. A report of the latter town, however, was written in
1579, and it would indicate that the stone buildings had long been abandoned.
Here we are told that these edifices were constructed in ancient times, but "the
natives who are living are unable to give an account of who made them or for
what purpose they were made."^
The sequence of this reconstruction of pre-Spanish history is similar to the
accounts of the Maya writers. In the latter the hegemony of Chichen Itza pre-
cedes that of Mayapan. If the city now known as Tulum ("enclosure") is men-
tioned in these sources, it is under some name which we are as yet unable to
identify. The architecture and pottery of the site are believed to indicate that

it was contemporary with Mayapan.^

According to the Maya Chronicles, the Itza ruled at Chichen Itza from
A.D. 987 to 1204, when they were conquered by Mayapan, and there is some
2 Andrews, 1943, pp. 77-78, 81-82.
3 Juan Diaz, 1939, pp. 23-24; RY, 2: 197; Roys, Scholes, and Adams, 1940, p. 22.
4 Andrews, 1943, pp. 77-78; Brainerd, 1942, p. 256.
76 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

evidence to support these dates, especially the latter. The native accounts, which
place the end of the hegemony of Mayapan about the middle of the fifteenth
century have been generally accepted and recently confirmed by the explora-
tion of this site. During the latter period the Mexican intruders became more
and more influenced by the autochthonous population, whose language and
customs they adopted, although they retained many of their old traditions. It
has long been believed that the Mexican domination of Chichen Itza did not
begin until about 1200, but Thompson cites convincing evidence that one of
the important architectural complexes of this period was already in ruins about
the middle of the thirteenth century.^
The Yucatecan Maya accounts of the advent of peoples from continental
Mexico are somewhat confusing, but it seems plain that there were several
different waves of immigration at various times. The first of these was the
invasion of the Itza, who are said to have entered Yucatan from the east coast

and to have taken Chichen Itza. They were driven out but returned in larger
numbers and from the southwest, after which they ruled the entire country
from Chichen Itza for more than 200 years. Possibly other groups of invaders
were also called Itza. In one of the Chronicles we read of the conquest of a
number of northern cities by 100 vahant Itza captains from Mayapan, but
recent investigations at the latter site indicate that the Mexican occupation of
this city by any large body of people was later than that of Chichen Itza. The
Itza were said to be foreigners; they came in great numbers, and made them-
selves thoroughly disliked until they were finally driven out.^ The Spaniards
found them living around Lake Peten in the south of the peninsula, where they
still preserved traditions of their former sojourn at Chichen Itza.

Other smaller groups of foreigners who came later were headed by the
Canul and Xiu lineages and are definitely known to have come from conti-
nental Mexico. The Cocom rulers of Mayapan, who moved to Sotuta after
the fall of that city, asserted that they were the "natural lords" of the country,
but their claim to be descended from Quetzalcoatl indicates that they believed
themselves to be of Mexican descent. The Nahuatl name of the luit family,
which ruled at Hocaba, is evidence of a similar origin. We know nothing,
however, of how or when the last two came to Yucatan.'''

5 Brinton, 1882, passim; Roys,

1933, passhn; RY, i: 176; Thompson, 1941a, p. 103, and 1943,
pp. 106-07. Brainerd's ceramic studies ascribe the architectural activity at Chichen Itza and that
of Mayapan-Tulum to two successive periods, and Andrews does the same on architectural
grounds. The latter places both stages between 1200 and 1450 (Brainerd, 1942, p. 256; Andrews,
1943, p. 89).
® RY, i: 119, 269; Roys, 1933, pp. 83-84; Roys, Scholes, and Adams, 1940, p. 6; Holmes,.
1895-97, i: 66.
'
Landa, 1941, p. 40; Roys, 1933, p. 194, and 1940, p. 36.
 ABORIGINAL HISTORY OF ACALAN 77

Since the Acalan rulers came from Cozumel, we are especially interested

in the Mexican occupation of northeastern Yucatan. The native Maya litera-

ture tells us only of the Itza invasion of the region, but the proceedings of a
lawsuit at Valladolid in 1618 state that the ancestors of Don Juan Kauil, in-

cluding a certain Kukum Cupul, were prominent persons and "lords" from
Mexico, who had founded towns "in these provinces." The account goes on to
say "that those who came from Mexico were four kinsmen or relatives with
their friends and the people they brought with them; one settled as heretofore

said at Chichen Itza; one went to settle at Bacalar; one went toward the north
and settled on the coast; and the other went toward Cozumel; and they
founded towns with their people and were lords of these provinces, and gov-
erned and ruled them many years; and that he [the witness] had heard it said

that one of them named Tanupolchicbul was a kinsman of Moctezuma, King

of Mexico." Those who settled at Chichen Itza are said to have been the
builders of "the sumptuous edifices which are in the said locahty."^
Whether or not all these four settlem.ents were contemporary, as stated
above, seems rather doubtful, but two important facts stand out. One is that

the Cupul, who ruled the region around Chichen Itza after the Itza had been
driven out, claimed descent from the Mexican invaders. The other is that the

Maya identified some of the lineage groups of the invaders with those still

existing on the highlands of Mexico.

Of the history of Cozumel we know nothing. In the Merida museum is a
stela which is attributed to the island and which has been ascribed to the time
of the Old Empire on stylistic grounds, but no buildings of this period have
as yet been found. The proceedings of the Valladolid lawsuit state that Cozu-
mel was at one time subject to a Cocom who ruled at Chichen Itza, but since
none of this family is known to have ruled at Chichen Itza, the statement might
mean either Mayapan, where the Cocom did rule. Traces of
Chichen Itza or

Mexican influence are seen in the anthropomorphic roof supports, which are
also found at Mayapan and Tulum, and the attributes of Ah Hulneb, the

archer god of Cozumel, also suggest Mexican influence.^

As already noted, at the time of the Spanish conquest Cozumel was famous
for the shrine of Ix Chel, the goddess who was so popular in both Yucatan and
Tabasco, and her sanctuary was still visited by pilgrims from Potonchan and
Xicalango as well as from the seaports of western Yucatan. The name of the
principal cacique as well as that of the most numerous lineage on the island
sBrinton, 1882, p. 118.
^ Ibid., p. 117; Andrews, 1943, p. 82; Roys, Scholes, and Adams, 1940, p. 6; Holmes, 1895-
97, 1:66.
 jS ACALAN-TIXCHF.L

was which means "dogfish." The Pat hneage was also important socially
Pat,
in the towns on the east coast and at Dzitnup near Valladolid. A census of the
island taken in 1570 contains no names which we can recognize as being of
Mexican origin, nor indeed any which are peculiarly Chontal.^*^ Some of the
]Seople, we believe, were descended from foreign invaders but had been pretty
well assimilated by the autochthonous population.
The history of the ruling family of Acalan begins with the arrival in the
region of Tenosique on the Usumacinta River of a leader named Auxaual and
four "great principal men." Needless to say, each of the latter was accom-
panied by a group of followers. As we have already seen, such an organization
follows a familiar political pattern, which occurs on the highlands of Mexico
and in other parts of Middle America.
No explanation is given for this migration, but judging by the conduct of
their descendants we may well infer that the activities of Auxaual and his
followers on the east coast of Yucatan had aroused the antagonism of their
neighbors and that they had been driven out. Cozumel lay athwart the main
trade route between northeastern Yucatan and the Gulf of Honduras and was
easily defended since it could be attacked only by water. We do not know
that Chetumal and the northeastern towns were already the large commercial
centers which they later became, but if Tulum was contemporary with Maya-
pan, it must have been a large and important city when the Acalan leaders left
the region.
The names of the five leaders of these immigrants are of considerable in-
terest. Xaual could be either a Maya or a Nahuatl word. In Mava it means to
stir or turn over something. In Aztec xaualli is defined as a certain face paint,
probably red. According to Villagutierre, among the Itza xagiial meant
"galan," which suggests a Nahuatl derivation for the name Auxaual.^'^ The
latter also resembles that of Taxaual, a town near Potonchan in Tabasco.
Paxmulu appears to be of Mexican origin also. Pax- is a Chontal prefix not
found in Yucatan, but 7nulu is probably referable to the Aztec vwlotl, which
is defined as "sparrow" {pardal gorrion). In the name Paxoc, oc means "leg"
or "foot" in both Maya and Chontal, but if the name is merely a contracted
form of Paxoco, which we also find in the Tixchel matricula, it could be ref-
erable to the Aztec oco, or "pine." Chacbalam means "red jaguar." Balam is a

common Maya patronymic, but we have found Chacbalam only among the
Acalan. The name, however, reminds us of a foreign conqueror named Ek-
10
Roys, Scholes, and Adams, 1940, p. 16; Roys, 1939, p. 291.
11
Motul Dictionary, 1929; Molina, 1880, 2: f. 1581/; Villagutierre Soto-AIayor, 1701, bk. 8,
ch. 18. The so-called xagiial was the lover of a certain witch and appeared in the form of a
puma or jaguar. This was evidently a case of nahualism.
 ABORIGINAL HISTORY OF ACALAN 79

balam ("black jaguar"), who entered northeastern Yucatan from the east coast
and founded a name north of ValladoHd. He was also noted
town of the same
as a sorcerer. After ruling for forty years he and his captains became unpopu-

lar and were killed by the plebeians, but he was succeeded by another "who

was of his lineage." We infer that Ekbalam and his followers, like the ancestors
of the Acalan ruling class, were a Nahuatl-Chontal group, and that another
group of similar origin put an end to their rule with the aid of the local popu-
lation.^- We are unable to suggest any derivation for Huncha, the fourth of
Auxaual's "great principales."
The name Auxaual does not recur in any of our documents, but the four
others are found in the 1569 matricula of Tixchel. These names therefore
appear to follow the general pattern of Tabasco- Acalan nomenclature rather
than that of northern Yucatan, and it seems possible that the group had not
been established in Cozumel over a very long period.
would be of considerable interest to know the time of Auxaual's arrival
It

in the Usumacinta valley. Morley has shown that the lives of six generations

of heads of the Xiu family, from the estimated birth date of the first down to
the last appearance of the sixth in their family papers, covered a period of 183
years. ^^ According to our Text, Paxbolonacha, who represented the sixth gen-
eration of Acalan rulers, died about 1526, which on this basis would place the
birth of Auxaual in 1343. From this it might be tentatively assumed that he
left Cozumel and came to the Usumacinta basin toward the end of the third
quarter of the fourteenth century. As we shall see, however, a single genera-

tion of rulers is said to have lived at Tixchel for sixty or eighty years. This
statement suggests that one generation was omitted and that Auxaual may have
lived a little earlier than the time reached by our calculation. The expulsion of
Auxaual from the north may have been only the result of local conditions, but
it is also possible that it was part of a political change of considerable historical

significance.

Auxaual and his followers assembled the people living around Tenosique
in a town and took over the government of the region. No struggle to accom-
plish this is indicated and it seems likely that there was none. The obvious
implication is that the local population was living in scattered farms and ham-
lets. A similar procedure by aggressive groups of wanderers in northern Yu-
catan was not unusual. However they may have acted later, they were likely
to conciliate the native inhabitants upon their arrival. At the time the Xiu
entered Yucatan, they established themselves among the local rulers "more by
12 Molina, 1880, 2: f. s8v; RY, 2; 160-61.
1^ Morley, 1941, passim.
8o ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Strategy (mam) than by war." In another report we also read: "They were
subject to a lord called Tutulxiu, a Mexican name, who they say was a for-
eigner from the west; and when he came to this country the principal men of
it made him king by common consent in consideration of his worthy quali-
ties."^* Later, when nine members of the Canul lineage with their followers

sought homes in western Yucatan after their expulsion from Mayapan: "They
were not greedy for were they provokers of discord.
chieftainship, nor . . .

They began to love the towns with their batabs, and they were also loved there
by the towns." Similarly Ekbalam and his captains at first "were valiant and
sagacious and they were chaste," although in course of time the ruler "became
arrogant and made himself hated, because he came to despise and disregard his
subjects and imposed excessive tribute upon them as well as treating them
badly in other ways, which was the cause of his death." ^^ From other accounts
which the Indians related to the first Spaniards, this story was evidently not
an unusual one. The Xiu, on the other hand, were always careful to retain the
^^
good will of their subjects.
The new rulers of Tenosique exacted tribute, but it was probably mod-
erate, as in northern Yucatan. In the latter area we know that military service
was an important obligation, and the same was no doubt true here as well.
Cacao was produced around Tenosique, and the town was in a strategic posi-
tion commercially, since it lies just below a series of dangerous rapids which
extend upstream as far as Yaxchilan. Beyond the latter site river navigation is
described as good for a long distance to the southeast in the direction of the
Gulf of Honduras. Consequently there was water communication with the
areas where we find the Lacandon and Acala Choi in the sixteenth century
and almost to the edge of the Itza and Manche Choi territories.Even in the
latter part of the seventeenth century the Itza raided the town of Canizan
just below Tenosique.^'^
Auxaual's son, Pachimal, either was content to consolidate his father's gains

on the Usumacinta or did not long survive him. Chanpel, the third ruler, re-
sumed the aggressive policy of his grandfather and seized positions at three
of the four passes leading from Laguna de Terminos to the Gulf of Mexico.
These were Tatenam at Boca de Terminos, Dzabibhah, or Dzabibkak, at Boca
14 RY, i: i6i, 287.
15Cronica de Calkini, pp. 13-14; RY, 2: 160. In the prophecies lewd conduct was ascribed
to the Itza, possibly because of certain erotic ceremonies inspired by the Quetzalcoatl legend.
This finds some confirmation in two sculptured columns at Chichen Itza (Roys, 1933, pp. 83,
121, 151, 161).
i°RY,i: 181; Landa, 1941, p. 36.

Roys, 1943, p. 61; Informacion de los malos tratamientos que los espanoles hacen a los
1'''

indios de la provincia de Tabasco, 1605, AGI, Mexico, leg. 369; Maler, 1901-03, i: 40; Villagu-
tierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. 6, ch. 4.
 ABORIGINAL HISTORY OF ACALAN 01

Nueva, which formerly divided Isla del Carmen into two islands, and Holtun
at Puerto Escondido. The name Tatenam reminds us of the Aztec tenamitl,
which means the wall or enclosure around a town, although the first Spanish
explorers found no permanent settlement on the island. In Yucatan Holtun
means an opening in a rock and is the name of a cenote at Piste, but here it
evidently means a port. On the east coast was a place named Holtun Itza. The
seizure of these sites was a bold stroke, since they commanded the main trade
route between Tabasco and Yucatan/^
Paxua, the fourth ruler, moved to Tixchel on the mainland. Whether the
settlements on the islands were difficult to defend, or whether there was not
enough agricultural land to support the group, is hard to tell. We do not know
how large a population they comprised. In any case, the site of Tixchel lay
on the same trade route. At the modern Hacienda Tichel are two groups of
mounds, one on the east shore of Sabancuy estuary and the other on a savanna
They are connected by an ancient paved road, which crosses the
4 km, inland.
mangrove swamp lying between the two sites. Since there has been no archae-
ological exploration of the region, we know nothing of the age of these ruins,
but in the light of the present narrative it seems probable that some traces of
an occupation during the fifteenth century could be found there. It should be
noted, however, that none of the paved roads or causeways outside the towns
seem to have been in use when the Spaniards arrived in northern Yucatan.
Cortes' expedition found a causeway extending across a low flooded stretch
near Potonchan, but we do not know whether or not it was paved.^^
Paxua and his followers are stated to have remained at Tixchel sixty or
eighty years, but this seems hardly probable. Either, as we have suggested,
the name of one of the rulers is omitted, or the length of their stay at this site

is overstated. In any case they were attacked by their neighbors from Cham-
poton on one side and by the people of three Tabasco towns on the other. In
view of the situation of Tixchel it is difficult to escape the conclusion that they
made themselves disliked by interfering with the canoe trade between Tabasco
and the west coast of Yucatan.
The names which are given for the three Tabasco towns are of interest.
They have a Chontal appearance. One is Apopomena, which we are unable
to identify. The second is called Cactam-*^ in the Text and Xicalan in the
Spanish version, so we infer that the former was the Chontal name for
Xicalango. The third is said to have been Acucyah, also known as Tabasquillo.
'^s
Roys, 1933, p. 146.
1^ Herrera y Tordesillas, 1726-30, dec. bk. 4, ch. ii.
2,
20Near Chetumal was a town named Ti9actam, and Cactam may be the correct form of
this name (DHY, 2: 63).
 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Tabasquillo was the Spanish name of an unimportant village south of Poton-

chan, or Tabasco, where a few surviving families from the latter town settled
after the conquest, and it seems probable that the reference is really to Poton-
chan. This city and Xicalango would be seriously affected by any interference
with the Yucatan trade.^^

From Tixchel our group moved to Acalan, where they expelled the
Cehache from Tayel, which is named as one of the Acalan towns at the time
of the conquest. Its location is not known, but presumably it was in the eastern

part of Acalan toward the Cehache area. We are told nothing about the previ-
ous inhabitants of the Candelaria basin, but the Spaniards found such a large
Chontal-speaking population there only two generations later that it is difficult

to beheve that they were all recent immigrants. What seems most probable is

that the region was already settled by people of this stock, but that there were
a number of Cehache intruders.
The descendants of Auxaual and his followers also returned to the Usuma-
cinta valley. Very possibly the region around Tenosique had remained tribu-
tary to them during their stay in Tixchel. They now captured Ciuatecpan from
a people called the Dzul, and the Text claims that they controlled the river
down to Iztapa. Dzul means "foreigner" in Maya and the name is a common
patronymic in northern Yucatan. Since Iztapa and Ciuatecpan are Mexican
names and the Text seems to employ Chontal place names wherever possible,

the Dzul were probably a Nahuatl-speaking people living farther down the
Usumacinta. Apparently the ancestors of the Acalan were now in control of
the Usumacinta between Tenosique and Iztapa as well as a considerable part
of the Candelaria area.
Paxua was succeeded by his son Pachimalahix, who went to Chetumal
Bay on the east coast. Both the Text and the Spanish version are somewhat
obscure as to just what happened, but it is plainly stated that he and his war-
riors went to Chactemal, the native name for Chetumal, and exacted tribute
from the people of this town.
Chetumal was the capital of a province of the same name, which was ruled
by Nachan Can at the time of the first Spanish invasion of Yucatan. His prin-
cipal captain was Gonzalo Guerrero, a Spaniard who had been shipwrecked

on the east coast in 1 5 1 1 . The story of this man's career seems incredibly
romantic, but it is on the whole well substantiated. He was at first enslaved.

He turned completely native, piercing his nose and ears and tattooing his
face and hands, rose to the position of war chief, and married an Indian
woman of rank. He refused to be ransomed by Cortes in 15 19 and later re-
^1 RY, 1 : 346.
 ABORIGINAL HISTORY OF ACALAN 83

jected Montejo's invitation to join him when he invaded the region. The
Spaniards ascribed their failure here partly to Guerrero's opposition. Finally,
he was killed when he took part in a native expedition to the Ulua River in

northern Honduras to aid the natives there in their resistance to the Spaniards."^
Chetumal was a large town on the bay of that name, and according to Fray
Bartolome de Fuensalida itwas situated between the mouth of the Rio Hondo
and that of the New River in what is now British Honduras. Here the Span-
iards obtained so-called emeralds, turquoises, and a large quantity of gold.^
Apparently it was a port of call for the trading canoes plying between the Gulf

of Honduras and the group of commercial towns in northeastern Yucatan,

since Cortes was told at Cozumel that some Indian traders had seen Guerrero
only a few days before,^'' The province was the only important cacao-produc-
ing district known to exist in Yucatan,
Although Chetumal was still in existence in 1582, Cogolludo, quoting a
report by FuensaHda, tells us that it had disappeared by 161 8. At this time
Fuensalida and Fray Juan de Orbita, who were on their way to Tayasal,
stopped at a cattle ranch 3 leagues beyond the mouth of the Rio Hondo and
before they entered the New River. On this ranch, they were told, was the
former site of the great town of Chactemal, or Chetumal. Dr. Thomas Gann
explored the region thoroughly during his twenty years' residence at Corozal,
and the orJy archaeological sites reported on or near the shore between the
two rivers are Consejo, less than a league from the mouth of the Rio Hondo,
Santa Rita, about 4 leagues from this river following the shore, and at the
town of Corozal, a very short distance farther on. Of these Santa Rita is the
closest to the situation described in Cogolludo, although it appears to be about
a league farther from the Rio Hondo.^^
Here, about 1.5 km. back from the swampy shore, is a large group of forty
or fifty mounds, a number of which have been excavated by Gann. Some of
these were erected over older buildings, and on the walls of one of the latter he
found the remarkable frescoes for which the site has long been famous. In
spite of the Maya glyphs and a number of faces which are recognizable as those

of Maya gods, the pictures have a Mexican appearance. It is almost as though a

Mexican artist had depicted a Maya ceremony. Spinden and Andrews compare
the astronomical symbols in these frescoes with those at Mitla and in various

22 Tozzer, 1941, p. 251; Roys, 1943, p. 116.

23Tozzer, 1941, p. 8. The Maya name of the Rio Hondo was Nohukum ("large river"),
and that of the New River was Dzuluinicob ("foreign men").
2* Diaz del Castillo,
1939, ch. 27.
2= Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk.
9, ch. 6; Gann, 1900, passim. If Fuensalida has overstated
the distance between the mouth of the Rio Hondo and Chetumal, the latter could have been
situated on the opposite shore in what is now Quintana Roo.
§4 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

southern Mexican codices, and the latter suggests that they were painted after
the fall of Mayapan. It should be noted that since the building was artificially

covered, a later structure was presumably imposed in pre-Spanish times, al-

though that does not necessarily entail any great antiquity for it. It would be
of considerable interest to our present study to know the age of the Santa Rita
paintings. Obviously they are late, but in the absence of associated sherds, as
Thompson notes, it is difficult to determine how late they are. Not only are
there late incensarios at the site, but excavations have also revealed an occupa-
tion going back to an early Old Empire period.^^
Emphasis has been laid on Fuensahda's location of Chetumal, not only be-
cause it is the only precise geographical description that has come down to
us, but also because of Scholes' recent discovery of a document recording the
existence of a town of that name in the region only thirty-six years before the
missionary's visit. The situation of Chetumal, however, still remains a problem.
Oviedo states that it was 2 leagues from the sea and "almost surrounded by
water, for the sea k on one hand and the lagoon on the other," ^^ and modem
archaeologists have located thetown at various sites between Lake Bacalar
and Chetumal Bay. Dr. Eduardo Noguera places it 2 km. west of the modern
Ciudad Chetumal, formerly named Payo Obispo. ^^ The Tulane-Carnegie
archaeological map shows a ruined site named Chetumal some distance farther
north and about 12 km. inland from the bay, which would no doubt corre-
spond more closely to Oviedo's description than any of the other locations
that have been suggested. We doubt, however, that it was as far from navi-
gable water as this site appears to be. Gann ascribes the location to an important
archaeological site locally known as Trincheras, which he discovered on the
west shore of Chetumal Bay and to which he gave the name Ichpaatun ("stela

within the walled enclosure"), possibly because Mayapan in the north was
often called Ichpaa.
Except for the side along the sea, Ichpaatun is surrounded by a wall of
roughly squared stone about 5 m. high in places. Although an early Old Em-
pire stela bears evidence to the antiquity of the site, the presence of the wall,
some large drum columns, and many late sherds suggest that it was an impor-
tant city down to the fall of Mayapan. In the north such ceremonial centers
26 Gann, 1900; Spinden, 191 Andrews, and fig. communication by
3, p. 209; 1943, p. 79 15;

J. E. S. Thompson.
27 DHY,
2: 63; Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32, ch. 6.

Communication by j. E. S. Thompson. The first mention we have found of the name

28

Payo Obispo is on the map of Yucatan by Juan de Dios Gonzalez, 1766, MS. in British Museum.
The name of the site, however, really goes back a century earlier, for in the account of Fuen-
salida's journey in 1641 "a port which they call el rancho del obispo" near the mouth of the
Rio Hondo is mentioned (Lopez de CogoUudo, 1867-68, bk. 11, ch. 15).
 ABORIGINAL HISTORY OF ACALAN 85

had been abandoned for some time before the Spanish conquest, although a
pole-and-thatch village sometimes still existed as at Tulum, near the site. A
few kilometers north of Ichpaatun Gann found a colonial Spanish church,
which he believes to have been built by Avila during his stay at Chetumal in
the early 1530's, but it seems doubtful that a stone church would have been
erected during this temporary occupation. To us Gann's photographs and
description of this well-built structure, with its vaulted chancel, thick walls,
and recessed doors and windows, would rather indicate that it was completed

THE RULERS OF ACALAN-TIXCHEL

(i) Auxaual

(2) Pachimal

(3) Chanpel

(4) Paxua

(5) Pachimalahix I (6) Macuaabin

(7) Paxbolonacha

(8) Pachimalahix II (9) Lamatazel (10) D. Pedro Paxtun

(11) D. Luis Paxua (12) D. Pablo Paxbolon

after the end of the sixteenth century, especially at this remote place. Indeed,
from his examination of some graves beneath the floor of the chancel Gann
himself concluded that tha church was in use for at least two centuries, and it

is difficult to reconcile his findings with Fuensalida's account of Chetumal.^®

In the 1582 list of colonial Indian towns in the parish of Bacalar we find
one with the surprising name of Mayapan.^^ In view of the resemblance of the
remains at Ichpaatun to those of the famous walled capital in northern Yu-
catan, thename of this village rather suggests that it was near the ruins dis-
covered by Gann, but it would be highly conjectural to imply from this that
29 Gann, 1927, pp. 26-27, 33~37; communication by J. E. S. Thompson.
30DHY, 2: 63.
86 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Ichpaatun was actually called Mayapan during the period of its occupation.
We are, however, inclined to believe that Ichpaatun was once the most im-
portant city on the bay and that Chetumal, although the town itself may have
been an old site, became the capital of the district only after the city now
known as Ichpaatun lost its power.
It is hard to believe that the Acalan actually conquered Chetumal. We
know that their merchants occupied an entire quarter of Nito, and it seems
likely that a commercial conflict with Chetumal had arisen, resulting in a raid

on the latter and the collection of damages.

In the meantime the Dzul came up the Usumacinta to seize the town of
Balancan. Their leader's name was Tzitzimit, which is Nahuatl and is variously
defined as a certain insect and the name of a devil.^^ His demand of Pachi-
malahix "to divide the tribute of the pueblos" suggests a proposed joint occupa-
tion of the region, possibly a confederacy like that of the Aztec, although we
believe the two peoples differed in language. The offer was refused and a war
of eighty days ensued. Although Pachimalahix is said to have been supported
by the local population, he was evidently defeated, for he and his followers
returned to Acalan and we hear nothing more of them in the Usumacinta
valley. The Dzul apparently recaptured Ciuatecpan and continued to govern
it. When Cortes came, the people here were on friendly terms with Iztapa and
the towns upstream, but they were still the enemies of the Acalan and con-
stantly at war with them. The guides from Ciuatecpan, who were to accom-
pany Bernal Diaz to Acalan, fled the first night on the road because they were
afraid of the people of this enemy country.^-
Pachimalahix and his followers now completed the conquest of Acalan.
There was probably some resistance, for we are told that "they seized the lands
at Tachakam," in contrast to the manner in which they are said to have "as-
sembled" the town of Tanodzic. Pachimalahix was succeeded by his younger
brother, Macuaabin, but the Text has nothing more to tell about him.
The sixth generation of rulers was represented by Paxbolonacha, son of
Pachimalahix. He evidently completed the organization of Acalan, for it was

^1 One
of the leaders of the Nahuatl-speaking Pipil was named Jucotzimit and his son was
Pilecuautzimit. On the highlands of Mexico, if new fire could not be made at the end of the
52-year period, it was believed that the Tzitzimime would descend and the sun would not shine.
These terror-inspiring demons were supposed to eat people (communication by J. E. S. Thomp-
son). Tzitzimitl was also the name of a military device or symbol, which consisted of a repre-
sentation of the monster made of gold and feathers (Sahagun, 1938, bk. 6, ch. 8; bk. 7, ch. 11).
32 Possibly the Dzul were a Nahuatl-speaking people. Among the Maya the word meant

foreigner and was employed to designate the Spaniards; but it was also applied to the Xiu, who
were believed to be of Mexican origin, and to the Itza in Yucatan. Montejo's Mexican auxiliaries,
however, were called Culua by the Maya (Redfield, 1938, pp. 527-28; Roys, 1933, p. 84; Brinton,
1882, pp. 142, 148; Cronica de Calkini, p. 16).
 ABORIGINAL HISTORY OF ACALAN 87

he who estabhshed the capital at Itzamkanac. It is difficult, however, to believe

that this large and imposing city did not exist before the time of Paxbolonacha,
although no doubt its importance was greatly enhanced under him. Possibly
there were already a number of independent Chontal-speaking towns in the

Candelaria basin, but we know as little of the previous history of this region
as we do of Tabasco.
Paxbolonacha's hesitation and his subsequent conciliatory attitude toward
Cortes was very much like the policy of the Xiu rulers in northern Yucatan
in regard to Monte jo and his son. In both cases it was consistent with the
adaptability displayed by these groups in pre-Spanish times, and after all, it
was only good sense. Some towns refused to contribute supplies, but on the
ruler's advice Bernal Diaz was sent with canoes to requisition them and no
resistance was offered. The execution of Cuauhtemoc undoubtedly had some
effect on the attitude of the Acalan toward Cortes.
Nevertheless, the ruler's appeasement of the Spaniards aroused much re-
sentment. Although no one was maltreated or killed and there was no de-
struction of property, there had been a large expenditure of provisions. Also
Oviedo tells us that 600 carriers, who had been furnished to the Spaniards
when they never returned to their homes.^^ Many of them, no doubt,
left,

were slaves,which would represent an additional loss of valuable property.

The result was that a year after Cortes' departure Paxbolonacha was obliged
to abdicate and leave the capital, and he went to Chakam. This was evidently
not a revolution, for his body was returned in a canoe to Itzamkanac when
he died, and his sons succeeded him.
Although was some years longer before the Acalan were converted to
it

Christianity politically in the pattern which the Spanish ad-

and reorganized
ministration devised for the government of the Indian pueblos, they were
visited by other Spanish expeditions and placed in encomienda, and the period
following the death of Paxbolonacha becomes a part of Spanish colonial
history.

33 Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32, ch. 5.

 The Coming of the Spaniards

Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, sailing from Havana on a west-

INward 7voyage,
1 5 1

discovered the peninsula of Yucatan and explored north- its

ern and western coastlines from Cape Catoche to Champoton. In this new land
the Spaniards found a native civilization superior to anything hitherto en-
countered in the New World. Stimulated by the news of this discovery, Diego
Velasquez, lieutenant governor of Cuba, who had authorized Cordoba's voy-
age and had contributed part of the cost, helped to organize a second and
more powerful expedition to continue exploration in the west and to trade
with the Indians. Juan de Grijalva, a kinsman of Velasquez, was named com-
mander.^
With four ships and some 200 men Grijalva sailed from Cape San Anton at
the western end of Cuba on May i, 15 18. Four days later he landed on Cozu-
mel Island and took possession in the name of his sovereign. From Cozumel the
flotilla crossed to Yucatan, sailed south as far as Ascension Bay, then turned
back and doubled around the peninsula. At Campeche, where the Spaniards
went ashore to fill their water casks, one soldier was killed and many others,
including Grijalva, were wounded in a fray with the Maya. Continuing the
voyage southward along the coast, on May 31 Grijalva reached Puerto
Deseado, a passage into the eastern end of Laguna de Terminos. Here a leaky
ship was careened for repairs, and exploring parties examined the adjacent
shores and waterways."
Puerto Deseado was near Tixchei, a former outpost of the Acalan people,
1 The principal sources for Grijalva's voyage are Juan Diaz, 1858, and Oviedo y Valdes,
1851-55, bk. 17, chs. 8-19. Wagner (1942) gives English translations of these and other early
accounts. Diaz del Castillo (1908-16 and 1^39, chs. 8-16) gives what purports to be an eyewitness
account, but it differs in various respects, and Wagner doubts that the author
from other sources
was actually a member
of the expedition. Secondary accounts of the voyage are given by Orozco
y Berra, 1880, 4: 25-58; Bancroft, 1883-88, i: 15-31; Molina Soils, 1896, pp. 47-100. follow the We
chronology as given by Oviedo y Valdes.
- Puerto Deseado is usually identified as Puerto Escondido, a passage into Sabancuy Inlet

at the eastern end of Laguna de Terminos. The Desceliers map of 1550 (reproduced in Jomard,
1854-62) actually shows a place named Puerto Deseado in the approximate location of Puerto
Escondido. Anton de Alaminos, the chief pilot, stated the opinion that it was only 20 leagues from
Puerto Deseado to Ascension Bay and that there was a waterway between these points separat-
ing the "island" of Yucatan from the mainland. (Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 17, ch. 12.) In
short, such a passage marked the terminos, "limits," between these lands; hence the term Laguna
de Terminos. In the early Spanish sources the Laguna is sometimes called the Bahia de Ter-
minos, and occasionally Puerto de Terminos, although the latter term more specifically applied
to the passage between the western end of Isla Carmen and the mainland. On the Alfaro map of
1579 (Map 2) the Laguna area is called "Lagunas de Xicalango."

88
 THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS 89

but in 1 5 1 8 this site and the nearby coasts were apparently uninhabited. Ac-
cording to Bernal Diaz, the Spaniards found masonry structures along the
shore. These contained idols of wood, pottery, and stone, but, so the chronicler

tells us, "the oratories were merely those belonging to traders and hunters who
put into port when passing in their canoes and made sacrifices there." ^ The
only Indians encountered in this region were four traders or fishermen in a
canoe, whom the Spaniards seized to serve as interpreters.*
On June 5 Grijalva sailed west along the southern shores of the Gulf and
three days later came to the mouth which
of a great river, the Rio de Tabasco,
the Spaniards named the Grijalva in honor of the captain. Grijalva sailed up
the river for about half a league, where the Indians came out in canoes to meet
him. As the result of parleys with messengers of the ruler of Potonchan, the
principal Chontal settlement in the region, peaceful relations were established
and a certain amount of barter was carried on. On the morning of June i o the
cacique came out in person to visit Grijalva, and after a friendly interview the

two leaders exchanged gifts. The cacique dressed Grijalva in a suit of wooden
armor overlaid with gold leaf, and the latter gave his visitor a velvet jacket and
cap and other articles of European dress.
^"^

Oviedo lists many other pieces of rich native workmanship presented by

the cacique on this occasion, for which he received knives, scissors, glass beads,
and other trinkets in exchange. The list includes such items as wooden masks
with mosaics of stone resembling turquoise, strings of hollow gold beads, gold
earrings with pendants, necklaces of thin beaten gold on leather, and ornate
featherwork. Bernal Diaz mentions jewels in the form of ducks and lizards.^ It

is not surprising that Grijalva's men, seeing such evidence of wealth, "desired
to enter the lands of the said cacique." But their commander, who interpreted
the instructions given him by Velasquez as authorizing only exploration and
trade, refused their petition. Moreover, the Chontal, who were undoubtedly
3Neither Juan Diaz nor Oviedo mentions the finding of such structures near Puerto Deseado,
and itis possible that Bernal Diaz, who calls the place Boca de Terminos, had in mind the

shrines found on the return voyage on Isla Carmen at Puerto de Terminos, the western end of
the Laguna. Cf. Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 17, ch. 17. It may be noted, however, that in
1939 Scholes and Roys found temple substructures on the shore of Sabancuy Inlet near the
former Puerto Deseado.
* In 1517 Cordoba seized two Maya youths at Cape Catoche and took them to Cuba where

they were taught Spanish. The following year one of them, named Julian, accompanied the ex-
pedition. When the Spaniards reached the Rio de Tabasco, Julian was unable to understand the
Chontal, and the language problem there was solved by using one of these Indians captured at
Puerto Deseado, who apparently understood both Yucatecan Maya and Chontal (Oviedo y
Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 17, ch. 13).
5 Juan Diaz and Las Casas describe ceremony. Oviedo does not mention it, but
this
includes various items of wooden armor goods presented by the cacique.
in the list of
6 Wagner, 1942,
pp. 111-12; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 11. Cf. the list of gold ornaments
obtained by Alonso Lopez from the Indians of the Chontalpa in 1541, p. 30, supra.
go ACALAN-TIXCHEL

anxious to be rid of the intruders, asserted that they had no more gold, but if

the Spaniards would sail to the west to Culua, or Mexico, they would find it

in plenty.'^
Resuming on June 1 1, Grijalva explored the Gulf coast as far
the voyage
as the Veracruz area and for some distance beyond. In the region to the south

of Veracruz the Spaniards carried on profitable barter with the Indians of

Aztec-dominated settlements, exchanging baubles for gold objects, textiles,

and other native products. On June 24 one of the ships, under command of
Pedro de Alvarado, was sent back to Cuba with the treasure and reports of
the voyage.
On the return journey along the coast Grijalva spent some time at the Rio
de Tonala in western Tabasco. Here the soldiers petitioned that he establish a
settlement, but to the disgust of all he again refused. Leaving the Rio de
Tonala on July 27, the flotilla encountered contrary winds and for several
days made little headway. On August 17 the ships turned back toward the
shore to obtain water and "came to a port between two lands," which was
named Puerto de Terminos. This was apparently the western entrance to
Laguna de Terminos, between Isla Carmen and the mainland. Once more the
Spaniards were in a region dominated in former times by the Chontal of
Acalan. A landing was made on the western end of Isla Carmen, but the island
was now uninhabited, although shrines frequented by Indian traders were
found along the shores.^ The remainder of the voyage to Cuba was uneventful,
except for skirmishes with the Maya at Champoton and Campeche.
The increasing evidence of the existence of highly advanced native states
in the lands bordering on the Gulf of Mexico caused Velasquez to organize a
third expedition, for which Hernan Cortes was chosen to serve as commander-
in-chief. Sailing from Cuba in February 1 5 19, Cortes spent some time at Cozu-

mel and on the east coast of Yucatan before striking west and south into the
Gulf. When he reached Tabasco he found the Chontal in a defiant mood. Driven
from Potonchan ifter a sharp encounter, the natives assembled in force on the
fields of Centla southwest of the city. Here a hard-fought battle took place
in which the Spaniards, although greatly outnumbered, made effective use of
their horses and superior weapons and inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy.
The Indian chieftains now sued for peace and promised obedience to the
Spanish king. In celebration of the victory, said to have occurred on the
day of Our Lady, the Spaniards gave the name of Santa Maria de la Victoria
'^
Juan Diaz, 1858, p. 295; Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 17, ch. 13; Diaz del Castillo, 1939,
ch. II.
8 Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 17, ch. 17; Wagner, 1942, pp. 129-30. Oviedo describes cer-
tain idols of indecent form, one portraying the act of sodomy, found at this place.
 1

THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS 9

to the settlement of Potonchan. During the remainder of Cortes' stay in Ta-

basco a certain number of Indians were baptized, and it was here also that he
obtained the Indian woman, Doiia Marina, who became his faithful interpreter
during the conquest of Mexico.®From Tabasco, Cortes sailed on to the Vera-
cruz where he eventually dismantled his ships and initiated the
district,

remarkable series of campaigns which culminated two years later in the de-
struction of the Aztec power.
As early as 1520 Cortes sent an expedition under Diego de Ordaz to ex-
plore the Gulf coast. Montezuma explained that his dominion did not extend
as far as the Rio Coatzacoalcos, but he kept garrisons of warriors on his fron-

tier, who would give assistance if needed. These were encountered at a place
which is not named, but it is said to have been near the town of Coatzacoalco,
and the natives of the region complained to the Spaniards of the exactions of
the Mexicans, Ordaz went on to the river, where he was well received and
furnished with canoes to explore the stream. The country was found to be
rich and thickly populated.^^
At the town of Coatzacoalco the caciques also complained of Montezuma
and his frontier garrison, \\'hich had apparently attempted to raid their coun-
trv\ They related that a short time previously they had defeated these troops
in a battle at a small town. Bernal Diaz states that in his time the place was still

called Cuylonemiquis, which meant "where they killed the Mexican homo-
sexuals," and except for the omission of the name Mexican, the Molina Dic-
tionary seems to confirm this definition. Blom and La Farge suggest that it may
be Cuilonia, now a Popoluca town on the lower slope of the mountains to the
northwest of the river.^^

Sahagun gives us the impression that, for much of the time at least, Coatza-
coalco was on friendlier terms with the Aztec confederacy than Ordaz' report
^would appear to indicate. The town was an important commercial center; here
the Aztec merchants came by way of Tuxtepec, as they did to Cimatan and
Xicalango, bringing gifts and greetings from the Mexican ruler to the local
lords.^"-

The town of Coatzacoalco is known to have been Nahuatl-speaking at the

time of the conquest. The same appears to have been true of most, if not all,

Cortes, 1866, pp. 13-19; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, chs. 31-37.
^
10
Cortes, 1866, pp. 94-95; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, chs. 102, 103.
11 Diaz del Castillo,
1939, ch. 103; Blom and La Farge, 1926-27, i: 68; Molina, 1880, 2: ff.
261;, 57r. J. E. S. Thompson has called our attention to a passage in Fuentes y Guzman (1932-

33, i: 48) in which this event is compared with the story of Mexican intruders in El Salvador
who were presumably Pipil, although the historian apparently considers them to be Aztec.
These men were cast down some cliffs by the Quiche, Cakchiquel, and TzutuhU rulers.
12 Sahagun, 1938, was on friendly terms with Potonchan
2: 354-55. Coatzacoalco (Cortes,
1866, p. 95).
92 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

ot the basin of the Rio Coatzacoalcos for a considerable distance inland, but
in a list of towns subject to Espiritu Santo in 1580 another idiom called
Popoluca is also mentioned, although Mexican is said to be the principal
language of the district. Like chontalli, popoloca is a Nahuatl word meaning
a foreigner who speaks a different language, and the Popoloca of Puebla are
not to be confused with the Popoluca of Veracruz. Linguistically the latter
are related to the Zoque and Mixe, and it has recently been shown that they
speak four distinct languages, which are mutually unintelligible. Three of these
are still spoken around Texixtepec, Oluta, and Sayula near the edge of the
Coatzacoalcos basin, and the fourth, by a much larger group on the southern
and eastern slopes of the Tuxtla Sierra to the north. They are considered to
be culturally less advanced than their Nahuatl-speaking neighbors, and the
presence of these people between two such important centers of civilization
known as Tres Zapotes and La Venta is of considerable interest.
^^

After the fail of Tenochtitlan in 1 52 1 Cortes sent out military expeditions

into the outlying areas north, south, and west of the Valley of Mexico. A force
under the command of Gonzalo de Sandoval defeated the warlike Mixe in the
southeastern highlands and then proceeded to the Gulf coast, where a new
Spanish villa named Espiritu Santo was founded on the Rio Coatzacoalcos.
Bernal Diaz tells us that it was located on the right bank of the river 4 leagues
from its mouth. He also refers to the villa as Coatzacoalco, so it was probably
near the pre-Spanish Blom and La Farge mention a tradi-
town of that name.

tion that Espiritu Santo was at the modern Paso Nuevo, but Gonzalez places
it at Tuzantepetl, where he reports burials accompanied by armor and spurs.
These places are very near one another, and both appear on the Tulane-
Carnegie map as archaeological sites.-^'*

From Espiritu Santo the Spaniards sought to extend dominion over western
Tabasco and the highlands of Chiapas. The Indians of the Chontalpa, Cimatan,
and parts of the Zoque area were assigned in encomienda to citizens of the

villa, including the soldier-chronicler Bernal Diaz del Castillo, but control over
these frontier districts was precarious, and from time to time it was necessary
to send out punitive expeditions to deal with actual or incipient revolt.^^
Thus the initial contacts of the Spaniards with the Chontal area involved
only the coastal region of Tabasco, the Chontalpa, and its environs. Penetra-
ns Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 37; Foster, 1943, pp. 531, 532, 535; Blom and La Farge, 1926-
27, i: 49-53. Thompson suggests that the low cultural rating in pre-Spanish times long ascribed
to the Aiixe-Zoque group has been undeserved; and he notes that some pottery of fine quality-
has been found in the Zoque area. Cf. Roys, 1943, p. 1 10.
1* Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 160; Blom and La Farge, 1926-27, i: 77; Gonzalez, 1940, p.

395-
15 Diaz del Castillo, 1939, chs. 166, 169; Riva Palacio, 1888-89, 2: 41-104, passim..
 THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS 93

tion of the interior, including the came about only

Acalan lands to the east,

as the result of the expedition of Cortes from Mexico to Honduras in 1524-25.

Although the major purpose of this journey, one of the most famous in the
history of American exploration, was to punish the defection of Cristobal de
Olid, whom Cortes had sent to Honduras early in 1524, a secondary motive, as
indicated in Cortes' Fifth Letter, was the discovery of "unknown country"
and the "many and divers provinces" that would be crossed en route. ^^ One
of the most important of these provinces was Acalan.

In October 1524 Cortes journeyed to Espiritu Santo, where he completed

preparations for the Honduras expedition. According to the Fifth Letter, the
army comprised 230 Spanish soldiers, including 93 horsemen. In addition,
there were 3000 Mexican auxiliaries. The latter were under the immediate
command of certain native chieftains, including Cuauhtemoc, last ruler of the
Aztec, Cohuanacoch, lord of Tezcoco, and Tetiepanquetzal, lord of Tacuba,
whom Cortes had brought from Mexico City as a precautionary measure to
lessen the danger of an Indian revolt during his absence from New Spain. The
Spanish force included veterans of the conquest of Mexico as well as a con-
siderable number of recent comers. A secular priest and two Flemish Fran-
ciscans accompanied the army, and Dona Marina served as interpreter.
Inasmuch as it was Cortes' plan to march along the coast or not far inland
at least part of the way, the artillery, surplus arms and ammunition, and other
stores were sent by ship to the Rio de Tabasco, and arrangements were made
^^
for three other vessels to follow with food and other provisions.
While at Espiritu Santo Cortes sent word to the caciques of Tabasco and
Xicalango advising them of his proposed journey and ordering them to come
to see him or to send trustworthy persons to receive his instructions. The
cacique sent seven or eight persons of importance, evidently merchants, who
gave Cortes a report concerning marauding Spaniards who were on the
Caribbean coast. They also painted a map on cotton cloth showing the route
to the coast, which the expedition apparently followed as far as Acalan.^^
There a new map was
obtained, which contained more precise information
for the remainder of the journey. Although these maps left much to be de-

is Cortes, 19 16, p. 349.

I'' 1866, pp. 395-99; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, chs. 174, 175; Bancroft, 1882-87,
Cortes,
i: 537-42. Diaz del Castillo gives the size of Cortes' Spanish force, including those enlisted at
Espiritu Santo, as more than 250, of whom 130 were horsemen.
18 Cortes, 1866,
pp. 396-97; Alva Ixtlilxochitl, 1891-92, i: 407. Ixtlilxochitl, who has much
to say of the services of his famous namesake, states that the latter and Cuauhtemoc were sent
on this mission to Tabasco and Xicalango, but it seems doubtful that Cortes would have trusted
them to this extent, especially Cuauhtemoc.
94 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

sired, they proved very useful. They indicated a main objective for each stage
of the journey, gave some idea of the rivers to be crossed, and, most important
of all, led the expedition as far as possible through inhabited country where
food supplies could be had. On the whole it seems remarkable that such serv-
iceable maps could have been prepared by persons who, in all probability, did
most of their own traveling by water.
The country through which the expedition traveled from the Rio Coatza-
coalcos to the Grijalva was familiar to the citizens of Espiritu Santo, who, it

will be remembered, possessed encomiendas throughout the region and had

been compelled to send out armed forces from time to time to enforce the
payment of tribute. Only Cimatan was giving trouble at this particular time,
but Bernal Diaz tells of two occasions when he had passed along the route now
followed by Cortes to the eastern border of the Chontalpa.^"
The first stage of the journey was to Tonala, also known as San Anton, 9
leagues distant. The settlement was about from the Gulf shore. Bernal
a league
Diaz was well acquainted with the place. Not only had he passed through it on
several punitive expeditions, but he claimed that in 1 5 1 8 he had stopped there
with Grijalva and planted the first orange trees in New Spain. Coatzacoalco
was evidently on good terms with Tonala, for its people came to the latter
town to trade with Grijalva. On this occasion some ornaments of low-grade
gold were obtained by barter, and in a temple on a pyramid one soldier found
many idols, copal incense, flint knives, and a chest containing headbands, neck-
laces, hollow beads, and two idols of gold. Most of the men carried shining
copper axes with painted wooden handles, and the Spaniards purchased many
of these, thinking they were gold. Cortes' route probably lay close to the
shore, for behind the sand banks is a wide mangrove swamp. Also the ex-
pedition crossed the river in canoes, swimming the horses. If they had passed
behind the swamps, this would hardly have been necessary, since Dampier
tells of a ford situated only 4 or 5 leagues inland.-^
Leaving Tonala, they continued another 9 leagues to Ahualulco near the
present Santa Ana. Grijalva did not land there, but one of his smaller vessels
passed close to the coast, where the town could be seen, and on the shore were
warriors with tortoise-shell shields. The Spaniards named the place La Rambla,
which could mean either a gully or an expanse of sand, in this instance probably
the latter. Later, after the founding of Espiritu Santo, the ship which brought
Cortes' unfortunate first wife from Cuba had been forced by bad weather to
land at this port, where Bernal Diaz with other citizens met her and her party
19 Diaz del Castillo, 1939, chs. 166, 169.
20 Ibid., ch. 16; Stirling, Cf. Dampier, 1906, 215.
1940, p. 316. 2:
 THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS 95

and escorted them to the villa. Here are two large lagoons, Laguna del Carmen
and Laguna Machona, and near the eastern end of the latter is a ruined site

now known as Ahualulco. Since Bernal Diaz and Cortes give the impression
that the port and river were near the town, it seems a little doubtful that the
last was at the archaeological site of that name. In any case Cortes probably
passed along the shore and not through the swampy region south of the la-
goons, for, as we shall see, he crossed the next river close to its mouth.^-^

La Venta, the most important archaeological site in this region, was once
a great cultural center. From here, as we have seen, certain artistic features

spread to the Maya Old Empire, and it is generally beheved that by way of
this region an intrusive Mexican culture was later carried to many parts of
the Maya area. Nevertheless, little is known of the ethnography of western
Tabasco at the time of the Spanish conquest or even in colonial times. A small
group of Nahuatl-speaking Indians known as the Ahualulco are reported to
be still Ana region. Seler describes
living in ,the Santa their language as "a

corrupt Mexican," but Lehmann notes that not enough is known about it to
ascertain its relation to Aztec and Pipil. For the purposes of this inquiry a
comparison of Ahualulco with the Nahuatl of southern Veracruz and that of
the Mexican-speaking towns in Tabasco would be of considerable historical

interest.^^

Dampier, who was familiar with the coast of this district, gives a detailed

description of the actual shore, but he does not mention any of the settlements
in the region. Gil y Saenz, however, relates that in 1680 four towns of "Aztec"
Indians, called Ahualulco and living between Santa Ana and Tonala, were
attacked by Laurent de Graff's buccaneers and were later moved to other
places, some to the Coatzacoalcos region and others to the vicinity of Ocuapan,
Mecatepec, Tecominoacan, and Huimanguillo in Tabasco. Villa-Sefior y San-
chez, writing about the middle of the eighteenth century, tells us that Moloa-
can, which is still a Nahuatl-speaking settlement a short distance east of the
Rio Coatzacoalcos, was the principal town of one district of the Ahualulco and
that San Francisco Ocuapa, presumably the modern Ocuapan, was the princi-
pal town of another. Subject to the church of the latter town were San
Cristobal Huimanguillo, San Pedro Ostitan, Mecatepec, and Tecominoacan.
He also notes that at San Francisco Ocuapa twenty families of Indians were
preached to in the Popoluca language. These towns were under the church of
Acayuca, Veracruz, which, although it is Mexican-speaking, is close to three
Popoluca towns. On the face of it, this would appear to suggest that some of
-^ Cortes, 1866, p. 399; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, chs. 12, 160.
-- Cf. pp. 22-23, supra; Seler, 1902-23, 4: 431; Lehmann, 1920, 2: 995.
g6 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

the Ahualulco from the region of La Venta spoke a language other than
Nahuatl. It should be noted, however, that the present site of Ocuapan is not
far from the Zoque area and that the Popoluca idioms of southern Veracruz
are Mixe-Zoquean. At the present time Nahuatl is spoken around La Venta,
but Blom and La Farge believe that the Indians here are recent settlers, pre-
sumably from the Coatzacoalcos region, for they mention one family that had
come«,from Jaltipan.^^
Crossing the "river" at Ahualulco in canoes, Cortes continued east to the
Rio Copilco, which was evidently at the west end of what is now Laguna
Tupilco, since the 1579 report states that it was 6 leagues west of the mouth
of the Dos Bocas. It was not feasible to swim the horses over this body of
water, and half a league from the sea a bridge 934 paces in length was con-
structed. Here an important linguistic frontier was crossed. Cortes now left
the Nahuatl-speaking area, through which he had been traveling, and entered
a Maya Chontal district, which he calls the Province of Copilco. It will be
was the western boundary of the vast lowland Maya
recalled that this river
country, which Monte jo claimed as far east as the Ulua River in Honduras.
Fifty-five years later a line only 2 leagues west of this stream still divided the
jurisdiction of Tabasco from that of Espiritu Santo.^"*

Cortes tells us little to define his route from the Rio Copilco to Nacajuca,

the last town of the "province," but it seems very likely that he followed
approximately the road shown on the Alfaro map (Map 2), which may have
been an old native trade route, although most travel is said to have been by
water. It was apparently the one which Bernal Diaz had taken on two previous
trips through the Chontalpa, for he mentions Tonala, Ahualulco, Copilco-
zacualco, Ulapa, Teotitan-copilco, and Nacajuca. Cortes does, however, give
an account of the products of this rich country and tells us that there were
"ten or twelve good towns, I mean local capitals (cabeceras), in addition to

the villages." He goes on to say that the land was low and swampy and more
than fifty bridges were constructed over a distance of about 20 leagues. The
natives served him well, and indeed we know that they supplied the labor for
building the bridges.^^
For a part of the journey Bernal Diaz furnishes a few more details. After
23
Dampier, 1906, 2: 214-16; Gil y Saenz, 1872, p. 127; Villa-Senor y Sanchez, 1746, ch. 28,
apud Blom and La Farge, 1926-27, i: 49-50; Blom and La Farge, 1926-27, i: 76, 86-87. In
Dampier's time (1676) Acayuca was the principal town of the Coatzacoalcos district. In 1746
Espiritu Santo had been abandoned because of attacks, presumably bv buccaneers.
2* Cortes, 1866, p.
399; RY, i: 360. Among the various streams flowing into La. Tupilco the
Rio Tortuguero seems most likely to have been the former Rio Copilco. See maps in Alaudslay,
1908-16, vol. 5, and Gonzalez, 1940.
25 Cortes, 1866,
pp. 399-400; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, chs. 166, 169; Alva Ixtlilxochitl, 1891-92,
i: 408.
 THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS 97

crossing the Rio Copilco the expedition passed through some small towns be-
fore reaching the "river named Mazapa which the sailors call the Rio de
. . .

Dos Bocas." From the Alfaro map and the accompanying report we know that
the first three were Copilco-zacualco, Fluimanguillo, and Iquinuapa, known
as the Copilcos and situated about 4, 6, and 8 leagues inland from the mouth
of the river. Beyond them lay Ulapa and Boquiapa. None of these towns re-
main at their former sites today, but three of them are still to be found where
they were moved, farther inland.^*^

In the sixteenth century, it will be remembered, the Dos Bocas (the modern
Rio Seco) was and deep river and the main outlet of the Rio de Chiapa,
a large

which drained a vast region to the south. This stream was crossed by means of
a great number of canoes tied together in pairs. East of the river Cortes was
joined by Bernal Diaz, who had been sent from Espiritu Santo with a force
of thirty Spaniards and many Mexican auxiliaries to pacify Cimatan. The
town submitted without any resistance, although it revolted again as soon as
it was learned that most of the Spaniards at Espiritu Santo had gone to Hon-
duras. Bernal Diaz states that the place, east of the river, where he joined
Cortes was Iquinuapa, but we see no reason to believe it had not always been
situated west of the stream, where we on the Alfaro map. From the
find it

Dos Bocas they passed on to Teotitan-copilco, which Diaz describes as a

large place, and to Nacajuca, the last town of the district.^^
After leaving the Chontalpa at Nacajuca the expedition marched in a
southerly direction to the Grijalva, crossing what is now the Rio Gonzalez
above the five Nahuatl-speaking towns, four of which lay at that time along
its left bank according to the Alfaro map. Neither Cortes nor Bernal Diaz
mentions this river, but the map and report state that the remains of the bridge
constructed here by Cortes were still in evidence in 1579. The Grijalva was
crossed, apparently a short distance below the present site of Villahermosa,
by means of rafts and some canoes sent by the cacique of Tabasco. Cortes'
map showed that he must next proceed to a place called Ciuatan. With some
difficulty a road was opened along the right bank of the river formed by the
confluence of the Teapa and the Tacotalpa and continued up the same shore
of the latter river to Ciuatan. Cortes considered this to be a single town com-

-^ Diaz del Castillo,

1939, ch. 175; RY, i: 360. The name was probably originally Huey-
mango, or Huimango, and the Spanish suffix added to distinguish it from the larger town of
that name. The name Copilco-Zacualco suggests that there was a pyramid-temple at the site
since it seems referable to the Nahuatl tzaquali and could be translated as "Copilco, the place
of the pyramid" (Sahagiin, 1938, 2: 257).
2^ Diaz del Castillo,
1939, ch. 175. Because of its size and commercial importance, Cortes'
"Province of Copilco" may have been named for Teotitan-copilco, the modern Copilco, rather
than for Copilco-zacualco. Cf, p. 31, supra.
98 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

posed of three subdivisions. One, containing 200 houses, was on the right bank
of the river, and the other two, on the left. In 1579 it was said to be three

towns, Astapa, Jahuacapa, and Jalapa, also known as the three Ciuatans. At
this time all three were on the left bank, but today they are again on the right,
where Cortes found only one of them.^^
Here the expedition remained twenty days. Food was brought up the river
from the ship which had been sent to Tabasco, and further supplies were ob-
tained from Bernal Diaz' encomienda at Teapa. Although the people of Ciuatan
had assisted in constructing the road by which Cortes had come, they fled
when he reached the place, which caused considerable difficulty. He knew
from his map that his next objective was Chilapa, but the few Indians he could
find told him they knew of no land route. They could only point to some
mountains apparently 10 leagues distant and told him that Chilapa was on a
great river in that vicinity. The modern village of Chilapa is on the lower
Grijalva, and we are obliged to depend on the Alfaro map and Cortes' descrip-
tion to locate its former site. There can be little doubt that the natives were
showing Cortes a spur of the Chiapas Mountains lying to the east of Ciuatan.
Its northwestern outpost, the Cerro de Macuspana, is only a short distance to
the south of the town of that name, and from that point it gradually increases
in heisfht as it extends to the southeast. We do not know whether the Macus-
pana mountain would be visible so far away. Cortes, however, was usually an
excellent judge of distance, and we are inclined to accept his estimate and
place Chilapa on the left bank of theRio Macuspana about 15 km. east of
thetown of Macuspana. Such a location would not be very far from the sierra.
The Macuspana and Tepetitan Rivers are a continuation of the Rio Chilapa,.
and they were formerly all known as the Rio Chilapa. Rovirosa reports a
modern hacienda of the same name in the jurisdiction of Macuspana, but he
does not give its precise location.^^
Cortes had much difficulty in finding a road across the swamp east of
Ciuatan, but this obstacle was finally surmounted by building a bridge of long
timbers; indeed, was 300 paces
it in length. Although was only a third as
it

long as that over the Rio Copilco, it was probably a much more serious under-
taking, since all the local Indians had fled and the expedition was now obliged

-8 RY, i: 324; Alfaro map (Map 2); Cortes, 1866,

pp. 400-02. Huimango, Culico, Anta, and
Pechucalco are now on the right bank of the Rio Conduacan above Nacajuca. Like the
Cimatans, they may have been moved because of inundations caused by the diversion of the
waters of the former Rio de Dos Bocas. Cf. Roys, 1943, pp. 99-100.
-^ Cortes, 1866, p. 402; Diaz del Castillo,
1939, ch. 175; RY, i: 347; Blom and La Farge, 1926-
27, i: 137, 145, 154; Rovirosa, 1888, p. 17. There has been some confusion regarding this stage
of the journey through mistaking the modern Chilapa for the town through which Cortes
passed.
 THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS 99

to supply its own

labor. Later they were to become more accustomed to such
emergencies. Beyond this swamp, which was probably the one which appears
on the modern maps east of Jalapa, things went more easily. The ground was
somewhat higher, and at a town which Cortes calls Ocumba a scouting party
found considerable food. A few prisoners were also taken, who guided the
expedition to Chilapa. Cortes had been told at Ciuatan that Ocumba was up
the river from Chilapa. His scouts veered somewhat from the direction fol-
lowed by the expedition and reached the town by crossing a body of water by
swimming and in canoes. We find no mention of the town in colonial times,
but Acumba is still the name of a lake to the south of San Fernando, of the
stream which flows from it into the Rio Macuspana, and of a hacienda at the
mouth of the tributary. Strangely enough, Macuspana is not mentioned either
by Cortes or by Bernal Diaz.^"
Chilapa was a large and attractive town with many farms and orchards
around it. Ixtlilxochitl tells us that "this province was subject to the city of
Tezcoco." Although we doubt that the Aztec confederacy had conquered any
part of Tabasco, this may indicate that Tezcoco had special commercial privi-
leges here. Many of the people had burned their houses and fled, but two men
were found who led the Spaniards to Tepetitan. A league and a half below
Chilapa the large river was crossed by means of rafts, and Tepetitan was
reached after a journey of two days covering 6 or 7 leagues through many
swamps. Once it was necessary to construct a bridge, possibly over the Arroyo
Tepecintila. Apparently they followed the general direction of the river, but
it must have been at some distance from the stream, since we find no mention
of the town of Tepecintila. This settlement has since disappeared, but we
know from the Alfaro map and the accompanying report that was on the
it

right bank of the Rio Chilapa, presumably close to the tributary which still
bears its name.^^
The modern town of Tepetitan lies on the west bank of the river, but in
1 579 it was on the opposite side. Some question has been raised as to its location
in Cortes' time, since he states that it was "close to the lower part (la halda) of
a great chain of sierras." Tepetitan could mean "in, near, or below the moun-
tains," and Tamacaztepec, v^-hich Cortes gives as another name of the town,
could be translated as "mountain or hill of the tlamacazque^'' the appellation
of a class of priests and temple attendants. Tepecintila has much the same
meaning as Tepetitan and is probably referable to the Nahuatl expression
-^^
tepetl itzintlan, "at the foot of the sierra."
30 Cortes, 1866, pp. 402-03; Rovirosa, 1888, p. ii; 1931, pp. 129-30.
31 Cortes, 1866, pp. 403-04; Alva Ixtlilxochitl, 1891-92, i: 408; RY, i: 347.
32 Cortes,
1866, pp. 403-04; Molina, 1880, 2: f. 1021;; 1886, p. 195; Sahagiin, 1938, i: 296.
lOO ACALAN-TIXCHEL

We are inclined to believe that Cortes was referring to the low ridge
northeast of the Rio Tulija, which isknown as "Los Cerrillos." Possibly he
skirted these hills on his journey, but we do not know how far they extend to
the north. The present site of Tepetitan is no doubt in sight of this elevation,
but it must be lo to 15 km. distant and perhaps farther. Various opinions have
been expressed as towhere the town was in Cortes' time. The most reason-
able, we believe, are those of Maudslay and Morley, who place it near its
present site, the former noting that it must have been on the right bank of the
river and the latter, that the foothills of the cordillera are about 4 leagues
distant. In Yucatan a large group of towns in the Province of Mani were
considered to be in the "territorio de la sierra," although they extended from
the base of the range to a distance of 5 or 6 leagues. So far as the meaning of
Tepetitan is concerned, it does not necessarily imply that the town was ac-
tually at the base of the sierra. Tepetitlan is the name of one of the calpullis,
or wards, of Tlatelolco, which was a part of the City of Mexico on an island
in Lake Tezcoco.^^
Tepetitan, like Chilapa, was found burned and deserted, which, as Cortes
remarks, doubled the hardships of the journey. The Spaniards do not appear
to have maltreated the natives, but they must have left famine in their wake,
and by this time the Indians everywhere knew what it meant to open roads and
build bridges for the invaders. Sufficient food was discovered, however, to
relieve the more urgent necessities of the expedition.
Iztapa was the next objective indicated on Cortes' map, and a single pri-

soner was induced to act as guide, although he had never gone there by land.
Laguna Catazaja, however, which is little more than halfway to the Usuma-
cinta, was accessible by canoe, and since we believe that the route passed not
far south of this lake, it is not unlikely that the guide had some general knowl-
edge of the country. An advance party of thirty horse and as many infantry
was sent on ahead, and two days army followed on their trail.
later the entire

They appear to have crossed the Sabanas de Maluco, which lie east of
Tepetitan. Here no doubt were the first of the swamps where "the horses
sank to their girths when riderless and led by hand," and beyond them are
the extensive savannas lying between the drainage of the Rio Tepetitan and
that of the Usumacinta. Cortes must have traveled through this region to reach
Iztapa.^^ For reasons which will be discussed elsewhere in this study, we be-

33 Maudslay, 1908-16, 5: 336; Morley, 1937-38, i: 10; Sahagiin, 1938, 5: 74; Lopez de CogoUu-

do, 1867-68, bk. 4, ch. 20. Gonzalez (1940, p. 402) places Tepetitan 6 or 7 leagues east of the
river at Hacienda Los Cerrillos near the hills of the same name.
3* Cortes, 1866, pp. 404-05; Gonzalez, 1940, p. 402.
 THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS lOI

lieve that this town was situated on the left bank of the Usumacinta at or near
.^^
Montecristo (modern Emiliano Zapata)
The intervening country is not very well known, but Stephens and Char-
nay, who traveled by land from Palenque to Laguna Catazaja and from there
to Jonuta by water, have given us some idea of the region. On leaving Palen-
que, Stephens "entered immediately upon a beautiful plain, picturesque, orna-

mented with trees, and extending five or six days' journey to the Gulf of
Mexico. The road was very muddy, but, open to the sun in the morning, was
not so bad as we feared." Charnay, describing his journey in the opposite
direction, tells us: "After Las Playas [on the southern shore of Laguna Cata-
zaja], the landscape opens out into a noble perspective of fields and shady
groves; now the eye wanders over the rich flora of the savanna, now it plunges
into the unfathomable depths of the forest." Charnay's "charming ride" was
on December 30; but Stephens made the trip in June, when the rainy season
was well advanced, and we should expect the roads to be at their worst. With-
out attempting to belittle the difficulties, of which Cortes complains bitterly,

the preceding accounts suggest that a very considerable part of the journey
was over a favorable terrain. Indeed, the same conclusion might be drawn
from the time in which it was performed.^*^
Immediately north of Laguna Catazaja are the swampy Lagunas de San
Carlos, and the whole plain is network of creeks and rivers. Stephens de-
a

scribes the Rio Chico as "varying from two to five hundred feet in width,
deep, muddy, and very sluggish, with wooded banks of impenetrable thick-
ness." No such river is mentioned during this stage of Cortes' journey, and
in would seem most unlikely that his army could have reached the
any case it

Usumacinta in three days from Tepetitan traveling through such a country .^^
Cortes describes Iztapa as a large place with land suitable for a Spanish
settlement. When the Spaniards approached the town, most of the inhabitants
fled to the opposite (right) bank of the river, but in due course, after Cortes
had made known his peaceful intentions, the cacique returned with forty of
the fugitives. The cacique promised obedience and ordered his people to
supply food for the army. He also sent Indians to open a road to Tatahuital-
pan, the next town through which the expedition would pass, and subsequently
he accompanied some of the Spaniards in canoes to the upstream towns.^^
During his stay in Iztapa, Cortes sent three Spaniards to the Gulf coast with
35 For a detailed discussion of the location of Iztapa and other towns on the Usumacinta, see
Appendix B.
36 Stephens, 1841, 2: Charnay, 1887, pp. 215-16,
365;
3^ Charnay, 1887, Stephens, 1841,
p. 212; 2: 369, 375.
38 Cortes, 1866, pp. 405-08.
lOl ACALAN-TIXCHEL

instructions for the commander of the supply ships waiting there to proceed to
Ascension Bay in eastern Yucatan, where he would meet them or send word
what to do next. The messengers were also ordered to load their canoes and
any others they could obtain in Xicalango and Tabasco with provisions and
to take them "up a great river" to Acalan. It is evident, on the basis of data
now available concerning the location of this province, that the food was to
be transported across Laguna de Terminos and up the Candelaria River to the
Acalan settlements. The person to whom Cortes entrusted these orders quar-
reled with the master of the ships on arrival in Xicalango. Bitter fighting
ensued, during which most of the men in the ships' crews, who divided into
I
factions, were killed. The Indians of the coastal towns finished off all the
survivors and burned the ships, with the result that the supplies Cortes ex-
pected to receive in Acalan never arrived.^^
From Iztapa Cortes marched upstream along the road cleared in advance
by the Indians to Tatahuitalpan, 5 leagues distant. This was a small village on
the left bank of the Usumacinta, probably located near the present site of
Pobilcuc, The Spaniards found the place burned and abandoned, but they
soon rounded up about twenty of the inhabitants, who had fled to a shrine

half a league from the opposite shore, and brought them back to the town.
Cortes asked one of them, said to be the cacique, to show him the road to
Ciuatecpan, "as according to my map it was higher up the river and we should
have to pass through it." The cacique stated that the Indians did not know
the road by land, since they always traveled by river, but agreed to furnish
guides who would try to lead the army through the forest. Accordingly,
Cortes instructed some of the Spaniards, who had made the trip from Iztapa
to Tatahuitalpan by river, to proceed upstream to Ciuatecpan, "and try to
pacify the people there, and also of another pueblo named Ozumazintlan
[Usumacinta] which they would pass on the way." With the main body of
his troops and the Mexican auxiliaries he set out overland.
The march to Ciuatecpan was through very difficult country. On leaving
Tatahuitalpan the Spaniards encountered a great swamp more than half a
league wide, but with the aid of the auxiliaries, who covered the trail with
brush, the army managed to get across. "Then we came to a deep creek where
we had to make a bridge in order to carry over the saddles and baggage, the
horses swimming; and as soon as we were across we came upon another [

swampy place, more than a league long, where the horses sank to their knees
and often to their girths, but as the ground underneath was hard we got across

3^ Cortes, 1866,
pp. 407-08, and 1Q16, pp. 359-60; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 176. Diaz states
that Cortes sent the messengers from Ciuatecpan.
 THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS IO3

safely and entered the forest." After an arduous journey of two days through
the forest, "so thick that, standing on the ground and looking up, one could not
see the sky," the guides confessed that they were lost; whereupon Cortes

ordered the army back to swamp where there was pasture for the
a small

horses. "There we passed the night suffering much from hunger. Some of . . .

the men were more dead than alive, and almost gave up all hope." With the
aid of a marine compass Cortes on the following day directed the march to
the northeast, the direction in which he calculated Ciuatecpan should be;
"and it pleased God that our calculations should turn out so well that by the
hour of vespers we came in sight of the idol houses which stood in the middle
of the pueblo."
Although the town had been burned and was entirely deserted, the army
found a plentiful supply of maize and other foods. "Thus refreshed we began
to forget our past troubles, although I was still very anxious for news of the
canoes which I had sent up the river." Walking through the town, he found a
crossbow bolt in the ground and realized that the canoes had arrived, but now
his concern was all the greater, fearing that the men might have been killed.^^

The Indians of Ciuatecpan had fled to a lagoon across the Usumacinta,

where some of Cortes' men found them and brought back thirty or forty for
questioning. The latter informed the commander that the Spaniards in the
canoes, having waited two days in Ciuatecpan, had proceeded upstream to
another settlement named Petenecte, 6 leagues away. Messengers were imme-
diately sent to contact them, and the following day all returned, with news of
three more villages (called Coatzacoalco, Taltenango, and Teutitan by Cortes)
located above Petenecte. The very next day Indians from these upstream
towns arrived, bringing provisions "and a little gold."

At Ciuatecpan, as at other places en route, Cortes told the Indians "that

they must believe in God and serve your Majesty." They promised obedience
to the Spanish sovereign and burned some of their idols in the commander's
presence. The cacique of Ciuatecpan, who had not appeared before, now
arrived, and Cortes gave presents to all the Indians, "on which they became
well contented and satisfied." ^^
Although the exact location of Ciuatecpan is still somewhat uncertain,
the available data mdicate that it was in the region of Canizan. The village of
Usumacinta was apparently situated below the junction of the San Pedro

40 Cortes, 1866, pp. 408-11, and Diaz del

1916, pp. 360-63; Castillo, 1939, ch. 175. Diaz'
account of the march to Ciuatecpan somewhat confused, for he puts the story about getting
is

lost in the forest in the first stage of the journey from Iztapa to Ciuatecpan instead of the second
stage.
41 Cortes, 1866,
pp. 410-12, and 1916, pp. 363-64.
 .

1
04 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Martir and Usumacinta Rivers not far from modern Balancan. Petenecte was
a short distance below Tenosique, which was evidently one of the three towns
'^^
farther upstream mentioned by Cortes.
The next important point on Cortes' march was Acalan, He asked the
Indians about the route he should take, and after some discussion itwas agreed
that he should cross the river at Ciuatecpan and follow a trail used by native
merchants. Advance parties were sent out to explore the road and also to
notify the caciques and people of Acdan of the impending arrival of the
army and establish friendly relations with them. Bernal Diaz and Gonzalo
Mexia were the leaders of one group, of whom we shall hear more later.
Although Cortes intended to await reports of the advance parties, depletion
of supplies gathered for the march forced him to set out before word was
received from them. Bernal Diaz also states that the Indians of Ciuatecpan had
again abandoned the town, evidence that the loyalty and obedience they had
promised were mere expressions of temporary expediency.*^
After crossing the Usumacinta, the army proceeded along a narrow trail

through thick forest, and on the third day reached a great "estero" (Bernal

Diaz calls it a river) more than 500 paces wide. This was a widened section of
the Rio San Pedro Martir, apparently in the region of Nuevo Leon northeast
of Canizan. Search up- and downstream for a ford was fruitless, and the
native guides told Cortes that none would be found unless he traveled up-
stream for twenty days to the sierra (the elevated country that forms the
divide between the Usumacinta and the San Pedro Martir southeast of Teno-
sique)."**

The army now faced a very grave situation which Cortes describes in
these words:

This lagoon or creek {estero 6 ancoji) placed me in such difficulty that I can-
not find words to expressit; to cross it seemed impossible on account of its width

and the want of canoes, and even if we had had canoes for the people and bag-
gage the horses could not have crossed, for on both sides were great s^^-amps
with a network of tree roots. No other way could be thought of for getting the
horses across. To turn back meant certain death on account of the bad roads which
we had passed over and the had fallen, for we well knew that
amount of rain that
the flood in the rivers must have washed away all the bridges that we had made,
yet to rebuild these seemed equallv difficult when all the men were exhausted and
the thought was pressing on our minds that we had consumed all the provisions
prepared for the journey and should find nothing more to eat. . .

*- See Appendix B, pp. 442-48, infra, for a discussion of the location of these towns.
.*3 Cortes, 1866, p. 413; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 176.
^* For a discussion regarding this "estero" and the point of crossing, see Appendix B, pp.
448-57, passim.
 THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS I05

have already told your Majesty what difficulties there were in the way of our
I

advance, so that no human brain could have suggested a remedy if God, who is
the true help and succour of the afflicted and needy, had not aided us."*^

By chance a small canoe was found in which the Spaniards who had been
sent ahead to Acalan had crossed the stream, and Cortes had soundino-s made
to test the depth of the water. It proved to be 4 fathoms deep with another
2 fathoms of mud at the bottom. "As a last resource I determined to throw a

bridge across and at once I ordered wood to be cut to measure, that is nine or
ten fathoms long, including that part which would remain above the water."
The Mexican auxiliaries cut and hauled the logs, and the Spaniards, using
rafts and three canoes (two more had been found) began to drive them in
place. Cortes sought to inspire his men by actively participating in the labor,
but the task seemed so hopeless that the soldiers began to grumble, saying that
it would be better to turn back before hunger and exhaustion made it im-
possible. "As I saw them so greatly discouraged —
and in truth they had good
reason to be so, both on account of the nature of the work that we were under-
taking, and because they had nothing to eat except such roots and herbs as
they could find — I told them that they should not be employed on the bridge,
for I would build it with the Indians alone."
Summoning the Mexican chieftains, the commander toldthem "that they
could see to what extremity we were reduced and that we must either go
forward or perish." He begged them to have their followers complete the
bridge, assuring them that food in plenty would be available in Acalan. "In
addition to this I when we got back to Tenochtitlan they
promised them that
would be handsomely rewarded by me in your Majesty's name." The chief-
tains immediately promised to have the work carried on, and it proceeded so

rapidly that within four days the bridge was finished and the army crossed to
the opposite shore. The completed structure contained more than 1000 posts,
"the smallest of them almost as thick as a man's body," not counting the tim-
bers of lesser size.'^^

The building of this bridge was undoubtedly a remarkable feat. It was

another example of the leadership, resourcefulness, and driving energy more
than once demonstrated by the great conqueror in the face of danger and
adversity.
After crossing the bridge, the Spaniards encountered another hazard, a
greatswamp two crossbow shots wide, "the most terrible thing that man ever
saw." The horses sank to their girths and at first it seemed impossible to extri-
^° Cortes, 1916, pp. 365-66.
*6 Cortes, 1866, pp. 414-15, and 1916, pp. 366-67; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 176.
Io6 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

cate them. But the soldiers used brush and branches to support them, and
finally a channel was made through which the horses swam to dry ground."*'
The advance party of Bernal Diaz and Mexia had meanwhile reached the
first Acalan town, despite the fact that their guides had fled the first night

after they left Ciuatecpan. At first the inhabitants, who apparently had no
news of the expedition, adopted a somewhat hostile attitude, and they were
little inclined to heed the Spaniards' request that they send supplies to the
army. But the following day they learned from native merchants that Cortes
had a large force, and they now indicated greater willingness to furnish pro-
visions, although refusing to go to see Cortes because the people of Ciuatecpan,
where the army was assumed to be, were their enemies. At this juncture two
messengers arrived with letters from Cortes, stating that he had already set out
for Acalan and instructing Diaz and Mexia to bring him as much food as

possible. Collecting a large quantity of maize, fowl, and other supplies, the
Spaniards, with eighty Indian carriers, hastened back along the trail and met
the army on the very day
after dark it got through the swamp on the east
bank of the Rio San Pedro Martir."*^
The soldiers, hungry and exhausted, cast aside all discipline and seized the
food for themselves, leaving none for Cortes and the captains. When he heard
what had happened, the commander ''cursed with impatience" and threatened
to investigate this act of insubordination, but, as Bernal Diaz remarks, "his
anger was useless and merely 'lifting up his voice in the wilderness.' " The
soldier-chronicler had evidently anticipated that there would be a wild
scramble for the food and had hidden some in the forest, which he agreed to
share with Cortes and Sandoval. He notes, however, that Sandoval went in
person to bring his share, trusting no one else.

So great was the army's need that Cortes ordered Diaz to return in haste
to Acalan "and impress strongly on the caciques that they should keep the

peace and should at once send provisions along the road This I did, and the
very day that I arrived at Acala I sent by night three Spaniards who accom-
panied me with over one hundred Indians laden with maize and other things."
This second supply of provisions arrived during the march of the main force
to the first Acalan town. On this occasion, however, Cortes, Sandoval, and
Luis Marin went ahead of the army to receive the food and supervise its dis-

tribution.*^

With the first supply party came "two persons of distinction" who brought
Cortes, 1866, pp. 415-16, and 1916, pp. 367-68.
47

Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 176-, Cortes, 1866, p. 416. Diaz states that the supply party ar-
4s

rived before the army crossed the swamp east of the estero.
49 Diaz del Castillo, 1908-16, 5: ch. 176.
 THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS lOJ

messages and from Paxbolonacha, the ruler of Acalan. They told Cortes
gifts

that for some time past their chieftain had known about him through reports
of merchants from Xicalango and Tabasco and that he was "delighted at my
arrival." Cortes expressed thanks for the good will of this ruler, gave them
presents, and sent them back to Acalan with Bemal Diaz. He also states, "They
marvelled greatly at the building of the bridge, and this went far to establish
the security which we afterwards enjoyed among them, for as their country
lies amid lagoons and creeks, they could easily have hidden themselves in them,
but after seeing that wonderful work they thought that nothing was impos-
sible for us to accomplish." ^^
The army now proceeded toward the Acalan border towns, evidently fol-
lowing the trail used by Diaz and the supply party. The first night was spent
in the forest, and about noon of the second day they came to some planted
fields. Later in the afternoon, after making a detour around a swamp, they
reached the first by Cortes and recorded as Cac-
settlement, called Tizatepelt
chute in the Chontal Text. This town could not have been far from the San
Pedro branch of the Candelaria, if not actually on it."'^ In contrast with the
situation all along the Usumacinta, where the natives had abandoned their
towns because of reports spread by the cacique of Ciuatan, the Indians of
Tizatepelt had remained peacefully in their village. The army also obtained
enough food for the men and horses "to make us forget the want that we had
suffered."
At this place one of Paxbolonacha's sons, accompanied by a considerable

following, came to see Cortes "and placed his land and person at your Maj-
esty's service." He informed the commander, however, that his father had
died. Although Cortes realized that he was not telling the truth, he expressed
his condolences and treated him with due respect. The youth and his company
remained in Tizatepelt two days, evidently for the purpose of obtaining in-
formation concerning the size and strength of the expedition.
The cacique of Tizatepelt suggested to Cortes that the army would find
better accommodations and more plentiful provisions at a larger and more
populous town, also under his jurisdiction, that was close by. The com-
mander accepted this obvious invitation to move on, and the cacique at once
gave orders to have the trail cleared and lodgings prepared for the soldiers.
A march brought the Spaniards to this second settlement, named
5 -league

Teutiercas in the Fifth Letter, and Tuxakha in the Chontal Text. (Gomara
and Ixtlilxochitl record the Nahuatl name as Teuticaccac and Teotilac re-
50 Cortes, 1916,
p. 368.
51 Cf Appendix B,
. p. 459, infra.

I
1 08 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

spectively, and these forms are undoubtedly more exact. )^^ On the basis of a
remark by Ixtlilxochitl and the meaning of the Chontal name, we infer that

the town was located on the Rio San Pedro, possibly near the junction with
the Arroyo Esperanza.^^
Cortes describes the place as "a very beautiful pueblo" with imposing
temples, two of which the soldiers used as living quarters after casting out
the idols."At this the natives did not show much distress as I had already
spoken to them and shown them the error in which they lived, for there was
no other than the one God creator of all things, and all the rest that I could tell

them at the time. Later on I spoke to them more fully on the subject of re-
ligion to both Chief and people." ^^
At Teutiercas, or Tuxakha, the cacique informed Cortes in great confi-
dence that although Paxbolonacha had given instructions to spread the report
that he was dead, he was alive and had ordered that the Spaniards should be
led astray and diverted from the -major Acalan settlements. Whereupon the
commander sent for the ruler's son and expressed surprise at Paxbolonacha's
conduct, in view of his own desire to do the ruler honor and reward him for
the good treatment the Spaniards had thus far received from the Acalan
people. He requested therefore that he should persuade his father to come,
"for I felt sure that it would be greatly to his advantage to do so." The youth
admitted the deception, with the excuse that his father had ordered it; but
he expressed the belief that the ruler, "knowing, as he now did, that I [Cortes]
did not come to do them any harm," would accede to the commander's re-

quest. So he went back to Ttzamkanac, and the following day both father and
son appeared before Cortes, who received them "with much pleasure." Pax-
bolonacha excused his conduct on the ground that he had been afraid to come
until he was certain of the peaceful intentions of the Spaniards. It was true that

1943, 2: 140; Alva Ixtlilxochitl, 1891-92, i: 412. The latter also records
52 Lopez de Gomara,

the name Teotlycacac, which he seems to apply to another town, but from the nature of his
narrative it evidently refers to Cortes' Teutiercas. In short, Ixtlilxochitl gives both Teotilac and
Teotlycacac (evidently variants of the same name) for the second town.
53 Cf. Appendix B,
p. 460, infra.
54 Cortes, 1866,
pp. 416-18, and 1916, pp. 368-70.

Map 3—the CHONTAL AREA AND ADJACENT REGIONS

Based on the Tehuantepec and Belize sheets of the 1:1,000,000 map of Hispanic America issued
by the American Geographical Society; the Tulane-Carnegie map of Archaeological Sites in
the Maya Area (1940 edition); the map of Quintano Roo issued in 1937 by the Secretaria de
Agricultura y Fomento, Mexico; and maps by Rovirosa (1880), Pacheco Blanco (1928), Morley
(1937-38, vols. 4 and 5), Gonzalez (1940), Aguilera Martinez (1942), Ruppert and Denison
(1943), and Andrews (1943).
^- ^r. Y
Map 3—the CHONTAL AREA AND ADJACENT REGIONS
(See legend on facing page)
 THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS IO9

he had sought to divert the Spaniards from the Acalan settlements, but he now
invited Cortes to accompany him to Itzamkanac, where the army would find

all the facilities and provisions needed.^^

The Chontal Text gives a somewhat different version of events leading up
to the meeting of Paxbolonacha and Cortes. It contains no mention of the
visit of the "two persons of distinction" to Cortes' camp near the famous
bridge, nor does it give any account of the goings and comings of Pax-
bolonacha's son. The story in the Text begins with the statement that after
the Spaniards arrived in Tuxakha, they sent word summoning the Acalan
ruler, but since he could take no action without consulting his principal men,
the latter assembled to consider what would be the best policy to follow. They
advised that inasmuch as they did not know what the Spaniards wanted, it

would not be fitting for Paxbolonacha to accede to the summons. In his place
was sent a certain Chocpalocem Ahau, accompanied by three other chieftains
named Patzinchiciua, Paxuanapuk, and Paxhochacchan.
When these men appeared before Cortes, the latter, learning that Pax-
bolonacha was not among them, said: "Let the ruler come, for I wish to see
him. I do not come to make war nor to do him harm. I wish only to pass
through to see the land [and] whatever there is to see. I will be very good
to him if he receives me well." In this way Cortes made clear his firm purpose
to see the Acalan ruler, and although his words were friendly enough, they un-
mistakably implied that the maintenance of peaceful relations depended on the
ruler's actions. "Having understood it," the chieftains returned to Itzamkanac.
Paxbolonacha now informed his principal men that he wished to go in
person to see Cortes, and without further delay he set out for Tuxakha, taking
"a generous gift of honey, turkeys, maize, copal, and a great deal of fruit."
Cortes and the Spaniards received him with courtesy, and the commander
stated that he had come in name of "the lord of the world, the emperor who
is on his throne in Castile," to see the land and its people. He reiterated his
peaceful intentions, and stated that all he asked was that Paxbolonacha should
facilitate his journey to the east coast. Paxbolonacha replied "that he would
grant him passage with great pleasure," and he now invited Cortes to accom-
pany him to Itzamkanac, where they would discuss the measures to be taken.
But the Spaniard suggested that the ruler should rest a while in Tuxakha,
"whereupon they spent twenty days taking their ease."
It is not surprising that the Text fails to mention the activities of Pax-
bolonacha's son, or the ruler's attempted deception and his efforts to direct the
Spaniards away from Itzamkanac and other major settlements. This part of
°= Cortes, 1866, pp. 418-19, and 1916, pp. 370-71.
 1 1 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

the Text (Document III), was designed to

written eighty- five years later,

estabhsh the services of Don Pablo Paxbolon, cacique of Tixchel, and his an-
cestors to the Spanish Crown. In this case, as in other parts of the record of
Cortes' visit to Acalan in 1525, it naturally seeks to emphasize the loyalty of
Paxbolonacha and the aid rendered the Spaniards at this time. The equivocal
attitude of the ruler at first is discreetly passed over in silence. The account of
the embassy of Chocpalocem Ahau and his retinue, which probably coin-
cided with one of the visits by Paxbolonacha's son, has genuine value, how-
ever, for it illustrates the nature of political authority in Acalan and shows
that the ruler by no means exercised free right of decision in local affairs.
The statement in the Text that Cortes and Paxbolonacha spent twenty
days in Tuxakha (Teutiercas) is not confirmed by any other source. In the
Fifth Letter Cortes relates that after his meeting with the Acalan ruler the
latter immediately gave orders for a road to be cleared to Itzamkanac. The
following day the army proceeded to the capital. Paxbolonacha accompanied
it, riding one of the commander's horses.^'" We believe that Cortes' testimony
should be accepted on this point, since the Fifth Letter is a more authoritative
source than the Text. In addition, it seems more likely that Cortes would have
spent any period of rest and ease in Itzamkanac than in one of the lesser
towns.^^
Cortes describes Itzamkanac, which we locate on the south side of the
Candelaria near the junction of the Arroyo Caribe and the Rio San Pedro, as
a large place with many temples, and we have already noted that the Spaniards
evidently considered it a more imposing place than the Itza capital at Tayasal.

ss
Cortes, 1866, p. 419.
^'^
We
also find it difficult to reconcile a twenty-day stay at Tuxakha or any other Acalan
town with the chronology of the expedition as set forth in the Fifth Letter and other sources.
Cortes (1866, p. 419) states that he left Acalan on his journey to the Cehache country on the
first Sunday in Lent in 1525, i.e., March 5, 1525, O.S. (see note 61, infra). Although no date is
recorded for the departure from Espiritu Santo, Chamberlain (1938, pp. 523-25) has published
a copy of a Cortes document dated at Espiritu Santo on December 14, 1524. Wagner (1944, pp.
531-32, note 51) states that the original of this document, owned by the Rosenbach Company, is
dated at TupUco, also on December 14, 1524. Assuming that Cortes was actually in the Tupilco
area on December 14, 1524, this would leave only eighty-one days (December 14, 1524 March —
4, 1525) for Cortes' march to Acalan and his stay in the latter province. If we add up Cortes'
stated time schedules for the march and also make reasonable estimates when specific time
schedules are not recorded, we find that Cortes' entire stay in the province of Acalan could not
have lasted twenty days. A twenty-day period in one of the Acalan towns, or indeed for the
entire Acalan phase of the journey, can be worked out only by assuming (i) that Cortes left
Espiritu Santo earlier than the documents mentioned above would indicate, or (2) that the
time schedules recorded in the Fifth Letter for certain phases of the journey (such as the
twenty-day stay at Ciuatan, six days at Tepetitan, eight days at Iztapa, etc.) are incorrect. The
March 5 date for leaving Itzamkanac appears to be correct, since it fits in with recorded time
schedules up to the next specific date, namely, Cortes' arrival at Tenciz on April 15, 1525, the
day before Easter.
 1

THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS 1 1

Although Paxbolonacha had his own residence in Itzamkanac, he remained

with Cortes in the quarters occupied by the latter. We suspect, however, that
this action was not entirely voluntary, and that Cortes kept him in his company
as a precautionary measure for the security of the army.^^
Although the major purpose of Cortes' expedition was to punish the trea-
son of Cristobal de Olid and to assert authority over the Honduras area, the
commander, prior to his arrival in Acalan, lacked precise information con-
cerning the whereabouts of the various groups of Spaniards on the Caribbean
coast. At Espiritu Santo the Indians of Xicalango and Tabasco told him about
depredations committed by foreigners on the east coast, and on the basis of

these reports Cortes apparently concluded that the raiders (he was not sure
whether they were Olid's men, soldiers of Francisco de las Casas, or followers
of Alvarado) were operating in the region of Ascension Bay, which he seems
to have confused with Chetumal Bay. It appears, therefore, that his actual
objective when he set out from Espiritu Santo was the east coast of Yucatan,
and the instructions sent from Iztapa to the commander of his ships on the
Tabasco coast indicate that this was still his objective at that time. But as the

result of his conversations with Paxbolonacha and the Acalan merchants,

Cortes learned that a group of Spaniards were established at Nito, where the
Acalan traders had warehouses and occupied an entire barrio of the town.
Consequently he now made plans to march in that direction. It was only
after he had traveled to within a short distance of Nito that he learned that
these Spaniards were members of Gil Gonzalez Davila's expedition, of which
he had no information at the beginning of his march.^^
The Acalan chieftains made a new and detailed map of the route he should
follow. On it were indicated the principal towns through which he should
pass and also important geographical features, "even to the rivers and swamps
and miry places." Paxbolonacha had a bridge built across a broad swamp be-
tween Itzamkanac and a nearby river (the Rio San Pedro), and he also agreed
to supply the necessary canoes for crossing the river and guides for the
journey. But when Cortes asked for provisions for the march, the caciques
told him that the natives of certain towns would not obey them and that it

would be necessary to send soldiers to requisition the supplies. Perhaps they

adopted this policy in order to escape responsibility for the seizure of the
needed food. In any case, the commander sent out a force of eighty soldiers,
who obtained loo canoe-loads of maize, fowl, honey, salt, and other supplies.^^

58 Cortes, 1866,
p. 419.
59 Cf. discussion of this point in Appendix B, pp. 430-34, infra.
^° Cortes, 1866, p. 419; Diaz del Castillo, 1908-16, and 1939, ch. 177.
112 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

It was during Cortes' stay in the province of Acalan that a famous episode
occurred, namely the execution of Cuauhtemoc and one or more of the other
Mexican lords who had been brought along on the expedition. Neither Cortes
nor Bernal Diaz records the exact time or place of this incident. Cortes intro-
duces the story after describing his arrival in Itzamkanac, his conferences
there with Paxbolonacha, and his preparations for the next stage of his jour-
ney. This obviously suggests that the affair took place in the Acalan capital.
Gomara specifically states that Itzamkanac was the scene of the execution,
and most later writers have accepted his word on this point. Ixtlilxochitl, how-
The Chontal Text names
ever, records that the incident occurred in Teotilac.
Tuxakha as the place "where the head of the Mexican captain, Cuauhtemoc,
was cut off." Teotilac and Tuxakha, as we have seen, were evidently the same
place, the Teutiercas of Cortes' narrative. Although it is interesting to find
Tezcocan and Acalan traditions in agreement on this point, we believe that
the burden of the evidence indicates that the Mexican lords were put to death
at Itzamkanac.'^-'^
Cortes tells us that "an honored citizen of this city of Tenuxtitan" named
Aiexicalcingo secretly warned him that the native lords were conspiring to
regain their lands and power. This informer stated that the chieftains had often
talked about the loss of their realms and had said "that it would be well to seek
a remedy by which they might again rule and possess them." During the long
overland journey they had discussed the matter and had concluded that a

61 According to Lopez de Gomara (1943, 2: 144), this incident occurred at Itzamkanac

"during Carnestolendas," the three festival days before Ash Wednesday, in 1525. Alva
i.e.,

Ixtlilxochitl (1891-92, i: 416) states that the Mexican lords were hanged at Teotilac during the
early hours of Tuesday of Carnestolendas, or the day before Ash Wednesday. Vetancurt (1870-
71, i: 363) gives the date as February 26, 1525, but (Drozco y Berra (1938, i: 139, note 232) notes
that this is an error, since the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday fell on February 28 in 1525. Dr.
Walter S. Adams of Mt. Wilson Observatory has informed us that Easter fell on April 16 in
1525 (O.S.), which would fix Ash Wednesday as March i. This confirms Orozco y Berra's
date for the execution and also Cortes' own date, April 15, for the eve of Easter (Cortes, 1866,
p. 434). Wagner (1944, p. 444) gives March i as the date of the execution, but cites no reason
for putting it on this date (Ash Wednesday) instead of the preceding day (Tuesday) as re-
corded by Alva Ixtlilxochitl. Cortes left Itzamkanac on the first Sunday in Lent, or March 5,
1525. If the Mexican lords were put to death in Teutiercas (Teotilac, Tuxakha) on February
28, this would leave a very short interval for the march to the Acalan capital and the prepara-
tions there for the next stage of Cortes' journey. It may also be noted that although the Chontal
Text identifies Tuxakha as the scene of the execution, the Maldonado-Paxbolon probanza of
161 2 places it in "the pueblo of Acalan," i.e., Itzamkanac (Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I,
ff. ^v, 39r) Maldonado, who formulated the probanza, knew of the existence of the Text and
.

was acquainted with its general contents, and he later succeeded in having it incorporated in
the probanza proceedings as a substantiating document. It is rather significant therefore that the
probanza evidence and the Text differ on this point. Moreover, it should be pointed out that
although the Text statement as to the place of the execution finds confirmation in Ixtlilxochitl's
narrative, these two accounts of the incident differ in every other respect. Everything consid-
ered, we believe that we should accept Gomara's statement that the Mexican lords were put to
death at Itzamkanac.
 THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS 1 1
3

suitable plan would be to find a way to kill Cortes and his soldiers. Having
done this, they would incite a similar movement against Olid in Honduras and
also send word to the Indians in Tenochtitlan to kill the Spaniards who had

remained there. The last part of the scheme could easily be carried out, so they
believed, since most of the Spaniards in the city were newcomers inexperi-
enced in warfare. When these plans had been executed, the chieftains would
then convoke all the land and wipe out all other Spaniards wherever they
might be found. Cortes promptly arrested the alleged conspirators and ques-
tioned them separately, telling each one that the others had already told him
of the plot. They confessed that Cuauhtemoc and Tetlepanquetzal, lord of
Tacuba, "had set the matter on foot, and also that it was true that the rest had

heard of it, but that they had never given their consent to the plan,"
Bernal Diaz also records that the Mexican chieftains "had been deliberat-
ing or had arranged to kill us all and return to Mexico, and when they had
reached their city to unite all their great forces and attack those [Spaniards]
who remained in Mexico." He identifies the informers as "two great caciques,"
named Tapia and Juan Velasquez, the latter having been Cuauhtemoc's "cap-
tain general" during the siege of Tenochtitlan. The testimony of these men
and of the accused lords, which was taken down in writing, revealed that the
Mexican leaders, having observed the exhaustion of Cortes' forces and the
general discontent and lack of discipline, had agreed that there would be a
favorable opportunity to attack when the army was crossing some river or
swamp. "Guatemoc confessed that it was as the others had said, but the plot
was not hatched by him, and he did not know if they were all privy to it or
would bring it to pass, that he never thought to carry it out but only [joined
in] the talk there was about it. The Cacique of Tacuba stated that he and
Guatemoc had said that it were better to die once for all than die every day
on the journey, considering how their followers and kinsmen were suffering
famine."
Cuauhtemoc and Tetlepanquetzal were hanged without further trial. The
others were released, so Cortes says, "as they did not seem to have been guilty
of more than listening, although that was sufficient for them to have deserved
death." Gomara, who repeats Cortes' story of the incident with few changes,
records, however, that a chieftain named Tlacatlec was also hanged.^^
Torquemada and Ixtlilxochitl, who based their narrative of the
on affair
Tezcocan sources and folk deny the existence of an actual con-
tradition,
spiracy against Cortes. The former relates that at some point during the jour-

62 Cortes, 1866, pp. 420-21, and 1916, pp. 372-73; Diaz del Castillo, 1908-16 and 1939, ch.
177; Lopez de Gomara, 1943, 2: 143-45.
114 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

ney Cohuanacoch bitterly reminded his fellow chieftains that whereas they
had once been kings they were now slaves carried along by Cortes "and the
few Christians who came with him." And he also said: "If we were men of
another sort, unmindful of the promise we have given not to create trouble,
we might well make sport of them so that they would remember the past and
how they burned the feet of my cousin, Quauhtemoc." Whereupon Cuauh-
temoc told him to abandon such talk, "lest it be misunderstood and [the
Spaniards] think that we were actually planning it." But as Torquemada re-
marks, "even the walls have ears, and there is nothing, no matter how secretly
it is mentioned, that does not leak out through some chink to the plaza."
A Mexican Indian, "a villainous commoner," reported the conversation to
Cortes, who readily believed that the chieftains were plotting against him.
That very night he hanged eight of them.^
Ixtlilxochitl gives a more elaborate and circumstantial defense of the na-
tive lords. He relates that during the stay at Teotilac the pre-Lenten festivals
{carnestolendas) were celebrated, and that the Indians, partly in imitation of
the Spaniards and also because they were accustomed to hold certain native
ceremonies at this time,^^ also spent the season in gaiety day and night. An
added motive for merriment, so the chronicler was the fact that Cortes
states,

had told them they could now return home. "Thus they were all content, and
the kings engaged in pleasant conversation, jesting (or amusing themselves)
with one another." Among other scoffs and jests {burlas y chocarrerias) they
indulged in argument about their respective claims to lands they were going to
conquer. Cohuanacoch claimed prior rights since the city of Tezcoco, accord-
ing to the laws of the great Nezahualcoyotl, always held first place; Cuauh-
temoc asserted that he should be ruler; and Tetlepanquetzal insisted that the

rights of Tacuba should now be considered first. Finally, Temilotzin, "general

of the kingdom of Mexico," spoke up and chided them for talking in this vein.
How could they jest about such things, since the loss of their realms had re-
sulted from rivalry and dissension in the past? "Our pride and discord dehvered
us into the hands of these foreigners, to suffer the long and weary journeys,
the hunger, cold, and a thousand other calamities we now endure, dispossessed
of our kingdoms and lordships, forgotten by our cherished fatherland, as if
it were our enemy; but all this we can consider well employed since these our
63 Torquemada, 1723, bk. 4, ch. 104.
The period of these pre-Lenten festivals in 1525 would have been February 26-28, since
64

Ash Wednesday fell on March i in that year. In the Gregorian calendar these days would have
been March 7-9. VaUlant (1941, p. 196) lists various Aztec ceremonies for the period March
4-23 (Gregorian), such as "impersonation of Xipe by priests wearing skins of captives; dances
by priests wearing human skins; agricultural dances,"
 5

THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS 1

1

enemies, children of the sun, brought us the true light, the salvation of our
souls, and eternal life." They should emulate Ixtlilxochitl, brother of Cohuana-
coch and ancestor of the chronicler, who showed no signs of sadness and had
wholeheartedly accepted the new faith. The chieftains (nine of them partici-
pated in the discussion) thanked Temilotzin for his wise counsel, and some
were prompted to recall how their "ancient philosophers" had prophesied their
present fate.
Seeing that the chieftains spent much time in talk and storytelling, Cortes
"misjudged them, for as the proverb says, 'The thief thinks all are of his

condition.' " He summoned an Indian named Cotexmi (the Mexicalcingo of

the Fifth Letter) who had already
, been serving him as a spy, and demanded
to know what these lengthy harangues were about. The chronicler states that

Cotexmi was later put to torture in Tezcoco, and that although he confessed
that he reported the nature of the chieftains' discussions, he denied telling
Cortes they were plotting against him. In short, was Cortes who "manu- it

factured" the conspiracy in order to be rid of the chieftains, "so there would
be no natural lord in the land." In the early hours of the following day (Tues-
day before Lent) the commander started to hang the Mexican leaders one by
one. Cuauhtemoc was the first, then Tetlepanquetzal and the others, and last

of all, Cohuanacoch. But when Cortes saw that the brother of Cohuanacoch
was rallying his forces, he hastily cut down the Tezcocan lord. Within two
days, however, Cohuanacoch died of wounds and shock.*'^

The Chontal Text devotes a lengthy paragraph to this incident. Here we

are told that during the time when Cortes and Paxbolonacha were "taking their
ease" at Tuxakha, Cuauhtemoc proposed a joint attack on the Spaniards.
Cuauhtemoc is reported to have said: "My lord ruler, there will come a time
when these Spaniards will give us much trouble and do us much harm and they
will kill our people. I am of the opinion that we should kill them for I bring a
large force and you are many." To which the Acalan ruler replied: "I will con-
sider it. Leave it for now and we will discuss it later." But Paxbolonacha, see-
ing that the Spaniards committed no acts of violence against his people and
asked for nothing except supplies of food, decided "that since they did him no
evil he could not have two faces with them, nor show two hearts toward the
Spaniards." Nevertheless, Cuauhtemoc "was always importuning him about
this," and Paxbolonacha finally went to Cortes and warned him to watch out

lest the Aztec "commit some treason against you, because three or four times

he has talked with me about killing you." The commander immediately ar-

65 Alva Ixtlilxochitl, 1891-92, i: 412-17.

 6

I 1 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

rested Cuauhtemoc and put him in chains. "On the third day that he was a
prisoner they took him out and baptized him. .^^ After baptizing him they
. .

cut oif his head, and it was spiked on a ceiba in front of the house of idolatry
which was in the pueblo of Yaxdzan." The words "in the pueblo of" appear
only in the Spanish version and not in the Text. Yaxdzan does not appear in
the list of Acalan towns recorded in the Text, so we surmise that it refers to
a subdivision of Tuxakha where the native author of the Text believed the
execution occurred.
In the probanza formulated in 1612 to record the services of Francisco
Maldonado and his father-in-law, Don Pablo Paxbolon, grandson of Pax-
bolonacha, we also find statements that Cuauhtemoc tried to induce the Acalan
ruler to join a conspiracy against the Spaniards. But here a different reason is

given for Paxbolonacha's refusal to participate in the plot. The Acalan chief-
tain is said to have advised the Aztec "not to exert himself in vain." Had it not
been prophesied that would last only until the coming of the white
their rule

men, "children of the sun," who would wear clothing and shoes {que vendrian
vestidos y calzados) ? "And there could be no doubt about it, now that they
had seen the Spaniards." The probanza then goes on to tell how Paxbolonacha,
in keeping with the loyalty and obedience he had promised Cortes, warned the

commander, who condemned Cuauhtemoc to death. "And he was beheaded,

and his head was nailed to a ceiba in the pueblo of Acalan."
No other source that we have seen records that Paxbolonacha played any
part in this affair. Indeed, Ixtlilxochitl states that it occurred before Cortes'
meeting with the Acalan ruler. Although we believe that the Tezcocan his-

torian is wrong on this point, we are also of the opinion that Paxbolonacha was
not the informer who denounced Cuauhtemoc. Just as the Text narrative of
the meeting of Cortes and Paxbolonacha describes that event in the most
favorable light, so also we regard the Text and probanza versions of the
Cuauhtemoc episode as obviously designed to provide further proof of the
loyalty of the ruling house of Acalan to the Spanish Crown. It is also rather

significant that these two accounts disagree concerning the scene of the exe-
cution and Paxbolonacha's motives for refusing to join the alleged conspiracy.
The "pueblo of Acalan" mentioned in the probanza was undoubtedly Itzam-
kanac. It may be noted, however, that the statements that Cuauhtemoc was
beheaded finds some confirmation in a sixteenth-century Mexican picture
manuscript, the Mapa de Tepechpan, which, as Morley has pointed out, "por-

trays the headless body of Quauhtemoc hafiging by his feet."^^

6s The Text account is obviously in error on this point, for Cuauhtemoc had been bap-
tized soon after the fall of Tenochtitlan.
67 Morley, 1937-38, i: 15. Perez Martinez (1945, pp. 283-86) gives a lengthy discussion of
 7

THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS I 1

It is unlikely that we shall ever know the entire truth about this incident.
Although the testimony of the accused lords and of the person or persons who
denounced them is said to have been taken down in writing, this document
has not been found. The evidence recorded in the available sources, most of
them secondhand, is fragmentary and conflicting. Cortes and Bernal Diaz,
authors of the only eyewitness accounts, disagree concerning the identity of
the informers and the extent of Cuauhtemoc's complicity and guilt. The
secondhand accounts also record conflicting data concerning the informers,^^
the character and intent of the chieftains' conversations, the scene of the
executions, the number of persons executed, and the manner in which they
were put to death.
It is reasonable to assume that during the long march from Espiritu Santo
to Acalan the Mexican lords had talked about their unhappy lot and their
grievances against the Spaniards. Moreover, it was only natural that they
should dream of regaining their lands and authority, and they may well have
discussed how they might achieve this end. They could not fail to observe the
increasing weariness and discontent among Cortes' soldiers, and it would not
be surprising if they had considered the possibility of an attack on the army
at some opportune time. A favorable moment, as Ixtlilxochitl points out, would
have been at the great estero where the famous bridge was built, but Cortes
leaves no doubt as to their loyalty on that occasion. On the other hand, if they
were actually contemplating revolt, they may have reasoned that it would be
better to wait until they reached Acalan and to seek the aid of Paxbolonacha.
Torquemada and Ixtlilxochitl admit that the chieftains had discussed their
situation and had made remarks that could easily be misjudged. The question
is whether they had any plan to translate this talk into action. In view of the
unsatisfactory character of the available evidence, wt find it difficult to be-

lieve that their intentions were actually treasonable.

the question concerning the manner of Cuauhtemoc's execution. He notes that most of the
available sources state that the Aztec was hanged, and consequently rejects the evidence of the
Mapa de Tepechpan and the Chontal Text that he was beheaded. In his discussion of the alleged
plot of Cuauhtemoc and the other lords, Perez Martinez (ibid., pp. 245-56) skillfully weaves to-
gether the traditional sources (Fifth Letter, Diaz del Castillo, Torquemada, Alva Ixtlilxochitl)
and the Text version. He also makes some use of another source entitled "Unos annales de la
Nacion Mexicana," Mexican MSS. 22 and 22 bis, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, which has been
translated into German by Ernst Mengin and published in Baessler-Archiv, vol. 23, parts 3-4
(Berlin, 1939-40). We have not been able to consult this item, but it would appear to add little
to the other sources.
63 A probanza of the grandson of Dona Marina, the famous interpreter, claims that she was
the person who denounced the Mexican lords (Cuevas, 1915, p. 291). This probably means that
she translated the statements of the actual informer. Perez Martinez (1945, pp. 252-53) gives
an account, apparently based on the manuscript entitled "Unos annales," etc. (see preceding
note) of how Mexicalcingo reported the plot to Doiia Marina, who in turn informed Cortes.
 8

I 1 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

In a letter to the king in 1527, Luis de Cardenas asserted that Cortes killed
Cuauhtemoc and Tetlepanquetzal because they had refused to disclose where
they had hidden their treasure.^^ But Cardenas was an enemy of Cortes, and
we may discount his accusations. Torquemada states the opinion that Cortes
had found that holding Cuauhtemoc a virtual prisoner had become a heavy
responsibility and that he did not wish to be burdened with him any longer.
As we have noted above, Ixtlilxochitl also argues that the commander took
advantage of the situation in order to get rid of the "natural lords" of the
country. So long as Cuauhtemoc and his associates lived they might become
the rallying points of a native insurrection, and there is evidence that the
Spaniards were uneasy about the general security of the country,'''^ That Cortes
shared this uneasiness is indicated by the statement in the Fifth Letter that he
had held Cuauhtemoc a prisoner since the fall of Tenochtitlan, "as I believed
him to be a turbulent person, whom I had brought with me on this
and
journey together with all the other chiefs whom I thought to be the cause of
all insecurity and revolt in this country."'''^ He may have considered there-

fore that in order to ensure the permanence of his conquests and the success
of the Honduras expedition it was necessary to rid himself of these native
leaders. Another possible explanation is that Cortes was not sure of the loyalty
of Paxbolonacha and the other Acalan caciques, since the former had adopted
a rather equivocal attitude at first and the lesser caciques had shown no great
willingness to cooperate in the requisitioning of supplies. Under these circum-
stances he may have decided upon a spectacular display of his power in order

to frighten them into complete subservience.

But none of these explanations is entirely satisfactory. Moreover, no reader
of the Fifth Letter can fail to be impressed by the fact that when Cortes found
himself in dire straits at the great estero (Rio San Pedro Martir), with his own
men openly critical of his leadership, he turned to the native chieftains for
help, promising them a "handsome reward" if they would put their followers
to work and finish the bridge. A short time later Cuauhtemoc, Tetlepanquetzal,
69 Relacion hecha por Luis de Cardenas . . . , Sevilla, 30 de agosto, 1527, AGI, Patronato,
leg. 16, niim. 2, ramo 6.
'^o
At this Cortes' veterans remained in Tenochtitlan. Some had gone to Hon-
time few of
duras with Olid and Francisco de las Casas, othei"s to Guatemala with Alvarado, and Cortes had
taken many with him on the overland journey to the east coast. Lopez de Gomara (1943, 2:
143-45) states that the Spaniards in the city were uneasy, telling how they began to go about
armed because they heard the Indians making more noise than usual at night. Wagner (1944,
p. 444) calls attention to Motolinia's statement that Cortes left only 50 horse and 100 foot soldiers
to defend Tenochtitlan, and that the Indians were ready to rise whenever they should hear that
Cortes had been killed. Wagner expresses the opinion, however, that Motolinia, being a new-
comer, was "unduly nervous over the great disproportion between the numbers of Spaniards
and Indians and was quite ready to believe such a story."
'i Cortes, 1916, p. 372.
 9

THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS II

and possibly others were put to death. Unless Cortes had discovered some new,
impelling reason to mistrust the Mexican leaders, his action can be character-
ized only as the grossest form of ingratitude. Bernal Diaz considered the exe-
cution unjust, and he suggests that Cortes soon regretted it. Most writers,

colonial and modern, regard the incident a stain on the conqueror's character.
The most that can be said in justification of it is that a combination of factors
— a certain lack of confidence in the native lords, the stress of hardships re-

cently endured, the discontent among his own soldiers, the equivocal attitude

of Paxbolonacha, and preoccupation with the long march ahead — caused

Cortes to act with undue haste without giving the accused men a proper trial.

Cortes did not tarry long in Acalan after this famous episode was enacted.
According to the available evidence, the executions occurred on Tuesday,
February 28, 1525.'''^ On the following Sunday, March 5, the army left Itzam-
kanac on its march to the Cehache country and beyond. Cortes' plans may
already have been well advanced before the chieftains were put to death. The
short interval between the executions and the departure from Itzamkanac sug-
gests, however, that the situation in Acalan had become tense and that Cortes
deemed it wise to resume the march without delay. (See Appendix B for a
discussion of the march as far as Tayasal.)

The coming of the Spaniards under Cortes marks a turning point in the
history of Acalan, for although the province was not subjected to permanent
occupation then or later, Cortes' visit was the first of a series of events by
which the region was eventually brought within the orbit of Spanish colonial
administration. Moreover, the arrival of the Spaniards in 1525, regardless of its

immediate consequences, was certain to make a profound impression on the

Acalan people. Prior to this time a few merchants may have had personal con-
tacts with the Spaniards in Tabasco or on the Caribbean coasts, but most of
the natives had known about the invaders only by report. Now they had seen
them face to face. They had seen their horses and their exotic weapons; they
had learned what it meant to provision a large and hungry force of soldiers

and auxiliaries; they had seen their idols cast down from the temple sanctuaries;
and they had witnessed the summary execution of Cuauhtemoc, lord of the
proud and warlike Aztec. All this must have caused great searching of heart.
The equivocal conduct of Paxbolonacha during these fateful days does not
inspire admiration, and if he had any part in the sordid drama that culminated
in Cuauhtemoc's death, he deserves severe condemnation. It is only just to

note, however, that the arrival of Cortes had created a situation the like of
^2 Cf. note 61, p. 112, supra.
1 20 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

which the ruler and his advisers had never faced before. To v\^hat extent Pax-
bolonacha was influenced by the native prophecies about the coming of
foreign invaders, it is impossible to say. Certainly the success already achieved
by the Spaniards had more than justified the prognostications of the "ancient

philosophers" of the Indians. In any case, he had long since learned of the
crushing defeat of the Aztec, and now the commander who had destroyed
their power had arrived in Acalan. In Cortes he saw the symbol of Spanish
military prowess, and in Cuauhtemoc, the unhappy example of a defeated
chieftain carried along as the virtual prisoner of his conqueror. Paxbolonacha's
vacillating attitude reflects his anxiety and uncertainty at this critical moment.
And when Cuauhtemoc was put to death in the ruler's own city, anxiety

turned into fear. Gomara states that Paxbolonacha was terrified by this event,

perhaps as Cortes had hoped, and that he hastened to give evidence of his
loyalty and obedience, even burning many of his idols in the presence of the
Spaniards.'^^

It is what would have happened if Paxbolonacha

interesting to speculate
had joined forces with the Mexicans in an attack on the Spaniards. In the
Acalan towns Cortes occupied temple structures or other important buildings
which provided a means of defense. If the Indians had laid siege to these
places, the Spaniards could probably have cut their way out, if necessary, as
they had done in Mexico on the Noche Triste. Moreover, the Chontal, who
would have constituted the larger part of any attacking force, lacked experi-
ence in combat with opponents who had the advantage of sword, crossbow,
and firearms. With skillful leadership, such as Cortes would have provided, the
Spaniards might easily have crushed any revolt, inflicting heavy losses on the
natives. But in case they sufi^ered many casualties and were forced to retreat,

where would they have gone to lick their wounds and recuperate? There were
no Tlaxcalan allies in the Acalan country to succor them. Their only alterna-
tive would have been to withdraw^ to the Gulf coast, subject to attack as they
struggled through bush, forest, and swamp. On the coast there would have
been no loyal garrison to come to their aid, no ships in which to escape as a
last resort. Under such circumstances Cortes' position would have been ex-
tremely precarious, and it is possible that his entire force would have been
wiped out.
But Spain could not have permitted such a defeat to go unchallenged, and
sooner or later a punitive expedition in force would have been sent to avenge
it. In this new crisis the only hope of the native leaders would have been united
^3 Lopez de Gomara, 1943, 2: 143-45.
 THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS I 2 I

action. There is no reason to believe, however, that any confederacy hastily

arranged in Acalan would have been lasting. The internal discord and the
spirit of local independence which had facilitated the conquest of Mexico
were too deeply rooted to be overcome so quickly. Moreover, if the Spaniards
attacked first in Acalan, in order to take vengeance in the land of Cortes'
defeat, it is difficult to see how the chieftains in Mexico proper could have
come to the defense of the country in time to provide much help. A campaign
in force against Acalan would probably have resulted in the ravaging of the
country, great loss of life, and the scattering of the surviving population.
Although Paxbolonacha's conduct may not have been courageous, it was
realistic and sensible. His principal aim was to get rid of the Spaniards as

quickly as possible and with the At first he tried to divert the

least trouble.

army from the major Acalan towns, but when this manoeuvre failed, he wisely
offered to supply Cortes' needs and to facilitate his preparations for the next
stage of the journey. In this way he avoided conflict with the Spaniards, who
departed after a relatively short stay in the province. Cortes was not prepared
at this time to occupy any of the lands through which he passed en route to
the east coast. He was content to receive Paxbolonacha's promise of allegiance,
leaving enforcement to a later time or to other Spaniards who might visit
Acalan in future.
It was inevitable, however, that Cortes' visit should have created a certain

amount of unrest and discontent among the Acalan people. They had seen
their towns stripped of food, and they had been subjected to heavy demands

for labor. Oviedo states that when the Spaniards left Acalan they impressed
600 Indians into service as carriers, none of whom returned.'^* Most of these
carriers were probably slaves of the principal men and lesser caciques, and

the loss of such valuable property was bound to create resentment among
this group, which exerted a powerful influence in local affairs. The Mal-
donado-Paxbolon probanza records that the ruler's subservient attitude caused
fear that the Spaniards would soon return and take possession of the land, and
that many of the natives sought refuge in outlying areas. It is probably true
that a large number withdrew into the forests during the Spaniards' stay in
Acalan, but we doubt that many permanently abandoned their old settlements.
A more significant development is recorded in the Chontal Text. Here we
read that "a year after the Spaniards and the Capitan del Valle [Cortes] were
in Acalan, Paxbolonacha, ruler, went to another pueblo which is called Ta-
chakam, where he died." This laconic statement suggests that the ruler had
^* Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32, ch. 5.
I 2 2 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

abdicated and had left his capital city to reside in one of the lesser towns of
the province J^
But the unrest which may have prompted this move was not of such serious
character as to endanger the position of the entire ruling family. Paxbolonacha
was succeeded by Pachimalahix, eldest of his three sons, and in later years the
second and third sons also became rulers of Acalan. Further evidence that the
discontent caused by Cortes' visit was not of serious proportions is provided
by the fact that when Avila arrived in 1530 the ruler and lesser chieftains of-
fered no resistance, reaffirmed allegiance to the Crown, and submitted to
tribute. The coming of Cortes had paved the way for the establishment of
permanent Spanish dominion in Acalan.

"5 The
abdication of Paxbolonacha evidently occurred in 1526. The Chontal Text dates the
coming of the second Spanish expedition three years after the ruler's death. Avila came in 1530,
so it appears that Paxbolonacha lived for a year after his abdication and died in 1527.
 Developments in Yucatan, Tabasco,
and Acalan, 15 26-15 50

ALTHOUGH THE Cortes expedition remained in Acalan only a short

time, the land and its people had made a lasting impression on the Spanish
commander and his soldiers. In the Fifth Letter, written in 1 526 after his return
to Mexico City, Cortes describes the province as a very important place {muy
gran cosa) with many towns and a numerous population, and in more than
one passage he comments on the plentiful food supply and the far-flung com-
merce of the Acalan merchants. Cortes' companions also brought back favor-
able reports of the wealth and resources of the region. These accounts, as

related to Francisco de Montejo, Adelantado of Yucatan, were the prime cause

of the second Spanish expedition to Acalan.
In 1526 Montejo, a former associate of Cortes, obtained a royal contract,
or capitulacion, for the conquest and colonization of Yucatan, and the follow-
ing year he sailed from Spain with a large force to undertake the occupation
of the peninsula. Landing on the east coast, where he established bases near
Xelha and at Pole, Montejo made an unsuccessful entrada through the north-
eastern part of the peninsula. Owing to the inhospitable character of the
country, the hostility of the Maya in certain areas, and the prevalence of
disease, which carried off many of his soldiers, he was finally obliged to return

to his east coast bases. The Adelantado now turned his attention to the regions
to the southward. With part of his force he sailed along the coast, first to
Chetumal and thence to the Ulua River in Honduras. Alonso de Avila, his

second in command, marched overland toward Chetumal but turned back

before reaching his objective. Although the voyage to Honduras also pro-
duced no immediate results, it gave Montejo an opportunity to obtain some
knowledge of the resources, commerce, and general ethnography of the coastal
areas as far as the Ulua River country, on the basis of which he formed the
idea that these southern districts properly formed part of his government of
Yucatan. Soon after his return from Honduras Montejo decided to go to New
Spain for supplies and reinforcements, leaving Avila in command at Xamanha,
"where a new base had been established.^
1 Molina Soli's, 1896, pp. 368-410; Chamberlain, 1936, pp. 93-133, 192-96, 199-201.
123
124 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

During the campaign in northeastern Yucatan the Spaniards had been

handicapped by the lack of good harbor. The Chetumal district, visited on
a

the voyage to Honduras, seemed to offer better port facihties, and it v^^as
Montejo's intention when he arrived in New Spain in the autumn of 1528 to
return to that area and to occupy the town of Chetumal as a base of operations
for his next campaign. His preparations were well advanced when various
factors caused him to make a radical change of plan.
In New Spain the Adelantado was reunited with his natural son, Francisco
de Montejo the Younger, who had accompanied Cortes on the journey to-

Honduras in 1524-25. From him and other veterans of that epic march he re-
ceived reports about the vast interior region through which they had passed.
These reports supplemented his own knowledge of Tabasco gained as a mem-
ber of the Grijalva and Cortes expeditions of 15 18-19, ^^^ he now learned
about the province of Acalan, its general location, and the extensive trade
carried on by the Acalan merchants with Tabasco and the Caribbean coast.
On the basis of these accounts and his own recent activities in the Caribbean
area, he now came to regard the adela7ita?7nento of Yucatan, the limits of
which had not been fixed by the contract of 1526, as comprising the entire
region from western Tabasco to the Ulua River in Honduras, which he con-
sidered a geographic, economic, and ethnographic unit. The province of Ta-
basco occupied a key position within this larger area. With its many rivers
and harbors and ease of communication with New Spain, Tabasco would
provide a better base of operations for the conquest of northern Yucatan,
Acalan, and adjacent areas than would the Chetumal district. Moreover, if

Montejo could obtain control over the province of Tabasco, he would have
taken the first step in the realization of his expanding territorial ambitions.
In 1525 Juan de Vallecillo, apparently acting on instructions from Cortes,
founded the Villa de Tabasco (Santa Maria de la Victoria) on the left bank
of the Grijalva River a short distance from its mouth. From the beginning the
colony maintained a very precarious existence because of determined native
resistanceand the inhospitable climate. In 1527 Baltasar de Osorio, named to
succeed Vallecillo as commander of the province, brought reinforcements
from New Spain, but he was unable to make much progress in the reduction
of the Indians. Toward the end of 1528 the colonists, torn by dissension and
discontent and threatening to abandon the area unless prompt aid was forth-
coming, appealed to the authoritities of New Spain for help.^
This turn of events was Montejo's opportunity. He petitioned Nufio de
2 Probanza concerning the province of Tabasco, 1530, in Montejo v. Alvarado; RY, i:
361-62.
 YUCATAN, TABASCO, AND ACALAN 1
25

Guzman and other members of the first audiencia, recently arrived in New
Spain, to incorporate the province of Tabasco with Yucatan, stressing the

advantages of such a move as a means of advancing the larger projects he had

in mind. Guzman and his associates had no authority to decide the territorial

question involved, but prompted by the urgent necessity of the Tabasco situa-
tion they appointed him alcalde mayor of the province to succeed Osorio.^
This action did not constitute formal governmental union of Yucatan and
Tabasco, since Montejo would hold office as governor of Yucatan and alcalde
mayor of Tabasco by virtue of separate appointments emanating from the
Crown and one of its subordinate agencies. It provided, however, a temporary
personal union of the two areas pending an appeal to the crown for formal
incorporation of Tabasco as part of Yucatan. It also enabled the Adelantado
to initiate the scheme of action by which he hoped to promote his territorial

pretensions. The first step would be to complete the subjugation of Tabasco

as a base from which future military operations could be conducted. The sec-
ond step envisaged by Montejo was the occupation of Acalan. On the basis
of the information received from Cortes' veterans he had apparently con-
cluded that Acalan was a rich, populous region centrally located within his

government of Yucatan.^ He believed therefore that it could serve as an ad-

vance center for the conquest and colonization of the peninsula.^
In the spring of 1529 Montejo the Younger was sent to Tabasco with three
ships carrying supplies and recruits, and shortly thereafter the Adelantado
proceeded overland with horsemen and a herd of livestock. Upon arrival in

Santa Maria he dispatched two of the ships to Yucatan to evacuate the soldiers
who had been left there under command of Alonso de Avila and bring them
to Tabasco. The situation in Tabasco had deteriorated to such an extent that
with the exception of the area in the immediate vicinity of Santa Maria the
entire province was in revolt. While waiting for the arrival of Avila's soldiers,
the Adelantado undertook the pacification of the coastal areas, reducing the

3 Montejo Crown, Veracruz, April 20, 1529, in Coleccion de documentos ineditos

to the
relativos al descubrimiento, conquista y colonizacion de las posesiones espanolas en America y
Oceania (cited hereinafter as DII), 13: 86-91; Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32, ch. 3.
* Oviedo y Valdes (1851-55, bk. 32, ch. 3) relates that Montejo met Cortes in New Spain

and that the latter told him that when he went to Honduras in 1524-25 "avia passado por una
bermosa cibdad que esta en la gobernagion del mesmo adelantado e tierra de Yucatan, que se
dige Acalan, rica e apropossito suyo, e loosela en tanta manera que le higo mudar de propossito."
Since we know that Cortes was not in New
Spain at this time, Oviedo's statement undoubtedly
refers to the reports given Montejo by Cortes' veterans. In any case, it gives indication of the
Adelantado's ideas concerning Acalan and the influence of these ideas in the formation of his
new plans.
Chamberlain (1936, pp. 135-40) describes Montejo's plans, his territorial aspirations, and
5

the jurisdictional status of Tabasco resulting from the Adelantado's appointment as alcalde
mayor.
126 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

districts of Copilco, Gueyatasta, and Xicalango to obedience. When the ships

arrived from Yucatan he organized a large force, with Avila as his heutenant,
to effect the subjugation of tlie interior. The district of the three Cimatans
was pacified, temporarily at least, and from there Monte jo and Avila moved
southward into the highland areas occupied by the Zoque.^
When the Adelantado reached Teapa toward the end of 1529, he learned
that another force coming from the south had arrived at the nearby settlement
of Ixtapangoya. This group was commanded by Juan Enriquez de Guzman,
who had been sent by the authorities of New Spain to take charge of the
province of Chiapas. Moving north from San Cristobal, Enriquez had been
engaged in operations similar in character to those of Montejo in central and
southern Tabasco. The two commanders held a friendly meeting, agreed upon
their respective spheres of influence in the Zoque country, and made arrange-
ments for mutual aid.

Learning Montejo's plan to occupy Acalan, Enriquez not only offered

any necessary assistance but also suggested that the Adelantado's force should

proceed to San Cristobal and march overland from there to Acalan. Ill health
prevented the Adelantado from accompanying the expedition any farther, so
he placed Avila in command of most of his men and returned with a few
soldiers to Santa Maria de la Victoria. Avila now marched to San Cristobal,
where Enriquez, who had preceded him, generously supplied him with horses,
arms, and cotton armor, and also arranged for Indian guides to lead his force
part of the way from Chiapas. After a period of rest, Avila set out for Acalan
in the early spring of 1530.^

After an arduous march across rugged, forested country, during which he

visited certain lake towns in eastern Chiapas, Avila finally reached the town
of Tanoche, or Tenosique, on the Usumacinta River. The town was deserted,
because of raids by Spaniards from the Grijalva area, but Avila was able to
capture a few natives, who guided him to the road Cortes had taken from
Ciuatecpan five years earlier. The rainy season had now started, and the Span-
iards found the estero where Cortes had crossed the Rio San Pedro Martir
swollen to the size of "a very large lagoon" 2 leagues wide. All that remained
of Cortes' bridge was some forked poles submerged in the water. Although
Avila started to build another bridge, lack of the necessary laborers and the
heavy rains made the task impossible. So he now decided to return to Tanoche,
where he remained, so Oviedo says, four months until the rains abated. Canoes

6 Probanzas concerning the province of Tabasco, 1530 and 1533, in Montejo v. Alvarado;
Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32, eh. 4.
Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32,
"^
ch. 4.
 YUCATAN, TABASCO, AND ACALAN 1
27

were then sent to the lagoon, evidently by way of the Usumacinta and lower
San Pedro Martir, by means of which a crossing was finally made.^
We now know that Avila reached Acalan prior to August i, 1530, since
we have an encomienda grant made at Salamanca de Acalan on that date. It is

evident therefore that the expedition did not remain in Tanoche until the end
of the rainy season. We infer that Avila returned to Tanoche to obtain supplies
and to arrange for the canoes to be sent to the point of crossing on the lagoon,
or Rio San Pedro Martir.^
After the crossing had been made, the expedition again picked up Cortes'
trail. It appears, however, that Avila actually followed a route somewhat
farther inland, north and west of the San Pedro branch of the Candelaria, since
the Lujan-Oviedo narrative contains no reference to the towns of Tizatepelt
and Teutiercas by Cortes and records that the first Acalan settlements
visited

reached by Avila were some small villages only 3 leagues from Itzamkanac.
From here the commander sent some Indians ahead to the capital to give
coming and to tell the inhabitants to remain in the city, since he
notice of his
would do them no harm. Despite this appeal, the ruler and inhabitants hastily
withdrew from the city to await further developments. Upon receipt of this
news Avila immediately proceeded to Itzamkanac and set up camp there.
The following day several principal men came in the name of the ruler
"to state that he wished to come as a friend to see the lieutenant Alonso Davila,
and [the latter] replied that certainly he and all the Indians might come back
without misgivings. And
came with some four hundred men, bringing
so he
a large quantity of fowl and provisions, all of which was presented to the

lieutenant Alonso Davila." The ruler here mentioned was Pachimalahix II,
eldest son and successor of Paxbolonacha.
Although the ruler's attitude seems to have been friendly enough, the
Spanish commander, who had a smaller force than Cortes, apparently decided
to take no chances. "He immediately had the cacique and the other principal
men who came with him put in chains in order to get information from him
and them, and not with the intention of doing them any harm. He took them
aside with the interpreter, and they informed him at once about the land and
all the towns of the district. The lieutenant founded a villa there in the same
[town of] Acalan, or capital, and called it Salamanca; and he divided the
surrounding country and Indians [in encomienda] so that they might give
service, and within six days all came peacefully to serve those Christian masters
into whose charge they were given. And the cacique and the others were re-

^Ibid., bk. 32, chs. 4, 5.

9 Cf. Appendix B, p. 465.
128 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

leased, [having been] very well treated by the Spaniards." In this way Avila
took steps to carry out Monte jo's plans for the occupation of Acalan as an
advance base of operations and also made sure of the ruler's loyalty and al-
legiance.^^
Within a short time, however, he became convinced that the province was
not suited for the purpose that Montejo had in mind. It was apparent that
Acalan was isolated in relation to other major centers of population. By per-
sonal experience he had learned that an interior overland line of communica-
tions was not practicable, and reconnaissance of the province had undoubtedly
revealed the existence of the rapids and on the Rio de Acalan, or Can-
falls

delaria, which would impede direct communication between the Gulf coast
and the major Acalan settlements. Moreover, the Acalan population evidently
was not so numerous as Montejo had been led to believe; at least, Avila did
not consider it large enough to support a permanent Spanish colony of any
size. And Oviedo significantly adds that the Indians had no gold to give the
Spaniards, "nor any other thing except food." So within six weeks the com-
mander disestablished the newly founded Villa de Salamanca de Acalan "and
took the road for another province [the Cehache] which is thirty leagues from
11
there."

Accompanied by the ruler and other Indians of Acalan, Avila marched in

a northeasterly direction through swampy country and came to the large
moated town of Mazatlan (the Mexican name for the entire Cehache area)
probably located somewhere in the general region of Mocu and Cilvituk. This

town was deserted when the Spaniards arrived. Oviedo also relates that a few
Cehache who were seized in the neighboring country refused, even under
torture, to give information about their lands and people. From the probanza
on Acalan and Mazatlan formulated by Montejo in 153 1 we learn, however,
that Avila established contact with some of the Cehache caciques and also made
encomienda grants in this area to some of his soldiers. But the region, which
Oviedo describes as poor and sparsely populated, was even less suited than
Acalan to serve as a base of operations, and the chronicler's narrative clearly
implies that the Cehache offered greater resistance than their Acalan neigh-
bors. Consequently the expedition again moved on and eventually reached
Champoton on the Gulf coast.^^

10 Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32, ch. 5. The Chontal Text gives a similar account of the
arrest of Pachimalahix during an expedition by Francisco Gil, Lorenzo de Godoy, and Julian
Doncel, but the Text obviously confuses this expedition with that of Avila.
11 Ibid.
12 Ibid.; jMontejo v. Alvarado.
 YUCATAN, TABASCO, AND ACALAN I 29

Thus Montejo's scheme to make Acalan an advance center of conquest and

colonization had come to naught. And in the meantime the Adelantado had
also suffered a serious setback in Tabasco, Here he had become involved in

controversy with his predecessor, Baltasar de Osorio, who brought action be-
fore the Audiencia of New Spain to regain his post as commander of Tabasco.
This manoeuvre was successful, and the Adelantado was removed from office,

probably in the summer of 1530. Osorio now set about to humiliate his rival,

casting him into jail with little cause. Although the Adelantado was soon re-
leased, his future now seemed very uncertain, since he had lost control over
the Tabasco area which he considered so essential to the realization of his
plans. With his son, Monte jo the Younger, and the few men still in his service,

he withdrew to Xicalango, which he held in encomienda, to await further

developments.
Sometime in 1530 the Adelantado established friendly relations with the
natives of Champoton, and when he received news of Avila's arrival on the
Gulf coast he immediately made plans to transfer his headquarters to Yucatan.
The arrival of fresh reinforcements and supplies brought from the West Indies
by Juan de Lerma, a loyal aide of the Adelantado in these early years, also
raised new hopes. Early in 153 the Adelantado moved to Champoton, where
1

he joined forces with Avila, and shortly thereafter he occupied Campeche,

which now became the chief base of operations for another attempt to conquer
Yucatan.^^
In the summer of 153 1 Montejo sent Avila with fifty men to explore and
pacify the Maya provinces in the central and eastern parts of the peninsula.
The lieutenant carried on a long and difficult campaign in the cacicazgos of
Cochuah and Uaymil-Chetumal, but at the end of a year native hostility and
the gradual depletion of his force caused him to abandon these areas. In the
autumn of 1532 the expedition set out in canoes along the eastern coasts and
after a hazardous voyage finally reached Puerto Caballos. From here Avila
entered the Ulua River country and eventually moved on to Trujillo in
Honduras proper. In the spring of 1533 he returned by ship to Campeche.^^
Although this expedition achieved no permanent conquests, it had other
results of considerable significance. It had given Avila extensive knowledge of

the ethnography and linguistic affiliations of a large area reaching from central
and southeastern Yucatan to the province of Higueras on the Caribbean
coast.^^ He had also received a favorable impression of the resources of the

^^ Molina Solis, 1896, pp. 442-45; Chamberlain, 1936, pp. 152-60.

i*For Avila's report of this expedition, see DII, 14: 97-128.
15 In June
1533, after Avila's return from Honduras, Montejo formulated a probanza to
1 30 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Ulua River country, and he had apparently formed a tentative scheme, which
he was unable to carry through, to occupy Puerto Caballos as a center of
colonization in this region. Avila's report not only strengthened Montejo's idea
that the southeastern areas as far as the Ulua River logically formed part of his

adelantamiento, but also caused him to continue plans already being made in

Campeche for an expedition to Puerto Caballos. Finally, during his stay in

Trujillo, Avila obtained information concerning the chaotic condition of
Honduras proper, and he may have encouraged an appeal made at this time
by some of the colonists for Monte jo to assume the governorship of that
province.
During Avila's absence the Adelantado had extended control over the Ah
Canul area north of Campeche. An expedition under command of Montejo
the Younger was also sent by sea to the north coast of the peninsula, from
which it moved inland through the districts of Ceh Pech and Ah Kin Chel.
Having made alliance with the rulers of these provinces, Montejo the Younger
advanced into the Cupul lands and established the municipality of Ciudad Real
at Chichen Itza. Although the Cupul lords at first opposed this intrusion into

their territory, the cacique of Chichen Itza and others now gave nominal
allegiance. The commander also succeeded in obtaining promises of obedience
from the Xiu chieftains and possibly also from the lords of Hocaba and Tazes.
By the end of 1532 a considerable part of northern Yucatan had apparently ac-
cepted Spanish suzerainty, and the Adelantado had cause to believe that at
last he had achieved a notable success. The time also seemed ripe to seek royal
^^
approval of his larger projects.

In a letter to the king, dated April 20, 1529, Montejo had already oiithned
his territorial aspirations and had requested jurisdiction over an area extending
from western Tabasco to the Caribbean coast. This dispatch was prompted in

part by reports that Pedro de Alvarado, governor of Guatemala, had been

substantiate the following major point: "that from this said Villa de Salamanca, which is at the
port of Campeche, to the Ulua River it is all one language and one commercial area, and that
the Indians of this pueblo of Campeche and of all this land maintain houses in the said Ulua
River for their trading operations, for there is the boundary of these provinces and from the
River of Copilco-gaqualco to there is all one language, which are the limits of these said
provinces." On this point Avila testified that the Yucarecan Maya interpreter whom he took
along on the expedition of 1531-33 talked to the Indians along the east coast as far as the Ulua
River and was able to understand them, although their languages differed in some ways. He also
stated "that from the pueblo of Campeche and the provinces of Guaymyll and Tutuxio and
Cochuah all trade in cacao and [other] merchandise in the said Ulua River, and he also learned
that the said Indians of the said provinces maintain houses there where they trade with the said
Indians of Ulua; and he learned and they told him that all the trade of this land is in the said
[Ulua] River." Sobre lo del Rio de Ulua, 1533, m
Montejo v. Alvarado.
16 Avila's expedition of 1531-33 and its results and the campaigns of the Adelantado and

Montejo the Younger in northern Yucatan are described at length by Chamberlain, 1936, pp.
162-200. Cf. also Molina Soils, 1896, pp. 446-88.
 YUCATAN, TABASCO, AND ACALAN I 3 I

granted authority over certain districts, including Acalan, which the Adelan-
tado considered part of his own government.^^ Between 1530 and 1533 Monte jo
or his agents also formulated a series of five probanzas to substantiate his claims
to Tabasco and Acalan and to prove that the entire region from the Copilco
River (Rio Tortuguero?) on the west to the Ulua River on the east consti-
tuted a linguistic, economic, and geographic unit. For the present study the
most important is one which deals with Acalan and Mazatlan.^^
The Acalan-Mazatlan Campeche in September
probanza, drawn up in
153 1, recorded certain facts pertaining to or revealed by the Avila expedition
of the preceding year. Avila was absent at this time, having already set out on
his journey across the Yucatan Peninsula, but twelve of his soldiers who had
accompanied him on the entrada of 1530 gave testimony. The major points set

forth in this probanza were: (i) that Avila, acting as Montejo's heutenant,
had "conquered and pacified" the provinces of Acalan and Mazatlan and
had granted encomiendas to his soldiers in these areas; (2) that Acalan and
Mazatlan were close to the Gulf of Mexico and centrally located within the
province of Yucatan; (3) that there were no settlements between the province
of Acalan and the Gulf coast; and (4) that the Indians of Acalan carried on
extensive trade with the coast towns of Tabasco and made the journey down
the Rio de Acalan (Candelaria) and thence to Xicalango in three days' time.
In short, was the purpose of this document to establish once and for all
it

Montejo's claim to Acalan and Mazatlan as part of the government of Yucatan.

One copy of this probanza contains a supplementary statement dated at
Campeche on June i, 1533. Here we read that four or five months after the
probanza was formulated, i.e., early in 1532, the Adelantado sent a Spaniard
with the chieftains of one of the Yucatan pueblos to summon the lords of
Acalan to appear before him. These messengers made the journey to Acalan
by canoe and visited Itzamkanac and other towns of the province. Upon their
return they brought with them "certain lords and principal men and Indians
said to be from the aforesaid province of Acalan." "These Indians brought
their tribute, and the said governor [Montejo] received them and ordered

them to bring their tributes from that time on. They went away, and up to
the present time [i.e., June 1533] they have always given service in this villa

[of Campeche] and have brought their tributes here, as the said governor
ordered," Thus we see that Montejo, not content with assembling evidence
that Acalan formed part of the government of Yucatan, had also taken prac-
tical measures to affirm his jurisdiction and control over that region.
1'^
Montejo to the Crown, Veracruz, April 20, 1529, in DII, 13: 86-91.
IS These probanzas comprise the expediente frequently cited as Montejo v. Alvarado.
I 32 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

In the summer of 1533 Alonso Lopez, brother-in-law of Montejo, was

sent to Spain to serve at court as agent of the Adelantado and the colonists
of Yucatan. In a petition to the Council of the Indies he set forth in some
detail the Adelantado's governmental and territorial pretensions, in support
of which he submitted the above-mentioned probanzas and other supplemen-
tary documents. This petition made a number of specific requests, of which
the most important are stated in the following items.
1. It was requested that the limits of Montejo's government of Yucatan
should be defined as the area extending "from the Ulua River, which is in the
region of Higueras, to the River of Copilco-gaqualco, which is between
Guagaqualco and the Grijalva [River], since from the Ulua River to the
River of Copilco-gaqualco it is all one language, and they all trade with one
another and consider themselves to be the same, and all the Indians of those
parts say that those are their boundaries. . .
." Although this statement of the
linguistic situation was not accurate, it gives expression to the fact, which we
have noted in Chapter 2, that most of the Indians within this area spoke the
closely related Chontal-Chol-Chorti and Yucatecan Maya languages.
2. Lopez asked for restoration of Montejo's authority over Tabasco, since
this province was included within the Copilco-Ulua limits mentioned above
and had been pacified by the Adelantado at great effort and expense prior to
his removal from the office of alcalde mayor by the Audiencia of New Spain.
3. Lopez called for recognition of Montejo's jurisdiction over Acalan and
challenged Alvarado's right to authority in this region. Whereas Acalan was
situated close to theGulf coast and centrally located within the government of
Yucatan, was "very far from Guatemala." Moreover, it had now been paci-
it

fied under Montejo's auspices. Alvarado had merely heard about it from

Cortes' soldiers, had decided that it was a rich area, and in order to obtain
jurisdiction over it had falsely claimed to have conquered it.

4. The petition also claimed Chiapas as part of the government of Yucatan

and asserted that the grant of authority to Alvarado over this area (made by
the Crown in 1528) violated Montejo's rights.
5. Request was made that the region of Puerto Caballos, which Lopez
represented as already occupied by Montejo, should be joined with the gov-
ernment of Yucatan.^^
Although Lopez failed to achieve all that Montejo hoped for, his mission

produced very important results. On December 19, 1533, a royal cedula was
issuedwhich confirmed Montejo's rights and privileges as adelantado and gov-
ernor of Yucatan proper and also named him royal governor at the will of the
19 Petition of Alonso Lopez, Madrid, October 25, 1533, in Montejo v. Alvarado.
 YUCATAN, TABASCO, AND ACALAN I
3 3

Crown over "all the lands and provinces from the River of Copilco-caqualco
inclusive to the Ulua River which is toward the east." Over this larger area he
was given complete civil and criminal jurisdiction regardless of any capitula-
tions and decrees previously granted in favor of other persons, A separate
cedula issued on the same date placed Puerto Caballos under Monte jo's juris-

diction and authorized him to colonize that area and the Valley of Naco."^
The first cedula of December 19, 1533, requires some explanation. By
virtue of the royal contract of 1526 Monte jo had received appointment as
governor and captain general of Yucatan for life and also the title of adelan-

tado to be handed down to his heirs and successors in perpetuity. He had

evidently hoped that the Crown would define the province and adelantamiento
of Yucatan as the Copilco-Ulua area, thus giving him hereditary rights as
adelantado and life tenure as governor over the larger region. Instead, the first

cedula of December 19, 1533, limited his privileges under the contract of
1526 to Yucatan proper, which was now roughly defined as extending from
the north coast of the peninsula "to the shoals and passage {entrada) which is

formed between two rivers which flow into the northern sea." The meaning
of this passage is not clear. It probably reflects, to some extent at least, the old

belief that Yucatan was an island, although the various expeditions of Montejo
and Avila had demonstrated the falsity of that idea. In any case, it is evident
that the Copilco-Ulua limits comprised a much more extensive area than this
ill-defined province and adelantamiento of Yucatan. Over the larger region
Montejo was to serve only as royal governor at the will of the crown, with-
out the hereditary rights, life tenure, and other special privileges conferred by
the contract of 1526.
But the two cedulas of 1533 constituted a major triumph for the Adelan-
tado. Although Tabasco was not incorporated with Yucatan proper, as
Montejo had hoped, the provision giving him jurisdiction as governor at will

over the Copilco-Ulua area automatically restored his control over that
province. Although Acalan is not specifically mentioned in the first cedula,
it was also included in the Copilco-Ulua limijs. It is doubtful whether it could
also be regarded as comprising part of the area roughly defined as Yucatan
proper, although the Adelantado always considered it part of the Yucatan
jurisdiction. The second cedula of December 19, 1533, authorizing Montejo

to occupy Puerto Caballos and the Valley of Naco, gave him an additional
claim to districts also included within the Copilco-Ulua area. During Lopez'
negotiations with the Council an agent of Alvarado filed a counter-petition
challenging the Adelantado's right to jurisdiction over Chiapas, Acalan, and
20 AGI, Mexico, leg. 2999, libro D-i.
134 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Puerto Caballos,^^ but succeeded only in the case of Chiapas, which was re-
tained as part of the government of Guatemala. As a result of the cedulas of

1533 the Adelantado had, in effect, been given authority over the entire low-
land Maya area.

Alonso Lopez returned from Spain in the latter part of 1534 only to find
that Monte jo had suffered a reverse of fortune in Yucatan., A revolt of the
Cupul lords, in coalition with the chieftains of Sotuta, Cochuah, and Ecab,
had forced Montejo the Younger early in 1534 to abandon Chichen Itza and
withdraw to the Chel province on the north coast. The municipality of
Ciudad Real was temporarily reestablished at the port of Dzilam, but within
a short time a critical situation developed at this new center of operations.
Unrest among the soldiers, disappointed by the lack of mineral wealth in
Yucatan and wearied by the campaign against the Maya, rapidly increased,
and the flames of discontent were fed by news of Pizarro's success in Peru
and the fabulous wealth of this new conquest. Singly and in groups the soldiers
began to desert in order to seek fortune in South America or elsewhere. By
the summer of 1 5 34 the position of Montejo the Younger at Dzilam had become
so insecure that he decided to evacuate his depleted force and march overland
to join his father at Campeche. Biit the situation there was no better. Con-
tinued desertions, lack of discipline among the soldiers who remained, and
the failure of an appeal to the Audiencia of New Spain for aid finally forced

abandon the peninsula. Toward the end of 1534 or early

a decision to in 1535

the Adelantado evacuated Campeche and withdrew to Tabasco.

Thus by the time Montejo received the cedulas of 1533 he was in no posi-

tion to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by these decrees. The
plans for an expedition to Puerto Caballos had been suspended when the situa-
tion in Yucatan became acute. Moreover, the campaigns of 1531-34 had de-
pleted the Adelantado's financial resources, and the colonial authorities were
any new venture. Receipt of the cedulas of 1533
reluctant to provide aid for
enabled Montejo, however, to resume authority over Tabasco at a time when
control of the province was again essential to his projects. The grant of juris-
diction over the Copilco-Ulua area and authority to occupy Puerto Caballos
also raised new was not long before the Adelantado began to
hopes. So it

make plans for another effort, although it is not clear whether he intended to
return to Yucatan or to move first into the richer region of Puerto Caballos
and the Ulua River.^^
Whatever Monte jo's plans may have been during the months following
21 Petition of Fernan Ximenez, in Montejo v. Alvarado.
22 Molina Solis, 1896, pp. 488-512; Chamberlain, 1936, pp. 194-212, passim.
 YUCATAN, TABASCO, AND ACALAN I
35

the withdrawal from Yucatan, receipt of another royal decree, dated March
I, 1535, naming him governor of the provinces of Higueras and Honduras,^^
caused a new turn in his career. The chaotic state of Honduras proper had
long demanded a remedy, and prior to 1535 the Crown had received many
representations on the subject from the colonial authorities and colonists. We
have also noted that when Alonso de Avila returned from Trujillo in 1533, he
brought the news that a faction in Honduras desired that Montejo should as-
sume the governorship of the province. Moreover, in the report on his expedi-
tion of 1 53 1-3 3 Avila informed the Crown that some of the citizens of Trujillo
had stated that the appointment of Montejo as governor of Honduras would
bring them great favor. Although Alonso Lopez' petition to the Council in
the autumn of 1533 made no representations on this matter, one argument
cited in support of Montejo's request for jurisdiction over Puerto Caballos
was that the citizens of Honduras desired it, since the occupation of that dis-
trict would have a stabilizing eifect on the neighboring province. In 1534
Juan de Lerma, probably with Montejo's approval, actually proposed that
Honduras should be added to the other lands under the Adelantado's authority.
In view of the foregoing and also of the fact that the cedulas of 1533 had
already given Montejo jurisdiction over most of Higueras, it is not surprising
that theCrown should now name him royal governor of both Higueras and
Honduras proper. At the time the cedula of March i, 1535, was issued the
king and Council had no knowledge of Montejo's reverse in Yucatan and un-
doubtedly believed that he possessed adequate resources to assume this new
responsibility.

After some delay Montejo accepted the appointment and proceeded to

Honduras in 1537. Two years later (1539), having pacified the greater part
of Higueras, he became involved in bitter controversy with Alvarado, who
claimed Honduras-Higueras as part of his own government. The latter, sup-
ported by a considerable faction of the colonists who had been antagonized
by some of Montejo's policies, finally forced the Adelantado to relinquish
control over these provinces in exchange for Chiapas. But in 1542, a year
after Alvarado's death, Montejo was recalled to Honduras-Higueras by the
local authorities, and he again served as governor, with certain interruptions,
until the Audiencia of Confines (Guatemala) took ofiice in 1544. This new
administrative agency had been granted governmental powers over Honduras-
Higueras and Chiapas, and these areas were now permanently removed from
Montejo's jurisdiction. This development, which involved loss of control over
Puerto Caballos and the Ulua River area, also restricted the Adelantado's
23 AGI, Guatemala, leg. 402, libro T-i.
136 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

authority under the cedulas of 1533 and had the effect of Hmiting his juris-
diction to Tabasco and Yucatan proper. And within a few years, as we shall

see in the succeeding pages, he was also removed as governor of these

provinces.^*

After Montejo's withdrawal from Yucatan in 1534-35, the province of

Tabasco became the center of operations from which a third and, as it turned
out, successful attempt was made to occupy the peninsula. But first it was
necessary to restore order in Tabasco, where many of the Indian towns had
rebelled against Spanish authority during the preceding years. Second, new
recruits had to be found, supplies and munitions assembled. All this took time,
and five years elapsed before Montejo the Younger, who governed Tabasco as

his father's lieutenant, was ready to move in force against the Maya. In the
meantime, however, certain events occurred which gave him an opportunity
to establish an advance base at Champoton. During the course of this operation
another Spanish expedition passed through Acalan.
In 1536 Francisco Gil, a lieutenant of Alvarado, undertook the pacification
of Tila, Pochutla, and other districts in eastern Chiapas. Finding no place
suitable for a permanent settlement, he moved on to the Rio de Tanoche, or
Usumacinta, where he founded the town of San Pedro at or near Tenosique,
within the jurisdiction of Tabasco. From here he made entradas into the sur-
rounding country. When Montejo the Younger learned of Gil's activities, he

promptly advanced up the Usumacinta with a small force to defend his

father's rights. By this time Gil's position had become precarious because of
native hostility and lack of supplies, and he readily agreed to recognize the
Adelantado's jurisdiction and to transfer authority over the settlement to
Montejo the Younger, The latter now formed the plan to move most of the
colonists of San Pedro to Champoton as a preliminary step toward final occu-
pation of Yucatan. Lorenzo de Godoy, Gil's maestre de ca?npo and alcalde
ordinario of San Pedro, was placed in charge of this move, and some time in

1 men to Champoton.^^
537 he marched overland with about thirty
On this journey, which lasted two months, Godoy traveled through low,
forested country, crossing rivers and lagoons en route. A witness who gave
testimony in a probanza of Godoy 's services made in 1562 also mentions
"Acala" in connection with this march. This could not be the region of the
Choi Acala, since the latter area was south or southeast of Tenosique, whereas
24 Chamberlain, 1936, pp. 222-23.
25 Lopez de CogoUudo, 1867H58, bk. ch. 2; Molina Solis, 1896, pp. 547-51; Chamberlain,
3,

1936, pp. 223-25.

 YUCATAN, TABASCO, AND ACALAN 1 37

Godoy must have followed a northeasterly direction to Champoton. There

can be little doubt therefore that the place mentioned by Godoy's witness was
Acalan in the Candelaria drainage. The Chontal Text also mentions an ex-
pedition to Acalan in w^hich Godoy participated, although the author of this
part of the narrative evidently confused this entrada with Avila's expedition
of 1530. It seems likely that Godoy followed much the same route as Cortes
and Avila to Acalan. From Acalan to Champoton the route is less certain.

Godoy's witness mentions the crossing of lagoons in canoes "between Acala

and las Alunas," but we are unable to identify the latter place.^*^
Unfortunately the documents record no data whatever concerning Go-
doy's stay in Acalan. If he had encountered any serious trouble, his probanza
would probably have had something to say about it. We infer therefore that
his visit was uneventful, that the natives received him in peace, probably

supplying him with food and guides, and that his entire stay in Acalan was
short.

During the next three years (1537-40) the new settlement at Champoton
maintained a very uncertain existence. Although Monte jo the Younger sent
his cousin, Francisco de Montejo, nephew of the Adelantado, to take charge
of the base in 1538, it was not yet possible for him to provide adequate supplies
and reinforcements. The natives of the region became increasingly restive, and
by 5401 become thoroughly disheartened and threatened to
the colonists had
leave unless immediate help was sent. By this time, however, Montejo the
Younger was at last in a position to carry on operations on a larger scale.
Moving to Yucatan with some sixty men, he joined forces with his cousin and
initiated the final conquest of the peninsula. The settlement at Champoton

was removed to Campeche, where, toward the end of 1540 or early in 1541,
the first permanent European town in Yucatan was established. A year later
(January 6, 1542) Merida was founded, and from here the forces of occupa-
tion, strengthened by many new recruits, moved into the northern, central,
and eastern parts of the Maya country. A serious native revolt flared up in

1546, but the Montejos were now in strong enough a position to crush it,

and thereafter Spanish supremacy was never seriously challenged.

In 1 546 the Adelantado, having lost control over Honduras-Higueras and
Chiapas and having submitted to residencia investigation of his government in
these areas, returned to Yucatan to take personal charge of the provincial
government. During the next three years he took effective measures to stab-

26 Testimony of Gonzalo Tirade, Santiago de Guatemala, November 26, 1562, in Probanza

of the merits and services of Lorenzo de Godoy, 1562, AGI, Guatemala, leg. iii. Data supplied
by R. S. Chamberlain.
138 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

ilize local administration, promote the internal development of the colony,

and foster the missionary program. These years were also characterized by
prolonged dispute with local factions in Yucatan and Tabasco and with the
Audiencia of Confines, which now exercised supervisory authority over these
provinces. Complaints of maladministration, conflicts of jurisdiction resulting
from the cedulas of 1533 and later decrees, and litigation over removal of the
encomienda holdings of the Adelantado and members of his family in accord-
ance with provisions of the New Laws of 1542 were the major sources of
trouble. As the result of residencia proceedings instituted in 1548-49, the
Adelantado was finally removed from office in both Tabasco and Yucatan. In
1550 he went to Spain to plead his case before the Council of the Indies and
to seek restoration of authority under the terms of the contract of 1526. But
his health had been undermined by long years of strenuous activity in the New
World, and he died in his native city of Salamanca in 1553.^^
The removal of Monte jo from office opened the way to the estabHshment
of royal government in Yucatan and Tabasco under the ordinary norms of
colonial legislation and administration. In 1550 alcaldes may ores were ap-
pointed for both provinces, but in 1561 Tabasco was subordinated to the
government of Yucatan. Four years later (1565) the chief executive in Yu-
catan received the title of governor, and subsequently the title of captain
general with a wide measure of military authority was also conferred. In 1560
the provinces of Yucatan and Tabasco, which had been subject to the juris-

diction of the Audiencia of Confines after its creation in the 1540's, with the
exception of a brief period in 1548-50, were permanently transferred to the
district of the Audiencia of Mexico. ^^

The documents contain few specific references to Acalan for the period
from Avila's expedition in 1530 to the end of Montejo's government two
decades later. We have seen how the Adelantado took action in 1532 to re-
affirm the obligation of the Indians to give service and tribute. We have also
taken note of Godoy's visit during the march from Tenosique to Champoton
in 1537. From time to time other Spaniards, singly or in small groups, un-
doubtedly entered the province to arrange for the delivery of tribute and to
recruit native labor. Franciscan friars are reported to have made occasional

Molina Solis, 1896, bk. 3, chs. 16-24; Chamberlain, 1936, pp. 224-25.
2'!'

28 Yucatan and Tabasco were originally subject to the jurisdiction of the Audiencia of
Mexico but were transferred to the district of the Audiencia of Confines when it was estab-
lished in the 1540's. The provinces were reassigned to the Mexico jurisdiction in 1548, again
transferred to the Audiencia of Confines in 1550, and finally, in 1560, were permanently sub-
jected to the Audiencia of Mexico.
 YUCATAN, TABASCO, AND ACALAN I
39

trips to Acalan in the late 1540's. There is no evidence, however, that any
expedition in force entered the country between 1537 and the end of the
Montejo period. So far as we know the Chontal chieftains at no time made any
attempt, either by passive resistance or open acts of revolt, to repudiate the

promises of allegiance given in 1530 and later reaffirmed at Montejo's sum-

mons. Spanish dominion in Acalan was achieved and maintained without re-

sort to the military campaigns that ravaged other areas.

This was probably due in part to the original impression of Spanish power
received at the time of Cortes' visit in 1525 and strengthened by the firm
measures of Avila five years later. We might ask, of course, how the Acalan
would have reacted if any serious effort had been made to colonize the coun-
try. But the Indians never had to face such a situation. The Spaniards estab-
lished dominion over Acalan as a by-product of a larger movement involving
other areas that were more suitable for European settlement. Indeed, Montejo's
scheme to make Acalan an advance base of operations was only a means to a
—
more important end the conquest of northern Yucatan and the greater adelan-
tamiento he hoped to achieve. And when the Adelantado learned, on the basis
of Avila's reports, that the province was not so rich and populous as Cortes'
soldiers had led him to believe and that it was isolated from other centers of
poulation, he directed his major efforts to other lands.
It is evident, however, that even after receiving Avila's reports Montejo
thought it worth while to maintain control over the Acalan country. It had
no gold, as Oviedo pointedly remarks, so the Spaniards had to seek for treasure
elsewhere. Its population was small in comparison with northern Yucatan and
could not support many encomiendas of the size often granted at the time.
Nevertheless, the amount of tribute and labor levied in Acalan before the
population declined must have had considerable value, which was appreciated
the more as the hope of finding precious metals in Yucatan faded.
Jurisdiction over this province, centrally located between Tabasco and
Yucatan, was also essential to Montejo's larger projects, if only to forestall the

claims of a grasping rival like Alvarado. In retrospect it seems very doubtful

that Alvarado would have made any serious attempt to occupy Acalan, at
least for many years, for he had more important fish to fry in regions closer

to Guatemala. Moreover, the geographical obstacles to any colonizing effort

based on Alvarado's outposts in Chiapas and northern Guatemala would have
been almost insuperable, since direct contact with any settlement established
in Acalan could have been maintained only by way of an overland route
across some of the most difficult terrain in Central America. In Montejo's
time, however, when the Spanish conquerors were engaged in a wild scramble
1 40 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

for territory, and accurate knowledge concerning distances and geographical

barriers was lacking, it would have been dangerous to take chances. The
prospect, immediate or remote, that Acalan might be occupied by an un-
friendly rival constituted a threatwhich the Adelantado could not neglect.
The prompt action by Montejo
Younger to assert authority over the Villa
the
de San Pedro founded at Tenosique by Francisco Gil shows that the Montejos
were on the alert to prevent infringement on the area which they regarded as
their rightful sphere of action.
Montejo's interest in Acalan must also be considered in the light of his
ambition for a greater adelantamiento. It is easy now to characterize his scheme
as an impossible dream, to point to the fact that Tabasco, Yucatan, and
Higueras are separated by great stretches of swamp and jungle and mountain.
The exploits of the Spaniards in the first century of discovery and conquest
show, however, that geographical obstacles were lightly regarded by men in

feverish search for wealth and glory. Nor could the Adelantado know, until

taught by bitter experience, that he had drawn one of the lesser prizes in the
grand lottery of conquest in Middle America. The Copilco-Ulua area actually
contained natural resources of great value. Even the Acalan country with its

log- and dyewood and the chicle-producing zapote, has proved to be richer
than Montejo supposed. But the gold and silver prized above all else by the
sixteenth-century conquerors were lacking in most of the lands over which the
Adelantado received jurisdiction. The agricultural possibilities of the Copilco-
Ulua region, in terms of colony economy and exportable staples, were also
less extensive than those of Cortes' Mexico and Alvarado's Guatemala. Geo-
graphical barriers, an inhospitable climate, and a dearth of precious metals, to
say nothing of personal rivalries and interminable jurisdictional conflicts, spelt
the failure of Montejo's ambition for a vast colonial state in the home of the
lowland Maya. But he never gave up all hope that at some time or place he
would find a reward for all his efforts. And long after his name was only a
memory other venturesome Spaniards sought the pot of gold in lands he
hoped to incorporate in the adelantamiento of Yucatan. Ironically enough, in
modern times the extensive cultivation of sisal hemp in stony Yucatan and of
bananas in the tropical lands of Higueras has made men rich beyond Adontejo's
dreams.
The cedula of December by which the Adelantado was made
19, 1533,

royal governor of the Copilco-Ulua area, gave him unchallenged jurisdiction

over Acalan and its environs. After the withdrawal from Yucatan in 1534-35

control was maintained by his agents in Tabasco, but when the peninsula was
finally conquered Acalan was again administered from Yucatan. The Adelan-
 YUCATAN, TABASCO, AND ACALAN I4I

tado always considered Acalan to be part of the Yucatan jurisdiction, and so

it remained, except possibly for a brief period in 1553-55, after he was re-
moved from office.

In regard to the internal history of Acalan during the quarter-century after

the coming of Cortes we know very little. We have already related that Pax-
bolonacha abdicated in 1526 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Pachimalahix.
We do not know how loner the latter lived. He was the ruler whom Avila
held in chains in 1530, while arrangements were made for the founding of the
town of Salamanca de Acalan and the introduction of the encomienda system.
When Pachimalahix died, probably during the following decade, he left a

young son named Paxua, but the succession passed to Lamatazel, brother of
the deceased ruler, and the second son of Paxbolonacha. Lamatazel governed
until about 1549-50. At his death he also left a son, Don Pablo Paxbolon, of
whom we shall have much to tell in later chapters of this volume. But again
the rulership went to a brother, Paxtun, third son of Paxbolonacha, during
whose time the Acalan were converted and baptized.
This uninterrupted succession of the members of Paxbolonacha's family
would seem to indicate that the internal history of the country was peaceful
and undisturbed by any serious factional rivalries. Although Spaniards prob-
ably came and went oftener than we know, for many years the Acalan con-
tinued to enjoy virtual independence in the conduct of their local affairs. In
the chapter that follows we shall see, however, that the conquest of Middle
America and the establishment of foreign dominion over Acalan wrought
great changes in this isolated region in the Candelaria drainage.
 The Impact of the Conquest in Acalan

SUBSEQUENT TO 1530, when Alonso de Avila founded the Villa de

Salamanca in Itzamkanac and then disestablished it within the short space
of six weeks, no further attempt was made to occupy and colonize Acalan.
The adjacent lands of Tabasco and Yucatan were not only more accessible
but also offered superior attractions as areas of settlement. In these areas the
Spaniards found greater opportunities for economic enterprise, more numerous
native populations to serve as a source of tribute and labor, and, in the case
of northern Yucatan, a more favorable climate. Moreover, although Acalan
formed part of the province of Yucatan for administrative purposes, no resi-
dent Spanish official was named to direct local affairs. The native rulers
enjoyed virtual autonomy, subject to the supervisory jurisdiction of the pro-
vincial authorities. It was by means of the encomienda system^ and the
missionary program, rather than by colonization and direct governmental
intervention, that effective Spanish dominion w^as maintained in Acalan.
The first encomienda grants in Acalan were made in 1530 by Alonso de
Avila in connection with the temporary establishment of the ViUa de Sala-
manca in Itzamkanac. In making these grants Avila acted on authority from
his superior officer, Montejo the Adelantado, and in accordance with the plan
discussed in the preceding chapter to make Acalan an advance base of conquest
and colonization. The encomenderos, or recipients of the encomienda grants,
were soldiers in Avila's company, who, it may be assumed, had enrolled as

citizens of the newly founded villa. A partial list of them, compiled from
Montejo's Acalan-Mazatlan probanza of 153 1 and other sources, follows:
Alonso de Arevalo, Pedro Galiano, Bias Gonzalez, Jeronimo de Alvarado,
Fernando de Escobar, Pedro Gonzalez, Hernan Muiioz, Gonzalo Sanchez,
Cristobal de Sotelo, and Alonso de Torres. The
were loval associatesfirst three
of the Montejos during the conquest of Yucatan and became prominent citi-
zens of Merida and Valladolid. We assume that Avila also made grants to
Montejo and to himself.
A copy of one of these early Acalan grants has been preserved. It reads:

1 For encomienda system by two famous colonial authors, see Leon

a discussion of the
Pinelo, 1630, and Solorzano Pereira, 1648, bk. 3. The best modem study is by Zavala, 1935. Cf.
also Simpson, 1929; Chamberlain, 1939; and Zavala, 1940 and 1943.
142
 IMPACT OF CONQUEST IN ACALAN I4J

Por la presente se deposita en vos, Pedro Galiano y Alonso de Arevalo, el pueblo

y senores de Tegacab para que os sirvais de el en tanto que el senor adelantado hace
el repartimiento general conforme a las ordenanzas que S. M. le tiene dadas. Que es

hecho en esta villa de Salamanca hoy lunes, el primero de agosto de 1530 afios.
Alonso de Avila. Por mandado de su merced, Gonzalo Fernandez de Herrera.^

The town of Tecacab here mentioned was undoubtedly the same as Tah-
gacab included in the list of seventy-six Acalan towns in the Chontal Text. It
was evidently a large town since it was assigned to two encomenderos. From
the Acalan-Mazatlan probanza of 153 1 we learn that Fernando de Escobar
and Pedro Gonzalez were assigned the towns of "Cithute" and "Estela" re-

spectively.^ The first was probably Cacchute, or Tizatepelt, but we are un-
able to identify Estela. No information is available concerning the towns
assigned to the other encomenderos, nor do we know to whom Itzamkanac
was granted. The capital city may have been reserved for the king as a Crown
town, or Avila may have assigned it to Monte] o or to himself.
The document quoted above indicates that the grants made by Avila were
of temporary character, to have force until the Adelantado should make a

general allotment of encomiendas {repartimiento general) presumably for the ,

entire Yucatan area. There is ample evidence, however, that the encomenderos
made use of them to obtain service and tribute, in accordance with general
encomienda practice, during their stay in Acalan. Eight of the encomenderos
listed above testified in 1 53 1 that the towns assigned to them had given service,

tribute, or both. Only one of them, however, gives any indication of the kind
of tribute received, and this witness (Cristobal de Sotelo) merely states that
the Indians of his encomienda "gave him slaves and other articles of service."
This reference to the giving of slaves as tribute is interesting for two reasons.
First, it confirms other evidence that the Acalan merchants trafficked in slaves
and that the caciques and principal men of the province owned a considerable
number of bondsmen. Second, it suggests that slaves constituted the most
valuable kind of property the natives had to offer as tribute. It is well known
that in other areas the Spaniards often demanded slaves when the Indians
lacked other items of value or could not fulfill their tribute obhgation. More-
over, we again call attention to Oviedo's remark that the Acalan had no gold
"nor any other thing except food" to give the Spaniards.'* A certain amount of
food and other staples of local produce would have been useful, indeed wel-
come, after the long march to Acalan, but Avila's men probably expected a
2 In Isabel Sanchez, hija de Pedro Galiano, difunto, con Francisco Manrique, vecino de

Yucatan, sobre los indios de Yobain y Tixcacal, 1557, AGI, Justicia, leg. 1012, num. 2, ramo 3.
3 Sobre lo de Acalan
y Mazatlan, in Monte jo v. Alvarado.
* Cf. p. 128, supra.
144 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

richer harvest of tribute in the form of treasure, such as gold, jewelry, and
other luxury items. In lieu of treasure, slaves would be most acceptable, but
how many of the encomenderos received tribute in this form is a matter of
conjecture. In any case, it is evident that Avila and his companions were dis-
appointed in Acalan. The place did not measure up to the stories told by
Cortes' soldiers. And Avila soon realized also that the region, isolated by
forest and swamp from other centers of population, was not suitable as an
advance base of operations. After a stay of only forty days in Acalan he left

the country and proceeded overland to Mazatlan and thence to Champoton.

For about a year and a half after Avila withdrew from Acalan the Indians
apparently enjoyed temporary relief from the obligation to give tribute and
labor that was inherent in the encomienda grants of 1530. But early in 1532,
after Monte jo had moved his forces from Tabasco to Yucatan and the early
campaigns of the second phase of the conquest of the peninsula were proceed-
ing satisfactorily, the Adelantado took action to reaffirm authority over
Acalan. In the preceding chapter we have told how he summoned some of
the Acalan chieftains to Campeche and made arrangements for the regular
payment of tribute and The document recording this action is dated
service.

June I, 1533, and it certifies that the payments had been maintained up to that

time.^

This move was apparently one phase of a general plan to impose tribute
and service in all of the government of Yucatan —to carry out the general
allotment, or repartimiento, envisaged by Avila in 1530. In the spring of 1532

Monte jo made grants of encomienda in northern Yucatan, and the system

was extended to the various native provinces as rapidly as they were sub-
jected to Spanish authority. This raises a question as to the status of the original
Acalan grants, which, as we have seen, were of temporary character. There is

reason to believe that most, named by Avila in

if not all, of the encomenderos
1530 exchanged their Acalan holdings for new assignments in northern Yu-
catan. We have a copy of a document dated April 8, 1532, by which Montejo
assigned to Pedro Galiano and Alonso de Arevalo, two of the Acalan encom-
enderos listed above, the town of Yobain in the cacicazgo of Ah Kin Chel and
the town of Taxaman in Uaymil.*^ It is possible, of course, that Galiano and
Arevalo retained their Acalan encomienda in addition to this new grant, but

we doubt that such was the case. The available data concerninor the enco-

5 Certification by Antonio de
Castro, notary of Villa de Salamanca de Campeche, June i,

1533, in Montejo
Alvarado. Cf. also p. 131, supra.
v.
^Isabel Sanchez con Francisco Manrique
. . . 1557, AGI, Justicia, leg. 1012, num.
. . . , 2,

ramo 3.
 IMPACT OF CONQUEST IN ACALAN 1 45

mienda history of Acalan in the later 1530's contain no reference to these men
or to any of the original encomenderos of 1530. Moreover, it seems obvious
that Galiano, iVrevalo, and the others would have preferred to exchange their
Acalan grants for new encomiendas close at hand in northern Yucatan.
If this reasoning is correct, then the Acalan encomiendas were available
for reassignment to other soldiers in Montejo's army. Whether new grants
-were actually made prior to 1534-35, when the Adelantado was forced to

abandon Yucatan a second time, or whether the Acalan towns remained "va-
cant" for a time, it is impossible to say. If we assume the latter, this would
have had no effect on the obligation of the Acalan to give tribute and service
reaffirmed by Montejo in 1532. In the case of vacancy, the tributes would have
constituted Crown revenue, although it seems likely that Montejo would have
used the payments, which probably consisted to a great extent of food, to help
provision his soldiers. Whatever the situation may have been, the document of
June I, 1533, mentioned above, and other sources indicate that the tribute
payments were consistently maintained.
After the Spaniards withdrew from Yucatan in 1534-35 the Acalan paid
tribute for several years in the Villa de Tabasco, but when the permanent
occupation of the peninsula was finally achieved in the 1540's, the payments
were again made in Campeche, as had been the case in the early 1530's.^ Al-
though the Acalan encomiendas may have been vacant for a time subsequent
to 1532, new grants were evidently made as early as 1537, since the documents
record that in the latter year Gines Doncel was an encomendero of Acalan
and received tribute in Tabasco.^ The Chontal Text also mentions as en-

comendero a certain Palma, probably Hernando de la Palma, listed in other

sources as a resident of Tabasco.^ In the 1540's the entire Acalan area was held
in encomienda by Diego de Aranda and Gonzalo Lopez in equal shares. -^^ This
suggests a rapid decline of the population subsequent to 1530, when at least

ten persons held encomiendas in Acalan. Further evidence of a sharp falling-

off of the population will be presented in the last section of this chapter.
Diego de Aranda served in Yucatan under Montejo the Adelantado in
1533. Subsequently he held office as alcalde ordinario of the Villa de Tabasco

''The payments in Campeche were resumed not later than 1548, when two citizens of
Campeche held a half share in the Acalan tributes. There is reason to beheve, however, that
the change occurred at an earlier date.
s Garcia v. Bravo, passim.

3 Fiscal V. Lopez.
If*
The Chontal Text indicates that Aranda succeeded Palma, but it does not mention Gon-
zalo Lopez. The case of Garcia v. Bravo, however, contains references to Lopez as encomendero
of Acalan, as does the letter of Fray Lorenzo de Bienvenida to Prince Philip, February 10, 1548,
in Cartas de Indias, 1877, p. 75.
 . .

146 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

in 1540 and as regidor in 1541, and in later years he appears to have resided irr

Yucatan.^^ Gonzalo Lopez, a relation of Montejo's brother-in-law, Alonso

Lopez, was a prominent citizen of Mexico City, where he acted as agent of
the Adelantado for several years. In 1547-48 he also served as Montejo's
representative at court in Spain/^ Although Gonzalo Lopez held other en-
comiendas in New we know, never resided in Tabasco or
Spain and, so far as
Yucatan, Montejo gave him a half share in the encomienda of Acalan, pre-
sumably as a reward for services rendered.^^ Aranda died about 1547-48. The
Chontal Text (which does not mention Gonzalo Lopez) implies that the next
encomendero of Acalan was Anton Garcia, who married Aranda's widow,
Francisca de Velasco. Although Garcia was later assigned the entire encomi-
enda of Acalan, the immediate successors to Aranda's half interest were two
citizens of Campeche, who apparently received a quarter share each in 1548.^^
Five years later (1553), however, the full half-interest formerly possessed by
Aranda was held by Antonio Ponce of Campeche, who may have been one
of those who received quarter shares in 1548.
In 1552 Lie. Tomas Lopez Medel, judge of the Audiencia of Guatemala,
was appointed visitador of Yucatan and Tabasco with authority to make
sweeping reforms in the local government of these provinces. During his stay

of some eight months (June 1 55 2-February 1553) in Yucatan the visitador

introduced many changes in the structure of Indian government and adminis-
tration. He revised the schedules of tribute payments, reassigned various en-
comiendas, and initiated the policy of concentrating the native population in
larger towns in order to facilitate the work of the missionary clergy. He also

formulated a series of ordinances, famous in Yucatecan history, regulating the

government of Indian towns and other phases of native lif e.^^

Among other changes in encomienda holdings made by the visitador, the

entire encomienda of the "pueblo and province" of Acalan, held in half shares

11 Montejo Alvarado; Fiscal v. Lopez, passmt; Cartas de Indias, 1877, p. 81.

v.
12 In 1540-41 Gonzalo Lopez served as legal agent of Montejo the Adelantado in a lawsuit
with Pedro de Alvarado over the encomienda of Xochimilco (AGI, Justicia, leg. 134, num. 3),
and he appears to have acted as Montejo's agent in the viceregal capital in later years. In 1547
Alontejo sent him to Spain to represent his interests before the king and Council.
13 Aranda apparently served as collector of Lopez' share of the tributes, since later docu-

ments record that he received the tributes "for himself and for Gonzalo Lopez" (Garcia v.
Bravo)
14 In a letter to Prince Philip, dated February 10, 1548, Fray Lorenzo de Bienvenida records

that the encomenderos of Acalan were Gonzalo Lopez and two citizens of Campeche (names
not given) who had received half of the encomienda "this very year." Bienvenida also refers to
the death of Aranda, so we infer that the two Campechanos had been given his half interest in
the encomienda, each receiving a quarter share (Cartas de Indias, 1877, pp. 75, 81)
15 The decrees defining Lopez' authority as visitador of Yucatan and Tabasco have been

published in DHY, i: 13-25, and in Rubio Mane, 1942, i: 115-42. The Lopez ordinances on
Indian affairs are set forth in Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 5, chs. 16-19.
 .

IMPACT OF CONQUEST IN ACALAN 1 47

by Gonzalo Lopez and Antonio Ponce at the beginning of 1553, was re-
assigned to Anton Garcia of Campeche. The visitador made the change effec-
tive by two decrees dated February 4 and 26, 1553.^^ This new development

was apparently the result of questions raised as to the legality and justice of
the holdings of Gonzalo Lopez and Ponce.
By various decrees, dating from 1527, the Crown had ordered that en-
comenderos should live in the province where they held encomiendas and
maintain residence {casa poblada) in the city or villa designated as the cabecera
which their encomienda belonged.^'^
(administrative center) of the district to
In the case of the Acalan encomenderos, this meant that they should reside in
Campeche, inasmuch as Acalan was included in the limits and jurisdiction of
the Campeche subdivision of the province of Yucatan. But Gonzalo Lopez,
as we have seen, was a resident of Mexico, where he also held other encomi-
endas. Consequently he was not entitled to hold a share in the Acalan en-
comienda.
In the case of the share held by Antonio Ponce, a resident of Campeche,
the question at issue was of another kind. According to the law of encomienda
succession promulgated in 1536 and clarified by later royal cedulas, the wife
inherited a husband's encomienda in second life if there were no surviving
children.^^ Since Diego de Aranda apparently died without issue, his half

interest in the Acalan encomienda should have gone to his widow, Francisca

de Velasco, who later married Anton Garcia. Monte jo the Adelantado

Instead,
reassigned it to other persons, one of whom was probably Antonio Ponce, who,
by 1553, had come into possession of the entire share. There is reason to be-
lieve that Garcia brought action to establish his wife's claim, although such a

move, if successful, meant would have

that he to choose between the half
share of Acalan and the encomienda of Pocboc in Ah Canul, which he had
held since 1546.^^ Pocboc had 250 tributaries, and there were now only 500 in
all of Acalan.^*^ Consequently, there would be no advantage in giving up the
encomienda of Pocboc, a town located northeast of Campeche, in order to

18 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 1943-441/, 1946-49.

I'^^Encinas, 1596, 2: 250-53; Solorzano Pereira, 1648, bk. 3, ch. 27.
18 Encinas,
1596, 2: 200-03; Solorzano Pereira, 1648, bk. 3, chs. 22-23.
19 On January
24, 1546, Monte jo the Younger granted Garcia the encomiendas of Pocboc in
Ah Canul and Yaxkukul in Ceh Pech (Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 1941-411;; AGI, Indiferente General,
leg. 1382B). Montejo the Adelantado later took away the encomienda of Yaxkukul, and in 1549
this town was held in the name of the Crown (AGI, Guatemala, leg. 128, f. 3201^). According
to the rules of encomienda succession, when a M'ife succeeded to an encomienda held by a de-
ceased spouse and later remarried, the second husband, in case he already held an encomienda,
had to choose between his original holding and the encomienda inherited by his wife.
20 The number of tributaries for Pocboc and Acalan is indicated
by the tribute assessments
for these places drawn up in 1549 and 1553 respectively (AGI, Guatemala, leg. 128, f. 363;
Garcia v. Bravo, ff. i959i;-6o)
148 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

obtain a half interest in the tributes and services of faraway Acalan, unless
Garcia could obtain additional tributaries. Moreover, was not likely that
it

Ponce would willingly abandon his claims to the Acalan holding without
recompense of some kind.
These problems seem to have been ironed out in the following manner:
( I )
the visitador revoked Gonzalo Lopez' half share in the Acalan encomienda
on the grounds cited above; (2) Ponce abandoned his claim to the other half
share in return for another encomienda in the Campeche district; (3) Lopez*
and Ponce's shares were reassigned to Anton Garcia, on condition that he
give up the encomienda of Pocboc. Although the decrees recording these
transactions do not name the encomienda Ponce was to receive, there is evi-
dence that it was Pocboc, which Garcia renounced. In other words. Ponce and
Garcia apparently agreed to exchange their encomienda holdings, and the
visitador made the deal worthwhile to Garcia by granting him the other half
of Acalan, formerly held by Gonzalo Lopez. In this way Garcia became sole
encomendero of Acalan.
It appears, however, that in the later 1550's Garcia attempted to reassert
his title to Pocboc. This resulted in prolonged litigation before the Audiencia
of Guatemala, but in the end Garcia was defeated and forced to make formal
renunciation of all claim to Pocboc under the grant of 1 546 by which it was

originally assigned to him. Whereupon the audiencia, by decree of January

31, 1560, officially confirmed his title to the entire encomienda of Acalan.^^
For more than two decades after the introduction of the encomienda
system in Acalan there was no fixed schedule (tasacion) regulating the
amount of tribute and service to be paid by the Indians to their encomenderos.
In this respect the situation in Acalan was similar to that which prevailed in
other areas. The encomenderos everywhere demanded as much tribute and
labor as they could get, with the result that many abuses existed. Examples of
excessive tribute payments and the uncontrolled exploitation of encomienda
labor could be cited in the case of Mexico and other major colonies. For our
present purpose it will be more pertinent, however, to note some of the com-
plaints recorded in documents from Tabasco and Yucatan, where the en-
comenderos of Acalan (except Gonzalo Lopez) lived.

A
document of 1541 reveals that the Tabasco encomenderos made un-
reasonable demands for cacao, the staple item of tribute in that area, native
jewelry made of gold and precious stones, and slaves. The Tabasco Indians
were also subjected to the usual forms of service as farm laborers and house-
21 This litigation is summarized in the decree of January 31, 1560 (Garcia v. Bravo, S.
1937-59^^)-
 IMPACT OF CONQUEST IN ACALAN 1 49

hold servants; in 1540-41, when Montejo the Younger moved his forces to

Yucatan to begin the final conquest of the peninsula, the sierra towns of
southern Tabasco were called upon to furnish canoes, and many Indians from
other settlements were rounded up to serve as carriers {tamemes) in Yucatan.
We also learn that the natives were freely moved from town to town and that
some of the encomenderos sold the services of their Indians to other Spaniards.
Acts of violence were frequent, and there is some evidence of the branding and
sale of encomienda Indians as slaves. In 1541 Diego de Aranda, who held an
encomienda in Tabasco and later had a half share in the encomienda of Acalan,
was arrested on charges of unlawful seizure of Indian property, of selhng the
services of his encomienda Indians, and of forcibly transporting others from
Tabasco to Campeche.^^
In the case of Yucatan, we also have many complaints of abuses committed
by encomenderos. Fray Lorenzo de Bienvenida, writing in February 1 548, de-
nounced the excessive tribute burden and the widespread exploitation of
native labor. "There is no assessment of tribute," he said, "except that each
person makes his own assessment as he wishes." ^^ Two years later ( 1550) Fray
Luis de Villalpando wrote a scathing letter to the king in which he accused
some of the Spaniards of barbaric acts of violence against Indians of their
encomiendas.^^
For the Acalan area the Chontal Text is the most important source of in-
formation concerning the tribute burden during the period of unregulated
assessments. The Text states that payments were made "every six months and
every two months." This evidently means that certain items of tribute were
paid at more frequent intervals than others. Maize, for example, would be
paid after harvest, whereas other produce could be delivered more frequently.
The Text also adds: ". . . when they (the encomenderos) wished, they came
for what they wanted, such as canoes, paddles, honey, copal, hens, mantas,
beans, maize, squash seeds, chile, cotton, [and] calabashes." The narrative has
nothing to say about the giving of labor, and in view of the fact that the
Acalan towns were distant from the Villa de Tabasco and Campeche, where
the encomenderos lived, the amount of
demanded was probably less
service
than in the case of Tabasco and Yucatan. There is no reason to believe, how-
ever, that the Acalan were exempt from the obligation to give labor on de-
mand. As in the case of the Tabasco Indians, they were probably called upon
to furnish canoes, paddlers, and carriers during the final conquest of Yucatan,
22 Fiscal V. Lopez, passim.
23 Cartas de Indias,
1877, pp. 70-82.
2*
Villalpando to the king, Merida, October 15, 1550, Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid,
Cartas de Indias, caja 2, num. 54.
150 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

and we have no doubt that groups of Acalan Indians were summoned to both
Tabasco and Yucatan from time to time to help in the construction of build-
ings and on farms. Nor is it likely that Diego de Aranda, for example, showed
greater consideration in the treatment of the Indians of his Acalan encomiendas
than in the case of those assigned to him in Tabasco.
The flood of complaint about excessive levies of tribute and labor caused
the Crown as early as the 1530's to formulate legislation designed to remedy
the situation. An important cedula of 1536 instructed the colonial authorities
to make fixed assessments, and the order was repeated in 1540 and in the New
Laws of 1542. The formulation of the tasaciones, or assessments, M^as a slow
process, however, and in some areas was not carried out until the late 1540's
or early 1550's. The abuses resulting from the exploitation of Indian labor
finally caused the Crown in 1 549 to send out a decree prohibiting the giving
of service as part of the encomienda obligation. In case the schedules already
made included provision for stated amounts of labor, it was now necessary to
revise them and eliminate the service items. Henceforth the Indians were ob-
liged to give only tribute and in fixed amounts annually to their encomen-
deros.^
Although the elimination of service eased the burden imposed on the
Indians by the encomienda, it also made the problem of an adequate labor
supply more acute. The encomenderos, like other Spaniards, now had to em-
ploy Indian laborers on a wage basis. But it soon became evident that under
a system of free contract the natives would not hire out in sufficient numbers
to meet the labor demand, and the Crown had to authorize forced labor for
pay. It should be emphasized, however, that this method of recruiting Indian
workers (known in Peru as the ?7nta, in New Spain as the cuatequil, and gen-
erally designated as the reparmniento^''' or personal service) was legally and
institutionally separate from the encomienda system as now constituted."^ It is

well known, however, that the encomenderos in many areas continued to ex-
ploit the labor of their Indians by extra-legal devices.
The first schedules of fixed annual tribute payments in Yucatan were
drawn up in 1548, apparently after the date of Bienvenida's letter mentioned
above, by Monte jo the Adelantado and the Franciscan missionaries. The
assessments were confirmed by the Audiencia of Guatemala in the following
year ( 1 549) .^^ The staple items of tribute listed in these schedules were viantas,
25 Cf. Zavala, 1935, chs. 2-5, passbn.
26 The term repartmiiento had also been used for the encomienda system.
-"^
Cf. Zavala, 1943, ch. 9.
28 The Yucatan tribute schedules of 1548-49 are in AGI, Guatemala, leg. 128, ff. 307-402.
They have also been published in Paso y Troncoso, 1939-42, 5: 103-181; 6: 73-112. There are
many errors in the spellings of the town names in the printed version.
 IMPACT OF CONQUEST IN ACALAN 1 5 I

gallinas (turkeys or hens of European variety), maize, beans, beeswax, and

honey. Some of the towns located near the coasts also gave salt and fish. The
tribute manta consisted of four lengths (piernas) of cotton cloth, each four
varas long and three-fourths of a vara wide, making a total of about lo square
yards (English measure) per manta. -^ In general, the schedules were based on
the number of tributaries, or married men, in each town, with exemptions for
the aged and infirm, members of the native ruling families, and certain town
officials. For example, the number of mantas to be paid by a given town was

equal to the number of tributaries. The proportions of gallinas to mantas varied

considerably, but the average payment called for five-eighths to two-thirds as
many gallinas as mantas. The maize and bean assessments were made in terms
of plantings (a stated number of fane gas of maize and beans to be planted
annually) instead of measures of harvested produce as was the case in later
tribute schedules. Beeswax, honey, salt, and fish were assessed in terms of
arrobas (the arroba being approximately 25 pounds by weight and four gallons
as a liquid measure). The size of the plantings of maize and beans and the
quantities of wax, honey, etc., were also fixed according to the size of the
towns, although some variation may be noted in the case of towns with an
equal number of tributaries.

In 1550 Fray Luis de Villalpando, the celebrated missionary and Maya

linguist, reported that the tribute manta was worth 6 redes (.75 silver peso)
and that the total value of the tribute paid by each tributary was 9 reales

(1.125 pesos) .^^

There is evidence, however, that Villalpando's valuation for
the manta is too low. We have record of a sale of 100 mantas for 250 pesos, or
2.5 pesos each, in 1555, and other data also indicate an average price of 20
reales (2.5 pesos) during the 1560's.^^ Although we also have prices for maize,
gallinas, beans, beeswax, etc., it is difficult to check Villalpando's 3 -real val-

uation for each tributary's share of these items, inasmuch as the maize and
bean assessments were in terms of plantings rather than harvested produce. If

we accept his estimate as fairly accurate, the total value of the tribute paid by
each tributary during the 1550's was at least 23 reales. It may have been as

high as 24 or 25 reales.

In 1 56 1 the Yucatan tribute schedules were revised by Lie. Garcia Jufre de

29 The Castilian vara measured about

33 inches (.835 meter). Consequently the tribute manta
of 12 square varas of cloth was the equivalent of about 10 square yards (English measure).
30 Villalpando to the king, Merida, October
15, 1550, Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid,
Cartas de Indias, caja 2, num. 54.
31 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 198317-84; Cuentas de real hacienda dadas por los oficiales reales de

Yucatan, 1540- 1606, AGI, Contaduria, leg. 911 A. The tax schedules of 1548-49 give the value
of the manta as two tomines, or reales, but we find no evidence whatever to substantiate this
very low valuation.
 .

152 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Loaisa, oidor of Guatemala. At th:s time each tributary was assessed three-
fourths of a manta, one-half fanega (the fanega was about 1.6 bushels) of
harvested maize, and one turkey or hen. In addition each town paid small
amounts of other articles, such as wax, honey, beans, chile, kitchen pottery,
and rope. The treasury accounts kept for the first nine years (1562-70)
after the new schedule went into effect show that the tribute revenues of
certain Crown towns^^ (Mani, Tacul, Telchac, Tecoh, and Yaxkukul) aver-
aged about 20 reales annually for each tributary .^^ Inasmuch as Loaisa's assess-

ments were intended to reduce the tribute burden to some extent, this figure

confirms the conclusion stated above that the minimum value of the tributes
in the 1550's was 23 reales per tributary.

The record of the Yucatan assessments of 1 548-49, as we now have it, does
not include an entry for Acalan. The first tribute schedule for the latter area
was apparently made in 1553 by the visitador. Lie. Tomas Lopez Medel. The
Chontal Text states: "This Tomas Lopez released us from giving canoes, and
also hens, mantas, maize, honey, copal, beans, squash seeds, chile, cotton, cala-

bashes, paddles, and other items which we, the Chontal of Acalan, gave." This
statement would cause the reader to wonder what kind of tribute the Acalan
actually gave as the result of Lopez' assessment. Fortunately we have a copy
of the tribute schedule formulated by the visitador at Campeche in February
1553. It provided that the pueblo and province of Acalan should make an
annual payment of 500 mantas of the customary size, 500 galhnas (half of
them to be turkeys and the other half hens of European variety), and 30 cakes
(panes) of copal.^^ Thus the articles of tribute were hmited to three staples,
in contrast with the variety of items the encomenderos had previously de-
manded.
The manta assessment was evidently at the rate of one manta per tributary,
as in the case of Yucatan schedules of 1 548-49. This would indicate a total of
500 tributaries in all of Acalan in 1553. Inasmuch as the Acalan schedules did
not provide for payments in maize, beans, wax, and honey, standard items in
the Yucatan assessments, we infer that Acalan did not have large exportable
surpluses of these products. The elimination of these items was apparently off-

set by the copal payment and a larger quota of gallinas (equal to the number
of mantas or tributaries, instead of the five-eighths to two-thirds proportion
that was average for the Yucatan schedules)
Lacking prices for copal, we are unable to make an accurate estimate of
32 Crown towns were those which paid tribute to the king instead of to encomenderos. The
tributes for Crown towns and encomienda towns were assessed on the same basis.
33 Cuentas de real hacienda . .1540-1606, AGI, Contadun'a,
. leg. 911 A.
,

34 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 1959x^-60.

 IMPACT OF CONQUEST IN ACALAN 1 53

the annual value of the Acalan tributes. A sum of 1350 to 1400 pesos would
seem, however, to be a reasonable figure. Although some of the larger holdings
in northern Yucatan produced greater revenue, the value of the Acalan trib-
utes was considerably higher than that of the average Yucatan encomienda. In
this connection it may be noted that the provincial governors of Yucatan in

the sixteenth century received an annual salary of only 1000 pesos gold, or
about 1655 pesos silver, inwhich the tribute values have been calculated. It is
evident therefore that Anton Garcia's income as encomendero of Acalan
represented a substantial living.
On the basis of 500 tributaries, the value of the Acalan tributes represented
an annual tax of some 22 reales (2.75 pesos) per tributary, or about the same
as the minimum payment already indicated for northern Yucatan in the 1550's.

The question arises as to how much of a burden this imposed on the Indians.

The answer depends, of course, on many factors, some of which it is difficult

to evaluate, but there can be Httle doubt that the Yucatan and Acalan tribute
assessments were excessive. Perhaps the best method of measurement is to
determine the wage equivalent of the tax, since wages for Indian labor remained
fairly stable during the second half of the sixteenth century. The maximum
pay for unskilled Indian labor during this period was apparently 3 reales (.375

peso) per week. On this basis the annual payment of 22 reales per tributary in
Acalan represented the earnings of an unskilled worker for 7,33 weeks, or
slightly more than 14 per cent of his gross wages for an entire year. In the

same way the total annual value of the Acalan tributes represented the wage
equivalent of at least 3600 weeks of labor, or the earnings of about seventy
unskilled workers for a year. The excessive burden of the tributes is also in-

dicated by evaluating the tax in terms of maize consumption, although in this

case the bases of calculation are probably less exact. However, if we estimate
the amount of maize that could be purchased for 22 reales at current prices in
the 1550's and 1560's and also take into account Steggerda's figures concerning
the daily maize consumption of a present-day Yucatecan family of five per-
sons,^^ we find that the Acalan tax of 22 reales per tributary would have sup-
plied the maize ration of a family for something like sixty days. Further evi-
dence that the Yucatan and Acalan assessments were burdensome is provided
by tribute schedules prom.ulgated in New Spain in the early 1560's which
called for an annual payment of 10 or 1 reales per tributary .^^
1

The visitador. Lie. Tomas Lopez Medel, also made a change in regard to

Steggerda, 1941, pp. 127-30.

2'''

In these New Spain schedules each tributary was assessed one peso (8 reales) and half a
3*5

fanega of maize. The current price of maize was 4 reales the fanega. Indians who gave cash in-
stead of maize were assessed 3 reales in lieu of the produce payment.
154 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

the place of delivery of the Acalan tributes. During the period immediately
preceding 1553 the payments had been made in Campeche, but apparently on
petition of some of the Indians of Acalan the visitador decreed that dehvery
should again be made in the Villa de Tabasco, as had been the case during the
interval between the second and third phases of the conquest of Yucatan. The
reason cited for makingr this change vi^as that was more convenient for the
it

Indians to make payment in Tabasco.'*''^ Actually the distance would have

been about the same in either case. We surmise therefore that the Acalan
^vished to combine the delivery of the tributes with their trading operations in
Tabasco and the Chontalpa area, which were probably more extensive than the
trade carried on with northern Yucatan. As the result of Lopez' decree, the
encomendero, Anton Garcia, temporarily transferred his residence to the Villa

de Tabasco. The Chontal Text refers to tribute payments made to Garcia in

Chilapa in the Tabasco province. This may be an error, or it is possible that
Garcia owned farms in the Chilapa area, where delivery of the tributes was
occasionally made. But the change introduced by the visitador was evidentlv
of short duration, for as early as July 1555 the payments were again being
made in Campeche, where Garcia resided permanently thereafter.^^

The Text also states that the visitador established rates of pay for the
Indians who transported the tributes to the place of delivery. Hitherto labor
of this kind had apparently been considered a part of the services owed by
the Indians to their encomenderos. Now that the Crown had prohibited the
giving of labor as part of the encomienda obligation, the encomendero had
to pay for this service. The documents record, for example, that in 1554
Indians of Acalan received the sum of 19 pesos for the transportation of 100
mantas to Tabasco, or about 7.5 per cent of the value of the mantas. That
Garcia also occasionally employed his encomienda Indians as day laborers is
indicated payment of 59 pesos for the building of a house in
by record of a
the Villa de Tabasco during the time the encomendero resided in that place.^^
Encomenderos were under obligation to provide religious instruction for

the Indians of their encomiendas. In actual practice, however, this obligation

was usually discharged by the payment of salary to a missionary priest and
by sharing in the cost of building and equipping the local church. Inasmuch as
effective missionary work Acalan was started only in 1550, most of the
in

encomenderos who preceded Anton Garcia were not called upon to fulfill
their duties in this matter. In Garcia's case, however, we have evidence that

37 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 1946-471;.

38 Ibid., flF. 1984V-85.
^^Ibid., fF. 1983V-84.
 IMPACT OF CONQUEST IN ACALAN 1 55

he paid the usual fees to the Franciscan missionaries and facihtated their work
in Acalan prior to the removal of the Chontal to Tixchel in 1557.

On more than one occasion during his stay in Acalan in 1525 Cortes
harangued the native chieftains on the subject of the Christian faith and "the
error in which they lived." The commander also tells how Paxbolonacha and
other chieftains "burned many of their idols in my presence and said that from
that time forward theywould pay them no honour." ^° But this act was obvi-
ously prompted by mere expediency, or by fear inspired by the summary exe-
cution of Cuauhtemoc. Although missionary clergy accompanied the Cortes
—
expedition and it may be assumed that they as well as the commander talked
to the Indians on the subject of religion —there is nothing in the narratives of
Cortes and Bernal Diaz to indicate that any true converts were made at this

time. When Avila imposed Spanish sovereignty and introduced the encomien-
da system in 1530, he undoubtedly explained that in due time these measures
would be followed by the introduction of Christianity and that the encom-
enderos were under obligation to provide instruction in the new faith. The
withdrawal of the Spaniards from Acalan within six weeks after the founding
of the Villa de Salamanca, however, caused the postponement for many years
of any effective effort to indoctrinate the Indians. It was only after the suc-
cessful occupation of northern Yucatan and the coming of the Franciscan
missionaries to that area that the conversion of the Acalan people was finally

achieved.
In 1545 two groups of Franciscans, one from Guatemala and the other
from Mexico, arrived in Yucatan. A third group came from Spain in 1549,
and in succeeding years other friars were recruited for service in the province.
Among these early missionaries were several who became famous in Yucatecan
Church leaders, notably Fray Luis de Villal-
history as teachers, linguists, and
pando. Fray Juan de la Puerta, Fray Lorenzo de Bienvenida, and Fray Diego
de Landa. The first monastic houses were established in Campeche and Merida,
but within a few^ years the Franciscans also founded mission centers in Mani,
Conkal, Izamal, Valladolid, and other important towns. The reforms and
administrative policies introduced by Lie. Tomas Lopez Medel during his stay

in Yucatan in 1552-53 assisted the progress of the missionary program. The

Lopez ordinances on Indian affairs contained many provisions designed to
combat the influence of the native priests and to break down aboriginal cus-
toms regarded as inconsistent with Christian standards of moral conduct and
social life. The visitador also facilitated the concentration of the Indians in

*° Cortes, 1916,
pp. 369, 374.
I ^6 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

larger settlements or their removal to sites nearer the mission centers. During
these early years the Franciscans exerted increasing influence in provincial
affairs. They carried forward the visitador's policies as rapidly as possible; they
actively intervened in the government of the Indian towns; and they freely
denounced abuse and exploitation of the natives by the encomenderos and
imposed ecclesiastical censures on Spaniards who set an evil example by im-
moral or irreligious conduct. Although some of the encomenderos and col-

onists opposed the growing power of the friars, the latter were able to enlist
support from the colonial authorities, especially the Audiencia of Guatemala,
which had jurisdiction over Yucatan in the 1550's. The Franciscans continued
to dominate the local scene until the coming of the first bishop, Fray Francisco
de Toral, in 1562. The new prelate immediately assumed general direction of
the missionary program. Although Toral himself was a Franciscan, the intro-
duction of episcopal authority necessarily involved the limitation of the in-
fluence and power of the Order.^^
The Chontal Text is the sole source of information concerning the con-
version of Acalan. According to this narrative, the first missionaries visited the
country when Lamatazel, second son of Paxbolonacha and successor of
Pachimalahix, was ruler. The Text reads:

During his time and government the first Franciscan fathers arrived. Fray Luis
de Villalpando, Fray Juan de la Puerta, [and] Fray Lorenzo de Bienvenida."*- At
thistime they were still in their pagan and idolatrous state, and the Spaniards and
the above-mentioned friars who came entered the land and began to teach them
the true way and They went about teaching everyone that our gods
the true God.
were already finished and had alreadv come to an end, [saying] "You will never :

see them worshipped again, and he who worships them is deceived in his way of
life and he who does so will be punished, for their time is now over. See that no
one deceives the people, for that age is now gone by." All the principal men and the
ruler and all their pueblos heard what the father priests said.
Then Lamatazel, their ruler, died, and before he died he ordered all the prin-
cipal men summoned. When they had assembled he said to them: "Now I am
dying, and I bear sorrow in my heart that I have not attained to being a Christian
and living with faith instead of as we Uve. As my life draws to a close, I beg you to
*i For the early history of the Franciscan missions in Yucatan, see Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-
68, bks. 5, 6; Molina Solis, 1896, bk. 3, ch. 22, and 1904-13, vol. i, chs. 1-2; Scholes and Adams,
1938, i: i-cvii; Scholes and Roys, 1938.
*2 We have no positive evidence to substantiate this statement that Villalpando, Bienvenida,

and La Puerta visited Acalan. In his letter to Prince Philip, February 10, 1548, Bienvenida gives
a brief account of conditions in Acalan and describes the hazards of the journey from Yucatan
to the Acalan area. Although the account may vs^ell have been based on personal experience,
the author does not state that he or any other friars had actually visited Acalan (Cartas de Indias,
1877, pp. 75-76). It is entirely possible, however, that the Text refers to a journey made by
one or more of the friars late in 1548 or in 1549.
 IMPACT OF CONQUEST IN AC ALAN I
57

give yourselves to the service of another God, because I see and have heard that
the father priests will come and preach, and [the new faith] will not be
to baptize
destroyed, nor will the end [of it] be seen. Now the truth comes, and the good of
which they tell, and therefore I charge you to seek it and bring the father preachers
to teach you and set your feet on the true road." After this speech this ruler
Lamatazel died.

Lamatazel was the father of Don Pablo Paxbolon, who later served for

many years as cacique and governor of Tixchel. Don Pablo was educated by
the Franciscans, and during his career as governor of Tixchel he established a
reputation as a loyal servant of the Church. The Text narrative quoted above
was obviously designed to show that his father, although a heathen, had been
sympathetic to the new faith and had urged his people to accept it. The Mal-
donado-Paxbolon probanza of 1612 went even further and definitely implied
that Lamatazel actually became a Christian.^^ There is no evidence, however,
to substantiate this. The Text clearly indicates that he died a heathen. More-
over, neither the Text nor the Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers record a Christian

name for the ruler.

When Lamatazel died, probably in 1549 or early in 1550, the succession
passed to his brother named Paxtun, third son of Paxbolonacha. The new ruler
"heard the news of the preaching and baptism which the fathers were engaged
in and took the matter under consideration with all his principal men. They
summoned the whole pueblo in order that they might go to seek the fathers in
Campeche, and thus ruler Paxtun set out for Campeche with his people in
search of the fathers." On the way they met Fray Diego de Bejar, who was
traveling from Tabasco to Yucatan. He expressed great pleasure that the
Indians desired to become Christians and agreed to visit their lands after he

had disposed of certain business in Yucatan. A month later the Indians came
with canoes to Campeche and took the missionary to Acalan. The Text re-
cords the date of his arrival as April 20, 1550.
Although the account of Father Bejar's visit is brief, it provides interesting
clues concerning missionary methods and also as to the manner in which the
Indians received the new religion. In his talks with Paxtun and other chieftains
the friar stressed the fact that acceptance of Christianity meant that they
would have to abandon belief in their old gods. "The first thing I have to say
to you is that it is impossible to serve two lords or two fathers. ... I come to
tell you that [there is] only one God in three persons, God the Father, God

the Son, God the Holy Ghost, who created heaven and earth and all there is
to be seen today." Having emphasized this fundamental point, he then told
*3 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, f. i.
158 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

the Indians to come and display their idols. They brought him first "the idol
of the ruler which bears [the name of] Cukulchan," evidently Kukulcan,
and then "the devil [of] Tadzunum, and [those of] Tachabtte, Atapan, and
Tacacto." The latter phrase probably refers to the idols of the four quarters
of Itzamkanac. "They brought all these before Father Fray Diego de Bejar,
who burned them."
After these preliminaries the friar instructed the Indians in the elements of
Christian faith and doctrine. He taught them to recite "the Paternoster, the
Ave Maria, the Credo, and the Salve, and the articles of the faith. And then he
began to give them their [Christian] names," i.e., to baptize them. The ruler
Paxtun received the name of Pedro, a native priest called Kintencab was named
Mateo, and Caltzin, another chieftain, was named Francisco.
The Text, as amplified by the Spanish version, implies that on this first

visit Father Bejar made many other converts. The remainder of the narrative
deals, however, with the measures taken to stamp out idolatry. "The idols
hidden in their secret places by the Indians . . . were sought out in all of the
pueblos. The custodians of the idols went for them and brought them and
burned them. Those who retained them were imprisoned and whipped before
the eyes of the people. In this way the idols perished and came to an end among
the natives, some of whom [conformed] willingly, others through fear of
punishment."
In such manner Fray Diego de Bejar initiated the missionary program in

Acalan. In due course a church was built, probably a very modest structure, in
Itzamkanac, where most of the population was now concentrated, and a few
simple ornaments were provided by the encomendero, Anton Garcia.^^ The
new mission area was attached to the district served by the Franciscans of the
Campeche convent, from which friars came from time to time to administer
the sacraments, baptize new converts, and supervise the routine religious in-
struction carried on by native teachers trained for this purpose. Father Bejar
made a second visit, probably in 155 1, and in later years Fray Miguel de Vera,
Fray Juan de Escalona,^° and Fray Diego de Pesquera also served as missionaries

in Acalan. But due to the long and hazardous journey from Campeche, espe-
cially the arduous passage up the rapids and falls of the Rio de Acalan, or
Candelaria, the visits of these friars and others who may have assisted them
were necessarily infrequent.
It appears, however, that the friars succeeded in making at least nominal

** GarciaBravo.
v.
45 The Text
does not mention Escalona, but several documents in the case of Garcia v.
Bravo indicate that he served in Acalan prior to 1557, when the Indians were moved to Tixchel.
 IMPACT OF CONQUEST IN ACALAN I
59

converts of most of the Acalan people. One or more of the chieftains and an
undetermined number of the common people remained heathens, but most of
the unconverted were evidently slaves. Although the Lopez ordinances of
1552 decreed that "all the Indians of this province who may have slaves at

the present time . . . shall set them free and give up control over them"'*" the
slave owners resisted enforcement of this order as long as possible. In an iso-

lated area like Acalan, where there was no resident official or priest, enforce-
ment was practically impossible. Slaves who became Christians were, of
course, automatically emancipated, but it was easy for the Acalan slave owners

to prevent theirbondsmen from seeking baptism by hiding them in the forests

or on farms whenever the friars visited the country.
The account of Father Bejar's visit to Acalan in 1550 clearly shows that
the use of force was necessary to compel some of the Indians to give up their
idols and that many of the converts were inspired by fear of punishment if

they refused to conform to the new order. The introduction of the Christian
religion, with all that it implied in relation to established thought and custom,
was bound to create a conflict of loyalties which could be overcome only by
careful instruction and by close supervision of native life over a long period
of time. This was impossible, however, in the case of Acalan, located many
days' journey from the nearest mission center. The problem was finally re-

solved in 1557 by the forced removal of the surviving population to Tixchel.

This event, the most important in the postconquest history of Acalan, was the
direct and logical result of the missionary program. ^

Although Acalan was not subjected to the ravages of a military conquest,

with its inevitable depredations, destruction of property, and loss of life, the
population of the province rapidly declined during the quarter-century after
the coming of the Spaniards. The decrease cannot be measured accurately, but
the fact that the population fell off beyond question.
sharply is

Cortes describes Acalan as prosperous and well populated. The list of

seventy-six towns in the Chontal Text also suggests a fairly numerous popula-
tion. Statements in Montejo's probanza of 153 1 that it was only a day's jour-

ney from Acalan (apparently referring to the borders of the province) to

Laguna de Terminos would indicate that some of the settlements were located
along the rapids and falls of the Rio de Acalan, or Candelaria. Most of them,
however, appear to have been situated above the rapids and along the upper
tributaries of the river.^'^
46 Lopez de CogoUudo, 1867-68, bk. 5, ch. 18.
4'^
Cf. Appendix B, pp. 426-27, injra.
1 60 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Unfortunately the chroniclers give no estimates ot ttie total population of

the province at the time of the conquest. Itzamkanac was evidently a fairly
large place, at least for so remote a region. Teutiercas (Tuxakha), with its

two large temples used by the Spaniards as living quarters, probably ranked
second to Itzamkanac. We also infer that Tizatepelt (Cacchute), Chakam, and
Tahgacab, which had two encomenderos in 1530, were settlements of larger
than average size. There is reason to believe, however, that the total popula-
tion of Acalan was not so large as might be expected on the basis of seventy-six

inhabited localities. As already noted, one reason cited by Oviedo to explain

why Avila withdrew from Acalan within such a short time was the fact that
he regarded the population as too small to support a colony. Moreover, Bernal
Diaz, who apparently saw more of the country than Cortes, twice refers to
the existence of "more than twenty settlements,"^^ by which he probably
meant places large enough to be considered towns or villages. This suggests
that many of the "pueblos" listed in the Text were small hamlets of only a
few families each. In other words, the situation in Acalan was similar to that
in Yucatan, where the principal towns or villages (called cabegeras by the
Spaniards) had one or more adjunct settlements of smaller size.

If Itzamkanac had 900-1000 houses, as Oviedo states, its total population

would have been 4000-4500 on the basis of 4.5 persons per family and only
one family to a house. ^^ If there were many multiple-family houses, the figure

would have been considerably larger. It is impossible, however, to estimate

the number of such houses. Moreover, this factor may well be offset by the
probability that Alonso de Lujan, from whom Oviedo obtained his informa-
tion, overestimated the size of the town. In order to keep our own estimates on

a minimum basis, we shall assume a population of 4000 for Itzamkanac, a con-

servative figure in terms of Cortes' description of the capital as a large place
with many temples.^^
We have no data for estimating the population of the twenty-odd lesser

towns and villages mentioned by Bernal Diaz, or of the small hamlets and
subsidiary settlements which apparently comprised about two-thirds of the
seventy-six places Hsted in the Text. If the 75 settlements outside the capital
averaged only 100 persons each, this would give an additional 7500, making a

total of 11,500 for the entire province. For the purposes of the present dis-

48 Diaz del Castillo, 1939, chs. 176, 177.

Late eighteenth-century census reports, the earliest we have for the entire province of
*"

Yucatan, indicate a ratio of about 4.5 persons per family. It may be noted, however, that counts
of certain towns made during the visita of Lie. Garcia de Palacio in 1583 reveal a somewhat
lower number of persons per family. Consequently a 4.5 ratio is probably the maximum that can
safely be used for making an estimate of population based on the number of families.
50 Cortes, 1866, p. 419.
 IMPACT OF CONQUEST IN ACALAN l6l

cussion, however, we shall reduce this figure to 10,000, which would appear
to be the absolute minimum consistent with the fact that in 1525 the Acalan
provisioned Cortes' soldiers and some 3000 auxiliaries. Although an estimated
population of 10,000 probably errs on the side of understatement, we shall

see that even on this basis the decrease prior to 1553 amounted to at least 60
per cent.
Attention has already been called to the fact that whereas there were at
least ten encomenderos of Acalan in 1530, the number was reduced to two
by the 1 540 's. Although this may have been due, in part, to the consohdation
of the earlier holdings into larger grants, declining population was probably
the major factor. And in 1553, as we have seen, the entire province of Acalan
was assigned to a single encomendero, Anton Garcia.
Evidence of a rapid decrease in the population subsequent to the coming
of the Spaniards is also found in the letter of Fray Lorenzo de Bienvenida to
Prince Philip, dated February 10, 1548. According to this dispatch, the pueblo
of Acalan (Itzamkanac) now comprised only 200 houses. Although Oviedo's
statement that Acalan-Itzamkanac had 900-1000 houses in 1530 may be an
exaggeration, the testimony of Bienvenida shows that a marked change had
taken place within the short space of eighteen years. The friar also reported
that "there is only one pueblo," evidently meaning that there was only one
settlement of any size in the entire province.^^
Further evidence that the population had rapidly melted away is provided
by the tribute assessment of 1553, which was based on a total of 500 tribu-

taries, or married couples. In addition, there was undoubtedly a certain num-

ber who were exempt from tribute, such as persons of noble blood, village
officials, and the aged and infirm. This group may have represented an addi-
tional 10 per cent, or 50 heads of families. Moreover, the counts on which
tribute assessments were made were often inaccurate owing to carelessness on
the part of the officials who made them and to the fact that the Indians used
every device possible to conceal or hide out potential tributaries. In the case

of Acalan the person sent to make the count could not know the location of
every hamlet on the creeks and bayous of the Candelaria drainage, and the
native officials of Itzamkanac naturally would not have volunteered more in-
formation than necessary. There is no way of determining the number who

were not counted, but for purposes of estimate we shall assume that it was
as high as 40 per cent of the total actually listed, or 200 potential tributaries. If

the number of families was 750, then we have a total of 3375 persons, counting
4.5 persons per family. We also learn from the Chontal Text that some 600
^^ Cartas de Indias, 1877, p. 75.
1 62 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

slaves later fled to Chakam, presumably during the disorders that occurred as
the result of the transfer of the Acalan to Tixchel in 1557. This would increase
the estimated population in 1553 to 3975. In short, the total for the entire
province was about equal to the conservative estimate for Itzamkanac in 1530.
On the basis of the minimum estimate of 10,000 for the province at the time
of the conquest, the population had declined by 60.25 per cent within three
decades. The actual decrease was undoubtedly greater, since we have pur-
posely held the preconquest figure to a minimum and have made a generous
estimate for the population in 1553.
Northern Yucatan comprised a larger area than Acalan and was more
densely populated, but for purposes of comparison it is interesting to note that
in 1548-49 had more than 57,000 tributaries. Moreover, there were 28 towns
it

with their adjunct settlements (some of them being fairly important villages)
which had 500 or more tributaries each, and there were 17 with 400-500 each.
As we might expect, Hocaba-Homun (2400 tributaries), Conkal (1450),
Telchac (1030), Mani (970), and Tekax (940) were centers of considerable
population, but even in such towns as Tixkokob (530), Dzidzantun (600),
Chancenote (600), Dzilam (580), and Mocochi (500) the number of tribu-
taries was equal to or greater than the total for the entire Acalan area in 1553.^"

What were the causes of the rapid decline of Acalan subsequent to the
conquest? The Maldonado-Paxbolon probanza of 161 2 asserts that many of
the Indians, seeing the "benevolence" with which Paxbolonacha received
Cortes and fearing that he would return and make himself master of the land,
fled from their towns and went away to live in the forests. ^'^ It is probably true
that some of the natives withdrew into the surrounding forests during Cortes'
stay in 1525. The historical allusions in the prophecies seem to indicate, how-
ever, that although the Maya often took refuge in the bush when some dis-
turbance occurred, most of them returned to their homes when the crisis was
past. The Chontal probably did the same. Although Avila was disappointed
in the size of the Acalan population in 1530, this was probably due to the
over-enthusiastic reports given to Montejo by Cortes' soldiers, and we doubt
that there had been any marked decrease in the population within the short

space of five years. According to the Lujan-Oviedo narrative, Itzamkanac was

still a sizable place in 1530. Moreover, the above-mentioned statement in the
probanza of 16 12 was clearly intended to support Don Pablo Paxbolon's claim
that the forest Indians whom he pacified and reassembled in the Tixchel area
in later years were former Acalan subjects. As we shall see in Chapters 10 and
52 AGI, Guatemala, leg. 128.
53 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, f. 31;.
 IMPACT OF CONQUEST IN ACALAN 1
63

1 1, many of these Indians were actually apostate fugitives from northern Yu-
catan. It is quite possible, of course, that a certain number of the Chontal left
the Acalan area in 1525 and thereafter, never to return, but we are of the
opinion that they were not numerous and that their withdrawal from the old
homeland was at best a minor factor in the decrease of population after the
coming of the Spaniards.
According to Bienvenida, the population of Acalan had declined "por no
aver justicia entre ellos." This phrase is somewhat ambiguous. It may refer to
actual injustice, or to the lack of a Spanish magistrate to administer local affairs
and enforce justice. But the implications are the same in either case. Bienvenida
evidently attributed the sharp decrease of population to the abuses and ex-
ploitation suffered by the Indians at the hands of the Spaniards. This is also

made clear by the friar's suggestion that the king should revoke the en-
comiendas and take charge of the Indians as royal tributaries "because being
under his protection they will be better treated." ^^
Although the missionaries were severely critical of the encomenderos and
may have exaggerated the amount of mistreatment encomienda Indians re-
ceived, the history of Mexico, Yucatan, and Tabasco offers ample proof that
grave abuses existed. In an isolated area like Acalan, where there was no resi-

dent colonial official, the encomenderos and other Spaniards who visited the

country from time to time may have acted with even greater impunity than
in regions closer to the centers of governmental authority. On the other hand,
there was no Spanish colony in Acalan so that mistreatment of the natives
could not have been so constant as in other areas. That abuses existed in the
case of Acalan may be taken for granted, although we have little specific
evidence. The Chontal Text indicates that the encomenderos made heavy
demands for food and other local products as tribute. If it is true, as we believe,
that the Acalan did not raise exportable surpluses of maize, then the tribute
levies prior to 1553, when maize and other food products, except fowl, were
eliminated as items of tribute, may have caused a certain amount of scarcity.
To the extent that this resulted in actual want, the population would neces-
sarily suffer. There is also reason to believe that Acalan Indians summoned to
Yucatan or Tabasco to serve their encomenderos as laborers were held in
service for longer periods of time than the natives of encomienda towns closer
to the centers of Spanish population, and some of them may never have re-
turned to their homes.
It is difficult, however, to form an accurate judgment concerning the ef-
fects of abuse and exploitation on the native population. Bienvenida obviously
5* Cartas de Indias, p. 75.
1
64 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Stressed the lack of justice and close governmental supervision in order to make
a strong case for his major recommendation, the removal of the Acalan to a

more accessible site in Yucatan where the missionary program could be carried
on effectively. But there were also other reasons for the decline of Acalan, and
we doubt that Bienvenida put his finger on the primary cause.
A more important factor was probably the disruption of native commerce
resulting from the conquest and occupation of adjacent areas. As early as 1524
the Indians of Tabasco and Xicalango complained to Cortes of the effects
of the depredations of the Spaniards on the Caribbean coast. To quote from
Cortes' Fifth Letter:

they also told me that on the sea coast on the other side of the land called
. . .

Yucatan, towards the bay which is called "La Asuncion," there were certain
Spaniards who did them much injury, for, besides burning many villages and killing
many places were laid waste and the people had fled to the forests,
the people so that
they had done even greater damage to the traders, and the whole trade of that dis-
trict, which was very considerable, had been lost.^^

During the succeeding two decades conditions in the Higueras-Honduras

area can be described only as chaotic. Bitter personal rivalries, ruthless ex-
ploitation of the Indians, a series of Indian revolts and military campaigns to
suppress them, and jurisdictional conflicts characterized the history of the
area. These conditions resulted in great loss of life and constituted a serious
blow to native economy in an area formerly rich and prosperous. Trade de-
clined and the old commercial centers suffered accordingly.^^
The campaigns of the Pachecos in Uaymil-Chetumal in 1544, resulting
in the conquest of these areas, were conducted with great severity. The Indians
suffered heavy losses, and many of the survivors fled into the interior of the
peninsula. Consequently the which had formerly been
Chetumal district,

prosperous and an important center of trade on the east coast, was to a large
extent depopulated. The Golfo Dulce area, of which Nito was the most im-
portant trade outlet, naturally suffered from the chaotic conditions in nearby
Higueras-Honduras. Moreover, the activities of Montejo's lieutenants, sent to
found the colony of Nueva Sevilla in the Golfo Dulce region, caused many of
the Indians to rebel or to abandon their homes, with the result that the popu-
lation measurably decreased. ^^
Although the early history of Tabasco was not characterized by the same
2° Cortes, 1916, pp. 348-49.
^6 For an account of conditions in Higueras-Honduras, see Bancroft, 1882-87, vol. i, ch. 21;
vol. 2, chs. 9, 17.
5''
Molina Solis, 1896, pp. 751-57.
 IMPACT OF CONQUEST IN ACALAN 1
65

degree of violence and internecine rivalry vi^hich produced such chaos in the
Higueras-Honduras, a strong, orderly government was not established for
many years. We have already alluded to the lack of stability during the period
from 1525 to 1535. Although Montejo the Younger introduced a degree of
peace and security in the later 1530's, the history of the province during the
following decade, after Montejo moved to Yucatan, was characterized by
personal rivalries and jurisdictional conflicts. The jBagrant excesses committed
by the Spanish officials and colonists also created chronic unrest among the
Indians, and certain areas were not permanently pacified until the decade of
the 1560's.
was inevitable that these conditions should interfere with the native
It

commerce that had made the region from Tabasco to the Ulua River a pros-
perous economic unit in preconquest times. It should not be assumed, of
course, that the old trade was entirely destroyed. The natives continued to
trade by canoe along the coasts and river systems, and a certain amount of
overland commerce was undoubtedly carried on. But the volume of business
decreased; the wars and rebellions disrupted the trade routes and the con-
tinuous flow of commerce; and many of the old commercial centers, such as
Potonchan, Xicalango, and Nito, declined in size and importance. Spanish
merchants now entered the field in competition with the Indians. They con-
trolled the major trading centers and markets and, bv use of seagoing vessels,

were able to take over a large part of the coastal commerce.

The trade between the Acalan and the Cehache and other interior tribes
was probably little affected by these developments. The major operations of
the Acalan merchants had been carried on, however, in Tabasco and Yucatan
and on the Caribbean coast, areas in which the coming of the Spaniards had
caused the greatest disturbance. Although the merchants undoubtedly con-
tinued to trade by canoe with Tabasco and Yucatan and by land with Nito
and other east coast towns, the volume of business with these areas must have
been sharply curtailed. The decline of trade was bound to have an adverse
effect on the flourishing prosperity of the province which had so favorably
impressed Cortes and his followers. The population of areas that were pri-
marily agricultural had a better chance of survival than the inhabitants of
regions like Acalan in which a far-flung commerce played such an important
part in local economy. In the latter the effects of the conquest were more
immediate and far-reaching. In the course of time the Acalan could readjust
their life to changed conditions, but during the period of transition there
would inevitably be suffering, want, and loss of life.
Although no information is available concerning the introduction of
1 66 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

European diseases in Acalan, we believe that this was another cause, probably
the most important one, of the rapid decrease of population in that area.
Throughout the Indies the natives suffered heavy losses during the first

decades of conquest and colonization as the result of diseases imported by

the Spaniards and their followers. It is well known, for example, that small-
pox was introduced into Mexico as early as 1520 by a negro in the Narvaez
expedition. The disease spread rapidly among the Indians, assuming epidemic
proportions. Bernal Diaz states that the natives died in great numbers, and
Herrera records that the loss of life was so heavy that it was an important
factor in weakening the resistance of the Aztec to the armies of Cortes.^'^
From the Valley of Mexico the pestilence spread to other areas and apparently
reached as far as Guatemala.^^ During the sixteenth century other epidemics
of major proportions scourged the Indian population of New Spain, notably
in 1545 and 1575-76. The cause of these later outbreaks is still a matter of
some debate, but it was evidently some disease for which the natives had no
*^°
acquired immunity.
The ravages of disease in the Tabasco area are described in a significant
passage in the Relacion de la Villa de Tabasco written in 1579. A translation
follows:

This province of Tabasco has scarcely three thousand Indians. The population
has diminished greatly sinceits pacification, for it was formerly inhabited by thirty

thousand Indians. It has declined to this point because of great illnesses and pesti-
lences which have occurred, both those characteristic of this province and those of
general character throughout the Indies, such as measles, smallpox, catarrh (cata-
rros), chronic coughs (pechugueras), and nasal catarrh (romadizos) hemorrhages, ,

bloody dysentery, and high fevers, which are prevalent in this province. And when
[the Indians] have them, they bathe in cold water in the rivers, and many have
taken chills and died.^^

Here we find specific reference to certain diseases imported from Europe,

viz. measles and smallpox. The chronic coughs (pechugueras, which the dic-
tionaries define as "toz pectoral y tenaz") suggest tuberculosis, and Shattuck
is of the opinion that the pulmonary form of this disease was not indigenous
in America. ^^ The "high fevers . . . prevalent in this province" could have been
caused by certain intestinal infections, but it seems more likely that the phrase
refers primarily to malaria. This raises important questions. Did any form of
58 Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 124; Herrera y Tordesillas, 1726-30, dec. 2, bk. 10, ch. 20.
5^ Shattuck, 1938, p. 41.
60 Bancroft, 1883-88, 2:
529, 657-58.
61 RY, i: 350.
62 Shattuck, 1938, p. 46.
 IMPACT OF CONQUEST IN ACALAN 1
67

malaria exist in America prior to its discovery? Was the malignant form of
the disease brought from the Old World? Recent writers have shown consid-
erable caution in dealing with these questions, reflecting the dearth of reliable

information on the early history of malaria in America. Perhaps a more careful

analysis ofdocumentary data concerning the decrease of Indian population in
other low swampy regions of Spanish America in the sixteenth century may
help to resolve the problem (cf. discussion in Chapter 14, pp. 323-27, infra).
Whatever the final conclusion may be on this subject, the Relacion of 1579
bears witness to the fact that the rapid decline of the native population of
Tabasco was caused in part at least by new diseases imported by the Spaniards.
In the case of Acalan European diseases could have been introduced by the
Spanish expeditions which passed through the country from 1525 to 1537.
Moreover, groups of Acalan Indians visited Tabasco and Yucatan at fairly

frequent intervals to carry on trade, to serve as laborers, or to deliver tribute

to their encomenderos. Some of them undoubtedly contracted smallpox or
other epidemic diseases and carried the infection back to the Candelaria
country. Thus there was ample opportunity for the introduction of the "ill-

nesses and pestilences" that decimated the Indian population of Tabasco and
other areas. It is impossible to make any estimates of the loss of life caused by
the new diseases in Acalan, but they must have taken a heavy toll. Pestilence
would also have caused many Indians to abandon their homes and seek refuge
in the forests. Some probably failed to return, thus increasing the losses caused

by deaths.
If the native economy had been seriously disturbed, as there is reason to
believe, the possibility of resisting the ravages of disease would be reduced.
Severe pestilence, in turn, would further disrupt native economy. These two
forces, working together, were probably the major causes of the rapid decline
of Acalan in postconquest times.
 The Pueblo of Tixchel

THE LETTER to Prince Philip, dated February lo, 1548, in which

INFray Lorenzo de Bienvenida described conditions in Acalan, the author
stated that the situation worsened daily and predicted that as things were
going the population would be wiped out within ten years. He also called

attention to the isolation of the province and the hazards of the journey from
Yucatan, referring specifically to the rapids and falls of the Rio de Acalan, or
Candelaria. Consequently the friars were reluctant to undertake the conver-
sion of the natives, "because it will never be possible to provide permanent
instruction, for there is only one pueblo and in a remote region where only
the birds can go without danger." In order to save the surviving population
and to facilitate the missionary effort, Bienvenida recommended that the
Acalan should be moved to a site near Campeche or Champoton. He also

suggested that the Crown should take them under its protection, revoke the
encomiendas, and grant exemption from tribute for ten years.^
Although Bienvenida volunteered to undertake the task of moving the
Ind'ans to Yucatan, the Crown, so far as we know, never replied to his
letter. In 1550, as we have seen, Fray Diego de Be jar initiated the missionary

program in Acalan, and the work was carried forward in succeeding years by
Fray Miguel de Vera and other friars who visited the province from time to
time. But as Bienvenida had foreseen, the permanence of the conversions could
not be assured so long as the Chontal remained in their old homeland. The
number of friars in Yucatan was so small that none could be spared for service
as a resident priest in Acalan. There would also have been considerable risk in
sending a fr.ar to serve alone for any length of time in an area where he would
not have the protection of Spanish colonists and soldiers. Routine instruction
was undoubtedly carried on by native teachers, but the effectiveness of this
method of indoctrination depended upon more careful and more frequent
supervision by the missionary clergy than was possible in the case of an iso-
lated area like Acalan. It was inevitable therefore that sooner or later the
Franciscans should seek to carry out the proposal made by Bienvenida in

1548 for the removal of the Acalan to a more accessible site. Now that the
visitador, Lie. Tomas Lopez Medel, had introduced the policy of concentrat-

1 Cartas de Indias, 1877, p. 75.

168
 PUEBLO OF TIXCHEL 1
69

ing the Indians of Yucatan in larger and more conveniently located centers
there was ample precedent for it.
The person who effected the transfer of the Acalan to a new location was
Fray Diego de Pesquera, one of the friars who came from Spain in 1 549. He
rapidly achieved prominence in Yucatan, serving as master of novices, defini-
dor,^ and guardian (administrative head) of various monastic houses. In 1556-
57 he was apparently one of the friars assigned to the convent in Campeche,
which had jurisdiction over the Acalan area. The Chontal Text is the chief
source of information concerning his activities in Acalan, although a few
details have been gleaned from other sources.
Plans for the removal of the Indians to a new site were apparently made
sometime The ruler of Acalan at this time was Don Luis Paxua, son
in 1556.

of Pachimalahix who had succeeded his uncle, Don Pedro Paxtun, at some
II,

unspecified date subsequent to 1550. The Text states that Pesquera discussed
the expediency of the proposed move with the Indians and it outlines the
arguments he evidently employed in favor of it. The reasons cited are (i)
that it would facilitate the religious instruction of the Indians, and (2) that
they would enjoy greater protection from the colonial authorities if they
were established at a more accessible location. It seems clear, however, that
Pesquera was determined to force the move regardless of the desires of the
Indians, for there is ample evidence, as we shall see farther on, that Paxua and
a considerable number of the people opposed it. Although the Text records
that Anton Garcia, the encomendero of Acalan, favored the scheme and
agreed to relieve the Indians of tribute for four years, Garcia later testified

that he was in Guatemala at the time and that Pesquera took advantage of his
absence to carry out the plans without his knowledge and consent.^ The
four-year exemption from tribute was evidently granted but probably on
orders from the provincial authorities. In short, it would appear that the
Franciscans planned and carried out the transfer of the Acalan to a new
location with the consent of the alcalde mayor of Yucatan but in the face of
opposition from the Indians and their encomendero. The incident serves as
another example of the powerful influence enjoyed by the missionary friars
during these early years.
The site of Tixchel on the Estero de Sabancuy, which empties into the
northeastern corner of Laguna de Terminos, was chosen as the new home for
the Chontal. Several reasons evidently prompted this choice. In the first place,

- A member of the governing committee which, together with the prelate, directed the local
affairs of the Order between the triennial chapter meetings.
2 Garcia v. Bravo.
1 70 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Tixchel had been occupied by the Chontal for some sixty to eighty years in
preconquest times, and Pesquera probably beUeved that they would be more
willing to reoccupy this site than to move to a place in no way connected
with their past history. Second, it was strategically located on the route of
canoe travel from Tabasco to Yucatan and would be visited frequently by
officials, traders, and clergy traveling back and forth between these areas.

Consequently it would be possible to exercise fairly close supervision over

the new settlement. Third, a site on Sabancuy estuary would offer the Acalan
a greater opportunity to share in the coastal trade, and it would also serve as

a convenient base from which they could carry on trade with Indian tribes
in the interior of Yucatan.
There appears to be little reason to doubt that the new town of Tixchel,
or Tichel, was situated at the site of the modern hacienda of the same name.
It lies on the left bank of the Estero de Sabancuy opposite Las Palmas, a large

coconut plantation located on the barrier beach between the estuary and
the Gulf of Mexico. The site is about 20 km. from the mouth of the estuary,
which is narrow at this point.

The is on a low wooded ridge a few hundred meters in

hacienda building
width, behind which mangrove swamp half a kilometer wide and running
is a
parallel to the estuary. Beyond the swamp extends a savanna flanked on either

side with low scrubby bush. Near the swamp the savanna has the appearance
of being inundated during the rainy season. A few mounds, one fairly large,
lie on the shore of the estuary, and there is another somewhat larger group in

the bush beside the savanna about 4 km. inland. The two groups are con-

nected by a road, paved with flat stones, which crosses the swamp.

The ridge along the shore appears to be better soil than that farther in-
land, and there was no doubt a settlement where the canoes were kept. The
ridge is not wide, however, and a Maya or Chontal town of the size of colonial

Tixchel usually covered a considerable area, since it was customary to have

large yards or gardens around the houses. It seems very probable therefore
that the town founded by Pesquera followed the pattern of the preconquest
settlement represented by the two groups of mounds and the paved road
connecting them.
A visit to Tixchel gives the impression that the site has never been occupied
by a rich agricultural community. Although some of the land, as already

noted, seems good, none of the savanna could have been cultivated by the
milpa system, and much of the wooded area does not have a very promising
appearance. It is obvious, of course, that maize, squash, and beans could be
raised at Tixchel, but most of the better milpa land, which made possible the
 PUEBLO OF TIXCHEL I7I

exportation of a certainamount of maize toward the end of the sixteenth cen-

tury, was evidently located farther inland. Like some thickly populated parts
of northern Yucatan, whatever prosperity the region enjoyed was apparently
due to commerce and fishing.

In January 1557, Indian laborers were sent from Campeche and Cham-
poton to clear land for the new town and probably to build some houses for
the first group of settlers. Later in the year Pesquera began to move the Acalan
to their new home. The narrative in the Chontal Text mentions July 10, 1557,

in this connection, and we surmise that this was the date of the formal estab-
lishment of the town or of the dedication of the mission.
Within less than two weeks after the founding of Tixchel a significant
incident occurred. On July 22, 1557, so the Text says, Don Luis Paxua, ruler
of the Acalan, "ran away" and went to Chiuoha, a Chontal site southeast of
Tixchel. Here he is said to have died of an illness sometime during the follow-
ing year.^
Although the Text gives no reason for the flight of Paxua, there can be
little doubt that it was inspired by opposition to Pesquera's activities and
plans. The history of northern Yucatan provides evidence that the natives in
certain areas resisted the policy of concentrating them in larger and more
conveniently located settlements, and it would have been surprising if the
Chontal of Acalan had not shown some opposition to being moved from their
old lands. The move would inevitably result in economic losses,
to Tixchel
temporarily at least, and it would also bring about greater control over all
phases of native life than heretofore. It was natural, moreover, that the great-
est resistance should come from the ruling class. In Acalan, even after the

acceptance of Spanish suzerainty, the ruler and chieftains had continued to

enjoy wide measure of autonomy. At Tixchel their freedom of action would
a

be limited to the extent that the clergy and colonial authorities would be able
to maintain more effective supervision over local affairs. Removal to a new
site would also involve the abandonment of valuable property in the form

of houses, lands, and orchards and the freedom of their slaves. If the slaves
4 The Text states that in 1558 Don Pablo Paxbolon went to Chiuoha where he learned that

Paxua had died. It may well be true that some of the older men at Tixchel made a journey to
Chiuoha at this time to find out what had happened to Paxua, and Paxbolon may have accom-
panied them, although he was then only fifteen years old. We are inclined to believe, however,
that the author of this part of the narrative confused this journey with another entrada made by
Paxbolon to Chiuoha in 1574. The fact that the author records the same month and day (April
25) in each case argues in favor of this supposition. Other documentary evidence shows that the
1574 entrada was made in the spring of the year. The Text statement that it was well known
that Paxua had died of an illness was evidently intended to silence any suggestion that the
former ruler had met with foul play and to dispel any doubts as to Paxbolon's rightful claim to
the caciqueship.
172 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

were taken to Tixchel, it would be more difficult to hide them out, and their
emancipation would be only a matter of time. If they were left behind in
Acalan, they would probably run away and find freedom in the forests. In
short, the move to Tixchel was a serious threat to the vested interests of the

ruling class as then constituted, and the flight of Paxua was merely the most
striking example of its opposition to Pesquera's plans.
It is evident, of course, that some of the native leaders accepted the change
without much resistance. After the disappearance of the ruler an elder chief-
tain apparently assumed control at Tixchel and directed local affairs under
Pesquera's guidance. Moreover, the death of Paxua eventually resulted in
the strengthening of missionary influence, for the person who was next in line
of succession was a youth, Don Pablo Paxbolon, who had been educated by
the Franciscans. Paxbolon turned out to be a very able ruler, who skillfully

made use of religious motives to advance his own interests. It was several
years, however, before he took personal charge of local affairs. In the mean-
time, especially during the years 1557-61, conditions in Tixchel and the old
Acalan area were characterized by instability and recurrent unrest.
Persons who witnessed the removal of the Chontal to Tixchel in 1557 later
testified that some of the Indians had to be taken by force in chains and col-
lars (prisiofies y colleras) There is also evidence that Pesquera had the cacao
.

and copal trees cut down at Acalan-Itzamkanac in order to compel the aban-
donment of the old capital and to discourage desertions from T'xchel.^ But
despite these drastic measures the transfer of the Chontal to their new home
was a slow process. In the Text we read, "The years 1558 and 1559 had passed
and as yet the people . . . had not completely abandoned Acalan." More-
. . .

over, one of the chieftains, named Don Tomas Macua, had apparently as-
sumed leadership in the Acalan country and "detained" the Indians who
remained there. The main group controlled by Macua was at Chanhilix, one
of the towns listed in Document II of the Text. Others were scattered in small
hamlets at various sites in the Candelaria drainage.
For those who had moved to Tixchel the change caused serious property
loss and privation, especially among the common people. The families of

merchant-chieftains who owned large trading canoes could transport at least

part of their movable belongings from Acalan, but the common people prob-
ably had to abandon most of their personal possessions as well as their lands,
fruit trees, and orchards. Although the wealthier Indians apparently left their

slaves behind to tend the milpas and cacao trees, the disorders and general

5 Garcia v. Bravo.
 PUEBLO OF TIXCHEL I
73

weakening of authority in Acalan provided ample opportunity for the slaves

to run away and seek freedom in the forests. According to the Text, 600
bondsmen, including women and children, owned by the ruler and principal
men fled to the region of Chakam on the San Pedro branch of the Candelaria.
The people at Tixchel also suffered from a shortage of food. The first
groups of settlers left Acalan during the growing season in 1557, so that ade-

quate crops could not be raised that year. Subsequently maize and other
produce could be planted in good season, but new arrivals from Acalan
apparently caused a shortage of supplies despite increasing harvests. When
some of the Indians returned to Acalan for food that had been left behind,
probably to harvest crops planted before their departure, they became in-

volved in "disputes and trouble" with those who had refused to leave. The
followers of Don Tomas Macua "seized them there, tied them up and whipped
them, and took away their canoes," thus preventing the transportation of
needed supplies to Tixchel.
By 1559 the situation had become critical. Rebellion and apostasy reigned
in Acalan. The survival of native religion is indicated by a brief but sgnificant
sentence in the Text: "They worshipped At Tixchel hardship
their idols."
and privation caused increasing unrest. "By this time," the narrative says, "all
the Indians were about to flee." At this juncture Pesquera received support
from an unexpected source.
In 1559 the Audiencia of Guatemala, on orders from the Crown, or-
ganized a campaign against the Lacandon Indians who had been causing
depredations on the frontiers of Chiapas and Verapaz. Lie. Pedro Ramirez
de Quiiiones, a member of the audiencia, was given command of the expedi-
tion, which set out from Comitan in Chiapas and made war on the major lake
stronghold of the Lacandon and the towns of Topiltepec and Pochutla.^ Be-
fore setting out, Ramirez apparently sent orders to the alcalde mayor of
Yucatan, Bachiller Juan de Paredes, to send another force from the north.
Accordingly, Paredes dispatched forty soldiers under command of Capt.
Francisco Tamayo Pacheco with instructions to advance overland to join
Ramirez.
According to the Acalan narrative, Tamayo's force had not proceeded
farther than Tixchel when news was received that Ramirez had already
finished his campaign and had returned to Chiapas. Whereupon Pesquera
proposed that Tamayo should go to Acalan "and bring down all the Indians
who had remained there and rebelled." This plan met with Tamayo's ap-

6 Remesal, 1932, bk. 10, chs. 10-12; Villagutierre Soto-Aiayor, 1701, bk. i, chs. 9-11.
 1 74 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

proval, and he proceeded with his soldiers to Acalan where they seized Don
Tomas Macua and other chieftains and rounded up the inhabitants of various
settlements. "They brought them down to Tixchel in the year 1560."
Other sources, which record the testimony of soldiers who accompanied
Tamayo, give no indication that Pesquera had any part in this affair, and
we get the impression that Tamayo's force had proceeded as far as Acalan
en route to the Lacandon country, but turned back at that point because it

was impossible to go any farther. Some of the witnesses mention Acalan by

name; others merely refer to the difficulties encountered in going up a great
river with many rapids (the Candelaria). Only one of the witnesses (Juan
Vela, also mentioned in the Text as a member of the expedition) has any-
thing to say about the Indians, but his testimony is rather significant. He states

that they found the natives in tumult (alborotados) , and this is not surprising,
since the Indians undoubtedly assumed that the soldiers had come to punish
them or to take them to Tixchel. Vela continues, "The matter having been
considered by this witness and the other soldiers, we set about removing
them from their land (asieiJto)''J Thus Vela's testimony confirms the Acalan
narrative on the major point involved: that the Tamayo Pacheco expedition of
1559-60 brought about the forced removal to Tixchel of the Indians who had
held out in the Candelaria area for more than two years.
The arrival of this large group apparently aggravated the problem of
food supply, for the Acalan narrative, having recorded the episode, adds, "On
this account there was a very great famine." Consequently it was not long
before desertions began to take place, amounting all together to about
seventy families who returned to the Acalan area.^ No effort appears to have

been made at this time to bring these deserters back. In the next chapter we
shall see, however, that they were not permitted to remain permanently in
the old homeland.
Subsequent to 1560-61, when this group abandoned Tixchel, a few more
families may have deserted, but we have no evidence of any major withdrawal.
During the decade of the by
1560's local governmental affairs were stabilized

the coming to powei: of a new cacique; the Tixchel mission was placed on a
firm basis; and economic conditions slowly improved, as evidenced by an
"^
Informacion de los meritos y servicios del Capitan Francisco Tamayo Pacheco, 1568, AGI,
Patronato, leg. 82, num. 2, ramo i; Probanza of the merits and services of Nuiio de Castro,
1569-75, AGI, Mexico, leg. 100; testimony of Juan Vela, May 8, 1571, in Garcia v. Bravo, ff.
2o87'i;-2o89i;. Lopez de CogoUudo (1867-68, bk. i, ch. 15) and Villagutierre Soto-Mayor (1701,
bk. I, ch. 7) also have brief references to an expedition by Tamayo Pacheco to Acalan. The
latter author clearly confuses the Acalan with the Choi Acala, who were neighbors of the
Lacandon.
8 Testimony of Gomez de CastriUo, May 8, 1571, in Garcia v. Bravo, f. 20851;.
 PUEBLO OF TIXCHEL 1 75

increasing population. By tlie end of the decade the permanence of the new
settlement was assured.

As we have already noted, an elder chieftain took charge of local affairs

at Tixchel after the flight of Don Luis Paxua in 1557. This man, named Don
Gonzalo, had been one of the principal men of Acalan. He served as governor
of the town until 1566 when Paxua's cousin and successor, Don Pablo Pax-
bolon, assumed control as cacique and governor of the Chontal. The coming
to power of Paxbolon was an important event in Tixchel history, for the
new ruler was destined to become one of the most respected Indian leaders
of his time in Yucatan.
Don Pablo Paxbolon (his full name was Pablo Antonio Paxbolonacha®)
was born about 1543.^° He was the son of Lamatazel, the last heathen ruler
of Acalan, and Isabel Acha. Both Don Pablo and his mother were probably
baptized in 1550 on the occasion of Fray Diego de Be jar's first visit to Acalan.
There is some evidence that Isabel Acha was still living when Father Pesquera
moved the first group of the Chontal to Tixchel seven years later.^^

Soon after his baptism Paxbolon was taken to Campeche where he lived
for several years in the Franciscan monastery. There he received instruction
in Christian doctrine, music, Spanish, and the manual arts. He learned to play
the organ and the guitar, and we are told that in later years, after he became
governor of Tixchel, he occasionally served as organist in the village church.
Although he undoubtedly learned to use the Spanish language with consid-
erable facility, it is interesting to note that his reports to the provincial au-
thorities, even those made in the 1560's soon after he took office, were written
in Chontal. Another accomplishment which he acquired during the years he
spent in Campeche was wood carving, a skill which he later put to good use
by carving images for the Tixchel church.^^
Don Pablo probably returned to his people when they were brought to
Tixchel in 1557. He was then fourteen years old, and we surmise that he gave
Father Pesquera valuable assistance in the founding of the new mission and
in the religious instruction of the Indians, After the death of his cousin, Don
Luis Paxua, he became head of the ruling family of Acalan-Tixchel, but

^ The compound form of Don Pablo's surname is seldom used in the documents.
10 In a sworn statement made at Tixchel on December 24, 1573, Paxbolon gave his age as
thirty years (Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo, AGI, Mexico, leg. 109).
11 The Maldonado-Paxbolon probanza of 161 2 states that the reason why the Chontal moved

to Tixchel was that his mother and the principal men wished to be near the young cacique, who
was then at Campeche (Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I). This statement is obviously in-
correct, but it suggests that Isabel Acha was still alive in 1557.
12 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, if. 2-3.
1 76 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

because of his youth he wn.s not permitted to take charge of local affairs for
several years. Don Gonzalo, whom we have already mentioned, governed in

his place, and from this elder chieftain of the Chontal Don Pablo undoubtedly
received instruction in the history of his people and in the customary proce-
dures of local governm.ent. And as time went on, he probably exerted an
increasing influence in the actual conduct of village business.
When the alcalde mayor of Yucatan, Don Diego de Quijada, passed
through Tixchel early in 1565 on his return from a trip to Tabasco, Don
Gonzalo, who had now grown old, asked to be relieved of his duties and to
have Paxbolon take his place. Although the latter was now about twenty- two
years old, Quijada decided that he should wait a while longer before being
installed in office. By a decree of January 13, 1565, the alcalde mayor ordered
that Don Gonzalo should serve for another year, at the end of which Pax-
bolon should then assume "the government and lordship of the pueblo as its

principal lord to whom [such authority] belongs by law." The decree con-
tinues, "and after the said year [the Indians shall obey] the said Don Pablo as

governor and natural lord . . . and in regard to him they shall observe the
privileges and preeminences which it is customary to observe in the case of
such natural lords, caciques, and governors, under penalty of punishment
according to law."^^ The following year (1566) the young cacique entered
upon his duties, and for a half-century thereafter he served as leader of the
Chontal of Acalan-Tixchel.
Quijada's action in conferring the "government and lordship" of Tixchel
on Don Pablo Paxbolon was in accordance with a basic principle of Spanish

colonial policy. Throughout the Indies the Spaniards recognized the hereditary
rank and status of the descendants of former native ruling families and granted
them various privileges, such as exemption from tribute and forced labor and
the right to receive services and support from their former subjects. It was
also a fairly general practice, at least in the sixteenth century, to retain native

rulers or their descendants at the head of the local government in Indian

towns, subject, of course, to the control and supervision of the superior
colonial authorities.
The term natural lord {senor Jiatiiral), which Quijada's decree employed
in referring to Paxbolon, "implied a rightful lord, who was obeyed by his

subjects andacknowledged by other lords and their peoples." The concept

was derived from mediaeval Spanish law, and after the conquest of America

^^Titulo de gobernador del pueblo de Tixchel, Campeche, 13 de enero, 1565, in ibid., fF.
8-8r.
 ^

PUEBLO OF TIXCHEL 1 77

the Spaniards applied it in the case of important native rulers/^ A more com-
mon term was that of cacique, which has been used rather loosely to designate
the governors, or chief administrative officers, of Indian towns. Strictly speak-
ing, the term cacique implied hereditary rank or status, whereas the governor
was an elective or appointive official. In many cases the cacique was also the

governor, but we have cases of towns, in Mexico at least, which had both a
cacique and a governor. It is difficult, on the basis of present knowledge, to
make a clear distinction between the functions of each, but it is apparent that
the cacique enjoyed a superior status.
For northern Yucatan we have numerous examples of former native rulers

and their descendants who became caciques and governors of Indian pueblos
after the conquest. Don Francisco Montejo Xiu of Mani and Don Melchor
Pech of Motul also enjoyed a certain authority over wider areas. In the course
of time more and more of the governors were recruited from outside the ruling
families, but the term cacique continued to be applied to such officials, al-

though they had no hereditary rank. Roys notes that hereditary caciques like

the Xiu continued to be called "caciques and natural lords" until the mid-
seventeenth century. Subsequently they were variously designated as "natural
lords," "hidalgos and natural lords," "hidalgos and descendants of natural
lords," and finally only as "hidalgos." In Mexico hereditary caciques kept the
title until the end of the eighteenth century.^
As natural lord, cacique, and governor of Tixchel, Paxbolon enjoyed the
hereditary status of a descendant of a former native ruling family and exer-
cised governmental functions as the head of local pueblo administration. We
shall see later on that some of Quijada's successors gave Paxbolon authority
over a wider area than the pueblo of Tixchel, so that he became a sort of native
territorial ruler, subject to the provincial colonial authorities. As governor of
Tixchel, he was responsible for the maintenance of public order, the collection
of tribute, and the execution of laws and ordinances governing the adminis-
tration of Indian settlements. It was also his duty to see that the Indians of
Tixchel attended religious services and remained faithful to the doctrinal and
moral teachings of the Church. He was assisted by a native cabildo, or town
council, consisting of two alcaldes, or petty magistrates, and four regidores, or
council men, annually elected by the pueblo. The documents also speak of
certain principales, or principal men of the Chontal. Some of these were
14
Roys, 1943, p. 141. For a discussion of the concept of the seilor natural in Spanish law,
see Chamberlain, 1939a.
15 Roys (1943, pp. 129-71) gives a general discussion of the cacique system in Yucatan and
New Spain.
178 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

probably men of noble status, although others may have been heads of barrios,
or subdivisions, of the town. There was also a town clerk (escribano), and
probably other lesser officials, such as alguaciles (bailiffs) and mayordomos.
In his personal conduct Paxbolon set a good example to his people, and
we have no evidence that he ever faltered in his loyalty to the Christian faith.

His administration of local office was characterized by good judgment, ener-

getic leadership, and ability to inspire the confidence of the provincial au-

thorities, governmental and religious. x\lthough he accepted the changes

wrought by the conquest and shrewdly identified his own interests with those
of the new regime, he did not adopt a passive role, as did many of his Indian
contemporaries in northern Yucatan. He was aggressive and ambitious, and
he sought to extend his influence beyond the limits of the pueblo of Tixchel.
The unpacified areas south and east of the new Chontal settlement gave him
a wide field of action, and, as we shall see farther on, most of what is known
about his later career deals with his activities in that region.

The Tixchel mission founded by Fray Diego de Pesquera was admin-

istered for several years as a visita of the convent of Campeche. During the
early years Pesquera probably spent a good deal of time at the new mission,
but later on native teachers {maestros de doctrina) took charge of routine
religious instruction and conducted the daily prayers in the village church.

From time to time friars came from Campeche to say mass, baptize infants,
perform marriages, and supervise the work of the native instructors.

About 1568 the missions of Tixchel and Champoton (the latter was also
Campeche convent) were removed from the jurisdiction of the
a visita of the

Franciscans. This change was effected by Fray Francisco de Toral, first resi-
dent bishop of Yucatan, who secularized several other missions founded by
the Franciscans. Fray Juan de Santa Maria of the Mercedarian Order (Orden
de Nuestra Seiiora de la Merced) was placed in charge of Tixchel and Cham-
poton, and he was succeeded in 1570 by Father Juan de Monserrate, a secular

priest.^*^ Total's successor. Fray Diego de Landa, later restored the secularized
missions to the Franciscan Order, and Tixchel once more became a visita of
the convent of Campeche. This status was maintained until 1585, when the
provincial chapter voted to create a separate guardiama, or mission district,
According to Ayeta {ca. 1693, pt. 2, f. 95) Toral appointed Pedro de Acosta y Rueda as
16

vicario (curate and delegate ecclesiastical judge) for Champoton and Tixchel. The Chontal
Text also mentions a priest named Gabriel de Rueda. Both are mentioned in the first volume of
the Libro de bautismos y matrimonios of the Archivo Parroquial de la Catedral de Merida, but
the documents of the 1560's and 1570's relating to Tixchel and the Acalan area do not refer to
them. It is possible that Gabriel de Rueda succeeded Monserrate as curate of Champoton and
Tixchel in 157 1.
 PUEBLO OF TIXCHEL I
79

for Tixchel and the adjacent area to the southeast, where new Indian settle-

ments and missions had been estabHshed in the preceding decade (see Chapter
lo).^^

The documents do not record a description of the Tixchel church. It was

probably a modest building, consisting of a masonry capilla, or altar space, and
a pole-and-thatch structure for the nave. In later years the nave may have
been enclosed with masonry walls and a vaulted roof. The priest who served
the mission in 1569 received an annual stipend of about 90 pesos from the
encomendero of the pueblo. ^^ The Indians gave services of various kinds and
made gifts of food and local produce on the celebration of church festivals.

The mission founded by Father Pesquera was dedicated to Santa Maria, but in
later years the appellation of the church was changed to La Pura Concepcion
de Nuestra Seiiora.
During the first few years after the founding of Tixchel the Franciscans
undoubtedly exerted great influence in the direction of local affairs. They also

intervened to protect the Indians from abuse and exploitation by outsiders. It

appears that the natives frequently received maltreatment from the travelers
who passed through the pueblo, but justice in such cases was often delayed
because of the fact that complaints had to be filed before the colonial au-
thorities in Campeche. In order to remedy this situation the Franciscans ob-
tained a decree from the Audiencia of Guatemala, dated February 5, 1560,
which authorized the native officials of Tixchel to arrest any Spaniard, mestizo^
or mulatto who committed an offense in the pueblo, receive evidence against
him, and send him to the nearest Spanish judge for sentence. ^^ The decree
was probably the result of representations made by Father Pesquera, who was
responsible for the removal of the Chontal to Tixchel. Such action in behalf
of the natives undoubtedly helped to temper their resentment against being
forced to leave their old homeland and to reconcile them to changed condi-
tions. Cogolludo cites the case as one of many examples of the zeal shown by
the friars in promoting the temporal and spiritual welfare of the Indians of
Yucatan.
Some measure of the success of the missionary program at Tixchel is

found in the fact that we have no evidence of the recurrence of idolatry

among the Chontal who became permanently established there. Undoubtedly
many of the Indians continued to practice some of their old religious customs
in their daily Hfe, and others probably withdrew into the nearby forests from
1'^
Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 7, ch. 9, bk. 8, chs. 5-7; Ayeta, ca. 1693, passim.
1^ Garcia Bravo, ff. 1972-73.
v.
19 Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 6, ch. 8.
1 80 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

time to time to worship the old gods, but it would appear that the Chontal of
Tixchel maintained a greater degree of loyalty to the Christian faith than was
true of the Indians in certain parts of northern Yucatan.
This was probably the result of two major factors. First, although the
pueblo was situated on the southwestern frontier of the province, was fre-it

quently visited by officials, merchants, and clergy traveling from Tabasco to

Yucatan and vice versa. This meant that any signs of backsliding would have
been noted and reported before the situation became serious. Second, Don
Pablo Paxbolon, who served as cacique and governor for so many years, appar-
ently gave the clergy loyal and effective support. This was due in part to the
training he had received from the Franciscans in Campeche. He was also

motivated by a desire to enhance his own authority and prestige as an Indian

leader, and this could best be achieved by gaining a reputation for service to
the Church and the missionary program.

According to the tribute assessment made in 1553 by Lie. Tomas Lopez

Medel, the Indians of the province of Acalan were under obHgation to pay
theirencomendero 500 mantas, 500 gallinas, and 30 cakes of copal annually.^^
This assessment remained in effect until 1557, when the Acalan were granted
a four-year exemption from tribute in order to facilitate their resettlement at
Tixchel. At the end of this period a new assessment was made by Lie. Garcia
Jufre de Loaisa, oidor of Guatemala, who revised all of the Yucatan tribute
schedules during his visitation of the province in 1560-61.
The new levies formulated by Loaisa were based, as in the case of those

formerly in effect, on the number of married men in each pueblo, with ex-
emption for the aged and infirm, the widowed, those of noble rank, and certain
local functionaries. The annual tribute levied on each tributary consisted of
three-fourths (three piernas) of a tribute manta, half a fanega of harvested
maize, and one gallina (a turkey or a European hen). In addition, most of
the pueblos were also assessed small amounts of beans, chile, beeswax, honey,
and household utensils. The new schedules represented a certain reduction of
the tribute burden, since the assessments previously in force in Yucatan had
called for the payment of one entire manta per tributary.-^
The Tixchel assessment was set forth in a decree dated February 27, 1561,

20 See p. 152, supra.

21 The new
tribute schedules formulated by Loaisa are not available for all of the pueblos
of northern Yucatan, but a sufficient number have been preserved to illustrate the character of
the assessments. These are found in Cuentas de real hacienda 1540-1606, AGI, Contaduri'a,
. . . ,

leg. 91 1 A; and El fiscal con los oficiales reales de la provincia de Yucatan sobre varias ayudas . . .

de costa que pagaron, 1567, AGI, Justicia, leg. 209, num. 4.

 PUEBLO OF TIXCHEL ibl

to be effective on May i of that year. According to the matricula, or official

count, of the pueblo, there were 253 married men, of whom 23 were exempt,
leaving 230 liable to tax. But in contrast with the schedules formulated for
northern Yucatan, the Tixchel assessment called for payment in mantas only
at the rate of one manta per tributary, or a total annual payment of 230
mantas. This would seem to indicate that maize and poultry were not being
raised in sufficient quantity to warrant payments in such produce. At current

prices the extra one-fourth of a manta levied on the Tixchel tributaries was
worth about as much as half a fanega of maize and one turkey or hen. The
elimination of copal as an item of tribute is not surprising, in view of the fact
that the Indians were no longer living in an area where it was plentiful.
Anton Garcia, the encomendero, objected to the new assessment on the
ground that many of the Indians belonging to his encomienda were not in-
cluded in the count. Some were fugitives in Acalan, and Garcia also claimed
that the Indians had hidden others at Tixchel. Loaisa took note of the encom-
endero's complaint and decreed that in case future governors of Yucatan made
a new count and found more than 253 heads of families the excess should be

taxed one manta each.^^

Comparison of the Tixchel assessment of 1561 with that for the province
of Acalan made by Lopez Medel in 1553 shows a decrease of 270 tribute
payers, or 54 per cent, in the short space of eight years. The tribute schedules
for northern Yucatan indicate that the population had declined to some extent
since 1548, when the last count had been made in that area. There would
probably have been some decrease in the case of Acalan, but a decline of 54
per cent in such a short time calls for special explanation. The hiding out of
potential tribute payers when the 1561 count was made can be disregarded as
a factor in the situation, since it is probably true that a considerable number
were not included in the 1553 count for the same reason. We have already
noted that seventy families are said to have fled after the Tamayo Pacheco
expedition brought to Tixchel the groups who had been holding out in Acalan
since 1557. Even if the refugee families numbered 100 or more, this would not
account for all of the decrease since 1553. It seems clear therefore that the
disorders of the period 1557-61, the shortage of food at Tixchel during these
early years, and the general disruption of native life and economy resulting
from the forced removal of the Indians to a new settlement had caused con-
siderable loss of life. From the standpoint of Anton Garcia, encomendero of
Acalan-Tixchel, the tribute assessment of 1561 represented a heavy loss of

22 Copy of Loaisa's assessment is in Garcia v. Bravo, if. i96o'y-i962.

1 82 ACAL AN-TIXCHEL

income, and it is not surprising that he was bitterly critical of Pesquera for
having moved the Chontal to Tixchel v^^ithout his knowledge.
In 1565 Don Gonzalo and other local officials of Tixchel petitioned for a
reassessment of tribute on the ground that since 1561 many tribute payers had
died and that consequently the Loaisa assessment had become an excessive
burden. Quijada, the alcalde mayor, gave orders for a new count of the pueblo,
but it does not appear to have been made.^
Four years later the Indians of Tixchel again complained that Loaisa's
assessment of tribute was burdensome and asked for relief. In accordance
with this request the provincial governor, Don Luis Cespedes de Oviedo,
instructed his brother, Juan Cespedes de Simancas, w^ho was serving as his

lieutenant in Campeche, to make a count of the pueblo and to report on

conditions in the Tixchel area. This order was dated February i, 1569. Despite
protests by Anton Garcia, the lieutenant governor proceeded to Tixchel,
where a matricula was drawn up with the assistance of Don Pablo Paxbolon
on February 14-16, 1569.^^

A copy of this matricula, included in the manuscript record of the case

of Garcia v. Bravo, gives the names of 275 married couples or heads of
families.-^ Accompanying the report is a supplementary statement listing

thirty-five persons to be exempted from tribute for various reasons. These

persons included five widowers, nine old men, seven heads of families who
were exempted because of some infirmity or because their wives were ill,

crippled, or blind, eight cantores (singers in the village church), and six

married men aged thirteen to fifteen years, who were apparently excused as

being too young to pay tribute.-^ When Governor Cespedes made the for-
mal assessment of tribute on the basis of these lists, he stated that the total
number of married men was 280 and that those who were exempt for the
reasons stated above were 36. It appears therefore that our copies of the
lists are not entirely accurate. Unfortunately we do not have record of the
persons who were exempted from tribute because of noble birth. It would
have included Don Pablo Paxbolon, cacique and governor of the pueblo,
but it would be interesting to know the names of others who enjoyed noble
status.^^

23 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. iio-]v-i\v.

^^Ibid., If. 2ii2-i6t;.
^^ Ibid., ff. 2ii6i^-28T;. For a special study of the matricula in relation to various phases of

Chontal ethnology, see Appendix C.

26 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2i357;-36i'. On the basis of statements in later Yucatan documents it

would appear that men became liable for tribute at the age of eighteen and women at sixteen.
^'^
Don Gonzalo, if still living, would probably have been exempt. Other documents of the
1560's mention principal men named Don Francisco Montejo, who was alcalde of Tixchel in
1565, and Don Juan Pacua (1567).
 PUEBLO OF TIXCHEL I 83

By decrees of March 3-4, 1569, Governor Cespedes formulated a new

tribute schedule on the basis of his brother's reports. From the total of 280
married men said to have been counted, the governor deducted the 36 who
were exempt because of old age, widowed status, illness or infirmity, youth,
and service as cantor es. This reduced the total to 244. Then by reference
to Loaisa's count and assessment of 1561, he deducted 23 more, the number
who were exempted from tribute at that time, so that the net total liable to
the annual tax of one manta each was 221.-^ This procedure would seem
to imply that all of those who were reserved in 1561 enjoyed noble rank or
some official would make them exempt. It may be doubted,
position that
however, that was the case, since there must have been some persons in
this

1 56 1 who were exempt because of old age and infirmity, if for no other
reason.
As noted above, Loaisa had decreed in 1561 that in case a new count of
Tixchel showed a greater number of persons than were listed in that year,

the total tribute should be increased accordingly. Despite the fact that the

1569 matricula, according to Cespedes' official statement, listed 280 heads

of families as compared with 253 in 1561, the total annual tribute had been
reduced by nine mantas. The encomendero called attention to this fact, but

to no avail.

A short time before the 1569 count was made Don Pablo Paxbolon had
visited the settlement of Tixchel fugitives who had fled to the old Acalan
area about 1560-61 and had reported that they were now willing to sub-

mit to Spanish authority. For this reason the encomendero had objected to
the making of a new count at this time, pointing out that a matricula that
did not include the fugitives would be prejudicial to his interests. Although
the new count was made despite this protest, Governor Cespedes, in the

official schedule of tribute formulated on March 4, 1569, decreed that the

assessment might be revised at a later date, "whenever [the fugitives] should
appear," This rather vague statement disregarded, however, the encomen-
dero's claim that the Indians of the settlement recently visited by Paxbolon
were actually tributaries of Acalan-Tixchel. About two and a half months

later (May 1569) the governor placed this settlement under the protection
of Feliciano Bravo, chief governmental notary of Yucatan, and in January
1570 he formally appointed Bravo as its encomendero. This action resulted in

prolonged litigation, which will be described in the following chapter.

In 1569, as on former occasions, a certain number of married men prob-

ably were not listed. The official count shows, however, an increase of 10.6
28 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2i38-39X'.
1
84 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

per cent in the number of families since 1561. This indicates that the Indians
had finally surmounted the difficulties and hardships resulting from their

removal from old Acalan and that they were successfully adapting them-
selves to theirnew environment and to changed conditions. Counting 4.5
persons per family, we find that Tixchel had a population of at least 1260
in the year 1569. The actual population was probably somewhat greater,

since some of the families may not have been counted.

A which the lieutenant governor filed with the matricula
brief report
of 1569 throws some light on economic conditions in the new settlement.
The Indians evidently had a poor opinion of the site, for they told the lieu-
tenant that it was not healthy, that the soil was poor, and that the sea winds
consumed the crops. Some small cacao groves had been planted, but they
pointed out that the trees were young and would not bear much fruit for

many years. The pessimistic report of the Indians is not surprising, for the
coastal area where they were now settled was undoubtedly less productive
than the lands along the Candelaria where they had formerly lived. On the
other hand, the lieutenant governor, who evidently compared the Tixchel
region with the stony country of northern Yucatan, regarded the land as
fertile and reported that good crops of maize and cotton were being raised.

He also noted that every household possessed a number of turkeys and hens.
But the fact that the tribute schedule of 1569, like that of 1561, did not call
for payments in maize and poultry provides evidence that the Indians were
not yet producing any considerable surplus of food.
The increasing prosperity of Tixchel was apparently based to a great
extent on trade, for the lieutenant governor stated that "the people of the
said pueblo appear to be traders and are wealthier than the Indians of these
provinces [of northern Yucatan]." Although inter-provincial commerce
was now largely dominated by Spanish merchant-colonist's, the location of
Tixchel enabled the Indians to share in the canoe trade between Tabasco and
Yucatan. Their principal operations at this time appear to have been carried
on with the Chontalpa in Tabasco. But there is also some evidence that they
were already trading with the unpacified tribes in the interior of Yucatan,
and as time went on this commerce apparently became more profitable. The
later activities of Paxbolon in the region south and east of Tixchel were un-
doubtedly prompted in part by economic motives.^^
2^ Ibid., S. 2i^6v-^S.
 The Zapotitlan Episode

ALTHOUGH MOST of the Acalan people who had survived the

shock of the Spanish conquest were now firmly established in their
new home on Sabancuy estuary, a certain number still remained in the
Candelaria area, where they practiced the old native customs and religion.
Some of the latter were apostate fugitives from Tixchel; others were un-
converted Indians who had never left the old homeland. This chapter deals
with the final pacification of these remnants of the Acalan people and their
eventual resettlement at sites nearer Tixchel.
Most of the apostates were apparently members of the group who fled
from Tixchel about 1560-61 after the Tamayo Pacheco expedition had
brought out the "rebel" Chontal who had resisted Pesquera's efforts to move
them from x\calan,- According to the Acalan narrative, the leaders of these
apostate fugitives were Diego Paxcanan, Francisco Ahcuz, Baltasar Paxcanan,
Martin Paxtun, and a certain Achachu.- The unconverted Indians were the
survivors and descendants of former slaves who had fled durino- the period
of disorder following the removal of the Chontal to Tixchel and had taken
refuge at Chakam.^ Wq have no definite infonnation concerning events in
the Candelaria area for several years subsequent to 1560-61. It would appear,
however, that the Tixchel fugitives also settled in the region of Chakam
and that in the course of time the t\^"0 groups merged to form a settlement
which in 1568-69 came to be known as Zapotitlan. This place, located at or
near Chakam, was not far from the formicr site of Acalan-Itzamkanac, and
on the basis of data recorded in various sources we infer that it was situated
near the San Pedro branch of the Candelaria in the region of Alundo Xuevo.*
The Tixchel fugitives originally comprised about seventy famihes.^
The slaves, young and old, are said to have num.bered 600 persons,^ but this

1 See pp. 173-74, supra.

2 Thefact that Achachu had no baotismal name indicates that he was still a heathen.
3 See p. 173, supra. Document Illb of the Acalan narrative (p. 599, injra) lists the leaders of
this group, none of whom had Christian names.
* Cf. discussion of the location of Zapotitlan and related topics in Appendix B,
pp. 427-29,
infra.
5 Document Illb of the Acalan narrative (p.
399, infra) merely states that "there must have
been a great number." In 1571, however, Gomez de Castrillo, testifying concerning the removal
of the Acalan to Tixchel and the Indians who fled about 1560-61, stated that the latter numbered
"setenta indios," by which he obviously meant heads of families (Garcia v. Bravo, f. 20851;).
® Cf p. 399, injra.
.

185
 1 86 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

figure, if correct, obviously refers to the size of the group which had settled
at Chakam in years past. Both the apostates and the slaves, especially the
latter, suffered heavy losses before their final pacification. Various sources
indicate that in 1569 Zapotitlan had about eighty married couples, with a
total of some 300 persons, although one document contains evidence that
the actual figure may have been even lower. At this time the apostates formed
the majority of the population, and one of their chieftains, Diego Paxcanan,
was apparently the leader of the entire community.^
Some distance from Zapotitlan, evidently to the northeast, were two
small villages named Puilha^ and Tahbalam with a total population of about
125 persons. The Acalan narrative refers to the inhabitants of these settle-
ments as "indios cimarrones," a term usually employed to designate apostate
fugitives from northern Yucatan, and we have other evidence that most of
them were Yucatecan Maya, althoug^h a small minority were apparently
Chontal.^ There is also some indication that the population of Zapotitlan
may have included a certain number of Maya fugitives, but the great majority
(at least 80 per cent) were undoubtedly Chontal or had Chontal names.^^

The pacification of the Indians of Zapotitlan was accomplished by Don

Pablo Paxbolon, the young cacique and governor of Tixchel, who made
three entradas into the interior for this purpose in 1566-68. The major source
of information concerning these journeys is a memorial written by Pax-

'
In a letter to Governor Cespedes in January 1569, Don Pablo Paxbolon stated that there
were eighty heads of families {casados) in Zapotitlan, and in two petitions, one presented in
May 1569 and the second in August of the same year, he estimated the total population as about
300 persons (Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, ff. 13, i-jv, 19). The figure given in the Acalan
narrative is evidently based on copies of these papers in Paxbolon's possession. However, one
copy of the Zapotitlan baptismal document of 1569, lists only 57 couples and a total of 254 per-
sons, including those who had been previously baptized and those ^^'ho received baptism on that
date (Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 1962-70).
s Also spelled Puhilha and Puytha.

° Lists of personal names recorded for Puilha and Tahbalam contain a certain number of

names that appear to be Chontal, but the great majority are Yucatecan Maya. What is more
significant, the principal men in Puilha were Juan and Francisco Ku, and in Tahbalam, Lorenzo
Can and Marcos Balam. Moreover, these villages apparently contained relatively few women,
another sign that most of the inhabitants were fugitives (Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2155, 2169-70,
2206). Whether the small number of Chontal had come from Tixchel, old Acalan, or Zapotitlan
is uncertain.
10baptismal list drawn up at Zapotitlan in 1569 (Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 1962-70, 2i58'i;-67)
The
contains a of names which are also found in northern Yucatan. Some of them may also
number
have been in use among the Chontal of Acalan. Comparison of the Zapotitlan list with the
matricula of Tixchel drawn up in February of the same year (Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2117-281')
reveals, however, that a high percentage — —
perhaps 80 per cent of the Zapotitlan names were
Chontal. Many names, such as Acat, Celut or Celu, Lahun, Lamat, Macua, Patzin, Paxbolon,
Paxcanan, Paxmulu, Paxoc, etc., are found in both lists. Cf. discussion of Chontal names in
Appendix C.
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 1
87

bolon and presented to Governor Cespedes for certification on May 27, 1

569.^^

This narrative is supplemented by letters of the cacique and the testimony

of Indians of Tixchel and Zapotitlan relating to the third and successful
journey of December 1568.^" Document Illb of the Acalan narrative also

gives a brief account of the Zapotitlan episode.

In January 1566 Bishop Toral passed through Tixchel on his return from
Mexico where he had attended the Second Council of the Mexican
City,
Church. During the bishop's stay in the pueblo, an Indian woman whose
husband had fled about five years earlier, probably in the group who aban-
doned Tixchel about 1560-61, sought permission to remarry. The bishop
naturally refused her request, since it was possible that the fugitive might
some day return. This incident caused Toral to ask Paxbolon if he knew
the whereabouts of any "forest Indians" who might be converted. The
cacique replied that there might be some from "the pueblo of Acalan." He
asked permission "to go in search of them in the fields and forests, for it
might be possible to find them," and the bishop agreed that he should do
so, for if he should have success, "it would be a great service to God our Lord
and his Majesty." ^^
Such was Paxbolon's version of the origins of his first entrada, as related
in his memorial of 1569. Because of his early education by the Franciscans,
Paxbolon was undoubtedly inspired by a certain zeal to serve the Church
and to advance the missionary program. It is also apparent, however, that he
was eager to enhance his own prestige as head of the ruling house of Acalan-
Tixchel. Toral's visit, which occurred in the very month in which Paxbolon
took office as governor of Tixchel, gave the young chieftain an opportunity
to obtain the prelate's approval of an enterprise which, if successful, would
win him the favor of the provincial authorities and at the same time enable
him to assert jurisdiction over the Tixchel fugitives and other Chontal still

living in the old homeland. Thus the expedition had a double purpose, but in
his post factum report Paxbolon shrewdly stressed the religious motive.
Paxbolon probably discussed the proposed expedition with Anton Garcia,
encomendero of Acalan-Tixchel, and he also wrote a letter to a certain
Fray Alonso^* saying that he wished "to go to the said pueblo of Acalan in
search of the Indians." This passage in Paxbolon's narrative and the refer-

1^ Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, ff. 13-17.

12 Ibid., flF. 1717, 20-24'z;,- 2152-^jv; Probanza of the services of Don Pablo
Garcia v. Bravo, ff.

Paxbolon, 1569-76, AGI, Alexico, leg. 97.

13 iMemorial of Paxbolon, May
27, 1569, in Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, f 13. .

1* Probably Fray Alonso Toral, who is mentioned in other sources as serving in the Cam-

peche-Tixchel area in the 1560's.

 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

ence to the pueblo of Acalan in the account of his conversation with Bishop
Total clearly indicate that it was the cacique's plan to go to the site of Acalan-
Itzamkanac, the former Chontal capital, evidently expecting to find the
fugitives at that place or nearby. Paxbolon asked Fray Alonso to commend
him to God in his prayers, "since it was always my intent to bring [the
Indians] to the knowledge of our Holy Catholic Faith," and the friar repHed
"that I should go ahead with my journey and that God Our Lord would
go with me and give me victory." ^^
With a picked group of Indians Paxbolon set out from Tixchel on April
25, 1566. Traveling by canoe, he passed down Sabancuy estuary, crossed
Laguna de Terminos, and then proceeded up the Rio de Acalan, or Can-
delaria. Toward the end of the third day (April 27), he encountered the
first rapids and falls. Paxbolon and his men slowly made their way through
these obstacles, removing many logs and rocks from the channel and in places-
dragging the canoes through "with ropes by the sheer strength of [our]
arms." Finally, on the morning of the sixth day (April 30) they reached the
sluggish upper course of the river with its swamps and overflow areas.

In Paxbolon's narrative, the account of the arduous passage through the

rapids and falls is followed by this significant statement: "And after this we
came to certain lagoons, along which it was necessary for me and my people
to travel two days." This statement indicates that Paxbolon's original desti-

nation, the site of Acalan-Itzamkanac, was located two days' journey above
the falls of the Rio de Acalan. It is on the basis of this evidence, together

with data from other sources, that we place Itzamkanac near the junction of
the Caribe and San Pedro branches of the Candelaria.
After reaching the lagoons on the morning of April 30, Paxbolon and
his men spent the remainder of the day fishing in order to replenish their
food supply, and while thus engaged some of them came to a place where it

appeared that canoes had recently been taken from the river. Scattered
maize and baskets were also found along the shore. Realizing that some of
the "forest Indians" could not be far away, Paxbolon now decided to go in-
land in search of them instead of proceeding upstream to the site of Acalan-
Itzamkanac, as he had originally intended. On the morning of May i the
party started overland, advancing cautiously along the which the
trail, in
fugitives had planted pointed sticks of chuliil wood, and about midday
reached some milpas where supplies of maize, beans, and chile were found.
Here Paxbolon decided to make camp and wait to see whether any of the
Indians would come out of the forest.
15 Memorial of Paxbolon, May 27, 1569, in Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, f. i-^v.
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 1
89

On May 3, after Paxbolon's men had

some fields, two youngset fire to

men appeared and were promptly seized. Tliey wore their hair long in
accordance with heathen custom and their bodies were painted black.^^
In reply to friendly words by the cacique, who asked whether they were
Christians and where they had their homes, one of them, named Francisco
Patzin, said: "I was tiiis companion of mine, named
a Christian . . . and
Baltasar, was also [a Christian]; what you ask concerning the lo-
and as to

cation of our homes, we have no homes except the forests, and we are no
longer your comrades." After further parley Paxbolon asked them "to go
and inform the other Indians who were in those forests that I, the said
cacique, was there, and that I came in peace and friendship as a son of their
house and as lord to seek them." As a token of his friendly attitude, he sent a
gift of salt for the principal men of the settlement, "so that they would see
by this that I did not come to do any harm." He warned, however, that
if he did not receive a reply within six days, he would go where they were
and seize them.
Three days later (May 6) the messenger returned, bringing with him
three other Indians, Diego Paxcanan, Francisco Ahcuz, and Baltasar Patzin,
"who had been baptized." Paxbolon made them a pious speech, pointing out
the error of theirways and urging them to return to a Christian mode of life.
But they rephed: "You no longer have the right to command, nor are we
your comrades; allow us to live according to the customs in which we live,
for we are very satisfied and content; return to your home." Having listened
attentively to their words, the cacique told them that the devil had made
them say such things, and he protested that he came to them for their own
welfare. Whereupon the apostates responded that they wished to have
nothing to do with anyone from Yucatan, and that if the cacique should
again visit them he should bring no one with him except those who had accom-
panied him on this occasion. "And so I, the said cacique, took my leave and
returned to my pueblo." Paxbolon gives no account of the return journey,
merely stating that he reached Tixchel on May 14, 1566.^^

This account of Paxbolon's first entrada, based on his narrative of May

1569, indicates that little had been achieved, except to establish contact with
some of the fugitives, including two of their chieftains, Diego Paxcanan and
Francisco Ahcuz. But Paxbolon was not easily discouraged, and soon after
his return to Tixchel he got in touch with Fray Antonio Verdugo, prob-
ably one of the Franciscans assigned to the missions of Champoton and
1^ "Enbijados de negro."
1^ Memorial of Paxbolon, May 27, 1569, in Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, ff. i^v-i^v.
1 90 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Tixchel, to whom he gave a report of his journey. The friar immediately

wrote a letter to the apostates, urging them to return to the Christian faith;

"and he gave me, the said cacique, this letter, which I later delivered to the

said savages, and I read it to them and explained what it contained." Upon
receipt of this message, the Indians expressed displeasure that Paxbolon had
told the friar about them and they said that they had no desire to see the
missionary or any other Spaniard. If the cacique wished to visit them and
trade with them, such dealings must be between him and them only. Under
such conditions they would also do his will and in time pay tribute to him,
but Paxbolon piously told them that he desired only "to promote the law
of God and his Majesty."
The remainder of Paxbolon's account of this second entrada, for which
he gives no date, is rather obscure, and the language suggests that certain
words or phrases of the original (our manuscript version is a copy) have
been omitted. It appears, however, that before Paxbolon returned to Tixchel
fifteen of the fugitives had started to build houses "on the site of Acalan,"
undoubtedly a reference to the former capital. Here they remained for a
time "and were halfway converted." But later on "they repented [of their
^^
conversion] and went away again into the forests to practice idolatry."
The brief account of the pacification of Zapotitlan in Document Illb of

the Acalan narrative helps to clarify the situation. Here we are told that in

the year (1566) in which Paxbolon assumed office as governor of Tixchel he

"brought out" the fugitives after findingthem at a place called Sucte. "They
fled again in the year 1568 and again he found them" with the former slaves

in Zapotitlan. This version apparently telescopes the first two entradas. The
place named Sucte was probably the milpas where Paxbolon met some of
the apostates, including two of their principal men, Paxcanan and Ahcuz,
in May 1566. But the statement about bringing out the fugitives obviously
refers to what happened on the second entrada, when a small group began to
resettle at the site of the former capital. Since it is unlikely that Paxbolon
would have returned to the interior in the rainy season of 1566, his second

journey probably took place in the spring of 1567. The abandonment of the
new settlement, according to the narrative, occurred in the following year.
The milpas of Sucte were apparently located about midway between the
upper course of the Candelaria above the falls and the site of Zapotitlan, which
as we have already noted, was on or near the Rio San Pedro somewhere in the
region of Mundo Nuevo. Paxbolon did not visit Zapotitlan in 1566, and there
is no evidence that he did so on the occasion of his second journey. Indeed,
18 Ibid., ff. isv-16.
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE I9I

the Statement of Francisco Patzin quoted above may imply that in 1566 many
of the apostates were still living in scattered groups in the forest. It is evident,

however, that by the end of 1568 most of them had joined with the former
slaves and were living at or near Zapotitlan.
Although the fugitives whom Paxbolon had contacted on the first and
second entradas had recognized him as their legitimate lord and ruler, they
were unwilling to submit to Spanish authority or return to the Christian faith.
But the cacique, although anxious to assert jurisdiction over them, refused the
terms they proposed. He desired recognition of his rights by the provincial
authorities of Yucatan, and he realized that this could be obtained only after
the Indians had been pacified in the name of the king and the Church. The
temporary and partial success achieved on the second entrada was a step in
this direction, but complete submission of the Indians was the only means of

attaining his major purpose. With this end in view he made plans for a third
expedition, this time determined to secure permanent results.
With sixteen experienced and trusted companions from Tixchel, Paxbolon
set out again for the interior on December 10, 1568, and after a journey of
seven days approached the settlement at Zapotitlan. In accordance with a pre-
arranged plan, Paxbolon and his followers rushed into the village, surprising

its inhabitants who were unaware of their approach. Some offered a feeble
resistance, but most of them took to their heels and fled into the surrounding
forests. Paxbolon's men gave chase and seized six of their leaders, whom they
brought before the cacique. By friendly words Paxbolon made them under-
stand that he meant no harm, and they agreed to round up the others. Within
three or four days all those who had fled returned to the village, bringing their

wives and children.

During his subsequent parleys with the Indians Paxbolon explained that
they were deceived in putting trust in their idols (quipues), "for there was
only one God, Creator of all things, and they should believe in Him and in
His Blessed Mother." He also told them that it would be better for them to
live under the protection of the king and his governor in Yucatan, from whom
they would receive favor and good treatment as did all the other Indians who
had submitted to Spanish rule. With such words he finally persuaded them to
give obedience and abandon their heathen ways, but apparently they agreed
only on condition that they be permitted to live in their present location and
not be moved to another site. To this Paxbolon agreed, promising to intercede
for them with the provincial governor and to see that a missionary was sent to
instruct them in Christian doctrine.

In token of their submission the Indians handed over their bows and ar-
1 92 AC ALAN-TIXCHEL

rows, lances, shields, and other weapons. At Paxbolon's command they also

brought out all their idols "and other things which they had in a devil house,"
all of which the cacique destroyed and burned in their presence. Such ob-
jects, he told them, were things to laugh at and scorn, and not to worship
and venerate.
After a stay of nine days in Zapotitlan, Paxbolon returned to Tixchel,
taking with him six of the principal men, including Diego Paxcanan. In
Tixchel the cacique gave these men religious instruction, clothed them, and
sought to show them the advantages of living like the Indians of his own
pueblo, under the protection and guidance of the provincial authorities and
the missionary clergy. He also urged them to go to Merida to see the Spanish
governor, perhaps with the idea of obtaining formal recognition that he was
their cacique and lord. But they were un^dlling to make the trip, saying that
the governor might find them strange because they wore their hair long and
that they would be ashamed. So after two weeks Paxbolon sent them back to
their homes, instructing them to open a road and promising to bring a priest
to baptize their people. In order that they might have some religious teaching

in the meantime, he sent with them two native teachers from Tixchel "to
preach to them and teach them their prayers in the language of Chontalpa,
which is the same as ours of Tixchel, and it is also their native language." One
of these native teachers, named Miguel Huncha, remained in Zapotitlan for
about two years.^^
Toward the end of January Paxbolon dispatched reports to Governor
Cespedes and Bishop Toral in which he described the results of his recent

journey to Zapotitlan. He told how he had persuaded the Indians to abandon

their heathen ways and to submit to Spanish rule, having assured them that
they would be received under the royal protection and that provision would
be made for their baptism and religious training. Paxbolon also petitioned the

governor to permit the inhabitants of Zapotitlan to remain where they were,

at least for the present, "for they have good land, and they have cacao groves,
large forests, and wood for making canoes." He suggested, however, that in
the course of time they might be moved to the Rio de Acalan, where they
would be only three days' journey from Tixchel. What Paxbolon evidently
had in mind was a site on the Candelaria above the falls, and the time schedule
refers to the trip downstream to Laguna de Terminos and thence to Tixchel.^®
In one of his letters Paxbolon also announced the discovery of the two
smaller villages of Puilha and Tahbalam, whose principal men he had brought
19 Paxbolon-A'Ialdonado Papers, Part I, flF. 16-26, passbn; Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2152-52V;
Probanza of the services of Don Pablo Paxbolon, 1569-76, AGI, Mexico, leg. 97.
-^ Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, ff. ij-ijv; Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2154-55.
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 1 93

to Tixchel. Since this letter does not state tliat Paxbolon had visited these

settlements, we infer that the principal men came to Zapotitlan during his
stay in that place, and that they then accompanied him to Tixchel. The cacique
referred to the inhabitants of Puilha and Tahbalam as "heathens," but it is
evident that they were actually apostates, most of them from northern Yu-
catan.-^

On January 31, 1569, these reports were reviewed by Governor Cespedes

in the presence of Francisco Palomino, defender and protector of the Indians
in Yucatan, and Feliciano Bravo, the chief governmental notary (escribmio
mayor de gobernacion) The same day two Indians from Tixchel, who had
.

brought the letters, gave testimony which confirmed the cacique's reports.
On petition of Palomino the governor formally received the inhabitants of
Zapotitlan under his protection as vassals of the king and agreed to consult
Bishop Total in regard to their instruction in the Christian faith. Cespedes
also accepted a recommendation by Palomino that for the present Paxbolon,
"as the person whom the Indians will most willingly obey," should be in-
structed to look after them and supervise their local affairs. It may be noted,
however, that in the documents recording these proceedings there is no ref-
erence to Paxbolon's rights in the matter as cacique and natural lord of Acalan-
Tixchel.^^
In letters dated January 3 1 and February 1 6 Cespedes thanked Paxbolon
for his loyal services and expressed satisfaction with what had already been
accomplished. He told the cacique to continue the good work, to seek out
any other Indians who might be living in the forests, and to offer all of them
favor and protection in the crovernor's name, especially in the case of the two
settlements of Puilha and Tahbalam. The governor also agreed that the
Indians of Zapotitlan should continue to live in their present location and
advised Paxbolon that it was not a suitable time to discuss their eventual trans-

fer to another site. Such a proposal, if the Indians should hear of it, might
cause unrest and hinder the missionary work to be carried on among them.^^
Bishop Toral, to whom these decisions were notified, immediately agreed
to send a missionary to Zapotitlan to supervise the religious instruction of the
Indians, The was Fray Juan de Santa Maria of the
person chosen for this task

Mercedarian Order, who had been serving for several months as curate and
vicario of the missions of Champoton and Tixchel and had probably acquired

21 Garcia v. Bravo, The principal men of Puilha and Tahbalam and all other Indians
f. 2155.
had Christian names. Cf. also note 9, p. 186, supra.
listed for these settlements
22 Paxbolon-.Maldonado Papers, Part I, ff. lyy-iS; Garcia v. Bravo, if.
2152-57; Probanza
of the services of Don Pablo Paxbolon, 1569-76, AGI, Mexico, leg. 97.
22 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, if. i8t;-i9, 24'i'-25.
194 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

some knowledge of the Chontal language.^"* In a letter to Paxbolon, written

a few days later, the bishop expressed pleasure over the happy outcome of the
Zapotitlan affair and promised to visit the new mission at some later time. This
letter indicates, however, that the cacique's motives had not been entirely
disinterested. In his report to the bishop, Paxbolon had apparently suggested
that the Indians of Zapotitlan might soon begin to pay him tribute.^^ In rather

outspoken terms Toral disapproved of the proposal and told the cacique that
the Indians should be favored in every way possible in order to facilitate the
missionary program. He also called attention to royal legislation which pro-
vided that Indians who accepted Christianity freely and without the use of
force should be exempt from tribute for a term of years, and he informed
Paxbolon that he had already brought this point to the attention of Governor
Cespedes.^*^

In accordance with Bishop Toral's instructions Father Santa Maria, ac-

companied by Don Ambrosio de Montejo, cacique of Champoton, and by
Paxbolon and other Indians of Tixchel, went to Zapotitlan a few weeks later.

Prior to his arrival the native teachers sentby Paxbolon had already given the
Indians some instruction and had probably made arrangements for the bap-
tism of those who had not previously received the sacrament. The latter
would have included children of the apostate fugitives born after their parents
had fled from Tixchel in 1560-61 and the adult survivors of the unconverted
slaves and their families. The document recording Santa Maria's visit states
that the friar entered Zapotitlan on March 18, 1569, and dedicated the new
mission to Nuestra Senora de los Remedios. This record also lists the Indians
of the settlement in five groups: (i) married couples baptized by the mis-
sionary, with the names of their sponsors; (2) married couples previously
baptized, presumably in old Acalan or in Tixchel (the names of Diego Pax-
canan and his wife appear at the head of this list); (3) unmarried adults in-

cluding some who had already been baptized (no sponsors are listed for them)
and others now baptized by Santa Maria (the sponsors are listed) (4) children ;

baptized by the missionary, with the names of their parents and sponsors;
and (5) widows previously baptized.^^
24Garcia v. Bravo, f. 2157.
25This was a rather unusual suggestion, for subsequent to the conquest the Indians paid
formal tribute only to the Crown or to encomenderos. It should be noted, however, that the
colonial authorities authorized the giving of services and certain payments in cash or kind to
caciques and descendants of natural lords (cf. Roys, 1943, pp. 146-47), and it is possible that
this was what Paxbolon had in mind. It is evident, however, that Bishop Toral believed that the
cacique wished to receive formal tribute from Zapotitlan.
26 Toral to Paxbolon, n. d., in Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, flf. 25-26.

Two copies of this document are included in Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 1962-70, 2i58i'-67.
^'i'
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 195

During the friar's stay in Zapotitlan (March-April 1569) a small church

was built, probably a pole-and-thatch structure with an enclosed altar space.
It was furnished with a bell, image, frontal, and candlesticks sent from the

church at Tixchel. During this time Santa Maria also obtained a list of Indians
living in Puilha and Tahbalam. It is not clear, however, whether he actually
visited these settlements or received the information from some of their in-

habitants who came to Zapotitlan.^^

Upon his return to Yucatan Father Santa Maria proceeded to Merida,
where he presented the baptismal lists to Bishop Total. The latter in turn
handed over the lists to Feliciano Bravo, the governmental notary, and re-

quested that the original or a copy should be filed with other papers relating
to Zapotitlan in the notary's possession. Santa Maria also gave testimony before
Bravo concerning These proceedings were
his recent activities in Zapotitlan.

recorded in a document of May 10, 1569, formulated by Bravo, to which the

notary added a copy of the baptismal lists. The original was returned to the
bishop, who apparently gave it back to the missionary for future use at

Zapotitlan.^^

I'he document of May 10 contains two important statements attributed

to Father Santa Maria: (i) that the Indians of Zapotitlan were settled "in a
new land"; (2) that they were ignorant of Christianity and had never had
dealings with Christians. In view of the Zapotitlan data already presented, it
is evident that these statements were inaccurate, and we doubt that the friar
ever made them, at least in the form recorded by Bravo in the May 10 docu-
ment. Santa Maria had served as curate of Champoton and Tixchel since the
autumn of 1568, and it seems likely therefore that prior to his journey to the
new mission he already knew that it was located in the old Acalan area and
that the people were former subjects of Acalan and Tixchel. In any case, as

the result of his recent visit to Zapotitlan he had certainly learned that the
Indians spoke the Chontal language of Acalan-Tixchel, that most of them had
Chontal names like those of the Tixchel Indians, and that many of the adults
were Tixchel fugitives who had previously been converted and baptized. In
testimony before Bravo the missionary may have described the Zapotitlan
country as a remote region distant from northern Yucatan, and he undoubt-
edly reported that the Indians had been living according to heathen customs.
It is difficult to believe, however, that he regarded the Zapotitlan area as a

"new land" hitherto unknown, or that he described the Indians as a people

who were completely ignorant of Christianity and had never had contacts
28 The Puilha and Tahbalam lists are in Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2169-70.
196 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

with Christians. We are convinced that in recording Santa Maria's testimony

Bravo misrepresented it or rephrased it in such a way as to facihtate a scheme
of action that was soon revealed.
The document of May 10, were now
Zapotitlan papers, inchiding the
laid beforeGovernor Cespedes. The latter, "having seen the autos^'' issued a
decree on May 20, 1569, in which he declared that the Zapotitlan people were
"vacant" Indians and that as such they could be granted in encomienda to a
suitable person, subject to the provisions of royal laws granting tribute ex-

emption for a term of years to Indians who voluntarily submitted to Spanish

authority and agreed to accept Christianity. This decree was communicated
to Francisco Palomiao, defender of the Indians, who voiced no objection.
Accordingly, on May 25, 1569, the governor placed the Indians of "the pueblo
and province of Zapotitlan" under the care and protection of Feliciano Bravo,
who was charged with fostering their religious instruction. Although this

procedure did not constitute a formal grant of encomienda, it was a step in

that direction. Bravo promptly accepted the obligation and paid Father Santa
Maria 20 pesos as an advance toward expenses he might incur in future work
at Zapotitlan. About eight months later, January 15, 1570, Governor Cespedes

made formal grant of encomienda of the pueblos of Zapotitlan, Puilha, and

Tahbalam to Bravo, on condition that the Indians should pay no tribute until
after the expiration of the exemption period provided by law. 30

The decrees of May 20 and 25, 1569, precipitated a bitter dispute con-
cerning the encomienda status of Zapotitlan which dragged on for more than
two years. As encomendero of Acalan-Tixchel, Anton Garcia protested that
the Indians of Zapotitlan were his tributaries and that consequently Governor
Cespedes had no right to declare them vacant and place them under the pro-
tection of another party. The controversy was intensified when the governor,
by decree of January 15, 1570, granted the towns of Zapotitlan, Puilha, and
Tahbalam in encomienda to Bravo. That Garcia had a valid claim to Zapotitlan
as part of his encomienda of Acalan-Tixchel there can be no doubt. It is evi-

dent, however, that from the beginning Cespedes and his governmental asso-
ciates adopted a policy designed to deny this claim and to defraud the
encomendero.
This policy can be traced back to January 31, 1569, when Paxbolon's
reports of the 1568 entrada were reviewed by the governor in consultation

with Feliciano Bravo and the defender of the Indians, Francisco Palomino.
^° Ibid., flf. 2167-69, 2171-72. The period of tribute exemption for Indians who voluntarily
accepted Christianity was ten years.
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 197

It is interesting to note that the various petitions and decrees formulated on

this occasion contain only vague statements as to the location of Zapotitlan
with no mention whatever of Acalan,^^ and refer to the Zapotitlan people as

Indians who had now agreed to accept Spanish authority and Christianity for
the first time. For example, Palomino's petition asking Governor Cespedes to
accept the offer of obedience made by the Indians described them as people
who "have never had the light or knowledge of our holy Catholic faith."

Moreover, the defender's request that Paxbolon should be instructed to take

charge of local affairs in the Zapotitlan area and the governor's decree ac-
cepting this suggestion contain no reference to Paxbolon's rights in the matter
as cacique and natural lord of Acalan-Tixchel.
It may be argued that at this tim.e the provincial authorities lacked ade-
quate information concerning Zapotitlan and its people. In this connection it

is only fair to state that Paxbolon's January reports do not record explicit
evidence as to the location of the settlement and the identity of its inhabi-
tants. The cacique's long memorial describing his three entradas to the Acalan-
Zapotitlan area beginning in 1566, which is the major source for our own
narrative, was not presented to Cespedes and Bravo for certification until

May 1569. On the other hand, in one of the January letters Paxbolon made
the significant statement that in the course of time the Indians of Zapotitlan
might be moved to a site on the Rio de Acalan where they would be only
four days' journey from Tixchel. Moreover, one of the Indian messengers
who delivered the January reports testified before Palomino and Bravo that
the purpose of the 1568 expedition to Zapotitlan was to search for Indians
who had fled from Tixchel.^^ These statements, which obviously provided
important clues and status of the Zapotitlan settlements,
as to the location

were apparently disregarded by the governor and his associates. Although it

is possible that they did not appreciate the full significance of this evidence,
it is difficult to believe that such was the case. By virtue of their respective
offices, Cespedes, Palomino, and Bravo were obviously in a position to obtain
full and complete information concerning developments in all parts of the
province. Moreover, Palomino and Bravo had lived in Yucatan for many
years, and we doubt that they could have been ignorant of the basic facts in
the Acalan-Tixchel-Zapotitlan situation.
Whatever the facts may be as to the extent and accuracy of the informa-

31 One of these documents refers to Zapotitlan

as being located "toward the region of
Mazatlan." Another describes the Zapotitlan area as bordering on the Tixchel district (ibid., ff.
21521;, 2157). These vague statements would obviously apply to the old Acalan area, but as
noted above, these papers contain no explicit reference to Acalan.
32 Garcia v. Bravo, f. 21551'.
198 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

tion possessed by the provincial authorities at the end of January 1569, the
major issue relating to the status of Zapotitlan was brought to their attention
during the succeeding months. In the preceding chapter we have told how
Governor Cespedes by a decree of February i, 1569, authorized a new count
of the tributaries of Tixchel. Anton Garcia, the encomendero, promptly filed
objection on the ground that the Tixchel fugitives had recently been reduced
to obedience and that a count which failed to include them would be pre-
judicial to his interests. Despite this protest, the governor's lieutenant made
a matricula of Tixchel, on the basis of which Cespedes formulated a new
tribute schedule on March 4, 1569. In this document the governor stated,

however, that in view of Garcia's objection that "certain Indians who are at
present fugitives from the said pueblo were not counted" the assessment
could be revised at a later date "whenever [the fugitives] should appear." ^^
This statement can be regarded only as deliberately vague and evasive, inas-

much as Garcia's protest obviously referred to the Indians settled at Zapotitlan,

not to a group whose whereabouts was still unknown. If the governor had
reason to doubt the encomendero's claim that the Indians of Zapotitlan were
former subjects of Acalan-Tixchel, or if he had been motivated by a sincere
desire to do justice, he could easily have postponed action pending an investi-
gation of the facts. Instead, he proceeded with evident haste and resorted to
a tactic which evaded the major issue of the case. In subsequent litigation
Garcia also called attention to the fact that the official decrees relating to the

count and assessment of Tixchel studiously avoided any reference to Acalan.

The document of May 10, 1569, which records certain proceedings in
Merida after Father Santa Maria's return from Zapotitlan, marks the next stage
in the evolution of a policy resulting in the denial of Garcia's claims. As we
have seen, this document attributes to the missionary two inaccurate state-
ments about Zapotitlan which we doubt that he made, at least in the manner
recorded by Bravo, the governmental notary. At this point we call attention

to the fact that the second statement, viz., that the Indians of Zapotitlan were
ignorant of Christianity and had never had dealings with Christians, expressed
the same idea already set forth in Palomino's petition of January 31, 1569, as
quoted above. The obvious purpose of the May document was to provide
10
grounds for the decree of May 20, 1569, in which Governor Cespedes de-
clared that the people of Zapotitlan were "vacant" Indians and subject to
encomienda grant. Five days later (May 25) the governor, with the tacit
consent of the defender of the Indians, placed "the pueblo and province of
Zapotitlan" under the care and protection of Feliciano Bravo.
33 Ibid., f. 2 39V.
1
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 1 99

Further evidence of fraud is provided by comparison of the two copies

of the Zapotitlan baptismal Hst inchided in the record of the Garcia v. Bravo
Htigation. One version (to be described as Copy A) is evidently the original
drawn up at Zapotitlan by Father Santa Maria. ^^ The other (to be designated
as Copy B) is copy made by Feliciano Bravo and attached to the document
the
of May lo, 1569. Although Copy B is obviously based on the first version, it
differs from the latter in many respects. Some of the differences may be as-

cribed to carelessness on the part of the copyist, but others cannot be explained
on this basis. For the purpose of the present discussion it will be sufficient to

call attention to two significant points.

1. The preamble to Copy A is a brief statement recording the entry of

Fray Juan de Santa Maria in Zapotitlan, "pueblo de Acalan e sujetos," on

March 18, 1569. In Copy B the preamble is much longer and records data not
mentioned in Copy A. But what is most important, the former contains no
reference whatever to Zapotitlan as being a pueblo of Acalan.
2. In Copy A the various name groups (see p. 194, supra) are identified

by marginal notations or subheadings. In Copy B most of these notations and

subheadings are omitted. Although the different groups in Copy B can be
identifiedby comparison with Copy A, the former, standing alone, does not
give clear indication that some of the Indians listed had previously been
baptized.
It is our opinion that these changes and omissions in Copy B, as well as
others that might be mentioned, were the result of deliberate intent on the
part of Bravo, who made this copy or supervised the work. The reason for
this fraud is clear. If the by Bravo had contained reference to
copy certified

Zapotitlan as a pueblo of Acalan, or if it had indicated that some of the Indians

had previously been baptized, such evidence would have disproved the thesis
set forth in the document of May 10, 1569, to which Copy B was attached,

that Zapotitlan was located in a new land and that its people had never had
contacts with Christians.
Finally, we call attention to the memorial, or relacion, in which Don
Pablo Paxbolon gave account of his three entradas from Tixchel to the
Acalan-Zapotitlan area in 1566-68. This document indicates (i) that the
purpose of the first entrada was to search for Acalan fugitives and that the
original destination of Paxbolon on this trip was the site of Acalan-Itzam-

2*This version (Garcia v. Bravo, flF. 1962-70) was in the possession of Fray Juan de Santa
Maria until January 24, 1571, when it was introduced as evidence in the lawsuit proceedings at
the request of Anton Garcia. There can be no doubt that it is the original. It contains no certifi-
cation of copy. Moreover, the record of Santa Maria's testimony given on January 24, 157 1,
refers to it as "el mismo" which the friar had made in Zapotitlan (ibid., f. 19701;).
200 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

kanac, (2) that the fugitives whom he met at the deserted milpas in May
1566, after half a day's march inland from the Rio de Acalan, were apostate
Christians, among whom was Diego Paxcanan, one of the principal men of
Zapotitlan, (3) that on this occasion Paxbolon addressed these men as their
ruler and lord and that they recognized him as such, although they refused
submit to Spanish authority, (4) that as the result of Paxbolon's
his appeal to

second expedition (probably made in 1567) some of the fugitives were

temporarily resettled at the site of the former Acalan capital, (5) that the
pueblo of Zapotitlan was not far from this place, and (6) that the Indians
of Zapotitlan spoke the Chontal language of Acalan-Tixchel. These facts,
already noted in our own narrative, clearly prove that Zapotitlan was lo-

cated in the old Acalan lands and that its inhabitants were former subjects of
Acalan-Tixchel.
On May 27, 1569, a Spanish translation of the memorial was presented
to Governor Cespedes and Feliciano Bravo, the notary. In a joint petition
Paxbolon and Francisco Palomino, defender of the Indians, asked the gov-
ernor to certify the document, to which should be added a statement set-

ting forth the official action that had been taken in regard to Zapotitlan. By
order of the governor Bravo prepared such a statement, in which he de-
scribed the proceedings of January 31, 1569, the decision to send Fray
Juan de Santa .Maria to Zapotitlan, and the presentation of the Zapotitlan
baptismal lists on May 10, 1569. This record and the Spanish translation of
Paxbolon's memorial received formal certification in a decree of May 29,

1569, signed by Cespedes and countersigned by Bravo.^°

Having given official sanction to these documents, the governor and
his associates could no longer honestly deny the essential facts concerning
the location of Zapotitlan and the identity of its people. Nevertheless, in
all subsequent proceedings they sought to maintain the fiction that Zapotitlan
had been discovered in a land hitherto unknown ("tierra no sabida ni

conocida"),^^ and that the Indians were all heathens who had been newlv
converted to Christianity. Moreover, they took action to thwart Anton
Garcia's efforts to prove his claims to Zapotitlan and to obtain justice.
These facts, together with evidence presented in preceding paragraphs,
leave little doubt that Cespedes, Palomino, and Bravo were guilty of a

deliberate scheme to defraud the encomendero and to give Bravo control

over Zapotitlan.

35 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, ff. 12-181^.

36 This phrase appears in a petition of Feliciano Bravo, dated March (Garcia v.
29, 1571
Bravo, ff. 1988-901;).
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 20I

As a first step toward vindication of his rights," Anton Garcia summoned

to Tixchel certain chieftains of Zapotitlan, including Diego Paxcanan, now
recognized as leader of the settlement. On July 8, 1569, these men made a

sworn statement in the presence of Fray Juan de Santa Maria, Don Pablo
Paxbolon, and the regidores of Tixchel in which they "freely" declared
that in years past they had paid tribute to Diego de Aranda and Gonzalo
Lopez, former encomenderos of Acalan. Furthermore, they now "gave
obedience in sign of possession" to Anton Garcia as their present encom-
endero.^^
From Tixchel Garcia hastily returned to Campeche, where Governor
Cespedes and Feliciano Bravo were temporarily residing at this time. On
July 13, 1569, Garcia filed a petition before the governor and notary in
which he set forth his legal rights as encomendero of "the pueblo and prov-
ince of Acalan with all its subject settlements {siijetos)
.'''
As supporting
evidence he presented the decree of January 31, 1560, in which the Audiencia
of Guatemala confirmed his titles as encomendero of Acalan,^^^ and the
Tixchel document of July 8 described above. The petition also reviewed
the proceedings of February-March 1569, resulting in a new count and
tribute assessment for the encomienda of Acalan-Tixchel. Garcia pointed
out that that Cespedes had authorized the count "at a time when the Indians
who had fled during the removal to Tixchel were being reassembled, and
others who had remained in the said province [of Acalan] were about to
become Christians." He had filed protest on these grounds, but despite
the objection the governor's lieutenant "counted the Indians who were
settled in Tixchel, and he did not count the Indians of the subject settle-

ments," i.e., the fugitives in old Acalan. Moreover, although the new matri-
cula of Tixchel listed more families than had been counted in 1561, the
tribute schedule formulated by Cespedes called for an annual payment of
only 221 mantas compared with the assessment of 230 mantas fixed by
as

Lie. Garcia Jufre de Loaisa on the basis of the 1561 list. In view of these
facts the encomendero asked to have the Loaisa assessment restored until
such time as it would be suitable to count and tax all the Indians of his
encomienda; otherwise he would receive "evident injury," and he would
appeal to the Audiencia of Mexico.^^ For purposes of record Garcia also asked
for a copy of the present petition and for copies of the papers relating to the
count and assessment of Tixchel in February-March, 1569.
37 Ibid., flF. i973i;-74.
38 See
p. 148, supra.
39 The Mexico was again given
Audiencia of jurisdiction over Yucatan in 1560 (DHY, i:
8-9).
202 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

In his reply to the petition Governor Cespedes resorted to a legal formula

often employed by the colonial authorities when they wished to evade a
troublesome issue. The reply reads: "[This writing] having been seen by
the said governor, his lordship states that he has already disposed of the
matter (ya tiene proveido en el caso)." In short, the governor refused to
reopen the question of the count and assessment of Tixchel, or to examine
the validity of Garcia's claim that the Indians of Zapotitlan were his tribu-

taries. Cespedes agreed, however, that Garcia might have copies of such
documents as he wished, but when the encomendero asked for them Bravo
put him off by saying that the papers relating to the count and tax of Tixchel
were in Merida."^"

Garcia apparently made no further effort to continue the litigation until

the spring of 1570. In the meantime, however, he neglected no oppor-

tunity to strengthen his case. In September 1569 and again in the following
April (1570) he paid Fray Juan de Santa Maria the salary due him as curate
of Tixchel, and he saw to it that the friar's receipts contained statements in-
dicating that the payments were for the religious instruction of all the
Indians of his encomienda, including both Tixchel and Zapotitlan.^^ Like-
wise, Garcia purchased an image and other ecclesiastical ornaments for the
Tixchel church to replace those sent to Zapotitlan. It also appears that
during the early months of 1570 Garcia and Paxbolon began to make plans
for the removal of some of the Zapotitlan people to TixcheL As we shall see

later on, this move was promptly challenged by Francisco Palomino, defender
of the Indians.
On January 15, 1570, Governor Cespedes gave Feliciano Bravo a formal
encomienda grant for the pueblos of Zapotitlan, Puilha, and Tahbalam.
This action left no doubt as to the policy of the governor and his associates,
and it obviously called for some countermeasure by Garcia. It is evident,
of course, that Garcia's claim to Puilha and Tahbalam was less valid than
in the case of Zapotitlan, since a majority of the Indians of Puilha and
Tahbalam were Maya fugitives from northern Yucatan. These settlements
were located, however, in the general area of Acalan and some of the Indians,
at least, were Chontal. Moreover, as the result of the encomienda grant to

Bravo the question of legal title to these towns was linked with that of Zapo-
titlan in all subsequent litigation.^^

40 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. zioj'y-oy'i;.

^'^
Ibid., ff.
1972-73.
encomienda of Puilha and Tahbalam than
*2 Bravo, of course, had even less claim to the

Garcia. Legally, the Maya fugitives were tributaries of the encomenderos of the towns from
which they had fled, and most of the Chontal were probably Acalan-Tixchel fugitives.
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 203

For some reason Garcia was unable to press the case in person, and he
authorized a certain Juan Gonzalez to act as his agent. In a petition to
Governor Cespedes filed on April lo, 1570, Gonzalez reiterated the com-
plaint that the Tixchel tribute assessment of 1569 was unjust, since all of the
Indians of Garcia's encomienda had not been counted. Although this action
did not directly challenge the vaHdity of the encomienda grant to Bravo,
it served the same purpose. If the governor admitted the plea, it would be
necessary to reopen the entire question of the identity and status of the Indians
of Zapotitlan and adjacent settlements, for they were the people who had
not been counted. But now, as before, Cespedes had no intention of facing
this issue. "The said governor did not admit [the petition] and he tore it up,
saying that it contained things contrary to customary procedure and dis-
respectful to a judicial officer; besides, his lordship had long since disposed
of the matter." The governor decreed, however, that if Gonzalez asked
for copies of the assessment proceedings, the notary should give them.
The notary, of course, was Feliciano Bravo, who was an interested
party in the case. We have seen that when Garcia filed his first action in

Campeche in July 1569, Bravo evaded his request for copies of the assess-
ment documents on the plea that the papers were in Merida. Now that he
was encomendero-designate of Zapotitlan, Puilha, and Tahbalam Bravo
had even greater reason for not wishing to furnish a record that could be
used by Garcia in an appeal to a higher tribunal. In subsequent litigation
Garcia claimed that the notary now refused Gonzalez' request for copies
of the Tixchel count and assessment proceedings, but the actual facts seem to
have been somewhat different. It appears that Bravo offered to furnish
copies of such papers as were in his possession on payment of the usual fees
but protested that he could not make a complete record to date since
Governor Cespedes had torn up the petition of April 10. Gonzalez in turn
refused to accept an affidavit without a copy of this document. The reason
for his refusal is obvious, for a record of the case that contained no evidence
chat formal protest had been made against the 1569 assessment would have
little value for Garcia's purposes. The result of this legal farce was that
Garcia again failed to obtain the documentary data needed for an appeal in
proper form on the merits of the case. The chief responsibility for this
situation rested with Cespedes, who destroyed Gonzalez' pet'tion of April
10, but we suspect that Bravo, as an interested party, also had a hand in this
tactic which could only have the effect of delaying formal litigation before
a higher court.^^
*3 This version of the April 10 hearing before Governor Cespedes and the controversy
204 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Realizing that further action before the Yucatan authorities was futile,

Garcia now turned to the audiencia in Mexico City. His attorney gave the
tribunal a factual review of the history of the case, called attention to the
obstructionist tactics of Cespedes and Bravo, and filed intention of appeal
on the major issues involved if the necessary papers could be obtained. By
decree of May 27, 1570, the audiencia directed Bravo to furnish copies of
any documents Garcia might need for this purpose within four days after
notification of the said decree.^^ There was evidently some delay in trans-
mitting this order to Yucatan, for it was not communicated to Bravo until
the following November (1570). In the meantime Bravo had taken effective
measures to strengthen his own position as encomendero-designate of Zapo-
titlan.

Little is known concerning the course of events in the Zapotitlan area

for several months after Fray Juan de Santa Maria's visit in March-April
1569, Acting on instructions from Bishop Toral, the friar apparently made
other trips to the new mission from time to time to supervise the work of
the native teachers, but we have no reports for these journeys. For the year
1570, however, more information is available. This is very largely due to
the fact that Feliciano Bravo, after receiving formal appointment as en-
comendero January 1570, actively intervened in Zapotitlan affairs.
in
On February 28, 1570, Bravo WTOte a letter to the chieftains of Zapo-
titlan, Puilha, and Tahbalam to inform them that he was now their encom-
endero and that henceforth they should direct all their requests for help

to him. At some length he described his interest in their general welfare

and his desire that they should become good Christians. He also claimed
credit for the decision of the governor and bishop to send a missionary
to baptize and indoctrinate them. He charged them to heed Santa Maria's
teachings and to accept the counsel of Don Pablo Paxbolon, "a good man
who loves you much." In this letter Bravo also announced that he was
sending an image of Our Lady and an altar covering for the Zapotitlan
church and presents of hats, shirts, knives, scissors, and other articles for

the caciques.^^
The notary made arrangements with a certain Juan Nieto to take this

message and the gifts to Zapotitlan. Nieto set out sometime in March but

concerning the furnishing of copies of the Tixchel assessment proceedings is based on later evi-
dence introduced in the Garcia v. Bravo case, especially ff. 2104-051;.
''^
Two copies of the audiencia decree of May 27, 1570, are recorded in Garcia v. Bravo,
ff. i925'i;-28u, igj^v-y8.
45 Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo, AGI, Mexico, leg. 109.
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 205

got no farther than Tixchel. It seems that Paxbolon refused to supply canoes
and provisions for the remainder of the journey and indicated in other
ways that he had no desire to cooperate with Bravo or his agent. Anton
Garcia undoubtedly had a hand in this affair, for he and Paxbolon had now
joined forces to promote their own interests in Zapotitlan.^*^

Toward the end of March 1570, Fray Juan de Santa Maria gave up his
post as curate of Champoton and Tixchel. It appears that he had supported
Garcia's claims,'*'^ and we suspect that Bravo had something to do with
his withdrawal from service in the Champoton-Tixchel district. In any case
there is evidence that the notary exerted some influence in the appointment
of Santa Maria's successor, a secular priest named Juan de Monserrate.
The latter, whom the bishop instructed to take charge of the Zapotitlan
mission, promptly sponsored Bravo's cause and took measures to combat
the projects of Garcia and Paxbolon.^^
In April Father Monserrate went to Tixchel to make preliminary arrange-
ments for his first trip to Zapotitlan. In talks with Paxbolon, who agreed
to accompany him on the journey, he learned that the cacique and Anton
Garcia were scheming to move the Zapotitlan people to Tixchel. Returning to
Champoton, the priest reported this news to the provincial authorities, with
the result that Francisco Palomino promptly filed action before Governor
Cespedes to prevent execution of the plan. Palomino's petition, dated May
18, 1570, called attention to the fact that the governor had given his word
that the Indians of Zapotitlan should not be moved from their present loca-
tion. But now Paxbolon and Garcia proposed to take them to Tixchel on
the pretext that it would facilitate their religious instruction and because
Garcia, by virtue of various titles and decrees, "pretended" that they belonged
to his encomienda. "These are frivolous reasons and of no value in this case."

Consequently Garcia should be punished and charged to maintain "per-

petual silence" on the encomienda issue. Moreover, the governor should
take action to prevent the removal of the Indians from Zapotitlan to any other
place. In response to this appeal Cespedes decreed that there should be no
46 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2i'](^-^iv.
^'^
In May 1571, Don Ambrosio de Montejo, governor of Champoton, who accompanied
Santa Maria on his to Zapotitlan, testified that the friar told the Indians that Anton
first visit
Garcia was their encomendero. Similar testimony was given by Diego Paxcanan and Baltasar
Patzin of Zapotitlan {ibid., ff. 1893, 1897, 20921;).
IS Although there is no evidence that Bishop Toral actively intervened in the encomienda

dispute, he appears to have maintained a friendly attitude toward Bravo. Moreover, his letter
to Paxbolon (see p. 194, supra) indicates that he was anxious to obtain tribute exemption for
the Zapotitlan people for a term of years as a means of facilitating the missionary program. For
this reason he may have favored Bravo's cause, since the encomienda grant to Bravo provided
for such exemption, and consequently he may well have welcomed the opportunity to appoint
the notary's friend as curate of Champoton and Tixchel and missionary to Zapotitlan.
206 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

innovation in regard to the status of Zapotitlan and dispatched an order to

Paxbolon forbidding him to move any of the Zapotitlan people from their
present location. It was not until July 6, however, that his order was re-
ceived in Tixchel.^^
In the latter part of May Father Monserrate, accompanied by a young
Spaniard named Juan Vazquez Tirado, who was in Bravo's service, and
Don Ambrosio de Monte jo, governor of Champoton, set out for Zapotitlan.
They took with them the gifts Bravo had previously tried to send by Juan
Nieto and another letter from Bravo to the chieftains of Zapotitlan, Puilha,
and Tahbalam. This dispatch, dated May 20, 1570, was framed in language
similar to that of the notary's February letter. It is not surprising, however,
that it contained no admonition for the Indians to heed Paxbolon's counsel.^^
When Monserrate and his party reached Tixchel they learned that Pax-
bolon had already set out with seventy men with the express intention of
moving the Indians from Zapotitlan, The missionary pushed on rapidly
and caught up with the cacique before he had gone very far. After lengthy
argument Paxbolon and his group apparently turned back to Tixchel, and
Monserrate continued the journey to Zapotitlan. During a stay of nine
days at the mission in the first and second weeks of June, Monserrate bap-
tized several infants, laid out streets near the church, and instructed the
Indians to bring in scattered families from the forests in order to form a
compact settlement. To the principal men of Zapotitlan and those sum-
moned from Puilha and Tahbalam he read Bravo's letter and presented his
gifts. The governor of Champoton, who served as interpreter on this occasion,

certified that the chieftains promised to obey Bravo's commands. Monser-

rate also saw to it that the Indians wrote letters of thanks to Bravo, "our
^^
encomendero."
Upon his return to Champoton the missionary sent a report of his journey
to Governor Cespedes. In this dispatch he recommended that Diego Pax-
canan should be named governor of the pueblo of Zapotitlan and that Fran-
cisco Ku and Marcos Balam should be appointed to the same office in Puilha

and Tahbalam respectively. The obvious purpose of these recommendations

was to limit the influence and authority of Paxbolon in the Zapotitlan area.
The cacique was evidently determined to assert his rights in this region
as native ruler of Acalan-Tixchel, and the scheme to move the Zapotitlan
people to Tixchel was inspired in part by this ambition. During his stay in

49 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2i-]^v--](^, 2187.

50 /^ii., ff. 2182-841;.
°i Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo, AGI, Mexico, leg. 109; Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2184x7-88.
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 20/

Zapotitlan Father Monserrate also learned that the Indians were raising cacao
and maize for Paxbolon and that they were sending timber to Tixchel on orders
from the cacique. It may be assumed that they performed these services in

recognition of Paxbolon's status as their natural lord. The appointment of

local governors in Zapotitlan, Puilha, and Tahbalam, as recommended by the
missionary, would in efFect deny the cacique's rights by giving these towns
full autonomy, subject only to the superior jurisdiction of the provincial
authorities in Yucatan. It would also be a logical development of the fixed
policy of Cespedes and his aids, who had consistently refused to admit that
the Indians of Zapotitlan were former subjects of Acalan-Tixchel. It is not
surprising therefore that within a short time after receiving Monserrate's
report Cespedes issued commissions to Diego Paxcanan, Francisco Ku, and
Marcos Balam as governors of their respective settlements.^^
From the standpoint of the Indians of Zapotitlan the situation that had
developed since the spring of 1569 must have been perplexing, to say the least.

Although the promise of Governor Cespedes to leave the Indians in their

present location had thus far been kept, they were undoubtedly aware of the
fact that Paxbolon and Garcia wished to move them to Tixchel. Paxbolon
had also taken measures to impose his authority as cacique of Acalan-Tixchel
in the Zapotitlan area. As the result of Father Monserrate's intervention, how-
ever, Paxbolon's authority had been curtailed by the appointment of local
governors with autonomous authority for Zapotitlan, Puilha, and Tahbalam.
Most confusing of all were the conflicting claims of Garcia and Bravo. As
we have seen, in the summer of 1569 Garcia summoned the principal men of
Zapotitlan to Tixchel, where they formally recognized him as their encom-
endero. But now Bravo had informed them that he was their encomendero by
virtue of appointment by Governor Cespedes and that henceforth they
should look to him as their protector and address all their communications
and requests to him. Moreover, both Garcia and Bravo claimed credit for
support of the missionary program initiated by Fray Juan de Santa Maria.
Consequently it was probably true, as Bravo claimed, that the Indians were
"disturbed and upset" and wished to have this situation clarified. This "un-
rest," for which the provincial authorities were largely responsible, now
served Bravo as a pretext for other moves to promote his own interests.

Toward the end of October 1570, Bravo informed the provisor of the
diocese of Yucatan that Father Monserrate was making preparations for a

second trip to Zapotitlan. The notary also presented a bell, images, and other

52 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2188^-90.

2o8 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

ornaments which he had purchased for the Zapotitlan church and requested
the provisor to certify that they were suitable for the purpose intended and
to send them to the missionary. The provisor acceded to this request/'^ Al-
though Bravo alleged that he had received a letter from the Indians of his
encomienda asking for the bell and ornaments, no such document is found

in the papers which constitute Bravo 's defense in the litigation with Garcia.
The real purpose for sending these articles to Zapotitlan at this time will be
revealed in the succeeding paragraphs.
Before Monserrate set out for Zapotitlan an important event occurred.
On November 14, 1570, when Bravo was in Campeche on official business,

Garcia presented the decree of the Audiencia of Mexico described above (see
p. 204, supra). By this action Garcia served notice that he intended to press
his claims and to carry an appeal to the audiencia as soon as he obtained copies
of the necessary papers, which Bravo, by the terms of the decree, was ordered
to provide without delay. The notary realized therefore that prompt action
was necessary to strengthen his own position and to oppose his rival's claims.
So instead of giving an immediate reply he hurriedly made plans to accom-
pany Monserrate to Zapotitlan. His alleged reason for going to Zapotitlan at

this time was to "tranquilize" the Indians and quiet their unrest. There can
be little doubt, however, that his actual purpose, as Garcia later protested, was
to take personal possession of Zapotitlan as encomendero.^^
Early in December Bravo went to Tixchel, where Father Monserrate, Juan
Vazquez Tirado, and others were already waiting. Paxbolon's services were
also enlisted for the trip to Zapotitlan, although we suspect that the cacique
consented to accompany the expedition because it would enable him secretly
to protect his own interests. Leaving Tixchel on December
8, 1570, Bravo and

his party rapidly crossed Laguna de Terminos and proceeded up the Rio de
Acalan, or Candelaria. That the notary was in great haste is indicated by the
fact that he traveled day and night and reached the sluggish upper course of
^^ Ibid., flF. 2i9o-9ax'.
Copies of the audiencia decree in the Garcia v. Bravo papers contain a supplementary
^*

statement dated November lo, 1570, which purportedly describes the notification proceedings
on that date (flf. i928z;^3oz;, 1978-80). This record states that Bravo gave obedience in the usual
form by kissing the decree and placing it upon his head and promised to make copies of the
documents requested by Garcia as soon as he returned to Merida, where the original papers
were on file. But the record does not end here. It goes on to state that Bravo protested that
his own interest in the Zapotitlan affair was entirely unselfish and that he had incurred heavy
expense in support of the new mission. Moreover, at great hardship and risk he had made a
personal visit to Zapotitlan to quiet the unrest of the Indians. But this trip occurred after No-
vember 14, 1570, and not before. In other words, the notification record, although dated No-
vember 14, was subsequently added by Bravo and was not made by the attesting notary whose
name appears at the end of the record. This means that Bravo not only failed to make imme-
diate reply to the decree but kept possession of it until after nis retturn from Zapotitlan in
December 1570. Garcia did not fail to call attention to this fact in subsequent litigation.
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 209

the Candelaria above the rapids and falls on the afternoon of December lo.

The following day he covered the 5-league overland stretch to Zapotitlan.^^

On December 12 Bravo made a lengthy speech to the Indians assembled
in the village church. He told how Governor Cespedes, as soon as news had
been received of their "discovery," had placed them under his care and pro-
tection and had later named him as their encomendero. In fulfillment of his

obligations he had sent priests to baptize and teach them and had provided
ornaments for their church. In addition he had sent gifts of clothing and
other articles for their principal men. Now he had come in person to visit
them and "to undeceive them" concerning certain things they had been told
and which had caused unrest among them. He assured them that the gov-
ernor's promises that they would not be moved from their present location
and that they would be exempt from tribute for a stated period would be
scrupulously observed. He also wished them to know and understand that
his sole interest as their encomendero was to promote their general welfare

and to help them to save their souls by facilitating the work of the mission-
aries.

This harangue was recorded in a document signed by Father Monserrate,

Juan Vazquez Tirado, Paxbolon, and Miguel Huncha, the maestro de doctrina
serving in Zapotitlan. A copy was later filed with other papers in Bravo's
defense in the encomienda litigation.^*^ Although this document was intended
to prove Bravo's unselfish motives, it is significant, as an indication of the
notary's true purpose, that the record is entitled "Possession." It also states

that after Bravo made his speech the principal men "embraced him" and
promised to do his will. Moreover, although there is no mention of Garcia
in this document, Diego Paxcanan, governor of Zapotitlan, subsequently testi-

fied that Bravo explicitly told the Indians that they had no obligation to give
tribute to Garcia.^^
Further evidence of Bravo's actual motives is provided by another inci-
dent of December 1 2 , concerning which no reference is made in the document
described above. We have already noted that in the spring of 1569 a bell and
various ecclesiastical ornaments were sent from Tixchel for the Zapotitlan
church and that Garcia later purchased others for the Tixchel church to
replace them. Consequently the items sent from Tixchel were in effect gifts by
Garcia as encomendero of Acalan-Tixchel. Monserrate and Bravo now in-
55 For a derailed account of Bravo's trip to Zapotitlan, see Appendix B, pp. 421-24, iiifra.
56 GarciaBravo, ff. 219317-961;. Another copy of this document is found in the Probanzas
v.
of Feliciano Bravo, AGI, Mexico, leg. 109.
5 Testimony of
'^
Diego Paxcanan, Campeche, March 28, 1571, in Garcia v. Bravo, f. 1894.
Baltasar Patzin, another Indian of Zapotitlan, confirmed Paxcanan's testimony on this point
(ibid.,i 1898).
 .

2IO ACALAN-TIXCHEL

formed the Indians that these ornaments actually belonged to the Tixchel
church and should be returned, for it was illegal for them to possess the
property of another church. In their place the provisor of the diocese had sent
a new bell, images, and ornaments. It is evident, of course, that these new
ornaments were those which Bravo had purchased and presented to the pro-
visor in the preceding October. At first Paxcanan and the other chieftains
refused to give up the bell and furnishings from Tixchel, but they finally
consented to their removal under threat of excommunication by the priest
and a warning by Bravo that a fine of 200 pesos would be imposed if they
persisted in their opposition. This sordid affair clearly reveals Bravo's pur-
pose to impose his will as encomendero of Zapotitlan and to undermine
Garcia's claims.^^
On December 14 Bravo and Monserrate set out on the return trip to Tix-
chel, where they arrived on the i6th. The short stay in Zapotitlan and the
evident haste of the journeys both going and returning also prove that some
great urgency, viz., the recent developments in the encomienda controversy,
had prompted Bravo's expedition. From Tixchel Bravo immediately pro-
ceeded to Campeche and thence to Merida in order to report to Governor
Cespedes and the provisor. Monserrate apparently remained for a time in

Tixchel. In a letter to Lie. Cristobal de Miranda, dean of the cathedral church

of Yucatan, he gave account of his trip, describing the hardships encountered
in passing through the rapids and falls of the Rio de Acalan en route to
Zapotitlan. He petitioned the dean to obtain his removal from the "banish-
ment" area where he now served, an obvious reference to the isolation of the
Champoton-Tixchel district.'''* The documents contain no further reference
to Monserrate's missionary services, and we surmise that his removal as curate
of Champoton and Tixchel was not long delayed. His active support of
Bravo's cause was probably a major factor, however, in his transfer to a new
post.
During his stay in Zapotitlan Bravo sent out a summons to the governors
of Puilha and Tahbalam. He also instructed his servant, Juan Vazquez
Tirado, to remain in the country until these men arrived and to arrange for
the transfer of their people to Zapotitlan, where lands and house sites had
5® The based largely on the testimony of Diego Paxcanan and
story of this incident is

Baltasar Patzin, Indians of Zapotitlan, and Bravo's servant, Juan Vazquez Tirado (Garcia v.
Bravo, ff. 1893V-94, iSgjv-gS, 2012-14). Although Bravo evidently tried to have Monserrate take
the leading part in demanding removal of the Tixchel bell and ornaments, he later testified that
it was done on his own authority in the name of the governor and bishop. His testimony care-

fully avoids any mention, however, of the threat of a 200-peso fine if the Indians refused to
permit removal of the bell and ornaments (ibid., zoiov-iyo)
59 Monserrate to Miranda, Tixchel, December 16, 1570, in Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2199^-22011;.
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 2 I I

been set aside for them. The Indians from Puilha and Tahbalam finally ap-

peared a day or two before Christmas and agreed to the plan for moving the
people of their settlements to Zapotitlan. They informed Vazquez that this

would require a few weeks' time, but promised to bring their followers not
later than Ash Wednesday of the succeeding year. Vazquez in turn promised
that the missionary would return at that time to supervise the transfer.^" It
appears, however, that because of later developments in the encomienda litiga-

tion this plan for the consolidation of the three settlements in the Zapotitlan
area was not carried out.

Having finished his business with the chieftains of Puilha and Tahbalam,
Vazquez now returned to Yucatan. On this journey he was accompanied by
Diego Paxcanan and three other chieftains of Zapotitlan. Anton Garcia sub-
sequently asserted that Vazquez compelled the Indians to accompany him,
telling themGovernor Cespedes and Bravo had ordered them to do so,
that
and that it was Bravo's purpose to obtain from them formal recognition in
the presence of Cespedes that he (Bravo) was their encomendero. Both Bravo
and Vazquez denied that any pressure had been imposed to force the Indians
to make the trip and said that they came of their own accord to consult
Cespedes on certain points that troubled them. Inasmuch as the Indians later

stated that Vazquez insisted that they should accompany him, threatening to
impose a heavy penalty if they refused, we are inclined to accept Garcia's
^-^
version of this affair.

Although Bravo had apparently tried to make the trip to Zapotitlan with
as much secrecy as possible, the news soon leaked out. Suspecting the intentions
of his rival, Garcia immediately took action to protect his own legal rights.

On December 9, 1570, Garcia filed an action before the lieutenant governor

in Campeche in which he reviewed the history of the encomienda case and
called attention to Bravo's failure to fulfill the provisions of the audiencia
decree presented on November 14. Instead, Bravo had secretly gone to
Zapotitlan "to take possession" and to defraud the petitioner. Consequently
Garcia, who was ill and unable to travel to Zapotitlan to contradict such
^'^ Ibid., ff. iio-^v-o(^.
^'^
Information on this incident is scattered through the Garcia v. Bravo record. Vazquez
testified (ff. 2014-141;) that the Indians wished to consult the governor because they were per-
plexed by conflicting statements by Monserrate and Paxbolon, the latter claiming authority as
their chieftain. Bravo (ff. loz^v-i^v) stated that before he left Zapotitlan the Indians had in-
dicated a desire to go to see the governor and bishop, and that he told them they might come
with Vazquez if they wished. On the other hand Paxcanan and his companions testified that
Vazquez forced them to make the trip, telling them Bravo had ordered it. letter from the A
Indians to Garcia also states that Vazquez threatened a fine of 200 pesos if they refused (ff.
1894, 1914'^? 1996-961;).
 2

2 1 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

possession in person, made formal protest in writing against any proceedings

of Bravo in violation of his claims as encomendero of Acalan-Tixchel. A week
later Garcia reiterated this protest in a similar petition before the lieutenant.*^
Early in January 157 1, Juan Vazquez Tirado, accompanied by Diego
Paxcanan and the other Indians from Zapotitlan, arrived in Campeche. When
Garcia learned of their coming and that Vazquez was taking the Indians to
Merida, he protested to the lieutenant governor, charging that this was another
move to serve Bravo's "pretensions." The lieutenant immediately ordered that
the Indians should be detained pending an investigation. On examination Pax-
canan and his companions stated that they had received no orders from Gov-
ernor Cespedes to come
Yucatan and that they had made the trip on
to
Vazquez' demand. In the meantime Vazquez hurried on to Merida, where
Palomino and Bravo obtained orders from Cespedes that the Indians should be
permitted to continue the journey if they wished to do so. Although Vazquez
hastily returned to Campeche with these orders, the Indians apparently had
no desire to proceed to Merida and soon thereafter returned to Zapotitlan.*^
Having scored on this point, Garcia now took action to prove that he had
given full support as encomendero to the missionary program in Zapotitlan
and to clarify the situation regarding the ecclesiastical ornaments recently
removed from the Zapotitlan church by Bravo and Monserrate. To this end
he presented as a witness Fray Juan de Santa Maria, founder of the Zapotitlan
mission. In testimony before one of the alcaldes of Campeche on January 24,

157 1, the friar stated that he had received aid and assistance from Garcia
during the time he had served as missionary in Zapotitlan, citing receipts for
salary paid by the encomendero. He also presented the original copy of the
Zapotitlan baptismal lists of 1569 as evidence of his own activities at the new
mission. With regard to the ornaments that had been removed from the
Zapotitlan church, the friar testified "that the citizens of the said pueblo of
Tixchel, being one with those of the said pueblo of Zapotitlan, had consented
that the said ornaments should be sent" to Zapotitlan. Garcia had later pur-
chased others for the Tixchel church,*^ The most significant item of this

testimony from the standpoint of the encomienda controversy is the state-

62 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 1 905-1 1.

63 Ibid., ff. 191 1-23. Paxcanan(f. 1894) that Vazquez had not wished to enter
later testified
Campeche and around the town by way of a savanna trail. This maneu-
tried to take the Indians
ver failed, for Garcia learned of their coming and had them summoned before the lieutenant.
Palomino later sought to prove that Garcia exerted pressure on Paxcanan and his companions
and was responsible for their decision to return to Zapotitlan (ff. 2221-281;). We have no doubt
that Garcia urged them to return home. The burden of the evidence, however, shows that fraud
and threats had been employed by Vazquez to induce the Indians to accompany him as far as
Campeche.
6* Garcia v. Bravo, if. 1962-731;.
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 213

ment that the Indians of Tixchel and Zapotitlan were one people. This remark
also provides additional evidence that Santa Maria could not have made the
statements attributed to him in the document of May lo, 1569, by virtue of
which Governor Cespedes placed the Indians of Zapotitlan under the care
and protection of Feliciano Bravo.
Further action in the case was suspended until the arrival of Don Diego de
Santillan, successor of Cespedes as provincial governor, who took office in

Merida on March 12, 1571.^''' Bravo evidently realized that with the coming
of a new governor Garcia would press his claims with increased vigor and
that his own position, now that he would no longer have Cespedes' support,
had become untenable. On March 10, only two days before Santillan assumed
authority, Brayo resigned the encomienda of Zapotitlan in favor of the
Crown.^® By this maneuver Bravo apparently hoped to remove himself as a

party in subsequent litigation and to embarrass Garcia by forcing him to fight

out the case with the treasury officials, who had charge of the administration
of Crown towns.
Toward the end of March Garcia started proceedings before Santillan to
substantiate the claim that the Indians of Zapotitlan were his tributaries and to
prove that without being defeated at law he had been deprived of his rights

as encomendero. As part of the proceedings Garcia also filed an accusation

against Bravo on the following charges: (i) that Bravo, as governmental
notary, had failed to furnish copies of the necessary papers for an appeal to the
audiencia; (2) that he had not complied with the audiencia's decree of May
27, 1570, of which he had received notification on November 14, 1570; (3)
that the visit of Bravo and his companions to Zapotitlan in December 1570,
which was characterized by false statements to the Indians, the forced removal
of the bell and ornaments from the village church, and threats of punishment
if the Indians disobeyed orders, constituted trespass on Garcia's rights as
encomendero. Juan Vazquez Tirado and Father Monserrate were also made
defendants on the third charge.
As supporting evidence Garcia presented numerous documents, including
his titles as encomendero of Acalan, the 1560 decree of the Audiencia of
Guatemala confirming these titles, the tribute assessments for Acalan in 1553

and for Tixchel in 1561, and copies of the proceedings in Campeche in No-
vember-December 1570 and January 1571. During the trial Bravo was finally

obliged, on order of Santillan, to furnish copies of the Tixchel assessment

documents of 1569 and available papers relating to the protests subsequently

®° Molina Soli's, 1907-13, 1 : 120.

^^ Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2231-331;.
214 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

filedby Garcia and his agent, Juan Gonzalez. At Garcfa's request sixteen
witnesses were summoned for examination on the basis of a lengthy interroga-
tory in which the complainant set forth the major points he wished to prove.
These witnesses included Diego Paxcanan and Baltasar Patzin of Zapotitlan,
Don Pablo Paxbolon and two other Indians from Tixchel, Don Ambrosio de
Monte] o, governor of Champoton, Lucas Garcia Caltzin, a Spanish-speaking
Indian from San Roman near Campeche whose knowledge of Acalan affairs

was said to extend over a period of thirty years, and prominent citizens of

Campeche, Merida, and Valladolid. Among the Spaniards were Juan Vela,
Gomez de Castrillo, Bias Gonzalez, and others who had personal knowledge
of the Acalan country.
These witnesses gave ample testimony to establish the following points:

(i) that the Indians of Zapotitlan were former Acalan subjects and spoke the
language of Acalan-Tixchel; (2) that in years past the Zapotitlan people had
paid tribute to Garcia and to other encomenderos of Acalan; (3) that during
the disorders resulting from the forced removal of the Acalan many of the
Indians had fled to the old homeland where they reassembled at Zapotitlan;

(4) that the count and assessment of Tixchel in 1569 had been made despite
Garcia's protest that a revision of tribute which failed to take into account
the fugitives would be prejudicial to his interests; (5) that Cespedes had
subsequently refused to recognize Garcia's claims to Zapotitlan and had ob-
structed his efforts to obtain justice. The testimony also substantiated Garcia's
charges against Bravo, Vazquez Tirado, and Monserrate.^"
The declarations of the Indian witnesses have special importance in re-
lation to the origins and tribute status of the Zapotitlan people. Lucas Garcia
Caltzin, who had gone to Acalan in 1557 with Fray Diego de Pesquera and
had accomxpanied Bravo to Zapotitlan in December 1570, stated that he had
known many of the Zapotitlan Indians when they lived in Acalan and that
"they are all of one language with those of Tixchel, born and raised in and
proceeding from Acalan and its subject settlements." Diego Paxcanan, gov-
ernor of Zapotitlan, testified that he had known Garcia since his appointment
as encomendero of Acalan, that in earlier years the Zapotitlan refugees had
paid tribute to him, and that the Indians of Zapotitlan and Acalan "are all one
people and of one language.""^ Similar testimony was given by Baltasar Patzin,
who also stated that he had lived in Acalan when Pesquera forced the Indians
^'^
The testimony of Garcia's witnesses comprises ff. i89oi'-i904i;, 2o6i-8or, 2083-98 of the
Garcia Bravo record. The Zapotitlan and Tixchel witnesses
v. testified on March 28, 1571, and
the others in the second week of May.
68 Paxcanan, said to be sixty years old, also stated that he knew these facts to be true be

cause "since childhood he had lived and resided in the said pueblos of Acalan and Zapotitlan."
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 215

to move to Tixchel and that he was one of those who later ran away. The
Tixchel witnesses and several of the Spaniards also made explicit statements
in support of the Acalan origin of the Zapotitlan people and their former
status as tributaries of Garcia.

Bravo summoned no witnesses in his own defense, resting his case on

various petitions of objection, a lengthy personal statement in reply to the
charges,*® and documents recording his Zapotitlan activities. He made excuses
for his failure to provide copies of the Tixchel assessment papers and played
for further delay on this point during the trial. An order of Santillan in
answer to repeated demands by Garcia finally forced him to furnish them.
Bravo denied that selfish interest had motivated any of his Zapotitlan activi-

ties. On the contrary, he had merely acted in accordance with Cespedes' in-
structions to aid and protect the Indians and to assist the missionary program.
To this end he had spent a considerable sum of money without any material
reward. He was forced to admit, however, that removal of the bell and orna-
ments from the Zapotitlan church had been carried out on his initiative and
authority, although he sought to justify it on the ground that these items had
belonged to the Tixchel mission and had been sent to Zapotitlan without con-
sent of the Tixchel Indians. This was an obvious misstatement of fact, as Santa
Maria's testimony proves. During the trial Garcia also charged that receipts
of salary paid by Bravo to Monserrate were fraudulent, to which Bravo gave
no satisfactory answer.^°
During the entire proceedings Bravo stubbornly maintained the old line

of argument that Zapotitlan was located in a new and unknown land and that
the people had all been heathens. With regard to the encomienda issue he
insisted that he was no longer an interested party and that the treasury officials
should assume responsibility for litigation on this point. Although these officials

went through the motions of demanding possession of Zapotitlan in the name

of the Crown, it was evident, as Garcia took pains to point out, that they
realized that they had no case. They summoned no witnesses and based their

demand for possession on Cespedes' grant of encomienda to Bravo, the papers

illustrating Bravo's support of the Zapotitlan mission, and his resignation of
the encomienda to the Crown. No attempt was made to challenge Garcia's
claims on the major issue, viz., that the Zapotitlan people were former tribu-
taries of Acalan-Tixchel.
Governor Santillan finally pronounced his decision in the case on June
This declaration, made on May 2, 1571, constitutes the most comprehensive statement of
69

Bravo's defense (Garcia v. Bravo, if. 2018-31).

''o
Although Garcia submitted no proof of this charge, evidence that Bravo had tampered
with other documents lends some support to the accusation.
 6

2 1 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

1 8, 157 1. He declared that Cespedes had unlawfully dispossessed Garcia of

his encomienda rights in Zapotitlan, Puilha, and Tahbalam, and that conse-
quently the grant of these towns to Bravo was null and void. Since Cespedes
had no right to make this grant, Bravo in turn could not resign it to the Crown.
Therefore Garcia should be placed in possession and he should not again be
dispossessed without being defeated at law in accordance with royal decrees
regulating procedure in encomienda disputes.'^^ Moreover, since Cespedes had
exceeded his legal authority in this case, it should be made a charge against
him in his residencia and the Garcia v. Bravo record should be incorporated
in the proceedings as evidence. Bravo was fined 30 pesos gold and forbidden
to enter the Zapotitlan area for ten years. His servant, Vazquez Tirado, was
fined 120 pesos and condemned to perpetual banishment from Zapotitlan.'^^

Upon notification of the decision Bravo made formal protest and gave
notice of an appeal to the audiencia. There is no record that such an appeal
was actually made. Among other points listed in his petitions of protest Bravo
complained that he had spent a considerable sum of money in behalf of the

Zapotitlan mission and called attention to the fact that he had resigned the
encomienda to the Crown on condition that if it were regranted to another
party the latter should repay him. According to the terms of the decision the
resignation was declared null and void inasmuch as Bravo never possessed a
valid title to Zapotitlan. It is quite possible, however, that in imposing a light
sentence on Bravo the new governor took into consideration what the notary
had spent on the Zapotitlan mission. In any case the heavier sentence imposed
on Vazquez seems unjust, for he was a youth of only eighteen years and as

Bravo's servant had merely carried out orders. The charge against Cespedes
was formulated as Article 39 of the residencia indictment to the effect that the
former governor illegally granted the Indians of Zapotitlan to Bravo without
proper investigation as a personal favor to the notary. Santillan found Cespedes
guilty on this charge and imposed a penalty of six months' banishment from
Merida."^^ The complaints against Father Monserrate were referred to the
ecclesiastical authorities, but we have no record of their action.
71 On this point the decision evidently refers to the Law of Malinas of 1545, confirmed and
clarified by
a royal decree of 1550. This legislation provided that in the case of an encomienda
dispute resulting from conflicting claims or titles, the parties involved should submit ififorma-
ciones, or evidence, of their respective claims to the audiencia within a prescribed period of
time. The
audiencia should then close the record and transmit it to the Council of the Indies for
meantime there should be no dispossession of the party holding the en-
final decision. In the
comienda by virtue of prior claim or title. At Garcia's request copies of these decrees were
introduced into the Garcia v. Bravo record (ff. 2i43'y-50i;) a few days before SantiUan handed
down his decision.
^2 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2238-401;.
73 Residencia of Don Luis Cespedes de Oviedo, AGI, Justicia, leg. 250, f. 604, leg. 251, f.
750^;.
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 21']

Although Bravo must have suffered a certain loss of prestige as a result

of the Zapotitlan affair, his position as chief governmental notary, which he

had purchased a decade earlier, was in no way threatened. This office gave
him great influence in provincial administration and most of the governors
worked in close cooperation with him to their mutual benefit. Cespedes evi-
dently gave Bravo the encomienda of Zapotitlan, as well as another grant in
Tabasco, as reward for the notary's support in other phases of local govern-
ment. We shall see that Santillan and his successors employed Bravo in vari-
ous commissions and offices of trust.

Palomino's office of defender of the Indians was also an important post.

In later years Palomino carried on a long and bitter campaign against the
encomenderos, seeking to reduce the tribute burden, to alleviate the evils of

forced labor, and to effect other reforms. We are of the opinion that his role
in the Zapotitlan affair was inspired by a desire to relieve the Indians of tribute
for a term of years, as Cespedes decreed. There is also some evidence, at least

for later years, that Palomino found it expedient to maintain friendly relations
with Bravo in order to facilitate litigation in behalf of the Indians."^^

The decision of June i8, 1571, gave Garcia unqualified possession of

Zapotitlan, Puilha, and Tahbalam as part of his encomienda of Acalan-Tixchel.
So far as we know his rights were never again challenged. In the case of
Zapotitlan the decision was obviously called for by the evidence presented.
Although Garcia had a less valid claim to Puilha and Tahbalam, in view of
the fact that most of the Indians were evidently Yucatecan Maya fugitives,

he had a stronger case than Bravo, for some of the Indians were Chontal and
the settlements were apparently located within the confines of the Acalan
area. By order of Santillan the pueblos of Zapotitlan, Puilha, and Tahbalam
were counted and taxed on the same basis as those of Tixchel, but when
Garcia sought to collect the tribute the Indians protested on the ground that
the former governor had promised them exemption from tribute for ten
years.As we should expect, Palomino supported the Indians on this point.

Appeal was made to the audiencia, but the decision of this tribunal is not
known.^^ Inasmuch as Garcia's claim to encomienda rights in Zapotitlan,
Puilha, and Tahbalam was not involved in this appeal, a decision favorable
to the Indians would merely have postponed the payment of tribute until
1579, when the ten-year period of exemption would have expired.
Santillan's findings in the encomienda case were forecast by an earlier

7* Palomino to the king, Merida, October 2, 1572, AGI, Mexico, leg. 99.
75 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, fF. 6-8.
 8

2 1 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

decree of March 30, 157 1. This document confirmed Don Pablo Paxbolon's
title as cacique and governor of Acalan-Tixchel and provided that he should
have charge of local administration in the Zapotitlan area, exercising such
authority as the successor of former rulers of Acalan. Thus the cacique finally
obtained recognition of his own claims and achieved the end he had sought
from the beginning of his Zapotitlan activities in i^66J^
Now that Garcia's encomienda claims had been upheld and Paxbolon had
been placed in control of local affairs in Zapotitlan, the encomendero and
cacique were in a position to carry out their earlier plan to move the Indians
to Tixchel or to sites in the Tixchel district. Although Cespedes had promised
that the Indians should remain where they were, their transfer to another loca-

tion could easily be justified on the ground that the old settlements were far

away and that the difficulty of travel from Tixchel hampered the missionary
effort. The removal of the Indians to new sites took place sometime between

1 57 and 1573. Most of the inhabitants of Tahbalam and Puilha were appar-
1

ently congregated in a single settlement called Xocola and later known as

Mazcab or Mahazcab. In one report it was also called Puhila (Puilha). The
Indians of Zapotitlan were resettled in a village known for many years by
the same name but later called Tiquintunpa. The position of these new settle-
ments, which were not far apart, cannot be accurately determined, but the
available evidence indicates that they were located in the Mamantel area
southeast of Tixchel. Xocola (iMazcab) was probably situated on the river
near the modern settlement of Mamantel. Zapotitlan (Tiquintunpa) was evi-
dently closer to the Gulf coast.^^ (See locations on Map 4, where the town
names are given as Tiquintunpa and Mazcab.)
76 Ibid., ff. 8v-gv.
The
Spanish version of the Acalan narrative states that the Indians were brought to a
''''

place called Hunlucho, and then adds: "And thus the people of Zapotitlan and Xoquelha were
settled." A
document of 1604 (Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II; AGI, Mexico, leg. 359)
records a site named Chumluchu or Chunlucho some distance in the interior, probably some-
where in the region of modern Matamoros. In describing the events of 1583-84, resulting in
the founding of Popola, the Acalan narrative refers to a site called Puila near Chunuitzil. Since
Chunuitzil, or Chacuitzil, was apparently in the same general region as Chunlucho, this may
indicate that some of the Puilha people settled in this area. It is quite clear, however, that most
of the Indians from Puilha, Tahbalam, and Zapotitlan were moved to sites closer to Tixchel
and to the Gulf coast. A
report of 1582 (DHY, 2: 62) indicates that the new village of Zapotitlan
was some 8 leagues from Tixchel. The town of Puilha (evidently Xocola and not the place
called Puila near Chunuitzil) was said to be in the same locality as Zapotitlan. Although the
Mamantel River is more than 8 leagues from Tixchel, other evidence points to a location in the
Mamantel area for Zapotitlan and Xocola. The name of the latter town appears as both Xocola
and Xoquelha in the Acalan narrative. Xocola means "river" in Maya, and Xoquelha is the
Hispanicized form of the Chontal word xocelhaa, which has the same meaning. Thus a river
location is indicated for this town. In 1584 the settlement of Popola was founded near the
"embarcadero" of the Mamantel, evidently toward the end of permanent canoe navigation on
the upper course of the river. This site was apparently halfway betwen Xocola and Chiuoha,
the latter being located farther inland than the modern site of Chivoja on A. Chivoja Grande.
 ZAPOTITLAN EPISODE 219

The reasons for resettling the Indians of Zapotitlan, Puilha, and Tahbalam
at siteson or near the Mamantel instead of moving them to Tixchel are not
entirely clear. Lack of sufficient farmland close to Tixchel to accommodate
an increased population may have been one factor. The Indians may have
consented to leave the Candelaria area on condition that they should occupy
separate villages. We are of the opinion, however, that choice of sites in the

Mamantel region was largely prompted by Paxbolon's desire to extend his

influence and authority over an expanding area south and east of Tixchel.
The Mamantel provided an easy route of communication to the interior coun-
try occupied by the Cehache and by an increasing number of Maya fugitives

from northern Yucatan.'^ During the latter part of the sixteenth century a
flourishing trade developed between the frontier settlements of western and
northern Yucatan and these unconverted and apostate Indians in the south-
central part of the peninsula. The Mamantel settlements of Zapotitlan (Tiquin-
tunpa) and Xocola (Mazcab) would give the cacique control over the river
trade and communications between the Gulf coast and the interior country
and would also serve as convenient outposts from which he might extend his

control over a larger area. In Chapter lo we shall describe Paxbolon's activities

as a frontier leader and his efforts to enlarge his political and administrative
authority in the region southeast of Tixchel.
The removal of the Zapotitlan people from the Candelaria country brings
to an end our narrative of events in the old Acalan homeland. Small groups of
Indians apparently occupied sites in this area from time to time in later years,

but the region as a whole was now very largely unpopulated. In the seven-
teenth and eighteenth centuries the Terminos district was exploited for dye-
and logwood and occasional expeditions undoubtedly penetrated to the upper

Thus Xocola was evidently situated downstream from Popola, probably in the region of the
modern site of Mamantel. We also know that the new village of Zapotitlan was somewhat nearer
the coast, since Paxbolon traveled first to this place, thence to Xocola, and on to Chiuoha, when
he pacified the Chiuoha people in 1574. The 1582 report, cited above, indicates, however, that
Zapotitlan and Xocola were not far apart. In the seventeenth century Zapotitlan (then always
called Tiquintunpa) and a town called Mamantel were joined to form a single mission (Lopez
de CogoUudo, 1867-68, bk. 4, ch. 19). This place called Mamantel was probably the earlier
Xocola, or Mazcab. Other seventeenth-century sources also indicate a closer geographical rela-
tionship between Tiquintunpa (Zapotitlan) and Popola than between Popola and sites to the
north such as Chekubul and Chiuoha (which by this time had been moved to the present site
of Chivoja or nearby). Note that on Map 4 the towns of Zapotitlan and Xocola are recorded
as Tiquintunpa and Mazcab respectively.
's Modern maps extend the Mamantel inland for only a short distance, i.e., about 30 km.

Earlier maps carry its tributaries far into the interior. Although these older maps are probably
inaccurate, it is interesting to note that the documentary sources of the early seventeenth cen-

tury indicate that it was possible to travel by canoe from the Bolonpeten, or Isla Pac, area to
Popola on the upper Mamantel, at least at certain seasons of the year. Thus the Mamantel evi-
dently served as a route of communication and trade from the Gulf coast into the interior as
far as Isla Pac and beyond. Cf. pp. 276-77, infra.
2 2O ACAL AN-TIXCHEL

reaches of the Candelaria and its tributaries. Eighteenth-century maps also

show a trail known as the "camino de la provincia" crossing the Candelaria
country from Yucatan proper to the Usumacinta, a route which approxi-
mates that followed by the recently constructed standard gauge railroad from
Campeche to Tenosique. In the nineteenth century enterprising individuals
established estancias along the lower Candelaria. One of these modern pioneers
was an American named Henry Pawling, who accompanied J. L. Stephens
from Central America to Carmen in 1840. As we have noted in Chapter 3, it
was Pawling who first blasted channels through the rapids and falls of the
Candelaria. In recent times the chicle industry has been responsible for in-
creased traffic on this river and for exploration of the lands drained by its

two major branches, the Caribe and San Pedro. For the history of Acalan-
Tixchel, however, the Candelaria country has no importance after 1571-73-
Henceforth the Tixchel district is the center of activity for the history of
the Acalan Chontal.
 Developments in the Tixchel Area, 15 74-1604

THE PRESTIGE of Don

sult of the events described in the
Pablo Paxbolon was greatly enhanced
preceding chapter. By
as a re-

effecting the
pacification of the Zapotitlan people he had demonstrated his ability as an
Indian leader and established a reputation for loyal service to king and Church.
He had also succeeded in extending his own authority as cacique of Acalan-
March 30, 1571, gave him jurisdiction
Tixchel. Governor Santillan's decree of
over Zapotitlan, Puilha, and Tahbalam/ and his control over the Indians of
these settlements was made more effective by their transfer to new sites in
the Mamantel region. On February 15, 1573, Santillan also named Paxbolon
military captain of the Tixchel district with authority to organize detachments
of native warriors and to lead them into the interior to effect the reduction of
unsubdued Indians.^ By virtue of these commissions, which were granted as a

reward for his services and in recognition of his hereditary rights as lord of
the Acalan Chontal, Paxbolon achieved the status of a native territorial ruler
within the framework of provincial administration and became the outstand-
ing Indian figure in southwestern Yucatan.
The record of Paxbolon's frontier activities subsequent to the Zapotitlan
affair begins with the year 1574 when he made a journey to Chiuoha located
southeast of Tixchel. In Chapter 8 we have already mentioned this site as the

place to which Don Luis Paxua, Paxbolon's cousin and his predecessor as lord
of the Acalan people, fled in 1557. The Chontal Text states that in the fol-
lowing year Paxbolon "discovered" the pueblo of Chiuoha, where he learned
that Paxua had died as the result of illness.

Document Illb of the Spanish version of the Text gives an account of the
1574 entrada. Here we are told that in April 1574 Paxbolon obtained informa-
tion concerning a settlement of idolatrous fugitives in the interior from two
Indians of Xocola (Mazcab) . Although his informants had visited the place,
they professed ignorance of its name and the size of its population. The
narrative relates that when Paxbolon received this report "he wanted to go
there at once, by virtue of the commissions he held from the governors who
1 Cf. pp. 217-18, supra.
2 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, ff. 91;-! o.

221
222 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

ruled this province [of Yucatan] for the purpose of bringing out such idola-
trous wild Indians."
With a force of loo Indians from Tixchel, Paxbolon proceeded to the new
settlement of Zapotitlan (Tiquintunpa) near the Mamantel, from there to
Xocola (Mazcab), and then went on to a place called Tachunyupi. From
here he advanced toward the settlement of the "idolaters" and came upon
them unaware. At first they were hostile, and one of their warriors, named
Pazelu, attempted to shoot Paxbolon with an arrow. But when the principal
men named Paxmulu and Paxtun, "saw that it was Don Pablo,
of the village,
they went to him and said: 'Lord, whether you come for war or come for us
or come to kill us, here we are, do what you like.' " Paxbolon explained that
he did not come to make war or to seize them but to preach the word of God
and to urge them to live as Christians under the rule of the Spanish sovereign.
In this way he overcame their fears, and within two or three days the women
and children who had fled into the forest at his approach were brought back
to their homes.
Some of the Indians were persuaded to return to Tixchel, where they
were instructed in Christian doctrine and eventually baptized. In the course
of time a church was built in the settlement and vestments and other ecclesias-
tical ornaments were sent from the mission at Tixchel. The narrative ends
with the statement that "this pueblo mentioned above isnow China (Chi-
uoha)."
This version of the Chiuoha incident was written about 1610. As we
might expect, it magnifies the role played by Paxbolon and stresses the re-

ligious motive. It also raises important questions concerning the location,

origin, and status of the Chiuoha settlement. Discussion of these points is

postponed for the present in order to give another version of the affair based
on a contemporary account recorded in the probanzas of Feliciano Bravo.^
Early in 1573 Governor Santillan sent Bravo to Tabasco to organize an
expedition for the pacification of certain groups of heathen Indians living in
the region southeast of Tenosique. The story of this expedition, made in
April-May 1573, is told in Appendix D. On December 2, 1573, Santillan's
successor, Don Francisco Velasquez de Gijon,^ appointed Bravo, who by
this time had returned to Merida, to the post of lieutenant governor of Tabasco
with instructions to investigate local administration in that area. Velasquez
also authorized him to take suitable action to bring about the conversion of
heathen Indians in the interior between Yucatan and Tabasco.

3 Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo, AGI, Mexico, leg. 109.

* Velasquez de Gijon succeeded Santillan in the autumn of 1573.
 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TIXCHEL AREA 223

On his way to Tabasco Bravo stopped in Tixchel for a conference with

Paxbolon, the results of which are recorded in a decree issued by Bravo at
Puerto Escondido on December 28, 1573. In this document Bravo stated that

"having heard and understood that toward the region of Taquichel iMacatlan
[Cehache-Mazatlan] there are a certain number of heathen Indians m settle-
ments who might be easily converted," he had gone to Tixchel to discuss with
Paxbolon the best means to achieve this end. It was agreed that Paxbolon, "as
a person who knows the language of the said Indians and is accustomed to
have dealings with them," should cro to visit them and ascertain whether they
would become Christians and submit to Spanish authority. For this purpose
Paxbolon was authorized to take as many Indians as might be necessary. On
his return from Tabasco Bravo would take appropriate action on the basis

of Paxbolon's report.
In accordance with this agreement Paxbolon, in April-May 1574, "went
to where the Indians were at the site of Chiuoha, where he found and as-
sembled more than fifty persons," who voluntarily agreed to become Chris-
tians and to give obedience to the king. This journey is undoubtedly the one
we have described above on the basis of the account in the Spanish version
of the Acalan narrative. This account, however, does not mention the pre-
liminary discussions with Bravo and makes it appear that Paxbolon had acted
entirely on his own initiative. In August 1574, when Bravo returned from
Tabasco and received Paxbolon's report, he sent a message to the Indians at
Chiuoha asking them to come out to meet him at some place nearer to Tix-
chel. His excuse for not goingall the way to Chiuoha was that the rainy

season would make the journey too difficult and hazardous.

Accompanied by Paxbolon and two Spaniards, Bravo started inland toward
the end of August and after an arduous journey, partly by canoe and partly
on foot through swampy country, he met his messengers and five Indians
from Chiuoha at some milpas called Tacalha. The Chiuoha men wore their
hair long in accordance with heathen custom and were clothed only in loin-
cloths. At first they were afraid, "because they had never seen or spoken to
other Spaniards." With Paxbolon serving as interpreter. Bravo explained that
he had come to tell them about the Christian way of hfe and that they should
promise obedience to the Crown, whose representatives in Yucatan would
guarantee the freedom of their persons and property. If they voluntarily
accepted Christianity, they would be exempt from tribute for a term of years
and would subsequently be royal tributaries. At the end of this harangue he
asked if they wished to be baptized and become vassals of the king, and they
replied in the affirmative. Whereupon Bravo assured them of the royal pro-
224 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

tection and promised to tell the governor and bishop about them. As a sign

of friendship he presented gifts of mantas, hats, pieces of colored cloth, and

scissors. The Indians in turn gave him a cake of copal and a little copper idol
(idolillo de cohre) "as a sign that they wished to abandon their idols and
sacrifices and become Christians."
At the end of the document describing this parley we find the following
statement: "And these Indians spoke in the language they call nianac chon-
tal,^ and they said that their chieftain (el mas principal de ellos) is named
Apaxmulo-Apaxtian-Nachacquilnitzachan-Amaquacelu." What the Indians
probably said was that their principal men were named so-and-so, etc. The
names as recorded by the scribe are obviously garbled, but it is possible to
identify at least three of them: Apaxmulu, Apaxtun, and Amacua-celu. Pax-
mulu and Paxtun, as we have seen, are mentioned in the Acalan narrative of
this incident. Amacua-celu may possibly be two names, Amacua and Celu.
Although it is something of a conjecture, the long combination, Nachacquil-

nitzachan, m_ay record the names Acha, Quiuit, and Chacchan, or possibly
Acha-quiuit and Chacchan. In any case the identifiable names are Chontal
and were in common use in Acalan, Tixchel, and Zapotitlan. The lack of
Christian names indicates that the persons listed had not been baptized.
On December 15, 1574, Bravo made a full report of this affair to Gov-
ernor Velasquez de Gijon. The latter formally received "the settlement and
land of Chiuoha" under the protection of the Crown and promised to see that
the Indians received religious instruction. A few days later the matter was
brought to the attention of Lie. Cristobal de Miranda, dean of the cathedral
church of Merida and administrator of the diocese in the absence of Bishop
Landa.^ Miranda announced that he would instruct the priest stationed near-
est to Chiuoha to take charge of missionary work there.

The data recorded in the Bravo papers and in the Spanish version of the
Chontal Text definitely prove that Chiuoha was a Chontal settlement. The
Indians spoke the Chontal language and their names were Chontal. The bur-
den of evidence also indicates that they were unconverted heathens. Although
the Text narrative describes the Chiuoha people as "cimarrones," which
usually means fugitives who had reverted to a heathen state, the contem-

° This name for the language is of considerable interest, since manac, unlike the term

Chontal, does not appear to be a Mexican word. The usual Maya name for this language was
Putunthan. Manac is defined in the Motul dictionary as meaning "something distant or re-
moved." In the Yocotan dialect of Chontal muhnaat has almost the same meaning, although we
doubt that it is from the same root. The name Manac Chontal might be derived from either of
these words, but it is largely a matter of conjecture (Ciudad Real, 1873, 2: 452; Motul dictionary,
1929, p. 604; Blom and La Farge, 1926-27, 2: 474).
s Landa was in Mexico City at this time.
 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TIXCHEL AREA 225

porary Bravo documents call them "salvajes" and "infieles," terms normally
employed to designate unconquered heathens rather than apostate fugitives.

It is also significant that neither the Text narrative nor the Bravo papers
record Christian names for any of the Indians. Moreover, we have the state-

ment that the men who met Bravo at Tacalha had never before seen or spoken
to Spaniards.
Although Bravo's decree of December 28, 1573, suggests that he may have
known about the Chiuoha settlement prior to his meeting with Paxbolon
earlier in the month, we are inclined to believe that he merely had a general

knowledge about groups of unconverted Indians living in the south-central

part of the Yucatan peninsula and that it was Paxbolon who directed his at-

tention to the Chontal of Chiuoha. It seems clear from Bravo's account of the
conference at Tixchel that Paxbolon had already estabhshed contact with this

group. This may have been as early as 1558, although we are of the opinion
that the alleged discovery of Chiuoha by Paxbolon in that year actually refers

to the entrada of 1574.^^ Whatever the truth may be on this point, the cacique
evidently had knowledge of the settlement and doubtless desired to bring this
remnant of the Chontal people under his jurisdiction. Bravo's visit offered the
opportunity \o achieve this end under the guise of a missionary enterprise, and
Paxbolon shrewdly took advantage of it. The native chronicler who wrote
the post factum account of the Chiuoha episode in the Acalan narrative nat-
urally stressed the religious motive and gave Paxbolon entire credit for its

success.

The new mission at Chiuoha was made a visita of the Franciscan convent
at Campeche and was served by the friar assigned to the Tixchel district.^
The Text narrative mentions a certain Fray Bartolome Garzon as the person
who baptized some of the Chiuoha people in 1575. For administrative purposes
Chiuoha was placed under the jurisdiction of Paxbolon, governor and cacique
of Tixchel.
The evidence that Chiuoha was a settlement of unsubdued and uncon-
verted Chontal is of considerable significance for the ethnography of the
Yucatan Peninsula. It is a matter of some importance therefore to determine
the location of the site and, if possible, to form some conclusion whether or
not it was occupied at the time of the conquest. Definite answers on these
points would help to define the linguistic frontier between Maya and Chontal
in preconquest times.

'
See note 4, p. 171, svipni.
8 The
missions of Champoton and Tixchel, secularized by Total, were reassigned to the
Franciscans by Bishop Landa soon after his arrival in Yucatan. Cf. pp. 237, 238-39, infra.
226 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Modern maps record a site named Chivoja on the Arroyo Chivoja Grande
about 30-32 km. airline southeast of Tixchel. We doubt, however, that this
was the place visited by Paxbolon in the spring of 1574. The report of the
cacique's journey in the Bravo papers give no indication of the route from
Tixchel to Chiuoha, nor does it record a time schedule for the journey. Like-
wise, we have no data to fix the location of Tacalha, where Bravo met the
Chiuoha men in the following summer. The Acalan narrative states, however,
that Paxbolon traveled by way of the new settlements of Zapotitlan (Tiquin-
tunpa) and Xocola (Mazcab) and a site named Tachunyupi. From this last

place it was about a day's journey to Chiuoha. If we are correct in locating

Zapotitlan (Tiquintunpa) and Xocola (Mazcab) in the Mamantel region,
then such a route would have been roundabout in case Paxbolon's destination
was the modern Chivoja. A direct overland route would have been shorter, and
since the cacique made the trip in the dry season it probably would have of-
fered no great difficulty. Although Bravo visited the country in the rainy
season of 1574, he undoubtedly could have traveled by canoe from Tixchel
to modern Chivoja by way of Sabancuy estuary, Laguna de Terminos, and
the Arroyo Chivoja Grande, and it would not have been necessary to ask the
Indians to meet him at some point closer to Tixchel. Finally, the story of the
founding of Popola, to be related below, indicates a location for this settle-
ment on the upper course of the Mamantel halfway between Xocola (Mazcab)
and Chiuoha. Such a location would not make sense if Chiuoha were situated
at or near Chivoja. Everything considered, it would appear that the site visited

by Paxbolon in 1574 was located farther inland east of the headwaters of the
Arroyo Chivoja Grande. (See Map 4.) In later years, however, the settlement
was apparently moved closer to the coast, probably at or near modern Chivoja.
This is indicated by various data concerning Chiuoha in the seventeenth cen-
tury, documents. The statement in Document IIIB of the Acalan narrative,
written about 16 10, that "this pueblo ... is now Chiua (Chiuoha)" suggests
that the removal to a new site had already taken place.
The Maldonado-Paxbolon probanza of 161 2 imphes that Chiuoha was
settled by Acalan refugees who fled into the forests as the result of Cortes'

visit in 1525.^ We have already expressed doubt, however, that many of the
Acalan permanently abandoned their homes and lands at that time.-^° Some
may have done so, but the site of Chiuoha was a long way from the Itzam-
kanac area. There was plenty of inaccessible forest country nearer at hand
with good soiland living conditions similar to those in the old homeland to
9 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, passim.
10 Cf. p. 121, supra.
 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TIXCHEL AREA 227

which they could have withdrawn. Moreover, in view of the fact that the
Text goes to so much trouble to explain the Acalan origin of the Zapotitlan
people, we should certainly expect that it would also give clear indication that
the Indians of Chiuoha were Acalan fugitives, if such were the case.
It also seems very unlikely that Chiuoha was founded as late as 1557 by
Don Luis Paxua and other fugitives from Tixchel. Although Paxua was prob-
ably accompanied by a few faithful followers, the Text narrative, which is

the sole source that records the ruler's flight to Chiuoha, contains no evidence
that any sizable group abandoned Tixchel at that time. This is in striking

contrast with the Text statement that a large number fled in 1560-61 with
Diego Paxcanan and associates. It is evident, of course, that Chiuoha was not
a large place, for the Bravo report of Paxbolon's entrada in 1574 states that
the cacique assembled about fifty persons. It adds, however, that there were
other Indians, presumably Chontal, in the surrounding bush and forest. The
most convincing evidence that Chiuoha was not founded by Tixchel fugitives
in 1557 consists of two facts: ( i ) less than twenty years later the principal men
were unconverted heathens without Christian names; (2) the positive state-
ment that the men who met Bravo at Tacalha had never before seen Spaniards.
In view of the foregoing we are of the opinion that the people of Chiuoha
had lived in the region southeast of Tixchel since preconquest times. That
such was the case is nowhere specifically stated, but it would not be surprising
if a group of Chontal continued to live in that area after the Acalan leaders
abandoned Tixchel in the fifteenth century. Since all other known Chontal
villages, so far as we can recall, were found on or near canoe-navigable water,
we surmise that Chiuoha was originally located on some stream or bayou
tributary to Laguna de Terminos. If they were living farther inland in 1557
and thereafter, it must have been because they had retired from the proximity
of Spanish activities on the Gulf coast. The site of Chivoja on Arroyo Chivoja
Grande, to which they probably moved sometime subsequent to 1574, may
have been the original location of the village.
Whether or not Chiuoha was subject to the rulers of Itzamkanac is a
matter of conjecture. The fact that Don Luis Paxua took refuge there in
1557 might possibly suggest that the Chiuoha people recognized his authority
and lordship. On the other hand, the omission of Chiuoha from the list of
seventy-six towns in Document II of the Chontal Text implies that it was
not one of the subject settlements. We are inchned to beheve that it was
an autonomous village, although the people may possibly have given a nomi-
nal allegiance to the Itzamkanac rulers as leaders of the Chontal in the Can-
delaria area.
2 28 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

As a result of the Chiuoha episode Paxbolon further increased his prestige

as an Indian leader and strengthened his control over the frontier area south-
east of Tixchel. The history of his later activities deals very largely with his
efforts to eifect the pacification and resettlement of various groups of Yu-
catecan Maya v^ho had fled to the swamp and forest country adjacent to the
Tixchel district.

The flight of Indians from the mission towns of northern Yucatan to the
unpacified regions in the eastern, central, and southern parts of the peninsula
began within a few years after the conquest and continued at an accelerated
rate during the last quarter of the sixteenth century and throughout the seven-
teenth. Some of the fugitives abandoned their homes to escape the burden of
tribute and labor imposed by the Spaniards; others, including native priests

and their followers, fled in order to practice the old religious cult without
interference from the missionary clergy; a certain number were fugitives
from justice; and others journeyed to the interior to hunt, to obtain beeswax
and other forest products, or to barter with the forest Indians, and never re-
turned. In some cases they left in small groups with their families, but there
were many who abandoned their wives and children and formed new family
ties in the interior country.
Although these Indians came from all parts of the province, the majority
were refugees from the frontier towns, where flight was easiest. In the east
many fled from the Valladolid-Tizimin-Chancenote area to the east coast and
south toward Bacalar and beyond. From the Campeche, Ah Canul, and Xiu
districts a larger number migrated to the central regions of the peninsula
southeast of Cham.poton and Tixchel. At first the fugitives settled in small
rancherias of a few famihes each scattered through the swamp and forests, but
later on larger settlements were formed under the leadership of one or more
chieftains. A report of 1604 lists more than a dozen such settlements in the

central southern part of the peninsula. In the interior the Indians reverted to
pagan customs, and the 1 604 report indicates that the ah kins, or native priests,

exerted considerable influence in the government of the villages.^'^

The fugitives in the region southeast of Champoton and Tixchel pene-

trated into the northern part of the lacustrine belt occupied by the Cehache,
and at first they seem to have stood in some fear of the latter. In the course of
time, however, as the refugees increased in number, they exerted increasing
pressure on the old residents of the area, possibly absorbing some of them and
pushing most of the others into the southern district where the Cehache
were more numerous. A few Cehache rancherias appear to have survived
11 See Appendix E.
 .

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TIXCHEL AREA 229

in the northern part of the lacustrine belt as late as 1695, but the seventeenth-
century sources reveal that the fugitives dominated the region west, north,
and east of Isla Pac and that the major Cehache villages were then located
near the present Mexico-Guatemala boundary and southward toward Chun-
tuqui in the Peten.^"
The withdrawal of an increasing number of tribute-paying Indians from
the towns of northern Yucatan meant a loss of revenue for both the encom-
enderos and the Crown. ^^ The freedom of the fugitives to practice the
native religion in the interior settlements also tended to undermine mission
discipline and hindered the efforts of the clergy to stamp out idolatry
and pagan ceremonial. Moreover, the refugees threatened to some degree
the stability and security of the frontier districts. From time to time they
made raids on border towns, carrying oif women, children, and, occasion-
ally, adult men. We also hear of attacks on Indians who journeyed from
northern Yucatan to the interior to obtain forest products or to barter with
the apostates and heathens of the unconquered areas. The operations of
these raiding parties sometimes extended as far west as the Gulf coast, where
they robbed traders on the trails between Campeche and Tixchel.
The provincial authorities viewed this situation with increasing con-
cern, and during the last two decades of the sixteenth century and the early
years of the seventeenth various measures were adopted to reduce the fu-
gitives to obedience. It is interesting to find that for some years the authorities
relied to a considerable extent on certain Indian leaders to achieve this end.
In northeastern Yucatan the most prominent Indian chieftain was Don
Juan Chan, cacique of Chancenote, who was make expeditions
authorized to
to the east coast country in search of heathens and apostates. As the result
of his efforts a certain number of Indians were pacified and settled at various
places in the Chancenote district. In southwestern Yucatan Don Pablo
Paxbolon played a similar role.

The Spanish version of the Chontal Text describes Paxbolon's first

efforts in the resettlement of Yucatecan fugitives.''* Here we are told that

a group of Indians from Hecelchakan, who had migrated to the interior
12 Cf.
p. 69, supra.
13 As an example of thisphase of the problem, we may cite the case of Francisco Sanchez
Cerdan, citizen of Campeche. About 1575 fifty Indians of his encomienda fled to the interior.
With the permission of the provincial governor, Sanchez set out with a force of friendly
Indians to round up the fugitives, whom he eventually found at a site in the forests several
days' journey from Campeche. At first the refugees offered resistance, but the encomendero
overpowered them and took them back in chains to their pueblo (Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers,
Part II, ff 2S7V-6iv)
.

i*The Chontal original of Document Illb of the Spanish version, in which this episode is
recorded, is missing.
230 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

country, were attacked by another band of fugitives at a place called

Chunuitzil. This site was apparently located some distance east of Tixchel
toward Isla Pac/^ In this attack the Hecelchakan group were defeated, sev-
eral of their leaders being killed in the fray. Some of those who escaped
returned to Hecelchakan; others scattered through-^the forests, where they
wandered about "without knowing where." One of the refugees, named
Pedro Chan, who was badly wounded, finally made his way to the Gulf coast
and thence to Paxbolon's estancia near Tixchel, where he told the story of the
defeat and rout of his companions.
Paxbolon sent out search parties from Zapotitlan (Tiquintunpa) and
Xocola (Mazcab) to round up those who had scattered through the forests,

and eventually sixty persons, including a chieftain named Juan Cauich, were
reassembled and brought to Xocola. The narrative relates that Cauich and
his followers informed Paxbolon that they wished to settle "near the embar-
cadero of Mamantel," apparently a site at the end of deep water on the
upper course of the Mamantel River. This place, said to be halfway be-
tween Chiuoha and Xocola (Mazcab), was called Popola. Paxbolon assigned
the Indians lands at this site, "and there Cauich and his companions settled."

Other sources throw additional light on this episode and illustrate the
manner in which Paxbolon made use of it for his own purposes. It would
appear that the cacique, after hearing Pedro Chan's story, journeyed to
Merida to obtain permission to search for the Hecelchakan refugees and
to settle them at a new site in the Tixchel area. It is interesting to find, how-
ever, that the grant of authority issued on this occasion took the form of a
general contract, or capitulacion, setting forth terms and conditions under
which the cacique might undertake the pacification of any group of fugi-
tives or heathen Indians in the region bordering the Tixchel district. This
document, dated June 7, 1583, was signed by Dr. Diego Garcia de Palacio,

oidor of Mexico, who served as visitador of Yucatan in 1583-84, and by the

provincial governor, Don Francisco de Solis.

This contract authorized Paxbolon to employ suitable measures to effect

the reduction of apostates and heathens in the interior country and to re-
settle them in new
where they might receive adequate instruction in
villages

Christian doctrine. The document also mentioned plans for opening a road
from Champoton to the Usumacinta River that would pass through the
region controlled by the cacique, and it stipulated that any new settlements
should be located near this route in order to facilitate the religious instnic-
15 The
general location of Chunuitzil, later called Chacuitzil, is indicated by various docu-
ments of the period 1604-15. Cf. discussion of the Chacuitzil mission in Chapter 11 and Map 4.
 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TIXCHEL AREA 23 I

tion of the Indians and to provide convenient stopping places for travelers
on the road. All Indians, heathen or apostate, reduced to obedience by
virtue of this agreement should henceforth have the status of royal tribu-
taries and should never be granted in encomienda to any Spaniard. The
heathens should also be exempt from tribute for ten years; apostate fugitives
were promised tribute exemption for one year and a general pardon for
their disloyalty to king and Church. The contract guaranteed to Paxbolon
certain privileges and rewards, as follows: (i) that all the Indians pacified
and resettled by his efforts should recognize and obey him and his descend-
ants as their caciques and give them the services and aid customarily paid
by other Indians of Yucatan to their hereditary caciques and lords; (2) that
he should hold office for life as governor of all new settlements founded
by virtue of the agreement and that no corregidor or other Spanish official

should exercise local jurisdiction over them; and (3) that he and his heir
should receive an annual gratuity of .20 peso for each Indian brought to
obedience, this sum to be paid from the tributes levied on such Indians.^^

The resettlement of the Hecelchakan refugees at Popola was evidently

carried out under authority granted by this contract. In the autumn of
1583 Pedro Martin de Bonilla, encomendero of Hecelchakan, tried to inter-
vene and establish contact with the fugitives, doubtless with the intention
of forcing them to return to their pueblo. Paxbolon promptly opposed this
move on the ground that it would antagonize the Indians and create diffi-

culty in reassembling them at a new site in accordance with the agreement

of June 7. As a result of this protest the visitador, Garcia de Palacio, gave an
order, dated October 29, 1583, forbidding the encomendero or any other
Spaniard to interfere with Paxbolon's activities.^^ The Acalan narrative states
that the search for the refugees lasted eight or nine months, so we may date
the actual founding of Popola in the first half of 1584.

The contract of 1583 is a rather remarkable document, in view of the fact

that one of the contracting parties was an Indian. On various occasions the
colonial authorities entered into agreements with Spanish colonists who
proposed to undertake the pacification of unsubdued areas or peoples in
the Yucatan Peninsula, but so far as we know this is the only case of a formal
contract with an Indian authorizing the reduction of rebellious and heathen
groups. None of the commissions granted to Paxbolon's contemporary,
Don Juan Chan, cacique of Chancenote, were in the nature of a contract

1^ Copy of the agreement of June 7, 1583, is in Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, ff.

27^-30.
1^ Ibid., S. iot;-ii.
232 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

nor did they confer such extensive privileges and rewards, although Chan,
by virtue of his many services, his descent from a pre-Spanish Maya lord,

and his marriage with a noble woman descended from a chieftain of Mayapan,
might well have claimed similar consideration/'^ The contract of 1583 and
the supplementary decree issued by the visitador in the autumn of the same
year clearly demonstrate that Paxbolon was able to enlist powerful sup-
port in governmental circles and that he enjoyed the respect and confidence
of the provincial authorities. The Popola episode also serves as further evi-
dence of the cacique's skill in making use of the missionary and political

motives of Spanish conquest to advance his own interests.

In 1587 Paxbolon informed the provincial governor, Don Antonio de

Vozmediano, that another opportunity to effect the pacification of "forest
Indians" had now presented itself and requested confirmation and renewal
of the contract of 1583. This petition was granted.-^® Under this new grant of
authority Paxbolon subsequently made an entrada into the interior, con-
cerning which the only available report is a document filed before the lieu-
tenant governor of the province in 1591 by Francisco Maldonado, son-in-law
of the cacique.
This source states that Paxbolon, having learned that a large number
of fugitive Indians had settled in the bush and forest country of Mazatlan
(the Cehache area), set out with a group of his own people for the place
where they were living. After a long and difiicult journey, "through thick
bush, lagoons, and swamps," he finally reached the settlements only to find
that the fugitives had been warned of his coming by Indian traders from
Campeche and that many had fled farther into the interior. He rounded up
those who remained, gave them presents, and quieted their fears, explaining
that if they submitted they would be well treated and received under the royal
protection. In this way he succeeded in bringing out seventy-nine persons,
part of whom he settled at Popola and the others at Tixchel, "where they
are now being indoctrinated." Although most of these Indians were evidently
apostates from northern Yucatan, it appears that some were unconverted
pagans, for Maldonado reported that "those who are heathens are being
taught and instructed in the things of our holy Catholic faith preparatory
to baptism and admission into the fraternity of our holy mother Church."
The unconverted may have been Cehache or descendants of apostate fugitives
born in the interior. To all of these Indians Paxbolon had given food and
supplies; he had had them build houses; and he had assigned them farmland,
18 Probanza of the merits and services of Don Juan Chan . . . , AGI, Mexico, leg. 140.
1^ Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, ff. ii-iiu.
 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TIXCHEL AREA 233

"so that they may remain permanently [where they are] and pay that
[tribute?] which your Grace may order and command." "°
Maldonado presented a hst of the Indians who had been resettled (this
document is now missing) and requested fulfillment of the contract terms
in reward of Paxbolon's services on this occasion and his earlier frontier
activities. The phraseology of the document suggests that no action had

hitherto been taken to confirm the cacique's rights in regard to Popola, al-
though the Indians settled there had doubtless accepted him in fact as their

cacique and governor. It appears therefore that Maldonado now sought

formal recognition and confirmation on behalf of his father-in-law of all

rights, privileges, and rewards that were due for past services under the
contract originally issued in 1583 and renewed in 1587.
Although the lieutenant, by decree of June 17, 1591, expressed approval
of Paxbolon's services and ordered fulfillment of the contract, he ruled that
its provisions applied, in the case of fugitives, only to those who had fled

to the interior prior to the date of the original agreement. This limitation
would not affect the status of the people settled at Popola in 1584, but
in the case of apostates more recently brought to obedience it meant that
those who had run away subsequent to 1583 could be returned, on orders by the
provincial governor, to their encomenderos. The lieutenant decreed, however,
that all the Indians who had been brougrht in from the Cehache area should
remain where Paxbolon had settled them, pending further orders by the
governmental authorities. If any of them were later returned to their origi-
nal settlements, the encomenderos should pay Paxbolon one peso per head
for his labor in bringincr them out of the forests.^^

This decree formally confirmed Paxbolon's rights as cacique and gov-

ernor of the Hecelchakan refugees living at Popola. It also confirmed any
claim he might have made for an annual gratuity from the tributes of these
Indians, although any such sum would have been small. Later documents
contain no specific reference to the second group, pacified subsequent to
1587 and settled at Popola and Tixchel. The converted heathens would, of
course, have remained under Paxbolon's jurisdiction, since the lieutenant
governor's interpretation of the contract of 1583 had no application in
the case of such Indians. Eventually some of the apostates may have been
sent back to their encomenderos; others, who had fled to the Cehache
country prior to 1583, doubtless remained permanently in the Tixchel area
where Paxbolon had settled them.
20 Ibid., ff . 26-27 V.
21 Ibid., ff . 30-301'.
 —

2 34 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Nothing more is known concerning Paxbolon's frontier activities until

the year 1599, when events occurred which resulted in the founding of an-
other new settlement in the Tixchel district. For this episode Document
IIIc of the Chontal Text is the only source available.
This narrative relates that a group of apostates from northern Yucatan
under the leadership of a certain Pedro Tzakum-May terrorized the country
south and southeast of Champoton, where they "roamed in all directions"
and committed various acts of violence. At a place called Holha, probably
near the modern site of Holail, they killed a number of peaceful Indians
from Campeche and other frontier settlements who had gone to the interior
to hunt and to collect beeswax. On another occasion they attacked Indian
traders on the coastal trails south of Champoton and robbed them of the
goods they were carrying. When Paxbolon learned of these developments,
he petitioned the provincial governor, Don Diego Fernandez de Velasco,
for permission to search for the raiders and seize them. The governor
promptly authorized him to use as many men as might be necessary for this
purpose. Accordingly, the cacique recruited a force from all the villages
under his jurisdiction and set out toward Usulaban, a site northeast of Tix-
chel frequented by Tzakum-May and his followers. In the meantime the
Indians of Champoton had organized a similar expedition and had dispersed
the raiders at a place called Kinacanal.^^ The latter now fled south to Usulaban,
where Paxbolon and his men seized them. "In all there were about four score
[or] five score with their women and children. VVe took them to Tixchel."
Here the children and three or four adults were baptized by Fray Diego
Mejia de Figueroa, who had charge of the Tixchel mission.
Paxbolon questioned these people about the land through which they
had wandered, and they informed him "that it was suitable for houses, milpas,

[and] cacao groves." Whereupon Fray Joseph del Bosque, Mejia's assistant,
was sent out to inspect the country, presumably to select a site where the
fugitives might settle. After a tour through the region east and north of
Tixchel, Bosque brought back a favorable report and informed his superior
that it contained ample milpa land for all of the Indians of the Tixchel dis-
trict. The friars now proposed to Paxbolon that all the existing villages
Tixchel, Zapotitlan (Tiquintunpa), Xocola (Mazcab), Chiuoha, and Popola
—should be consolidated into a single town at a new site in this area, where
"religious instruction [and] the Holy Gospel could be administered to all

of them together." After some discussion the cacique and his principal men
22 We are unable to locate this site, although it was evidently somewhere between Cham-
poton and Usulaban.
 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TIXCHEL AREA 235

agreed to the plan, and the matter was also taken up with the encomendero
of Tixchel, Mateo de Aguilar. Subsequently the defender of the Indians,
acting on behalf of the interested parties, presented the proposal to the pro-
vincial governor, who eventually gave his consent. The site of Usulaban,
located a short distance inland from the upper reaches of Sabancuy estuary,
was chosen for the new settlement.^^

The preliminary discussions and the legal formalities must have taken
considerable time, for the governor's decree approving the plan was not
issued until some time in 1602. In the same year the Crown ordered the
secularization of the Tixchel mission, thus removing it from the jurisdic-

tion of the Franciscans.^* The secular priest. Father Juan Rodriguez, who
was assigned to Tixchel in 1603, evidently opposed the location of a new
mission center at Usulaban on the ground that its inland location would
make travel to it difficult in the rainy season. It also appears that he lacked the
leadership and missionary zeal of the friars, who had sponsored the scheme
for the founding of a new concentration settlement as a means of facilitating
the religious instruction of the Indians in the Tixchel area. In any case, the
plan was now abandoned, and the Chontal Text cited the removal of the
Franciscans from the Tixchel mission as the primary cause.
This suggests that Paxbolon and his principal men had never been en-
thusiastic about moving from Tixchel and had agreed to do so only be-
cause they had been subjected to considerable pressure by the friars. Al-
though the concentration of the Indians in a single town would have strength-
ened Paxbolon's control over them, it would also have meant the abandon-
ment of outposts in the Mamantel area that served as points of contact for
trade with the Cehache and other unpacified groups and for extending the
cacique's influence in the interior country. Moreover, Tixchel occupied a
more advantageous location than Usulaban in relation to the coastal trade
between northern Yucatan and Tabasco. Finally, we doubt that Paxbolon
and his advisors would willingly have abandoned a site so long associated
with the history of their people.
Although the plan to establish a large settlement at Usulaban was never
carried out, a certain number of Indians actually settled there in a village
under Paxbolon's jurisdiction. A church was built and dedicated to San
23 The name of this site is recorded in the Chontal Text as Uzulhaban. The tentative lo-

cation given on Maps 3 and 4 is based on data of various kinds in the seventeenth-century
sources. The most explicit statement we have places Usulaban three leagues from a site called
Cucmiz, which in turn was said to be one league from Sahcabchen. (Paxbolon-Maldonado
Papers, Part II, f. 2461;.) Other evidence clearly indicates a location north of Tixchel and a
short distance inland from Sabancuy estuary.
-^ Cf. p. 239, infra.
236 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Felipe and San Diego, and the new mission was formally inaugurated by
Father Rodriguez on April Most of the people who moved to
20, 1604.
Usulaban were probably members of the band of apostate Maya fugitives
who had followed a marauding career under the leadership of Pedro Tzakum-
May until they were routed by the Indians of Champoton and finally
brought to obedience by Paxbolon in 1599. A few Chontal-speaking Indians
may have settled at the new village of Usulaban, but the predominant ele-

ment was Yucatecan Maya, as evidenced by the fact that in 161 5 both of
the local alcaldes had Maya names. ^^

At the beginning of the period under discussion in this chapter the

Tixchel district comprised three settlements: the town of Tixchel, which
was the cabecera, or administrative center, and the two villages of Zapotitlan
(Tiquintunpa), and Xocola (Mazcab) located on or near the Mamantel
River. Each settlement had its own local government, consisting of annually
elected alcaldes, regidores, and other officials, but they were all subject to
the authority and jurisdiction of Don Pablo Paxbolon as cacique and governor
of Acalan-Tixchel. Between 1574 and 1604 three m.ore villages were added:
Chiuoha (1574), Popola (1584), and Usulaban (1603-04). These were also
subject to the supervisory control of Paxbolon, although they had their own
local officials. The Indians of Chiuoha recognized Paxbolon as both cacique
and governor. In Usulaban he exercised governmental authority, and we
surmise that he also enjoyed cacique status, although the documents do
not provide explicit evidence on this point.

Thus an extensive area on the southwestern frontier of the province of

Yucatan had been brought under the control of this able Indian leader,
descended from the lords of Acalan. As a local territorial ruler he was subject
only to the superior jurisdiction of the Spanish provincial authorities. An
interesting phase of this development is the fact that the Indians under
Paxbolon's control were not all Chontal but also included a contingent of
Yucatecan Maya. Tixchel, Zapotitlan (Tiquintunpa), and Chiuoha were
Chontal settlements, although at the beginning of the seventeenth century
a few Maya may have settled permanently at Tixchel and possibly in the
other two villages. In Xocola (Mazcab) the population was part Maya and
part Chontal, the former comprising the predominant element. Popola and
Usulaban were Maya settlements, with perhaps a small number of Chontal
in the latter town.-*^ There is also a possibility that a few Maya-speaking
25 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II.
26 Ciudad Real (1873, 2: 452) reports that in 1588 the guardiania of Tixchel included four
 ,

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TIXCHEL AREA 237

Cehache, pacified by Paxbolon on the occasion of his trip to the interior

sometime between 1587 and 1591, lived at Popola or at Tixchel. In 1604

the Chontal still comprised a large majority of the total population of the
towns under Paxbolon's jurisdiction. However, the Maya contingent was
steadily increasing, and this trend continued throughout the seventeenth
century.
The town of Tixchel, which served as governmental headquarters for
the entire district, also became the administrative center of a separate mis-

sionary unit prior to 1604. In Chapter 8 we called attention to the fact that

about 1568 Bishop Toral removed the towns of Champoton and Tixchel
from the jurisdiction of the Franciscan convent of Campeche and placed them
under a secular priest nominated in accordance with the royal patronage."^
This new curacy was served at first by Fray Juan de Santa Maria, a Merce-
darian, and subsequently by Father Juan de Monserrate, a secular priest,
both of whom have been mentioned in connection with the Zapotitlan episode
(Chapter 9). Monserrate was probably succeeded in 157 1 by Father Gabriel
de Rueda. Soon after Fray Diego de Landa took office as Total's successor

in 1573, the Franciscans were again given control over the missions of
Champoton and Tixchel, which reverted to their former status as visitas
of the Campeche convent. The new settlements of Zapotitlan (Tiquintunpa)
Xocola (Mazcab), Chiuoha, and Popola were also served as visitas by the
Franciscans in Campeche. This administrative organization continued until
1585, when the provincial chapter of the Order voted to establish a convent
in Tixchel as headquarters for a separate guardiania comprising the entire
Tixchel area. Under this new arrangement the four interior missions became
^^
visitas of the Tixchel con vent.
When the next provincial chapter convened three years later (1588)
under the presidency of Fray Alonso Ponce, Commissary General of the
Franciscans of New Spain, there was some debate whether the Tixchel
convent should be maintained. The isolated location of Tixchel and the
relatively small population of the new gruardiania, as compared with the
size of other mission units in northern Yucatan, were apparently questions
that came up for discussion. The failure to provide adequate living quarters

for the two friars assigned to Tixchel may have been another factor. Ciudad

lesser settlements,two of which were Chontal, one was Maya, and the fourth, part Maya, part
Chontal. He does not give the town names in each case, but we are now able to identify them
on the basis of the data presented in Chapter 9 and the narrative of Paxbolon's activities sub-
sequent to 1574 as related in the present chapter.
-^ Cf. p. 178, supra.
28 DHY, 2: 62; Lopez de CogoUudo, 1867-68, bk. 7, ch. 9.
238 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Real relates that in 1588 the Tixchel convent was "merely a straw house,"
evidently a pole-and-thatch structure of the native type. Before the meeting
of the chapter in 1588 the principal men of Tixchel, probably headed by
Paxbolon, came to see the Commissary General and urgently petitioned that
the friars should not be withdrawn, offering to build a suitable dwelling for
them. This plea was repeated during the chapter sessions, and after some
argument the assembled friars voted to maintain the new guardiam'a set
up in 1585, thus assuring a permanent convent status for the Tixchel mission
to be served by resident friars. Ciudad Real, who regarded the Chontal as
more diligent than the Yucatecan Maya, doubtless exerted his personal in-

fluence in favor of this decision.^^

Although later sources record no specific data on the subject, there is

no reason to doubt that the Indians kept word and built a new con-
their
vent structure as a residence for the missionaries. At the same time the
village church was probably enlarged or rebuilt. The story that Paxbolon
carved images for the Tixchel church, related in the Maldonado-Paxbolon
probanza of 161 2, may well record another phase of this activity. That the
church was also equipped with musical instruments is confirmed by the
story that the cacique occasionally served as organist. Prior to 1585 the
mission was known as Santa Maria de Tixchel, but when the convent was
established the advocation was changed to La Pura Concepcion de Nuestra
Sefiora.^"

Ciudad Real states that in 1588 there were only two Chontal-speaking
friars in Yucatan. One had served as guardian of the Tixchel convent during
the preceding triennium, and the other was elected to the office in 1588.^^
The latter was probably Fray Diego Mejia de Figueroa, mentioned above,
who had charge of the mission for several years prior to 1600. During
Mejia's term of office the bishop made use of his linguistic ability by sending
young priests to Tixchel for instruction in Chontal in preparation for assign-
ment as missionaries in the Chontalpa and other Chontal-speaking districts
in Tabasco.^^ Fray Joseph del Bosque, who assisted Mejia for a time, suc-

ceeded him as guardian about 1 600 and was the last friar to hold the post.
The action of Bishop Landa in restoring Champoton, Tixchel, and
other missions to the Franciscan Order aroused considerable feeling among
the secular clergy, of whom there was an increasing number in the province.
29 Ciudad Real, 1873, 2: 452-53.
3" Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, f. 3; Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 4, ch. 19;
bk. 7, ch. 9.
Ciudad Real, 1873, 2: 453.
^'

Informacion de los servicios de Fray Juan de Izquierdo, obispo de Yucatan,

32 1595, AGI,
Mexico, leg. 369.
 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TIXCHEL AREA 239

Many of the latter were natives of Yucatan, the sons of Spanish conquerors
and colonists, and they resented the fact that relatively few appointments
were open to them, inasmuch as the Franciscans, the majority of whom came
from Europe, controlled most of the missions, including the most lucrative
posts. Moreover, since the native-born priests usually had a complete mastery
of Maya, which they had spoken since childhood, they naturally felt better

fitted to serve the Indian population than the Franciscans from Spain, who
had to learn the language after their arrival in Yucatan, Consequently there
was increasing pressure for the secularization of some of the Franciscan
missions, especially after the death of Bishop Landa in 1579. Although the

Franciscans resisted any change as long as possible, the Crown finally issued

orders in 1602 transferring the missions of Hocaba, Tixkokob, Ichmul, and

Tixchel to the secular clergy. This action was the result of urgent repre-
sentations by Bishop Izquierdo and of negotiations carried on in Spain by
Father Pedro Sanchez de Aguilar, a brilliant young priest of Yucatecan
birth.^^

Thus the Franciscans, who had converted the Acalan people and had
brought about their removal to Tixchel in 1557, permanently lost jurisdiction
over the Tixchel mission area. Henceforth it had the status of a benefice,
or curacy, served by a secular priest appointed in accordance with the rules
of the royal patronage governing ecclesiastical affairs in the Indies.^^ The
subject settlements of Zapotitlan (Tiquintunpa), Xocola (Mazcab), Chiuoha,
and Popola, as well as the new village of Usulaban founded in 1603-04, were
administered as visitas by the priest at Tixchel.
The first secular priest named to the new curacy of Tixchel was Father
Juan Rodriguez, already mentioned in our discussion of the plan to congre-
gate the Indians at Usulaban. Rodriguez received only a temporary appoint-
ment and was removable at will {amovible ad nutum) by the bishop and pro-
vincial governor. In 1605 he was removed for "just cause," and the benefice
was declared vacant. Only two candidates applied for appointment as Rod-
riguez' successor. One was Father Hernan Sanchez Tinoco, who had a knowl-
edge of Nahuatl, Chontal, and Maya and had served as curate of the Villa de
Tabasco. On April 27, 1606, Bishop Vazquez de Mercado nominated both
candidates, listing Sanchez Tinoco in first place. A few days later the pro-

vincial governor, Don Carlos de Luna y Arellano, acting as vice-patron in the

DHY, 2: 129-32; Ayeta, ca. 1693; Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 8, chs. 5-7; Carrillo
33

y Ancona, 1895, i: 341-52.

3* For an excellent short account of the royal patronage in the Indies, see Mecham,
1934,
ch. I.
240 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

name of the king, presented the preferred candidate for the vacant benefice.
Formal installation {colacion) of Sanchez Tinoco as the new curate of Tix-
chel occurred on September 30, 1606.'^^
The decision of Governor Santillan in the Garcia v. Bravo litigation,

described in the preceding chapter, confirmed Anton Garcia's claim to the

pueblos of Zapotitlan, Puilha, and Tahbalam, later moved to new sites near
the Mamantel, as part of the encomienda of Acalan-Tixchel. After the pacifi-
cation of Chiuoha in 1574 the Indians of this settlement also became tribu-
taries of Garcia. Although it seems clear that these Indians had never paid
tribute to any of the Acalan encomenderos, a claim could be made that they
belonged to the encomienda of Acalan, since they were Chontal-speaking
and may possibly have given nominal allegiance to the rulers of Itzamkanac.
The Maya fugitives settled at Popola and Usulaban evidently became royal
tributaries. In later years, however, after the Tixchel people moved to Usula-

ban, the Maya inhabitants of this town were added to the Tixchel encomienda,
probably as a means of simplifying the tribute situation.
The most important development in the history of the encomienda during

the period covered in this chapter was the formulation of a new tribute
schedule in accordance with regulations introduced by Dr. Diego Garcia de
Palacio during his visita of Yucatan in 1583-84.^^ The last general revision ot
the Yucatan tribute assessments had been made by Lie. Garcia Jufre de Loaisa
in 56 1. As noted in Chapter 8, these levies called for an annual payment of
1

three-fourths of a tribute manta, half a fanega of harvested maize, and one

gallina by each tributary. In addition, stated quantities of beans, chile, beeswax,
honey, and household utensils were furnished by most of the towns. The new
schedules introduced by Garcia de Palacio in 1583-84 required an annual pay-
ment of half a manta, one fanega of maize, and two gallinas (one turkey and
one European hen) by each tributary unit. The assessment of other items of
produce formerly paid by most of the towns was abolished. Thus the schedules
formulated by Garcia de Palacio called for payments in only three staples,
mantas, maize, and gallinas, A town with 100 tributary units would now give
50 mantas, 100 fanegas of maize, and 200 gallinas annually, and nothing more.
The visitador also introduced an important change with regard to the

33 NombramientG del obispo de beneficiados a los partidos de Tichel v Tepetitlan, 1606,

AGI, Mexico, leg. 2606.
36 During a stay of several months in Yucatan in 1583-84, Garcia de Palacio visited many

of the Indian towns, investisrating abuses in the encomienda system and revisinsr the tribute
schedules. In the eastern areas he uncovered evidence of widespread idolatry and the practice of
native religious ceremonial. Before leaving Yucatan the visitador promulgated a new series of
ordinances regulating Indian affairs which superseded those issued thirty years earlier by Lie.
Tomas Lopez Aledel (Molina Soils, 1904-13, i: ch. 7).
 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TIXCHEL AREA 24I

persons subject to tribute. Heretofore the amount of tribute payable by a

given town had been based on the number of married couples, with exemption

for persons of noble rank, the aged and infirm, and certain local function-
aries. Widowers, widows, and unmarried adults had not been subject to tax.

In formulatincr the new tribute schedule, the visitador counted all adults of

both sexes, married, Madowed, or unmarried as half -tributaries. Thus a mar-

ried couple was counted as one tributary unit and widowers, widows, and
unmarried adults as half-units.
^'^
Exemption was granted as before to Indian
nobles, the aged and infirm, and certain local officials. A town with eighty
married couples and forty widowers, widows, and unmarried adults, none of
whom would now comprise loo tributary units.
were exempt for other cause,

In short, the number of tributary units in a given town would now be equal
to one-half the total number of adults, married, widowed, or unmarried,
subject to tax.
The Chontal Text implies that the visitador visited Tixchel, although the
year is incorrectly recorded as 1586. A document of 1606 lists the amount of
tribute then paid to the encomendero of Tixchel, and the items of tribute

and proportions of each are in accordance with the schedules introduced by

the visitador in northern Yucatan.^^ We conclude therefore that the new
assessment for the Tixchel encomienda was made by Garcia de Palacio or by
one of his agents in 1583-84.
This new schedule of tribute called for an annual payment from the en-
comienda of Tixchel (comprising the towns of Tixchel, Zapotitlan, Xocola,
and Chiuoha) of 160 mantas, 320 fanegas of maize, and 640 gallinas (320

turkeys and 320 European hens) . The number of tributary units was evidently
320. On the basis of current prices in 1606 of 5 pesos per manta, i peso for a
fanega of maize, 2 reales (.25 peso) for a turkey, and i real (.125 peso) for

a European hen, the total value of the annual tribute was 1 240 silver pesos.^^
The value of the assessment for a married couple, or one tributary unit, was
31 reales (3.875 pesos); half-tributaries (widowers, widows, and unmarried
adults) paid at the rate of 15.5 reales (1.9375 pesos) .^'^
These figures show
that the value of the levy for each tributary unit had increased since the mid-

For some time widowers, widows, and unmarried adults had been counted as half-tribu-
^"^

taries in Mexico proper. Thus the visitador, who held office as a member of the Audiencia of
Mexico, applied to Yucatan the system with which he had been familiar in New Spain.
38 Minuta de los encomenderos de la provincia de Yucatan
y la renta que cada uno tiene,
1606, AGI, Mexico, leg. 1841. A printed text of this document, containing many errors, is found
in Paso y Troncoso, 1939-42, 15: 26-41.
39 report of 1606 lists the tributes on a semiannual basis. The entry for the encomienda
The
of Tixchel gives the semiannual payment as 80 mantas, 320 cargas of maize, and 320 gallinas. A
carga of maize at this time was half a fanega. The prices cited above are taken from this report.
40 For the value of the tributes in the 1550's and 1560's, see
pp. 151-53, supra.
242 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

sixteenth century, the increase being due to rising prices for mantas and maize.
The encomendero of Tixchel in 1606 was Mateo de Asuilar, a citizen of
Campeche, who held the encomienda in third hfe. The Chontal Text refers
to Aguilar as encomendero in 1599, and we surmise that he had possessed the
encomienda for several years prior to that time, although the exact date when
he succeeded Anton Garcia is not known. The fact that Aguilar held the
grant in third life obviously suggests that he had married the eldest daughter
and heir of Garcia, who had apparently possessed the encomienda of Tixchel
in second life.^^ In other sources we find reference to Aguilar as late as 161 5,
when he was alcalde ordinario of Campeche."*- At his death the encomienda
was reassigned to another citizen of Campeche (see Chapter 13).
The tribute assessment of 1583-84, which required annual payments of
mantas, maize, and fowl, may be regarded as evidence of increased agricultural
production in the Tixchel area during the last decades of the sixteenth cen-
tury. The tax schedules for the pueblo of Tixchel formulated in 1561 and

1569 had called for payments in mantas only, indicating that in these earlier
years the Indians were not raising maize and other food products in sufficient
quantity to warrant the export of such items for tribute purposes. In 1583-
84, for the first time since the Acalan were moved to Tixchel, they were
assessed on the same basis as the Maya of northern Yucatan, who had always
given food as tribute. This means that the taxing authority, after a visit to

Tixchel or on receipt of reports from that area, concluded that stated quan-
tities of maize and fowl could now be exported annually as tribute without
disturbing local economy. Further evidence of improved agricultural condi-
tions provided by the fact that in 1597, when there was a serious short-
is also

age of maize in the public granary of Campeche, supplies sent from Tixchel
helped to ease the emergency .^^
Increased maize production by the Indians of Tixchel was made possible
by the exploitation of bush and woodland areas located some distance inland
that were better suited for cultivation by the milpa system than the sparsely
forested country in the immediate vicinity of Tixchel. In the region east of
Sabancuy estuary and extending north toward Usulaban and beyond, there
was ample milpa land for all their needs and for the production of an export-
able surplus of maize. Both Paxbolon and his son-in-law, Francisco i\laldonado,
owned estancias in this region, and no doubt many other persons, lesser chief-

tains and commoners of Tixchel, cultivated tracts of good land scattered

through this same area. At the close of the sixteenth century the lands in and
*i Cf.
p. 147, supra.
42 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I. ^^ Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, ff. 39i'-4o.
 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TIXCHEL AREA 243

around Usulaban apparently marked the northern limits of this expanding

area exploited by the people of Tixchel. The Chontal Text records that one
of Francisco Maldonado's estancias was located near Usulaban in 1599, but
also indicates that this district was occasionally used as a place of refuge by
the marauding Maya fugitives who followed the leadership of Pedro Tzakum-
May. After the pacification of this group the Franciscan missionaries of Tix-
chel proposed the establishment of a large concentration settlement in this
northern area where "forested country" suitable for cultivation by the milpa
method was plentiful. Although this scheme failed, the founding of a small
village at Usulaban in 1603-04 marked the beginning of more intensive use
of the agricultural resources of this region. The new village of Usulaban
prospered, and it was to this place that most of the Tixchel people moved

when their own town was destroyed in later years (see Chapter 13),
The lieutenant governor's report of 1569, to which reference was made in
Chapter 8, stated that each household in Tixchel owned a number of turkeys
and hens, but the supply evidently was not great enough to permit payments
of fowl as tribute. The annual levy of 640 gallinas (half in turkeys and half
in hens) included in the tax schedule of 1583-84 obviously suggests therefore
a certain increase in production during the preceding decade and a half. The
report of 1569 also tells of good crops of cotton, which would have been
necessary to meet local needs and to provide a surplus for the manufacture
of the tribute mantas.** It is possible, however, that part of the cotton supply
was obtained by trade. In any number of mantas to
case, the reduction in the

be paid as tribute, as provided for in the assessment of 1583-84, would have

decreased demand for this staple, whether it was met entirely by local pro-
duction or in part by import from northern Yucatan.
In Ciudad Real's account of Tixchel in 1588 we read of the abundance
of tropical fruits, but cacao is not mentioned. Groves of cacao trees had been
planted after the founding of the town, so we infer from the chronicler's
silence in regard to this
product that the trees had not flourished and that
most of the cacao needed for local consumption was imported. Ciudad Real
states that much copal was grown at Tixchel, but we doubt this. It seems
likely that people either made expeditions to the interior to gather it or ob-
tained the gum by trade.^°
It would be of interest to know to what extent livestock was raised in the
Tixchel area during this period, but unfortunately the sources record no

** Garcia v. Bravo, f. 21371;.

*5 Ciudad Real, 1873, 2: 452.
244 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Specific data on this point. Paxbolon probably kept some cattle at his estancia

northeast of Tixchel, and some of the lesser chieftains may have owned a few-
animals. But here, as elsewhere, the common people do not appear to have
engaged in cattle raising, although the savannas near Tixchel would have fur-
nished pasturage. In Yucatan at this time few Indians owned horses. Most of
the owners were chieftains or persons of noble descent, for whom the right
to ride horseback with saddle and bridle, granted by special license, was a

mark of honor and prestige."*^ The use of horses as pack animals was a luxury
only the wealthier Indians could afford. As an outstanding Indian leader who
had rendered service to the Crown, Paxbolon had doubtless received permis-
sion to ride horseback in Spanish style. In the Tixchel area, however, the
canoe served as the ordinary means of transportation, so there was less use
for pack animals than in northern Yucatan.^^
Although there is unmistakable evidence of improved agricultural condi-
tions in Tixchel and
dependent area subsequent to 1569, the importance of
its

this trend prior to 1600-10 should not be overemphasized. Food production

had increased to some extent, permitting a certain amount of export, but the
major upward swing evidently occurred after the founding of Usulaban in
1603-04. The cumulative effect of increasing maize production in the Usula-
ban area would not be felt, however, for good many years. Moreover, both
a

before and after 1 600 fishing and commerce continued to be important factors
in local economy and contributed much to the prosperity of the entire region.
Turtle fishing was a lucrative industry. Ciudad Real reports that the in-
habitants of Tixchel manufactured tortoise-shell objects, including spoons,
rings, reels, and boxes for the Host. The handsome feather fans, for which the
town was also noted, presumably had carved shell handles. ^^ Strangely enough,
there is little if any mention in the accounts of Tixchel of the famous fishing

grounds along this part of the coast, but there can be little doubt that the
Indians engaged in this industry.
The canoe trade between Yucatan and Tabasco was also an important
source of revenue for the people of Tixchel. Salt, cotton cloth, honey, and
beeswax were carried from Yucatan to Tabasco to be exchanged for cacao
and for products from the Chiapas highlands and from Mexico. The lieutenant

46 Roys
(1943, pp. 153-54) discusses the regulations on this point and the system of licenses
granting Indians the right to ride horseback with saddle and bridle.
It is interesting to note that in 1615 when the Indians of Usulaban agreed to furnish forty
4'''

fanegas of maize to help provision the new town of Sahcabchen founded southeast of Cham-
poton they lacked horses for transporting the grain and that animals had to be brought from
Siho for this purpose (Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, flf. ^oiv-o^).
*s Ciudad Real, 1873, 2: 452.
 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TIXCHEL AREA 245

governor's report of 1569 relates that the Indians also brought out copal and
annatto from the Acalan country, which they sold in the Chontalpa, their chief
market in Tabasco.^^ Supplies of these products had doubtless been obtained
by Paxbolon and his companions during their expeditions of 1566-68 in
connection with the pacification of the Chontal refugees settled at Zapotitlan.

The founding of a mission at Zapotitlan provided occasion for numerous visits

to the upper Candelaria in succeeding years during which additional sup-

plies could have been obtained. After the removal of the people of Zapotitlan,
Puilha, and Tahbalam to new sites near the Mamantel such trips probably
became less frequent. We have no doubt, however, that for many years the
Tixchel traders journeyed to the Candelaria area from time to time to collect
forest products for sale in Tabasco and Yucatan.
Barter with the Cehache and the settlements of apostate fugitives in the
interior of the Yucatan Peninsula provided another source of profit for the
traders of Tixchel. The inhabitants of the interior needed various articles,
such as salt, cloth, knives, machetes, and axes, which could be obtained only
by trade with Indians of the towns under Spanish control. In exchange they
gave beeswax, honey, copal, and other products of the bush and forest for
which there was a ready market in northern Yucatan, Tabasco, and New
Spain. Despite the fact that the colonial authorities frowned on this trade,

which assumed a contraband character, the volume of business sharply in-

creased during the latter part of the sixteenth century and the early decades
number and size of the
of the seventeenth, due very largely to the increasing
fugitive settlements. From Oxkutzcab and other towns of the Xiu province,
from Hecelchakan in the Canul area, and from Campeche and Champoton
Indian traders followed the trails southward and eastward to the interior to
barter with the fugitives and the Cehache, and in some of the documents we
read of occasional trips as far south as the Itza country.^^ For the commercially
minded Tixchel chieftains this inland commerce offered special opportunities
in view of the strategic location of the pueblo of Tixchel.

The overland trails from Tixchel to the interior settlements were much
shorter than the north-south routes which the traders of Oxkutzcab and
Hecelchakan, for example, had to But what was more important, the
travel.

Tixchel traders could travel by canoe to the upper reaches of the Mamantel
River, from which a few days' journey would take them to the northern part
of the lacustrine belt dominated at first by the Cehache and in later times by
apostate Maya from northern and western Yucatan, Finally, the settlements
*^ Garcia v. Bravo, f. 2137^;.
5° See testimony of Pedro Uc of Hocaba in Appendix D, pp. 495-96, infra.
246 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

at Zapotitlan (Tiquintunpa), Xocola (Mazcab), Popola, and Chiuoha pro-

vided convenient points of contact with this inland country.
The sources at our disposal actually have little to say about trade between
Tixchel and the Indians of the interior. This is not surprising, for most of
the available documents were designed to prove the disinterested services of
Paxbolon to king and Church. Occasionally, however, we find statements
which leave no doubt that frequent communication was maintained between
Tixchel and the unpacified area east of the frontier settlements. Francisco
Maldonado's report of the journey made by Paxbolon to "the forests of
Mazatlan" sometime between 1587 and 1591 clearly implies that this was no
mere search expedition but was directed toward a definite area where apostate
and heathen Indians were known to be settled. In 1606 Bishop Vazquez de
Mercado, in a dispatch to the king describing the recently founded Montaiias
missions (see Chapter 11), characterized Paxbolon as "an Indian of great
intelligence with whom the forest Indians are well acquainted and also, so it

is said, carry on trade." ''^ Repeated statements in the Maldonado-Paxbolon

probanza of 161 2 that the cacique enjoyed universal respect among the Indians
of the interior also suggest frequent contacts between these groups and the
Tixchel area.
Evidence of this kind and the obvious advantages enjoyed by the Tixchel
traders lead us to believe that inland commerce constituted an important
phase of economic activity in the Tixchel area during the last quarter of the
sixteenth century and for many years thereafter. Of course, we have no way
of estimating the annual volume of this trade or the profits derived from it.

The same is true of the canoe traffic along the Gulf coast. It seems clear, how-
ever, that commerce and local industry gave Tixchel a greater measure of
prosperity than it would otherwise have enjoyed.
The bishop's letter quoted above implies that Paxbolon personally shared
in the inland trade. Indeed, we suspect that he actively controlled a large part
of this traffic and of the canoe trade between Yucatan and Tabasco. As the
dominant figure in Tixchel he was obviously in a position to direct the com-
merce of the entire district dependent on this seacoast town, and as the

wealthiest person in the community he possessed the necessary capital to

carry on trading operations on a fairly extensive scale. The Maldonado-
Paxbolon probanza of 161 2 gives the impression that the cacique was poor,
but this does not make sense. He not only owned an estancia northeast of

Tixchel but also had other property with which to dower his elder daughter
in marriage to a Spaniard. Although Paxbolon probably was not wealthy
51 Vazquez de Mercado to the king, Merida, October 12, 1606, AGI, Mexico, leg. 369.
 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TIXCHEL AREA 247

according to the standards of many Yucatan colonists of the time, there is

reason to believe that this descendant of the Acalan merchant-rulers became

something of a capitalist engaged in agriculture and commerce.
A mission report of 1 609 states that the curacy of Tixchel then contained
"over 800 Indians under religious instruction."^^ This phrase obviously refers
to the number of adults, married and unmarried, under confession. Although
it is impossible accurately to calculate the actual population of the curacy on
this basis, we estimate that the total was in the neighbourhood of 1 600 persons,
young and old.

According to the estimate given in Chapter 8, the town of Tixchel in

1569 contained at least 1260 persons. The various groups of Indians settled
at Zapotitlan (Tiquintunpa), Xocola (Mazcab), and other sites in the Tixchel
area numbered about 700 persons.^^ Adding these figures, we have a total of
i960. Thus the estimate of total population for the year 1609 represents a loss
of some 360 persons for the entire curacy.
The major cause of this decrease was probably a sharp drop in the popula-
tion of the new villages during the process of resettlement. In northern Yu-
catan the resettlement of Indians at new sites usually resulted in loss of popu-
lation, and the same was true in the case of the Acalan moved to Tixchel in

1557. Disease may have been another factor, although we have no specific
evidence of epidemics in the Tixchel area for the period from 1569 to 1609.
Since we have no separate data for the town of Tixchel subsequent to
1569, it is impossible to determine the trend of population at this place. In
view of increasing food production and other favorable economic conditions,
we might expect the population to show some increase, provided, of course,
that no major losses due to disease had occurred. It is evident, however, that
if the inhabitants of Tixchel in 1 609 exceeded the earlier total of 1 2 60 persons,
we should have to assume losses of more than 3 60 persons in the other towns.
For example, a postulated 10 per cent gain for Tixchel would necessitate
raising these losses to 486 persons, or almost 70 per cent, which would be very
high. It is evident therefore that any increase in the population of Tixchel
52 Vazquez de Espinosa, 1942, p. 126.
53 The
population of the towns of Zapotitlan, Puilha, and Tahbalam, moved to Zapotitlan
(Tiquintunpa) and Xocola (Mazcab) in 1571-73, did not exceed 425 persons, and the actual
figure may have been lower, since one report for Zapotitlan indicates a lower figure than the
usual estimate of 300 persons for this town (cf. p. 186, supra). "More than fifty" persons were
pacified at Chiuoha in 1574, and others may have been brought in from the forests in later years.
Sixty persons were settled at Popola in 1584, and a group of seventy-nine were brought in from
the Cehache area between 1587 and 1591, although some of the fugitive Indians in this group
may have been returned to their original towns. The fugitives pacified in 1599, most of whom
were later settled at Usulaban, numbered "four score [or] five score." Thus it is impossible to
form an exact estimate of the total number of persons settled in the Tixchel area subsequent to
1569, but a round figure of 700 is probably accurate enough.
248 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

prior to 1609 must have been at a moderate rate, and it is quite possible that
the population remained more or less stationary.

Paxbolon's success in expanding his sphere of action and influence on

the southwestern frontier of the province of Yucatan was due in part to his
skill in dealing with the fugitive and unpacified Indians of the interior country.
But equally important were his knowledge of European ways, gained during
his youth when he lived for several years in the Franciscan convent of Cam-
peche, and his frank acceptance of and collaboration with the aims of colonial
administration. His personal loyalty to the Christian faith and his active sup-
port of the missionary effort won the lasting respect of the clergy. The re-

peated approval of his frontier projects by the provincial authorities also

indicates that he enjoyed the confidence of influential persons in govern-
mental circles.

Marriage alliances with Spanish colonists strengthened his ties with the
ruling class. After the death of his first wife, a native woman of Tixchel,^^
the cacique married Mencia de Ordufia, daughter of Diego de Ordufia, a
long-time resident of Yucatan and Tabasco. Orduna served with the Mon-
tejos in the 1540's and later lived for several years in Tabasco, where he
learned the Chontal language. He took part in Feliciano Bravo's expeditions
from Tenosique to the Peten in 1573 and 1580 (see Appendix D), and he
appears to have had rather extensive knowledge of all the Tabasco country
and its environs. Since he is not listed as one of the encomenderos of Tabasco
in 1579,^''^ we surmise that he was a trader, carrying on barter in the Chon-
talpa and other parts of the province. This would suggest that Paxbolon's
marriage to Mencia de Ordufia was prompted by business considerations.
Ordufia's knowledge of Chontal and his contacts in Tabasco would have
made him a useful aid in the cacique's trading operations in that area.
Paxbolon had no sons by either marriage. His first wife gave birth to a

•'*
Documentof the Chontal Text states that Paxbolon's first wife was a certain Dona
I

Isabel but gives no surname.

In the Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, the name is given as
Isabel Acha. The Tixchel matricula of 1569 lists Maria YxnageLlu, or -lut?] as the cacique's
wife (cf. p. 470, infra). This suggests that Paxbolon may have had three wives: (i) Maria
Yxnacelu, (2) Isabel Acha, and (3) Mencia de Orduna. However, both the Text and repeated
statements in the Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers refer only to two, the first an Indian woman and
the second the daughter of a Spaniard. Although most of Document I of the Text was written
in 1567, the data concerning the cacique's family was evidently added in 1612, when a copy of
the Text was made to be filed in the probanza of services formulated by Francisco Maldonado.
The Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, are dated 161 2-14. It is possible that in these later docu-
ments the names of Paxbolon's mother and his first wife were somehow confused. This is not a
very satisfactory explanation, but the only other alternative is to assume that the cacique had
three wives.
55 The Tabasco encomenderos are listed in RY, i: 330-41.
 .

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TIXCHEL AREA 249

daughter, Catalina Paxbolon, who married Francisco Maldonado, a young

Spaniard of Campeche. By his second wife the cacique had another daughter,
Maria Paxbolon, who was unmarried as late' as i6i 2. The Maldonado-Paxbolon
probanza of 161 2 asserts that Maria remained single because her father was
poor and could not give her an adequate dov/ry. Although the cacique may
have given his elder daughter such a large amount that he could not make
similar provision for her half-sister, we doubt that he was a poor man in 1 6 1 2

Paxbolon probably hoped that Maria would also marry a Spaniard, but the
fact that she was a mestiza, as well as any lack of means to dower her, may
have been an obstacle to such an alliance.

Francisco Maldonado, an immigrant just out from Spain, settled in Cam-

peche about 1590. He was then about twenty-one years old. His marriage to
Catalina Paxbolon, which occurred sometime prior to June, 1591, was prob-
ably a union of convenience on both sides. For the Paxbolon family it offered
another opportunity to enhance their prestige and to consolidate their ties

with the ruling class. For Maldonado, who apparently had little money, the
dowry of the cacique's daughter provided welcome financial assistance at the
beginning of his career in a new country. The dowry probably consisted of
land in the Tixchel area. As already noted, Maldonado owned an estancia near
Usulaban in 1599, and five years later (1604), when he was asked to declare
his occupation during certain legal proceedings, he stated that he made his

living "from the operation of farms in the province of Tixchel."

In 1593 Catalina Paxbolon had a son, Martin Maldonado, who now became
next in line for the headship of the ruling house of Acalan-Tixchel. Catalina
died four years later in March 1597. Thereafter Martin apparently spent most
of his time in Tixchel under the tutelage of his grandfather. In 161 2, at the
age of nineteen, he was described as "a youth of good countenance, courteous
and kind, of good judgment and demeanor."
About 1600 Francisco Maldonado married again, this time the daughter
of a Spanish colonist. By this second marriage he had another son, of whom
we shall hear more later. As a citizen of Campeche Francisco Maldonado took
part in defensive operations against English corsairs who harassed the western
coasts of the peninsula and eventually rose to the rank of captain of artillery
in the local garrison. On one occasion he served as lieutenant captain general
for the entire Campeche jurisdiction. In 1616 he was elected alcalde ordinario
of the villa, and during the succeeding decade and a half he was twice re-
elected to the same office. Prior to 163 1 he also held appointment as an official

of the royal treasury for the port of Campeche.'^^

^6 Most of our information concerning the Maldonados is derived from the Paxbolon-
250 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

From the beginning Paxbolon apparently relied on his son-in-law to repre-

sent his interests before the provincial authorities. We have already discussed
Maldonado's petition in behalf of the cacique in 1591. Other examples could
also be cited. The Spaniard in turn made use of Paxbolon's prestige as an
Indian leader to advance his own interests. In 1603-04 a group of colonists,

of whom Maldonado was one, formed a plan to effect the pacification of the
inland country east and south of Tixchel in which the cacique was to play a
leading part. The story of this enterprise and its later developments forms
the topic of the following chapter.

Maldonado Papers, Parts I and II. Additional details are found in Expediente concerning con-
iirmation of Capt. Nicolas Fernandez Maldonado as encomendero of Calkini, 1628-31, AGI,
Mexico, leg. 242.
 The Missions of Las Montanas

BOOK 8, Chapter of his Historia de Yucatan Cogolludo gives an

INinteresting 9,

account of the founding of four new missions in the interior

of the peninsula during the first decade of the seventeenth century. These
missions are Hsted as San Francisco de Sacalum, Santos Reyes de Ichbalche,
San Juan de Chunhaz/ and San Jeronimo de Tzuctok.
The chronicler introduces the story after describing the disastrous ex-
pedition of Capt. Ambrosio de Argiielles to the east coast of Yucatan in 1602.

The major purpose made by sea from Rio de Lagartos, was

of this expedition,
to pacify the Ascension Bay area occupied by Indians who had never been
subjected to effective Spanish control. If successful in this enterprise, the com-
mander was also authorized to undertake the conquest of the Itza lands in the
Peten. But Argiielles and his companions never reached Ascension Bay. Near
Cape Catoche their ship was attacked and captured by a more heavily armed
English vessel, and they were cast ashore on a nearby beach. Three months
later they straggled home bearing the news of their unfortunate voyage."
Although the expedition ended in complete failure it had unexpected re-
sults, so Cogolludo says, "for Divine Providence used it as the means for the
conversions of other heathens." He goes on to tell how reports of Argiielles'
plans, presumably carried by traders from northern Yucatan, caused alarm
among the Indians "of the forests (Tnontanas) called Saclum, which lie to the
w^est of Ascension Bay and south of the city of Merida and villa of Campeche
between this land and that of Vera-Paz and Guatemala." These Indians, apos-
tate fugitives and heathens, feared that if the Spaniards achieved success in the
Ascension Bay area they would then try to subjugate the remainder of the
peninsula. Among were many who had been taught Spanish by
the fugitives
the missionaries and had served as sacristans and singers in the mission churches.
It was this group who were most apprehensive, fearing punishment for their
apostasy in case the Spaniards occupied the interior country by force. "These
persuaded the heathens and agreed among themselves that the best means of
avoiding the severity of arms and the disasters war would bring to them and
to their wives and children was to offer submission, giving obedience to the

1 The chronicler records this name as Chunhaas, but most of the contemporary documents
have the form used above.
2 Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 8, ch. 8.
252 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

governor and asking for missionaries to teach them how they should hve
according to our Holy Catholic Faith."
The fugitives did not dare publicly to proclaim their submission, so great
was their fear. Instead, they would be safer to establish contact
felt that it

with some friar whom they knew and

him to intervene in their behalf
to ask
with the colonial authorities. Accordingly, nine of them went in secret to
see Fray Juan de Santa Maria, guardian of the Franciscan convent of Cam-
peche,^ who promised to arrange matters to their satisfaction. The friar took
them to Merida, where the provincial governor, Don Diego Fernandez de
Velasco, received them "with courtesy and love" and accepted their offer of
obedience. The governor then conferred with the bishop and the provincial
of the Franciscan Order, and arrangements were made to send missionaries
to the interior settlements, as the Indians had requested. "These events and
the decision as to who should go took up the year 1603."
Early in the following year Fray Juan de Santa Maria, who was a proficient
Maya was named superior (comisario) of the new mission area, and
linguist,

shortly thereafter he set out for the interior, accompanied by "his new spiritual
sons." He spent all of the year 1604 traveling through the forests, visiting the
settlements and gently bringing the Indians to obedience. "So great was his
diligence that in that year he reduced and settled three provinces, which were
made were the missions of Sacalum,
guardianias the following year." These
Ichbalche, and Chunhaz, mentioned above, to which resident friars were
now assigned. Subsequently a fourth mission was established at Tzuctok.
Not content with this success. Father Santa Maria now wished to under-
take the conversion of the Itza lands to the south. However, a new governor,
Don Carlos de Luna y Arellano, who had taken office in 1604, refused per-
mission, with the result that the friar, disheartened by the governor's opposi-
tion, left the new mission field and returned to northern Yucatan. Cogolludo
states that he had not been able to ascertain the true motive for the governor's
stand, and then adds: "What is known for certain is that this gentleman wished
to conquer the Itzas and neighboring lands by force of arms and soldiers, and
to this end he wrote to the royal council of the Indies asking permission and
the title of Adelantado for his son, D. Tristan." The Council denied this
request and dispatched a decree that the conversion should be carried out by
apostolic means "without the clangor of soldiers." The chronicler also states
that this decision probably was the result of representations by the Franciscan
provincial.^
3 This priest should not be confused with the Mercedarian friar of the same name who

founded the Zapotitlan mission in 1569 (see Chapter 9).

4 Cogolludo quotes a royal cedula of August 22, 1609, to Fray Hernando de Sopuerta, pro-
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS 253

In 1607 Fray Pedro de Belena, by order of the provincial of the Fran-

ciscans, made an inspection of the new mission area and on his return gave a
favorable report of the progress that had been achieved. Guardians of the
interior convents were regularly appointed up to the year 1614. Subsequently
the missions were "lost," but Cogolludo has nothing to say about the circum-
stances that caused their abandonment.
Such, in brief, is the historian's story of the "misiones de las montaiias," or
missions of the forests. Part of his information was obtained from Fray Juan
de Santa Maria, who helped to found them. Other data apparently came from
the provincial records of the Franciscans. But the story as we have it is cir-

cumstantial and inaccurate on various points, as evidenced by contemporary

records concerning the founding of the Montanas missions and their later
history preserved in the Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers and other manuscript
sources recently come to light. The following narrative is based on these new
materials.^

In 1599 Gregorio de Funes, procurador general of the province of Yu-

catan, filed a petition in the Council of the Indies calling attention to the
seriousness of the fugitive problem and the urgent need for a remedy. He
informed the Council that Indians were leaving the mission towns of northern
Yucatan in increasing numbers to live in the forests of the interior country,
where they reverted to idolatry and other heathen customs. The forest settle-
ments menaced the security of the frontier districts, for the apostates were
growing bolder daily, making raids on the more isolated villages and attacking
Christian Indians who ventured into the forests in search of beeswax, honey,
and other forest products. Moreover, traders from the mission towns fre-
quently spent from four to six months among the fugitives, from whom they
learned "many and which they subsequently introduced
diverse idolatries"
in their own pueblos. Funes recommended therefore that the governor of
Yucatan should be instructed to take immediate action to bring the fugitives
to obedience and to settle them "in open country" where they could be kept
under surveillance and taught Christian doctrine. If it seemed best to au-

vinciai of the Franciscans in Yucatan, which acknowledges receipt of a letter from the pro-
vincial dated July 13, 1608. Sopuerta had apparently given a favorable report of missionary
progress in Yucatan, and the Crown charged him to continue the good work, corroborating the
provincial's opinion that the conversion should be carried on "solely by preaching of the Gospel
by means of its ministers, without the noise of arms and soldiers."
5 The Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, deal almost entirely with the history of the

Montanas missions from their founding in 1604 to their abandonment in 1615. There is a copy
of ff. i-75'y in AGI, Mexico, leg. 359, and in AGI, Patronato, leg. 231, num. 4, ramo 16, we have
a copy of ff. i/\.6r-2o^v. The Paxbolon-Maldonado series alone will be cited.
 .

254 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

thorize some colonist to organize an expedition for this purpose, he should

be guaranteed suitable rewards and favors.^
On June 28, 1599, the Crown sent a copy of Funes' petition to the pro-
vincial governor, Fernandez de Velasco, with a covering decree asking for a
full report on the situation. At the same time the governor was instructed to
take suitable action to stamp out the practice of idolatry.'^ Although this decree
did not specifically authorize a formal expedition against the fugitives for this
purpose, Velasco evidently concluded that this was the best way to deal with
the problem. Funes, who doubtless had mind when he
some definite project in
reported to the Council, may have influenced the governor's decision. In any
case, in December 1601 Velasco entered into an agreement with him for an

armed entrada to bring the fugitives to obedience. Funes submitted certain

conditions, some of which the governor refused to confirm without royal
approval. The most important of these was a request for a loan from the
Crown to be used for the purchase of arms and supplies. Execution of the
contract was suspended pending decision by the Council on this and other
points. The Council apparently failed to reply, and the project was never
carried out.^
Less than a month before the tentative agreement with Funes was made,
Velasco had authorized Argiielles' plan for an expedition to Ascension Bay.
Argiielles had received permission to make the journey as early as 1595, but
Velasco's predecessors had not granted adequate concessions and rewards, so
that the commander had encountered difficulty in arousing interest in the

scheme. Velasco now promised Argiielles and his men encomiendas in the

lands to be conquered (Argiielles made no demand for a loan), and prepara-

tions for the entrada were rapidly completed.^ As already noted, the expedition
sailed early in 1 602 but met disaster off the east coast.
These incidents indicate that interest had been aroused in the possibility

of bringing the unconquered regions of the peninsula under Spanish control

and that local colonists could be enlisted for such an enterprise provided cer-
tain rewards were guaranteed. They also show that Governor Velasco, whom
CogoUudo praises for aiding a purely missionary efl^ort among the Montafias
settlements,was actually committed to the use of force to reduce the Indians
to obedience. We shall see that it was Luna y Arellano, not Velasco, who ac-
^ AGI, Mexico, leg. 2999, libro D-4.
^ The viceroy of New Spain and the bishop of Yucatan were also instructed to file reports
(ibid.)
8 Copy of the contract with Funes, dated December 9, 1601, is found in Paxbolon-Mal-
donado Papers, Part II, if. loor-ioS,
9 For the terms of Argiielles' contract, dated November 23, 1601, see Lopez de Cogolludo,
1867-68, bk. 8, ch. 8.
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONT AN AS 255

cepted the Franciscan point of view that the Indians of the interior should
be pacified by apostoHc means alone. Velasco was also willing to grant reason-
able concessions and rewards to contracting parties, although he could not
agree to the use of royal funds, as Funes requested, without consent of the
Council. Funes' project had been suspended; Argiielles' expedition came to

an unhappy end. But there were other Spaniards who also sought permission
to make expeditions to the interior country and the rewards Velasco was
willing to offer.
In 1603 Francisco Maldonado and four other Spaniards of Campeche and
Merida entered into negotiations with Velasco for a contract authorizing
the pacification of fugitive and heathen settlements in the montaiias, or forests.
Maldonado's associates were Lie. Alonso Fernandez Maldonado, Inigo de
Sugasti, Cristobal de Arzueta, and Cristobal Ruiz de Ontiveros. Fernandez
Maldonado, who served as lieutenant governor in 1601, was probably the
father of Francisco Maldonado's second wife. The second partner, liiigo de
Sugasti, was also a prominent citizen of Campeche, who had achieved distinc-
tion in defensive operations against foreign corsairs on the Campeche coast
and had served as alcalde ordinario of the Villa de Campeche. ^^ Arzueta, a
resident of Merida, had served in the royal fleets and in reprisals against Eng-
lish pirates who had attacked the port of Sisal. Ruiz de Ontiveros was a soldier

of Campeche.
The project of this group was probably formulated originally by Francisco
Maldonado and Lie. Alonso Fernandez Maldonado. Because of his close per-

sonal relations with Don Pablo Paxbolon, cacique of Tixchel, Francisco Mal-
donado must have possessed considerable information concerning conditions
in the interior of the peninsula. He was familiar with Paxbolon's success in

resettling a certain number of fugitives in the Tixchel district, and there is

evidence that for several years he had been promoting some sort of scheme for
bringing the forest settlements to obedience. ^^ Having served as lieutenant
governor, Fernandez Maldonado doubtless had an intimate knowledge of
Velasco's plans and aims in dealing with the fugitive problem and the nature
of the negotiations carried on with Funes and Argiielles. Thus he was in a

position to exert considerable influence in governmental circles and also to

frame a project in terms that would be likely to receive the governor's ap-

10
Probanza of the merits and services of liiigo de Sugasti, 1598-1615, AGI, Mexico, leg. 242.
Some of the documents contain vague statements indicating that Francisco Maldonado,
11

apparently in conjunction with Paxbolon, had sponsored "explorations" in the interior country
oyer a period of five or six years prior to 1604, when Governor Velasco made a formal contract
with the five associates. Moreover, we have a statement that the forest Indians had sent word to
Paxbolon many times that they wished to be converted, but we are inclined to doubt this.
256 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

proval. Sugasti was probably brought in as an associate because of his promi-

nence in Campeche. Arzueta and Ruiz de Ontiveros would be useful because
of their military experience. But the two Maldonados were evidently the prime
movers in the enterprise now proposed. Fernandez Maldonado is always listed

first among the associates, and we shall see that he was promised the largest
reward. Francisco Maldonado conducted the final negotiations for a contract
in the spring of 1 604.
Although Paxbolon was not included as one of the partners, it is clear
that he was expected to have an important part in the plans that were being
made. The Spanish associates intended to use him as a m.eans of establishing

contact with the forest settlements and to exploit his influence among the
fugitives and heathens to facilitate the submission of these groups. The cacique
willingly collaborated in the project, probably hoping to extend his juris-
diction as a native ruler over some of the settlements.
Preliminary discussions with Governor Velasco in 1603 resulted in au-
thorization for a reconnaissance expedition to obtain more exact information
concerning conditions in the interior and to ascertain whether the Indians
would be inclined to submit peacefully. On December 21, 1603, the governor
dispatched a commission for this purpose to Paxbolon, who had been chosen
for the task.^^ It appears that the cacique had advised that it would be well to
make the Indians certain promises, such as exemption from tribute for a term
of years and a guarantee that they could continue to live in the region they
now occupied, as means of inducing them to offer obedience and to accept
religious teaching. Velasco authorized Paxbolon to give them such assurances
in his name.
Paxbolon set out from Tixchel in February 1604. After a journey of six

days he reached a district called Nacaukumil a few leagues east of Popola.

Here were two foci of settlement about a league apart containing eighty
families of fugitives. From these Indians the cacique obtained information
concerning more than a dozen other settlements located in the interior country
to the east, north, and southeast. This information was later set forth in a

mejnoria, or report, submitted to the provincial governor. A translation of

this document is presented in Appendix E.

This report begins with a brief account of the two settlements of Nacau-
kumil. The first was named Nacaukumil-taquiache. As we have noted else-
where, the first half of this name apparently means that the settlement was
located close to a river or stream. ^^ Since the Nacaukumil district was a short

12 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, ff. iiv-ii.

1^ Cf. p. 68, supra, and note 3, p. 505, infra.
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS 257

distance east of Popola, situated on the upper course of the Mamantel, we

infer that the two sites visited by Paxbolon were near the headwaters of this
river or some affluent leading into it.^^ The term taqniache evidently refers to
the lands of the Cehache, indicating that the Mamantel led toward the
northern part of the Cehache country. The report does not give the name of
the chieftains who governed the first settlement. In the second, also named
Nacaukumil, a certain Pedro Zeque (Tzek) was the leader. Later in 1604,

when Francisco Maldonado and associates made a formal entrada into the
region, these two settlements were apparently consolidated into a single mis-
sion village with Pedro Zeque as governor.
The report lists six settlements located toward the east from Nacaukumil.
In the order named these were Ixkik, Chunluch, Zapebobon, Tibacab, Ixtok,
and Chunpich, Ixtok, governed by two chieftains named Francisco Canche
and Antonio Pech and by six other principal men, was evidently the place
later known as Tzuctok, where a mission was established in 1605 by Fray
Juan de Santa Maria. We tentatively locate this place near the modern site
of Concepcion on the upper reaches of the Arroyo Caribe southeast of Isla

Pac. Chunpich, said to have 200 houses, was evidently a heathen settlement.
At the end of the seventeenth century a village of the same name, located 8
leagues from Tzuctok on the route to Batcab and Chuntuqui, was inhabited
by Cehache.
North and northeast of Nacaukumil were seven more settlements named
Tixchalche, Cucmiz, Ichmachich, Ichbalche, Coobziz, Ixchan, and Chekubul.
Ichbalche, which we locate between L. Mocu and L. Cilvituk, later became
the most important of the Montaiias missions, with a visita in Ichmachich.
Ixchan may be the place listed in documents of 1609-15 as Xan or Texan, a
visita of one of the Montaiias missions. Aiodern maps record a site named
Taschan between L. Mocu and Pixoyal. Chekubul was doubtless the place
where a mission subject to the curate of Tixchel was founded subsequent to
1 61 5 and probably before 1639. The modern site of this name is located
southeast of Tixchel.
Southeast of Nacaukumil was a settlement named Tazul or Tajul, gov-
erned by "fifteen captains and principal men." The report states that the
people of this settlement, having heard that Spaniards were coming to them,
had scattered because they did not wish to be Christians. They had migrated
toward Tayza, but had been attacked and routed by the Itza warriors. This
had occurred only recently, and although the people of Tazul had not re-
assembled, it was reported that they were now ready to accept Christianity.
1* Cf. discussion of the Mamantel and its affluents, pp. 276-77, injra.
258 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

We are unable to work out even a tentative location for Tazul, for the docu-
ments contain no further reference to this place. Moreover, it is not clear
whether it was a settlement of apostate fugitives or of heathen Indians.

Beyond Tazul was a place called Petox, This was a Cehache village, and
as we might expect, all of its chieftains had pagan names. It was evidently

located in the southern part of the Cehache area which extended into northern
Peten.^^ The last place mentioned by the memoria of 1604 is "the famous town
of Tayza [Tayasal] and other settlements subject to it, the names of which
are not known."
Although Chunpich, Petox, Tayza, and possibly Tazul were settlements
of heathen Indians, in most of the other places apostate fugitives comprised
the dominant element. This is indicated by the preponderance of Christian
names for the leaders of these places. It should be noted, however, that in
two cases, Ixkik and Tixchalche, there was one chieftain with a Christian
name and another with a pagan name, and in Ixchan the only chieftain named
was a pagan. These men with pagan names may have been unbaptized de-
scendants of apostates who had fled from northern Yucatan in earlier times, or
they may have been autochthonous inhabitants (Cehache) of the region.
During his stay in Nacaukumil Paxbolon informed the Indians that Gov-
ernor Velasco had promised that if they gave obedience and returned to the
Christian faith he would
them under his protection, pardon any
receive
crimes they had committed, and permit them to remain in the region they now
occupied, where friars would be sent to them. The Indians agreed to submit
under these conditions. On February 29, 1604, they wrote a letter to the gov-
ernor to this effect and asked him to confirm the promises Paxbolon had made.^^
After his return to Tixchel Paxbolon wrote an account of his journey
for Governor Velasco, with which he sent the report of villages in the interior
country and the letter from the Indians of Nacaukumil. Toward the end of
March these papers were presented to the governor by Francisco Maldonado,
who now requested formal permission in the name of his associates to under-
take the pacification of the interior settlements. On March 30, 1604, Velasco
signed a capitulacion, or contract, authorizing an expedition for this purpose.
The preamble of this document refers to the earlier negotiations carried
on by the "discoverers" with Governor Velasco and then sets forth the

immediate purpose of the proposed entrada, which was to begin the reduction
of the settlements in the region east and southeast of Tixchel, as listed in
15 Modern maps do not record anysite named Petox in this area. A manuscript map of
British Honduras, dated shows a place called Aguada Petach
1783, just to the south of Paixban
on the route from central Yucatan to Lake Peten (AGI, map no. 390, Mexican series).
1^ Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. 5-161;.
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS 259

Paxbolon's report. If this area was subjected to Spanish authority, it would no

longer be a place of refuge for discontented elements from northern Yucatan.
The preamble goes on to state that success in this enterprise would serve other
important ends. It would facilitate the opening of communications from Yu-
catan to Tabasco, Chiapas, and Verapaz; and would offer an opportunity for
it

the eventual pacification of the Itza and Lacandon lands, "concerning which
his Majesty had issued various cedulas." Therefore the governor authorized
the associates to proceed with their plans under the following conditions:
1. The reduction of the interior settlements was to be effected without
expense to the Crown.
"As requested by the
2. Indians," two or three Franciscan friars should
accompany the expedition as missionaries. The associates should furnish them
necessary supplies and ecclesiastical ornaments.
3. The entrada should be carried out in a peaceful manner without blood-
shed and without maltreatment of the Indians.
4. The fugitive Indians should remain in the region they now occupied,
except that men who had wives by Christian marriage in the towns they had
abandoned should be sent back to their respective settlements.

5. All Indians brought to obedience under this contract should be exempt

from tribute for four years. At the end of this period of exemption, heathen
groups and also fugitives who had lived in the interior for more than six

years should pay tribute to the Crown or to the contracting associates. Fugi-
tives who had lived in the forests less than six years should then resume pay-
ments to their former encomenderos, but such Indians should not be returned
to their old settlements, "since experience shows that once Indians have fled
and are brought back, they will flee again."

6. As reward for their services, the associates should receive encomiendas

in the pacified settlements after expiration of the period of tribute exemption.
By a supplementary decree Governor Velasco authorized a grant of 800
Alonso Fernandez Maldonado for his son, Jeronimo Mal-
tributaries to Lie.

donado; Sugasti and Francisco Maldonado were granted 600 tributaries each;
Arzueta and Ruiz de Ontiveros were promised 500 tributaries and 300 tribu-
taries respectively.

7. In case the governor decided to establish a Spanish settlement in the

province of Nueva Ocana, the name proposed for the region to be pacified,
the associates would be under obligation to live there.
On March 30 Velasco also named Sugasti as commander of the expedi-
tion authorized by the contract. Arzueta was subsequently appointed notary.
On March 31, Francisco Maldonado, in the name of his partners, requested
26o ACALAN-TIXCHEL

that the Franciscan provincial, Fray Antonio de Ciudad Real, should be

instructed to name two friars to take charge of the missionary phase of the
some delay the provincial chose Fray Gregorio Gonzalez
enterprise. After
and Fray Rodrigo Tinoco for this task/'^
The project for a semi-military expedition to the inland country soon
aroused the opposition of Fray Juan de Santa Maria, guardian of the Cam-
peche convent, who had served for many years in the Yucatan missions.
Apparently acting on his own initiative without communicating with the
provincial, he sent a letter to the village of Auatayn, one of the interior settle-

ments of which we shall have much to say in other parts of this chapter, in
which he denounced the proposed entrada as a scheme designed to advance
the selfish interests of Maldonado and his associates and of the cacique of
Tixchel, Don Pablo Paxbolon.
This letter, addressed to "all my sons who dwell in the forests toward
the south in the direction of the pueblo of Ahyza [Tayasal]," begins with
the statement that it is not surprising that many of them had abandoned
Christianity and had fled to the forests, in view of the "many labors and
abuses" they had received at the hands of the Spaniards. "But you, my sons,

know well . . . that we are not among those who do you harm, for we are
ministers of God, Minor Fathers of the habit of St. Francis; rather we and
you suffer merely because we defend you, seeking the will of his Majesty
that you should be favored and protected." Reminding the Indians that some
of them doubtless knew him, since he had come to Yucatan more than twenty
years ago, Santa Maria assured them that he shared their suffering and was
grieved that there was no priest among them to administer the sacraments and
to teach them doctrine and the road to salvation.
The letter continues: "Be attentive, my sons, to what I wish to tell you.
. You should not permit any Spaniards to come to seize you and molest you.
. .

The cacique of Tixchel, called Paxbolon, is he who has recommended that

Spaniards should go to the forest where you are settled saying that Mal- . . .

donado, his son-in-law, should go and take with him some Spaniards, and
that they should take arms, so that you will more easily give in to the Spaniards
— merely because Paxbolon wishes and seeks the tribute you will some time
have to give for his grandchild." Santa Maria warned that negotiations regard-
ing such an expedition were now being carried on with Governor Velasco
(the friar apparently had not learned that the contract had already been
issued). "And there are many Spaniards who wish to go to do you evil and

^''^The contract of March 30, 1604, and various supplementary decrees are in Paxbolon-
Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. iiv-iSv, ^:\v-^6, 56-60.
Map 4—the MISSIONS OF LAS MONTAnAS
upaiucuus suuum gu to tiie loresE wnere you are settled . . . saymg that Mal-
donado, his son-in-law, should go and take with him some Spaniards, and
that they should take arms, so that you will more easily give in to the Spaniards

—merely because Paxbolon wishes and seeks the tribute you will some time
have to give for his grandchild." Santa Maria warned that negotiations regard-
ing such an expedition were now being carried on with Governor Velasco
(the friar apparently had not learned that the contract had already been
issued). "And there are many Spaniards who wish to go to do you evil and
1'^
The contract of March 30, 1604, and various supplementary decrees are in Paxbolon-
Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. iit;-26'i;, ^^v-^6, 56-60.
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS l6l

again drink the blood of all of you and have you serve in their houses, as they
have done and do with all the other Christian Indians." In order to forestall
the expedition, the Indians should immediately seek royal protection and ask
for a friar to teach them. "I am your father . . . and I am ready and prepared
to endure any labor in your behalf, and I desire to go to indoctrinate you and
to teach you the holy Catholic faith. ... As for my support, so long as there
is bread to sustain me, that will be sufficient, for I have nothing more to ask
than to suffer for Our Lord am ready to die in His
Jesus Christ . . . and I

service, freeing you from the hands of the Spaniards, who wish you no good."

The friar urged the Indians to circulate the letter among other people in
the forests and to let him know what they wished to do, sending their reply
by Indians from Campeche, who were going out to collect beeswax. "If you
wish me to come to administer the sacraments and to teach you the doctrine
of the holy Catholic faith, do not fail to write to me and to advise where you
wish me to be, and to this end you will send me four competent Indians to
guide me. . . . For this purpose I send you blank paper so that you will reply."
Before the friar's messengers set out for the interior Francisco Maldonado
returned from Merida with news that an expedition had been authorized and
would soon be carried out. In a short note, which he enclosed with the letter
of April 24, Santa Maria notified the Indians of this development, and then
added: "You surely know that they have no other purpose than to have you
give tribute." And again he assured the fugitives of his desire to aid them and
his willingness to visit their settlements if thev would send guides.^ ^
In one part of the letter of April 24 Santa Maria tells how at some earlier

time he had gone to New^ Spain to seek a remedy for the "vexations and
calamities" which caused the Indians of the mission towns of northern Yu-
catan to seek refuge in the forests; also how he had recommended that resi-
dent missionaries should be sent to the interior settlements and that no other
Spaniards should be permitted to visit these villages. Thus his opposition to

the Maldonado expedition reflected a sincere interest of long standing in the

fugitive problem. Although the outburst against Paxbolon may have had some
justification, at least to the extent that the cacique doubtless had some personal
interest in the enterprise and had cooperated with the contracting associates,

the friar probably would have opposed any other expedition of similar char-
acter. Like many of his Franciscan brethren in Yucatan, Santa Maria believed
that oppression by the Spanish colonists was the principal factor in alienating
the Indians from the missionary program, that an expedition of soldiers and
colonists, inspired by the hope of reward, would merely intensify the hos-
'^^
Ibid., ff. 27i;-33.
262 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

tility of the apostates, and that the pacification of these Indians should be
effected by purely missionary methods. We have no doubt of the friar's zeal,
his earnest desire to protect the Indians against abuse and exploitation, and
his disinterested ambition to play some part in bringing the fugitives back to
the Christian faith. However, the language of his letter was intemperate and
could hardly have had other effect than to cause unrest in the interior country
on the eve of the entrada now being organized. It is easy to understand the
it aroused among the Maldonado associates, who naturally regarded
bitterness
the friar's letter as an unwarranted attempt to thwart their own plans and as
a deliberate challenge of colonial authority.

After Francisco Maldonado 's return to Campeche toward the end.of April,
the organization of the expedition was rapidly completed. On May 14, 1604,
the "discoverers," accompanied by Fray Gregorio Gonzalez, Fray Rodrigo
Tinoco, and Cristobal de Interian, who was to serve as official interpreter, set
out from Campeche "for the province of Nueva Ocafia which borders on
Bacalar and Verapaz." They traveled first to Tixchel,where Paxbolon joined
them, and then proceeded to Popola, "last pueblo of Christians," where they
arrived May
on 23.^^

On May 25 the expedition left Popola for Nacaukumil, "first pueblo of

the heathens and idolaters." Paxbolon and Interian, who went ahead to notify
the Indians and to prepare for the arrival of the soldiers and friars, apparently
arrived in Nacaukumil the same day. The main party, commanded by Captain
Sugasti, spent the night in the forest 2 leagues from Popola and the follow-
ing day (May 26) covered the remainder of the journey to Nacaukumil,
where the Indians came out to receive them with gifts of pozole.
The expedition remained in Nacaukumil until May 30. During this time
the friars celebrated mass in a hut {jacal) built by the Indians for a church and
preached to them in Maya. Many of the Indians confessed and received pardon
for their apostasy; ten infants were baptized; and two adults were married to
women "whom they had taken [as wives] in their heathenism." A certain
number of unconverted adults accepted the faith, but the friars postponed
the baptism of these persons until they should learn the prayers and the ele-
ments of Christian doctrine. The new mission was dedicated to Our Lady,
and an image of the Virgin was placed in the church.
On May 28 the Indians, having promised obedience to the Crown, elected
Pedro Zeque as their governor and named other village officers. The election
was confirmed by Captain Sugasti, who gave them staffs of office, and Pax-
bolon explained their respective duties and obhgations. Inasmuch as the journal
19 The journal of the expedition kept by Cristobal de Arzueta is in ibid., ff. 36-48.
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS 263

of the expedition and later documents mention only one settlement named
Nacaukumil, we infer that the two settlements of this name listed in Pax-
bolon's earlier report were now consolidated into a single mission village.
On May 30 the expedition left Nacaukumil and marched through the
forests, passing through some swamps en route, to another settlement of fugi-
tives named Auatayn. This place is not listed in Paxbolon's report. It was
evidently a well known settlement, however, for it was to this village that
Fray Juan de Santa Maria had sent the letter described above. Although few
of the Indians came out to receive the Spaniards as they approached the settle-
ment, the people soon promised obedience and asked forgiveness for their
apostasy. A chieftain named Miguel Queb (Keb) was elected governor and
other village officers were appointed, all of whom Sugasti installed in office.
Between May 30 and June 3 the friars confessed more than 100 persons, bap-
tized eleven infants, and married four adults. A bell and other ornaments
were placed in a ramada structure that served as a church and the mission was
named San Francisco de Auatayn.^^
At Auatayn the Indians handed over to the Spaniards the letter from Fray
Juan de Santa Maria, explaining that the m.essage had caused considerable fear
and unrest and that this why they had not received the expedi-
was the reason
tion with a greater show of friendship. News of the friar's letter had also spread
rapidly throughout the forest country. It appears that the Indians of Nacauku-
mil had shown some alarm at the coming of the Spaniards, although Paxbolon
had evidently quieted their fears in advance of the arrival of the main party.^^

"Spies" sent out from Auatayn to nearby settlements now reported that the
letter had caused such fear that the Indians of five villages had fled into the

surrounding forests. Consequently Sugasti and his companions decided that

it would be unwise to continue the entrada at this time and that they should
return to Campeche, leaving Fray Gregorio Gonzalez and Fray Rodrigo
Tinoco to carry on their missionary labors at Auatayn and Nacaukumil. In
20
The name Auatayn (the name also appears as Tauatain, Tahuatayn, Aguatayn, and in
other variant forms) apparently means "place where the crocodiles roar." It is possible that this
may have been another name for the settlement of Ixkik mentioned in Paxbolon's report and
said to be a day's journey from Nacaukumil, although we should expect in such case to find
one of the chieftains of Ixkik named as governor of Auatayn. The chieftains of Ixkik, according
to Paxbolon's report, were Napol Couoh and Juan Tuyu. Couoh, being an unconverted heathen,
would not have been eligible for election as governor of a mission settlement, but the apostate
Juan Tuyu, after receiving pardon for his apostasy, could have held office, as did Pedro Zeque
in Nacaukumil. But we find no person named Tuyu among the Indians elected as officials of
Auatayn on May 28 and again later in the year. The only chieftain named Queb listed in Pax-
bolon's report was one of the leaders of Chunpich, but this place could not possibly be the same
as Auatayn.
21 The journal of the expedition reports that the Indians of Nacaukumil gave Santa Maria's
letter to Sugasti, but this is probably an error, unless a copy of the original had been made in
Auatayn and sent to Nacaukumil.
264 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

view of the contents of Santa Maria's letter, it is not surprising that the Indians
were alarmed at the coming of the Spaniards, and there may have been con-
siderable justification for Sugasti's decision to return home. But there was
also another reason, for the journal of the expedition significantly states that

"the rains were heavy."

On June 4 the soldiers left Auatayn on the journey back to Campeche. The
two friars remained in the interior a few weeks longer, and during this time
they apparently established contact with the settlement at Ichbalche, located
^^
beyond Auatayn, and obtained a promise of obedience from its chief tains.
By early autumn, however, the missionaries also returned to Campeche.
An interesting sidelight on the entrada of May-June 1604 is provided by
the Maldonado-Paxbolon probanza of 161 2. Here we are told that the Indians
of Nacaukumil and Auatayn built a "casa principal" in their towns for Pax-
bolon's use whenever he should come to visit them. This was done, so the
probanza states, because of their great respect for the cacique and in recog-
nition of his status as their natural lord.^^ It is obvious, of course, that Pax-
bolon had no right to claim such status among the fugitive Maya, since he
was not their hereditary ruler, and we doubt that they actually recognized
him as their lord, although they may have been willing to submit to his influ-
ence and direction in local affairs. The probanza clearly shows, however, that

the cacique, like the Spanish associates, hoped to use the project for the pacifi-
cation of the province of Nueva Ocana for the advancement of personal
ambition.

Fray Juan de Santa Maria's letter of April 24 had caused intense resentment
on the part of Captain Sugasti and his companions, and soon after their return
to Campeche they took prompt action designed to prevent such interference
in future. On June 24 Sugasti published an order forbidding any person to
send messages to the interior settlements. Whereupon the cabildo of Cam-
peche, probably on demand by Santa Maria, nullified the decree and ordered
Sugasti to make no further use of his commission as commander of the expedi-
tion. The captain immediately appealed to Governor Velasco, who renewed
his commission and revalidated the decree of June 24. The governor also in-

structed him to verify the authorship of any letters that had been sent to the
-2 In a petition dated July 27, 1604, after the friars had returned, Arzueta, notary of the

expedition, implied that the pacification of a third settlement, unnamed but doubtless the village
of Ichbalche, occurred before the soldiers set out on the return journey on June 4. But the
notary's journal of the entrada contains no entry to this effect, and it seems clear that he had
reference to some activity of the friars before their return from the interior.
23 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I.
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS 265

fugitives, seize the guilty parties, and send them to Merida for trial. Although
this order provided authority for legal proceedings against Santa Maria,
Sugasti wisely refrained from such action. Instead, he sent Cristobal de
Arzueta, notary of the expedition, to Merida to present the friar's letter to

Governor Velasco. In this way he established proof of Santa Maria's activities

and avoided procedure that would have involved a serious violation of ecclesi-
astical immunity.^*
In Merida Arzueta also filed a brief report on the expedition of May-June,
noting that definite results had been achieved despite the fact that Sugasti had
suspended the entrada until a more favorable occasion because of the unrest
caused by Santa Maria's letter. He informed the governor that the associates
were ready to fulfill their obligations under the contract of March 30 and
intended to make another journey at the earliest opportunity. Within a short

time, however, their plans were completely upset. On August 11 , 1 604, Don
Carlos de Luna y Arellano took office as governor of the province. Six weeks
later he suspended the contract with the Maldonado associates and placed the
Franciscans in sole charge of the pacification of the fugitive settlements.
When the new governor arrived in Campeche en route to the provincial
capital the controversy inspired by Fray Juan de Santa Maria's activities was
brought to his attention. After conferences with Sugasti and Francisco Mal-
donado and also with Santa Maria, he apparently decided that before coming
to any decision on the major issue involved, viz., the manner in which the
pacification of the interior country should be carried out, he wished to hear
from the Indians themselves. Consequently he framed a letter to the Indians,

assuring them of his friendship and inviting them to send representatives to

Merida for a personal conference. Copies of this dispatch were given to
Maldonado and to Santa Maria for transmission to the interior settlements.
Maldonado delayed, perhaps intentionally, in sending out the message en-
trusted to him, but Santa Maria quickly got in touch with the Indians and
doubtless repeated his offer to help them in every way possible. Early in
September leaders of the three settlements of Nacaukumil, Auatayn, and
Ichbalche arrived in Campeche, where they conferred with Santa Maria.
Shortly thereafter the friar accompanied them to Merida. Learning of this
development, Sugasti and Maldonado also hastened to the capital to be on
hand to defend their interests.

On September 17 the Indians were received by the new governor, to

whom they presented a lengthy petition in the name of their own people and
24 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. i6v-2']v, 33-34^, 48-51?^.
266 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Other Indians in the forests. For three years, so the document states, they had
intended "to come and manifest themselves" to the Franciscan friars who had
baptized them and instructed them in Christian doctrine; for although they
had fled to the forests because of maltreatment by the Spaniards and the ex-
cessive burden of labor and tribute, they realized their "grievous fault" in
abandoning the true faith and in going to live where their children could not
receive religious instruction. Therefore they now asked forgiveness and
begged the governor to receive and protect them as vassals of his Majesty.
They requested, however, that henceforth no Spanish colonists or soldiers
should be permitted to visit their settlements because of the harm such visits

caused among the common people and also because other "shy" Indians now
being assembled in the forests would be unwilling to live "where the Spaniards
plan to go." Finally, they asked that after a period of tribute exemption they
should have the status of royal tributaries.^^
This document is dated August 4 and presumably had been drawn up some
time before the Indians left their settlements on the journey to Campeche and
Merida. However, it clearly reflects Santa Maria's influence and was doubt-
less inspired by the letter of April 24 or by some later communication from
the friar. If the date is a scribe's error for September 4, the petition may
actually have been based on a draft sent by Santa Maria when he transmitted
Governor Arellano's letter from Campeche. The statement that the Indians
had planned for three years to establish contact with the friars was obviously
designed to prove that their present offer of obedience was not inspired merely
by the May-June entrada of Sugasti and his companions. To this same end
the petition stated that they submitted "of their own free will." Moreover,
the request that no Spanish colonists should visit their settlements in future
and that they should eventually have the status of royal tributaries, another
way of asking not to be granted in encomienda, clearly implied opposition to
the project of the associates for the pacification of the interior country. In
short, the petition bears the mark of Santa Maria's ideas, whatever the facts

may be as to its date and the circumstances under which it was formulated.
The governor assured the Indians that their petition would receive due
consideration and that he would confer with the bishop, the Franciscan pro-
vincial, and other experienced friars as to the best means of providing religious

instruction for their settlements and "to reach a decision concerning the
people who should accompany [the missionaries]." Meanwhile the Indians
should remain in his house, where they would receive food and every favor.^^

25 Ibid., ff . 1-31;, 67-75, passirn.

28 Ibid., ff. iv-^v.
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS 267

On September 17, after receiving the petition of the Indians, Arellano

ordered Captain Sugasti to present all the papers in his possession relating to
the expedition of May-June. During the succeeding days the governor con-
ferred with Bishop Vazquez de Mercado, the provincial, Fray Antonio de
Ciudad Real, and three definitors of the Order, Fray Francisco de Bustamante
(a former provincial). Fray Alonso de Ortega, and Fray Antonio de Villalon,
The decision of this group was announced in a decree of September 22.

This document states that the governor and churchmen, having considered
ways and means of dealing with the Indians living in the unconquered area
between Yucatan, Chiapas, and Guatemala, had agreed that the first need was
to bring the fugitive settlements to obedience, after which plans could be
made for the conversion of the heathen groups in lands farther south. The
conferees had also found that the expedition of May-June had failed to

achieve satisfactory results, "as is proved by public knowledge of the affair,

the reports of some persons, and the aiitos formulated in the case." Therefore
it was their unanimous decision that the pacification of the fugitives should
now be entrusted to four friars, competent Maya linguists, to be chosen by
the provincial. It was also agreed that the fugitives who submitted to Spanish
authority should be exempt from tribute and forced labor for six years and
that they should not be m.oved from the region they now occupied. Finally,
in view of the fact that the Indians recently come to Merida had asked that
no soldiers or colonists should be permitted to visit their settlements because
of the unrest such visits caused, and since the presence of such persons was
not necessary for the security of the friars, the governor and his advisors de-
creed that Sugasti, Maldonado, and associates should take no further part in
the enterprise, at least until the matter was referred to the Crown for de-
cision.^^

Francisco Maldonado immediately filed objections on behalf of his part-

ners. In a petition of September 23 he called attention to the fact that the
original offer of submission by the Indians of Nacaukumil was made as the
result of Paxbolon's journey of February 1604 sponsored by "the discoverers."
During the subsequent entrada of May-June other Indians had also promised
obedience, and missions had been founded in the forest settlements. Moreover,
the associates had furnished supplies for the friars who accompanied this

expedition and had provided ecclesiastical ornaments and bells for the mission
churches. Although they had returned to Campeche within a short time, for
reasons that were well known, it was not their intention to abandon the
project for the pacification of the interior country. Nor was it just that others
27 Ibid., ff. 63-65T;.
268 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

should now reap the reward of their labors. Consequently the governor should
conserve their rights under the contract of March 30. In the name of his
companions Maldonado offered to pay the expenses of the four friars to be
sent out to the fugitive settlements by virtue of the decree of September 22.
He also requested permission for the soldiers to accompany these missionaries
on their journey in order to perform any necessary tasks to facilitate their

work among the Indians; "for such is the obUgation of my associates until
[the region] is pacified and placed under the royal crown and dominion."-^
The Franciscans promptly challenged Maldonado's claims by presenting
evidence to prove that most of the vestments and other ecclesiastical orna-
ments taken by the on the expedition of May-June had been furnished
friars

by the Order and that Maldonado and his companions had actually incurred
little expense for missionary purposes on that occasion,^ The Indians from
Nacaukumil were also called in to testify that during the entrada Maldonado
had forced them to purchase a quantity of axes and machetes for which they
had no need. Without further investigation of this charge, which was clearly
intended to show that the project of the Campeche associates was inspired
by selfish motives, Governor Arellano gave orders forbidding them to carry
on trade with the fugitive settlements under penalty of exile from the
province.^^
On September 30 the Franciscan provincial called the governor's attention
to certain remarks Maldonado was said to have made during
o a conversation
with Fray Antonio de Villalon, one of the churchmen who participated in
the conferences on the fugitive problem. According to the provincial's re-
port, Maldonado expressed the opinion that in case missionaries were sent to
the forest settlements without escort the Indians would rebel against them
within a year's time. The prelate characterized this statement as "somewhat
dangerous," since it might cause the friars to refuse to serve among the
apostates. For this reason he asked the governor to consider carefully its

import.
Summoned by the governor to answer these charges, Maldonado freely

2^ Ibid., ff. 53-56.

29 On 25 the provincial presented a list of vestments and ornaments supplied by
September
the Order. A
month later (October 22) Fray Gregorio Gonzalez made a statement to the effect
that the associates gave nothing for the missions except a medium-sized bell for the church of
Auatayn and a few pieces of cloth for the altars. He also stated that most of the food consumed
on the expedition M^as furnished by the Indians of the towns through which they passed {ibid.,
flF. 61-63, 85-86).
30 Maldonado and machetes were taken along to open the roads
later testified that the axes
and for use churches and that they were left with the Indians for the latter purpose.
in building
The natives asserted, however, that Maldonado demanded payment for the tools at the rate of
ten pounds of beeswax each {ibid., ff. 60-61, 82x7-83).
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS 269

admitted that he had engaged in sharp dispute with Father Villalon. He testi-

fied that the argument was precipitated by a discussion of the activities of

Fray Juan de Santa Maria, whom he characterized as a meddlesome person.
Villalon promptly took exception to this remark and accused Maldonado and
his partners of being the troublemakers. The friar also stated that he opposed
sending soldiers with the missionaries "because the Spaniards interfered with
the preaching." Regarding this statement as an unwarranted slur on the con-
duct of Maldonado warned him not to say such things, and then
his associates,

ventured the opinion that any attempt to pacify the fugitives by missionary
methods alone would fail because of the fickle character of the Indians. He
denied, however, that he had said anything to cause fear among the mis-
sionaries to be chosen for service in the interior settlements.
The governor evidently regarded Maldonado's reply as unsatisfactory,
for he placed the Spaniard under arrest and authorized an investigation that
dragged on for several weeks. During the hearings Maldonado stubbornly held
to his own version of the affair, as stated above. The proceedings were finally
suspended, having achieved no result except to publicize an unseemly contro-
versy.^^

This incident, which revealed the bitterness engendered by the events of

the preceding months, clearly indicated that effective cooperation of the Mal-
donado group and the Franciscan was no longer possible. Governor
friars

Arellano, who had favored the Franciscans from the beginning, now issued
strict orders forbidding Sugasti and Maldonado to maintain any contact with

the forest settlements. In a dispatch to Spain, with which he sent copies of

all the documents in the case, he called attention to "the meager results" of
the expedition of May-June and the controversy it had aroused. For these
reasons he had agreed to the new arrangements outlined in the decree of
September 22. "I makereport so that your Majesty may take such action
this

as you think some delay the Council approved the governor's

best." After
action in suspending the contract with Maldonado and associates for the
pacification and conquest of the province of Nueva Ocaiia. Moreover, by
virtue of a royal cedula dated March 25, 1607, the six-year period of tribute
exemption promised the fugitives who offered submission was extended to
ten years.^^
The decree of September 22, 1604, which gave the Franciscans entire
responsibility for the reduction of the fugitive Indians, constituted a major
triumph for Fray Juan de Santa Maria. His victory was complete when, a few
^^Ibid., ff. 65t;-95, 99-99V, 116-171;.
3- AGI, Mexico, leg. 359; Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. igiv-i^-^.
270 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Aveeks later, he was named one of the four missionaries to serve in the forest
settlements. It is not surprising that the bishop and the Franciscan provincial
and definitors supported Santa Maria in his controversy with Sugasti and
Maldonado, or that they cast their votes in favor of a plan to pacify the

fugitives by apostolic methods, without the aid of soldiers and colonists. The
motives which prompted Governor Arellano to adopt a similar policy are
not entirely clear. If we accept his report to the Crown at face value, he evi-
dently had little confidence in the aims and methods of Maldonado and his

associates. There can be little doubt that he also regarded the conflict of
interest between this group and the Franciscans as irreconcilable. On the
other hand, if it is true that Arellano hoped to organize an expedition for the
conquest of the Itza lands, he may have voted to suspend the Nueva Ocana
project in order to have a free hand to develop his own plans. It should be
noted, however, that CogoUudo is the sole source of information concerning
Arellano's ambition to conquer the Itza. We find no reference to any such
scheme in the governor's unpublished letters to the Crown.^^

In November 1604 Fray Antonio de Ciudad Real, the Franciscan pro-

vincial, named the four friars who were to serve as missionaries in the fugitive
settlements. Fray Gregorio Gonzalez, . who had accompanied the Sugasti-
Maldonado expedition of May-June, was appointed comisario, or superior,
of the missions already founded in Nacaukumil and Auatayn. Fray Juan de
Santa Maria received a similar appointment for the Ichbalche district. Fray
Juan Garcia and Fray Francisco Mati'as were named as their respective assist-

ants.^^ In December the friars set out in two groups for the forest country.
Two months later (February 1605) a serious illness forced Gonzalez to return
to Campeche, where he died on April 13, 1605. In his place the provincial
appointed Fray Joseph del Bosque, who had served as guardian of the Tixchel
convent from 1600 to 1603.^"*

On his return from the interior Gonzalez made an encouraging report on

the progress of the missionary effort in Nacaukumil and Auatayn, It appears,

however, that the friar had a poor opinion of the area in which these settle-

ments were located, doubtless because of the swampy, unhealthful character

of the country, for he had already made plans for the removal of the Indians
to a new site about 1 2 leagues southeast of Champoton. The people of Auatayn
33 The available correspondence of Arellano (AGI, Mexico, leg. 359) comprises a relatively
small series, and it is quite possible that some of his letters are missing.
34
Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. 95-99, ii2'y-i4'i;.
Ciudad Real to Fray Diego de Castro, May 1605, in Expediente formado a instancia del
35

Capitan Pedro Ochoa de Legulzamo 1604-05, AGI, Patronato, leg. 20, num. 5, ramo 25.
. . . ,
 1

THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTAN AS 27

had agreed to the scheme, although evidently with some misgivings, as evi-

denced by Governor Arellano in which they

a letter of the village officials to

asked for assurance that the Spaniards would not molest them at the new
settlement. The leaders of Nacaukumil actively opposed the plan and sent
word to Fray Juan de Santa iMaria that rather than move to a place where they
would be in frequent contact with soldiers and colonists their people would
scatter through the forests. Santa Maria sent on this message to the governor.
There was considerable merit in Gonzalez' proposal, since the new loca-
tion would have been more healthful and also more accessible, and we shall
see that ten years later the majority of the Indians of the forest missions were
actually resettled at a site a few leagues from Champoton. But in view of the
fact that the governor and churchmen, by virtue of the decree of September
22, 1604, had promised that the fugitives should remain in the region they
now it was obviously necessary at this time to avoid any innova-
occupied,
tion that would cause them to lose confidence in the pledged word of the
provincial authorities. It is not surprising, therefore, that Governor Arellano
vetoed Gonzalez' plan and issued an order forbidding the removal of the
Indians to new locations against their will.^^
Santa Maria and his companion. Fray Francisco Matias, had arrived in
Ichbalche on December 23, 1604, after an arduous journey from Campeche.
Received by the Indians in friendly fashion, the friars immediately set to

work assembling the people of the surrounding forests at the new mission.
In a letter to Governor Arellano, dated December 27, Santa Maria remarked
that this task would require considerable time and effort "because the forests
are full of people" scattered in small rancherias of a few houses each. He pre-
dicted, however, that eventually at least 200 families would be under instruc-
tion at Ichbalche.^^ Although we have little information concerning the
activities of Santa Maria and Matias at Ichbalche during the following months,
they evidently succeeded in gathering in many of the scattered Indians at this
site. Statistical data for later years reveal that Ichbalche had the largest popula-
tion of all the Montaiias missions. In 161 5, after missionary discipline had
declined and some of the people had drifted away, the town still numbered
more than 800 persons, young and old. This figure did not include the visita

at Ichmachich, probably founded by Santa iMaria and Matias. Cogolludo gives

the advocation of the Ichbalche mission as Santos Reyes. The contemporary
sources usually record the name as San Antonio de Ichbalche.^^
^s Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. 121-22, 133-37.
37 Ibid., S. I1-JV-I21.
3.8 The town name is sometimes recorded as Ichgayab, which has the same meaning as
Ichbalche. Cf. note 19, pp. 506-07, infra.
272 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

At Ichbalche Santa Maria received information concerning the village of

Tzuctok located four days' journey toward the south. This place, aptly

described in one of the friar's letters as "the gateway to all heathendom," was
on the route of travel to the southern Cehache towns and the Itza lands of

the Peten. Most of the people of Tzuctok were apostate Maya from northern
Yucatan, but there were also many rancherias of unbaptized Indians in the
same vicinity. Some of the latter were doubtless Cehache, although the major
Cehache settlements were located farther south.
Realizing the strategic importance of Tzuctok as a point of contact with
Cehache and Itza "heathendom," Santa Maria promptly sent messages to its

chieftains, "exhorting them to be Christians." At first these Indians were wary

of his friendly advances, for they feared that the founding of the forest mis-
sions was merely the first step in the occupation of the interior country by
Spanish soldiers and colonists. However, in mid-January four "caciques" of
Tzuctok came to Ichbalche to see the friars, who quieted their fears and
assured them that no Spaniards other than missionaries would be permitted to
enter the interior settlements. Whereupon the Indians offered obedience and
^^
invited the friars to visit their village.
In March 1605 Santa Maria and Matias journeyed to Tzuctok, where they
founded the mission dedicated to San Jeronimo.^ The coming of the friars is

briefly described in an interesting letter of the principal men of the pueblo to

Governor Arellano dated March 31. This letter, probably written at Santa
Maria's direction, begins with the usual offer of submission and then goes on
to state that the people of Tzuctok wished "to serve one God and Lord called
Hunabqu in their language, which means all powerful God."^^ Therefore
they had now abandoned the pagan rites and cerem.onies they had practiced
and had built a church and dwelling for the missionaries. In accordance with
the custom in villages under Spanish control they had also elected a local
governor (Francisco Canche, mentioned in Paxbolon's report of February
1604 as one of the eight chieftains of Ixtok) and a town council. Confirma-
tion of this election by the provincial governor was requested. The Indians also
asked Arellano to reaffirm the promise of tribute exemption for a term of
years and to give assurance that no Spaniards, negroes, or mulattoes would

39Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. iiyv-zi, i28z'-3o.

we rely on CogoUudo (1867-68, bk. 4, ch. 20), for the contemporary sources
40 In this case

do not record the advocation of the Tzuctok mission.

*i Here we find use of the name Hunabku, said to be a preconquest deity, for the Christian

deity. Hunabku ("only God") is described in the Motul Dictionary (1929, p. 404) as "the only
living and true God, the greatest of the people of Yucatan, of whom there was no image,
because, they said, there was no conception of his form, since he was incorporeal." Translation
from Roys, 1943, p. 73. Cf. also Landa, 1941, note 707, p. 146.
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTAN AS 273

be allowed to visit the forest settlements. In a reply dated May 9, 1605, the
governor accepted the promise of obedience and granted their requests.
In a letter of April 6 Santa Maria gave a personal report on developments
1

at Tzuctok, describing the friendly attitude of the Indians and their apparent
Avillingness to abandon their idolatrous customs and to receive instruction in
Christian doctrine. Fle also reported satisfactory progress of the missionary
effort in the other fugitive settlements and expressed the hope that within a
year "all of these Indians will be in the fellowship of the Church." This dis-
patch and the letter of the chieftains of Tzuctok were delivered to Governor
Arellano early in May by Fray Francisco Matias, sent by his superior to make
a more detailed report on conditions in the forest country.^^
It is evident that from the beginning of his work among the fugitives Fray
Juan de Santa Maria hoped to extend his activities to the unconverted Cehache
and Itza. In a lengthy section of his first report to Governor Arellano, written
at Ichbalche on December 27, 1604, he told how these groups, having heard
about the Sugasti-Maldonado expedition, had adopted a hostile attitude and
had taken measures to shut off trade and communications with settlements
visited by the Spaniards. He expressed the opinion, however, that they would
be more friendly on learning that soldiers and colonists were now forbidden
to enter the forest towns, and he gave notice of his intention to establish con-
tact with the Cehache as soon as possible."*^

This letter prompt reply from Arellano reminding the friar

brought a
that the decree of September 22, 1604, limited the missionary program for
the present to the apostate fugitives from northern Yucatan. Consequently
no attempt should be made at this time to enter any of the heathen settle-

ments, although the missionaries should obtain all the information possible
concerning them on the basis of which plans could be made for the eventual
conversion of such groups. Santa Maria received this message before setting
out for Tzuctok and accordingly abandoned any project he may have had
to visit the Cehache towns. But during his stay in Tzuctok some Cehache
chieftains came to see him and apparently indicated willingness to be baptized.
It appears, however, that the major reason for their visit was to complain about
raids on their settlements made a few weeks earlier by a group of Spaniards
from the Usumacinta area in Tabasco. If they also consented to become
probably hoped that acceptance of the missionary program,
Christians, they
which now involved no contacts with soldiers and colonists, would serve as a
guarantee of protection against such raiding attacks in future.
*2 These letters are found in Expediente formado a instancia del Capitan Pedro Ochoa de
Leguizamo .1604-05, AGI, Patronato, leg. 20, num. 5, ramo 25.
. . ,

*' Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, flf. ii7i'-2i.

274 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Santa Maria reported these developments in his dispatch of April i6 and

expressed regret that he was not permitted to visit the Cehache towns, since
the occasion seemed so propitious. His companion, Fray Francisco Matias,
gave Arellano a more detailed account on his arrival in Merida early in May.
Although the governor ordered an investigation of the recent raids on the
Cehache settlements and the arrest of the guilty parties, he again refused to
authorize expansion of the missionary effort at this time to include the heathen
tribes.'*^

In his dispatches to Santa Maria the governor emphasized the point that
although recent royal cedulas (the decree of 1599, already mentioned, and
a later order of December 31, 1601^^) had instructed the provincial authorities

to take measures to stamp out idolatry and to deal with the related fugitive
problem, these decrees contained no provisions authorizing expeditions, mis-
sionary or otherwise, to the pagan Cehache and Itza. Therefore any scheme
for the pacification of these groups would have to be referred to the Crown
for approval. It is possible, as Cogolludo implies in his version of this incident,

that the governor refused permission for Santa Maria to begin the conversion
of the Cehache and Itza because he hoped to organize an expedition of his
own for the conquest of the Itza country and that his citation of the royal
cedulas merely served as an excuse to gain time for the presentation of this
project in the Council of the Indies. We have already noted, however, that
the governor's correspondence contains no reference to any such plan. More-
over, there is evidence that Arellano's decision was influenced to some extent
by representations by the Franciscan provincial, who called attention to the
fact that the death of many veteran friars in recent years had left the Order
without adequate personnel for an expanding missionary program in the
interior country .^^
^* Expediente formado a instancia del Capitan Pedro Ochoa de Leguizamo . . . , 1604-05,
AGI, Patronato, leg. 20, num. 5, ramo 25.
*5 The cedula of December 31, i6oi (AGI, Mexico, leg. 2999, libro D-4) was prompted by
a report on the problem presented to the Council of the Indies by Fray Alonso de
fugitive
Ortega, then serving as representative of the Yucatan Franciscans at court. In this report Ortega
suggested that the situation might be remedied if an agreement were made with some colonist
to organize an expedition at his own cost for the purpose of pacifying the fugitive settlements.
The cedula of December 31, 1601, summarized this report and instructed the provincial gov-
ernor, Fernandez de Velasco, to take steps to bring the Indians back to their pueblos. It con-
tained no reference to the heathen tribes. It is interesting to note that Ortega, who suggested
the possibility of a formal expedition for the reduction of the fugitives, was a member of the
group of churchmen who shared in the decision to suspend the contract with Maldonado and
associates in September 1604.
46 this period, twenty-six friars had died within a period
According to missionary reports of
of five years (1600-05), greatly reducing the number available for service in the missions ad-
ministered by the Franciscans. In 1602 twelve new recruits were sent out from Spain, six of
whom died in a shipwreck off Jamaica. The following year Fray Diego de Castro was sent
to Spain to make an appeal for thirty additional missionaries. The Crown eventually agreed to
 .

THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS 275

Arellano's refusal to authorize the conversion of the heathen tribes doubt-

less caused Santa Maria great disappointment. In 1 6 1 1 the friar testified that
because of the governor's "interference with the said reduction and conver-
sion" he decided to withdraw from the forest missions and return to northern
Yucatan.^^ We doubt, however, that this action was prompted entirely by the
governor's policy. From the beginning of his service in the interior Santa
Maria had been in poor health, and we suspect that illness was an important
factor in causing him to give up his work among the fugitives. He probably
returned to northern Yucatan in the latter part of 1605.'*^

We interrupt the narrative at this point to review the evidence on which

we have based the tentative locations for the Montanas missions shown on
Map 4.
As already noted, Nacaukumil was located a short distance (about 4
leagues) east of Popola, probably on or near the Mamantel or one of its

affluents. Auatayn occupied a site 6 or 7 leagues east of Nacaukumil, or 10- 11

leagues from Popola, From one of Fray Juan de Santa Maria's letters we also
learn that Auatayn was situated about halfway between Nacaukumil and
Ichbalche.
For the Nacaukumil the sources also employ other names, viz.,
village of

Ichcun, Yscuncabil, and Chacuitzil (also recorded as Chunuitzil). In the docu-

ments of 1605 name most frequently used. Moreover,
et seq. Chacuitzil is the
sometime during the year 1605 the people of Nacaukumil moved to another
site about 2 leagues west of Auatayn. On Map 4 the name Nacaukumil shows

our tentative location for the original settlement and the name Chacuitzil in-
dicates the new location.
send out eighteen. It was while these negotiations were in progress that the governor and
churchmen decided, by virtue of the decree of September 22, 1604, to send four friars to the
fugitive settlements. Although the provincial. Fray Antonio de Ciudad Real, shared in this
decision, he showed some reluctance, when the time came to execute the decree, to name mis-
sionaries for this project, because of the shortage of friar personnel. It was only after the gov-
ernor and bishop exerted pressure that the provincial finally appointed Santa Maria, Alatias,
Gonzalez, and Garcia for service in the forest settlements. In 1605, when the question of the
heathen tribes came up, the provincial informed the governor that in case he decided to expand
the missionary effort in the interior country he should petition the king for more friars. "We are
so few," the provincial wrote, "that we cannot serve in so many places" (Paxbolon-Maldonado
Papers, Part II; AGI, Mexico, leg. 294; Expediente formado a instancia del Capitan Pedro Ochoa
de Leguizamo . 1604-05, AGI, Patronato, leg. 20, num. 4, ramo 25)
. . ,

*''
Lopez de CogoUudo, 1867-68, bk. 8, ch. 9.
*8 It is interesting to note that Santa Maria's letter of April 16, 1605, although expressing

regret that he was not permitted to visit the Cehache settlements, clearly indicates that he
planned to continue his work among the fugitives. References to his poor health are found in
most of his letters and also in those of his companion, Fray Francisco Matias. On one occasion
Matias expressed doubt whether Santa Maria would be able to make the journey from Ichbalche
to Tzuctok.
276 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Early in 1 609 the Indians of Aiiatayn and Chacuitzil petitioned Governor

Arellano for permission to combine into a single settlement and to move to a
new site about 6 leagues east of Popola (or about halfway between Nacau-
kumil and Chacuitzil), where they already had their milpas and had cleared
ground for their church and houses. This new location, also known as Chacuit-
zil, or Cheuitzil, was described as the site of "an old pueblo depopulated because
of wars."The main reason cited by the Indians for desiring to make the move
was to obtain a better water supply. At their present locations both villages
depended on rain water that collected in an aguada located between the two
settlements. In thedry season this source of supply sometimes failed. The
place where they wished to resettle was on a stream connecting with Popola,
evidently the Mamantel or one of its tributaries. Although Arellano granted
the petition, the plan was not carried out for reasons to be described farther
on.'*^

The chief interest of this incident is that it raises a question as to the ex-

tent and character of theMamantel drainage in which the site of the proposed
consolidation settlement and also that of Nacaukumil were located. On Map

4 we have shown the Adamantel as a short stream without northern affluents,

in accordance with recent cartographical data. The tentative location indi-
cated for Nacaukumil beyond lies the headwaters of the river as drawn, al-
though was apparently on or near this stream or one of its
this settlement

tributaries. Nineteenth-century maps and also some published since 1900 show

the Mamantel as extending much farther inland with affluents coming in from
the north. For example, the Hiibbe-Aznar Perez map (Berendt revision of
1878) and the Espinosa map {ca. 19 10) carry the main stream inland to a point
a short distance beyond San Antonio. However, the former uses a broken
line for the eastern section of the river, possibly indicating a seasonal drainage

in this area. This dotted line section crosses through the northern part of the
great unexplored swamp called Isla Pac (formerly known as Bolonpeten),
which is not shown on the map, nor on any other maps, old or recent, prior
to the publication of Andrew's study in 1943.
Although these maps were based on inadequate reconnaissance, it
earlier

is interesting to note that seventeenth century sources indicate that it was

possible, at least at certain seasons of the year, to travel by canoe from Bolon-

peten, or Isla Pac, to the Mamantel. Thus a document of 1669, describing a

fugitive settlement called Bolonpeten, reads: "This Bolonpeten is surrounded
by nine small islands (islotes), and [the Indians] are settled on the largest,
about half a league in extent; and by canoe they travel to the river that goes to
49 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. 146-541'.
 .

THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS 277

Popola, and the canoe will accommodate five or six persons." '^° This state-
ment obviously indicates that some sort of drainage, possibly of seasonal char-
acter, existed between Isla Pac and the Aiamantel. Whether any connection of

this kind still exists, we do not know. The only line of drainage from Isla Pac

shown on Andrews' maps is to the south toward the Arroyo Caribe, a tribu-
tary of the Candelaria,which we have copied on our own maps.°^
The Hiibbe-Aznar Perez map also shows two small affluents, separated
by a distance of about lo km., entering the Mamantel from the northeast a
short distance above the village of Mamantel. These are the Arroyo Xotkukun
and the Arroyo Cheucil. The same tributaries are shown on the Espinosa map
without names. We are informed that a reconnaissance map of the Ferro-
carril del Sureste, which crosses this region, also shows these affluents, with
the names recorded as Arroyo Xalkukun and Arroyo Chaucel.°-
The names for the eastern affluent (Chaucel, Cheucil) bear considerable
resemblance to the names (Chacuitzil, Cheuitzil) recorded for the site of the
proposed consolidation settlement of 1 609, to which reference is made above.
This site, as we have seen, was on a stream. The resemblance is much closer
site named Cheusih, located two or three days' journey east
in the case of the

of Tiquintunpa, to which the Indians of Ichmachich, Chacuitzil, and Chunhaz

(to which Auatayn had been moved) were permanently resettled in 1615.^^
We are of the opinion therefore that Cheusih and probably the proposed
consolidation site of 1609 were located on or near the Arroyo Cheucil, or
Chaucel. Moreover, in view of the fact that Nacaukumil was closer to Popola,
we also suggest that it was on or near the Arroyo Xotkukun, or Xalkukun.
Ichbalche was located in a southeasterly direction from Campeche and
south-southwest of Cauich, where another new mission was established
in 1605.^^ Fray Juan de Santa Maria estimated the distance from Campeche
5° Sobre las diligencias que se han hccho para la reduccion de los indios de Sahcabchen y
otxos pueblos, 1668-70, AGI, Mexico, leg. 307.
51 This point was referred to Sr. Pedro Sanchez, t)irector of the Instituto Panamericano de

Geografia e Historia, Tacubaya, D. F., Mexico, for an opinion. Sr. Sanchez kindly sent back
a report made by the cartographer of the Office of Geography, Sr. Arnulfo de la Llave. This
report states that although all recent maps show the Mamantel as a stream of short length, it is
possible that a "corriental" proceeding from the east is linked up with the Mamantel and serves
as a drainage in the rainy reason for part of the area east of the Mamantel. However, it seems
probable (this is our own suggestion) that the blasting of channels through the rapids and falls
of the Candelaria has resulted in more rapid drainage of the surplus waters from the region of
Isla Pac through the Arroyo Caribe-Candelaria system. This in turn would tend to reduce the
amount of drainage from the northern part of this district westward toward the Mamantel. In
short, present day freshet streams in the latter area probably were navigable for a much larger
part of the year in earlier days.
52 Report transmitted by Sir. Pedro Sanchez (see preceding note)
53 Cf.
p. 289, infra.
54 About 1596-97 agroup of Indians from Ticul, Pustunich, and other towns in the Xiu
area migrated to a forest site called Tiytz some 20 leagues east of Campeche. Their leader was
278 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

as 35 leagues. The friar's letters also place Ichbalche some 14 leagues from
Nacaukumil and a shorter distance from Bolonpeten (Isla Pac).'^'' We also

find that in 1615, ^vhen the people of Ichbalche were moved to Sahcabchen,

the journey between these two places could be made in two or three days.
On the basis of these data we tentatively locate Ichbalche in the region
between L. Mocu and L. Cilvituk. Ichmachich was apparently closer to
Nacaukumil, as evidenced by the order in which the towns are listed in

Paxbolon's report of 1604 (Appendix E). Consequently we place Ichmachich

west of Ichbalche in the area on the opposite side of L. Mocu.
The location of Tzuctok has special interest in view of the fact that
sources of the later seventeenth century contain numerous references to a
place of the same name and apparently located in the same area.^*^ The most
explicit locational data concerning this later site are recorded in the narratives
of the expeditions of Capt. Alonso Garcia de Paredes and Fray Andres de
Avendafio to the Peten in 1695-96. These accounts place Tzuctok 45-50
leagues south of Cauich and about 17.5 leagues from Temchay, an impor-
tant point en route. ^^ The Cauich-Tzuctok distance compares well with
earlier estimates in the documents of 1605-15 which place Tzuctok 55-60
leagues from Campeche. In each case, of course, the figures doubtless ex-

ceeded the airline distance. Avendaiio's account of his first entrada in 1695
states that Tzuctok was "eight long leagues" from Chunpich (evidently

a certain Juan Ucan of Ticul. In mid-January 1605 Ucan and other members of this fugitive
group came to Campeche and notified the local authorities that they wished to resettle at the
site of Cauich, east of Champoton. The matter was referred to Governor Arellano, who
promptly authorized the plan and named Ucan as governor of the new settlement. The removal
of the Indians to Cauich was carried out a few weeks later. The Cauich mission became a visita
of the Campeche convent, of which Fray Alonso de Guzman was guardian at this time. This
place is occasionally described in the contemporary sources as one of the Missions of Las
Montanas, although this designation, as used in the present chapter, applies more specifically
to missions in the fugitive settlements located farther south (Paxbolon-Alaldonado Papers, Part
II, ff. 122-261;, 130-31, 136-381;, i40i;-43).
In 1605, when Fray Gregorio Gonzalez proposed the removal of the Indians of Nacauku-
55

mil and Auatayn to a new location southeast of Champoton, Santa Maria made an alternative
proposal, suggesting that the people of Nacaukumil might resettle "near here [Ichbalche] at an
old site called Bolonpeten, where it would be possible to administer them from this pueblo"
(ibid., f. 134).
56 The name
of this settlement appears in various spellings, e.g., Cuctok, Zuctoc, Tzuctoc,
Tzucthok. The form appears in Avendaiio's account of his journeys to the Peten. According
last
to the interpreters who accompanied the Paredes expedition of 1695, the name indicates a flint
deposit (Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1933, bk. 5, ch. 2). Tziic is occasionally a prefix indicating
a locality where the plant or other natural feature which follows is found; tok m.eans "flint."
57 Documents of the year 1669 describe Temchay, then said to have a population of 300

warriors, as a site north of Tzuctok. This place and other interior villages inhabited at the time,
including Tzuctok, were subsequently abandoned (Sobre las diligencias que se han hecho para
la reduccion de los indios de Sahcabchen y otros pueblos, 1668-70, AGI, Mexico, leg. 307). Cf.
also pp. 306-07, iiifra.
 5

THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS 279

located near Aguada Ciimpich) ,'''^

the first important town of the southern
Cehache. Moreover, both Avendaiio and Villagutierre place Tzuctok on
or near a stream of seasonal character. These facts point to a location for
Tzuctok near the site of Concepcion on the headwaters of the Arroyo
Caribe, a branch of the Candelaria.°^
We have already noted that the settlement where Fray Juan de Santa
Maria founded the mission of San Jeronimo de Tzuctok in 1605 was located
four days' journey to the south of Ichbalche on the route to the southern
Cehache towns and the Peten. We have also quoted Santa Maria's state-

ment that it was "the gateway to all heathendom." Other reports of 1605
describe Tzuctok as "the last pueblo of the outlaws" (fugitives) on the
frontier of heathendom. Paxbolon's memorial of 1604 places it next to the
last in the group of settlements in an easterly direction from Nacaukumil,
the last in this group being Chunpich. In the letter of the Indians of Tzuctok
to Governor Arellano, March 31, 1605, Chunpich is listed as one of the
border settlements surrounding the Tzuctok area. Documents of 161
record that the journey from Tzuctok to Sahcabchen took one week. In
1669 the site of Tzuctok, subsequently visited by Avendaiio, was said to

be eight days' journey from Sahcabchen, Finally, the mission records of 1609
indicate that it was possible to travel by canoe from Tzuctok to Chunhaz,
a site southwest of Ichbalche and near the western borders of Isla Pac, in
two days. This clearly shows that Tzuctok was near the Isla or on some
stream connecting with it. A location at or near Concepcion on the Arroyo
Caribe would answer this requirement.
Thus there can be little doubt that the mission settlement of 1605-15
and the place called Tzuctok mentioned in later sources were located in the

same area and probably at the same site.

Prior to 1609 the friars established missions in three other forest settle-
ments: Texan, Petcah, and Sacalum. Texan, apparently administered as
a visita of Ichbalche, may have been near the modern site of Taschan south-
east of Pixoyol. For the location of Petcah we have no information, except
that it appears to have been a visita of Tzuctok.
In regard to Sacalum, the sources state ( i ) that it was southeast of Cauich
in the direction of Bacalar and (2) that it was 50 leagues (an excessive esti-
mate, but indicating a long distance) from Ichbalche. Thus we can safely
place it in southern Quintana Roo, although the approximate site is still a

matter of considerable doubt. CogoUudo

o relates that the mission of Sacalum

58 Avendano describes a "lake" lying to the west of Chunpich (Means, 1917, p. 119).
59 Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1933, bk. chs. 1-2; Means, 1917, pp. 105-20.
5,
2 8o ACALAN-TIXCHEL

founded in 1622 by Fray Diego Delgado was at the same place as the earher

settlement of this name. If this is true, then the location must have been
south of any direct route from Cauich to Bacalar. The original mission

founded as a result of the Mirones-Delgado expedition of 1622 was at a

place named La Concepcion de la Pimienta. The journal of the entrada does
not permit an accurate location of this site, but the name indicates that it was
in a region where allspice trees {pimienta) were found. This would seem
to place it in the rain-forest belt that extends from the Bacalar area south-
westward into northern Peten. According to Cardenas Valencia, this mission
was later moved to Sacalum located "farther on," i.e., farther south. We also

know that Delgado subsequently traveled overland from Sacalum to Tipu

and thence to Lake Peten without going to Bacalar.®^ In view of this evidence,

we tentatively locate the settlement on Map 4 in the region of Lagunas Om

and Aeon. It should be stressed, however, that this location is less certain

than any other indicated on the map.

In 1606, or thereabouts, the Franciscans established three guardianias

in the Montaiias area with headquarters at Ichbalche, Tzuctok, and Cha-
Fray Francisco Matias, the former Companion of Fray Juan de
cuitzil.^^

Santa Maria, served as superior of the Ichbalche district, which also included
Ichmachich and probably Texan. Fray Joseph del Bosque, who had been sent
to the Chacuitzil-Auatayn district after the death of Fray Gregorio Gon-
zalez, became guardian of Tzuctok. This mission subsequently had two
visitas, evidently at Petcah and Sacalum. Fray Juan de Buenaventura took
charge of the mission at Chacuitzil and its visita at Auatayn after the transfer

of Bosque to Tzuctok. Another friar who served in the Montanas area prior
to 1 609 was the lay brother. Fray Juan Fernandez.
In 1607 Fray Pedro de Belena was sent out on a tour of inspection of the
forest missions. According to Cogolludo, he made an encouraging report
on the progress thus far achieved by the friars. It appears, however, that
Bishop Vazquez de Mercado held a less favorable view of the situation, as
evidenced by a letter to the Crown, dated June 16, 1606. In this dispatch
the bishop briefly outlined the events leading up to the promulgation of the
decree of September 22, 1604, which gave the Franciscans sole responsibility
for the pacification of the fugitive settlements, and then stated that the Indians

60 Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 10, ch. Scholes and Adams, 1936; Cardenas Valencia,
2;

1937, p. 76.
61 We
suggest the year 1606 as the date when the guardianias of Ichbalche, Tzuctok, and
Chacuitzil were established because of the fact that the provincial chapter of the Franciscan
Order met in that year.
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTAN AS 281

had not shown so great an indination to accept rehgious instruction as had

been expected. Experience had also shown that the missionaries would need
the aid and protection of soldiers and colonists in order to achieve lasting
results. The bishop recommended therefore that a settlement of about twenty-
Spanish families should be established at a suitable location in the Montaiias
area. Otherwise he feared that the Indians might seize a favorable oppor-
tunity to rebel against the missionaries and flee into the forest.^"
Despite this pessimistic report, the Council instructed the provincial
authorities to continue the pacification of the fugitives by missionary
methods, without resort to force of any kind or the intervention of any per-
sons other than the friars. This statement of pohcy, issued in 1607, gave
full support to the views of the Franciscans, who still held that soldiers 2nd
colonists should be excluded from the forest settlements. Two years later the
same policy was reaffirmed in a letter of the king to the Franciscan provincial,
Fray Hernando de Sopuerta.*^
Various statements formulated early in 1609 leave no doubt, however,
that conditions in the Montafias area were far from satisfactory. A promi-
nent citizen of Campeche, Francisco Sanchez Cerdan, described as a person
having a wide knowledge of the interior country, reported that missionary
discipline in the fugitive settlements had rapidly deteriorated and that many
of the Indians continued to practice idolatry and other heathen customs.
The protests and admonitions of the friars merely evoked threats by the
offenders to abandon the missions and withdraw into the forests. Cerdan
warned that the inability of the missionaries to curb "the very great liberties"
of the Indians had created a serious situation that would steadily grow
worse unless corrected by prompt and effective action. To illustrate the open
contempt of certain Indian leaders for the religious, he cited the case of a
chieftain of Tzuctok who had used violent and abusive language against
Fray Joseph del Bosque when the latter went out to serve as guardian of
the Tzuctok convent. From other sources, including a decree of Governor
Arellano, we learn that some time during the latter part of 1608 Fray Fran-
cisco Matias narrowly escaped death at the hands of a group of fugitives,
apparently from Tzuctok.*^*
In February-March 1 609 the governor and provincial conferred on meas-
ures to remedy the situation. They agreed to send Fray Juan de la Cruz,
62 Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 8, ch. 9; Vazquez Mercado to the king, Alerida, June
16, 1606, AGI, Mexico, leg. 369.
63 AGI, Aiexico, leg.
359; Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 8, ch. 9.
6* Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. 155-56U, 163-661;, 170-73U; Lopez de Cogolludo,

1867H58, bk. 8, ch. 15.

282 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

a former guardian of the Hecelchakan convent, to make a general investi-

gation of conditions in the interior settlements, on the basis of which ap-
propriate action might be taken to improve mission administration and
strengthen the disciplinary authority of the friars. It was also proposed that
a new convent should be established at Cauich to serve as general head-
quarters for the Montanas area and as a place of refuge for the friars in time
of danger. This scheme was later abandoned, however, as impracticable.*^
Fray Juan de la Cruz spent the months of April-July 1609 in the Mon-
tanas area. At this time only two friars were in residence at guardiania head-
quarters: Fray Francisco Matias at Ichbalche and Fray Juan de Buenaventura

at Chacuitzil. Fray Joseph del Bosque had apparently gone to Sacalum some
months earlier, and the Tzuctok mission was being administered temporarily
by the friar at Chacuitzil. During his inspection of the missions Fray Juan
de la Cruz relied to a great extent on Matias for advice and counsel, which
was only natural in view of Matias' four years of service in the interior and
his position as guardian of Ichbalche, the largest of the forest settlements.
It appears that prior to 1 609 there had been some debate among the friars

concerning the advisability of consolidating the pueblos of Chacuitzil, Aua-

tayn, and Tzuctok at a new location near Chacuitzil as a means of simpli-
fying mission administration. The proponents of this plan apparently in-
cluded Fray Juan de Buenaventura and Fray Pedro de Belefia, who had
served as visitador of the missions in 1607. Fray Francisco Matias strongly
opposed it, evidently on the ground that if any reorganization were made it

would be better to concentrate the missions in a more restricted district in the

region of Ichbalche. Because of this difference of opinion the provincial and

his advisers had taken no action in the matter. But early in 1609, as we have
seen, the Indians of Chacuitzil and Auatayn actually petitioned Governor
Arellano for permission to unite and to form a new settlement about 2 leagues
from Chacuitzil. On the advice of Buenaventura and Beleiia the petition was
approved, but the project apparently encountered renewed opposition, with
the result that the governor and provincial agreed to refer the matter to Fray
Juan de la Cruz for further investigation.
Thus the instructions received by Fray Juan de la Cruz for his visita of
the Montanas district specially charged him to determine whether it would
be advantageous from the standpoint of the missionary program to move
some of the settlements to other sites, "since the friars who have been there
hold different opinions [on the subject]." He was not authorized, however,
to carry out any reorganization on his own initiative without prior approval
65 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. 158-681;.
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS 283

by the governor and provincial. Nevertheless, after consultation with Fray

Francisco Matias, he decided to move the villages of Tzuctok, Chacuitzil,
Auatayn, and Ichmachich to a new site called Chunhaz. This place, located
only 5 or 6 leagues southwest of Ichbalche, occupied a fairly central position
in relation to the towns to be consolidated. The chief disadvantage of the
site was its proximity to extensive swamps, evidently on the western fringes of
Isla Pac.
The friar's plan met with some opposition, especially in Tzuctok. Two
chieftains of this pueblo hastily journeyed to Merida to file protest before
the governor, who promptly issued an order that the Indians should not be
forced to abandon their settlement without his consent. But Fray Juan
ignored this instruction, and during the month of May most of the people
of Tzuctok were moved to Chunhaz. The houses at Tzuctok were burned
in order to discourage dissident elements from returning^ to their old homes.

The friar's action in this case apparently quieted resistance in the other
towns, for by early June the Indians of Chacuitzil, Auatayn, and Ichmachich
had also assembled at Chunhaz.
Arellano received news of these developments in a letter from the gov-
ernor and alcaldes of Ichbalche delivered in Merida in mid-June. This mes-
sage also contained a report of an unfortunate incident that had occurred in
Ichbalche. It appears that Fray Juan de la Cruz ordered the village bailiff

(algiiacil) to arrest a group of fugitives recently arrived from northern

Yucatan whom he proposed to send back to their respective towns. The
order was carried out, but within a day or so most of the Indians escaped
into the forests. Whereupon the friar accused the bailiff of negligence and had
him whipped. This affair, so the letter stated, had created considerable
unrest among the people of Ichbalche, who also feared that the friar would
force them to move to Chunhaz, as he had already done in the case of the
other towns.
The report that Fray Juan had moved the Indians of Tzuctok and other
settlements to a new location without permission and in disregard of orders
naturally aroused Arellano's displeasure. The governor also regarded the
friar's actions at Ichbalche as entirely unwarranted.^^ Consequently he filed

Arellano had already engaged in argument with the Franciscans concerning the case of
6^

a friar who had imposed corporal punishment on a cacique of Dzonotake in northern Yucatan.
The governor held that the friars had no authority to impose punishments of this kind and that
in doing so they infringed the civil jurisdiction (Lopez de CogoUudo, 1867-68, bk. 8, chs. 12-13).
He evidently regarded the Ichbalche case as of similar character, for he now dispatched orders
to the officials of the Montaiias villages to the effect that in case the friars issued orders in
rpatters pertaining to the "royal jurisdiction," such as the moving of a town, imprisonment, or
corporal punishment, they should suspend execution of such orders until the provincial au-
 .

284 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

demand with the provincial for the immediate recall of the missionary to
Merida. The provincial expressed doubt concerning the accuracy of the
information at hand but agreed to summon both Fray Juan de la Cruz and
Frav Francisco A4atias for questioning. Arellano in turn dispatched an order
to the interior instructing the Indians to send him an exact account of what
had occurred.
On receipt of this message the officials of the various towns met in Ich-
balche and drew up of report as requested. These papers described in
letters

some detail the arbitrary manner in which Fray Juan had forced the removal
of the settlements to Chunhaz and the consequent hardships suffered by
the Indians. The s^overnor and regidores of Tzuctok testified that when
the two chieftains of their pueblo returned from Merida with Arellano's order
forbidding the transfer of the town to a new location without his consent
the friar took possession of the decree and misrepresented its true import.
Moreover, in order to prevent the messengers from making a further appeal
to the governor, iie had them arrested and held in jail until the removal of
the settlement to Chunhaz was completed. Many families had suffered hunger
at Chunhaz because they had been forced to abandon accumulated supplies

of food in their old villages. During the burning of Tzuctok a large number
of fowl and several pigs had been destroyed, as well as a considerable quantity
of maize and beans in storage. The letters also complained that Chunhaz,
situated near mosquito-infested swamps, was an unhealthy place and that
many people were ill with fever. Finally, the governor and alcaldes of Ich-
balche confirmed their earlier account of Fray Juan's actions in their own
^'^
pueblo.
On July 27, 1609, after receipt of these letters, Arellano issued orders
authorizing the Indians to return to their old settlements. Accordingly, most
of the people of Tzuctok, Chacuitzil, and Ichmachich abandoned Chunhaz
within a short time. We suspect, however, that some of the Indians, including
many from Tzuctok, drifted away into the forests instead of returning to
their villages. The Indians of Auatayn chose to remain at Chunhaz, probably

because there was a better water supply at this site. Earlier in the summer
Fray Juan de Buenaventura had also moved his residence to Chunhaz, which

thorities had been notified. In spiritual matters, however, the village officers should obey the
friarsunder penalty of loss of office (Paxbolon-Adaldonado Papers, Part II, if. I'jgv-'&ov)
6" It should be noted that we also have letters of the Indians of Tzuctok and Chacuitzil

written in early June which indicated their approval of the new arrangements and gave a
favorable report on the location of Chunhaz. It seems clear, however, that these letters were
written at the direction of Fray Juan de la Cruz and did not reflect the true sentiments of
most of the Indians.
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS 285

served henceforth as headquarters for the guardiania of Chacuitzil-Auatayn.^^

Unfortunately we do not possess the testimony given by Fray Juan de
la Cruz and Fray Francisco Matias after their arrival in Merida on summons
by the provincial. However, the Fray Juan was not permitted to
fact that
return to the interior suggests that the authorities, both civil and ecclesiastical,
regarded his conduct as worthy of censure. Fray Francisco Matias, who had
served as his counsellor, was also relieved of his post as guardian of Ichbalche.
The plan for the consolidation of four of the smaller towns at a site in the
region of Ichbalche had obvious merit, for it would have greatly facilitated

the instruction of the Indians. There is ample evidence that Arellano favored
reorganization of the missions, but it is not surprising that he disapproved
of the methods employed by Fray Juan de la Cruz. The forced removal of
the Indians to a new location against their wishes violated the promises made
in the decree of September 22, 1604. Moreover, the governor naturally ex-
pected to share in a decision involving the shift of so many Indians to another
site. If Fray Juan had acted with less haste and if he had used greater tact in
dealing with the Indians, his plan might well have succeeded. As things
turned out, he merely antagonized the governor and aroused unrest in the
interior settlements.
The sources record only a few facts concerning the history of the forest
missions during the next five years. Fray Buenaventura Valdes succeeded
Matias as guardian of Ichbalche in the autumn of 1609, but he soon became
discouraged because of his inability to enforce discipline and withdrew
from the mission before the end of the year.^'^ He was replaced by Fray
Juan Roldan, who served in Ichbalche for about a year and a half. Subse-
quently Fray Juan de Buenaventura, who had spent several years in Chacuit-
zil and Chunhaz, was assigned to Ichbalche. A mission report of December
1 6 10 indicates that Tzuctok had a resident friar at that time,^" and there is

some evidence that a convent was temporarily established in Sacalum in

1611-12.'^^ Prior to 1614, however, both Tzuctok and Sacalum were reduced
68 The major
sources for the Chunhaz episode are in Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II,
ff. 175-204'y. A few
additional items are in Autos hechos a instancia del defensor de indios . . .
,

1609, AGI, Patronato, leg. 231, num. 4, ramo 16.

68 In a letter to Governor Arellano, dated November 18, 1609, Valdes made a long and

bitter complaint concerning the sexual freedom practiced in Ichbalche. Neither public nor
private admonitions had been of any avail, for the "caciques" tolerated the practice and pro-
tected the offenders. Because of his inability to remedy conditions, the friar had already asked
the provincial for permission to return to northern Yucatan. Soon thereafter he withdrew from
Ichbalche, ostensibly because of illness, and did not return (Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part
II, S. zo^v-oSv).
70DHY, 2: 160.
In 1609 there was talk of founding a convent in Sacalum, but action was apparently post-
'^1

poned for a year or more, for the mission report of December 1610 does not mention a guardi-
 2 86 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

to the Status of visitas of Ichbalche. Although the mission at Chunhaz retained

convent status until 1615, when the settlements were finally moved to new
sites, it frequently lacked a resident missionary after Fray Juan de Buena-
ventura was transferred to Ichbalche. In 16 14-15 Buenaventura was the only
friar actually in residence in the entire Montafias district.

An interesting commentary on conditions in the forest settlements in these

later years is found in a letter of Fray Juan de Buenaventura to the provincial
governor, dated September 7, 16 14. The friar related that he had encountered
considerable difficulty in getting the Indians of Ichbalche to build a new
church to replace the one constructed when the mission was founded ten
years earlier. "The [new] building is not a Santa Maria Maggiore but only
a ramada for which the wood is available in the village. . . . But [the Indians]
are great idlers and enemies of work." Buenaventura also reported that a

group of malcontents had withdrawn from the town and had established
a small settlement in the forests a few leagues distant, "where they are drunk
with balche the year round and live in idolatry. My lord governor, I do not
speak passion but only the truth, for a short time ago I took a basketful of
idols from them." The leaders of this settlement had recently gone to Merida
to file certain complaints before the governor, and the friar begged that
they should be detained there until the truth of their accusations was verified.

He pointed out that on other occasions the provincial authorities, without

verifying the facts, had taken action on the basis of false charges made by
the Indians. "Favoring their mischief," Buenaventura wrote, "is the cause of
their losing respect for us; it puts our lives in danger and it imperils the sal-
vation of this whole land."^^
Other documents of 16 14-15 also reveal the lack of discipline in the in-
terior settlements. Friars who had served in the missions in preceding years
testified that many of the Indians continued to practice idolatry and other
heathen rites. One missionary told how he had destroyed numerous idols
of clay and stone in the town where he had been stationed. Sexual freedom
was prevalent in most of the villages, and cases of incest had been noted. The
efforts of the friars to correct these conditions had been unavailing, for the
Indians refused to obey their orders even in spiritual matters. An increasing
number of people had drifted away from the missions to live "in freedom"
in the forests, and some had migrated to the region of Tipu.'^^

ania in Sacalum at that time. However, a document of 16 12 refers to Fray Joseph del Bosque as
guardian of Sacalum. Lopez de CogoUudo (1867-68, bk. 8, ch. 9) also states that Bosque had
charge of the convent of San Francisco de Sacalum.
^2 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. iiiv-Zi^v.
''^
Ibid., fiF. 2281^-38^, passim.
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS 287

The Franciscans now realized that a drastic change was necessary to

prevent the complete loss of all they had achieved during the preceding ten
years. It was impossible to expect one or two friars effectively to administer
all the missions at the sites now occupied. Tzuctok, for example, was four
days' journey from convent headquarters at Ichbalche, and Sacalum was
still farther away. Moreover, in view of the rapid deterioration of missionary
discipline it was doubtful that conditions could be remedied by the assign-
ment of additional friars for service in the various settlements. The ob-
vious solution of the problemwas to move the missions to a new location near
Champoton or Campeche, where the Indians could be subjected to closer
supervision and where the missionaries could have easy communication
with other Franciscan houses in the area under Spanish control. Although this
move would also mean bringing the Indians into frequent contact with
Spanish colonists, the friars apparently concluded that this would be better
than to risk the complete abandonment of the missions in the near future.
In the autumn of 1614 the proposal to resettle the Indians at a new site
was submitted to the provincial governor, Don Antonio de Figueroa, who
had succeeded Luna y Arellano in 1 6 1 2 . Figueroa took no action until early
in the following year when he Campeche-Champoton district
visited the

during an official inspection of the province. At Calkini, on January 13, 161 5,

he issued orders summoning the officials of the interior settlements to Cham-
poton, where the plan to found a new mission would be discussed. He also
asked Fray Juan de Buenaventura and other missionaries who had served
in the Montaiias area to come to the conference.
The meeting at Champoton, attended by the governors, alcaldes, and
other officials of Ichbalche, Ichmachich, Tzuctok, and Sacalum, was held
January 31-February 2. Buenaventura and the other friars present made
lengthy statements describing the urgent need for more effective instruction
of the Indians and unanimously recommended the consolidation of the set-
tlements at a new location near Champoton. After some discussion the Indian
leaders agreed to the plan on one condition. The period of tribute exemption
guaranteed to the Indians when the Montanas missions were founded had
now expired. On behalf of their people the chieftains expressed willingness
to begin payment of a moderate tribute after the transfer to a new site had
been effected. They asked the governor, however, to promise that they would
have the status of Crown tributaries and not be assigned in encomienda to
Spanish colonists. Figueroa granted this request and also promised that
during his term of office the Indians would not be subjected to forced labor.
The friars suggested two sites for the new settlement. One was at Ulumal
 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

on the Champoton River, but the Indians objected to this location on the
ground that it was swampy, mosquito-infested, and unhealthy.'^'* The other
site, named Sahcabchen, was situated about 8 leagues southeast of Champoton
in the savannas of Chunal. In this region there was plenty of woodland for
milpas, grazing land for livestock, and ample water supply provided by wells
and cenotes. On February 3-4 the Indians made a thorough inspection of
the country around Sahcabchen and agreed to settle there.'^^

From Champoton Figueroa returned to Merida, where he conferred with

Bishop Salazar^^ and the Franciscan provincial and made final arrangements
for the removal of the Indians to Sahcabchen. The governor appointed
Francisco de Villalobos Cardenas, a citizen of Valladolid, as special commis-
sioner in charge of the resettlement, to be assisted by Fray Joseph del Bosque,
then resident in Hecelchakan, and Fray Juan de Buenaventura. The Fran-
ciscans also named Fray Joseph as guardian of the convent to be established
in Sahcabchen. The commissioner was authorized to recruit laborers in La
Ceiba, Champoton, and neighboring villages to bush the site of the new
settlement, build a church and a house for the friar, and clear lands for
planting. In these villages he could also requisition horses to transport valu-
able property from the forest settlements to Sahcabchen and purchase food
for the sustenance of the Indians until the first crop of maize was harvested.'^^

Early in March Cardenas and the two friars journeyed to Sahcabchen and
marked out sites for the village church and houses for the new settlers. Indian
laborers who had been recruited en route were immediately put to work
building the church and clearing milpas for planting. Leaving Fray Joseph
del Bosque to supervise these operations, Cardenas and Fray Juan de Buena-
ventura set out for the interior to begin the arduous task of moving the
Indians to their new home.
The events of the succeeding months will be summarized briefly. The
Indians of Tzuctok were brought to Sahcabchen at the end of March. In
the case of Ichbalche the transfer was made in three groups. The first two,
comprising the greater part of the population, reached Sahcabchen April
23-25; for various reasons the removal of the third contingent was delayed
until August. In accordance with Governor Figueroa's instructions the fruit
trees at Tzuctok and Ichbalche were cut down and the houses burned to dis-

''*
Sometime between 1609 and 1615 Ulumal was settled by other Indians from the forests,
but they had also found the place unhealthy and had moved away to Champoton and neighbor-
ing villages.
^5
Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. izSv-^jv.
Fray Gonzalo de Salazar, an Augustinian, succeeded Vazquez de Mercado
''^ as bishop of
Yucatan in 1610 (Carrillo y Ancona, 1895, i- 375)-
^^ Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff i^jv-Si.
.
 THE MISSIONS OF LAS MONTANAS 289

courage the Indians from returning to tlieir old locations. In June Cardenas
learned that the inhabitants of Ichmachich, in agreement with those of
Chacuitzil and Chunhaz, now wished to settle at Cheusih, a few leagues east
of Popola/^ This request was forwarded to the governor, who gave approval.
The removal of the three villages to Cheusih occurred sometime in July or
August. '^^
Although the Indians of Sacalum had agreed Champoton to
at settle in

Sahcabchen, we have no evidence that any of them did so. It is possible

that afew families later moved to Cauich.^^ In any case the Franciscans now
abandoned the Sacalum mission, and the people who remained there event-
ually dispersed into the forests. The documents of this period contain no
account of the settlements Texan and Petcah, formerly administered as
at

visitas of Ichbalche and Tzuctok respectively.

After the resettlement of the Indians at Sahcabchen and Cheusih was

completed, Cardenas made a matricula of each town for tribute purposes.
The list for Sahcabchen records 940 persons, old and young, of whom 828
had come from Ichbalche and 1 2 from Tzuctok. The population of Cheusih
1

numbered 364 persons, as follows: 173 from Chacuitzil, 128 from Chunhaz,
and 63 from Ichmachich. Each tributary unit (married couple) was assessed
at the rate of 12 reales (1.5 pesos) annually.^^ This levy was much lower than
the amount currently paid by the Indians of northern Yucatan. The governor
of Ichbalche was named as the new governor of Sahcabchen, and other leaders
of the old settlements also received appointments to office in Sahcabchen and
Cheusih. These arrangements and the low rate of tribute doubtless helped to
ensure the permanence of the new towns.
The mission at San Antonio de Sahcabchen (the advocation was the same
as for Ichbalche) had convent status from the beginning. In later years the

guardian of Sahcabchen also served a visita at Holail, located a short distance

to the southwest. There is reason to believe that this place was settled by
Indians from Tzuctok.''*" Although the Franciscans had some part in the
's Probably the same which the Indians of Chacuitzil and Auatayn wished
site to to move
in 1609. Cf. p. 276, supra.
Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. 282-312.
'^^

80
Figueroa's instructions to Cardenas and the friars stated that in case the Indians of
Sacalum wished to settle at Cauich they should be permitted to do so and that he would arrange
for the assignment of a resident friar for the Cauich mission. It seems unlikelv that many
Sacalum families actually moved to this place. In CogoUudo's time (1656) Cauich was still a
visita of the Campeche convent (Lopez de CogoUudo, 1867-68, bk. 4, ch. 20).
81 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. 312-371-'.
S2 At the time of their removal to Sahcabchen in March, 1615 the Indians of Tzuctok told

Cardenas that they wished to settle at Cucmiz about a league from Sahcabchen. This site,
located near the Rio Holha, was evidently near the place later known as Holail. It is also in-
teresting to note that the advocation of the Holail mission was San Jeronimo, the same as for
Tzuctok.
290 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

founding of the mission at Cheusih, this settlement was subsequently admin-

istered as part of the curacy of Tixchel.
The town of Sahcabchen became a center of trade and economic de-
velopment in southwestern Yucatan. In this area Spanish colonists established
farms and cattle ranches; others found the cutting of logwood a profitable
business. The coastal region east of Sahcabchen was frequented by merchants
engaged in commerce between Yucatan and Tabasco. In all these operations
the Indians had a part, serving as laborers, messengers, and carriers. Sahcabchen
also served as a convienient outpost of trade with the Indians in the interior
of the peninsula, and there is some evidence that its inhabitants manufactured
certain articles for sale to the fugitives. For about half a century the Indians
of Sahcabchen enjoyed a measure of prosperity. In the i66o's, however, the
population of this settlement and others on the southwestern frontier rapidly
decreased as the result of conditions to be described in Chapter 13.
 The Pretensions of Francisco Maldonado

THE 604
EXPEDITION which Don Pablo Paxbolon made
with
in 1 Maldonado, and
his son-in-law, Francisco
into the interior
associates was the
last recorded service of such nature performed by this able descendant of the
rulinsr house of Acalan-Tixchel. Although he hved for at least another ten
years, he no longer had the strength and energy to make such arduous journeys.
For almost half a century, perhaps longer, Paxbolon directed the affairs

of his native people at Tixchel, apparently with general approval. During a

period of thirty-eight years (i 566-1 604) he made numerous trips into the

swamp and forest areas beyond Tixchel to seek out fugitive and heathen
Indians in order to reduce them to submission to the kino-
o
and the faith. He
enjoyed the confidence and respect of governors and bishops, Spanish
colonists and Franciscan missionaries. As an Indian leader he was undoubtedly
the outstanding figure of his time in Yucatan.
By virtue of his position as cacique and governor of Tixchel Paxbolon
enjoyed various privileges, such as exemption from tribute and forced labor
and the right to receive service from the natives of the pueblo. In recognition
of his services and ability the provincial governors gave him commissions of
trust and responsibility. There is no evidence, however, that Paxbolon ever
received financial reward for his labors as an explorer and frontier leader. In
1576 he petitioned the king for an ayuda de costa, or pension, of one hundred
ducados^ annually in recompense for his services during the Zapotitlan episode,
but this request was apparently unsuccessful, and we have no record that it

was repeated.^
In 161 2 Francisco Maldonado instituted proceedings in the usual manner
to draw up a probanza of the merits and services of Paxbolon, his father-in-

law, and of his own as a citizen of Campeche. Although documents of this kind
were partly for purposes of record, they were also intended, in most cases,
to serve as evidence in support of a petition for office, a grant of encomienda,
some other form of reward for services rendered. In this case it
a pension, or
was Maldonado's purpose to assemble evidence ( i ) to record the history and
Approximately 138 silver pesos of 8 reales each.
1

Probanza of the services of Don Pablo Paxbolon, cacique of Acalan-Tixchel, 1569-76, AGI,
2

Mexico, leg. 97. In response to Paxbolon's petition a royal cedula was issued instructing the
colonial authorities to report on Paxbolon's activities and services (AGI, Mexico, leg. 2999,
libro D-2). The reports, if they were ever made, have not been found.

291
292 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

services of the ruling house of Acalan-Tixchel, (2) to estabhsh the hereditary

rights of Martin Maldonado, son and the grandson of Paxbolon, and (3)
his

to support his own claim to a grant of encomienda under the terms of the
agreement of 1 604 by which Governor Fernandez de Velasco had authorized
him and his associates of Campeche to undertake the reduction and indoctrina-
tion of the fugitive Indians in the interior of Yucatan. The documentary
record,drawn up between 161 2 and 161 5, constitutes the Paxbolon-Maldo-
nado Papers which have been cited so frequently in the preceding chapters.^
The first step in the formation of the probanza was taken at Merida on
June 28, 161 2, when Maldonado presented a lengthy petition to Don Antonio
de Figueroa, governor and captain general of the province. In this document,
in which he acted as spokesman not only for himself but also for his father-

in-law and his son, he set forth the essential facts concerning Paxbolon's
descent from the ruling house of Acalan, Paxbolon's services as cacique and
governor of Tixchel, his own activities since his arrival in Yucatan, and his

marriage alliance with Paxbolon's daughter. Dona Catalina. With this petition

he filed © series of supporting documents which he asked to have incorporated

ia the record. These included Paxbolon's titles of appointment as cacique and
governor of Tixchel, the commissions and agreements issued by various gov-
ernors of Yucatan authorizing Paxbolon to bring about the submission of
heathen and fugitive Indians of the interior, and other papers illustrating the
services of both Paxbolon and Maldonado. Finally, Maldonado asked to have
witnesses examined on the basis of a long interrogatory which he presented.
By Governor Figueroa the petition
a decree of and supporting papers were
formally accepted, and Maldonado was authorized to present his witnessses.
Between June 30 and July 6 five witnesses were examined. The inter-
rogatory, which consisted of twenty-two questions, covered a wide range of
topics, such as the lineage of Paxbolon, the coming of Cortes in 1525 and the
Cuauhtemoc episode, the founding of the missions in Acalan, the removal of
the Indians to Tixchel, the education of Paxbolon by the friars in Campeche,
becoming governor of Tixchel in 1566, and the activities of
his services after

Maldonado as a citizen of Campeche and as an associate of his father-in-law.

The witnesses included two leadinor citizens of Merida and three Franciscan
friars. Their testimony in general supported the facts as set forth in the inter-
rogatory.
By a decree of August 23 Governor Figueroa authorized transfer of the
probanza proceedings to Campeche, where Maldonado wished to have other
3 The remainder of this chapter is based on these Papers, except as otherwise indicated in
note 7, infra.
 PRETENSIONS OF FRANCISCO MALDONADO 293

witnesses examined. Alonso Perez, alcalde ordinario of Campeche, was named

as the governor's delegate to conduct the hearings. In September Maldonado
went to Campeche and presented three substantiating witnesses who gave
testimony on the basis of the interrogatory mentioned above.
On September 24 Maldonado petitioned the alcalde to incorporate in the

record a narrative in the Chontal language describing the history of Acalan-

Tixchel from preconquest times to 1 604. The originals of this document, or
series of documents, which we have cited as the Chontal Text, were in the
possession of Don Pablo Paxbolon. It is apparent that Maldonado had had
access to them prior to the initiation of the probanza in June, for part of the
interrogatory presented at that time was based on information recorded there-
in. Moreover, it was undoubtedly from the beginning to in-
his intention

corporate a copy in the proceedings, because toward the end of June, or early
in July, his son, Martin Maldonado, appeared in Tixchel and made the fol-

lowing petition to Paxbolon.

I, Martin Maldonado, citizen of the villa of San Francisco de Campeche, re-

siding at present in this pueblo of Tichel, state that it has come to my attention that
Don Pablo Paxbolon, governor and natural lord of this said pueblo and those sub-
ject to my grandfather, has in his possession some papers in the Chontal language
it,

which record my great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents and the descent

and genealogy of my aforesaid grandfather and of my mother. It is stated by these
papers that they were natural lords whose dominion was acknowledged by the
majority of the subjects, and they governed and administered as its lords. And
because in support of my legal rights it is fitting that you, as the person who has
[this account], should produce it and hand it over to the notary of this said pueblo
in order that one or two authorized copies may be made for me by the said notary
and in the presence of the cabildo of this said pueblo so that it may carry weight
and be capable of proof before a royal notary and a competent judge as stronger
proof and corroboration of a probanza I intend to make de perpetua rei memoriam
{sicY in order to ask for favors in consideration of the services which my afore-
said ancestors rendered his Majesty: I therefore beg you to do as I have said, for
in so doing you will perform a good office in my behalf. And you will order the
aforesaid notary to give me a copy of the said papers in the language of these
and
natives; let the original be returned to you. And I ask justice, etc. Martin
Maldonado.

In accordance with this request, Paxbolon authorized the clerk of Tixchel

to make a copy of the papers, which Martin Maldonado delivered to his
father in Campeche. In his petition of September 24, Francisco Maldonado
not only requested formal acceptance of the document as part of the probanza

* This phrase should read: ad perpetua?n rei Tnemoriam.

294 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

record, but also asked that a Spanish translation be made by Father Caspar
de los Reyes, cura of Canipeche, who was said to have a better knowledge
of Chontal than anyone else in the province. By order of the alcalde the narra-
tive was incorporated in the proceedings, but action on Maldonado's request
for a Spanish translation was postponed.
At this point Melchor Bonifacio, alguacil tnayor of Campeche, filed a
petition to have the hearings suspended on the ground that the probanza was
not being made in the manner prescribed by law. Despite protest from Mal-
donado, who accused Bonifacio of personal malice and enmity, the alcalde
granted the request and referred the matter to Governor Figueroa for decision.
After litigation lasting two months, during which Maldonado accused Perez
of partiality and succeeded in having him removed as the governor's delegate,
the hearings were resumed on December 19 before Mateo Aguilar, the second
alcalde of Campeche. Two citizens of Campeche were named as interpreters
to make a Spanish translation of the Chontal narrative and to receive the
declarations of certain Indians of Tixchel presented by Maldonado to give

testimony concerning Paxbolon's ancestry and to verify the accuracy of the

Chontal narrative. Bonifacio once more raised objections and succeeded in
preventing examination of the Indian witnesses, but a translation of the Chon-
tal Text, made by the two interpreters, was filed on December 22 and accepted
as part of the record.
After a delay of more than a year a third delegate, or fiez de comision,
was appointed. In May 16 14 the Indian witnesses were examined, this time
without opposition from Bonifacio. On petition of Maldonado, June 13, 16 14,

the probanza record was closed and sent under seal to the governor in Merida.
On October 15 Figueroa added to it a statement in which he certified that

Maldonado and his son were men of trust and honor who had served the
Crown in a faithful manner. He also stated that Paxbolon possessed all the
merits attributed to him in the probanza and that he had no equal among the
Indians of the province. Finally, on October 17, 16 14, certified copies of the
entire record, made by a notary of Merida, were delivered to Maldonado to
be used as he saw fit in support of his claims for reward for his services. One
of these copies constitutes Part I of the Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers.
After the successful completion of the probanza proceedings in Cam-
peche, Maldonado went to Merida where he presented a formal claim for an
encomienda in the region where the Montaiias missions had been founded. In
a petition dated September 2, 16 14, he reviewed the essential facts concerning
the contract of 1 604 by which he and his associates had agreed to bring about
the reduction and indoctrination of fugitive Indians in the interior, in return
 PRETENSIONS OF FRANCISCO MALDONADO 295

for which the partners had been promised number of tributaries (600
a certain

in the case of Maldonado) after expiration of a four-year period during which

the Indians were to be exempt from tribute. Although Governor Luna y Arel-
lano had suspended the contract in the autumn of 1604 and had placed the
Franciscan friars in charge of the project, it was Maldonado's contention that
the latter had merely completed the work which he and his associates had
started and that the contract had not been formally abrogated. The period of
tribute exemption, increased to six years by Luna y Arellano and subsequently
to ten years by a royal cedula of 1607, had now expired, and Maldonado asked
to have the Indians counted in order that his share of the total might begin
paying tribute to him. He offered to pay half of the salary of an official to
make the count, and to pay the cost of religious instruction of the Indians to
be assigned to him in encomienda. At the same time he expressed his desire to

make new entradas to the bush and forest areas under the terms of the original
contract.
Governor Figueroa referred the petition to his lieutenant, Damian Cer-
vera de Acufia, and one of the alcaldes ordinarios of Merida, Lie. Leon de
Salazar, for opinions on the legal questions involved. Their reports were filed

on September 25 and October 14 respectively. Cervera stated that the gover-

nor was under obligation to reward the partners in accordance with the terms
of the 1604 agreement. He also recommended that Maldonado should be per-
mitted, even compelled, to resume explorations in the interior as soon as pos-
sible, "before the death of Don Pablo Paxbolon." It was the opinion of Leon
de Salazar that Maldonado and his associates, as the persons who had initiated

the missionary project in the Montanas area, should receive the reward stipu-
lated by the contract, but they should repay the royal treasury all that had
been expended in support of the friars subsequent to the suspension of the
contract in 1604. Moreover, before making the encomienda grants, the gov-
ernor should take suitable action to prevent the Indians from abandoning the
settlements where they had been congregated in the interior of the peninsula

east and southeast of Tixchel. Salazar feared, with justice, that the Indians

would object to being brought within the scope of the encomienda system.
Although these reports were favorable to Maldonado's claims, the governor
made no decision at this time.
Early in 1615 Governor Figueroa took action to move the Indians of the
Montanas missions to sites nearer Champoton, and in order to induce them
to make the change he agreed not to impose tribute on them until they were
well established in their new settlements. As one of the interested parties,
Maldonado accepted this agreement, partly to facilitate the move, partly be-
296 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

cause he believed that if the Indians were resettled where they would have
good farm lands they would eventually be in a better position to pay tribute.

The resettlement of the Indians at Sahcabchen and Cheusih has been described
in the preceding chapter. In November 1615 Maldonado renewed his en-
comienda claim and petitioned the governor to make a formal grant in ful-
fillment of the contract of 1 604, to become effective on the expiration of the
period of tribute exemption. Figueroa ordered his notary to assemble all the
pertinent documents relating to the history of the Montanas missions, and
after these had been compiled he issued a decree, dated November 28, 161 5,

remitting the case to the Council of the Indies. He also authorized preparation
of certified copies of the papers for Maldonado's use in an appeal to the Coun-
cil. Part II of the Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers comprises one set of these
copies, the certification being dated May 13, 1616.

Early in 1 618 Pedro de Toro, Maldonado's agent, presented the Paxbolon-

Maldonado Papers, Parts I and II, to the Council with a covering petition
asking for execution of the agreement of 1604. After a delay of more than
two years, the fiscal of the Council filed an opinion, dated at Madrid, October
6, 1620, to the effect that Maldonado had not proved that he had fulfilled his

part of the original contract and that his claim for an encomienda should not
be granted. But in view of the various services which A'laldonado had per-
formed, he recommended reward in some other form. Further action was
suspended for more than seven years. At long last, on February 22, 1628, the

Council voted to send the case back to the governor of Yucatan for final de-

cision. This action was made the basis of a royal cedula issued on March 9 of
the same year.
On March 14, 1629, Governor Juan de Vargas Machuca decreed that Mal-
donado had fulfilled his obligations under the terms of the 1 604 agreement and
authorized him to file action for an encomienda in the Montaiias area or in
any other part of Yucatan. Accordingly, Maldonado asked for a grant of 600
tributaries in the towns where the Montaiias Indians had been resettled, of

whom 200 should be granted to Martin Maldonado, and 400 to Capt. Nicolas
Fernandez Maldonado, a younger son by a second marriage. Inasmuch as the
Indians in question had become royal tributaries after the expiration of the
period of tribute exemption agreed upon in 16 15, the treasury officials raised
objections. The case was in litigation until December 1629, when an event
occurred which made possible a solution satisfactory to all parties concerned.
On December 15, 1629, the encomienda of Calkini became vacant by the
death of the encomendero, Juan Rosado Mosquera. Maldonado appHed for
the vacancy in the name of his younger son, Nicolas Fernandez Maldonado,
 PRETENSIONS OF FRANCISCO MALDONADO 297

offering to abandon further claim to an encomienda under the terms of the

1604 contract. Governor Vargas accepted Maldonado's offer, and by decree
of February 22, 1630, Calkini was granted to Nicolas Fernandez Maldonado
in first life. The Indians of the Montaiias settlements were also declared to be
perpetual tributaries of the Crown."
The tributes of Calkini were valued at 366 pesos, 6 reales annually, by
no means a generous reward after so many years for the many and varied
services of Don Pablo Paxbolon and his son-in-law. In some respects, how-
ever, Maldonado and his family made a better settlement than if they had
obtained 600 tributaries in the Montaiias district, for during the succeeding
decades this area was the scene of increasing unrest and many of the Indians
abandoned the settlement at Sahcabchen where most of them had been con-
gregated in 1 61 5.

The appointment of Maldonado's younger son by a second marriage as

encomendero of Calkini also deserves some comment. Maldonado's probanzas

had stressed the services of Paxbolon, and his earlier petitions, including the
one filed by his agent in Spain, had cited these services as well as his own in
support of his claim for reward under the terms of the contract of 1604. It

is somewhat surprising, therefore, that Martin Maldonado, the grandson and

heir of Paxbolon, received no share in the final settlement. Apparently the
elder Maldonado, who by 1630 was growing old, was now more interested in
providing for his family than for himself. Paxbolon was now dead and Martin
Maldonado had probably inherited most of his property, which included lands
near Tixchel. Consequently, his father may have decided that he was already
well provided for and that any reward obtainable under the contract of 1 604
should go to the younger brother. It should also be noted that Nicolas Fernan-
dez Maldonado, who received the encomienda of Calkini, had performed
services in his own right and was a captain of artillery in the Campeche garri-
son, as his father had been in earlier years. Moreover, his mother was probably
the daughter of one of Francisco Maldonado's associates in the 1 604 expedition
to the Montanas area, and in such case he would have had an additional claim
to the reward.^
The sources at our disposal at the present time do not provide any infor-

s The later
history of the case, including the litigation in 1629 and the final settlement, is
found in Expediente concerning confirmation of Capt. Nicolas Fernandez Maldonado as en-
comendero of Calkini, 1628-31, AGI, Mexico, leg. 242,
6 Although positive evidence is lacking, Francisco Maldonado's second wife, the mother of

Nicolas Fernandez Maldonado, was probably the daughter of Lie. Alonso Fernandez Mal-
donado, citizen of Campeche, who was one of the partners with whom the governor made the
contract for the reduction of the Montanas area in 1604. Francisco Maldonado's second marriage
apparently took place about 1600.
2gS ACALAN-TIXCHEL

mation concerning the later years of Francisco Maldonado. He was sixty-two

years old in 163 1, and his death probably occurred sometime during the suc-
ceeding decade and a half. Martin Maldonado was only thirty-eight in 163 1,

but the documents are also silent concerning his subsequent career. Although
he was next in line to succeed his grandfather as cacique of Tixchel, the fact
that he was a mestizo made him ineligible for such office under colonial law.''^

Likewise, nothing is known concerning Dofia Maria, daughter of Paxbolon

and Mencia de Ordufia.
7 Recopilacion, bk. 6, tit. 7, law 6.
 Decline of the Tixchel Area in
the Seventeenth Century

VERY LITTLE known concerning the history of Tixchel subsequent

is

to 1604, when Don Pablo Paxbolon participated in the founding of the

first Montanas missions. In that year the cacique was about sixty years old
and his health was failing. The last years of his life were probably spent in

quiet administration of local affairs and in the management of his farms and
trading interests, but this was not the kind of activity that would be recorded
in the documents of the time. In his youth a pride in his ancestry and the
desire to justify his own rights and privileges as a native ruler had prompted
the formulation of Documents I and II of the Chontal Text, which date from
the year 1567. These papers were evidently jealously guarded as proofs of his
noble descent, and toward the end of his life they were supplemented by

Document III, which records the story of the conquest period, the conversion
of the Acalan, the removal of the people to Tixchel, and the achievements of
Paxbolon as a servant of king and Church. But this later record, written about
1610, stops short with the founding of Usulaban in 1603-04. Curiously enough
it contains no record of the cacique's part in the founding of the Montanas
missions, possibly because his role was overshadowed by the activities of his
Spanish son-in-law and associates. The lack of any reference to later events
indicates that Paxbolon's work was done. His death, which occurred some-
time after September 25, 16 14, rang down the curtain on the last of the Acalan
chieftains.^

With the passing of Don Pablo the administration of local affairs may
have lacked the effective guidance provided in years past by the old cacique.
Paxbolon had set out to achieve definite aims and he possessed the qualities of
leadership necessary to attain them. He had maintained firm control over
the Indians of his jurisdiction, and apparently they accepted his authority
without question. It is unlikely that his successors had equal ability or com-
manded the same respect. The absence of strong leadership may explain in
part the fact that the sources record so little information about local events
in the Tixchel area during the period subsequent to Paxbolon's death.

1 Paxbolon is mentioned in a document of September 25, 1614, but the reference suggests
that he did not have long to live. Cf p. 295, supra.
.

299
30O ACALAN-TIXCHEL

The first specific reference to Tixchel during these later years is found
in the Relacion historial eclesidstica of Bachiller Francisco de Cardenas
Valencia, completed in 1639.^ Here we learn that Tixchel was still the head
of a missionary district served by a secular priest. This person was evidently
Father Ambrosio de Figueroa, who had been appointed curate of Tixchel in
1636.^ According to Cardenas Valencia, the curacy now comprised seven
towns. These are not listed, but they certainly included Tixchel, Chiuoha,
Popola, Usulaban, and Cheusih, where the Indians of Ichmachich, Chacuitzil,
and Chunhaz were settled in 161 5 (See Chapter 11). The others were prob-
ably Chekubul and a merger settlement of Tiquintunpa-Mazcab (now known
as Mamantel).
The first reference to Chekubul occurs in Paxbolon's report of settlements
of fugitive Indians in the interior of Yucatan in 1604, where it is listed as one
of the pueblos in the area north of Nacaukumil.* was probably located at or It

near the modern site of the same name southeast of Tixchel. The Chekubul
mission, first mentioned by Cogolludo writing in 1656, was apparently founded
by the priest of Tixchel, but we have no record of the exact date. For reasons
cited below we believe, however, that it was established prior to 1639.
Tiquintunpa is frequently mentioned in the seventeenth century docu-
ments. The last specific reference to Mazcab (originally called Xocola) is
in Document III of the Chontal Text, i.e., for the year 16 10. We find, how-
ever, that Cogolludo and other later sources mention a place called Mamantel,
often in association with Tiquintunpa. A site of this name is shown on modern
maps in the area where Mazcab was apparently located, and there can be little

doubt that Mamantel was the old settlement of Mazcab under a new name.
Sometime prior to Cogolludo's time Mamantel and Tiquintunpa were "joined"
for mission purposes, although they may not have been immediately con-
solidated into a sincrle settlement.^ In view of Cardenas Valencia's statement
that the curacy of Tixchel comprised seven towns, which probably included
Chekubul, we surmise that the missionary merger of Tiquintunpa and Mam-
antel occurred prior to 1639.
Cardenas V^alencia also reports that the seven towns of the curacy con-
tained 1 7 1 o persons seven years of age or older.^ Although an exact estimate
of the total population cannot be made on this basis, the actual figure prob-
ably did not exceed 2500 persons. In Chapter 10 we estimated the total
2 Cardenas Valencia, 1937, p. 102. For a recent account of the author's Hfe and work, see
Adams, 1945.
3 Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 11, ch. 12.
^ See Appendix E.
5 Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 4, ch. 19.
6 Cardenas Valencia, 1937, p. 102.
 DECLINE OF TIXCHEL AREA 3OI

population of the curacy in 1609 as some 1600 persons. To this number

should be added 364 persons settled at Cheusih in 161 5, making a total of
1964. This means that we must
account for an increase of 536 persons for
other causes between 1609 and 1639. This would be at the rate of 33.5 per
cent for the towns occupied in 1609.
The cumulative effects. of increasing maize production, especially in the
Usulaban area, might well explain a sharp rise after 1609. We doubt, how-
ever, that the population of all the older towns would have increased more
than 30 per cent in as many years. For this reason we believe that another
town, viz., Chekubul, was added to the curacy prior to 1639. If we assume
that its population equaled that of Cheusih (an arbitrary estimate and prob-
ably too high), this would still leave room for an increase of 172 persons, or

10.75 P^r cent, for the towns occupied in 1609. The rate of growth would
be higher if Cheusih suffered losses during resettlement, as we might expect.
Whatever the facts may be as to the population of the various towns in
the Tixchel area in 1639, Cardenas Valencia's report leaves no doubt that
the region as a whole was in a prosperous condition at this time.
Within a few years, however, the town of Tixchel was abandoned. For
this event we have only the laconic statement by Cogolludo (1656) that
Tixchel had been destroyed and that the capital of the curacy had been
transferred to Popola. According to the chronicler, the curacy now com-
prised the towns of Popola, Usulaban, Chekubul, Cheusih, and Tiquintunpa,
to which had been joined the village of Mamantel.'^ Chiuoha is not mentioned
as one of the visitas, but we know from other sources that it was still in exist-
ence and part of the curacy of Popola.
Although the date of the abandonment of Tixchel cannot be definitely
fixed, it apparently occurred sometime between 1639, when it was still the

head of the mission district, and 1643. In the latter year the bishop of Yucatan
made a report concerning the secular clergy in the diocese, in which he
lists Father Ambrosio de Figueroa as curate of Popola, As already noted,
Figueroa had served as curate of Tixchel since 1636, so it would appear that
the transfer of the capital of the curacy from Tixchel to Popola had occurred
prior to the bishop's report, dated March 8, 1643.^
Lackinq; other information concerning the abandonment of Tixchel, we
can only speculate as to its causes. We doubt that it was due to economic
reasons. Although the land near Tixchel was poor from the standpoint of

Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 4, ch. 19.

^

Memorial de la clerecia de la ciudad de Merida y obispado de Yucatan hecho per su

8

Senoria el Dr. Don Juan Alonso Ocon, obispo de dicho obispado iMerida, 8 nnarzo, 1643, . . . ,

AGI, Mexico, leg. 369.

302 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

milpa agriculture, we have seen (Chapter lo) that in the latter part of the

sixteenth century and early seventeenth the Indians had established farms
where better land was available and that food produc-
farther in the interior
tion had increased, making possible the occasional export of maize to other
areas. Although these farm lands were evidently some distance from Tixchel,

this fact probably would have had little effect in prompting abandonment

of the town, for the Indians of northern Yucatan in colonial and modern
times have been accustomed to farm lands located 20 or 30 km. and more
from their villages. Some of the best land in the Tixchel district was apparently
in the region of Usulaban, where a settlement of Maya fugitives was estab-
lished in 1603-04. Although this town increased in population, there is no
evidence of a sizable migration from Tixchel to Usulaban prior to the 1640's.
The Tixchel people may have had farms in the Usulaban area, but it was
a relatively easy matter to transfer the harvested crops to Sabancuy estuary
and thence to Tixchel by canoe.
Although the Tixchel people obviously were not so well off agricul-
turally as the Maya of northern Yucatan, local commerce, tortoise-shell
manufacturing and export, and good fishing would have made up for bad
farming-. Moreover, there is little reason to doubt that Tixchel continued to
share in the coastal trade between Yucatan and Tabasco. The buccaneer
menace may have interfered with the trade in seagoing craft, but this fact

probably would have increased the volume and profits of business by canoe
along routes which followed inland waters in many places, such as Sabancuy
estuary. After the British established a piratical base in the Laguna de Ter-
minos region, the canoe trade would of course have suffered, but this appar-
ently occurred after the abandonment of Tixchel. It also seems likely that
the Tixchel people were able to retain their share of the trade with the fugitive
Indians of the interior of the peninsula. In fact, the increasing number of these
Indians would have enlarged the volume of business, at least until the i66o's
when conditions in the interior became chaotic.
Cogolludo's statement that Tixchel was destroyed obviously suggests
a sudden abandonment rather than slow decay. Although there is no positive
evidence to prove it, we surmise that the destruction of Tixchel was the
result of a piratical attack. Beginning with the 1560's the coasts of Yucatan
had been subjected to periodic attacks by foreign corsairs. The first raids

were made by French pirates, but toward the end of the sixteenth century
the British began to appear, and during the first half of the seventeenth cen-
tury both British and Dutch corsairs scourged the coasts of the peninsula
and made shipping unsafe in Yucatecan waters. It was during this later period
 DECLINE OF TIXCHEL AREA 305

that we have record of raids by well-known corsairs, such as Diego the

Mulatto, Peg Leg (Pie de Palo), and Jacob Jackson. Inasmuch as Campeche
was the leading port of Yucatan, the pirate menace was most serious on the
west coast.^

Tixchel was located near Puerto Escondido, a sheltered and undefended

harbor opening into Sabancuy estuary. Here the corsairs probably took
refuge from time to time and landed to obtain water and replenish their
supplies. The nearby town of Tixchel could hardly have escaped raiding
attacks for food and booty. Even if the raiders did not treat the Indians badly,
they probably would have sacked the church and principal buildings; and if

the Indians, under the leadership of their priest and village officials, offered
resistance, then the corsairs undoubtedly would have taken vengeance on
the town, putting the pole and thatch houses to the torch. That such an
event actually took place is supposition, but it seems the most reasonable
explanation for the sudden abandonment of the town, as implied by Cogol-
ludo's account.
The would now have withdrawn not only to a safer spot farther
Indians
inland but also to a place where better land was available. That most of
them moved to Usulaban is indicated by three kinds of evidence: ( ) docu- i

ments of the i66o's show that the town was now predominately Chontal;
(2) the advocation of the town in this later period was La Concepcion de
Nuestra Sefiora, the same as that of Tixchel after 1585; (3) the Tixchel en-
comienda is subsequently listed as the encomienda of Usulaban.
Thus by 1643 the which had been occupied by the Acalan
site of Tixchel,
in preconquest times and again for more than eighty years in colonial days, was

once more abandoned. There is no evidence that it was ever again reoccupied
Today only a few hacienda buildings stand along the shore
as a village site.

of Sabancuy estuary. The preconquest ruins along shore are being torn down
and converted into lime for export to the Usumacinta area, and the mounds
east of the mangrove swamp are covered with bush. The remains of a paved

road, or sacbe, also bear witness to earlier occupation in pre-Spanish days.

There is no recognizable trace of the colonial town.

The encomienda of Tixchel, comprising the towns of Tixchel, Tiquin-

tunpa, Mazcab, and Chiuoha, was held in third life in 1606 by Mateo de
Aguilar (see Chapter 10). At the death of Aguilar, sometime after 16 15, the
encomienda became vacant and was reassigned to Joseph Ortiz of Campeche,
At the same time Dona Maria Centeno was granted an annual pension of 250
9 Molina Soli's, 1904-13, vol. 2, passim; Perez Martinez, 1937, chs. 2, 3.
304 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

pesos, 125 fanegas of maize, and 250 gallinas as a charge against half of the

encomienda. On the basis of the value of the encomienda in 1606, this would
have reduced the encomendero's annual revenue to about 818 pesos. In
1648 Ortiz died, apparently without heirs, and the encomienda was now
granted to Alferez Pedro Hernandez of Campeche, who also received half

of the encomienda of Pocmuch in the Ah Canul area.^^

Documents recording the grant to Hernandez describe the Tixchel
encomienda as now comprising the towns of Usulaban, Tiquintunpa, Mam-
antel, and Chiuoha. As noted above, this constitutes one line of evidence that

the Indians of Tixchel moved to Usulaban when their town was destroyed
between 1639 and 1643. It also implies that the people of Usulaban, who
may have been granted the status of royal tributaries when the town was
founded in 1603-04, had now been included within the encomienda in order
to simplify the collection of tribute in the consolidated settlement of Usulaban-
Tixchel. Reference to Mamantel as part of the encomienda clearly shows that
thiswas the old settlement of Mazcab under another name.
A new tribute assessment made in connection with the transfer of the en-
comienda to Hernandez reveals that it now contained only 168 tributary
units as compared with 320 units in the year 1606. This indicates a decline
of population of 47.5 per cent. Such a rapid decrease can be attributed to two
major factors, (i) The people of Tixchel doubtless suffered losses as a re-

sult of the destruction of their town and their removal to Usulaban. (2) In
1648 a severe epidemic swept the province of Yucatan, causing the death
of hundreds of Spaniards and thousands of Indians. Cogolludo describes the
pestilence at some length. He states that although the "illnesses" were not the
same in all cases, most of the victims suffered from "intense pain in the head
and in all the bones of the body," followed by a high fever causing delirium.
Some of the sufferers also vomited blood, "and of these few lived;" others
had form of dysentery. These symptoms obviously suggest an epidemic
a

of yellow fever. Contemporary documents record that between July and

October inclusive more than 700 Spaniards died, and in some of the Indian
towns of northern Yucatan the losses apparently ran as high as 50 per cent,
as indicated by revised tribute schedules. The death of Joseph Ortiz, former
encomendero of Usulaban-Tixchel, was evidently caused by the epidemic,
and there can be little doubt that it also swept through the villages of the

Tixchel area, although the documents do not explicitly state this.^^

Confirmation of a pension granted to Juan de Ribera y Garate on half the encomienda of

1°

Pocmuch, 1 648-1 660, AGI, Mexico, leg. 243.

11 Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 11, chs. 12-15; AGI, Mexico, leg. 243.
 DECLINE OF TIXCHEL AREA 305

Some time prior to 1688 the encomienda was reassigned to Fernando

Alvarez Magaiia, but on March 24 of this year it was declared vacant because
the encomendero-designate had failed to obtain royal confirmation of the

grant within the time specified by law. Alvarez' lack of interest is not sur-
prising, in view of the fact that the value of the holding was now only 1 12.5

pesos annually.^- This sharp reduction in the encomienda revenues resulted

from continued population losses caused by conditions described in the suc-
ceeding paragraphs. The 1688 entry is the last recorded item in the enco-
mienda history of Acalan-Tixchel.

The destruction of Tixchel sometime between 1639 and 1643 and the
ravages of disease in 1648 marked the first stages of the rapid decline of the
entire Tixchel district that continued throughout the remainder of the seven-
teenth century. In later years, however, the major cause of decline was in-
creasing chaos on the southwestern frontiers of Yucatan due to oppression
by the Spaniards, corsair raids, and the growing power and influence of the
fugitive settlements in the interior of the peninsula.

During the seventeenth century an increasing number of Maya from

northern and western Yucatan fled into the central and south-central parts of
the peninsula. The causes of this movement were in general the same as had
prompted the flight of fugitives in earlier times, beginning in the second half
of the preceding century. Some fled to escape the religious and administrative
controls established by the conquerors; others abandoned their homes to es-
cape the burden of tribute and forced labor and maltreatment by the Spaniards.
During the seventeenth century, however, the chief cause of unrest resulting
in increased emigration from the frontier towns and from others farther
north appears to have been the repartijinento system practised by the pro-
vincial governors and lesser officials. Under this system advances of money
or raw materials were made to the Indians in return for which they were
forced to supply stated quantities of beeswax, honey, cochineal, cotton, cotton
cloth, and other products. The officials also forced the Indians to buy various
kinds of manufactured goods for which they often had no need. The prices
charged for goods sold to the natives were usually in excess of current market
values, and the prices paid for beeswax and other articles supplied by the
Indians were normally lower than actual market value. If the Indians failed
to supply the amounts of produce or cloth called for under these forced con-
tracts, or repartimientos, they were often subjected to severe punishment and

-- AGI, Contaduria, leg. 920.

3o6 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

maltreatment by the governors' agents. ^^ To escape the repartimiento burden

and its many Indians abandoned their homes and took refuge
attendant abuses
in the forest and swamp country of the interior. From documents we have
seen, it appears that Governor Flores de Aldana, who held office in 1664-65
and again from 1666 to 1669, was one of the worst offenders in this business,
and toward the end of the i66o's a very critical situation developed on the
frontiers of the province and in the interior country.
Reports for the years 1666-70 record considerable data concerning settle-

ments of fugitives in the central and south-central regions of the peninsula.

In the areas north and east of Isla Pac were the settlements of Thub, Chun-
putit (or Chunpuct), Temchay, Tanlum, Kukuitz, and Sayab, some of which
were said to have as many as 300 warriors each. Farther south were Bolon-
peten and Tzuctok, with 300 and 200 warriors respectively. The inhabitants
of these towns came from the Maya settlements all along the western and
southern frontiers of the province. Each group had its local batab, or chieftain,
and in some of them we hear of native priests who had charge of the heathen
and idolatrous rites practised by the apostates in these interior towns. The re-

lations of the fugitives with the inhabitants of the frontier mission settlements

were at times friendly, at other periods hostile. But as time w^ent on the
fugitives made more frequent raids on the frontier towns, carrying oif men,
women, and children and threatening the peaceful inhabitants with dire pun-
ishment unless they joined forces with the "rebels." Bolonpeten and Tzuctok
appear to have been the most consistently hostile of the interior settlements
and exerted an increasing influence over other fugitive groups and the border
towns of the peaceful area.-"*

13 As we have noted elsewhere, the term repartimiento was also emploved in colonial times
to describe the, encomienda system and the forced employment of the Indians for pay. In these
instances, as in the system of forced contract described above, the term refers to an allotment,
i.e., an allotment of Indians for tribute or for labor, or, in the case of the forced contracts in

Yucatan, an allotment of goods for sale or of produce to be supplied. The exactions of the
Yucatan officials were similar in many respects to the abuses committed by the alcaldes mayores,
corregidores, and other governmental agents in other parts of Spanish America. Although the
appointment of alcaldes mayores and corregidores in Yucatan was prohibited by law, the pro-
vincial governors evaded this legislation bv the appointment of jiieces de grana, capitanes de
guerra, and other subordinate officials who served as their agents in carrying on the reparti-
miento business. The activities of these persons were the subject of innumerable complaints by
the Indians, and the residencias of the seventeenth-century governors contain a mass of infor-
mation concerning such activities.
1* The most important sources describing the status of the interior settlements and the

chaotic conditions on the frontiers of the province at this time are: Contra Antonio Gonzalez
por malos tratamientos a los [indios] de Sahcabchen de que resulto ausentarse los indios de
. . .

aquel partido a las montafias, 1666-70, AGI, Escribania de Camara, leg. 317C, pza. 4; Autos
hechos por Pedro Garcia de Ricalde sobre la reduccion de los indios de Sahcabchen y otros
. . .

pueblos, 1668-70, AGI, Escribania de Camara, leg. 317B, pza. 8; Sobre las diligencias que se han
hecho para la reduccion de los indios de Sahcabchen y otros pueblos, 1668-70, AGI, Mexico, leg.
 .

DECLINE OF TIXCHEL AREA 307

The settlement at Bolonpeten has special interest in view of the fact that it

was located in the Isla Pac region, the great swampy area between Cilvituk
and the Arroyo Caribe to which Maler called attention in 19 lo and more
recently described by Andrews.^^' The leader of Bolonpeten was a certain
Francisco Puc, native of Cauich (the town of this name southeast of Cam-
peche)
The most important data for this period relate to the settlement at Tzuctok,
apparently located at or near the place where the Montanas mission of the
same name was established in 1 604-05 and from which the Indians were moved
to the Sahcabchen area a decade later (see Chapter 11). In later years the site

was reoccupied by fugitive Indians, and their leader in the 1 66o's was a certain

Juan Yam, said to be recognized as "king" by all the forest Indians of the in-
terior. In a 1669 report by Fray Cristobal Sanchez, then stationed at Sahcab-

chen, we read: "[Batab Yam is the one] whom all those in the forests hold as
their king, and the Cehache Indians have given him the appointment as such
king; and thus all of the forest Indians from one end of the province to the
other obey and venerate him as such king." Although this statement is prob-
ably an exaggeration, we shall see that Batab Yam did exert great influence in
the interior country and its environs. The remark that the Cehache had named
him as "king" is also interesting. Other reports of this period indicate that the
Cehache at times maintained fairly close relations with some of the fugitives,
at least in the southern district in and around Isla Pac.
The same causes which prompted the flight of Indians from northern and
northwestern Yucatan also operated in the region from Sahcabchen south to
Popola. In all of the towns of this region (Sahcabchen, Holail, Usulaban,
Chekubul, Chiuoha, Cheusih, Tiquintunpa-Mamantel, Popola) the Indians
were subjected to the repartimiento system described above. This area was also

exploited for logwood, and we have numerous complaints by the Indians

concerning Spaniards who made excessive use of Indian labor in the logging
operations. Similar complaints —excessive use of labor, failure to pay just
wages, acts of violence, and maltreatment —were directed against Spanish
traders and estancieros in the region. For the i66o's we also have reports of
raiding attacks by English corsairs, who followed the trails inland from the
Gulf coast, robbed the Indians, and plundered their towns. The villages of
Usulaban and Chiuoha. for example, were robbed and sacked four times by

307. The remainder of this chapter is based on these sources except as otherwise indicated in
the following notes.
^^'
iMaler, 1910, p. 146; Andrews, 1943, p. 37. Maler called it Bolonpeten.
3o8 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

the English prior to 1668. Popola had also been sacked, and the corsairs had
carried off the church furnishings.
These conditions caused a considerable number of Indians of the Sahcab-
chen-Popola area to abandon their homes and to take refuge at sites farther
inland. Another factor in creating unsettled conditions in this area was the
growing power of the fugitives in the interior settlements, especially those of
Tzuctok and Bolonpeten. These groups not only exerted increasing influence
within the frontier towns but also made frequent raids on Holail, Sahcabchen,
Tiquintunpa, Popola, and other villages, carrying off men, women, and chil-

dren and forcing others to migrate against their will.

One of the most interesting features of the reports describing these events
is the frequent reference to the fact that the fugitives went about proclaiming
that the time had come when, according to the "ancient prophecies," the
Indians should withdraw from contact with the Spaniards and go to live in
the forests. Prophecies of this sort figure prominently in the native Books of
Chilam Balam in northern Yucatan. It is possible that the reference might be to
one of the year, or tun, prophecies, of which only a limited number have been
found, although none of these would apply to the particular time in question.
It seems more likely that the katun prophecies are meant. The latter were very
popular throughout the colonial period and continued to be copied by the
Maya scribes down to the latter part of the eighteenth century.^^
The katun was a period of a little less than twenty years. It was designated
by the coefficient and name of the day on which it ended, and one of the same
desio^nation recurred approximately every 256 years. Each had its own
prophecy, which was based, in part at least, on events which had occurred
during some similar katun in the past.
It is a little difficult to reconcile such a proclamation with the years 1 668-
69, which was not a time when we should expect much concern about such a
prophecy. The current Katun 12 Ahau had begun in 1658. Not only did it

have eight more years to run (i.e., until 1677), but its prognostic is one of
prosperity on the whole. All the versions of it predict kind chiefs, good rains,

and abundance of bread, and it is a time when people return from the forests
to the towns. Some of the longer versions, however, cautiously state that part
of the katun will be bad and refer to six favorable years and six unfavorable.
For the succeeding Katun 10 Ahau it is a different story. Drought and famine
are freely predicted, and the people are to live on the breadnut and the
jicama cimarrSn, which means that they must seek their food in the forests.

16 Roys, 1933, p. 187, and 1943, p. 89; Book of Chilam Balam of Tizimin, pp. 1-13.
 DECLINE OF TIXCHEL AREA 309

But SO far as the actual prophecies are concerned, these misfortunes would
not occur for some time to come.^^
This anticipation of calamity to come, so long in advance, might be ex-
plained by some of the details of the katun cult in pagan times. Ten years
before Katun lo Ahau began, the idol of its patron deity was placed in the
temple as the guest of the god of the current Katun 1 2 Ahau, and the latter

began to lose some of his power. We infer that this idea extended to the
observance of the prophecies. Whether or not the drought and famine pre-
dicted for 10 Ahau were expected to begin ahead of time is doubtful, but the
exactions of Governor Flores de Aldana did not augur well for the remainder
of the current katun, and it would be of advantage to have established a home
and milpa in the forest area before the drought began. We have a vivid de-
scription of such a calamity in a well-populated region in the eighteenth cen-
tury. People fled to the forests with their children, but were obliged to leave
the aged and infirm at home to starve.^^
The influence and power of the forest fugitives of the interior country
reached a high point in 1669. Early in this year Batab Yam of Tzuctok sent
word to all of the towns in the Sahcabchen-Popola area directing them to
build a house at the entrance of each town where he or his representative

should reside whenever they might come to visit the settlements. Orders were
also sent to plant fields of maize, beans, and calabashes for the overlord. In
March 1 669, Batab Yam sent his chief priest, Ah Kin Kuyoc, to Holail and
Sahcabchen to impose his authority in these towns. During a stay of ten days
Kuyoc completely dominated local affairs. He held court as local judge,
hearing and sentencing numerous lawsuits, and promulgated various orders for
the government of the settlements. At the end of his visit he carried off the
governor of Sahcabchen, naming in his place a certain Antonio Pix as lieuten-

ant of Batab Yam. The former governor, Don Cristobal Baz, was later put to
death in the interior.
Throughout the remainder of 1669 conditions in the Sahcabchen area
and its environs were chaotic. The pueblos of Holail and Sahcabchen were

constantly visited by bands of Indians from the interior who carried things
with a high hand. In the autumn of 1 669 Batab Yam himself came to Sahcab-
chen accompanied by a troop of 300 followers. Later in the year a group
arrived from Bolonpeten, and early in 1670 Holail was raided by another
band of fugitives. During these troubled times Fray Cristobal Sanchez,
I'' Book of Chilam Balam of Tizimin, pp. 1-13; Roys, 1933, pp. ijShSo; Thompson, 1927,
p. 21.
1® Roys, 1943, and
p. 81, 1939, p. 291,
 3 ro ACALAN-TIXCHEL

guardian of the convent of Sahcabchen, remained at his post despite consid-

erable personal risk. His reports tell of the complete disruption of mission
discipline and the public practice of heathen rites at "mosques" in both Sahcab-
chen and Holail.
In November 1669, a new governor, Don Frutos Delgado, took charge
of provincial administration and immediately turned his attention to the urgent
problem of finding a remedy for the situation in the interior of the peninsula.
He sent letters to the leaders of the interior settlements urging them to give

it would be necessary to use armed force. The caciques of

obedience before
Thub, Tanlum, Kukuitz, and other towns made friendly reply, but they also
made it plain that they had no desire to abandon their present settlements. Batab
Yam and the leader of Bolonpeten apparently made no answer to the gover-
nor's appeal. In the late spring of 1670 Delgado held consultations with the
bishop, the cabildo of Merida, and other prominent persons as to the best
method of dealing with the situation. Most of his advisors counseled the use
of force, and tentative plans were made for an expedition to the interior during
the dry season of 1 67 1 . The governor decided, however, that before resorting
to military measures he would send some Franciscan missionaries to the fugi-
tive settlements to see whether the Indians could be pacified by apostolic
means.
In July 1670, Fray Cristobal Sanchez and two other friars set out from
Chekubul to the interior country. In a letter written at a place called Nacab
Sanchez informed the provincial that some of the fugitives had received them
in friendly manner and that a message had been received from the Indians at

Tzuctok asking them to proceed to the latter settlement. The cacique of

Bolonpeten remained hostile.^® Unfortunately the contemporary documents
record no further information concerning the friars' journey. The report of
Fray Andres de Avendano's expedition to Peten in 1695 relates, however, that
Fray Cristobal Sanchez in former times, doubtless a reference to his activities

in 1670-71, had brought Tzuctok to obedience, "though afterwards the

people became rebellious." The same account also refers to the abandoned
town of Tzuctok, "which the said Captain [Alonso Garcia de Paredes] . . .

^^ It appears therefore that Sanchez and his

had destroyed fifteen years since."

companions achieved at least temporary success in pacifying some of the

interior settlements, including Tzuctok, and that for few years the general
a

situation was somewhat improved. But not later than 1680 it was evidently

1^ Letter of Fray Cristobal Sanchez to the provincial, Nacab, August 5, 1670, AGI, Mexico,
leg. 308.
-° Means, 1917, pp. 113, 1 15-16.
 DECLINE OF TIXCHEL AREA 3 I I

necessary to send a military expedition into the interior, resulting in the de-
struction and abandonment of Tzuctok and most of the other villages.

The result of the events and conditions described above was a rapid decline

in the population of the towns in the area from Sahcabchen south to Popola.
This can best be illustrated by citing a few figures and specific incidents.

A report of May 1668 states that the pueblo of Sahcabchen, which for-
merly had a population of 700 adults, had now been reduced to 200 or less.

Similar conditions prevailed in Holail, visita of the Sahcabchen mission. Dur-

ing the summer and autumn of 1668 efforts were made to reassemble the
fugitives from these towns, resulting in a temporary increase in the population.

However, many of the Indians who were brought in from the forests at this
time were fugitives from northern Yucatan, and we also have reports that a
considerable number of the Sahcabchen people had fled northward, where
they had settled at Hoi, northeast of Champoton. The events of 1669 caused
further withdrawals from Sahcabchen and Holail both to the interior and to
the north, and as a result of the attack on Holail early in 1670 about half of
the remaining population of this town fled toward Campeche. Reports of
March 1670 indicate that in Sahcabchen the original inhabitants of the town
now numbered only 129 persons, young and old, and in Holail the number
was only fifty-nine persons. These towns also contained a contingent of fugi-

tives from frontier settlements of the Campeche, Ah Canul, and Xiu areas,
but the total population of each was smaller than it had been at the beginning
of the i66o's.
Our chief interest, however, is in the curacy of Popola to the south, which
comprised the old Tixchel district. Subsequent to the abandonment of Tixchel
this curacy, or partido, included the towns of Usulaban, Chekubul, Chiuoha,
Cheusih, Tiquintunpa-Mamantel, and Popola. The merger of Tiquintunpa
and Mamantel probably occurred as early as 1639, and there is evidence that
subsequently Popola was also included in this merging process.
All of the towns in the curacy were affected by the unsettled conditions
described above. All of them suffered losses due to the flight of Indians to the
interior, attacks by English corsairs, and raids by the followers of Batab Yam
and the chieftain of Bolonpeten. Reports of 1668 refer to withdrawals from
Usulaban, Chekubul, and Chiuoha, but the heaviest pressure was apparently
exerted on Cheusih and Tiquintunpa-Mamantel-Popola. Various documents
of May 1668 tell how the Indians of the Popola district, with the consent of
the curate, had withdrawn to a place called Sosmula in order to escape the
fury of the corsairs and the exactions of the Spaniards. A letter of the priest.

Bachiller Nicolas de Loaisa, written about the SLimc time, relates that the
312 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Indians of "the pueblo of Popola, Tiquintunpa, and Mamantel" had all aban-
doned their homes but were now assembling "in a regular town {pueblo en
forma)" and had asked him to visit them. This is evidently a reference to the
site of Sosmula mentioned above. The priest also reported that the people of

Cheusih, who likewise had fled from their pueblo, were living near those of

Popola. In all later documents, however, the curacy of Popola is recorded as

containing only three towns, Usulaban, Chekubul, and Chiuoha, with the
administrative center at Chekubul. We hear no more about Sosmula. It seems
clear therefore that Tiquintunpa-Mamantel-Popola and Cheusih ceased to
exist as organized settlements and that the movement to reassemble the Indians
at Sosmula failed to materialize. In later years many of the Indians probably
settled in Usulaban, Chekubul, and Chiuoha; others apparently remained scat-

tered in the forests.

Toward the end of 1668 Father Loaisa abandoned his curacy, and in the
spring of 1 669 he was replaced by Father Antonio de Sarauz with headquarters
at Chekubul. Reports of the new curate indicate that conditions in his district,
like those in Sahcabchen and Holail, were chaotic. In a letter of July 27, 1669,
he wrote that during the preceding two weeks the towns under his jurisdiction

(Usulaban, Chekubul, and Chiuoha) had been visited by more than 100 of
the interior fugitives, who had com.mitted great outrages. The daring of these
Indians, he said, increased daily. The priest also testified to the decHne of
mission discipline, stating that "mosques" had been established outside the
towns, where the visiting fugitives engaged in idolatry and drunkenness, "ac-
companied by all those of the villages and assisted by the officials and princi-
pal men." The Indian women were not safe even in the churches, for a week
before, in the pueblo of Chiuoha, "they snatched a young girl (muchacha de
doctrina) from under my very eyes." Many other persons had been carried off.
As already noted, the population of the curacy of Tixchel in 1639 was
probably in the neighborhood of 2500 persons. Within nine years a sharp
drop occurred due to the destruction of Tixchel and the epidemic of 1648.
By 1650 the total was probably somewhere between 1300 and 1400. Later
statistical data illustrate the continued decline resulting from chaotic condi-
tions on the frontier. Reports for the year 1670 give the following figures:

Usulaban 81 adults
Chekubul 117 "
"
Chiuoha 66

264 "

In 1688 Father Sarauz transmitted matriculas for the three towns of his
 DECLINE OF TIXCHEL AREA 3 I
3

partido of "Popola."^^ These were Santo Domingo Chekubul, San Cristobal

Chekubul, and Concepcion de Usulaban. The heading for the second is prob-
ably an error for Chiuoha. We have no other evidence of a second town named
Chekubul at this tirrie. Moreover, the advocation of Chiuoha was San Cristobal.
These matriculas of 1 688 were partially burned in a fire in the Archivo General
de Indias several years ago, and some of the names are now missing at the top
and bottom of the lists. From the copies as they now exist we are able to count
names for the three towns as follows:

Concepcion de Usulaban loo adults

Santo Domingo Chekubul 165 "
San Cristobal Chekubul (Chiuoha) 155 "

420

The missing names probably would not increase the totals by more than 10
per cent. These figures indicate an increase of at least 60 per cent since 1670.
This was doubtless largely due to the return of fugitives scattered in the
forests in 1670. The increase was naturally greater in Chekubul and Chiuoha,
which were located farther inland, than in Usulaban. Many of the returning
fugitives were probably from Cheusih and Tiquintunpa-Mamantel-Popola,
which no longer existed as organized towns. In any case the reports of 1688
indicate a total population of some 850 persons, or about one-third the total
a half-century earlier.
The figures for Usulaban are especially interesting, for it M^as to this place

that most of the Tixchel people evidently moved when the pueblo was aban-
doned subsequent to 1639. In 1569 Tixchel had 280 families. ^^ In 1688, almost
120 years later, Usulaban had about 50 families, and less than half of these
were Chontal.
The decline of the Chontal element in the towns of the curacy of Tixchel-
Popola is illustrated in numerous documents. Of these Usulaban naturally had
the largest Chontal contingent, for although it started as a small settlement of
Maya fugitives in 1603-04, the removal of the Tixchel people to Usulaban
later gave it a heavy Chontal majority. As late as 1670 it had a Chontal gov-
ernor, Don Miguel Acha, who had served in this capacity since at least 1657.
On the other hand, of twenty-three lesser officials recorded for the years 1657-
70, at least eight had Maya names.^^ Moreover, in the document of 1670, which
21 Matricula de los pueblos de la provincia de Yucatan con certificaciones de sus vicarios,
1688, AGI, Contaduria, leg. 920, exp. i.
22 Cf.
p. 182, supra.
23 This statement is based on data in the sources listed in note 14, pp. 306-07, supra, and Resi-
dencia of the officials of the pueblo of Usulaban, 1667, AGI, Escribania de Camara, leg. 318A,
pza. 8.
314 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

lists the names of eighty-one adults in the town, only fifty-one can be posi-
tively identified as Chontal. Of the remainder, twenty-eight names are Maya,
one is uncertain, and one person had a Spanish surname. Eighteen years later
the Chontal element constituted a minority, for of 100 names that can be read
in the Usulaban matricula of 1688, only forty-three can be certainly identified
as Chontal.

At the time of its Chiuoha was inhabited by unsub-

pacification in 1574
dued and unconverted Chontal. By 1670 the Chontal element had been re-
duced to a very small group. For the period 1657-68 we have the names of
thirty local officials. Of these only four have names that are probably Chon-
taP^ Likewise, in the Chiuoha matricula of 1670, which lists the names of
sixty-nine adults, only nine names appear to be Chontal, four are uncertain,
and there is one Spanish surname. The 1688 list for Chiuoha (designated as
San Cristobal de Chekubul) contains only one name certainly Chontal out of
a total of 155.

In Santo Domingo Chekubul, a Maya town from the beginning, we find

only two Chontal names in a total of 1 17 for the year 1670 and the same num-
ber in a total of 165 for 1 688.
Tiquintunpa, to which the Zapotitlan people were moved in 1571-73,
had a Chontal batab as late as 1667, and three of the other town officials for
that year also had Chontal names. It is evident, however, that the merger
settlement of Tiquintunpa-Mamantel-Popola must have had a large Maya
contingent. Popola was founded in 1583 as a settlement of Maya fugitives,

and if we are correct in identifying Mamantel as the earlier Mazcab, or

Xocola, it also had a Maya majority. No data are available for Tiquintunpa-
Mamantel-Popola for the years 1670 and 1688, since this merger settlement,
as already noted, had ceased to exist. The same is true for Cheusih, originally
a Maya town.
Finally, if we consider the total population of the three existing towns in
the old Tixchel district in 1688, we find that out of 420 names that can be read
in the matriculas of that year only forty-six are certainly Chontal. In short,
the Chontal, who had comprised a majority of the population in this region
prior to 1 600, now comprised about per 1 1 cent of the total and were out-
numbered eight-to-one by the Maya.
The foregoing facts speak for themselves. The population of the Tixchel
area had declined very sharply since 1639, and the Chontal were being
swamped by a predominately Maya element. During the eighteenth and nine-

-• Statement based on data in sources listed in note

14, pp. 306-07, supra, and Residencia of
the officials of the pueblo of Chiuoha, 1667, Escribania de Camara, leg. 318B, pza. 9.
 DECLINE OF TIXCHEL AREA 315

teenth centuries this process continued, resulting in the disappearance of the

Chontal as a separate, identifiable element in the population. The town of
Usulaban, last stronghold of the Acalan Chontal, was eventually abandoned,
and the site is not recorded on modern maps. In recent census reports all of
the native villages in the old Tixchel district are listed as Maya settlements.
At the present time there appears to be no trace of the Chontal language in the
region to which the Acalan people who survived the shock of the Spanish con-
quest were moved in 1557.
 Conclusion

HAS LONG been known that the people of northern Yucatan traded
ITwith their neighbors in Tabasco to the west and on the Caribbean coast as

far east as the Ulua River and that they imported cacao from both regions as
well as handsome feathers from the latter. At the turn of the century (1898-
1900), when were published together with early
the Relaciojies de Yucatan
reportsfrom Tabasco and Honduras, more details of this commerce were
brought to light. It was now learned that the chief exports from Yucatan were
salt, cotton cloth, and slaves, which were exchanged for some copper tools
and many articles of luxury. The latter consisted largely of the cacao and
feathers already mentioned and gold, semiprecious stones, red shell beads, and
skeins of dyed rabbit hair for embroidery.
From afew accounts by the early explorers we had also learned of the
Acalan, an important trading nation, who lived somewhere east of the Usuma-
cinta River between Tabasco and the Yncatecan Maya area. Cortes passed
through their country and was befriended by the ruler. He reported that
these people carried on an extensive commerce across the base of the Yucatan
Peninsula to the Caribbean coast, where they had a large trading post at Nito
near the mouth of the Rio Dulce. It still remained a little uncertain, however,
just what language they spoke, and even the location of their country has
remained a matter of debate down to the present time.
Cortes and Bernal Diaz tell us somethingr about the Itza livincr on Lake
Peten at this time. But the other more important nations in the lowlands be-
tween Laguna de Terminos and the Gulf of Honduras, such as the Choi
Lacandon, the Acala, and the Manche Choi, are known to us chiefly from
later observations, when commerce had shrunk to a fraction of its
intertribal

former size and they were living on the basis of a self-contained subsistence
economy. By this time their external activities were largely confined to raids
on the peoples subject to Spanish rule or sometimes even on one another.
The historical and ethnological inlportance of this trade between the Gulf
of Mexico and the Caribbean is was known about how it was
obvious. Little
organized, and it has been regarded simply as intertribal commerce, which
indeed it was, but it was something more than that. Recently discovered docu-
ments relating to the early history of Tabasco and Acalan in both pre- and
postconquest times now enable us to fill many of the gaps in our previous
information. The area extending from Laguna Tupilco in western Tabasco
316
 7

CONCLUSION 3 1

to the Ulua River in northern Honduras emerges as an economic bloc, which,

in spite of its pohtical diversity, can be considered a single commercial empire.
Recent studies of Chontal, Choi, and Chorti, which were spoken continu-
ously from the western to the eastern end of the area, have shown that they
are no more than dialectical variants of the same language and that the Yu-
catecan Maya to the north, although a different language, is sufficiently simi-

lar in vocabulary and sentence structure not to constitute a very serious bar
to communication. Moreover, the Acalan trading post at Nito on the Gulf
of Honduras was not an isolated case. Not only did the merchants of Xicalango
and Potonchan in Tabasco and of Campeche and Champoton in southwestern
Yucatan maintain similar stations on the Ulua River in northern Honduras,
but a number of the Maya peoples in the interior of the peninsula also had
their own factories on this stream. Indeed, Chetumal on the southeast coast
at one time sent a force of fifty war canoes to help defend its commercial
interests on the Ulua against Spanish aggression. As Monte jo himself claimed,
before the heavy hand of the Spanish conqueror had severed the commercial
ties which united it, the entire region could well be considered one country
and one language.
The newly discovered historical sources we have mentioned make it pos-
sible to enlarge our previous knowledge of the Chontal-speaking area. Except
for a limited addition extending west of Comalcalco to Laguna Tupilco, it

remains as we had already known it as far east as the lower Usumacinta. Along
this stream from Em.iliano Zapata (formerly Montecristo) to Tenosique the
Indian population has been Maya-speaking for so long that this condition was
believed to go back to the period of the Spanish conquest. We now know,
however, that in early colonial times petitions from these towns were written
in Chontal and the names of the chiefs and other village officials who appear
in them can be identified as referable to Tabasco and not Yucatan. Linguistic
conditions were altered by converts from the pagan Maya-speaking tribes to
the east, whom the missionaries brought in and settled on the Usumacinta.
For a while there was a mixed population, but in course of time the Chontal
language disappeared from the region leaving only the Maya.
The most important addition to our ethnographical knowledge, how-
ever, is the discovery from the Text and other related documents that the
Chontal Acalan occupied the large basin of the upper Candelaria and its

tributaries. Moreover, for the first time we learn something of the political
and social organization of this important branch of the lowland Maya. Here
we find resemblances to the Yucatecan Maya on one hand and Mexican
features on the other, but the strong Acalan tendency toward matrilocal
3l8 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

residence, which seems characteristic of neither, remains somewhat of a

problem. The place names of Acalan M^ere all Chontal, but the personal names
of more than a third of the population were Nahuatl. In Tabasco almost all

the place names and all the personal names were Mexican; and in Yucatan
none of the place names and only a sprinkling of the personal names
were of
Nahuatl Mexican influence was evident in all three areas, but it was
origin.

strongest in Tabasco, somewhat less in Acalan, still more attenuated in Yucatan.

Although the great majority of the population of Tabasco was Chontal,
two important minorities were of another stock. One consisted of six Zoque
towns situated on the southern border. These people brought farm products
and fine fabrics down the rivers in their canoes to the cacao growers and
merchants, who were too busy with their own more profitable pursuits to be
self-sufficient economically.

The other foreign element was the population of eight Nahuatl-speaking

settlements, five of them lying in the very heart of the Chontal area. Locally
they are sometimes called Ahualulco, and we are inclined to believe that
they are referable to the builders of the ruined city now known as La
Venta in western Tabasco. We also believe they were representative of the
invaders who spread a more or less modified Nahua culture, originally from
the highlands of Mexico, over a great part of the Maya area. Strangely
enough, they did not appropriate the rich cacao lands of the Chontalpa, but
left this lucrative business largely in the hands of the Chontal. They were
active traders. Cimatan was the most powerful of the eight Mexican towns
and an important commercial center. It exercised a certain control over the
trade with the highlands of Mexico and Chiapas, which was accomplished
partly through its own strategic position and partly by means of its political

conquest of several of the Zoque towns. Xicalango on the coast, although

mainly Chontal-speaking, was apparently ruled by an important Mexican
element of its population, and the widespread use of Nahuatl personal names
leads us to infer that many of the other Chontal towns were governed by a

ruling class of similar origin.

Little is known of the ancient history of Tabasco. Scarcely any local
historical traditions exist apparently, and archaeological investigations in the

Chontal area have been so few that no ceramic or architectural sequences

for this region from the end of the "Old Empire" down to the Spanish con-

quest have as yet been made available to the historical student. Consequently
any speculation concerning the course of events in pre-Spanish times rests

largely on our rather scanty knowledge of the relations of Yucatan with

this country.
 CONCLUSION 319

According to the historical traditions of the Yucatecan Maya, "At one

time all this land was under the dominion of one lord, when the ancient
city of Chichen Itza was in its prime, to whom all the lords of this province
were tributaries. And even from without the province, from Mexico, Guate-
mala, Chiapas, and other provinces, they sent them presents in token of

peace and friendship."^ This suggests that Chichen Itza at this time was
not only the capital of the Yucatecan Maya and a famous center of pil-

grimage, but also the most important market of a commercial empire not
unlike the one existing at the time of the Spanish conquest. The Indians
told the Spaniards how the "lords" of this city used to travel overland to
Ascension Bay, where they embarked for Honduras to trade for cacao and
feathers.- Also, fragments of cloth recovered from the Sacred Cenote have
been identified by textile experts as being typical of the fabrics manufactured
by the Zoque in Chiapas. In the ruins of Chichen Itza archaeologists have
found fine orange pottery believed to emanate from the Gulf coast in southern
Veracruz or adjoining territory in Tabasco, also plumbate presumably from
the Pacific slope of Guatemala or Chiapas, turquoise probably from the
Veracruz region, and metates carved from lava, which could have come only
from the highlands of Guatemala or Mexico.^
For the period covering the subsequent hegemony of Mayapan we have
as yet less evidence of the external commerce of northern Yucatan. J. E. S.

Thompson has called our attention to evidence of trade in a fresco at Tulum,

which flourished at this time. Here a goddess is pictured kneeling at a metate,
one leg of which is shaped as an animal head.^ He suggests that although
some metates of the efhgy type have been found in the Maya area, it seems
unlikely that they were manufactured by the Maya. Landa's account of the
so-called "Mexican mercenaries," who were brought to Mayapan from Xical-
ango and Tabasco at various times, is perhaps not to be taken literally, but
it does indicate that Mayapan maintained close relations with Tabasco.
Moreover, the fact that the son of the Cocom ruler is known to have been
absent on a trading expedition to Honduras at the time of the fall of the citv

iRY, i: 120.
- Ciudad Real, 1932, p. 325.
Foreign commerce of this character evidently preceded the hegemony of Chichen Itza.
3

A. V. Kidder has drawn our attention to several pottery spindle whorls found by Thompson
at San Jose in British Honduras and associated with the latest period of occupation at that site.
Some are painted, apparently with asphaltum, and others bear an incised design, but both are
very similar to spindle whorls from the Huaxtec region of Veracruz. Thompson notes that those
decorated with asphaltum are almost certainly of \'^eracruz origin (Thompson, 1939, pp. 153-
54)-
Lothrop, 1924, p. 57, pi. 7. Lothrop considers
.
"^
this form to be typical of the Pacific coast of
Nicaragua and northern Costa Rica.
320 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

shows that Yucatecan commerce continued to be active in that direction.

Thompson has noted several striking analogies, apparently dating from
the last period prior to the Spanish conquest, bet^^een the art of the east
coast and that of Tabasco and the southwestern part of the peninsula. In the
Peabody Museum at Harvard University are two incensarios, one from
Jonuta and the other from the east coast, probably British Honduras. Both
figures have heads in the beaks of birds and are so similar that they might well
be ascribed to the same region, if it were not that each appears to be of the
normal ware of the area to which it is attributed. In the case of other effigy
incensarios found near Chetumal Bay the figure bears on its breast and
stomach a rectangular object with a laced or herringbone pattern. This
closely resembles a similar element of dress on an incensario from Cilvituk
in the Cehache area northeast of Acalan.^ These resemblances, as a whole,
are perhaps general rather than specific, but they suggest an exchange of
artistic ideas corresponding to the intertribal trade indicated by the his-

torical sources.

This carries us down to the eve of the conquest, and commercial con-
ditions along the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean at the

time of the arrival of the Spaniards might be summarized as follows: Poton-

chan and Xicalango were the most important ports of Tabasco. Acalan
was accessible to canoe traffic, but it could hardly be considered a port.
Closely associated with these cities were Champoton and Campeche in south-

western Yucatan. In the northwest the towns were somewhat farther from
the coast, but close enough to supply the people of the interior with salt

and dried fish. We do not know, however, whether they engaged to any
great extent in foreign commerce. In the provinces of Chikinchel and Ecab
on the northeastern coast was a group of large and important commercial
towns, which included Chauaca, Cachi, Conil, and Ecab. Here agricultural
conditions were generally poor, but they were situated near productive
salt beds, so their size and prosperity were evidently due chiefly to their
trade. Chetumal produced cacao and was the principal Maya town on the
southeastern coast. For Nito, near the mouth of the Rio Dulce, we have no
ethnological information, except that it was either in or very close to the
eastern Choi area, but its commercial importance is well established. In the
lower Ulua basin the principal trading center was Naco, located in a rich,

thickly settled valley of the Omoa Mountains near the Rio Chameleon.
Presumably it was in a Chorti-speaking region, but the archaeological evi-

5 Communication from J. E. S. Thompson; Gann, 1900, pi. 22, fig. 2; 1918, pi. 20; Andrews,
1943, pi. 2ie.
 CONCLUSION 32 I

dence suggests that it was a colony of Nahua traders.^ Like Nito, it lay on
the principal land route from Acalan to the Ulua River.
The Ulua was not only the eastern boundary of the economic bloc, or
commercial empire, covered by this discussion, but also an ethnic frontier.
Beyond lived the Jicaque and Paya and farther south, the Lenca, whose
it

cultureswere derived from southern Central America and eventually from

South America. Large quantities of cacao were produced in the Ulua basin,
but we may well believe that the merchants from Tabasco also traded, di-
rectly or indirectly, with the tribes to the east and south.^
Since many of the Chontal were bilingual, speaking both their own
language and Nahuatl, it is of interest to consider whether the latter could
have been a lingua franca for the traders, whose activities extended across the
lowland Maya area from west to east. This was possibly true in parts of the
south, but the apparent absence of a knowledge of Nahuatl in northern

Yucatan would indicate that it was not generally the case.

On the other hand, we do

some evidence of Chontal influence on the
find
Yucatecan Maya dialect spoken at Campeche, which
coast, particularly in the

was called the "Canpech" and not the "Maya" language, although it was
understood by the other Maya. In Uaymil, a region near Bacalar and Che-
tumal, they also spoke a dialect similar to that of Campeche.^ Pilgrims from
Potonchan and Xicalango, presumably traveling merchants, visited the
famous shrine of Cozumel Island, but we have as yet no direct evidence of
relations between Tabasco and the large commercial towns in the provinces
of Chikinchel and Ecab on the northeast coast. Although they spoke the
same language as did the rest of northern Yucatan, the people of Chikinchel
evidently did not consider themselves to be Maya, since they applied the
name to the Cupul and Cochuah of the interior as a term of reproach.^
The record of the Acalan rulers and their followers in the Text is the
only report of the activities of any of the Chontal in pre-Spanish times that
has come down somewhat like a heroic saga and is the history
to us. It reads
of an adventurous group, who moved from one locality to another seeking
to establish themselves at some strategic site where they could dominate the
trade between Tabasco and the countries to the east and north. During^ five
generations they were dislodged from one place after another, apparently
by the peoples whose commerce was affected by their presence, until at last
they founded what promised to be a permanent government. This was in
^ Ximenez, 1929-31, bk. 4, ch. 69; Isagoge historica, 1935, p. 226; Roys, 1943, p. 117.
'^Roys, 1943, pp. 118-20.
s
Ciudad Real, 1932, pp. 347, 352; Motul dictionary, 1929, p. 464.
9RY, 2: 14, 23.
32 2 ACALAN-TIXCHEI,

Acalan in the Candelaria basin. It comprised seventy-six settlements alto-

gether, and at least two of them were towns of some importance. It was
rich country agriculturally, and we have already mentioned its extensive
commerce. It is a startling revelation of the rapidity with which such a

state could rise to importance, when we consider that the capital and its

government were founded by Paxbolonacha, who was still living and ruling
over the land at the time of Cortes' arrival.
The history of Acalan no doubt represents an extreme case of political
instability. In northern Yucatan we also find indications of a similar tendenc)'

during the century immediately preceding the Spanish conquest, and it is

probable that this was an important factor in the cultural decline which
occurred in the latter country during this period.

The conciliatory policy of the Acalan toward the Spanish invaders was
very similar to that of the provinces of Tutul Xiu, Ceh Pech, and Ah Kin
Chel in northern Yucatan. In some respects we find a fairly close parallel
in the Xiu ruling class. They were of Mexican origin and had been in the
Maya area for a considerable time; but they had moved from one place to
another, and only since the fall of Mayapan apparently had they dominated
the region where their towns were located at the time of the Spanish conquest.
Like the Acalan, the Xiu attempted at first to maintain a benevolent neutrality,
but when they were convinced of the military strength and determination
of the Spaniards, they became their allies and later, their docile subjects. In
neither case was there a real military conquest.

After the middle of the sixteenth century, when large numbers of the
natives under Spanish rule fled to the forests, it was the Xiu and Acalan
leaders who were especially noted for their activity in aiding the friars to
establish missions in the southern central part of the peninsula or, when
these were unsuccessful, in bringing many fugitives back under Spanish
authority.
This attitude stands out in strong contrast to that of the provinces of
Sotuta, Cupul, Cochuah, and Chetumal, which fiercely resisted the invasion,
subsequently revolted, and for a long time afterward were occasionally on
the verge of insurrection. Indeed, a century after the conquest a large part
of Chetumal apostatized, threw off the Spanish yoke, and remained inde-
pendent for some twenty-five years. The Chontal of Tabasco, once their
early opposition was overcome, gave comparatively little trouble, but the
Nahuatl-speaking town of Cimatan, although it was temporarily subdued
from time to time, continued to resist the Spaniards until 1564.
Not only did the Acalan by their voluntary submission avoid the rigors
 CONCLUSION 323

of a military conquest, but their country was so isolated and difficult of access
that they also escaped the discomfort of close supervision by either the

Spanish officials or the missionaries, whose visits to the region were infrequent.
They were not even nominally converted to Christianity until 1550, and
even after that there was little change in their local government, so we may
well infer that so long as they remained in the homeland, conditions were
not unlike those found on the island of Cozumel in 1570. Here, in exchange
for a rather heavy tribute and a certain amount of personal service, there

was little interference with the natives, provided they maintained a decent
semblance of Christianity in their towns and confined their pagan rites to

the farms and forests. It will be recalled that soon after the Acalan were
moved to the coast and put under the control of a resident priest, the cacique
fled with a group of followers to a village of unconverted Chontal in the
interior.

The postconquest history of the Acalan, like that of almost every other
native group in Middle America, is one of decline. But the population de-
creased with surprising rapidity, considering the comparatively favorable
circumstances which accompanied their first quarter-century under Spanish
rule. During this time, as we have seen, the population diminished from a
minimum estimate of 10,000 in 1530 to a maximum of 4,000 in 1553. This
represents an estimated shrinkage of 60 per cent, and in all probability it was
actually greater.
The principal causes of this decrease were the falling-off of the com-
merce, which was so important a factor in the economic life of the Acalan,
and the introduction of new European diseases.

They did, however, produce enough food and other essentials for a
subsistence economy, and commerce did not cease entirely. In spite of the
heavy some surplus was apparently available for export, such as
tribute,

copal and annatto, which enabled them to import salt and other commodities
they needed most. They were still able to trade with Tabasco, southwestern
Yucatan, and their pagan Cehache neighbors to the east, although little, if

indeed anything, remained of their former extensive commerce with the

Caribbean coast.

Consequently it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that although the

disruption of their commerce was a potent factor in the rapid decrease of
population, the most important direct cause was probably the introduction of
new diseases. The
latter would not necessarily imply a shrinkage due entirely

to deaths. Great numbers of the Yucatecan Maya fled from their homes
to escape the epidemics which swept their country from time to time during
324 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

the colonial period. Some of these returned when the danger seemed past
but would flee again at a recurrence of the calamity, and many of them never
returned at all.

The decrease of 60 per cent among the Acalan from 1530 to 1553 seems
large, but even considering the longer period of time involved, it appears to
have been still greater in Tabasco, where the population was reported in

1579 to have diminished 90 per cent since the time of its pacification. This
country was self-sustaining as a whole. Commerce suffered greatly and
the Spaniards oppressed the natives outrageously, but the people continued
to produce a surplus of cacao, which was still in demand everywhere. The
1579 report ascribes the falling-off of the population to certain diseases,

especially measles, smallpox, disorders of the respiratory tract, hemorrhages,

dysentery, and fevers (calenturas) . Calenturas is a term which covers the
symptoms of both malaria and some of the intestinal infections, but although
no doubt both of these complaints were serious, we surmise that the former
was the more prevalent. In the Department of Izabal, Guatemala, where con-
ditions are somewhat similar to those in Tabasco, far more deaths have oc-
curred from malaria than enteric affections. ^^
With the exception of Campeche, Champoton, and possibly Cimatan,
the population of the commercial centers of the lowland Maya faded away
with almost incredible rapidity. These towns were mostly in low swampy
regions near the coast and rarely close to any agricultural area large enough
to support them after their commerce fell off. The land where Nito is re-

ported to have been located is good, and Chetumal was in a cacao-producing

region, but owing to the ruthlessness of the Spanish conquerors the former
was soon abandoned and most of the inhabitants of the latter were dispersed,
although a few remained some time after 1582.
at the site until

The large towns on the northeast coast of Yucatan suffered less from
actual conquest, but a dechne soon set in. At Chauaca 3,000 Indian men
were reported in 1528. In 1543 their number was variously estimated to be
from 600 to 1,000; in 1549 we and in 1579 only about
find 200 tributaries,
18. Similarly, Sinsimato, which was both large and important commercially in

1528, still had 600 male adults at the time of its conquest, but these decreased
to 90 tributaries in 1549, and 8 in 1579. There were swamps, lagoons, and
large savannas, but comparatively little agricultural land, around these towns;
but they were not far from the salt beds and fisheries of the coast, and near
Sinsimato were large and profitable groves of copal trees. Around Conil
better farming land was reported. This town was said to contain 5,000 houses,
1° Shattuck, 1938, p. 31.
 CONCLUSION 325

which is no doubt a very considerable exaggeration. In any case it had shrunk

to 80 tributaries in 1549 and was a small port in 1579. Of Ecab and Cachi
we know only that they were unimportant towns in 1579 and 1582/^
Both colonial writers and modern travelers describe the entire north-
eastern region as very unhealthy, and we infer that dysentery and malaria
either did not exist or were mild diseases in pre-Spanish times, when the
area was thickly populated. The falling-off of commerce would have caused
a very considerable decline in any case, and losses were probably sustained
when the inhabitants of some of the towns were moved to other sites by
the missionaries. We are inclined, however, to ascribe the greater part of
the enormous decrease of population to disease.
Campeche and Champoton were the two important coast towns that
held up the best after the conquest. Lujan, who came to Champoton from
Acalan in 1530, reported that it was a walled city containing 8,000 houses
and that Campeche was no smaller. It is hard to tell on what he based these
estimates, which seem to be greatly exaggerated, but we are no doubt safe

in inferring that both were populous commercial centers and larger than
Itzamkanac.
Subsequent to 1530 these towns were occupied by the Spaniards and
were bases for the military operations which resulted in the final conquest
of northern Yucatan. During this time there was a great decrease of popu-
lation, but it is hard to tell how much of it is to be attributed directly to deaths
from the new diseases, how much to disturbed economic conditions, and to
what extent it can be ascribed to desertions to escape the exactions or bad treat-
ment by the Spanish invaders, which were especially burdensome at this time.
In 1549 Campeche together with the smaller towns around it had 630
tributaries, and 324 in 1583-84. Champoton and the surrounding villages
contained 420 tributaries in 1549, and there were 180 in 1583-84. This was
of course a great shrinkage, but it was nothing like what occurred in the
trading pueblos of the northeast. Potonchan in Tabasco and Camreche were
both important commercial centers which became Spanish villas after the
conquest, but the former had shrunk to 25 tributaries in 1549. Campeche
and Champoton, however, had certain advantages. Not only was there still

a very considerable trade between Tabasco and Yucatan in colonial times,

much of which passed through these towns, but also the adjoining country,

^1^ RY,
2: 13, 48, 74, 154, 172-74, 205; Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32, ch. 31; Landa, 1941,

p. 49;Libro de tasaciones 1548-51, AGI, Guatemala, leg. 128; DHY, 2: 61. The figures
. . . ,

mentioned above need further study and interpretation and are cited here only to give a general
idea of the decline of population.
326 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

on which they depended for food, is mostly good agricultural land, much
of it being hilly or rolling and well drained/^
In the thickly populated interior of northern Yucatan conditions were,
generally speaking, the most favorable for the survival of the population
and made possible the great recovery, which finally came in later colonial
times. This was a fairly dry agricultural country, where the rains came at

the time when they were most needed for the crops. The drainage was
underground; there were no rivers or swamps and few surface ponds; and
the drinking water, which was obtained from either artificial wells or the
natural ones called cenotes, was considered good, which indeed it was, when
the people did not pollute it themselves.
Here also there was a great decrease in population. According to native
accounts it had begun not long after the fall of Mayapan about the middle of
the fifteenth century. It was ascribed to internal wars and to two great

epidemics, the last of which was smallpox and occurred some time before
Monte) o's first invasion in 1527. After the Spanish withdrawal in 1535
drought and a plague of locusts caused severe famines. If we add to this the
rigors of the final conquest, it seems plain that the country was already
badly weakened by 1543. In the neighborhood of ValladoHd, which was con-
sidered one of the healthiest parts of Yucatan, the Spanish encomenderos
reported that between this time and 1579 the population diminished by about
two-thirds in a number of towns, although in a few of them decreases of only
20-40 per cent were noted. This decline was ascribed partly to the policy
of the Franciscans, who moved a considerable portion of the population from
their scattered villages and hamlets and concentrated them in towns near the
^^
various missionary headquarters, causing extreme poverty in many cases.

Another important reason given for the decline was smallpox and "other
pestilences." The latter included respiratory complaints and presumably
measles and intestinal infections. There was no doubt some malaria, as there is

today, but dysentery and other gastro-intestinal disorders are very prevalent
at the present time,and the same was probably true in the sixteenth century.
It would appear that many deaths were due to diseases to which the natives
had acquired no immunity. These could be both European diseases and new
and more virulent forms of those which had already existed. Yellow fever,
it is now generally believed, was imported from Africa and did not become

a menace until about the middle of the seventeenth century.^^

12 Oviedo Libro de tasaciones AGI, Guate-
y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32, ch. 5; . . . , 1548-51,
mala, leg. 128; Ciudad Real, 1932, p. 346.
13 Landa, 1941, pp. 41-42, 54-55; RY, 2: 14, 52, 68.
1* Shattuck, 1933, pp. 335-36, 392, 481, and passim.
 CONCLUSION 327

Nevertheless, the interior of northern Yucatan suffered less than most of

the other regions which we have discussed. Its principal advantages appear
to have been that it was an agricultural area, where economic conditions were
less disturbed by the conquest, there was better drainage, and the climate was
healthier.

The rapid depopulation of low-lying swampy areas as contrasted with

those of higher levels or better drainage is of considerable interest. Since the
centers of population in the former depended more on commerce than in

the latter, it is obvious that the disruption of the canoe trade by the Spaniards
played a very substantial part in this shrinkage. It may well be significant,
however, that a sudden decrease of population was most noticeable in regions
where malaria is especially prevalent at the present time. We have hesitated
to draw positive conclusions from this, but it does suggest either that the
was introduced by the Spaniards or that no malignant form of it was
disease
endemic in preconquest times. In any case it would appear that the historical
sources, if properly analyzed and interpreted, would throw very important

light on the presence or absence of malaria in pre-Columbian America.

The decrease of the Acalan population from disturbed economic condi-
tions and disease was bad enough, but the greatest catastrophe occurred in

1557, when the Spanish authorities sought to remedy the trouble by attempting
to deport the entire nation and settle them at Tixchel on the Estero de
Sabancuy near Laguna de Terminos on the Gulf coast. The idea was that here
they could be protected from oppression and more closely supervised by the
colonial officials and missionaries. A similar policy had been inaugurated in
1 552 in northern Yucatan and was being carried out extensively with disastrous
results to the people involved.
It is not surprising that this policy was also applied to Acalan. From the
standpoint of the missionaries conditions here were extremely unsatisfactory.
That the conversion of the natives was superficial is evident from the readi-
ness with which those who evaded the removal reverted to paganism. The
people were indoctrinated by permanent Indian teachers, but Acalan was so
isolated that the missionaries could visit the country only rarely, and the friars

were so few in number that a resident clergyman could not be spared. As

things turned out, we know that it was most unlikely that Acalan would ever
have constituted a political danger, but it is uncertain whether the colonial
authorities realized this at the time.
The disadvantages of the move seem to have far outweighed any material
benefits. The new site with its fisheries and commercial opportunities may
have appealed to some of the old merchant class; but the region is as malarial
 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

as the Candelaria area, the land was much poorer, and it was a severe hard-
ship for the people to leave their homes, farms, cacao groves, and orchards.
They were exempted from tribute for four years, it is true, but it seems obvious
thatwhen the exemption period expired, the per capita tax would be higher
than ever, since at Tixchel it would no longer be possible to conceal the
existence of a considerable proportion of the population. Worst of all, the
nation was divided by the bitter dissension between the submissive element and
those who resisted removal.
To d scourage resistance Pesquera, the missionary who effected the trans-
fer, had the cacao and copal trees cut down at Itzamkanac, and some of the
Indians were seized and carried away in chains. Only a few days after the
arrival of the first contingent at Tixchel the Acalan ruler fled in disgust,
apparently with a few followers, to Chiuoha, an unconverted Chontal village
During the following three years the removal of the population
farther inland.
continued, and conditions were deplorable. The first move took place in the
growing season, and the scarcity at Tixchel was aggravated by the arrival of
more people from time to time. The men who returned to Acalan for food
they had left there were molested and detained by those who had refused to
leave. Conditions also were chaotic in the homeland, where the political or-

ganization had broken down and the people were reverting to paganism.
By 1560 the state of affairs at Tixchel was such that the population was
about to desert the town, but at this time a belated Spanish force, which had
been on its way to join in a campaign against the Lacandon, went to Acalan,
where the soldiers apprehended as many people as they could find and brought
them to Tixchel. This caused another famine. A number of recalcitrant leaders
with about seventy families deserted the town and returned to the homeland,
but no attempt was made to bring them back to Tixchel for some years to
come. In 1561 the Spanish authorities made a count for taxation purposes of
the married men at Tixchel. Only 253 were found, of whom 230 were liable

for tribute. A few families may have been missed, but there was much less

opportunity for evasion than in Acalan, where about 500 tributaries had been
recorded in 1553. Taken at their face value, these figures represent a decrease

of about 54 per cent in eight years, and it was probably considerably larger.
We can account for this partly by the undetermined number of people who
escaped apprehension in Acalan; some may have fled from Tixchel to more
prosperous communities under Spanish rule; but there is little doubt that
there were many deaths due to insufficient housing, disease, and malnutrition,
such as occurred in northern Yucatan when the population of a town was
moved to a new site.
 CONCLUSION 329

During the years subsequent to 1561 things appear to have taken a turn

for the better, since an enumeration of the adult population in 1569 shows an
increase of 10.6 per cent. By this time the external trade was reorganized and
no doubt the housing situation had improved. More was known about the
better agricultural tracts in the region, and the technique of salt-water fishing

was developed. In 1588 Ciudad Real remarked on the polish and diligence
of the Tixchel Indians and reported that they had much copal, many fruit

trees, and were noted for their manufacture of tortoise-shell objects, which
included articles suitable for the Spanish market.
An important factor in this modest recovery was the ability, energy, and
diplomacy of the young cacique, Don Pablo Paxbolon, who succeeded to the
governorship of the town in 1566. After the death of his cousin, the cacique
who had fled to Chiuoha in 1557, he was the only legitimate heir to the caci-
cazgo. He had been well educated in the Franciscan convent at Campeche
and was a devout Christian, famihar with the ways and aims of the Spaniards.
At the same time he knew the traditions of his own people and thoroughly
understood their psychology. Life was hard for the ordinary plebeian Indian,
but its rigors could be mitigated by a cacique who was able to induce his
subjects to cooperate willingly with church and state and to conciliate the
clergy and colonial officials. Don Pablo evidently had the ability to accom-
plish this, for we find no record of local insubordination or idolatry, and the
native municipal officials were granted authority to apprehend any Spaniard,
mestizo, or mulatto w^ho misbehaved in the town, take the evidence, and send
him to the court at Campeche for sentence.
Paxbolon's ambitions were by no means confined to the establishment of
an efficient local administration and the economic recovery of his community.
It would seem probable that early in his career he foresaw the possibility of
populating the unoccupied region southeast of Tixchel with a group of vil-

lages, over which he might acquire a certain territorial authority, although

under Spanish supervision, like that enjoyed by the caciques of Motul and
Mani in northern Yucatan.
In any case, shortly after his accession to office the young cacique began
to take steps to establish his authority over the remainder of the Acalan, who
were still living in the upper Candelaria basin, and restore them to the Chris-
tian faith, apparently with the idea of transferring them eventoally to the
Tixchel area. These people included the families who had fled from Tixchel
about 1560, a number of slaves who had escaped at the time of the removal
to Tixchel, and presumably some freemen who had evaded deportation, al-

though the last are not mentioned in the records. These groups had merged
330 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

and retired to the neighborhood of the old Acalan town of Chakam on or

near the Rio San Pedro some distance above its junction with the main Can-
delaria. Here in course of time they formed a settlement which was known
as Zapotitlan. They were less numerous than might be expected, for in 1569
the population seems to have been only about 300. Some distance away in
the same region, however, were two villages of Maya refugees from northern
Yucatan, who had entered the country after the bulk of the population had
been moved to Tixchel. They were called Puilha and Tahbalam and had a
combined population of about 125 persons. A small minority of them had
Chontal names and some of these had intermarried with the Maya intruders.
In 1566, after consulting with Bishop Toral, Paxbolon made a journey to
the neighborhood of Zapotitlan with a few followers. He did not enter any
settlement but conferred with two of the local chieftains at an outlying farm.
These men, who were apostates, at first repudiated any allegiance to the
cacique and asked to be left alone. Friendly relations were established, how-
ever, and there was some suggestion of another visit in the future. The fol-

lowing year Don Pablo returned with a letter from Fray Antonio Verdugo
urging them to become Christians. Possibly the choice of this friar was not a

happy one, since only five years before he had taken an active part in Landa's
inquisition and had gained such a reputation for severity that the Zapotitlan

people could very well have heard of him from the Yucatecan fugitives. In
any case, the apostates were displeased and did not wish to meet the missionary.
They did express a willingness to trade with Paxbolon and even to pay him
tribute, but they would have nothing to do with any Spaniard. Also a few
families were persuaded to move to the more accessible site of their former
capital on the main Candelaria, but they did not stay there long.
On the occasion of a third visit in 1568 Paxbolon entered Zapotitlan with
sixteen followers, and the mission was more successful. The Indians agreed to
submit to Spanish rule, they allowed the cacique to destroy their idols, and
six of the leaders came back with him for Christian instruction. When these
men returned to Acalan, they were accompanied by two native teachers from
Tixchel.
Early in 1569 Don Pablo reported to the governor of Yucatan and Bishop
Toral on the results of these visits. The governor formally declared the in-
habitants of the Zapotitlan region to be subjects of the Crown, and he agreed
to recommendations that they should remain where they were for the time
being and that Paxbolon should supervise them. The bishop sent a missionary
to Zapotitlan, where the latter dedicated a church, baptized the children and
other unconverted persons, and made a record of the baptismal status of the
 CONCLUSION 3 3
I

people generally. He also procured a list of the inhabitants of Puilha and

Tahbalam.
Although the adults were largely apostates, and, as such, still legally sub-

ject to their former encomenderos, the governor treated them as new con-
verts and in 1570 gave them in encomienda to the governmental notary,
Feliciano Bravo. This was contested by Anton Garcia, the old encomendero
of Acalan-Tixchel, and gave rise to a lawsuit, in which Paxbolon sided with
Garcia. By now the cacique had already begun to exploit the people of
Zapotitlan for his own personal benefit. He even started with a force of
seventy of his townsmen on a journey to bring the inhabitants to Tixchel, but
he was turned back because of a decree by the governor at Merida. Later local
governors were appointed in all three towns, which would tend to curtail
Don Pablo's hereditary rights over them. The details of the litigation, which
lasted until 1571 and resulted in Bravo's defeat, furnish an interesting example
of sordid rivalry between individual Spaniards for exploitation of the Indians.
Governor Santillan, who decided the case in favor of Garcia, also con-
firmed Don Pablo as cacique and governor of Acalan-Tixchel and placed
him in charge of local administration of the disputed area. Sometime between
157 and 1573 the inhabitants of the three villages were moved to two loca-
1

tions on or fairly near the Rio Mamantel in the Tixchel area. Their situation
would give Paxbolon control over any commerce on the Mamantel be-
tween the Gulf coast and the interior, including the northern Cehache and the
refugees from northern Yucatan. The upper Candelaria apparently remained
deserted for a long time, for we have no evidence of any Indian settlements
in that region during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
With this beginning of a territorial district subject to Tixchel, Paxbolon's
next step was to Christianize the pagan Chontal village of Chiuoha, where
his late predecessor had fled in 1557 to escape the supervision of the Spaniards.

In December 1573 Feliciano Bravo, who had now become lieutenant governor
of Tabasco, visited Tixchel and discussed with the cacique the project of con-
verting some of the Indians living in the interior. It was agreed that Don Pablo,
who had recently been appointed military captain of the district, should visit

certain of these heathen and see what could be done. Accordingly, the follow-
ing spring he went to Chiuoha accompanied by 100 of his Indian militia. The
precise location of this villagewould be of considerable interest, since appar-
ently marked the frontier between the Maya and Chontal linguistic areas.
it

It was not at the modern site of the same name on the Arroyo Chivoja Grande

near the eastern end of Laguna de Terminos, and we can only infer that it was
farther east but not very far north of the Rio Mamantel. Here Paxbolon found
332 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

a little over fifty people in the village, and there were some others in the adja-
cent forests. Although the force from Tixchel greatly outnumbered them,
Paxbolon employed his usual tact and diplomacy to win them over, and in
spite of some signs of hostility at first, they finally agreed to become Christians
and submit to Spanish rule. Later in the year Bravo himself traveled part way
from Tixchel met a delegation from the latter place, and accepted
to Chiuoha,
their submission. The result was that a mission was established there, and the
village was placed under the jurisdiction of the cacique of Tixchel. Some time

later, probably before 1610, the inhabitants moved to what is now Chivoja.

Chiuoha was the last unsubdued Chontal community within the jurisdiction of
Yucatan, and henceforth any similar activities on the part of Don Pablo were
to be concerned with Maya-speaking peoples.
It was some years before another village was added to the district of Tix-
chel. The occasion was the result of a fortuitous occurrence, but the cacique
was quick to take advantage of the opportunity. In 1583 a wounded Indian
named Pedro Chan came with his children to Don Pablo at the latter's ranch
near Tixchel and applied for aid. He was one of a group of fugitives from
Hecelchakan, who had attempted to settle near a place called Chunuitzil, or
Chacuitzil, some distance to the southeast. There they were attacked by an-
other refugee group of considerable size living in the same region. A few of
the assailants were killed, but a considerable number of the Hecelchakan
people, including their leaders, lost their lives. Some returned to Hecelchakan,
but more than sixty men, women, and children were dispersed in the forests.

Hecelchf'kan was in the province of Ah Canul in western Yucatan.

Althouqh the apostates in the southern forests had come from many
parts of the north, the mention of fugitives from this district seems rather
frequent. Besides the refugees, many of the men of this region were
accustomed to make long trips into the interior gathering the wax of
wild bees and trading with the apostate villages. Ciudad Real, in his report

of a visit at- Hecelchakan in 1588, describes the inhabitants of the town and
district as being "somewhat addicted to the mountains and forests (algo se-

rranos y montaraces).'''''^-^

Paxbolon ordered a search for the scattered fugitives by the inhabitants

of the two towns on the Mamantel whom he had brought down from Acalan
a decade before, and in the course of eight or nine months about sixty were
found and brought to Xocola. They were finally settled halfway between
this villi we and Chiuoha at a site called Popola. This would seem to account
for the last of the four pueblos subject to Tixchel reported by Ciudad Real
15 Cf. Chapter lo, p. 228, supra; Ciudad Real, 1932, p. 344.
 CONCLUSION 333

in 1588. He states that two were Chontal-speaking, one at which both Chontal
and Maya were spoken, and one Maya. Apparently the first two were Zapo-
titlan (Tiquintunpa) and Chiuoha, the third was Xocola (Mazcab), and the
fourth, Popola.
Notwithstanding their small size, the founding of these settlements did
much to establish the prestige of Paxbolon. This was the beginning of an
extensive effort to bring the apostate refugees in the interior back to the
which was to result in the settlement of a considerable number
Christian faith,
of them in villages on the coastal plain between Laguna de Terminos and
Champoton.
The grant of authority under which Paxbolon collected the Maya fugi-
tives from Hecelchakan and settled them within his own jurisdiction was
perhaps more significant than the recovery of this comparatively small group.
Under certain terms it permitted him to accomplish the reduction of any
group of fugitives living in the region bordering on the Tixchel area and
resettle them in suitable locations. The conditions were very favorable both

to the cacique and to the Indians. The latter were to pay tribute, after a

certain period of exemption, to the Crown and not to an individual enco-

mendero, and the apostates among them would be forgiven their past dis-
loyalty to Church and state. They would, however, immediately become
subject to Don Pablo as their cacique.

For some years Paxbolon engaged only in modest enterprises in pursuance

of this policy, but as time went on he came to take an increasingly important
part in coping with a problem, which, for a long time to come, was to be a
serious threat to the Spanish administration of Yucatan.
This was the flight in large numbers by the inhabitants of the more
thickly populated northern portion of Yucatan, especially from the southern
edge of this area. In spite of its sparse population at the time of the Spanish
conquest, south-central Yucatan was a reasonably healthy country, and the
many ruined stone cities in the region bear evidence to a climate and a soil
which would permit agriculture. The scarcity of water during the dry season
must have always been a problem, and no doubt artificial reservoirs or im-
provements of the natural sources were necessary for the large population
in ancient times, but there were still enough ponds and water holes to supply
a very considerable number of refugees. In many parts of New Spain fugit ves

from Spanish rule were in danger of starving before they could produce
a crop in their new homes, but here the breadnut was fairly abundant, and

there is reason to believe that many, if not all, of the other forest trees and
plants, which furnished food in time of famine in northern Yucatan, were
3 34 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

also available. Besides the breadnut, the most important were the baatun
(possiblyAnthurium tetragonum Hook.), sapodilla, jicama cimarrona
(Calopogonium coeruleum Benth.), ear tree, and bonete (Pileus mexicanus
A. DC), which, according to Maya belief, had the greatest food values.

These, together with game, wild honey, and some fish from the ponds, made
it possible to sustain life in the forests until the first harvest.
The fugitives comprised various classes of people. Probably all of them
had found the rule of the Spanish officials and the strict supervision of the
missionaries irksome and wished to escape the burden of tribute and forced
labor as well as the other exactions of the conquerors. There were many
fugitives from justice, but these included not only ordinary misdoers and
heathen priests, but also the ordinarily well-behaved person who went to
church but still secretly practiced some of the old pagan domestic rites.
Moreover, there was a strong native tradition of easy divorce, which was
anathema to the missionaries but extremely hard to eradicate. This led to the
flight not only of men who were determined to leave their wives, but also
of those who, according to the new dispensation, were living in sin and in
constant danger of severe castigation.
People also fled to the forests because of epidemics and the famines caused
by drought or locusts. Some of them later returned voluntarily to their
homes, but many remained in the south. Practically all these fugitives

promptly relapsed into paganism.

At first they lived in scattered hamlets, but even in these there were recog-
nized leaders, often called ah cuchcabs. Later, as they became more numerous,
larger settlements were formed and municipal governments were organized
headed by a batab. Pole-and-thatch temples were constructed and the heathen
priests again became influential in local affairs as in pre-Spanish times.

As time went on these independent native groups became more and

more disturbing to the colonial authorities. Not only did the encomenderos
resent the loss of profitable tributaries, but the apostasy of the fugitives set
a very bad example to the subject population. For a long time, generally
speaking, the refugees feared to provoke the Spaniards to such an extent that
a military expedition would be sent against them, and for the most part
they attempted to avoid bloodshed. Acts of violence did occur, however, and
there were occasional raids on the border pueblos largely with the object
of carrying off men, women, and children, especially women, who were
always in the minority among the outlaws. During the second quarter of
the seventeenth century there was an insurrection among the pueblos of the
Bacalar district, and still later, in the southwest, large bands of the independ-
 CONCLUSION 335

ents came openly into Sahcabchen and other neighboring villages and inter-
fered in municipal affairs.

Although the independent population in the interior was constantly

recruited by newcomers from the north, it was possible to check the increase
from time to time, chiefly through the efforts of the missionaries and the loyal
native leaders. Of was the most prominent during the
the latter, Paxbolon
earlier phase of this movement, but Don Juan Chan of Chancenote in north-

eastern Yucatan also recovered many Indians who had fled to the forests on
the Caribbean coast. In later times Don Francisco Carnal of Oxkutzcab and
Don Juan Xiu of the adjoining town of Yaxakumche were also to take an
important part in such activities.

Some time about the year 1587 Don Pablo headed an expedition of
native militia into the Cehache area, where a large number of jMaya fugitives

from northern Yucatan had settled. The precise location is uncertain, but
since he is reported to have made a long and difficult journey through thick
forests, lagoons, and swamps, we can only surmise that it was in the northern
part of the lacustrine belt, possibly between L. Mocu and Isla Pac. These
people had been warned, however, by Christian Indian traders, and many of
them had fled, but Paxbolon was able to collect seventy-nine of them, bring
them out peaceably, and settle them at Popola and Tixchel. Some of them
are said to have been unconverted heathen, but it is hard to tell whether they
were Cehache, who were mixed with the refugees, or unbaptized children
of the latter.

Since pre-Spanish times a large part of the country northeast of Laguna

de Terminos had apparently been a sort of no man's land between the Chontal
and Maya areas, and much of the region between Tixchel and Champoton
was still unsettled. In 1599 a large group of marauding apostates from the
north were roaming about this country and committing depredations. Not
only did they kill a number of Indians from Campeche and other towns, who
were hunting or gathering wild beeswax, but they even attacked and robbed
travelers along the coast near Chencan and Uxkakaltok. Paxbolon was auth-

orized to raise a force of native militia from his villages and restore order.
He encountered the outlaws at a site called Usulaban, where he seized eighty
or a hundred of them, including their families. These people were brought
to Tixchel, and during the discussion about where they should be settled the

fugitives gave a very favorable account of Usulaban. This was confirmed by

one of the Franciscan missionaries, who went to examine the locality, and
it was now proposed that all the people of Tixchel and its four subject
villages should be moved there. The plan was not carried out, but in 1604
336 AC AL AN-TIXCHEL

a predominantly Maya-speaking village was established at Usulaban, which

seems to have been largely composed of the reformed marauders.
It was good policy to settle a surplus Maya-speaking element of the
population at Usulaban and thereby add another village to the jurisdiction
of Tixchel. It seems evident, however, that the plan to move the entire
population of the district to this inland site would have impaired the canoe
trade and the fishing and tortoise-shell industries as well as resulting in many
hardships and a falling off of the population. As it was, the appointment of
a secular priest to Tixchel in 1603 appears to have checked the efforts of the
Franciscans to concentrate the population in a single town, where they could
be more closely supervised. During the first four decades of the seventeenth
century agriculture improved somewhat, while commerce and the industries
we have mentioned continued to flourish. There had evidently been some loss

of population in the process of resettling the new villages subject to Tixchel,

for in 1 609 the total population of the district was only about 1 600. Economic
conditions were now basically sound, and by 1639 this figure increased to
about 2500.
The menace of an unconverted heathen population, to which was added
an ever-increasing body of apostate fugitives in the interior and eastern
coastal areas of the peninsula, was a serious problem, and the efforts of the
colonial administration and the Franciscan missionaries, as well as some at-
tempts by groups of individual colonists, to deal with this situation have
been followed in considerable detail in the preceding chapters. Anxiety had
been growing for some time, and by the end of the sixteenth century the in-

terest of the Spanish colonists generally had become aroused in subduing the
uncontrolled portions of the Yucatan Peninsula, converting the pagan peoples,
and restoring the apostates to the Christian faith.

A number of refugees and unbaptized Indians had been recovered in

northeastern Yucatan and settled in the region of Chancenote, but a further
effort in that direction had The success of Paxbolon in the
failed miserably.

southwest, as we have seen, had been much more promising, and a small
group of Campeche colonists enlisted the cacique's aid in a similar enter-

prise, possibly intended to be on a larger scale. In 1604 Don Pablo explored

the Mamantel basin above Popola in behalf of his son-in-law, Francisco

Maldonado, and four other Spaniards, and the latter group obtained a contract

from the government to pacify the interior settlements. After several years
of exemption the Indians whom they recovered were to pay them tribute.
The Franciscans saw little merit in a project which would simply sub-
ject these fugitives to new encomenderos. In course of time the old abuses
 CONCLUSION 337

would recur, and the Indians would again flee to still more remote regions
and revert to paganism. The missionaries wished to keep the Spanish colonists
out of the region and carry out their own policy without interference. Con-
sequently they resisted this semimilitary enterprise, and one of them, a Fray
Juan de Santa Maria, even wrote a letter to the refugee villages advising them
not to submit. Nevertheless the Campeche associates went on with their
plans and sent an expedition up the Mamantel basin accompanied by Pax-
bolon and two friars. Missions were founded at Nacaukumil and Auatayn,
and a third village, Ichbalche, seemed friendly, but other neighboring settle-

ments had been disquieted by the friar's letter, and their inhabitants fled to
the forests. The two missionaries remained for a time, but the expedition re-
turned to Campeche. It is plain, however, that Don Pablo was highly respected
by the refugees, for the people of the two new missions are said to have rec-
ognized him as their natural lord and erected a house in each village for his use

and service. They were evidently glad to trade with him, and this new alle-

giance would serve to cut them off more completely from their old homes
in northern Yucatan and their former caciques. Their desertion from the
jurisdiction of the latter was probably a very serious matter from the native
point of view.
It seems not unlikely that the Maldonado associates might have enjoyed
some measure of success, at least as long as they had the aid of Paxbolon and
were guided by his advice, but later in the year a new provincial governor
arrived in Yucatan and was evidently convinced by the arguments of the
Franciscans. The result was that he suspended the contract with the Campeche
associates and entrusted the pacification of the interior settlements to the
missionaries. No other Spaniards were to visit these villages nor were their

inhabitants to be transferred elsewhere.

lie two missions already established in the Mamantel basin were con-
tinued, and Santa Maria, who had been active in promoting this missionary
enterprise, founded a mission at Ichbalche, which was successful for some
years to come. Four days' journey to the south and not far from the un-
converted Cehache was another refugee settlement named Tzuctok. Here
Santa Maria overcame the fear of the inhabitants that his presence was merely
the preliminary to a military occupation, and he succeeded in founding an-
other mission. The position of the missionaries was further strengthened by a

formal assurance from the provincial governor that the people should be ex-
empt from tribute for a term of years and that no Spaniards except the mis-
sionaries would be allowed to visit them. At this time the Cehache also showed

signs of being friendly. If Santa Maria had been permitted to attempt their
338 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

conversion, even a partial success would have helped stabilize the Forest
Missions, since the presence of these pagan Indians apparently had a dis-
quieting effect on the refugees.
Nacaukumil was later moved to Chacuitzil farther to the east, and a
mission was founded at Cauich to the north. Other missions were also estab-
lished, among them Ichmachich, west of Ichbalche, and Sacalum, which
was situated at an inconveniently long distance to the east. For a time the
Franciscans seem to have been fairly well pleased with the progress of the
missions, but any such feeling was not shared by Bishop Vazquez de Mercado,
who had at first encouraged the enterprise. He now advocated settling a
group of Spanish colonists in the interior, who would help keep the natives
in order and discourage any inclination to rebel. The Crown, however, con-
tinued to support the policy of the friars.

In 1609 the Spanish colonists claimed that discipline had relaxed and that
idolatry was rampant among the mission Indians. There was no doubt a
good deal of truth in this assertion, but the Spaniards were less critical when
somewhat similar conditions occurred in their own encomiendas, so long as
it must be admitted that
the natives paid their tribute regularly. Nevertheless,
the Tzuctok people showed signs of getting out of hand. One of the chief-
tains became insubordinate, and conditions were aggravated by disquieting

rumors among the Indians generally. The result was that a zealous friar
named Juan de la Cruz was sent to investigate conditions.
The Franciscans had already considered moving some of the mission
where they could be more conveniently supervised, and
villages to a place

indeed, two of the communities had favored some such plan, although no
final agreement had as yet been reached on a location. The friar had not been
authorized to act independently, but he soon began to take measures to
transfer four of the settlements to an unhealthy site near Isla Pac named
Chunhaz.
Most of the Indians did not want to go there, and those of Tzuctok even
obtained a letter from the orovernor countermandino- the friar's order. This
was suppressed by the latter, who burned the houses in the town, destroyed
livestock and provisions, and moved the population. The inhabitants of the
other three villages then came to Chunhaz without resistance, but when this

and other harsh acts were reported to the governor, he repudiated the course
taken by the Franciscan and authorized the people to return to their former
homes. The great majority of them did so, only those of Auatayn electing
to remain at Chunhaz at this time. Although the governor had kept his
original promise not to move the fugitive groups from their homes, the
 CONCLUSION 339

whole affair did not improve the morale of the Forest Missions. The most
interesting feature of the episode is that, in spite among the
of the unrest
Indians, the friar was able arbitrarily to destroy property and move so many
unwilling people from their homes without the support of any military force.
We can only infer that there was little immediate danger of a rebellion.
For the next five years we have little detailed information about the
Forest Missions. The action of Fray Juan de la Cruz had caused considerable
hardship, but he was soon recalled from the field, and after his retirement

conditions appear to have been more satisfactory to the Indians than to

the missionaries. The Franciscans were able to keep the Spanish colonists
out of the area, and when the natives felt that their spiritual guardians were
unduly severe, they appealed directly to the provincial authorities, who,
on several occasions, at least, took the part of the Indians. This of course
weakened the authority of the missionaries, whose reports contain accusa-
tions of disobedience, immorality, and idolatry. Another important reason
for the lack of discipline was the distance from the convents to many of the
which could be visited only at fairly long intervals. More-
scattered villages,
over, was evidently difficult to find competent missionaries willing to under-
it

take these arduous duties. The Chunhaz convent was often without a friar,
and in 1614 Fray Juan de Buenaventura at Ichbalche was the only one resi-
dent in the entire district.

The fundamental problem of the missionaries was of course to prevent,

or at least to curb, pagan worship. About all they could do apparently was to
confine itmore or less secret practice and destroy whatever idols they
to a
were from time to time. Another very serious difficulty was
able to discover
presented by the numerous sexual irregularities among the Indians. Even at
Ichbalche, according to one report, many people were openly dispensing
with Christian marriage, and the native authorities were lax in punishing the
delinquents, some of whom were to be found even in the families of the
local leaders.

Under the existing circumstances the problem was almost unsolvable.

The fugitives generally represented the least stable element in the popu-
lation of Yucatan. Many of them had fled from the north with women who
were not their legal wives, and others who had come alone had either found
new mates after their arrival in the south or did not dare return to bring
their families for fear of punishment. A missionary could not conscientiously
give most of these people absolution, and consequently there was an em-
barrassingly large number of noncommunicants. As time went on, more people
deserted the mission towns, and in 16 14 we find Father Buenaventura com-
340 ACALAN-TEXCHEL

plaining bitterly that people made light ofhim and would not obey his
orders and that the provincial authorities were not supporting his authority.
The Franciscan heads finally realized that the only solution was to move
the Indians to a new mission area nearer the coast, where they could be more
easily controlled. This was proposed to the provincial governor, who came
in person to Champoton early in 1 6 1 5 and held a conference with the friars
and the local officials of the mission towns. After some deliberation it was
agreed that the people should be transferred to Sahcabchen, a fertile and well-
watered site south of Champoton and only about 5 leagues from the Gulf
coast. The Indian leaders said their people were willing to pay tribute, but
they insisted on a written promise from the governor that it should be to the
Crown and that they should not be subject to
any individual encomendero.
These leaders were probably no more anxious for the proposed transfer than
were their subjects, but they reahzed that a refusal to comply might well
result in an armed expedition being sent against them. Under the conditions
agreed to by the governor the people would be better oif than if they were
compelled to flee and scatter in the forests, and it is possible that the native
officials were also influenced by a desire to retain their positions.
The transfer from Ichbalche and Tzuctok to Sahcabchen was accom-
plished with fewer mishaps than might have been expected, and this was
largely due to the precautions which were taken to avoid hardship so far
as possible. Men from the villages near the coast were hired to clear the new
site, build a church and friars' house, and prepare fields for planting. Maize
was supplied for the new arrivals, and pack horses were sent to Ichbalche
and Tzuctok to assist in the moving. The towns of Ichmachich, Chunhaz, and
Chacuitzil were unwilling to go to Sahcabchen, and the governor permitted
them named Cheusih near a tributary of the Rio Mamantel.
to settle at a site
The people of Sacalum did not move to Sahcabchen as they had promised.
A number of them may have gone to Cauich, but others remained at Sacalum
when the mission was abandoned, and, like some of those of the more distant
smaller villages, subsequently scattered to the forests.
About 1300 men, women, and children were moved to the vicinity of

Sahcabchen and to Cheusih, but many others remained in the forests, and as

time went on they were joined by a stream of new fugitives from the north,
which continued throughout most of the seventeenth century. Flight was the
one effective protest that could be made against oppression, and in course of
time it must have exercised a restraining influence on the Spanish colonists,

especially the encomenderos, who lost many of their tributaries in this manner.
A remarkable aspect of the history of the Forest Missions is the apparent
 CONCLUSION 341

which so many of the refugees received the friars and that

willingness with
they obeyed them even to the extent they did. On the whole the Indians
appear to have regarded the Franciscans as their friends in spite of the severe
disciplinary measures imposed by the latter in northern Yucatan. It is true that
when left to themselves the fugitives relapsed into open paganism, but the
success of the missions, incomplete as it was, suggests strongly that even at this
early period Christianity had made on the people generally,
a deep impression
notwithstanding that so many of them continued surreptitiously to worship
the old gods.
The accounts of these early missions, fragmentary as they are, give us

some idea of the refugee villages and how their inhabitants behaved during
the decade they were under the control of the friars. As communities they
were subject to little more than moral restraint. The missionaries were not in
a position to take such measures as they did except through the native author-
ities, and the latter could enforce this discipline only as long as it was tol-

erated by a very considerable and influential part of the local population.

It is of interest to compare conditions at this time with those which now exist

among the independent villages in the forests of Quintana Roo.

Here, although time and new surroundings have worked inevitable
changes, we find a conservative tendency to preserve a pattern of life as

similar as possible to that which existed when the ancestors of the present
inhabitants revolted and subsequently retired to the forests nearly a century
ago. The old idolatry had by this time disappeared, but among the Santa
Cruz Indians we find it replaced by the personification and worship of the
cross. Certain crosses have been regarded as oracles, which give commands,
instructions, and messages to the people. In i860 a large masonry church was
built at Chan Santa Cruz, and in the villages today many of their religious
ceremonies are mainly Catholic in form, though they are mostly performed
by local native priests or under their direction. Other observances are essen-
tially pagan and directed toward the old Maya guardian deities of forest
and field, but there is no conflict between the two. Christian and pagan rites

may be performed simultaneously at different altars in the same place of

worship. This reconciliation of Christianity with certain phases of the old
pagan rehgion is not uncommon among many of the natives of northern
Yucatan at the present time, and it seems not unlikely that in spite of the
admonitions of the friars to the contrary, very much the same attitude of
mind toward religious matters was already prevalent among the Indians of
the Forest Missions in the early seventeenth century.^^
1^ Villa,
1945, pp. 97-99, 105-07.
342 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

During the decade following the transfer to Sahcabchen and Cheusih

an attempt was made to reestablish a forest mission in what is now the Terri-
tory of Quintana Roo, but was largely incidental to a military project.
it

In 1622 Francisco de Mirones Lezcano led an expedition to the south with

the object of conquering the Itza living on Lake Peten. His force consisted
of twenty soldiers and a larger number of native auxiliaries, and he was
accompanied by Fray Diego Delgado. After collecting a number of apostate
fugitives in the course of the expedition, these people, who had been recon-
ciled with the Church, were finally settled at Sacalum, the site of the former
mission of that name, and Mirones with his men remained there for a consid-
erable time awaiting reinforcements before advancing against the Itza. Here
the soldiers treated the natives badly, and Mirones followed the time-honored
custom of exploiting them economically. Unable to check this behavior,

Delgado left the place in disgust and made his way to Tayasal, the Itza
capital, where he lost his life.^'^

Early in 1624 the Indians of Sacalum became so exasperated with the

actions of the Spaniards that they organized an insurrection, took the mem-
bers of the expedition by surprise while they were at church, and murdered
every one of them. The villagers had not wished to take the life of the mis-
sionary who had taken Delgado's place, but their leader, an unbaptized
heathen priest, killed him before he could be rescued. The rebels then burned
the town and fled to the forest, but they were later pursued by a company
of loyal native militia from Oxkutzcab. Twenty of the malefactors were
killed, and twelve others, including the heathen priest, were captured and
brought to Merida for punishment.^^
In connection with this uprising and massacre it is of interest to recall
the proposal of Bishop Vazquez de Mercado in 1 609 to settle twenty families

of Spanish colonists in the area of the Forest Missions, the idea being that
their presence would restrain the Indians and keep them from rebelling. If

the project had been put into execution, it is not difficult in the light of the
Sacalum episode to surmise what would have been the probable outcome.
The policy of the Franciscans from 1 604 to 1 61 5 did not achieve the success
which they anticipated, but their moderation would appear to have had much
to do with avoiding a long period of guerrilla warfare and savage raids on
the frontier settlements such as occurred during the period following the War
of the Castes in the nineteenth century.
For many years after the failure of the Sacalum mission and the massacre
1'^
Scholes and Adams, 1936, pp. 158-59; Means, 1917, pp. 76-81.
IS Lopez de CogoUudo, 1867-68, bk. 10, ch. 3; Scholes and Adams, 1936, pp. 272-73.
 CONCLUSION 343

of the friar and Spanish soldiers stationed there, we find Httle evidence of con-
certed effort by the colonial administration to control the southern interior
of the peninsula. The success of the native punitive expedition under Don
Fernando Carnal of Oxkutzcab, which apprehended the murderers and
brought them to justice, no doubt exercised a restraining influence on the
other groups of fugitives. This effect wore off in course of time, especially
after the uprising in the Bacalar district, which culminated in 1639 and which

the Spaniards were unable to subdue for a good many years. Moreover, in
the latter year Philip III confirmed the policy of the crown to reduce pagans
and apostates to the faith through missionary enterprises rather than by
force of arms.^®
There was little natural increase in the refugee population, but their
numbers were constantly recruited by newcomers from the north and
west. This movement was accelerated by the great epidemic of yellow
fever in 1648. If, as Bequaert believes, Aedes aegypti was not native to the
New World, the yellow fever carrier must have been introduced into Yuca-
tan considerably earlier for the pestilence to have spread so rapidly in 1648.
In any case the forest dwellers probably suffered less from the epidemic than
the people nearer the coast.^° Besides the grievances discussed elsewhere in
this study in connection with the flight of the Indians to the forests in earlier
times, other vexations became more onerous. Merchants, cattle men, and
logwood operators obliged people to work for inadequate pay, and it has
been noted that some governors compelled the natives to accept advances of
money or raw materials and furnish various products at a low valuation as well
as to buy unwanted goods at a high price. These practices became so wide-

spread and vexatious that many Indians fled to the forests on this account.
It has been shown that by 1666 such desertions were so numerous that
a number of the interior settlements had become organized towns, each with
a batab and other officials including an influential pagan priest, and some
of them with forces of armed warriors. The most powerful appear to have
been Tzuctok, the site of the former mission, and Bolonpeten on an island in
the swamp now called Isla Pac. According to reports discussed in the pre-
ceding chapter, the batab was acknowledged as leader by other settlements
and even by the unconverted Cehache. His prestige attracted many of the
fugitives, who were now passing in considerable numbers through Sahcab-
chen. This was the last frontier town in this direction, and its inhabitants had
long carried on an extensive trade with the interior. These people had always
19 Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. 2, ch, 10.
20 Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 12, ch. 12; Shattuck, 1933, p. 336.
344 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

been somewhat difficult to control. Although they were the descendants of

scattered fugitives from various parts of northern Yucatan, they appear to
have been tenacious of the old traditional social system, for the head of the
Dzul lineage was accompanied by his relatives of the same name when he
deserted the town about this time because he failed to be elected cacique.^^
Later, large bands of the independents visited the frontier towns of the
Sahcabchen and Tixchel where they robbed and carried off many
areas,

persons. They even proclaimed a Maya prophecy that the time had come for
all the Indians to desert the Spaniards and flee to the forests. Many did so,
while others sought safety in the neighborhood of Champoton and Cam-
peche, and by 1688 Sahcabchen had lost over two-thirds of its population.
In 1669 Batab Yam of Tzuctok assumed what was not unlike the position
of a territorial ruler over the frontier towns. As Paxbolon had formerly done
in Nacaukumil and Auatayn, he required at each the construction of a large
house for his use or service, and he also ordered them to cultivate a field of
grain and garden truck for him and to manufacture arrows for his warriors. On
the eve of Palm Sunday a pagan priest came to Sahcabchen as his representa-

tive and accompanied by over 200 forest Indians. During Easter week the
priest was feted by the local magnates. He presided over the drunken heathen
festivals by night and held court by day; and when he fined anyone for
harming another, he divided the amount between the injured party and a

number of the latter's relatives, even though it was a case of a husband mal-
treating his wife.-^ We do not find this detail recorded from northern Yuca-
tan, but it accords with the general principles of Maya justice, according to
which an offense against an individual was one against the kin. The latter could
even recover legal damages against the husband or wife of one of its members
for a provocation which had led to suicide. There is some evidence of
Cehache influence among the independents, since all the local men were
ordered immediately to make what is called a Cehache garment. It is said to
be a kub, which is the Maya name woman's garment, but it sug-
of a certain
gests the poncholike robe of the modern Lacandon more than it does any
secular male costume reported from northern Yucatan.^^ The account of the

21 Autos hechos por Pedro Garcia de Ricalde sobre la reduccion de los indios de
. . .

Sahcabchen y otros pueblos, 1668-70, AGI, Escribania de Camara, leg. 317B, pza. 8.
-2 Sobre las diligencias que se han hecho para la reduccion de los indios de Sahcabchen
y
otros pueblos, 1670, AGI, Mexico, leg. 307.
-3 Roys,
1943, p. 31. Kub is variously defined as a huipil and something like a huipil, which
is a long loose blouse worn by women (Nahuatl, huipilli). The Lacandon, however, call their

robelike garment xictil, a term applied by the Maya to a short sleeveless jacket and obviously
referable to the Nahuatl xicolli (Motul dictionary, 1929, p. 93; San Francisco Dictionary, Maya-
Spanish; Tozzer, 1907, p. 29; Sahagun, 1938, i: 144, 4: 33).
 CONCLUSION 345

kub is of considerable interest also because we have no positive information

as to the origin of the Maya-speaking Lacandon, but this suggests that at

least some of them came from the Cehache area.^^

During the next twelve months the situation grew worse. Large groups
from the interior accompanied their leaders to Sahcabchen and other frontier
towns.Many of the independents came principally to trade, but there were a

good many robberies as well as some beatings and abductions, and the vil-

lage of Holail was sacked. Nevertheless, in view of the fact that these towns
were completely in their power at various times, the refugees seem to have
shown more restraint than might have been expected, especially if we com-
pare their actions with the savage atrocities which the insurgents committed in
the loyal Maya villages during the War of the Castes in the nineteenth
century. It is two Spaniards were murdered on a ranch in 1668, and
true that
the following year the Indian governor of Sahcabchen was carried off to the
interior, where he afterward lost his life, but few killings are reported by

the Spanish accounts of the episode, which apparently did not understate
matters. The friar in charge of the church at Sahcabchen was not personally
molested, although he was no doubt in considerable danger at times.
In the meantime a new governor of Yucatan was making efforts to re-
lieve the situation. He wrote letters urging the chiefs of the independents to
submit and not compel him to send an armed expedition against them. Al-
though Bolonpeten and Tzuctok do not appear to have replied, other settle-

ments took a concihatory attitude. As in 1605, they were willing to receive

a friar, if unaccompanied by other Spaniards, and they wished to remain
where they were. Many of the governor's advisers urged him to use force,
but he rejected this counsel. He was only interim governor, and he probably
felt that just then the buccaneers were a greater danger than the Indians.
Finally Fray Cristobal Sanchez, the priest stationed at Sahcabchen, was sent
in July with two other missionaries to pacify the forest villages. The im-
mediate results of this enterprise were apparently more favorable than the
governor's advisers had anticipated. An early report from Sanchez stated
that some of the apostates had already received them kindly and that they
had been invited to come to Tzuctok.
At this point the contemporary accounts of Sanchez' mission come to
an end, and it is only from a few allusions in the reports of the final conquest
of the interior a quarter of a century later that we learn something of the
outcome. The people of Tzuctok were temporarily pacified, and a church

2* Cf. Thompson, 1938, p. 588.

34'^ ACALAN-TIXCHEL

was built there. Afterward they became insubordinate, and the town was de-
stroyed about 1680 by Alonso Garcia Paredes, who was later to take an im-
portant part in the campaign against the Itza on Lake Peten. We do not
know what other towns were pacified by Sanchez, but Thub, or Nohthub,
located 1 3 leagues north of Tzuctok, was no doubt one of them, for it was one
of the settlements which had sent a conciliatory letter to the provincial gov-
ernor. Subsequently this town also rebelled and was destroyed by Paredes.^
Sanchez' initial success with the fugitives was probably due in part to a
fear that a military expedition would be sent against them, and this would
be difficult to resist, because the natives had almost no firearms. By receiving
the missionaries they might well expect to be left where they were, and we
surmise that in spite of their reversion to paganism, many of them had a
desire to be reconciled with the Church. Another incentive for restoring
friendly relations with the Spaniards would be the prospect of freer trade with
the outside world. Most of these people had grown up under Spanish rule,

and by this late date they must have considered metal tools a necessity. An
order by Chief Yam requisitioning a large quantity of arrows from Sahcab-
chen suggests that iron for arrowheads was at a premium in the interior.^^
An important factor also was the esteem which the natives obviously had for
Father Sanchez, who had been able to remain at his post in Sahcabchen
during the disturbances.
would be of considerable interest to know more about the religion
It

practiced by these apostates after the middle of the seventeenth century.

There can be little doubt that it reflected openly the surreptitious worship
of the old gods, as it was carried on in the Christian villages at this time.
Features inspired by Christian teaching were constantly creeping into the
idolatrous ceremonial. Within twenty years after the Spanish conquest cruci-
fixion sometimes became a part of the human sacrifices, which were still being
performed secretly in northern Yucatan at that time. By 1641 the rebellious
Indians of the Bacalar district had introduced into their heathen ceremonies
an improvised mass service, in which tortillas and maize gruel were substi-

tuted for the wafer and wine.^^ Idol worship has been recorded among
Yucatecan A4aya apostates almost until the end of the seventeenth century,
and we infer that it was still clandestinely practiced in some of the Christian
villages until this time. We do not know when it was generally abandoned

23 Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. 5, ch, 2; Means, 1917, p. iii.

26 Sobre las diligencias que se ban hecho para la reduccion de los indios de Sahcabchen y
otros pueblos, 1670, AGI, Mexico, leg. 307.
27 Scholes and Roys,
1939, passim; Roys, 1933, pp. 201-03.
 CONCLUSION 347

nor when the cross took the place of an idol as an oracle. So far, the first
known instance of a speaking cross was about 1850, among the insurgents
during the War of the Castes. The personification of the cross is implied
in an Ebtun document dated 18 14, where we read of "our Lord the Holy
Cross," but the concept may be considerably older.^^
We are ignorant of what led to the insubordination of the interior towns,
which were destroyed by Paredes, and can only surmise that the missionaries
may have been unduly severe or that possibly they might have made an unsuc-
cessful attempt to move the people nearer the coast. Moreover, among a popu-
lation of fugitives from various parts of the country there would be lacking
the stable native leadership which aided the missionaries to maintain order
in the older communities. In 1678 it was reported from Sahcabchen that
certain Indians had allied themselves with rebellious natives of Petenecte
on the Rio Usumacinta in Tabasco. It seems not unlikely that this was a

factor in the situation which finally resulted in dispatching a military expe-

dition into the interior in 1680.^
After this time the fugitives ceased to be a menace in the regions we have
discussed. The expedition against the Itza in 1695 encountered little resist-

ance and they did not compare in numbers with the refugee population re-
ported in 1668-70. We more of Bolonpeten. The location must
hear nothing
have been an unhealthy one, but Maler, who was in that neighborhood in
1894, tells us that it had been the site of a settlement of free Maya families
.^"^
about the middle of the nineteenth century
The encomienda history of Acalan-Tixchel has been described in some
detail in the preceding chapters. Considerable emphasis has been given to this

phase of Acalan-Tixchel developments for various reasons. For many years

the encomienda system constituted the chief means by which Spanish juris-

diction was made effective in Acalan. The data concerning tribute payments
recorded in the Chontal Text and in the various tax schedules available for
Acalan and Tixchel formulated in 1553 and later years provide valuable in-
formation concerning the economic life of the Chontal in postconquest times,
especially with reference to agricultural production and surplus goods avail-

able for export. These tribute schedules, as in the case of those formulated for
northern Yucatan and other areas, also contain data on the basis of which
estimates of population may be made. Finally, the encomienda lawsuit of
28 Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. 5, ch. 9; Tozzer, 1941, p. 116; Roys, 1939, p. 363;
Villa, 1945, pp. 20-22. A
rare case of modern idolatry at Pustunich, southeast of Champoton, is
recorded by Andrews (1943, pp. 26-29).
29 Molina Solis, 1904-13, 2: 292.
20 Means, 1917, pp. 107-16; Maler, 1910, p. 146.
348 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Garcia v. Bravo (see Chapter 9) is one of the most important sources for the
history of Acalan-Tixchel in the sixteenth century.
The history of the encomienda in Acalan-Tixchel also serves to illustrate
various trends in the evolution of this important institution of colonial Hispanic
America. The encomienda was introduced in the island colonies at an early
date as a means of providing the Spaniards with an adequate supply of native
labor. In the mainland colonies, where the conquerors found more advanced
civilizations and well-developed systems of tribute, they demanded the pay-
ment of tribute as well as labor from the Indians assigned to them in en-
comienda. For some years the encomenderos levied labor and tribute on the
Indians more or less at will, but this resulted in numerous abuses, eventually
causing the Crown to order the formulation of fixed annual assessments of
tribute, payable in money or in kind, and the elimination of the labor phase
of the encomienda obligation. These changes, introduced in most of the
colonies in the mid-sixteenth century,^^ had the effect of making the en-
comienda a form of pension for the reward of deserving conquerors and their
descendants and also for the support of local militia for the defense of the
colonies, since the encomenderos were under obligation to maintain arms and
horses and to answer call to military service in time of danger. The use of
the encomienda for pension purposes is further illustrated by developments
in the second half of the sixteenth century and in the seventeenth, when the
Crown or colonial officials frequently made grants of money or produce in
kind to non-encomenderos on the revenues of the larger encomiendas, thus
providing rewards for a larger number of deserving colonists.^^
The early encomenderos of Acalan required payments in labor and
tribute and in such amounts as they wished or were able to collect. In 1553

Lie. Tomas Lopez Medel, oidor of Guatemala, eliminated the labor obliga-
tion and formulated the first fixed annual assessment of tribute. After the
removal of the Acalan people to Tixchel the tribute schedule was revised in
1 56 1, in 1569, and again in 1583. On the last occasion the assessment was
made on the same basis as for the towns of northern Yucatan. The assessment
of 1553 and also that of 1583 gave the encomendero a gross revenue consid-

2^These changes were put into effect in New Spain, Yucatan, and most of the other
colonies. But some exceptions were made, notably in the case of Chile, where the Indians con-
tinued to give labor to their encomenderos.
32 This practice was common in Yucatan. It should also be noted that the income from the

Montejo encomiendas, declared vacant in the late 1540's in accordance with provisions of the
New Laws of 1542, was used to pay pensions to deserving colonists, some of whom also held
encomiendas, and the revenues of other vacant encomiendas were sometimes used for this pur-
pose. Some of the larger encomienda grants held by conqueror families were eventually broken
into smaller holdings for reassignment to several persons. And the Crown occasionally made
encomienda grants in the Indies to Spanish nobles for pension purposes.
 CONCLUSION 349

erably in excess of i,ooo pesos annually, a sizable income in terms of other

grants of moderate size in Yucatan. In the seventeenth century (sometime be-
tween 1606 and 1648) the governor assigned part of the encomienda reve-
nues as a pension to a person other than the encomendero of Tixchel. The
falling-off of the population in the Tixchel district in the later seventeenth
century caused a sharp decline in the encomienda revenues. As late as 1688,

hovi^ever, the Tixchel people, most of whom now resided at Usulaban, con-
tinued to be held in encomienda, although the gross revenue of the holding
was now less than 200 pesos annually.
Various writers on colonial administration and land systems in Spanish
America have regarded the encomienda as a kind of land grant. Recent in-
vestigations have shown, however, that such views are no longer tenable ;^^
and it may be noted here that the Acalan encomienda documents, none of
which record any reference to a grant of land, confirm the findings of these
recent studies. It is necessary therefore to revise the thesis stated by earlier

writers that many of the colonial haciendas evolved directly from enco-
mienda holdings. Although there is evidence that encomenderos did obtain
possession of lands within the territorial limits of their encomienda towns,
study of the pertinent documents clearly proves that title to such land was
not based on the encomienda grants but on separate procedures and instru-
ments, such as specific grants of land, purchase, or unlawful occupation
(often subsequently legalized by the process of composicion). As Zavala
has stated, an hacienda could be formed "under the cloak of an encomienda,
but independently in the matter of juridical title."^^ This writer also calls

attention to the need for detailed regional studies to determine the frequency
of this process. Such investigations will involve "a scrupulous comparison of
encomienda titles with those which define territorial property in the same
zone, also an inquiry into the relationship between the encomienda families
and those of the hacienda owners."^""*

Although labor was eliminated as an element of the encomienda system

33 Zavala, 1940; 1943, pp. 80-84; i945>
PP- 5'5-6i; Kirkpatrick, 1942.
3* Zavala (1945, pp. 58-61) describes certain documents showing how the son of Bernal
Diaz del Castillo by means of vacant land, purchase, etc., obtained title to
a separate grant of
lands within the limits of the old conqueror's encomienda in Guatemala. Commenting on these
documents, the author makes two significant statements. The first, quoted in part above, reads:
"Asi iba naciendo una hacienda so capa de la encomienda, pero con independencia en cuanto a
la titulacion juridica." The second reads; "La realidad es que la hacienda llego a constituirse
— —
en aquellos terminos, representando la irrupcion ^legal o abusiva del proprietario europeo y
sus descendientes en medio de las posesiones de los pueblos de indios. La encomienda no influia
directamente en este proceso, pero ya se ha visto que el encomendero que no se cenia a su
funcion especifica, podia por otros medios convertLrse en propietario de tierras y crear una
hacienda dentro de la encomienda."
35 Ibid., p. 61.
 35© ACALAN-TIXCHEL

by royal legislation of 1549, many encomenderos continued to exploit the

labor of their encomienda Indians by extralegal devices. We have ample
evidence of this for northern Yucatan in the documents of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, and we have no doubt that the encomenderos of
Acalan-Tixchel did the same. But the major method of making use of Indian
labor for many decades subsequent to 1549 was by means of the reparti-
miento, or forced labor for wages. Under this system a certain percentage
of the Indians of each town were obliged to hire out to Spaniards (encom-
enderos and others) for stated periods and at fixed wages. This procedure
was attended by many abuses, resulting in various reform laws and edicts in
the early seventeenth century. It should be emphasized that this method
of employment of native labor was separate from the encomienda, which
now involved only the payment of stated amounts of tribute annually.
It is sometimes assumed that the repartimiento evolved into the system
of debt peonage which characterized the history of Mexico in later colonial
times and the nineteenth century. It should be noted therefore that recent
studies by Zavala, based on extensive documentary evidence, prove that debt
peonage actually .grew out of a system of voluntary labor for wages which
gradually took the place of the repartimiento as the principal method of
recruiting native workers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.^^
Whether or not any of the Indians of the Tixchel area became debt peons
we have no information.
In our discussion of the Acalan tribute assessment of 1553 we have
stated that the payments called for imposed a heavy burden on the Indians,
especially in terms of a wage equivalent. The schedule for Tixchel formulated
in 1583 sharply lowered the manta requirement per tributary and corres-
pondingly reduced the amount of labor required to produce the stated levies

but the value of the annual payment remained high because of increasing
prices. In fact, a document of 1606 shows that the value of the tribute paid

by each tributary exceeded that of the 1553 levy. Although wages for un-
skilled labor mayhave increased to some extent since 1553, the 1606 valuation
still constituted a heavy burden in terms of wages. We
also find that the

amount of tribute paid by the Indians of Yucatan in the sixteenth century

was greater than that paid by natives of Mexico proper. This may be explained
in part by the fact that the encomenderos of Yucatan enjoyed fewer op-
portunities for profitable enterprise than those of New Spain and so had to
depend to a greater extent on the encomienda txibutes as a source of income.

36 Zavala,
1943, ch. 9, and 1943a. Zavala has in preparation a comprehensive study of Indian
labor in the Spanish colonies.
 CONCLUSION 351

Little information has come down to us concerning the history of Tixchel

after the founding of the first Forest Missions in 1 604. We last hear of Don
Pablo Paxbolon in 16 14, when he was seventy years old, but we do not
know how much longer he lived, and there is some uncertainty as to whether
or not his mestizo grandson would have been allowed to succeed to the
caciqueship. This was wisely forbidden by the Laws of the Indies, which
aimed to keep the office in Indian hands. It is true that there were mestizo
caciques in Mexico in later times, but we have found none recorded from
Yucatan. Paxbolon was closely associated with his Spanish son-in-law, Fran-
cisco Maldonado, who filled various civil and military offices in Campeche.
After the death of his Acalan wife, the cacique married the daughter of
a Spaniard named Diego de Orduiia. The latter's knowledge of the Chontal
language and his wide experience with Indian affairs in Tabasco suggest that
he may have been a trader and a business associate of Don Pablo. Indeed,
it seems very possible that the daughter's mother was a Chontal Indian
woman. By this wife Paxbolon had a second daughter, who was still unmar-
ried in 161 2. If she later married an Indian of rank, according to political
traditions in Tabasco and other parts of the mainland her son could have
succeeded to the caciqueship, in default of any surviving son, brother, or
nephew of the deceased cacique, but such a procedure would have been most
unusual among the Yucatecan Maya. The tendency to matrilocal residence,
however, suggests the possibility of inheritance of the office through a
daughter among the Acalan.^^
By 1639 the curacy of Tixchel comprised seven towns. The population
of the district was now about 2500, and the revenue of the curacy was such
as to indicate favorable economic conditions. Consequently it is surprising
to learn that the town was destroyed some time between this date and 1643.
No details of the destruction have come down to us, but the town was so
close to the undefended harbor of Puerto Escondido as to suggest strongly

that the disaster was due to a piratical raid. In any case it seems unlikely that
Tixchel could have remained tenable later on, when the English buccaneers
established a base on Isla del Carmen for the cutting and exportation of log-
wood. Popola now became the head of the curacy, but many of the inhabi-
tants apparently moved to Usulaban, which was still predominantly Chontal
in the i66o's. There was, however, a very considerable loss of population.
Some of the Tixchel people no doubt settled in other villages of the region,
and we surmise that a number of them fled to the interior.

After the abandonment of Tixchel the population of the district de-

^''
Roys, 1943, p. 108.
352 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

creased greatly. Following the death of the encomendero in 1 648 there was a
readjustment of tribute for the encomienda, which now comprised the villages
of Usulaban, Chiuoha, Tiquintunpa (the former Zapotitlan), and Mamantel
(originally known as Xocola and later renamed Mazcab). This new assess-
ment does not cover the entire Tixchel area, but it discloses that the tributary
units of these settlements, which had numbered 320 in 1606, had now shrunk
to 168, indicating a loss of almost half of the population. We ascribe this rapid
dechne both to the hardships attending the destruction of Tixchel and the
move to Usulaban and to the epidemic of yellow fever which swept the coun-
try in 1648 and caused enormous loss of life.

During the succeeding decades the population of the Tixchel area con-
tinued to diminish. This was partly due to the increasingly vexatious exac-
tions of the Spaniards, and perhaps even more to attacks by the buccaneers,
for Usulaban, Chiuoha, and Popola were repeatedly robbed and sacked by
English raiders. If the latter had displayed any political acumen, it seems
likely that by conciliating the local Indians and allying themselves with the
fugitives in the interior they might have effected a more permanent occupa-
tion of the region. Indeed, some of the Spanish colonists envisaged such a
possibility with no little apprehension. Moreover, the refugee groups demor-
ahzed the Christian villages here, as They
they did around Sahcabchen.
visited these settlements also in considerable numbers and were joined by

the local inhabitants in their idolatry and drunken festivals, and many of the
latter were carried off or persuaded to flee to the forests.

As a result of these unsettled conditions a number of the towns were

deserted. In 1 668 the people of Popola, Tiquintunpa, and Mamantel had with-
drawn to an unidentified site named Sosmula, and those of Cheusih were
now living in the same neighborhood. No permanent town was estabhshed
here, however, and some of them appear to have resettled later in Usulaban,
Chekubul, and Chiuoha. These were the only remaining villages in the dis-

trict in 1688, and at this time they had a combined population of 420 adult
inhabitants. The Chontal-speaking element was fast disappearing, for in the

matriculas of this year only forty-six of the names can be identified as

Chontal. All but a very few, and a majority of them are of women, are re-
corded from Usulaban, which contained about 100 adults all together. Even
the site of this town from the maps. Consequently it is
has since disappeared
not strange that the Chontal language has now become extinct in the region.
With the exception of the name of the Rio Mamantel and possibly a few
others of doubtful origin, hardly a trace of it is to be found there at the

present time.
 CONCLUSION 353

We have already remarked on the tendency for Chontal names to dis-

appear, and if it were not for the Acalan Text and matriculas we would
know practically nothing of the nomenclature of this important branch of the
Maya stock. There some evidence of a similar weakness in the language
is

generally. It is true that a good many Indians in Tabasco still speak Chontal,
but they are few compared with the large number of people who spoke it

in pre-Spanish times. Strangely enough, however, the small Nahuatl-speaking

element of the population, who occupied only eight towns and villages in
1579, still preserves its language at the present time. It would be of more than
ordinary interest to know whether this difference in language was reflected
in their religion and material culture at the time of the conquest, and whether
their manner of living varies from that of their Chontal-speaking neighbors
today. Unfortunately neither archaeological reports nor modern ethno-
logical studies are available that would cast any light on the subject.
A still more notable example of this linguistic weakness is to be seen in the
closely related Choi. The latter was formerly spoken from the Chontal area
across the base of the Yucatan Peninsula to the Caribbean, but today this

language survives only in a small part of northern Chiapas.^^

The very similar Chorti, however, is still spoken in the mountainous
region of eastern Guatemala and across the Honduras frontier.
In strong contrast to the instability we have noted, Yucatecan Maya
stands out as a startling example of linguistic strength and persistence. It has
held its own against Spanish to a remarkable degree in northern Yucatan,
where not only is it spoken as a secondary language by many persons of
European descent, but it is the language of the home among a large class
of people of mixed blood who are not considered Indians. Even in a town
as large as Peto the teachers say that the great majority of the children enter-
ing school are unable to speak any Spanish. Certainly, as Redfield remarks,
"Yucatec Maya is the most-used language of the peninsula and one of which
everyone has some knowledge and awareness. "^^
In addition to replacing Chontal in the Tixchel region and on the Usuma-
cinta River, Maya has also superseded Choi in the Lacandon country in
eastern Chiapas and in parts of the former Manche Choi area in southern
British Honduras and the adjoining Peten. In the last named region, how-
ever, there are also Kekchi-speaking groups, who are partly of Choi descent.^"
Recently a number of Kekchi from Alta Verapaz have been settling near

3s Thompson, 1938, pp. 585-90; Roys, 1943, p. iii.

39 Redfield,
1941, p. 2.
40 Thompson,
193 1, pp. 35-36; 1938, pp. 588-90.
354 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

the mouth of the Rio Dulce opposite Livingston in a district that had long
been Hispanicized. It seems evident that the Yucatecan Maya and the Kekchi
have a pioneering spirit and a facihty for adapting themselves to changed
conditions which have enabled them to survive and preserve their language in
regions vi^here other native peoples have either disappeared or lost their
ethnic identity.
The Acalan were a people of mixed origin who traded and made war
over a widely extended area, and the pre-Spanish history of this nation em-
phasizes the importance of considering Middle America as a whole in the
study of any particular phase of its culture. A signal example of this attitude
is to be found in Kidder's report of the archaeological investigations at Kam-
inaljuyu near Guatemala City, which have achieved startling results. Here
are shown not only the cultural relations of the inhabitants of this site with
the lowland Maya and other peoples of southern and eastern Mexico during
the first half of the Initial Series period, but also such close resemblances
between Kaminaljuyu and Teotihuacan in central Mexico as to indicate some
thing more than commercial intercourse. Indeed, an actual invasion and
subsequent occupation by people from the latter region is strongly sug-
gested.*^ Thompson has published a series of important comparative studies
showing analogies in the art of Veracruz and western Tabasco with that of the
classical Maya, and for a later period he traces similarities indicating signi-

ficant relationships in the sculptures and ceramics of the Gulf coast, central

Mexico, Chichen Itza, and the southern Maya area."*^ The native historical
traditions are often confused and sometimes contradictory, so it would seem
obvious that any satisfactory interpretation can hardly afford to neglect the
archaeological evidence.
Our history of the Acalan is principally a chronicle of their ruling class,
and a large part of it is concerned with the activities of two of their rulers.

One was Paxbolonacha, whose friendly relations with Cortes had much to
do with determining the destiny of his people in colonial times; the other was
his grandson, Don Pablo Paxbolon, who reunited the remnants of his people
in the Tixchel area, augmented the population of the district by bringing in
Yucatecan Maya fugitives from the interior of the peninsula, and made him-
self the most important Indian leader of his time among the lowland Maya
under Spanish rule.

It is true that Don Pablo was educated by the missionaries and cooperated
with the colonial authorities and the clergy, but he was by no means merely a
*i Kidder, 1945, pp. 241-60.
*2 Thompson, 1941, 1941a, 1943.
 CONCLUSION 355

Hispanicized Indian. Under changed conditions his poHcy was very much
like that of his grandfather, who had organized the Candelaria basin poHtically
under Acalan rule and established an important commercial state there in

pre-Spanish times. Consequently Paxbolon's career furnishes us with a sound

basis for an appraisal of the methods and motives of his forebears, whose
activities are recorded in the Chontal Text.
The history of the Yucatan Peninsula in colonial times abounds with
instances of Spanish oppression on one hand and of evasion or flight from
the rule of the conqueror on the other. This, however, is only one side of the
picture. Equally significant was the cooperation between the native leaders
and the Spanish authorities and clergy, such as we find recorded in the Xiu
Chronicle, the Titles of Ebtun, and now in the Acalan-Tixchel documents.^^
Such cooperation, we believe, was a most important factor in the wide sur-
vival of the Yucatan Maya population and the preservation of their language

with much of the native culture. The result was the development of a Hispano-
Indian civilization, such as we find existing in Yucatan at the present time.

43 Roys, 1939, pp. 44-45 and passim; 1941, passim; 1943, pp. 143-45, 178; Morley, 1941,
passim.
APPENDICES
 Appendix A
The Chontal Text

INTRODUCTION

INtheTHE
PRECEDING chapters frequent reference has been made to
Chontal Text, which is the most important single document in the

mass of new source material relating to the history of Acalan-Tixchel. It is

the purpose of this appendix to make the Text available to both the specialist
and the interested reader by means of facsimile reproduction, the Spanish
version, and an English translation.

As indicated in Chapter i, the Text is found in the Paxbolon-Maldonado

Papers, which contain the probanzas of the merits and services ,of Don Pablo
Paxbolon, cacique and governor of Tixchel, and of his son-in-law, Francisco
Maldonado. These Papers comprise a lengthy manuscript which forms part
of legajo 138 of the Audiencia de Mexico section of the Archivo General
de Indias in Seville.^ An account of the legal proceedings of Francisco Mal-
donado which resulted in the compilation of these documents has been given
in Chapter 12.

The Papers begin with the petition of Pedro de Toro, Maldonado's agent,
who presented the probanzas to the Council of the Indies in Madrid in 16 18.
The probanzas are in two parts, each with unnumbered and numbered folios,
as follows: Part I, ff. [i-ix], 1-112; Part II, ff. [i-ix], 1-340, [i]. Our photo-

graphs of the manuscript, which have recently been deposited in the Library
of Congress, arenumbered consecutively 1-939.
The main body of Part I (ff. 1-112, ph. 18-241)^ consists of a certified
copy, dated October 17, 16 14, of the probanza formulated by Maldonado in
Merida and Campeche in 161 2-14. The Chontal Text is found in ff. 6()r-']']r,
ph. 154-170. The Spanish version is in ff. 89'i;-io2r, ph. 195-220.
Part II (ph. 242-939) contains a long series of documents relating to
1 The manuscripts in the Archivo General de Indias are kept in legajos, or bundles, each

containing an extensive file of documents. The Audiencia de Mexico section comprises the bulk
of the correspondence and administrative reports for the district of the Audiencia of Mexico
City, which included the province of Yucatan. The general title of legajo 138 of this section is:
Cartas y expedientes de personas seculares del distrito de esta Audiencia [de Mexico]. 1620.
2 Photos 1-17 reproduce Pedro de Toro's petition to the Council of the Indies and the
unnumbered folios [i-ix] of Part I. The latter contain (a) an undated petition of Alaldonado
summarizing his services and requesting reward for same, (b) a brief table of contents of the
documents in f. 1-112, and (c) a petition of Maldonado in 1615 asking for additional copies of
the probanza in Part I.

359
360 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

the history of the missions of Las Montanas, 1604-15. These documents con-
stitute the major source for our discussion of the missions in Chapter 11.

They were added to the probanza record to support Maldonado's claim to

an encomienda, based on the agreement made by the governor of Yucatan
with Maldonado and his associates when the missions were started in 1604.

The series is in the form of a certified copy, dated May 13, 1616.^
The Chontal Text as we have it is not an original document, but a copy
made by a Spanish scribe in 16 14 from the version written by the native clerk
of Tixchel in 161 2. Moreover, most of the latter version was also a copy made
at Martin Maldonado's request from the originals in the possession of his

grandfather, Don Pablo Paxbolon. The Spanish version is also a 16 14 copy

of the original translation made at Campeche in December 161 2.
The following notation appears on f. 691;, ph. 155, of the Text:

Despues de esta peticion^ va escrito en la lengua de los naturales de Tichel el

proveimiento y relacion y conforme

pedimento que va por cabeza de esta
al

probanza no se saca lo que asi esta en la lengua, sine la trasuntacion que de ello se
hizo por interpretes vuelta en castellano a la letra, que va adelante, a que remito.^

This note will be meaningless to persons who do not have the complete
copy of Part I of the Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers at hand.
In 1 61 5 Francisco Maldonado petitioned the alcalde ordinario of Cam-
peche to authorize the scribe of the cabildo to make one or more copies of
his probanza of 161 2-14 "sin que en los traslados se saque lo que esta escrito
en lengua chontal, sino la trasuntacion de ello hecho como esta por dos inter-
pretes en la lengua castellana, con todo lo demas procesado." The alcalde so
ordered. Following this is a statement by Juan Martin Blanco, scribe of the
cabildo, that he had made a copy of the probanza presented by Maldonado and
in the form requested "sin sacar en el lo escrito en la lengua chontal, sino su
trasuntacion en la castellana . . . que sacada a la letra es como se sigue." These
documents immediately precede our copy of the probanza in Part I of the
Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers.*'

Blanco's statement might appear to mean that ourcopy is the one he

made in 161 5. Actually it is the one presented by Maldonado to be copied

3 AGI, Mexico, leg. 359, we have another copy of the materials in fF. 1-75V, ph. 259-549,
In
and acopy of the documents in ff. i^6r-2o^v, ph. 549H566, is contained in AGI, Patronato, leg.
231, num. 4, ramo 16.
*This is a reference to the petition of Martin Maldonado (f. 6gr, ph. 154), which precedes
the Text, in which he asks for a copy of Paxbolon's papers. For an English translation, see p.
293, supra.
^ The Spanish is here modernized.
8 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, ff. [viii-ix], ph. 15-17.
 APPENDIX A 361

by Blanco. Maldonado's petition to the alcalde, the latter's decree, and

Blanco's statement were attached to it to record the fact that a new copy,
omitting the Chontal documents, had been made. Fortunately for us Maldo-
nado sent to Spain the first copy instead of the one made in 161 5, for other-

wise the Chontal Text would have been lost.

The marginal note on f. 691^, in the handwriting of Blanco, is merely

the scribe's notation that, according to Maldonado's petition, he was omit-
ting the Chontal material in the new copy he was making at that time.
The Chontal Text begins with a paragraph of six lines (last line of f dpr,
.

ph. 154, to line 5, f. 691;, ph. 155) which apparently contains the authorization
of Paxbolon to have made copies of his original papers, as requested by
Martin Maldonado. This preliminary paragraph was not translated in the
Spanish version.
The main body of the Text consists of three separate documents. These
are indicated by Roman numerals inserted in the printed text of the Spanish
version and the English translation.
Document I begins with line 6, f. 691^, ph. 155, and runs to line 4, f. yir,

ph. 158. Most of this part, running to line 12, f. 701;, ph. 157, contains a brief
account of the generations of rulers of Acalan from preconquest times to the
mid-sixteenth century. This account was recorded in 1567, the year after Don
Pablo Paxbolon took office as cacique and governor of Tixchel, and was writ-
ten "in the Mexican language."
''^

In 161 2 a Chontal translation of the Mexican

version was made for Martin Maldonado by the native clerk of the town.
Following this story of the early rulers are two short paragraphs (lines

13-22, f. 70T;, ph. 157) recording (a) the marriage of Don Pablo Paxbolon to
Dona Isabel, (b) the marriage of their daughter Catalina to Francisco Mal-
donado, and (c) the death of Doiia Isabel and Paxbolon's subsequent marriage
to the daughter of Diego de Orduna. These paragraphs were apparently added
by the native clerk when he translated the 1567 account into Chontal in order
to bring the genealogy up to date.
Document I ends with a paragraph (line 23, f. 701;, ph. 157, to line 4, f.

jir, ph. 158) dated July 21, 161 2, in which the clerk records that the fore-
going "descent and genealogy" of Don Pablo Paxbolon had been read to cer-
tain principal men and officials of Tixchel, who certified that it was true.

Document II runs from line 5, f. 7 if, ph. 158, to the middle of f. 711;, ph.
^
We
have already seen that Mexican was almost a second language for many of the Chon-
tal of Tabasco proper, and we know that Spanish officials communicated with these people in
Mexican. It is a little more doubtful to what extent the Chontal of Acalan spoke Mexican, but
the Text clearly shows that Juan Bautista, the clerk of Tixchel in 1567, was able to write the
language. It is also obvious that more of the Spanish officials would be able to read Mexican
than Chontal.
3<52 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

159. It begins with the statement that on July 5, 161 2, "I [probably the native
clerk] copied the names and count of the pueblos of the Mactun, who are the
Chontal of Acalan, written by the principal men, our fathers, who died old
men." There follows a list of seventy-six towns. At the end of the list in a
design is written "67 pueblos," probably an error on the part of the copyist
in 1 6 14 for "76 pueblos." The date of the original, which was in the posses-
sion of Don Pablo Paxbolon, is not known, but it was probably drawn up in
1567 or soon thereafter as a supplement to Document I.
Document III gives an account of Acalan-Tixchel from the time of Cortes
to 1604. It was apparently written in 16 10, but it is impossible to identify the
author.The Chontal Text of this part is incomplete. This is made clear by the
Spanish version, which we have divided into three sections. Ilia, Illb, and
IIIc, in order to facilitate comparison with the Text.
The Text equivalent of Ilia begins immediately after the design on f. 711;,

ph. 159, and runs to line 4, f. 76^, ph. 168. At this point the story breaks off in
the middle of the account of Francisco Tamayo Pacheco's entrada of 1559.
Illb, which is entirely missing in the Text, completes the story of this episode
and on through the visit of Dr. Garcia de Palacio, oidor
carries the narrative

of the Audiencia of Mexico. The Text begins again with lllc, which records
events from 1599 to 1604 (line 5, f. 76r, ph. 168, to the end at line 5, f. 777*,

ph. 170).
The break in the Text and the ommission of a Chontal equivalent for Illb
may be ascribed to carelessness on the part of the scribe who made our present
copy in 16 14. The only other alternative would be to assume that section Illb
was added to the Spanish version by the translator of the Text in 161 2, but this
possibility would seem to be ruled out by the fact that the break comes in the
middle of the Tamayo Pacheco episode, which the Spanish version carries on
and completes.
The reliability of the Text as a historical source is naturally a matter of
considerable importance. The account of the early rulers recorded in 1567
was based on oral tradition, for we are told in the first paragraph that the in-
formation was given by two old men of Tixchel, Alonso Chacbalam and Luis
Tutzin, The early Spanish chronicles, which mention a certain "Apaspolon"
as the ruler of Acalan in Cortes' time, confirm the reference to Paxbolonacha
of the sixth generation, but for the account of Paxbolonacha's predecessors we
have no means of checking the veracity of the two informants. We are very
fortunate to have this story of the early rulers, however, for it is all that we
know about the preconquest history of Acalan, except for what may be in-
ferred from archaeological evidence. The main outline gives the impression
 APPENDIX A 363

of being authentic, but, as is true of all native sources, the details should be
used with caution.
The "list and count" of the pueblos in Document II presents many prob-
lems. The names are in Chontal, but some of them may be garbled. It should
be remembered that the list as we have it is twice removed from the original
in Don Pablo Paxbolon's possession. The copy made by the clerk of Tixchel in
161 2 was probably fairly accurate because Chontal was his native language.
There is no evidence, however, that the scribe who made our present copy in
1 6 14 from the clerk's copy knew Chontal, although it would appear that he

had considerable knowledge of Yucatecan Maya. The spellings in the Spanish

version are often different from those in the Text. But regardless of any in-
accuracies in the list, it constitutes a valuable addition to our fund of infor-
mation, in view of the fact that the traditional sources for the history of Acalan
record only a few place names and most of these in Mexicanized forms.
Document III, which tells the story of Acalan-Tixchel in postconquest
times, appears to be based very largely on oral tradition, although at one point
it refers to certain documents recording the services of Don Pablo Paxbolon.
The main outline of events is fairly dependable, but in various details the story
is inaccurate or conflicts with other evidence. For example, Cortes is said to

have arrived in Acalan in 1527 instead of 1525. The Avila expedition is appar-
ently confused with that of Lorenzo de Godoy. The statement that Anton
Garcia, encomendero of Acalan, favored the removal of the Indians to Tixchel
is contrary to what Garcia had to say on this point in 1571. Consequently, it

is necessary to check the Text against contemporary sources on the events re-
corded, and in case of conflict the latter should be given greater weight.
On certain points, however, we are obliged to rely almost entirely on the
story as told in the Text. Other documents contain only casual references to
the conversion of the Indians of Acalan, which is described in some detail in
the Text. Although the story as told in the latter is undoubtedly circumstantial
in certain respects, it provides an interesting and plausible account of this
important event. For other incidents, such as the gathering-in of heathen and
apostate Indians and their settlement near Tixchel in 1 583-1 604, the Text is

the only source available.

In various places the story is obviously colored by later developments and
by the desire of the author to exalt the services of the rulers of Acalan-Tixchel.

In the account of the death of Cuauhtemoc we are told how the Mexican
leader tried to induce Paxbolonacha to join in the alleged plot to destroy
Cortes and his army, and how the ruler revealed the scheme to Cortes. Other
accounts, such as Cortes' Fifth Letter and the True History of Bernal Diaz,
364 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

do not mention Paxbolonacha's role at this time. Whatever the facts may be,
the author of the Text was obviously seeking to win favor with the Spaniards
by stressing the loyalty of Paxbolonacha. In the same way the pious speeches
attributed to Lamatazel and Paxtun in the story of the conversion of Acalan
were doubtless intended to give the impression that these rulers deserved chief
credit for inducing the Indians to abandon paganism and adopt the Christian
faith.

The foregoing comments are not intended to minimize the historical and
ethnological importance of Document III. It contains invaluable data relating
to the political organization and native religion of Acalan and to historical

events, not available elsewhere. It tells the story of postconquest develop-

ments from the native point of view, and the colored and circumstantial pas-
sages unconsciously reflect native psychology and the conflict between Euro-
pean and aboriginal cultures. From this standpoint the narrative is more
valuable than if it had given only a factual resume of events which could be
verified at all points by other sources.
The Chontal Text is written in the European script which the Spanish
missionaries adapted to the language of the Yucatecan Maya. In the latter

most of the letters have approximately their Spanish sounds. When v is found
in colonial Maya manuscripts, it represents the sound of u, either as a vowel
or as a semivowel. La Farge, however, records a number of modern Chontal
words containing a v sound.^ C is always hard, even before e and i, and is

pronounced much like the English k; and x has a sound somewhat like
the English sh. According to the Motul dictionary, Coronel, and San Buena-
ventura, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries h could represent either of
two sounds. One was the "strong /:>" {h recta) and the other, the "plain ^"
(h simple) which was said not to be aspirated. Beltran, writing in the eigh-

teenth century, no longer makes this distinction but tells us that "the h is pro-
nounced with aspiration, since the language [idioma] employs it instead of the
j, which it does not have."^ Some letters represent sounds which do not occur

in Spanish. These are pp, th, o, cfi, and k, on which Andrade comments:

These sounds are very familiar to those who have studied the Indian languages
of North America, where they are at present represented respectively by the
phonetic symbols p', tc', and k'. They are the
t', ts', so-called glottalized or fortis
sounds. It is difficult to convey an idea of the acoustic effect of these sounds to those

8 Blom and La Farge, 1926-27, 2: 470-79, 497.

9 Motul Dictionary, 1929, pp. and passim; San Buenaventura,
358, 418; Coronel, 1929, p. 4,
1888, Air, and passim; Beltran de Santa Rosa, 1859, p. 4. Coronel and San Buenaventura in
f.

their discussion of this sound distinguish between S and h, but they do not observe this distinc-
tion in the examples they give farther on.
 APPENDIX A 365

who have never heard them. Roughly speaking, it may be said that the Maya pp
and th are emphatic articulations of Maya p and t, and that a similar correspondence
exists between the series o, ch, k, and tz, ch, c. A careful enunciation of the k-sound,
however, does not affect our ears as a mere emphatic articulation of the Maya c,
but that is also the case in other Indian languages in which this sound occurs. In
Maya these fortis sounds are not articulated as energetically as in many North
American languages, particularly in those of the Pacific coast. On the whole they
may best be compared with the corresponding sounds of the Dakota Sioux, al-
though with many Maya speakers they are so weak that the untrained ear can not
distinguish them from the unemphatic sounds.^^

All these glottalized or fortis sounds are represented in our Chontal Text, al-

though the pp and cfj. occur only rarely.

It is hard to tell how closely this notation, which had been devised for
Yucatecan Maya, corresponded to the spoken language represented by the
Text. An approximate idea might be gained from a study of the phonetics of
the modern Chontal still spoken in Tabasco. Unfortunately the Acalan dialect

seems to have disappeared completely.

The Text is reproduced in facsimile because it would be extremely haz-
ardous, in view of the lack of grammatical and lexicographical material relat-
ing to the Chontal language, to make a transcription. Although the Text was
evidently copied rapidly by a professional scribe, it is sufficiently legible for

linguistic study. Nevertheless, an examination of the first page, nearly all of

which is written in Spanish, will give some idea of the difficulties which would
be encountered in attempting an accurate transcription of a little-known
language written in such a hand. Here, except for our knowledge of what
letters are called for, it would be difficult to distinguish between e and / and
between s and b. Not only does such confusion occur occasionally in the Text,
but we alsosometimes find u and h where we should expect b and k. For these
reasons itwould be premature to attempt to establish an authoritative version
at this time, and it has seemed wise to reproduce the Text in facsimile. In this
way the specialists in Maya linguistics will have access to it exactly as it has
come down to us.
The Spanish version printed here has been transcribed by Miss Eleanor
B. Adams from the 16 14 copy in the Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers. The spelling
and punctuation have been modernized, because many persons who know
Spanish would probably encounter certain difficulties in reading a strictly
paleographic transcription. In the case of Indian names, however, the original
spelling has been retained. The original Spanish translation, dated December
'^o
Andrade, letter of January 12, 1932, apud Roys, 1933, p. 10.
 366 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

12, 1 61 2, was the work of two citizens of Campeche, who were said to be
well versed in the Chontal language. This version is frequently a very free
translation, especially in the case of purported quotations of speeches. As far
as we can tell from the Chontal original, it seems to be fairly reliable in the
narration of actual events, although interesting details are sometimes omitted
and occasional explanations are interpolated, as will be seen from a compari-
son with the English translation. The spelling of personal and place names in
the Spanish version is often unsatisfactory, but it falls short chiefly in its faulty
rendering of a number of ethnological details, matters in which the Spanish
translators took little interest and which they probably did not understand.
It may be noted, however, that the discrepancies in the Spanish version are
not unlike those frequently found in official Spanish translations of colonial
Maya documents from Yucatan.
The English translation is based on the Spanish version and to some extent
on the Chontal Text itself. As the first step Miss Adams made an English
rendering of the Spanish. This was later revised by Mr. Roys and Mr. Scholes.
During the process of revision Mr. Roys checked the translation sentence by
sentence against the Text in order to make the choice of words and phrases
conform more closely to the meaning of the Chontal, in so far as he was able
to read and understand it on the basis of his knowledge of Yucatecan Maya.
In the case of longer passages in which the Spanish appears to deviate markedly
from the Chontal, the translation is based on the Spanish and a suggested read-
ing of the Chontal is given in the notes. Section Illb is necessarily based en-
tirely on the Spanish, as we do not have a Chontal equivalent for this section.

It was also decided to indicate, as far as possible, words and phrases found
in the Spanish version but not in the Text, and vice versa. This has been done

by the use of different kinds of type. Small capitals have been used for words
in the Spanish version but not found in the Text, and italics for words in the

Text but not in the Spanish. Parentheses indicate explanatory material intro-

duced by the translators. Interpolation of words and phrases in the translation

isshown by square brackets.

With the exception of certain names for which modern spelling has be-
come standardized, Indian names are spelled as in the Chontal. The letter o

has been transcribed as dz.

The English translation is offered as a tentative rendering of the Text, and
by no means as an accurate version in all respects. Study of the Text by spe-
cialists in the Maya languages will undoubtedly result in corrections and
emendations, and in different interpretations of various passages.
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 SPANISH VERSION

Trasuntacion de la relacion que presento Francisco Maldonado en lengua

chontal.

[I]

Yo, Pablo Paxbolon, escribano publico en este pueblo de Tichel, aqui

traslado lo que esta escrito en lengua mexicana por Juan Bautista, escribano,
que murio mucho tiempo ha, que empieza de esta manera:
En el pueblo que se llama Santa Maria de Tichel en la jurisdiccion y tierra
de la villa de San Francisco de Campeche, provincia de Yucatan, a los diez

dias del mes de enero de mil quinientos sesenta y siete afios, presentes Francisco
Felipe y tambien Luis Garcia, alcaldes, y tambien presentes Alonso Martin,
Pedro Nagua, y Hernando Canan y Anton Quiuite, regidores, representando
el gran rey, Su Majestad, y estando yo presente, Juan Bautista, escribano de

este dicho pueblo, parecio Don Pablo Paxbolon, gobernador de este dicho
pueblo, y dijo que tenia necesidad que tomasen los dichos de los viejos porque
quiere saber y como empezo y como vienen sus abuelos y padres, reyes
oir
antiguos; lo cual declararon y dijeron los que se nombran Alonso Chagbalam

y Luis Tuzin, muy viejos, que empieza como va abajo:

1 En el principio Auxagual, rey, vino de Cozumel, y habiendo cogido los

pueblos de aqui, fue a recoger el pueblo de Tano^ica y los grandes principales

Avtha llamados y tambien Paxoques y tambien los Chacbalam, cuatro con
los

los Paxmulu, y estos llevo por companeros y poblaron y cogieron aquellas

tierras.

2. Y luego el segundo rey, llamado Pachimal, que dije arriba, hi jo de

Auxagual, escrito su nombre arriba.
3. El tercero rey se Uamo Chanpel, hijo de Pachimal que dice arriba. Este

Chanpel, este era rey cuando fue a conquistar Tatenam, que es ahora Terminos,
y los demas fueron juntos a Boca Nueva y otros a Puerto Escondido.
4. Vino el cuarto rey, que se llamo Pexgua e hijo de Chanpel que ya
dijimos. Este rey era el que poblo a Tichel. Por tiempo de sesenta u ochenta
anos estuvieron poblados Empezo a venir guerras por los que poblaban a
alli.

Chanpoton y Xicalan y Pomeba y los de Tabasquillo, y asi dejaron a Tichel

despoblado y se fueron a Magtun, que llaman Acalan, y alli estaban el pueblo
de los quiaches, Tayel llamado, y tambien estaban Aziguatespanob^ en la
1 Here and elsewhere in the Spanish version the translators retained the Chontal plural
ending -ob.

367
368 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

junta de los rios, y desde estos empezaban su tierra

y gente hasta Istapa, de que
era rey Paxgua. Y este cogio el pueblo de los quiaches y los de Mazatecate y
los Zulob, y asi fueron senores de la tierra de Acalan.
5. El quinto rey se llamo Pachimalays, y tambien Maquabin, su hermano
menor, e hijos de Paxguaob. En tiempo de este rey, a Chagtemal detras de
Bacalar cinco o seis afios llegado, metio tribute en ellos.^ En este tiempo Uegaron
los Zulob a tomar a Balancan. Zigimite se llamaba su capitan, y pidiole a
Pachimalays, rey, que parta el tributo de los pueblos, y porque no quiso darselo
se hizo con todos los pueblos y tuvieron guerra por tiempo de ochenta dias, ya
cabo de ellos se y Uegaron [a] Acalan y conquistaron a Chacani. Y
volvieron
entonces empezo a reinar Macabin, hermano menor de Pachimalays que dijimos.
6. El sexto rey se llama Paxbolonacha, hi jo de Pachimalays. Este era el

rey que poblo Acalan. Y estando alli, vinieron los espanoles, capitan, el Mar-
ques del Valle. Este Rey Paxbolonacha tenia tres hijos llamados Pachimalays,
que tambien tuvo un hijo llamado Don Luis Paxua, hi jo suyo, y este se huyo
a China; el segundo hijo, llamado Lamaateazel, y este fue padre de Don Pablo
Paxbolon; el tercero hijo se llamo Don Pedro Pastun. Este fue bautizado y no
tuvo hijo.

7. Septimo descendiente, Don Pablo Paxbolonacha, gobernador ahora,

hijo de Lamateazel arriba escrito.
Aqui se acabo y fenecio lo que se les pregunto y declararon los dos viejos,
Alonso Chagbalam y Luis Tutzin. Solos estos fueron los reyes que declararon,
y que estos guardaron los pueblos. Y asi lo decla[ra]ron delante de Hernando
Canan, Anton Quiuite[y] Alonso May, testigos, aqui vecinos, y por verdad
puse las firmas de alcaldes y la mia como escribano. Francisco Felipe. Luis
Garcia. Alonso Martin. Pedro Nagua. Hernando Canan. Anton Quiuite. Paso
ante mi, Juan Bautista, escribano.
Don Pablo Paxbolon, gobernador ahora, se caso con Doila Isabel. Tuvieron
por hija a Dofia Catalina, que asi se llamo, la cual se caso con Francisco Mal-
donado, espanol. Francisco Maldonado y Doiia Catalina que dije tuvieron por
Martin Maldonado, que vive ahora.
hijo a
Murio Dona Isabel que dijimos. Se caso Don Pablo Paxbolon, gobernador,
con Dona Mencia, hija de Diego de Orduiia. Tuvieron una hija que se llama
Maria, que vive hoy dia.

2 This sentence has been punctuated in accordance with what seems to be the meaning of

the Spanish phraseology of the manuscript. Comparison with the Chontal Text shows that the
translators left out a phrase about going to Chactemal. If we interpolate the word "fueron,"
the sentence might be punctuated as follows: "En tiempo de este rey [fueron] a Chagtemal;
cinco o seis arios llegado, metio tributo en ellos." It should be noted, however, that the Text is
somewhat obscure at this point, and that this alternative reading may not reproduce the exact
meaning of the Chontal. Cf. note 21, p. 385, infra.
 APPENDIX A 369

En veinte y uno del mes de julio de mil seiscientos doce afios, yo, Pablo
Paxbolon, escribano de este pueblo, presentes los principales, Marcos Tek-
balam, alcalde, Juan Chagchan, Francisco Tuzin, regidores, y los demas que
se hallaron presentes, Agustin Paxbolon, Alonso Paxbolon, Baltasar Patuzin,
les lei que lo oyeron la descendencia y genealogia de Don Pablo Paxbolon,
gobernador. Dijeron que estaba cierta y verdadera, que no hay cosa que no lo
sea,
y por nombres y firmas aqui conmigo, que soy escribano.
eso puse sus
Marcos Thegbalam. Francisco Tuzin. Juan Chagchan. Agustin Paxbolon.
Baltasar Pagtucum. Ante mi, Pablo Paxbolon, escribano.

[11]

En cinco del mes de juHo de mil seiscientos doce anos, traslade los nombres

y cuenta de los pueblos de los magtunes, que son chontales de Acalan, escritos
por los principales, nuestros padres, que murieron antiguos; que empieza el

primero el asiento del Rey Paxbolonacha, que asi se Uamaba, como se sigue:

[l] El pueblo de Acalan que se llamo Ysancanac pueblo ,

[2] Tahobo pueblo

[3: Tahcab pueblo
[4J Tapib pueblo
[5] Xagmucnal pueblo
[6] Tanabibcab pueblo
[7] Tascabal pueblo
[8] Tahahalaez pueblo
[9] Tapacabichab pueblo
io_ Tixhancubim pueblo
II Tanaconchute pueblo
I2J Tahcehxecche pueblo
13; Taunchelal pueblo
14] Tatoh pueblo
15^ Tamabiz pueblo
16] Petenmax pueblo
17- Tachaham, que ahora se llama
Chunab y esta poblado ?neya uhiicob pueblo
is; Tayel pueblo
19' Temax pueblo
20 Tahaalcantelal pueblo
21 Tamalin pueblo
22" Tahomtilal pueblo
23] Tahaazcab pueblo
24; Petenhu pueblo
25] Ubpeten pueblo
26 Batunobonyzte pueblo
370 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

[27 1
Taboolho pueblo
[28 Tachimaytun pueblo
[29. Pambizcab pueblo
[3o Tazacab pueblo
[31. Tixmalinzum pueblo
[32; Tabiscabal pueblo
[33J Tazute pueblo
[34J Chanhixil pueblo
[35; Tahantopoltun pueblo
[36J Homolna pueblo
[37 Taholcabal pueblo
[38 Tahuh pueblo
[39] Xacchute pueblo
[40^ Tahiuiz pueblo
[41: Tapontelal pueblo
[42^ Tapastoh pueblo
[43] Tahchauac pueblo
[44 Tauhaycab pueblo
[45; Talibpetette pueblo
[46: Tachicua pueblo
[47; Tayaztelal pueblo
[48 Tayastab pueblo
[49; Taxaha, que tuvo veinte dias Cortes,
donde se corto la cabeza al capi-
tan mexicano, Quatemuco pueblo
[50] Tanpilal pueblo
[51] Tabubuzil pueblo
[52] Hohnacic pueblo
[53] Tabiscabal pueblo
[54] Tanoun pueblo
[55] Haulum pueblo
[56] Tapaxagua pueblo
[57] Yashopate pueblo
[58] , Tapopo pueblo
[59] Tabolay pueblo
[60] Tampom pueblo
[61] Tapalentelal pueblo
[62] Taholam pueblo
[63] Tazachilal pueblo
[64] Boteac pueblo
[65] Tazumuycab pueblo
[66] Tamonhab pueblo
[67] Tahchicamal pueblo
[68] Yahintum pueblo
[69] Tahomhab pueblo
 APPENDIX A 371

[7o] Temohoche pueblo

[71] Tayshilal pueblo
[12] Tahichibal pueblo
[73] Taholam pueblo
[74] Taysbalam pueblo
[75] Tanochihe pueblo
[76] Tamultum pueblo
Setenta y seis pueblos

[Ilk]

El principio que enipezo, estando en sus pueblos los Tamagtun, que se llama
Chontal, y Acalan en mexicano, los indios magtunes, como parece por sus
pueblos en que asistian,^ que la cabecera se llamaba Yxamhanac, y alii estaba el
Rey Paxbolonacha, que asi se llamaba, que este era su reino, teniendo sus
gobernadores, principales, Mutuzin, rey, Hinzuti, Pazayatomal y Cixun, que
asi se llamaban.
Vinieron los espanoles a esta tierra en el ano de mil quinientos veinte y
siete. El capitan se llamaba Don Martin Cortes. Que entraron por Tanocic y
pasaron por el pueblo de Taxich y salieron al Drincipio de la tierra de Xacchute
y llegaron a proveerse en el pueblo de Taxahhaa. Y estando alii con toda su
gente, enviaron a llamar a Paxbolonacha, rey, que ya dijimos, el cual recogio
todos sus principales de todos sus pueblos, del pueblo de Taxunum y los prin-

cipales del pueblo de Chabte y los principales del pueblo de Atapan y los prin-
cipales del pueblo de Tatzanto, porque no se podia hacer cosa sin dar parte a
estos principales. Comunico lo que se habia de tratar del caso, [por] los cuales
fue consultado lo que convenia en su gobierno y que envi[a]ban a llamar por
el capitan de ellos espaiioles que estaban en el pueblo de Xachaa; los cuales

dijeron no convenia fuese su rey al llamado de los espanoles porque no sabian

lo que querian. Entonces se levanto y dijo uno de los principales, llamado
Chocpaloquem: "Rey y sefior, esta tu en tu reino y ciudad, que yo quiero ir

a ver lo que quieren los espaiioles." Y asi fue con los demas principales, que se

llamaban Pazinchiquigua y Paxguaapuc y Paxchagchan, compaiieros de Palo-

quem, en nombre del rey. Y llegados ante el Capitan del Valle, espafiol, y de los
espanoles no les creyeron, porque debia de haber entre ellos quien les dijese

no venia alii el rey de que llamaba. Y asi les dijo el capitan: "Venga el rey, que
le quiero ver, que no vengo a guerras ni a hacerle mal, que no quiero sino pasar
a ver tierra, cuanta hay que ver, que yo le hare mucho bien si el me recibe
bien." Y habiendolo entendido los que venian en nombre del rey, se volvieron
y dijeron a Paxbolonacha, su rey, que estaba en el pueblo aguardando; los

3 The Spanish phraseology here is obscure. Cf. English translation and note 62, p. 389, infra.
372 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

cuales Uegados, se recogieron todos los principales y les dijo: "Quiero irme a
ver con el capitan y espanoles, que les quiero ver y saber que quieren y a que
han venido." Y asi fue Paxbolonacha.
Sabido por los espanoles, le salieron a reciblr, y el Capitan del Valle con
ellos. Y les llevaron mucho presence de miel, gallinas de la tierra, maiz, copal

y mucha fruta. Y dijo el capitan: "Rey Paxbolon, aqui he venido a tus tierras,

que soy enviado por el sefior del mundo, emperador, que esta en su trono en
Castilla, que me en via a ver la tierra y de que gente esta poblada; que no vengo
a guerras, que solo te pido me despaches para Ulua, que es Mexico, y la tierra

donde se coge y la platay el la plumeria cacao, que eso quiero ir a ver." Y asi
le respondio que mucho de enhorabuena le daria paso,
y que se fuese con el a

su ciudad y tierra y que alli tratarian lo que mas convenia. Y respondiole el

capitan que descansase, que si, haria. Y antes tuvieron veinte dias descansando.
Y estaba alli Quatemuc, rey de Nueva Espana, que venia con el capitan de
Mexico; el cual hablo con Paxbolonacha, rey: "Sefior rey, estos espanoles,
vendra tiempo que nos den mucho trabajo y nos hagan mucho mal y que
mataran nuestros pueblos. Yo soy de parecer que los matemos, que yo traigo
mucha gente y vosotros sois muchos." Y esto dijo Quatemuco a Paxbolonacha,
rey de los indios de Magtunes Chontales. Oido por el esta razon, le respondio:
"Vereme en ello. Dejadlo ahora, que trataremos de ello." Y pensando sobre el
caso, vio que los espanoles no hacian malos tratamientos ni a ningun indio i
habian muerto ni aporreado, y que no les pedfan sino miel, gallinas y maiz y
demas frutas que les daban cada dia, y considerando que pues no le hacian mal,
no podia tener dos rostros con ellos ni ensenarles dos corazones con los
espaiioles. Y Quatemuc le estaba siempre importunando en ello porque los

quisiera matar a todos los espanoles; y visto e importunado, Paxbolonacha se

fue Capitan del Valle y le dijo, "Seiior Capitan del Valle, este principal y
al

capitan de los mexicanos que traes, anda con cuidado con el no te haga alguna
traicion, porque tres o cuatro veces me ha tratado que os matemos." Oido esto
por el Capitan del Valle, prendio a Cuatemuc
y le echo en prisiones, y al tercer
dia que estuvo preso le sacaron y le bautizaron, y no se certifican si se puso por
nombre Don Juan o Don Fernando, y acabado de bautizarle, le cortaron la
cabeza y fue clavada en una ceiba delante de la casa que habia de la idolatria
en el pueblo de Yaxzam.
Y luego partio el Capitan del Valle, y con el toda su gente y el Rey Pax-
bolonacha con toda su gente, y llegaron a la ciudad de Yzamcanac. Y estando
alli, empezaron a trazar por que parte se podia hacer puente para poder pasar
el rio con todo el ejercito, que tendria una legua de travesia con sus bajios; y
asi se empezo a henchir los bajios y a hacer la puente, que se acabo dentro de
 APPENDIX A 373

dos dias por la mucha gente que habia. Y tambien limpiaron el camino hasta
los quiaches, y se despacharon dos principales que fuesen a llevar el mensaje
de la ida de los espanoles, que se llamaban Celuteapach[y]Macuagua. Y el

Leluteapeche (sic) mataron los quiachob, y el companero se huyo y volvio

a la ciudad de Yzancan donde habia salido y con [to] todo lo que les habia
pasado, por lo cual los espanoles fueron con algun recelo. Y con todo eso
mataron cinco o seis de los mas valientes a la llegada de los quiaches. Y desde
alii fueron los quiaches limpiando camino hasta Tayza. Visto no podian pasar
a la isla por el agua, se volvieron y tomaron el camino y salieron a Chanpoton.
Un ano pasado que los espaiioles y el Capitan del Valle estuvieron en
Acalan, se fue Paxbolonacha a otro pueblo que se llama Tachacan, adonde
murio, y los suyos le metier on en una cano[a] y lo trajeron [a] Acalan donde
le enterraron. Tres anos habia que era muerto el rey y vinieron otros espanoles
y entraron y pasaron por donde el Capitan del Valle paso, por el pueblo de
Tehix y el pueblo de Cacchute. No se supo si traian capitan. Llamabanse de
ellos Francisco Gil y Lorenzo Godoy y Julian Doncel, que eran las cabezas
y may ores. Y habiendo llegado a la cabecera, preguntaron "iQue es del
rey?" Y le respondieron que era muerto. Y preguntaron por sus hijos, los

cuales les trajeron delante de ellos; y el mayor de ellos se Uamaba Pachimalais,

el segundo, Lamateazel, el mas pequeiio, Paxtun. El mayor de los tres lo
metieron en prision y le cerraron dos dias, y le dijeron que les diese tributo,

y asi se les dio gallinas de y

la tierra maiz, miel y copal, frisoles, pepitas y lo
demas que habia, que de todo fue mucho sin cuenta. Y por la puente pasaron
y se fueron.

El Adelantado no paso por Acalan, que es en Magtun; solo su mandado

Uego por el. Le vinieron a ver a Chanpoton porque alli se detuvo mucho, y
alii le trajeron tributo y alli estuvieron con el mucho tiempo, y le pidieron los
admitiese en su amparo. Y en este tiempo murio Pachimalays y entro en su
lugar su hermano, Lamateazel, Y en su tiempo y gobierno fue la venida de los
padres. Fray Luis de Villalpando, Fray Juan de la Puerta [y] Fray Lorenzo
de Buenavenida (Bienvenida), los primeros padres de San Francisco. en este Y
tiempo se estaban en su gentilidad [e] idolatria, y los espaiioles y los frailes

dichos que vinieron entraron en la tierra y les fueron enseiiando el verdadero

camino y el verdadero Dios. Iban ensenando a todos, y que nuestros dioses ya
habian acabadose y ya habian fenecido y [diciendo]: "En jamas vereis que se
tornan[a] adorar y el que los adorare engaiiado va en su vivir y sera castigado
el que asi lo hiciere, que ya se acabo ese tiempo de tratar con ellos; y mira que
nadie engaiie a las genres porque ese tiempo ya paso." Y esto oyeron todos los
principales y el rey y todos sus pueblos lo que dijeron los padres sacerdotes.
374 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Luego murio Lamateazel, y antes que muriese mando Uamar todos

su rey,
los principales. Y juntos, les dijo: "Ya me muero, y llevo dolor en mi corazon
que no [he] alcanzado el ser cristiano y vivir con fe y no como vivimos. En
acabandose mi vida os ruego os deis al servicio de otros dioses, porque veo y he
oido que han de venir padres sacerdotes a bautizar y predicar y no se ha de
acabar ni se ha de ver el fin. Ya viene la verdad y el bien que dicen, y asi os
encargo que lo busqueis y traigais los padres predicadores para que os enseiien
y encaminen en el verdadero camino." Y con esta palabra murio este Rey
Lamateazel.
Entro en su lugar y gobierno Pastun, hermano menor, e hi jo de Pax-
bolonacha. Y oyo la nueva de la predicacion y bautismo que hacian los padres
y pusose a considerar con todos los principales. Y llamaron todo el pueblo para
que vayan a buscar los padres a Campeche, y asi vino el Rey Pastun con sus
gentes en busca de los padres a Campeche. Y Dios que lo ordenaba asi otro dia
que llegaron a Chinil llego el Padre Fray Diego de Be jar, que venia de Ta-
basco. Y alii se encontraron con "Padre y seiior, aqui venimos
el y dijeronle:
a buscarte en nombre de todos mis hijos, y dejo todos mis pueblos y casa, que
es Acalan que llaman Chontales, por venir por ti para que nos vengas a ensenar

en la palabra de Dios y su fe, porque tengo noticia de que se van bautizando

los naturales por vosotros padres, lo cual deseamos nosotros y por eso venimos
a buscarte como padre." Y esto le dijo Pastun, gobernador, con sus com-
paiieros.

Y habiendolo oido el Padre Fray Diego Bejar lo que decian los indios les

dijo: "Hijos mios, mucho me huelgo porque deseais sacar vuestras almas de

las manos de los demonios y que deseais oir y saber la palabra de Dios porque
ese es mi oficio y en que nos ejercitamos los padres, mas yo me holgare poder
luego ir con vosotros porque tengo que hacer con mis padres compafieros, y
asi me parece que os volvais, que presto volvere a Campeche o Chanpoton
adonde encontrare los que vengan por mi por vosotros." Y asi los consolo el

padre y asi se volvieron a su pueblo de Acalan de los chontales. Y llegado que

fue un mes que sefialaron de tiempo de enviar por el padre en canoa, y llegaron
a Campeche, de que se holgaron los padres que alli estaban. Y asi se vino con
ellosFray Diego de Bejar y llegaron a Matun de Acalan a veinte de abril de
mil quinientos cincuenta, y con su llegada hubo gran regocijo en toda la gente.
Y luego llamo a todos los principales, Quintencab, Celute Holcan, Bulu-
heacin, Calcin, Catanaz, Papeian y los demas principales y tambien su gober-
nador, Pastun, y dijoles el padre: "E hijos, mira que habeis ido en busca nuestra
muy lejos, diez o quince dias de camino. He venido a buscaros y acompafiaros,
de que me he holgado de recibir trabajos en el camino y en las canoas. Y mira.
 APPENDIX A 375

lo primero que os digo a vosotros que no se puede servir a dos sefiores ni a

dos padres. A un padre es el que se ha de amar. Eso os vengo a decir, un solo

Dios y tres personas, Dios Padre, Dios Hijo, Dios Espiritu Santo, el que crio
el cielo y la tierra y todo cuanto hoy hay que se parece," con otras razones de
Dios que les dijo.

Queria que viniesen todos a manifestar sus idolos. Y oido por ellos lo que
les dijo el padre, luego empezaron a sacar sus idolos, y los primeros los idolos
del gobernador que se lleban {sic, Uaman? ) Huhuelechan y tambien el Quizin
Tazumun y tambien Tabchete y tambien Atapan, Tazagto y los demas idolos,
todos los cuales trajeron ante el Padre Fray Diego de Bejar, el cual los quemo.
Y luego los empezo a ensenar a rezar el Pater Noster y el Ave Maria y el Credo
y la Salve y los articulos de la fe. Y luego les empezo a dar sus nombres. Don
Pedro Pastun se nombro el gobernador. Don Mateo se llamo el sacerdote
Quenintencanb. Don Francisco se llamo Halcin. Y asi fueron entrando la

cristiandad todos, chicos y grandes, que no quedo ninguno. Los idolos escon-
didos en sus lugares secretos por los indios, Yhagua, que asi se llamaba este
idolo, y otro que se llamaba Tabay y otro Uamado Yschel, Cabtanilcab y
otros muchos lugares de idolos, los cuales se buscaron en todos los pueblos. Los
que guardaban los idolos fueron por ellos y los trajeron y quemaron, y echaron
presos los que los guardaban y los azotaban delante del pueblo. Y con esto
perecieron y acabaron los idolos en los naturales, de ellos de voluntad, de ellos

por miedo del castigo.

Ya dije atras como desde que pasaron los espaiioles por Acalan la segunda
vez, Francisco Gil, Lorenzo Godoy [y] Julian Doncel, desde entonces se
empezo a pagar tribute y llevarlo a Tabasco cada seis meses y cada dos meses.
No estaba tasado, sino cuando querian venian por lo que querian, como canoas,
remos, miel, copal, gallinas, mantas, frisoles, maiz, pepitas, chile, algodon,
calabazas y todo que habia de comer y beber llevaban de tributo a Tabasco,
lo

porque alli empezamos a pagar tributo a Palma en el dicho Tabasco. Y despues

se encomendo en Diego de Aranda. No sabemos quien puso estos pueblos en
la jurisdiccion de Campeche. Y cuando murio Diego de Aranda, se caso Fran-
cisca de Velasco, su mujer, con Anton Garcia, y el dicho Anton Garcia mando
llevasemos el tributo a Chilapan.
Y en el tiempo vino Tomas Lopez, oidor, de Guatemala en el ano de mil
quinientos cincuenta y dos anos, el cual ordeno y trazo al tiempo que se habia

de pagar tributo, que es cada seis meses. El cual Tomas Lopez quito que no
diesemos canoas y quito gallinas, ropa, maiz, miel, copal, frisoles, pepitas, chile,
algodon, calabazos, remos y las demas menudencias que dabamos los chontales

de Acalan. Y este dio provisiones a los gobernadores de los pueblos para gober-
376 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

nar sus pueblos y el que mando que se pagase [a] los que Uevasen los tributes y
los que cargasen las cargas de los espanoles de un pueblo a otro, si era lejos un

peso y dos pesos, y a toston y a dos tomines segun el camino. Y todavia estaban
los pueblos en Magtun Acalan.
Y en este tiempo se fue el padre que dijimos, y volvio el padre otra vez.
Y despues vino Fray Miguel de Vera a bautizar de to do punto la gente que
quedaba, y recibian los santos sacramentos. Otra vez volvio Fray Diego de
Pesquera, y les trato como convenia que se bajasen a Tichel, donde habian
estado otra vez, siendo gobernador o rey en esta provincia Don Luis Paxgua,
hijo de Pachimalais, que se dijo arriba. Y al principio del ano de mil quinientos
cincuenta y siete vinieron los de Chanpoton y Campeche a desmontar y
limpiar el asiento de Tichel para que se bajasen los indios de Acalan, chontales.
Y porque estaban lejos y no podian los padres venir a menudo [a] administrar

los santos sacramentos,

y porque alli era el paso de los padres que venian de
Mexico a esta provincia, de San Francisco y San Agustin y clerigos y Santo
Domingo, y les ensenarian la palabra de Dios cuando pasasen, y tambien los
espanoles, y tambien porque estarian cerca del gobernador, justicia mayor,
enviado por Su Majestad, el rey, que administra maceguales y
justicia a los

naturales; y todas estas causas, movio a los padres a traerlos al asiento de

Tichel; y tambien porque lo queria el encomendero, Anton Garcia, y por
tiempo de cuatro anos les quito el tributo hasta que se rehiciesen en el nuevo

asiento de Tichel. Y fue en el dicho ano de mil quinientos cincuenta y siete a

los diez dias de julio. Y a los veinte y dos del dicho mes, dia de Santa Maria
Magdalena, se huyo Don Luis, su gobernador, y se huyo por el Baradero y se

fue al asiento de Chiua donde murio. Y luego el aiio venidero de mil quinientos
cincuenta y ocho, a veinte y cinco de abril se descubrio este pueblo de Chigua
por Don Pablo y alli supo la muerte, y a todos fue notorio que murio de
enfermedad.
Habianse pasado el aiio de cincuenta y ocho y cincuenta y nueve; aun no
habian acabado los indios chontales de dejar su asiento de Acalan, que un
principal llamado Don Tomas Maqua los detenia en el pueblo de Chauhix y
empezaron a tener pleitos y pesadumbres con los que iban de Tichel por de
comer de que habian dejado, y alli los cogian y amarraban y azotaban y
lo

les quitaban las canoas. Y tambien habia poblado Tixbavmicha; que idolatraban
sus idolos, que ya se querian huir todos los indios. Y quiso Dios que viniesen los
espanoles en este tiempo a Tichel, que serian treinta soldados. Principales de
ellos eran Castrillo, Juan Vela [y] Tamayo, que no se cual de ellos era el

capitan, que a solos los tres respetaban; que los habian llamado los oidores de
Guatemala que fuesen a toniar la provincia de los lacandones y del Popo, y
 APPENDIX A 377

aqui se quedaron en Tichel porque supieron que se habia vuelto el Licenciado

Ramirez, que iba por capitan de esta entrada, que habia tornado la tierra y
gente de los Popos. Y visto por el Padre Pesquera, y que tambien era servicio
de Dios y del rey que fuesen [a] Acalan y que bajasen todos los indios que
se habian quedado y alzado, y que podrfa ser que pasasen bien y pudiesen llegar
a los [la]candones; y oido por los espanoles, parecio bien.

[lllb]

Y ellos bajaron pueblo de Bote y al pueblo de Agilbaob y al pueblo de

al

Tutul y los de Panob y fueron al asiento de Acalan y prendieron a Don

Tomas Maqua y Martin Acha y a Jorge Laon y a Alonso Pacbac y a todo
a
el pueblo bajaron y los que estaban en Tixbaumilha. Y los bajaron a Tichel
en el ano de mil quinientos sesenta, por lo cual hubo muy grande hambre y
esta fue la causapor que Francisco Acuz y Diego Pascanan y tambien Achachu
y Gonzalo Pazcanan y Martin Pagtum, que serian sin cuenta, y sus gentes y
sus viejos se huyeron. Los cuales saco Don Pablo Paxbolon y hallo en el
asiento de Sugte, como mas claro consta por la probanza de Don Pablo Pax-
bolon, gobernador, que en el ano que entro a gobernar los fue a buscar. Y se
tornaron a huir ano de mil quinientos sesenta y ocho, y juntamente los torno
a hallar y con los que se habian huido de antes de ser bautizados, que vivian en
el pueblo de Chacam. Y la causa de que se habian huido estos antiguos fue de
que losvendrian y los afligian sus amos porque eran esclavos del rey y demas
principales. Se llamaban Lamate, Chacantun, Pagimagtun, Atoxpeche, Apas-

tucum, Paxbolon, Chancha, Paloquem y los demas, que serian como seiscientos
con sus hijos y mujeres.
Y asi como los hallo aviso de ello a Don Luis de Cespedes, que era gober-
nador en esta provincia y estaba en la ciudad de Merida, en la lengua yucateca
se llama Taho, siendo obispo y primero de este obispado Fray Francisco Toral
de laOrden de San Francisco, el cual envio a Fray Juan de Santa Maria de la
Orden de la Merced. Este fue a doctrinarlos y bautizarlos los indios descubier-
tos, y se nombro su pueblo de Sapotitanil por no saber el nombre de aquella

tierra, porque algunos principales le nombraban Tachumbay y otros Tachalte

y otros la decian Tanaboo y otros Tamucuy, y por esto se le puso el nombre de

Xapotitanil; por los cuales paso este pueblo de Tichel mucho trabajo por la
comision que tenia Don Pablo Paxbolon, nuestro gobernador, del gobernador
que asistia en la ciudad de Merida, con la cual nos hacia que limpiasemos los
caminos y rompiesemos los malos saltos del rio de Acalan por donde pasase el
padre, y le cargasemos en silla por donde no podia pasar, para que viniesen a
ser cristianos los infieles que estaban en Xapotitan, segun hemos dicho, y para
378 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

llevar ornamentos de nuestra iglesia, como caliz, misal, casuUa, frontal, aderezo
para la misa y tambien las imageries. Y nuestros hijos fueron a ensenarles la
doctrina cristiana. Y asi propio hizo fuesemos otros el ano de mil quinientos
setenta, Puylha y tambien a Tabalam a sacar los cimarrones, en
que fuimos a

que pasamos mucho trabajo en llevar al padre, que se llamaba Gabriel de

Rueda, clerigo, y tambien el Padre Monserrate, que era nuestro vicario en
Tichel. Y porque estaban lejos, los trajeron a poblar en Hunlucho y alli
vivieron, y alli les llevamos ornamentos y frontal y llevar a menudo el ministro.
Y asi se poblaron los de Capotitan y Xoquelha.
En el afio de mil quinientos setenta y cuatro, a veinte y cinco de abril, supo
Don Pablo Paxbolon como Luis Queh del pueblo de Xocolha habia ido entre
los indios cimarrones y que sabia su pueblo, y mandole llamarlo, y tambien a

Juan Chab, a cabeza del dicho pueblo para preguntarles y saber la verdad de
lo que habian visto. Y venidos le pregunto Don Pablo: "cEs verdad que habeis
estado con los idolatras?" los cuales respondieron que era verdad que habian
visto sus casas y su pueblo, mas que no sabian como se llamaba ni que tanta
gente era,
Sabido por Don Pablo, quiso luego ir alia en virtud de las comisiones que

tenia de los gobernadores que gobernaban esta provincia para el efecto de

sacar los tales cimarrones idolatras. Y llamo sus genres chontales y escogio

hasta ciento de ellos del pueblo de Tichel,y abrimos camino desde Capotitan
hasta Cocolha, llevando nuestras armas de arco y flechas, rodelas y lanzas para
lo que fuese menester. Y salimos de Cocolha y llegamos [a] Tachunyupi y
allihicimos noche, y por la mafiana partimos todos y a la hora de visperas
llegamos a su pueblo. Y los cogimos descuidados y de las mujeres se huyeron
algunos, y los varones tomaron sus arcos y flechas y se vinieron contra nosotros.
Y entonces les hablo Don Pablo: "No tireis las flechas ni haya muertes, porque
nosotros no venimos a mataros ni tampoco venimos por vosotros, que solo
vengo a veros para deciros a vosotros la palabra de Dios y a lo que me envia el
gran Rey, mi seiior, que me manda que os ame." De ellos les parecio bien esta

razon, de ellos no, y uno de ellos, que se llamaba PazeUc [Pazelu?], fue a
desembrazar su flecha para tirar a Don Pablo, y por detras le asieron el brazo

Juan Chab, maestro de Cocolha, que ya dijimos. Y visto por los principales
cimarrones idolatras, que se llamaban Paxmulu y otros Paxtun, que era Don
Pablo, se fueron a el y le dijeron: "Senor, si vienes a guerra o vienes por
nosotros o vienes a matarnos, aqui estamos nosotros. Haz lo que quisieres."

Respondioles: "Seilores, no vengo a guerra ni vengo a prenderos; solo vengo a

predicaros la que manda Su Majestad que os diga para

palabra de Dios y lo

que todos nos queramos y tengamos una misma voluntad de un corazon para
 APPENDIX A 379

que amemos Dios y nos rijamos con la justicia de Su Majestad que es el buen
a

vivir, y esto es a lo que vengo, y abrir camino, que a eso venimos tantos. Y si

traemos armas, es para asegurarnos de lo que nos puede suceder, que no

sabemos con que gente encontraremos." Y oidas estas razones por ellos, se
asosegaron. Y mientras esto paso se habia ido toda la gente, mujeres,
muchachos, que casi no quedaban sino pocos en el pueblo, que no se vieron.
Y visto por Don Pablo como no habia gente, les pregunto por ella
y que los

llamasen y recogiesen y asegurasen, y asi sosego sus corazones y asi trataron

de recoger la gente, la cual se recogio dentro de dos o tres dias que no falto

ninguno. Y para asegurarlos, lesrogo y llamo que de ellos se fuese a ver el

pueblo de Tichel y verian el padre y los espanoles.

Y traidos a nuestro pueblo, se les corto el cabello y los festejaron y los

llevaron a ver el padre que nos administraban, de San Francisco, que se llamaba
Fray Bartolome Garzon, en ano de mil quinientos setenta y cinco. Y les
el

empezo a ensenar las cuatro oraciones y los articulos, mandamientos y lo que

manda la Santa Madre Iglesia, y habiendolo aprendido, los bautizo el padre.
Y de esta iglesia les llevaron ornamentos e imagenes, que siempre se ha llevado
el adorno para el oficio divino y por ello siempre hemos tenido mucho trabajo,

y lo propio lo recibieron nuestros padres, como parece a los principios de este

escrito, al tiempo que el Capitan del Valle salio a nuestra tierra, y siempre
pagando tributo al Rey, nuestro seiior, como esta escrito en el afio de mil
quinientos veintey siete. Es ahora China este pueblo dicho arriba.
Memoria como fueron y entraron [a] hacer cristianos los infieles por
nosotros, los indios chontales que vivimos en Tichel.
En el afio de mil quinientos ochenta y tres vinieron los que se le escaparon
de la muerte, uno de los cuales saho a Chencan, Uamado Pedro Chan, el cual,

tomando la costa de la mar la vuelta del sur, fue a dar adonde estaba Don Pablo
Paxbolon en su estancia, que es junto a Tichel, que alli vive. Y empezo a llorar
cuando llego con sus hijos muy flacos v el fiechado en medio de las espaldas,

y dijo: "Senor Don Pablo Paxbolon, aqui vengo a decirte que somos las sobras
que han quedado y escapado de la muerte, que mataron mis companeros por
los cimarrones de Chunguiyzili, que se llaman Aquebob, que son muchos. Y
nosotros somos de Xequelchecan y venimos a Hunguizil y vinieron los Aquel-
bes (sic) cimarrones a matarnos. De ellos flecharon, de ellos alancearon; mata-
el ahcuxcab Tuyo, que en
ron nuestros viejos y principales que nos regian y
nuestro nombre se decia Acitiache. Y
matamos cinco o seis de ellos. De mis
compaiieros murieron muchos, y muchos se huyeron, yarn! me flecharon en
medio de la espalda. Y de mis compaiieros fueron al monte y de ellos se vol-
"vieron a Xequelchecan; de ellos y muchachos, mujeres y algunos hombres se
380 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

fueron por alli sin saber adonde," Y oido por Don Pablo que andaban derra-
mados por monte el aquellas genres sin saber donde fuesen y que era de temer
no pereciesen de hambre y sed, se fue para Xocola y Sapotitan de su jurisdic-
cion y que habia sacado del monte, y los recogio y despacho al monte a partes

y lugares que podrian haber aportado, echando cuadrillas de gente por todas
partes y encargandoles recogiesen aquellas genres de Xequelchecan que
andaban perdidas y desparramadas por los cimarrones. Los de Xocola los envio
a Puila cerca de Chunuitzil donde los habian desbaratado, y fue Dios servido

que poco a poco los fueron hallando, que duro el buscarlos cerca de ocho
meses o nueve el recogerlos, y poblaronse en Xocola alli junto a los otros.
Marcos Balam [y] Gonzalo Cuco, los viejos de Xocola, y Juan Hauiche, que
era el mas principal de los hallados, visto que todavia se habian juntado como
sesenta, hablo (sic) con Don Pablo y le dijo como querian poblarse junto al

embarcadero de Mamantel porque era lejos de alli y tenian mucho trabajo y

alli verian misa. Y asi les senalo tierra en medio del camino de China, que Uaman
Popola, y alli se poblaron Hauiche y sus companeros.
En el ano de mil quinientos ochenta y seis vino el Doctor Palacios a visitar

la tierra, y nosotros, los indios de Tichel, le dimos canoas [y] remeros. Le

abrimos caminos para que el ministro fuese a visitar estos pueblos, con los cuales
siempre tuvimos y hemos tenido mucho trabajo en darles ornamentos para ad-
ministrarles los santos sacramentos, y todo lo hemos hecho a fin de que sirvan
a Dios y al rey, nuestro sefior, hasta que fue mandado por la tasa que entre
todos sustentasemos el ministro y la iglesia y nuestro gobernador.
Ya tengo dicho en esta relacion de la descendencia de los indios magtunes
chontales desde que salio a sus tierras Capitan del Valle, y para que se sepa
el

de nuestro modo de vivir desde el ano de mil quinientos veinte y siete hasta
el ano de mil seiscientos diez, que es este de ahora, que es menester escribir de
sus nombres y hechos para ver lo que somos en nuestros caminos y entradas y
en las de los yucatecos, gente de todos pueblos como los que estan en Popola,
Mazcab, que era Jocola, y los demas pueblos que hay aqui.

[IIIc]

En el aiio de mil quinientos noventa y nueve afios, cuando se empezaron a

coger los yucatecos, los que habian quedado de morir por Pedro Zacummay
alia en Holha, que es junto a Chencanal, principio del rio, y sobre la estancia
de Francisco Maldonado, que llaman Usulaban, y las sabanas de Chulnal, que
por todas partes andaba y alli mataban a los que iban a cortar cera y por
iguanas, que iban de Campeche y de todos los pueblos v tambien salian a la
orilla de la mar a Tixchem y Chemcan y Excacaltok a tomar [a] los que
 APPENDIX A 381

pasaban los cuchillos, machetes y ropa y lo que llevaban, y cuando pasaban

por el camino que es junto a la mar. Y asi como lo supo Don Pablo de los
que iban por camino y llegaban a Tichel y corrio la voz de los cimarrones
el

de Holhay y en los cuyos de Usulauan, pidio comision a Don Diego de

Velasco, gobernador de esta provincia de Yucatan, para ir al monte a buscarlos
y Y asi se la dio y para poder llevar los indios que hubiese menester
cogerlos.
de su provincia. Y asi fuimos los de Tichel, y Uevo de Popola, China, Mazcab,
Tiquintunpa que era Zapotitan, v estos nos acompanaron, y fuimos y entramos
por la estancia y abrimos camino hasta Usulaban. Y alli hallamos una casa por
donde andaban los cimarrones y donde hacian fuego. Y quiso Dios en este
tiempo que los de Chanpoton, habiendo tenido noticia de ellos, los iban a
buscar, y los hallaron en Quinalnal y los desbarataron. Y ausentaron y se

vinieron sobre donde estabamos, y asi los cogimos los de Tichel, que serian
como ochenta en todos. Y los llevamos a Tichel, siendo guardian Fray
Diego Mejia de Figueroa, su companero. Fray Joseph Bosque, y se bautizaron
los hijos de ellos y como tres o cuatro de los grandes que no eran bautizados.

Y les pregunto Don Pablo si era buena toda aquella tierra que andaban,
y respondieron que si, que era buena para casas, milpas [y] cacaguatales. Y
por eso fue enviado Fray Joseph Bosque a que lo viese con algunos indios,

y entro por China paci^ por Usulaban y de alli salio por la estancia de Fran-
cisco Maldonado. Y vino a decir la bondad de la tierra a Fray Diego Mejia,
su guardian, y que podria ir a ella un gran pueblo y hacer muy buenas mil-
perias por haber muy
grandes cedros y montanas y que pueden estar alli

todos los pueblos de Popola, Tiquintupa, Mazcab, China y Tixchel. Y asi

se lo dijeron a Don Pablo que alli podia estar todos juntos para poderlos
administrar en el santo evangelio. Y tratoselo a los principales todo y a todos
les parecio bien; y lo propio se le trato al encomendero, Mateo de Aguilar. Y
asi entre todos se escribio al defensor para que en nombre de todos los pidiese

al gobernador para que juntos todos fuesen al dicho asiento de Usulaban.

Y asi se dio licencia para que todos juntos fuesen a Usulaban por Don Diego
de Velasco, gobernador en la sazon, su fecha en el pueblo de Calquini. Y asi

como Uego la dicha licencia, Don Pablo Paxbolon, nuestro gobernador, lo dio
a entender a todos los pueblos. Y en este tiempo llego la nueva como los padres
de San Francisco se les quitaba la administracion de los naturales de esta pro-
vincia y se daba a clerigos por orden de Su Majestad, que vino de Espafia la

orden. Y eso fue la causa de no tener efecto la ida de los pueblos a Usulaban por
4 Pact is a Chontal word, apparently left untranslated. From the context it would seem to
mean "passed."
382 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

no tener quien les animase, y asi solo algunos fueron a la Uegada de la licencia

y asi se quedo.
Vino luego Juan Rodriguez, padre clerigo, por vicario de esta provincia,

que le envio el Senor Obispo Don Fray Juan Izquierdo de este obispado de
Yucatan en seis dias del mes de enero del ano de mil seiscientos y tres anos.
Y visto las tierras, dijo que era lejos Usulaban y que los caminos se henchian
en tiempos de aguas y el fue el que bendijo la tierra para el pueblo e hizo
iglesia y la nombro San Felipe y Santiago a veinte y tres del mes de abril en el

ano de mil seiscientos y cuatro.

Nos, Francisco de Mena y Alonso de Mesa, interpretes nombrados por
Mateo de Aguilar, alcalde ordinario de esta villa de Campeche y juez comisario
del senor gobernador, para el examen de los testigos naturales que Francisco
Maldonado presento en su informacion, trasuntamos el presente trasunto
de los papeles que tiene presentados en su causa en la lengua chontal, los
cuales van ciertos y verdaderos, lo cual declaramos debajo de juramento
que tenemos hecho. Y
firmamos en Campeche en veinte y dos dias del mes
lo

de diciembre de mil seiscientos doce anos. Alonso de Mesa. Francisco de Mena.

 ENGLISH TRANSLATION

[i]

^ I, PABLO Paxbolon, public clerk in this pueblo of Tixchel,^ here translate

what is written in the Mexican language^ by Juan Bautista, clerk, who died
a long time ago. It begins in this fashion:
Here in the pueblo called Santa Maria de Tixchel in the jurisdiction and
land of the villa of San Francisco de Campeche, province of Yucatan, on
the tenth day of the month of January of the year 1567, in the presence of
Francisco Felipe^ and also Luis Garcia, alcaldes, and also in the presence of
Alonso Martin, Pedro Nana, Hernando Kanan, and Anton Quiuit, regidores,
representing the great king, his Majesty, and before me, Juan Bautista, clerk
of the said pueblo, Don Pablo Paxbolon, governor of the said pueblo, appeared
and stated that it was necessary to take the statements of the old men, because
he wished to learn and hear the origin of his ancestors and fathers, the former
Those named Alonso Chacbalam and Luis Tutzin, very old men,
rulers.

made the declaration which begins below.

I. In the beginning Auxaual,^ king, came from Cozumel. He came to
take the pueblos here. He arrived to assemble the pueblo of Tanodzic^ with
his great principal men named Huncha, Paxoc, Chacbalam, four counting
Paxmulu,'^ and these he brought as companions and they settled and occupied
those lands.^

1 In the Chontal Text there is a paragraph preceding the material translated here. It appar-

ently contains Don Pablo Paxbolon's authorization to have made a copy of his papers as re-
quested by his grandson, Martin Maldonado.
~ This form of the pueblo name, which is consistently employed in the Text, corresponds
more closely with that of the deity Ix Chel, who was the goddess of medicine and childbirth
and one of the five principal deities of the former Acalan capital, Itzamkanac. The initial T is
probably a preposition meaning "at the place" (Roys, 1935, pp. 4-5).
2 Nahuatl was widely spoken in the Chontal area (RY, 1:352). It seems to have been little

known among the Yucatecan Maya, although the language of the latter contains a number of
words of Mexican origin.
4 Note that the surnames of Juan Bautista and Francisco Felipe are lacking. In Yucatan we
practically never find a name recorded without a Spanish or Maya surname. The famous in-
terpreter, who sometimes signed his name merely as Caspar Antonio, is an exception.
^ In spite of Auxaual's recorded origin at Cozumel, the name does not seem to be Yucatecan

Maya. It appears on the Alfaro map (Map 2) as the name of a village west of the villa of
Tabasco.
6 The name of modern Tenosique is evidently derived from this Chontal form. The present
town isprobably at or near its former site.
^
In the Spanish version these names appear as those of groups, but the Text treats them as
individuals.
® The Text simply states, "when the lands were taken."
383
384 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

2. THEN came the second ruler® named Pachimal/" whom i mentioned

ABOVE, son of Auxaual whose name is written above. He died.
3. There came the third ruler of the series
^^ named Chanpel, son of

Pachimal, who is mentioned above. This Chanpel was ruler when he went to
conquer Tatenam, njohich is heyond BolonlaTfiat, now called Terminos, and
the rest went together to Dzabibhah'^^ beside Boca Nueva, and others arrived
at Holtim, Puerto Escondido^^ as they say.

4. There came the fourth ruler of the series, who was named Paxua, son
of Chanpel, who has already been mentioned. This was the ruler who settled
Tixchel. They Hved at Tixchel three score or four score years. Wars were
begun by the people of Champoton and Cactam^^ and Apopomena,^^ also by
Acucyah called Tabasquillo. Therefore they abandoned Tixchel and went
to Tamatun which they call Acalan; and the pueblo of the Cehache called
Tayel was there, and also the people of Ciuatecpan were at the junction of
the rivers; and from these [places] began the land and people of whom
Paxua was ruler, [and they extended] as far as Iztapa.^^ And he took the
pueblo of the Cehache, [or] Aiazateca,^'^ and [that of] the Dzul.^^ And thus
they were lords of the land of Acalan.

9 The term employed in the Text is ahau. In northern Yucatan the word meant ruler and
was the of the halach uinic or territorial ruler. As we shall see later, some of the Acalan
title
ruler's principal subordinates also enjoyed the same title.
10 Weare unable to translate the prefix Pa-, which, like Pax- and Pap-, appears to occur
only in names of men.
11 In the Text the number is followed by -dzac, which
is one of the numerical sufHxes so

common in Yucatecan Maya. It is defined in the Motul Dictionary as meaning "cuenta de grados
y escalones y otras cosas que van unas encima de otras." Farther on we find two brothers
grouped together under a single number, and in one case this is done with a father and three
sons.
12 It is very possible that this name should read Dzabibkak.
13 These are all the names of places leading from Laguna de Terminos to the Gulf of
Mexico. They were along the main trade route between Mexico and Yucatan and their possession
would offer an opportunity to levy tribute on this extensive commerce. The name Bolonlamat,
which the Text gives for Terminos, is one of the Maya day names (9 Lamat) for which it is
difficult to find a satisfactory translation. Holtun, which the Text gives as the name of Puerto
Escondido, probably means "the port."
14 The Spanish version gives the name as Xicalan, and it is of especial interest to find in the

Text a Chontal name for this Nahuatl town. This is Cactam, or possibly Qactam.
15 Apopomena probably means the people of Popomena; the place is called Pomeba in the

Spanish version. The close association of this site with Xicalango suggests that the former may
have been an older name for a settlement on what is now Laguna del Pom. Modern maps show
a settlement called Pom on this lagoon, but we have found no mention of this name in the six-
teenth-century documents. The word pom means "copal."
ISA possible alternative translation of the Chontal Text might be: "these [the people of
Ciuatecpan] were in the jurisdiction of the people of Iztapa." This is very different from the
statement in the Spanish version, but after the conquest of the town by the Acalan, their terri-
tory probably extended do-wn the Usumacinta River as far as Iztapa in any case.
17 The Cehache and the Mazateca, who lived east of Acalan, were the same people and not

separate groups, as the Spanish version implies.

18 Written Dzulob in the Text. This is the plural of Dzul, which means "foreigner" in
 APPENDIX A 385

5. The fifth rulers of the series were named Pachimalahix and also

Macuaabin, his younger brother, sons of Paxua, In the time of this ruler

(Pachimalahix), five or six years after having arrived at Chactemal,^® [which

lies] beyond Bakhalal,"° he imposed tribute upon them.^^ At this time the Dzul
came to take Balancal.^^ Their captain was named Tzitzimit and he asked
Pachimalahix, the ruler, to divide the tribute of the pueblos, and because the
latter was unwilling to give it to him, all the pueblos joined together and there

was war for four score days. At the end of this time they returned again
and arrived at Acalan; they seized the lands at Tachakam. Then began the
rule of Macuaabin, younger brother of Pachimalahix, whom we have men-
tioned.
6. The was named Paxbolonacha, son of Pachimal-
sixth ruler of the series
ahix. He was the ruler who settled Itzamkanac Acalan. While they were

there the Spaniards came with the Marques del Valle as their captain. This
ruler, Paxbolonacha, mentioned above, had three sons. One was named

Pachimalahix; he had a sonnamed Don Luis Paxua, and the latter fled to
CHiuoHA.^ The second son was named Lamatazel,^^ and he was the father of
Don Pablo paxbolon. The third son was named Don Pedro Paxtun. He was
baptized and had no child.
7. The seventh in descent^^ was Don Pablo Paxbolonacha, now governor,
son of the abovementioned Lamatazel.
Here ended and concluded what the two old men, Alonso Chacbalam
and Luis Tutzin, were asked and what they stated. They declared that only
these were the rulers and that they watched over the pueblos. And thus they
stated in the presence of Hernando Kanan, Anton Quiuit, Alonso May,
witnesses, residents here. And in attestation I set down the names of the
alcaldes [and regidores] and mine as clerk. Francisco Felipe. Luis Garcia.

Yucatecan Maya. It seems probable that they were one of the Nahuatl-speaking groups of
Tabasco who had come up the Usumacinta River.
19 Chetumal.
20 Bacalar.
21 The
English translation here follows the reading of the Spanish version. We
have pointed
out (note p. 368, supra) that the Spanish translators omitted a phrase about going to Chactemal
2,
and that the meaning of the Chontal Text is obscure. The Text reads: "This one was ruler when
they [he?] went to Chactemal. It lies beyond Bakhalal. Five [or] six years it was they arrived.
During this time entered tribute to them [him?]." This may mean that the going to Chactemal
occurred five or six years after the accession of Pachimalahix, or that he staved there five or
six years.
22 Balancan in the Spanish version.
23 Here and elsewhere the Spanish version calls the place Chiua.
2* This part of the Text gives his name as Alamatazel, but elsewhere it is written Lamatazel.
25 Don Pablo Paxbolon was actually of the eighth generation.
386 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Alonso Martin. Pedro Naua, Hernando Kanan. Anton Quiuit. Done in my

presence, Juan Bautista, clerk,
Don Dona Isabel. They had
Pablo Paxbolon, present governor, married
a daughter named Doiia Catalina, who married Francisco Maldonado, Span-
iard. Francisco Maldonado and Dofia Catalina, whom I mentioned, had a son,
Martin Maldonado, who is now living.

Doiia Isabel, whom we mentioned, died. Then Don Pablo Paxbolon, gov-
ernor, married Dona Mencia, daughter of Diego de Orduiia.^'^ They had
a daughter named Maria, who is now living.
On the twenty-first of the month of July of the year 16 12, I, Pablo Pax-
bolon, clerk of this pueblo, in the presence of the principal men named Marcos
Chacbalam, alcalde, Juan Chacchan [and] Francisco Tutzin, regidores, and
of the others who were present, Agustin Paxbolon, Alonso Patzinbolon,
Baltasar Paptucun, read it to them so that they heard the descent and gene-
alogy"^ of Don Pablo Paxbolon, governor. They said it was correct and true,

that there is nothing in it that is not. Therefore I set down their names and
signatures here with my own as clerk. Marcos Chacbalam. Juan Chacchan.
Francisco Tutzin. Agustin Paxbolon. Alonso Fatzinbolon. Baltasar Paptucun.
In my presence, Pablo Paxbolon, clerk.

[11]

On the fifth of the month of July of the year 161 2, 1 copied the names and
count of the pueblos of the Mactun, who are the chontal of Acalan,
written by the principal men, our fathers, who died old men. It begins first

with the residence of the ruler, Paxbolonacha, for thus he was named, ^written
AS FOLLOWS:

[ I ] The pueblo of Acalan, called Itzamkanac-^ pueblo

[2] Tahobo pueblo
[3] Tahcab-^ pueblo
-6Diego de Orduna lived for many years in Tabasco, where he learned to speak Chontal.
In 1573 and again in 1580 he participated in exploring expeditions up the Rio de Tachis (San
Pedro Martir) into the Peten. Cf. Appendix D.
-^ The Text reads, "u pavolel u uinicilel Don Pablo Paxbolon," which might mean "the

jurisdiction [and] the people of Don Pablo Paxbolon."

28 The lists of towns in the Chontal Text and the Spanish version do not follow exactly the

same order. There is also considerable variation in spelling in the two lists. have given the We
Chontal forms but have listed the towns in the order that they occur in the Spanish version as
a means of
facilitating comparison of the variant forms.
29 indicated in the translation, Tahcab is found only in the Spanish version and Tacacau
As
only in the Chontal Text. Inasmuch as each list contains seventy-six names, it is possible that
Tahcab and Tacacau are variant names of the same place. If not, then there were seventy-seven
towns instead of seventy-six.
 APPENDIX A 387

[4] Tapib^o pueblo

[4a] Tacacay?'^ pueblo
[5] ^acmucnal^^ pueblo
[6] Tanauibcab pueblo
[7] Tauchcabal pueblo
[8] Tahkakalaez pueblo
[9] Tapacauichcab pueblo
[loj Tixkancubim^^ pueblo
[11] Tanacomchutte pueblo
[12] Tahcehxuch pueblo
[13] TakunchelaP^ pueblo
[14] Tatok^-^ pueblo
[15] Tamauitz pueblo
[16] Petenmax^^ pueblo
[17] Tachakam,^'^ which is now called Chunab^^
AND IS SETTLED BY SERVING PEOPLE
(meya uinicob) pueblo
[18] Tayel pueblo
[19] Temax^^ pueblo
[20] TahaalkantelaP pueblo
[21] Tahmalin pueblo
[22] Tahkomtilal pueblo
[23] Tahaazcab pueblo
[24] Petenaku pueblo
[25] Uxpeten'*^ pueblo
[26] Uatunhobonnixtte*2 pueblo
[27] Takoolku pueblo
[28] Tahchimaytun^^ pueblo

3oTapib: "at the pit-oven." This and the following translations of place names are based
on the meaning of the syllables in Yucatecan Maya but with frequent allowance for Chontal
sound shifts. We believe, however, that they give a correct idea of the general principles under-
lying Chontal nomenclature of places.
31 At the cacao trees.
32 White tomb or burial place.
33 Tixkangubim would mean "at the yellow acacia."
34 At the kunche trees (Pileus mexicanus Standi.).
35 At the flint or flint knife. Tok is also a compound in at least six Maya plant names.
36 Island of the monkey or wild chile.
3''
At the savanna (chakan).
38 Chunab is a Yucatecan Maya family name.
39 Where the monkey or wild chUe is. There is a well-known Yucatecan town of this name.
40 Both the kante and kanche are well-known Yucatecan trees.
41 Three islands; a possible alternative translation might be ^^ramon, or breadnut tree, island."
42 Hobonnixtte might be translated as "hollow inclined tree." Nixche was the Maya name

of uva del 77tar, probablv CoccoJoha uvifera Jacq. in Yucatan.

43 Chimay has been reported as the name of Acacia milleriana Standi, and Pithecolobium
albicans Benth. Tun could mean a precious stone, or, in compounds, stone. Chimaytun could
mean "stone deer" in Chontal. In Yucatan the Indians still believe in certain supernatural deer
called zip, which are the guardians of these animals (Redfield and Villa, 1934, pp. 1 17-18).
388 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

[29] Panuitzcab pueblo

[3o] Tahgacab^^ pueblo
[31] Tixmalindzunum*^ pueblo
[32] Tahbidzcabal pueblo
[33] Tan9ut^^ pueblo
[34] Chanhilix pueblo
[35] Tachantoppoltun pueblo
[36] Homolna*^ pueblo
[37] Taocabal pueblo
[38] Tahuli pueblo
[39] ^acchute*^ pueblo
[40] Taniuitz^® pueblo
[41] Tappottelal pueblo
[42] Tapaxtoh pueblo
[43] Tahchacchauac pueblo
[44] Taku9aycab pueblo
[45] Palibpetette pueblo
[46] Tachiciua pueblo
[47] Tayaxttelal'™ pueblo
[48] Tayaxakcab pueblo
[49] Tuxakha,^^ in which Cortes remained for
twenty days, where the head of the
Mexican captain, Cuauhtemoc, was cut
off^2 pueblo
[50: Taynpilal pueblo
[51; Tahbudzips pueblo
[52; Hoknadzic pueblo

^* At the lime pit.

45 Dzunitm, or dzumm, means "hummingbird."
46 At the turn.
47 Sunken house.
4s This name might be translated as "white cedar."
49 At
the tip of the hill.
50 Where the ceiba trees are. It will be noted that several names end in -ttelal and still more

in -al. Those in -ttelal appear to indicate localities where a certain kind of tree (te) predomi-
nates; and we believe that most, if not all, of the others in -al indicate a particular type of en-
vironment. Lundell has noted that in the south and center of the peninsula the suffix -al is
added to the folk name of the dominant tree to characterize the association. Such words are
formed from Maya plant names in chechen-al (Honduras walnut), naab-al ("water lily"), and
julub-al (Bravaisia tubifiora Hemsl.). Zacatal ("grass") and zapotal are derived from Nahuatl
forms; caobal ("mahogany") and guarumal are from West Indian names; and a number of
others are taken from the Spanish (Lundell, 1934, pp. 253-355).
51 Where the waters mingle, which probably means the junction of two streams.
52 In the Text Cortes is referred to only as the captain. In translating the first part of this

passage we have followed the Chontal original, which states that the captain "remained" in
Tuxakha. for twenty days. The story of Cuauhtemoc's execution is discussed at length in
Chapter 5, in which we have cited evidence that Cortes did not remain in Tuxakha for twenty
days and that the Aztec chieftain was actually put to death in Itzamkanac.
53 Where the smoke is.
 APPENDIX A 389

[53 I
Tabidzcabal pueblo
[54 1
Tanohun pueblo
[55 Kanlum^* pueblo
[56 I
Tapaxua pueblo
[57 Yaxhopat pueblo
[58: Tapop-'^ pueblo
[59 Tabolay^^ pueblo
[6o Tapom^''' pueblo
[6i Tapulemttelal pueblo
[62 Tuholham pueblo
[63 Tacachilal pueblo
[64; Boteac pueblo
[65 Tadzumuycab pueblo
[66 Tamomoncab pueblo
[67 Tahchimal^^ pueblo
[68 Yaxahintun pueblo
[69: Tahkomcab pueblo
[70. Temoch pueblo
[71 Taychilak pueblo
[72] Tachiicabal pueblo
[73: Tuholham pueblo
[74; Taykbalam^® pueblo
[75' Tanochich^" pueblo
[76] Tamultun'^^ pueblo
Seventy -six pueblos

[Ilia]

In the beginning they were in their towns, the people of Tamactun, who
are called Chontal, and Acalan in Mexican, the Mactun Indians, as appears
from the towns in which they Hved.*^" Their capital was called Itzamkanac.
The ruler, Paxbolonacha, for so he was named, was there, for this was his

5* Yellow earth.
55 At the rushes.
56 Where
the beast of prey is.
5''
At
the copal tree.
58 At
the shield.
59 Where the black jaguar or puma is.
60 Where the great bird is.
61 At the stone mound.
62 The Spanish version of this passage is obscure and the Text is difficult to translate. The

English translation follows closely the word order of the Spanish. A

tentative rendering of part
of the Text might be: "In the beginning they were settled [?] ... Tamactun, its name in the
language here, Acalan, its name in the Mexican language, all the Mactun people. ." At the . .

end there seems to be a reference to the preceding list of towns. Perhaps a free translation of
the entire passage might be: "At the beginning [of the Spanish conquest] the Mactun people
were settled in the land of Tamactun, which is its name in the language here, and Acalan in the
Mexican language, as appears from the list of towns in which they lived."
390 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

realm. He had as his governors and principal men:^ Mututzin Ahau, Kintzucti,
Padzayato, and Tamalyaxun, as they were named.
The Spaniards came to this land in the year 1527. Their captain was
named Don Martin Cortes.^ They entered by way of Tanodzic^ and passed
by THE PUEBLO OF Tachix*^® and came out at the beginning of the land of Cac-
chutte, and stopped for a while in the pueblo of Tuxakhaa. While staying
there with all their followers, they sent to summon Paxbolonacha, the ruler,
mentioned above. He assembled all his principal men^"^ of all his pueblos, from
THE PUEBLO OF Tadzunum, and the principal men of THE PUEBLO OF
Chabte, and the principal men of the pueblo of Atapan, and the principal
men of the pueblo of Ta^acto,^^ because no action could be taken without
informing these principal men. He informed them of the matter to be dealt
with. They consulted concerning what would be the best policy in his realm,
in view of the fact that the Capitan del Valle^^ of the Spaniards, who were in
the pueblo of Xakhaa, had sent to summon [him] They said it was not fitting
.

that their ruler should go at the summons of the Spaniards, because they (the
Indians) did not know what they (the Spaniards) wanted. Then one of the
principal men, named Chocpalocem Ahau, arose and said: "Ruler and lord,
remain in your realm and wish to go to see what the Spaniards
city, for I

WANT." And thus he went before the captain with other principal men named
Patzinchiciua, Pax\ianapuk, and Paxhochacchan, companions of Palocem
Ahau, in the of the ruler. When they had come before the Capitan
name
some of the Spaniards did not beheve them because there
del Valle, Spaniard,
must have been someone among them who said to the Spaniards that the ruler
WHOM THEY HAD SUMMONED was uot coming there. Therefore the captain said
to them: "Let the ruler come, for I wish to see him. I do not come to make war
NOR TO DO HIM HARM; I wish Only to pass through to see the land [and] what-
ever there is to see. I will be very good to him if he receives me well." And
63In the Text the so-called governors were called ahau, and the principal men, nuc idnic.
In the Spanish version the word ahaii is usually translated as rey (king or ruler).
6* Cortes passed through Acalan in
1525, not 1527. The chronicler gives him the name of
his son, Martin Cortes.
65 The Spanish reads: "Que entraron por Tanogic," etc. Although we have translated por

as "by way of," which is the literal meaning, it would probably be more exact in this case to
say "near" or "in the region of." Cortes crossed the Usumacinta at Ciuatecpan, which was
apparently located several leagues below Tenosique. Cf. pp. 441-48, injra.
66 Cf. references to the Rio de Tachis (San Pedro iMartir) in Appendix D. Note that the

words "the pueblo of" are found in the Spanish version onlv and not in the Text. The passage is
apparently intended to record the fact that Cortes passed across or through the region of the
San Pedro Martir.
6^^
The Chontal word for principales in this case is ahau.
68 The Text appears to imply that these principal men were the heads of "the four divisions

of the town already mentioned" {chan tzucul cab aca thane)

6'J
Cortes' correct title, conferred upon him at a later date, was Marques del Valle.
 APPENDIX A 391

those who had come in the name of the ruler having understood it, they re-
turned and told Paxbolonacha, their ruler, who was in the pueblo of Itzam-
kanac waiting [for them]. When they arrived all the principal men^° were
assembled, and he said to them: "I want to go to make the acquaintance of the
captain and Spaniards, for I wish to see them and learn what they want and
for what purpose they have come." And thus Paxbolonacha, the ruler, went.
When the Spaniards learned [of his coming], they went out to receive
him and the Capitan del Valle with them. They (the Indians) brought a gen-
erous gift of honey, turkeys, maize, copal, and a great deal of fruit. The
captain said: "Ruler Paxbolon, I have come here to your lands, for I am sent
by the lord of the world, the emperor who is on his throne in Castile, who
sends me to see the land and the people with whom it is populated. I do nor
come for wars. I only ask you to facilitate my journey to Ulua, which is
Mexico,^^ and the land where silver'^^ and plumage and cacao are obtained,
for that is what I wish to go to see." And so he (Paxbolonacha) replied that
he would grant him passage with great pleasure, and that he (Cortes) should
accompany him to his city and land, and that there they would discuss what
was most fitting. The Capitan del Valle told him that he should rest, and he
assented. Whereupon they spent twenty days taking their ease.
Cuauhtemoc, ruler of New Spain, who had come with the captain from
Mexico, was there. He said to ruler Paxbolonacha, mentioned above: ''''My

lord ruler, there will come a time when these Spaniards will give us much
trouble and do us much harm and they will kill our people."^^ I am of the
opinion that we should kill them, for I bring a large force and you are manv."
Cuauhtemoc said this to Paxbolonacha, ruler of the Mactun Chontal. When
he heard this speech of Cuauhtemoc he replied to him: "I will consider it.

Leave it for now and we will discuss it later." And, thinking about the matter,
he saw that the Spaniards did not commit any abuses nor had th'^y killed or

beaten any Indians, and that they asked for nothing except honey, hens (tur-
keys), maize, and other which were given to them daily. He consid-
fruits,

ered that since they did him no evil he could not have two faces with them,
nor show two hearts toward the Spaniards. Cuauhtemoc, the ruler pom
Mexico already mentioned, was always importuning him about this because
he would have liked to kill all the Spaniards. In view of this importunity,

'^"The Text apparently states that the ahaus of the entire town assembled.
^1This statement implies the existence of Nahuatl-speaking people in Ulua. Cf. Roys, 1943,
pp. 1 17-18.
In the Text takin, Yucatecan Maya word for gold, is employed.
^2
"3 A
tentative translation of the Text suggests that Cuauhtemoc told Paxbolonacha that the
Spaniards "will give you much trouble and kill your people."
392 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Paxbolonacha, the ruler, went to the Capitan del Valle and said to him: ''''My

lord Capitan del Valle, this ruler Cuauhtemoc, principal and captain of the
Mexicans, whom you bring,'^ watch out for him lest he commit some treason
against you, because three or four times he has talked with me about killing
you." When the Capitan del Valle heard this, he seized Cuauhtemoc and put
him in chains. On the third day that he was a prisoner they took him out and
baptized him and it is not certain whether he was given the name Don Juan or
Don Fernando. After baptizing him, they cut off was spiked
his head, and it

on a ceiba in front of the house of idolatry which was in the pueblo of

Yaxdzan.'^^
Then the Capitan del Valle and all his force departed, together with ruler
Paxbolonacha and all his people, and they reached the city of Itzamkanac.
While they were there they began to plan at what point a bridge could be
made in order to cross the river with all the army, because it was about a
league across including the swamps, and so the filling up of the swamps and
the making of the bridge was undertaken. It was finished in two days'^^ on
account of the great number of people there were. They also cleared the road
as far as the Cehache, and two principal men'^'^ were sent, who went to take

the news of the coming of the Spaniards. They were called Celutapech
[and] Macuaaua. The Cehache killed Celutapech, and Macuaaua, his com-
panion, already mentioned, fled and returned to the city of Itzamkanac,
whence he had set out, and told them all that had happened to them.
For this reason the Spaniards proceeded with some misgiving. Nevertheless,
they killed five or six of the most valiant upon reaching the Cehache. From
there on the Cehache went clearing a road as far as Taitza. Having seen that
they could not cross to the island on account of the water, they returned and
took the road and came out at Champoton.'^'^

A year after the Spaniards and the Capitan del Valle were in Acalan,"^®
Paxbolonacha, ruler, went to another pueblo which is called Tachakam, where
he died. His people put him in a canoe and brought him to the city of Acalan
Itzamkanac, where they buried him. The ruler had been dead three years
i^^The Text merely says: "this Cuauhtemoc Ahau, who is with you."
''^
Yaxdzan, which is the name of Rhoeo discolor in Yucatecan Maya, does not appear in
the list of Acalan towns. It may well have been one of the subdivisions of Tuxakha, where
the native author of our Text believed the execution of Cuauhtemoc occurred. See p. 112,
supra, for a discussion of the place of Cuauhtemoc's death.
'^^
The Text says four days.
^^
In Chontal, nucha uinicob, meaning the inferior principal men as compared with the ahaus.
7s The chronicler is mistaken here. Cortes did visit Tayasal, capital of the Itza, situated on

an island in the lake, and thence he proceeded to Nito. Avila, who passed through Acalan in
1530, came out at Champoton, but did not go so far inland as Lake Peten.
79 The Text simply states that it was a year after Cortes and the Spaniards had passed. Acalan

is not mentioned.
 APPENDIX A 393

when went through, as the Capitan del

other Spaniards came and entered and
Valle had done, by the pueblo of Tachiix and the pueblo of Cacchute. It was
not known whether they brought a captain. Some of them were named Fran-
cisco Gil, Lorenzo Godoy, and Julian Doncel, who were the heads and su-
periors of the Spaniards. When they reached the capital, they asked for the
ruler, and they (the Indians) replied that he was dead. They (the Spaniards)

asked for his sons, who were brought before them. The oldest of the sons was
named Pachimalahix, the second, Lamatazel, and the smallest, Paxtun. They
put the eldest of the three sons, already mentioned, in jail and locked him up
for two days and told him that And thus turkeys
he should give them tribute.

and maize, honey and copal, beans, squash seeds, and whatever else there was,
for there was an incalculable amount, were given to them. And they crossed
the bridge, as the Capitan [del Valle] had crossed the river, and went away.^^
The Adelantado^^ did not pass through Acalan, which is in Mactun. Only
his command arrived in his name. They came to Champoton to see him be-

cause he stayed there a long time. There they brought him tribute and re-
mained FOR A LONG TIME WITH HIM at Chompoton mentioned above,^^ and
they asked him to admit them to his protection.^^

Pachimalahix died and at this time his brother, Lamatazel, entered in

his place. ^^ During his time and government the first Franciscan fathers ar-
rived. Fray Luis de Villalpando, Fray Juan de la Puerta, [and] Fray Lorenzo
de Bienvenida, At this time they were still in their pagan and idolatrous state,

and the Spaniards and the above-mentioned friars who came entered the land
and began to teach them the true way and the true God. They went about
teaching everyone that our gods were already finished and had already come
to an end, [saying] : "You will never see them worshipped again, and he who
worships them is deceived in his way of life and he who does so will be pun-
so The chronicler's chronolog}^ the statement that the Spaniards followed Cortes' route,
and the reference to the imposition of tribute indicate that this section describes the Avila
expedition of 1530 rather than the Gil-Godoy episode which occurred six years later. Cf. pp.
126-28, 136-37, supra.
Adelantado Don Francisco de Montejo, governor and captain general of Yucatan.
SI
s2
This paragraph probably refers to the years 153 1 et seq. when Montejo made a second
attempt to conquer Yucatan, this time from the west coast. The meeting place of the Chontal
and the Adelantado was evidently at Campeche, instead of Champoton, for a document of
1533 states that early in 1532 Montejo sent a Spaniard to Acalan to summon the principal men,
and that he brought them to Campeche where Montejo received them and ordered them to
bring tribute to that place henceforth (Montejo v. Alvarado). It is possible that the paragraph
may refer to a later period, when the forces of Montejo's son were stationed for some time
at Champoton prior to the final conquest of Yucatan, but the explicit reference to the Adelantado
and the sending of his command (mandado) to Acalan indicates that the author of the Chontal
narrative had in mind the early period when the Adelantado was in charge of operations on
the west coast. Cf. pp. 129-37, supra.
83 The Text adds, "and they [the Spaniards] went to Yucatan to seize the land."
84 The Text says, "entered into the rulership."
394 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

ished, for their time is now no one deceives the people, for
over. See that
that age is now gone by." All the principal men^ and
the ruler and all their
pueblos heard what the father priests said.

Then Lamatazel, their ruler, died, and before he died he ordered all the
principal men^^ summoned. When they had assembled he said to them: "Now
I am dying, and I bear sorrow in my heart that I have not attained to being a
Christian and living with faith, instead of as we live. As my life draws to a
close, I beg you to give yourselves to the service of another God,^''^ because I

see and have heard that the father priests will come to baptize and preach, and
[the new faith] will not be destroyed, nor will the end [of it] be seen. Now
the truth comes, and the good of which they tell, and therefore I charge you
to seek it and bring the father preachers to teach you and set your feet on
the true road." After this speech this ruler Lamatazel died.
Paxtun, his younger brother and son of Paxbolonacha, entered in his place
and power. He heard the news of the preaching and baptism which the
fathers were engaged in and took the matter under consideration with all his

principal men.^^ They summoned the whole pueblo in order that they might
go to seek the fathers in Campeche, and thus ruler Paxtun set out for Campeche
with his people in search of the fathers. God ordained it so that the day after

they reached Chinil, Father Fray Diego de Bejar, who was coming from
Tabasco, arrived. They met him there, and [Paxtun] said to him: "Father
and lord,^^ we have come here to seek you in the name of all my children, and
I have left all my pueblos and [my] dwelling, which is in Acalan, which they
call Chontal,^^ to come for you in order that you may come to teach the word
of God and His faith, because I am informed that the natives are being bap-
tized®^ by you fathers. We desire this and therefore we come to seek you as
FATHER." Paxtun, ruler, together with his companions, said this to him.
Having heard what the Indians said. Father Fray Diego de Bejar said to
them: "My sons, it gives me great satisfaction that you desire to take your
souls out of the hands of the devils and that you wish to hear and know the
word God, because that is my office and the one in which we fathers exert
of
ourselves. Although I should like to be able to go with you at once, I have
things to attend to with my father companions. Therefore it seems best to me
85 In Chontal, nuc uinicob.
8^
See preceding note.
87 The Spanish version says, "other gods." The Text reads, hun tzuc ctu, "one single God."

Here we find the Chontal word for God, which corresponds to the Yucatecan Maya ku.
88 In this case the Chontal uses a form of ahau.
89 In Chontal, ca ywn ca pap.
^° The Text reads, "Acalan, Tamactun its second name."
91 In Chontal, u yochel haa tu pom uinic: "the water enters to the heads of men." The

Yucatecan Maya equivalent of this phrase is very similar.

 APPENDIX A 395

that you return, for I will come back Campeche or Champoton soon, where
to
I will meet those whom you may send for me." Thus the father consoled them
and they returned to their pueblo of Acalan of the Chontal. At the end of a
month, which they appointed as the time for sending for the father in a canoe,
they arrived in Campeche, and the fathers who were there were pleased. And
so Fray Diego de Be jar accompanied them and they reached Mactun Acalan
on April 20 of the year 1550, and upon their arrival there was great rejoicing
among all the people.
Immediately he summoned all the principal men,^^ Kintencab, Celut Hol-
can, Buluchatzi, Caltzin, Catanatz, Papcan, and the other principal men, and
ALSO THEIR GOVERNOR, Paxtun. The father said to them: "Afj sons, consider
that you have gone in search of us for a long distance, ten or fifteen days'
journey. I have come to find you and accompany you, and I have been glad

to undergo hardships on the road and in the canoes. Look, the first thing I
have to say to you is that it is impossible to serve two lords or two fathers.
Only one Father is to be loved. I come to tell you that [there is] only one
God in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost,
who created heaven and earth and all there is to be seen today," He told them
[this] and other explanations of God.
He wanted everyone to come and display his idols. Having heard what
the father told them, they began to bring out their idols,^^ first the idol of the
ruler which bears [the name of] Cukulchan,®* and also the devil [of] Tad-
zunum, and [those of] Tachabtte, Atapan, and Tagacto,^" and the other idols.

They brought all these before Father Fray Diego de Be jar, who burned them.
Then he began to teach them to recite the Paternoster, the Ave Maria, the
Credo, and the Salve, and the articles of the faith. And then he began to give
them The governor was named Don Pedro Paxtun,
their [Christian] names.
The named Don Mateo, and Caltzin was named Don
priest Kintencab was
Francisco, And thus everyone, young and old, entered Christianity without
there being anyone lacking. The idols hidden in their secret places by the
Indians, [such as] Ykchaua (Ekchuuah), for so this idol was called, another
called Tabay, another called Ixchel, another [called] Cabtanilcabtan, and
many other places of idols were sought out in all the pueblos. The custodians
of the idols went for them and brought them and burned them. Those who
retained them were imprisoned and whipped before the eyes of the people. In

92 Chontal, nuc uinicob.

S3 In the Text the idols are everywhere called ciginob, "devils."
9* Evidently the same as the Maya Kukulcan.
3^ These are the names of the four quarters of the city of Itzamkanac. The reference here
is probably to their patron deities.
396 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

this way the idols perished and came to an end among the natives, some of

whom [conformed] wilhngly, others through fear of punishment.

have already said above^'^ that from the second time the Spaniards passed
I

through Acalan Tamactun —

[they were] Francisco Gil, Lorenzo Godoy,
—
and Julian Doncel from then on tribute began to be paid and taken to Ta-
basco every six months and every two months. It was not levied according to
a fixed assessment, but when they (the encomenderos) wished, they came for
what they wanted, such as canoes, paddles, honey, copal, hens, mantas, beans,
maize, squash seeds, chile, cotton, [and] calabashes. They took as tribute to

Tabasco every kind of food and drink there was, because there in the afore-
said Tabasco we began to pay tribute to Palma. Afterwards the town was
given in encomienda to Diego de Aranda. We do not know who put these
pueblos under the jurisdiction of Campeche. When Diego de Aranda died,
Francisca de Velasco, his wife, married Anton Garcia, and the said Anton
Garcia ordered us to take the tribute to Chilapa.
At this time, uoheii the tribute ivas being taken to Chilapa, the oidor
Tomas Lopez came from Guatemala in the year 1552. He ordained and set
the time when tribute was to be paid, which is every six months and hoiv Tmich
tribute every six months. This Tomas Lopez released us from giving canoes,
and also hens, mantas, maize, honey, copal, beans, squash seeds, chile, cotton,

calabashes, paddles, and other items which we, the Chontal of Acalan, gave.^^
He issued provisions to the governors^^ of the pueblos giving them authority
to govern their pueblos, and he ordered that those who took the tribute [to
the encomenderos] and those who carried burdens for the Spaniards from
one pueblo to another should be paid, if it was far, one or two pesos, and a
toston or two tomines^^ according to the journey. And the pueblos were still
in Mactun Acalan.
During this time the father of whom we spoke, Fray Diego de Bejar, went
away, and the father returned again. Later Fray Miguel de Vera came to
baptize all the people who remained [unbaptized] and they received the
Holy Sacraments. On another occasion Fray Diego de Pesquera came^"° and

^^ The Text reads, "as already written." .

97 This statement is not entirely accurate. The schedule of tribute for Acalan, as fixed by
Lopez in 1553, called for the annual payment of 500 mantas, 500 gallinas (one-half to be "gal-
linas de la tierra," or turkeys, and one-half, "gallinas de Castilla," or poultry of the^ variet)^
introduced from Spain), and thirty cakes of copal. Moreover, tribute was being paid in Cam-
peche prior to the arrival of Lopez, and it was by his order that payment was made in Tabasco.
For a discussion of the early history of the encomienda of Acalan, see pp. 142-55, supra.
98 In Chontal, ahauob. This would appear to indicate that the local heads of the various

towns had had the title of ahau.

99 A toston was half a peso; a tomin, or real, was one-eighth of a peso.
100 The Spanish reads, "Otra vez volvio Fray Diego de Pesquera," and the Text also seems
 APPENDIX A 397

talked tothem about the expediency of their moving to Tixchel, where they
had been once before. This was when Don Luis Paxua, son of Pachimalahix
who was mentioned above, was governor or ruler in this province [of
Acalan]. At the beginning of the year 1557 m January people from Cham-
poton and Campeche came to clear and clean the site of Tixchel in order that
the Indians of Acalan Tamactun, the Chontal, might move down there.^*'^
Because they were far away and the fathers could not come often to admin-
ister the Holy Sacraments to them; and because [Tixchel] was on the route

of the Franciscan and Augustinian fathers, the secular clergy, and the
Dominicans, and also the Spaniards who came to this province from Mexico,
and they would teach them the word of God when they passed through; and
also because they would be near the governor and chief magistrate sent by
his Majesty, the king, who administers justice to the common people^^^ and
NATIVES: all moved the fathers to bring them here to the site
these reasons
of Tixchel. ^"^^ The encomendero, Anton Garcia, also wished it, and for a
period of four years he relieved them from paying tribute until they should
reestablish themselves at the new site of Tixchel.^*^^ It took place in the said
year of 1557 on July 10. On the twenty-second of the said month 0/ July
mentioned above, day of St. Mary Magdalene, Don Luis, their governor, ran
away and fled through El Baradero^^^ and went to the site of Chiuoha where
he died.^^*^ Then the next year, 1558, on April 25, this pueblo of Chiuoha was
discovered by Don Pablo and there he learned of his death, and it was well
known to everyone that he died of an illness.-^*'^

to indicate that he came a second time. We have no other evidence, however, that he had been
there before.
101 That is, down the Rio de Acalan (Candelaria) to Tixchel.
i°2 Spanish, Tiiaceguales; Chontal, chanbel uinicob.
103 Yhe Text simply states that for these reasons they were brought to Tixchel.
10* The Text confirms the statement in the Spanish version that the encomendero remitted
the tribute for four years, but it is very doubtful that it states that he wanted to have the pueblo
moved. This has some significance in view of the fact that in 1571 Garcia specifically stated that
Pesquera moved the pueblo when he was absent in Guatemala. Cf. p. 169, supra.
1°° The map of Juan de Dios Gonzalez of 1766 (British Museum, Add. 17654a) shows two

places near Tixchel called Baradero Grande and Baradero Chico. On modern maps we find a
site called Baradero on Sabancuy estuary and also a Punta Baradero on the Gulf coast nearby.
These names may refer to careening places or portages. The Chontal term is chinil.
106 'j'he Text simply states that Paxua died at the pueblo of Chiuoha.
lo'''
There is reason to believe that the chronicler is mistaken concerning the year (1558) of
Paxbolon's visit to Chiuoha. Don Pablo was then only fifteen years old, and it was not until
1566 that he assumed the governorship of Tixchel. Farther on in the Text we find that in
1574 Paxbolon pacified the Indians of Chiuoha, and it seems probable that the chronicler had
this incident in mind. Cf. note 4, p. 171 supra, and discussion of the 1574 episode in Chapter 10.
Modern maps record a site named Chivoja on the Arroyo Chivoja Grande southeast of Tixchel.
We are of the opinion, however, that the pueblo to which Paxua fled and which Paxbolon
pacified in 1574 was located farther inland. See Map 3, and cf. discussion of the location of
Chiuoha, pp. 226-27, supra.
398 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

The the Chontal

years 1558 and 1559 had passed and as yet the people^
Indians, had not completely abandoned their site of Tamactun Acalan. A
PRINCIPAL NAMED Don Tomds Macua detained them in the pueblo of Chan-
hix.-*-^^ They began to have disputes and trouble with those who came from

Tixchel for the food supplies they had left behind/^ and they seized them
there, tied them up and whipped them, and took away their canoes. He
(Macua) had also settled Tixbahumilhaa. They worshipped their idols. By
this time all the Indians [of Tixchel] were about to flee. And God willed that
the Spaniards should come to Tixchel at this time. There were about thirty
soldiers.^^^ Their leaders were Castrillo, Juan Vela, and Tamayo, for I do not
know which of them was captain, but they respected only these three.^^^ The
oidores of Guatemala had summoned them to go to take the province of the
Lacandon and Popo,^-^^ and they remained here in Tixchel because they
learned that Licenciado Ramirez, who was going as captain of this expedi-
tion, had returned, for he had taken the land and people of the Popo. Having
seen this and also that it was to the service of God and the king that they
should go to Acalan and bring down all the Indians who had remained there
and rebelled, and that things might go well and that they might be able to
reach the Lacandon,^^^ Father Pesquera told them so, and when the Spaniards
114
heard this it met with their approval.-*

[Illb]

And they brought down the pueblo of Bote, the pueblo of A9ilbaob, the
pueblo of Tutul, and those of Panob,^^^ and they went to the site of Acalan and
seized Don Tomas Macua, Martin Acha, Jorge Laon, and Alonso Pacbac, and
1°^ Apparently the pueblo of Chanhilix of the Chontal list (Document II) is intended,
lo^ A literal translation of the Spanish would be, "on account of eating what they had left
behind."
110 The Text states, "fifty (lahun yuxkal) soldiers."
111 For this expedition of Francisco Tamayo Pacheco, Gomez de CastriUo, and Juan Vela,
see pp. 173-74, supra.
112 In Chontal, poo uinicob: the Poo men or
people. Ramirez' expedition of 1559, referred
to here, was directed against the Indians of Lacandon and Pochutla
in southeastern Chiapas.
The Poo Indians may have been those of Pochutla, although it is doubtful whether the names
have a common origin. Pochutla is probably derived from the Nahuatl word pochotl, and
would seem to mean "the place of the ceiba trees." The name Popo, which occurs in the Span-
ish version, is one of the Chontal names found in Tixchel in 1569. Cf. Appendix C.
113 It appears that the scribe omitted a sentence here in our copy of the Text.
11* The Text breaks off abruptly here in the middle of this episode, and the next entry is

for the year 1599. Section Illb of the Spanish version carries on the story without a break and
also records other incidents in the history of the Chontal prior to 1599. Apparently the scribe
who made our copy of the Text carelessly omitted the Chontal equivalent of this section.
lis These were undoubtedly Chontal settlements, although the names do not appear in the

list of seventy-six Acalan towns. A^ilbaob probably means "the people of Cilba." Panob is also
a plural form difficult to explain.
 APPENDIX A 399

brought down all the people together with those who were in Tixbaumilha.
They brought them down to Tixchel in the year 1560, On this account there
was a very great famine, and this was the reason why Francisco Acuz and
Diego Paxcanan, and also Achachu, Gonzalo Paxcanan, and Martin Paxtun,
for there must have been a great number, fled with their people and old men.
Don Pablo Paxbolon brought them out after finding them in the site of Sugte
(Sucte), as is shown more clearly in the probanza of Don Pablo Paxbolon,
governor, who went to look for them in the year he began to govern. ^^^ They
fled again in the year 1568 and again he found them, with those who had fled
before being baptized, who lived in the pueblo of Chakam. The reason why
these old inhabitants [of Acalan] had fled was lest their masters should come
and afflict them, because they were slaves of the ruler and other principal men.
They were called Lamat, Chacantun, Pacimactun, Atoxpech, Apaxtucum,
Paxbolon, Chancha, [and] Palocem,^^'^ together with others numbering about
six hundred, including- their children and women.
As soon as he found them he informed Don Luis Cespedes, who was gov-
ernor in this province [of Yucatan] and was in the city of Merida, called
Taho^-^^ in the Yucatecan language. At this time Fray Francisco de Toral of
the Order of St. Francis was bishop, the first one in this bishopric. He sent
Fray Juan de Santa Maria of the Mercedarian Order, and the latter went to
indoctrinate and baptize the Indians who had been discovered. Their pueblo
was named Zapotitlan,^^® because the name of that land was not known. Some
of the principal men called itby the name of Tachumbay, and others, Tachalte,
and still others called it Tanaboo, and others, Tamacuy. So for this reason it
was given the name of Zapotitlan.
On behalf of these people this pueblo of Tixchel underwent great toil

because of the commission which Don Pablo Paxbolon, our governor, held
from the [provincial] governor who was serving in the city of Merida. By
virtue of this he made us clear the roads and open the difficult rapids of the
Rio de Acglan where the father would pass, and carry him in a litter where he
could not pass, in order that the infidels, who were in Zapotitlan, might be-
come Christians, as we have said; and in order to take ornaments from our
church, such as chalice, missal, chasuble, frontal, necessary adornment for the
ii'3
The Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, contain various documents relating to Pax-
bolon's expedition of 1566, but they do not mention the site of Sucte. There is a place of this
name east of Champoton, but obviously it is not the site mentioned here.
^^^ These are all pagan names. The spellings have been changed to make them conform to
those found in the Chontal Text and in various lists of Chontal personal names found in
Garcia v. Bravo.
118 Tiho
in Yucatecan Mava.
This name (Sapotitanil, Xapotitanil, Capotitan in the Spanish version), unlike other
11^

Acalan place names, is Mexican and could mean "place of the Zapote trees."
400 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

mass, as well as the images. And our sons went to teach them the Christian
doctrine. In the same way he made others of us go in the year 1570, when we
went to Puilha, and also to Tahbalam, to bring out the fugitive Indians, in

doing which we experienced great hardship in carrying the father, who was
called Gabriel de Rueda, secular priest, and also Father Monserrate, who was
our vicar in Tixchel. And because [these Indians] were a long distance away,
they brought them to settle in Hunlucho and they lived there, and there we
brought them vestments and frontal and often carried the minister. And thus
the people of Zapotitlan and Xoquelha (Xocola) ^^° were settled.^-^

In the year 1574, on April 25, Don Pablo learned that Luis Queh (Ceh)
of the pueblo of Xocolha had gone among the wild Indians and that he was
acquainted with their pueblo, so he (Paxbolon) ordered him and also Juan
Chab^^^ to be summoned to the headquarters of the said pueblo^^ in order to
question them and learn the truth of what they had seen. When they had come,
Don Pablo asked them: "Is it true that you have been with the idolaters?"
They replied that it was true that they had seen their houses and their pueblo,
but that they did not know what it was called nor how many people there
were.
When Don Pablo learned this, he wanted to go there at once by virtue of
the commissions he held from the governors who ruled this province [of Yu-
catan] for the purpose of bringing out such idolatrous wild Indians. He sum-
moned his Chontal people and chose up to a hundred of them from the pueblo
of Tixchel, and we opened a road from Zapotitlan as far as Cocolha (Xocola),
armed with bows and arrows, shields and spears, in case of need. We set out
from Cocolha (Xocola) and reached Tachunyupi, where we spent the night,
and in the morning we all departed and at the hour of vespers we reached
their pueblo. We came upon them unaware, and some of the women fled and
the men took their bows and arrows and came against us. Then Don Pablo
said to them: "Do not shoot your arrows or allow any deaths to occur, be-
120 This settlement was evidently the place to which the Indians of Puilha and Tahbalam

were moved. Xoquelha is the Hispanicized form of the Chontal word xocelhaa, which means
"river." The Vienna Dictionary (f. i8ov) records xocola as a Maya word of the same meaning.
In subsequent passages of the Spanish version of this part of the Acalan narrative, for which we
have no Chontal equivalent, the Maya form of the name or variants (Cocolha, Jocola) are
employed. For this reason and also because most of the people of Puilha and Tahbalam, who
resettled at this town, were Yucatecan Maya fugitives, we have accepted Xocola as the pre-
ferred form of the town name.
1^21 For a discussion of the Zapotitlan episode and the transfer of the Indians to new sites

called Zapotitlan and Xocola (later known as Tiquintunpa and Mazcab respectively) nearer
Tixchel, see Chapter 9.
122 Ceh and Chab are Yucatecan Maya names.
123 Caheza del dicho pueblo. This undoubtedly refers to Tixchel, which was the cabecera
of this area.
 APPENDIX A 401

cause we do not come to kill you nor do we come for you. I only come to see
you in order to tell you the word of God and the reason why the great king,
my lord, sends me, for he orders me to love you." To some of them these words
seemed good, to others they did not, and one of them, who was named Pazelu,
started to let his arrow fly in order to shoot Don Pablo. And Juan Chab,
maestro^"^ of Cocolha (Xocola), whom we have already mentioned, seized his

arms from behind. When the principal men of the idolatrous wild Indians,
who were named Paxmulu and saw
others, Paxtun, that it was Don Pablo, they
went to him and said: "Lord, whether you come for war or come for us or
come to kill us, here we are, do what you like." He replied to them: "Lords,
I do not come for war nor do I come to seize you. I come only to preach to

you the word of God and what his Majesty orders me to tell you, in order
that we may all love one another and have a single desire in our hearts to love
God and be ruled with the justice of his Majesty, which is the good way of
life. This is my purpose in coming, and to open roads, for this is the reason
why we come in such numbers. If we bear arms, it is in order to be secure
against whatever might happen to us, for we do not know what people we
may encounter." When they heard these explanations, they calmed down.
While was going on all the people, women and children, had gone away,
this

so that only a very few were left in the pueblo or were to be seen, and when
Don Pablo saw that there were no people, he asked them where they were,
and to summon, assemble, and reassure them. Thus he calmed their hearts
and therefore they undertook to reassemble the people, which was done
within two or three days so that no one was missing. And in order to reassure
them, he asked them and summoned some of them to go to see the pueblo of
Tixchel where they would see the father and the Spaniards.
When they had been brought to our pueblo, their hair was cut,^"^ and they
feasted them and took them to see the Franciscan father who was ministering
to us in the year 1575, who was named Fray Bartolome Garzon. He began to
teach them the four prayers and the articles, commandments, and what the
Holy Mother Church ordains, and when they had learned it, the father bap-
tized them. Vestments and images were taken to them from this church [of
Tixchel] because the adornment for divine office has always been taken [from
here] and for this reason we have always undergone great hardship. And our
ancestors went through the same experience, as appears at the beginning of
this document, at the time when the Capitan del Valle came to our land, as well

124 Probably means that Juan Chab was maestro de doctrina assigned to teach the Indians

the elements of Christian doctrine and ceremonial practice.

125 Long hair was regarded as a sign of paganism.
402 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

as paying tribute to the king, our lord, as is written, in the year 1527. This
pueblo mentioned above is now Chiua (Chiuoha).^^^
Memorial of how we, the Chontal Indians who live in Tixchel, went on
an expedition to Christianize the infidel Indians.
In the year 1583 there came those who escaped death, one of whom, named
Pedro Chan, came out at Chencan.^^^ Following the sea coast toward the south,
he came to where Don Pablo Paxbolon was in his estancia which is near Tix-
chel, for he lives there. And he began to weep when he arrived with his chil-
dren, [who were] very weak, and he himself [was] wounded by an arrow in
the middle of his back, and he said: "Lord Don Pablo Paxbolon, I come here
to tell you that we are those who are left and have escaped death, for my
companions were killed by the fugitive Indians of Chunguiyzili (Chunuitzil),
who are called Aquebob, who are many in number. We are from Hecelchakan,
and we came to Hunguizil (Chunuitzil) and the fugitive Aquelbes (sic) came
to kill us.^^^ Some of them shot with arrows, some of them used spears, and
they killed our old men and principal men who ruled us and the ah cuchcab^^
Tuyu, who was called Acitiache in our nomenclature. And we killed five or
six of them. Many of my companions died, many fled, and I was shot in the
middle of the back. Some of my companions went to the forest, some of them
returned to Hecelchakan, and women, children, and some men wandered
through that region without knowing where." When Don Pablo heard that
those people were wandering about scattered through the forest without
knowing where they were going and that it was to be feared that they might
perish of hunger and thirst, he went to Xocola and Zapotitlan of his jurisdic-
tion and whose [people] he had brought out of the forest, and he assembled
them and sent them into the forest to regions and places where they (the fugi-
tives from Hecelchakan) might have come by chance, sending out parties of

men in all directions and charging them to gather in those people of Hecel-
chakan who were wandering lost and scattered by the fugitive Indians. He
sent those of Xocola to Puila, near Chunuitzil, where they had been put to
flight, and God was pleased that they should find them little by little. The

126 por additional data concerning the activities of Paxbolon in

1574 ^^^ the founding of a
mission at Chiuoha, see pp. 221-25, supra.
i-'^
A
site on the Gulf coast south of Champoton.
128 Aquebob is probably the equivalent of the Maya Ah Kebob and could be translated

as people of the Keb name or lineage. Early in the seventeenth century there was a settlement of
fugitive Indians from northern Yucatan named Chacuitzil, sometimes spelled Chunuitzil, south-
east of Tixchel. This settlement was closely associated with another called Aguatayn, of which
a certain Miguel Queb was governor at one time (Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II). Cf. pp.
263, 275-76, supra.
129 The Yucatecan ah czicbcab was a member of the town council and often the head of a
subdivision of the town.
 APPENDIX A 403

search for them and bringing them in lasted about eight or nine months, and
they were settled there in Xocola near the others. Marcos Balam [and] Gon-
zalo Cuco (Tzuc), the old men of Xocola, and Juan Hauiche (Cauich), who
was the most important of those found, seeing that about sixty had now been
assembled, spoke to Don Pablo and told him that they wanted to settle near
the embarcadero of Mamantel,^^^ because [their settlement] was far from
there and they had suffered great hardship and [that] there they would be
able to attend mass. So he assigned them land, which they call Popola, half-
way on the road from Chiuoha, and there Cauich and his companions
settled.^^^

In the year 1586 Dr. Palacios came to inspect the land,^^" and we, the
Indians of Tixchel, gave him canoes [and] paddlers. We opened the roads
so that the minister might go to visit these pueblos. In their behalf we always
had and have undergone a great deal of trouble in giving them vestments, in
order that the Holy Sacraments might be administered to them, and we have
done all this for the purpose of serving God and the king, our lord, until it

was ordered, in accordance with the assessment [of tribute], that all of us
should support the minister, the church, and our governor.
I this account of the descent of the Mactun Chontal
have already told in
Indians from the time when the Capitan del Valle went to their lands. And in
order that bur way of life from the year 1527 to the year 1610, which is the
present year, may be known, it is necessary to write of their names and deeds
in order to show how we go out on our roads and make entradas, even among
the Yucatecans, people [who come] from all the pueblos, like those who are
in Popola, Mazcab, which was Jocola (Xocola), and the other pueblos which
are here.

[IIIc]

133 [J,-
^as] in the year 1599 when they began to gather together the Yu-
catecans^^'' who had escaped death at the hand of Pedro Tzakum-May there

in Holha, beginning of the river, near Chencanal and above the estancia
OF Francisco Maldonado called Usulaban and the savannas of Chunal,^^^
130 Possibly refers to a site at theend of deep water on the iMamantel.
i^'iFor discussion of this incident of the fugitives from Hecelchakan, see pp. 229-31,
supra.
132 Dr. Diego Garcia de Palacio was visitador of Yucatan in 1583-84.
133 The Chontal Text begins again at this point.
134 Maya uinicob.
135 From documents of the year
1615 in the Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, we learn
that the savannas of Chunal were the place where the pueblo of Sahcabchen was established.
A short distance to the east was the Holha River, which flowed into the Gulf at Chencan. Cf.
pp. 287-90, supra.
404 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

for he roamed in all directions. There they (the people of Pedro Tzakum-May
at Holha) killed those who went from Campeche and all the pueblos to cut
wax and hunt iguanas. And they also went out to the shore of the sea at Tix-
cem, Chencan, and Uxkakaltok to take the knives, machetes, clothing, and
whatever else was being carried by those who passed by when they traveled
along the road which is near the sea. As soon asDon Pablo learned this from
those who went by the road and arrived at Tixchel and the news about
the fugitive Indians of Holha and in the cuyos^^^ of Uzulhaban, he asked Don
Diego [Fernandez] de Velasco, governor of this province of Yucatan, for a
commission to go to the forest to look for them and seize the jiigitive Indians.
And so he gave it to him together with authority to take the Indians that he
needed from his province [of Tixchel]. And so we of Tixchel went, and
he took some from Popola, Chiuoha, Mazcab, [and] Tiquintupa, which was
Zapotitlan, and these accompanied us. We went and passed by way of the
estancia and opened a road as far as Uzulhaban. There we found a hut fre-
quented by the fugitive Indians mentioned above and where they made a fire.

At this time God willed that the people of Champoton, having had news of
them (the fugitive Indians), should go to seek them, and they found them in
Kinacnal and dispersed them. And they went away and came to Uzulhaban
where we were, and so we of Tixchel seized them. In all there were about
four score [or] five score ivith their uoomen and children. We took them to
Tixchel.At this time Fray Diego Mejia de Figueroa was guardian, and his
companion [was] Fray Joseph Bosque. The children were baptized, together
with three or four^^''^ of the adults who had not been baptized.
Don Pablo asked them if all that land through which they wandered was
good, and they replied that it was, that it was suitable for houses, milpas, [and]

cacao groves. Therefore Fray Joseph Bosque was sent with some Indians to
inspect it, and he entered by Chiuoha, passed by way of Uzulhaban, and ive
avith him, and from there he came out at the estancia of Francisco Maldonado.
And he came back to tell Fray Diego Mejia, his guardian, how good the land
was and that a large pueblo could go to it and make very good milperias be-
cause there were very large cedars and forested country, and that all the
pueblos of Popolha, Ticintunpa, Mahazcab, Chiuoha, and Tixchel could be
accommodated there. Therefore they told Don Pablo that there religious in-
struction [and] the Holy Gospel could be administered to all of them to-
gether. The principales ^^^
were consulted about all of this and all of them
136 Possibly artificial mounds, or cues. The Chontal word is tanhkal, which we cannot
translate.
i^'' The Text says two or three.
138 2V«c7 uinicob.
 APPENDIX A 405

approved; and the same matter was discussed with Mateo de Aguilar, the en-
comendero for the pueblo of Tixchel. Therefore, on behalf of all a message
was sent to J^imi de Scmabria, Defender of the Indians, so that in the name of
all he might petition the governor [for] decree and license in order that

people of air the toivns might go together to the site of Uzulhaban. Thus per-
mission, dated at the pueblo of Calkini, was given by Don Diego [Fernandez]
de Velasco, governor at that time, for all to go together to the site of Uzul-
haban, And therefore when the said license arrived, Don Pablo Paxbolon, our
governor, communicated it to all the pueblos. At this time the news arrived
that the administration of the natives of this province was being taken away
from the Franciscan fathers, here at the pueblo of Tixchel, and given to the
secular clergy by which came from Spain.^^^
virtue of an order of his Majesty
And that was the reason why the removal of the pueblos to Uzulhaban did not
take place, because there was no one to encourage them. Therefore only a few
went upon the arrival of the license, and there the matter rested,^^*'
Then Juan Rodriguez, secular priest, came as vicar of this province [of
Tixchel], The lord bishop, Don Fray Juan Izquierdo, of this bishopric of
Yucatan sent him on January 6 of the year 1603.-^*^ After seeing the lands,
he said that Uzulhaban was a long way and that the roads would fill up in the
And it was Juaii Rodriguez who blessed the land for the
rainy seasons.
pueblo and built a church and named it San Felipe and San Diego^^^ of
the pueblo of Uzulhaban on the twenty-third of the month of April of the
year 1604/^^'

139 Xhe missions of Ichmul, Hocaba, Tixkokob, and Tixchel were secularized by virtue

of royal decrees dated March 9 and May i, 1602 (Ayeta, ca. 1693; Carrillo y Ancona, 1895,
1:349-50).
1*0 TheSpanish version omits a sentence which follows here in the Chontal Text. very A
tentative translation is: "Their names are to be seen written on the back of the document of

my [our?] record [or history]."

1*1 Bishop Izquierdo died on November 17, 1602 (Carrillo
y Ancona, 1895, 1:354), but he
may have appointed Father Rodriguez as vicar of Tixchel prior to that date.
1*2 Santiago in the Spanish version.
1*3 The Text, which ends at this point, gives the year as 1614, obviously an error on the

part of the scribe who made our copy.

 Appendix B

The Location of Acalan

THE LOCATION Acalan

and argument. Because
lation
of has been the subject of considerable specu-
of the lack of data on the later history of
Acalan in the colonial chronicles, the problem has hitherto been studied in
relation to the expedition of Cortes from Mexico to Honduras in 1524-25, or

to that of Avila from Chiapas to Champoton in 1530. In each case Acalan was
an important place en route. Unfortunately the information concerning the
routes of these early entradas recorded in the traditional sources is not so
precise or accurate as we should wish, and the language of the Spanish originals
is sometimes vague and obscure. It is not surprising, therefore, that students of
the early history of Middle America have held conflicting views on the loca-
tion of the province.
The divergent opinions on this subject may also be explained in part by
maps record few of the places mentioned in the accounts
the fact that colonial
of Cortes' journey. W. H. Prescott calls attention to this in his Conquest of
Mexico (1843), and he makes no attempt to give a precise location for
Acalan.-^ It may be noted, however, that the name Acalan appears on a map
of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean made in 173 1 by the celebrated
French geographer, Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville.- Here Acalan
marks an area facing- the Caribbean coast northeast of Lake Peten and between
Mopan to the south and Tipu to the north. But the location of Acalan on this
map is obviously incorrect, and it illustrates the lack of knowledge concerning
the province in later colonial times.
As far as we know, the first modern map to record a location for Acalan
is Dudley Costello map of Yucatan, published in 1854 in C. St. J. Fan-
the
court's History of Yucatan.^Here the legend "Country of the Acalans," ap-
pears just below Laguna de Terminos and between the Usumacinta and Can-
delaria Rivers. The map also shows Cortes' line of march to Honduras, but

curiously enough it does not pass through the Acalan area indicated. Instead,
it follows along the Usumacinta to a point above the junction with the Rio
San Pedro Martir, and then turns southeast to Lake Peten.
Prescott, 1843, 2: 371.
1

Carte des Isles de I'Amerique et de plusieurs Pays de Terre Ferme situes au devant de ces
2

Isles & autour du Golfe de Mexique Par le S^ d'Anville, Geographe Ord^R du Roi, mars
. . .

173 1. Reproduced in Haring, 1910, and in Cartografia de la America Central (Guatemala, 1929),
no. 19. For an estimate of d'Anville's work, see Encyclopedia Britannica, 1943 ed., 2:90.
3 This map is reproduced in Cortes, 1908, vol. 2.

406
 APPENDIX B 407

In the text of his History, Fancourt does not identify any specific area as

Acalan, but he clearly imphes that the province was located in the interior
between the Usumacjnta and the Itza territory. It should also be noted that
he confuses the province of Acalan with the land of the Choi Acala, where
Fray Domingo de Vico, the Dominican missionary and linguist, suffered
martyrdom in 1 555.^ In this he was apparently misled by statements in Antonio
de Leon Pinelo's seventeenth-century account of tribes in the interior between
Yucatan and Verapaz^ and by Villagutierre's story of the death of Father
Vico and the campaign of Ramirez de Quifiones against the Indians of Lacan-
don and Pochutla in 1559. There can be no doubt, however, that the Choi
Acala, who were neighbors of the Lacandon, were separate and distinct from
the Chontal of Acalan/* As we shall see farther on, other writers besides Fan-
court have apparently confused these two groups.
Fancourt's ideas concerning the province of Acalan probably explain the
direction of Cortes' route as shown on the Costello map. But it is difficult to

account for the fact that the same map locates the "Country of the Acalans"

so far to the north close to Laguna de Terminos. It will become apparent, how-
ever, in the course of our discussion that this location is fairly accurate.

A map in Sir Arthur Helps' Spanish Conquest in America, originally pub-

lished in 1855-61, places Acalan between what appears to be the Rio San
Pedro Martir and Lake Peten. S. Ruge's Geschichte des Zeitalters der Ent-
deckungen, published in 1881, contains a text map on which the name Acalan
appears east of the Usumacinta and south of Laguna de Terminos.^ This loca-
tion is similar to that on the Costello map of 1854, although Ruge does not cite

Fancourt.
In a work entitled Historia de la dominacion espafiola en Mexico, written
about 1849 but not published in toto until 1938, M. Orozco y Berra, the dis-
tinguished Mexican ethnographer and historian, locates Acalan west of the
Usumacinta in the state of Chiapas.'^ This suggests that the author, like Fan-
court, confused the Chontal of Acalan and the Choi Acala. As noted above,
the Acala were neighbors of the Lacandon, and the major strongholds of the
latter were in southeastern Chiapas.
Maler also places Acalan west of the Usumacinta, although farther north
4 Fancourt, 1854, chs. 3, 4, 12, passim. Thompson (1938, p. 586 and map, p. 588) places the
Choi Acala southeast of Tenosique.
s
Leon Pinelo's report is translated in Stone, 1932, pp. 237-55.
5a Ximenez, writing in the eighteenth century, noted that Villagutierre had confused a place
called Acalan with the region of the Choi Acala. He suggested that Acalan might be "near Cam-
peche" (Ximenez, 1929-31, bk. 4, ch. 62).
6 Helps, 1855-61, map in vol. 3; Ruge, 1881, p. 391. Ruge's map is reproduced in Winsor,

1884-89, 2: 384.
Orozco y Berra, 1938, i: 134-42, passim. Part of this work was published
'^
in 1906, but most
of the edition was apparently destroyed {ibid., i ix-x) :
4o8 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

than Orozco y Berra's location. Memoire sur Petat de Chiapa (Mexique)

In his
pubhshed in 884, he identified the ruins of Palenque as the town of Teutiercas,
1

one of the principal Acalan settlements. Maler's views were accepted by

Cyrus Thomas, but Brinton challenged them in a short paper in which he
stated that Palenque was nowhere near Cortes' route and that Acalan was
located on the southern and eastern shores of Laguna de Terminos. In 19 10
Maler reiterated his earlier conclusions and identified Canizan, on the left

bank of the Usumacinta, as Itzamkanac, the Acalan capital.^

In the first volume of his History of Central Ajnerica (1882-87) H. H.
Bancroft describes Acalan as "a large province bounded by Laguna de Termi-
nos, the broad Usumacinta, and the ranges of Vera Paz, a low-lying coun-
try abounding in morasses, miasmatic inlets, and winding rivers tributary to
the Terminos." This description of the physical geography is accurate, but
the territorial limits embrace an area wide enough to include most of the more
localized areas which other writers desiraate as the Acalan lands. On the
o
frontispiece map of the second volume of his History of Mexico (1883-88)
the name Acalan appears below Laguna de Terminos, apparently indicating
a more restricted area than the one described above. This location is similar to
those on the maps of Costello and Ruge. J. F. Molina Soli's (1896) locates the
province southwest of Laguna de Terminos and states the opinion that Itzam-
kanac was probably on the Candelaria.^
The well-known map of Yucatan and adjacent areas pubhshed about 19 10
by A. Espinosa is noted for its wealth of ethnographic data and its delineation
of cacicazgo boundaries. This map places the cacicazgo of Acalan close to the
Gulf coast between the lower course of the Usumacinta (below Jonuta) and
the western end of Laguna de Terminos. -^"^

A study of Cortes' route to Acalan was made in 19 10 by 1A. E. Becerra,

a Tabasqueiio who has written various works on local ethnography and

linguistics. In his paper he attempts to interpret the narratives of Cortes and
Bernal Diaz in the light of local geography and the meaning of place names.
He concludes that Cortes reached the Usumacinta near Montecristo (Emihano
Zapata), crossed it near Tenosique, and then marched to the San Pedro Martir,
which he where the famous bridge was built. The
identifies as the great estero

modern hacienda or rancho of Gracias a Dios on the San Pedro Martir is in-
dicated as the probable site of the bridge. Thus Acalan lay to the east in
western Peten, although Becerra does not specify locations for any of the
towns. ^^
'^
Maler, 1884, pp. 321-24, and 1910, pp. 165-66; Thomas, 1885; Brinton, 1885.
9 Bancroft, 1882-87, i: 546, and 1883-88, vol. 2; Molina Solis, 1896, pp. 217, 436.
1° Espinosa, ca. 1910. 11 Becerra, 1910a.
 APPENDIX B 409

Appendix A of the fifth volume of his translation of Bernal Diaz (1908-

In
16), A. P. Maudslay writes: "I feel fully confident that the province of Acala
was on the Rio San Pedro Martir, an affluent of the Rio Usumacinta." On the
maps showing Cortes' line of march accompanying the same volume the word
"Acala" is spread across the course of the San Pedro Martir in southeastern
Tabasco and the western part of the Peten. The name "Izancanac," followed
by an interrogation point, appears along the north bank of the river and east
of the site of Progreso, which is located close to the Guatemala-Mexico bound-
ary. The consistent use of the term "Acala" instead of Acalan in his transla-
tion of Bernal Diaz and in his version of Cortes' Fifth Letter suggests that
Maudslay also may have confused the province of Acalan and that of the
Choi Acala.^2
S. G. Morley describes the entradas of Cortes and Avila at some length
in the first volume of The biscriptions of Peten (1937-38). His discussion is

based on a careful study of the colonial chronicles and to some extent on

statements in the Spanish translation of the Chontal Text, to which he had
access. (It may be noted that other manuscript sources frequently cited in
the present volume were not available for his use.) His conclusion as to the
location of Itzamkanac, which he places at or near the modern site of Mactun
on the north bank of the San Pedro Martir some 22 km. east of the Guatemala-
Mexico boundary, closely approximates Maudslay's tentative location of the
Acalan capital. Morley describes the province of Acalan as the area lying
between the Candelaria, San Pedro Martir, and Usumacinta Rivers. ^^
A recent paper (1940) on Cortes' route by P. A. Gonzalez, who has served
as an engineer in the construction of the new Ferrocarril del Sureste from
Campeche to Tenosique, clearly shows the influence of Becerra. Indeed, on
certain points he reproduces Becerra's conclusions and linguistic arguments.
Gonzalez places Acalan in western Peten, and on the map which illustrates the
paper he locates Itzamkanac on the extreme headwaters of the San Pedro
branch of the Candelaria, shown as rising only a short distance north of the
east-west course of the San Pedro Martir.^'' Thus the author locates the Acalan
capital in the same general region as do Maudslay and Morley, but on a dif-
ferent stream. x\lthough we possess very little accurate knowledge of the

12 Dfaz del 1908-16, 5: 337 and maps. Bernal Diaz uses the form Acala, which
Castillo,
Maudslay reproduces. But in his translation of the Fifth Letter, Maudslay also uses the form
Acala, although the Spanish text of the Letter has Acalan. This indicates that iVIaudslav regarded
Acala as the preferred form and suggests, as noted above, that he may have confused the area of
the Choi Acala with Acalan.
•13 Morley, 1937-38, i: 15-16, 73.
'^'^
Gonzalez, 1940.
4IO ACALAN-TIXCHEL

geography of northwestern Peten, most modern maps do not show the San
Pedro branch of the Candelaria as rising so far to the south. According to most
maps, Gonzalez' location of Itzamkanac would be in the region of the Rio
Escondido, one of the northern tributaries of the San Pedro Martir.
Dissent from the Becerra-Maudslay-Morley-Gonzalez school of thought
which places the province of Acalan in the interior, is found in the writings
of Mrs. D. Z. Stone (1932) and E. W. Andrews (1943). On the basis of her
interpretation of certain passages in Cortes' Fifth Letter, as well as other evi-
dence, Mrs. Stone locates Itzamkanac near the mouth of the Candelaria on
Panlao estuary, one of the inlets on the southern shore of Laguna de Ter-
minos. Andrews locates the province along the Candelaria and states that

"Itzamkanac was probably close to the south bank of the river at some point
above El Suspiro and below Imposible." In a study of the life of Cuauhtemoc
published in 1945 H. Perez Martinez agrees with Stone and Andrews that
Itzamkanac was situated on the lower Candelaria and defines the lands of
Acalan as comprising the territory of Terminos. It should also be noted that

J. E. S. Thompson, writing in 1938, located Acalan "in the vicinity of the

Terminos Bay," and called attention to the fact that the Acalan people should
not be confused with the Choi Acala.^^
Thus we find that students have expressed widely divergent opinions on
this question during the past ninety years. With the exception of Orozco y
Berra and Maler, however, they are agreed on one major point: that Acalan
was east of the Usumacinta, a view that is obviously justified by the well-
established fact that Cortes reached Acalan en route from the Usumacinta to
Lake Peten. The chief problem to be solved is whether Acalan was as far

inland as some writers believe, or was closer to the Gulf coast.

Our own study of the problem is based on a wide range of materials, in-

cluding numerous unpublished sources from the Archive General de Indias.

Unfortunately the new manuscript sources do not provide definitive answers
to all disputed points, but they do contain sufficient evidence to resolve the
major problem of the general location of the Acalan lands. In the early stages

of our investigations, we reached the conclusion that the most important

settlements of the cacicaze^o, including the capital, Itzamkanac, were situated

alono" the upper course of the Candelaria river system, and above the rapids
or falls which impede traffic on this stream. This conclusion is shared by Dr.
Robert S. Chamberlain, who is writing a volume on the conquest of Yucatan
and collaborated with us in the preliminary phases of the Acalan investigations.
15 Stone, 1932, pp. 221-22; Andrews, 1943, p. 21; Perez Martinez, 1945, pp. 236, 277-80;
Thompson, 1938, p. 586.
 APPENDIX B 411

Certain statements in Cortes' Fifth Letter, describing his journey to Hon-

duras in 1524-25, indicate that there was a route of trade and communication
by water from Acalan to Xicalango and other points in Tabasco. ( i ) We are
told that after Cortes reached Iztapa on the Usumacinta River he sent three
Spaniards in canoes to the Gulf coast to obtain provisions and transport them
"por un gran estero arriba y pase a la provincia de Acalan," where he would
be waiting. (2) In another place Cortes states that "Izancanac . . . esta en la

ribera de un gran estero que atraviesa hasta el puerto de Terminos de Xicalango

y Tabasco." (3) In his description of the Acalan area he says: "Esta provincia
de Acalan esta toda cercada de esteros y todos ellos salen a la bahia 6 puerto
. . .

que llaman de Terminos, por donde en canoas tienen gran contratacion en

Xicalango y Tabasco." ^^
Interpretation of these passages from the Spanish text of the Fifth Letter
depends to some extent on the meaning of the word estero. It has various

meanings, such as estuary, an expanse of water, a swamp or overflow area,

and in American usage it may denote a stream or arroyo. P. de Gayangos
translates the first passage as "by a great sheet of water communicating with
the province of Acalan." In the second he renders the word estero as "gulf, or

lagoon," and in the third as "lagoon." MacNutt uses the term "lagoon" in all
three cases. In Maudslay's version the word is translated as "river" in the first
and second passages, and as "watercourse" in the third. Mrs. Stone quotes
MacNutt's translation of the second passage, and she identifies the "lagoon"
asLaguna de Terminos. As noted above, she also locates Itzamkanac near the
mouth of the Candelaria on Panlao estuary.^^
Although Laguna de Terminos undoubtedly formed part of the water
route from Acalan to Xicalango, Mrs. Stone's location of Itzamkanac fails to
take into account other evidence on this point. Oviedo's narrative of the
Avila expedition of 1530 uses the word rio, "river," to describe the body of
water on which the Acalan capital was situated. ^^ This alone would not rule
out Mrs. Stone's location, since she places the town at the mouth of the Can-
delaria. Other sources show", however, that Itzamkanac was not located on
the coast but some distance upstream. For example, Bienvenida's letter of 1548,

from which we quote below, mentions the falls or rapids ("grandes saltos de
agua") which had to be passed en route to the pueblo of Acalan. It is apparent
therefore that the passages from Cortes' Fifth Letter, if we take them as a

16 Cortes, 1866, pp. 408, 419, 421.

1^ Cortes, 1868, pp. 21, 38, 42; 1908, 2: 246, 259, 263; 1916, pp. 360, 371, 373; Stone, 1932, pp.
.221-22.
IS Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55; bk. 32, ch. 5.
41 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

whole, refer to a water route consisting of Laguna de Terminos and a river

system emptying into it.

Additional evidence on this point is found in a probanza concerning the

provinces of Acalan and Mazatlan (the land of the Cehache) formulated by
Don Francisco de Montejo, Adelantado of Yucatan, in the autumn of 153 1.

This document is one of a series of five drawn up in 1530-33 to support

Montejo's pretensions to jurisdiction over the entire area from western Ta-
basco to the Ulua River in Honduras/^
The probanza was initiated by a petition presented to one of the alcaldes
of Salamanca de Campeche on September 10, 153 1, in which Montejo stated

that he wished to record testimony concerning the results of Avila's recent

entrada through the provinces of Acalan and Mazatlan, "which are located
seven or eight leagues from the north coast [Gulf coast] and belong to my said
government." With this petition he filed an interrogatory of five questions

o forth the essential facts he

setting wished to establish. The fourth and fifth
questions are as follows:

iiii. Also, do they [the witnesses to be examined] know that the said provinces

of Acalan and Mazatlan are very close to this Northern Sea, [that] the Indians
of Acalan trade by sea with the Indians of the coast and in three days come from
the pueblos of Acalan to Xicalango, and that from the mouth of the Rio de Acalan
takes two days and more, and in another day they come from Acalan to the mouth
[of the said river]?
do they know that the said provinces of Acalan and Mazatlan are in
v. Also,

the center of Yucatan and are the most important ones of it and closest to the
Northern Sea, and that [coming] from Acalan there is no pueblo closer to the sea
than the said Acalan?

Twelve witnesses, all of whom had participated in the x\vila expedition,

confirmed the general location of the provinces of Acalan and Mazatlan as

stated above, and several testified that they knew from personal experience

that the Indians of Acalan carried on trade with Xicalango. One also stated

that he had been "at the mouth of the river which empties into Terminos,
[and] which comes from Acalan to the north coast." With regard to the
schedule of travel time from Acalan to Xicalango, ten witnesses gave affirma-
tive answers without actually specifying the time involved. Of the two re-

maining witnesses, one gave the time as three days. The other testified that at
one time "Avila wished to send this witness from the said Acalan to Xicalango
and the Indians said that they would take him and bring him back in six days."
19 Sobre las provincias de Acalan y Mazatlan, 153 1, in Montejo v. Alvarado.
 APPENDIX B 413

The foregoing evidence clearly shows that there were two stages in the
water route from Acalan to Xicalango, The first was the journey down the
Rio de Acalan to its mouth at Laguna de Terminos; the second was across the
Laguna to Xicalango.
The probanza also indicates that the province of Acalan, or at least its

northwestern border, was close to the Gulf coast. It is obvious, of course, that
Monte jo was anxious to build up as strong a case as possible for his claim to
jurisdiction over Acalan and Mazatlan. Consequently we must be cautious
about accepting all the evidence at face value. But the probanza, taken as a
whole, provides strong proof that the province was not located far in the
interior, as some students have believed, but was situated fairly close to the
coast.

The schedule of travel time, as stated in the fourth question of the inter-
rogatory, deserves careful analysis, and we shall discuss it later in connection
with other data of similar character. It is also a matter of some importance to
determine what is meant by the statement at the end of the fifth question,

"that [coming] from Acalan there is no pueblo closer to the sea than the

said Acalan." Does "the said Acalan" refer to the pueblo of Acalan-Itzamkanac
or to the province? It is apparent from Montejo's petition of Septemiber 10,

1 53 1 , and from the general tenor of the interrogatory that he was thinking in
terms of the province as a whole. Moreover, it may be noted that in the entire
probanza there is not a single positive reference to the capital of the province
as such, either by name or by such a term as cabecera. It would appear, there-
fore, that the passage quoted refers to the province of Acalan, and was in-
tended to stress its proximity to the Gulf coast by indicating lack of settlement
in the intervening area.

The statement that the provinces of Acalan and Mazatlan "are in the
center of Yucatan" also deserves some comment. What Monte jo obviously
had in mind was the administrative area, or government, of Yucatan, over
which he had been granted jurisdiction as adelantado, governor, and captain
general by virtue of the capimlaciSn, or contract, of 1526. Because of lack of
geographical knowledge, the territorial limits of his government had not been
fixed at the time of his appointment. In the course of time, however, Montejo
formed definite views concerning the area that should constitute the adelan-
tcmtiento of Yucatan. He believed that the entire region from the Copilco
River in Tabasco to the Ulua River in Honduras formed a geographic, eco-
nomic, and linguistic unit, and he petitioned the Crown to define his juris-

diction in such terms. Consequently, the statement that the provinces of

Acalan and Mazatlan "are in the center of Yucatan" evidently means that
414 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

they occupied a central, strategic position within the larger area which he
hoped to weld into a single governmental and administrative unit.

Another link in the chain of evidence relating to the location of Acalan is

the letter of Fray Lorenzo de Bienvenida to Prince Philip, dated February

10, 1548. In this letter the famous missionary of Yucatan noted the unhappy
state into which Acalan had fallen since the coming of the Spaniards and the
urgent need for drastic measures to remedy the situation. Whereas it had once
been a prosperous province, it had been reduced to 200 houses in one major
settlement, "the pueblo called Acalan," which was undoubtedly the old capital,

itzamkanac. He described the location of the pueblo and the difficulty of

travel to it: ". . .
y lexos desta tierra yvan por lagunas en canoas a el y tardan
losyndios diez dias en yr y con muy gran peligro, que an de esperar tiempos,
porque ay grandes saltos de agua. ." He recommended that the inhabitants
. .

should be moved to a site near Champoton or Campeche, where it would be

easier to protect them from injustice and to effect their conversion to Chris-
tianity.^^

The statement that the journey by canoe to the pueblo of Acalan took ten
days probably refers to travel time from northern Yucatan. We shall discuss

this time schedule later. For our immediate purposes the most important point
in Bienvenida's letter is the reference to "grandes saltos de agua," falls or
rapids, which had to be passed before reaching the pueblo, for it is one of the
basic facts that must be taken into account in locating the Acalan lands and
it also indicates that the capital, Acalan-Itzamkanac, was located above these
obstacles in the Rio de Acalan. Bienvenida's statement is confirmed by a pas-

sage in the Spanish version of the Chontal Text which mentions the "diffi-

cult rapids of the Rio de Acalan" {vmlos saltos del Rio de Acalan).
Thus we find that the Acalan lands were located along a river which
empties into Laguna de Terminos and on which there is a series of rapids and
falls. The province was also in fairly close proximity to the Gulf coast.
The most important river systems which empty into Laguna de Terminos
are the Mamantel, the Candelaria, the Chumpan, and the Usumacinta through
one of its lower branches, the Palizada. According to the information at our
disposal, only two of these, the Candelaria and the Usumacinta, including its

tributary, the San Pedro Martir, have rapids or falls which impede boat traffic.

The rapids and falls on the Candelaria have been described in Chapter 3. In
the case of the Usumacinta system, there are rapids on the main stream in
the gorge above Tenosique. On the San Pedro Martir rapids and falls exist
between Tiradero and the junction with the Usumacinta (Andrews, 1943, fis^.
20 Cartas de Indias, 1877, pp. 75-76.
 APPENDIX B 415

27^, gives a photograph of the La Reforma), and there is a sharp drop,

falls at

or salto, in the river just below Mactun in the Peten. Occasional rapids inter-
spersed between overflow areas also occur on the south-to-north course of the
river above Tiradero, but these do not constitute serious obstacles to naviga-
tion.^^

The main stream of the Usumacinta is ruled out as a possible choice for
the Rio de Acalan for various reasons, the most important being the fact that
the sources for the Cortes and Avila expeditions clearly indicate that Acalan
was located some distance to the east. The San Pedro Martir deserves con-
sideration because such eminent authorities as Maudslay and Morley locate
the principal Acalan settlements on or near this stream. Their views must be
tested, however, by reference to the evidence in Montejo's probanza and
other data.
As noted above, Maudslay's map of Cortes' route places the Acalan lands
along the San Pedro Martir in southeastern Tabasco and in the western part
of the Peten. The area marked "Acala" includes a section of the river extending
upstream from about midway on its south-to-north course to the general
region of Mactun. Although the rapids and falls between Tiradero and the
Usumacinta below this section of the river and the sharp drop near Mactun
can doubtless be considered "grandes saltos de agua," which, according to
Bienvenida, existed on the Rio de Acalan, the entire area is too far inland to
satisfy the general requirements of Montejo's probanza concerning the prox-
imity of the province of Acalan to the Gulf coast.
We also encounter difficulties if we attempt to apply the probanza data
concerning the water route and the schedule of travel time by canoe from
"the pueblos of Acalan" to Xicalango. The probanza shows that the entire
journey could be made in three days and was divided into two stages: the
first stage comprised the downstream trip to the mouth of the Rio de Acalan
and was said to take one day; the second was from the mouth of the river to
Xicalango and took two days. It is very doubtful that the Indians in canoes
could cover the entire distance, exceeding 300 km., from Maudslay's "Acala'^
to Xicalango in three days. Moreover, since the mouth of the Rio de Acalan
was at Terminos, as the testimony of one of Montejo's witnesses indicates, it
would be necessary to assume that the Rio de Acalan comprised not only the
San Pedro Martir but also part of the lower Usumacinta and the Palizada.
There is no evidence to support such an assumption; in fact, the available
data, both specific and inferential, indicate that the Usumacinta and the Rio
de Acalan formed separate river systems (cf. p. 456, infra). It is also evident
21 Communication from S. G. iMorley.
41 AC ALAN-TIXCHEL

that if the mouth of the PaHzada marked the dividing point of the two stages
of the journey from Acalan to Xicalango, the time schedules as stated above
would have no validity. It w^ould be impossible to travel by canoe in one day
from Maudslay's "Acala" to the mouth of the Palizada; nor would the trip
from the mouth of the river to Xicalango take twice as long as the down-
stream stage of the journey.
It would also be difficult to reconcile Maudslay's location of the province
with the statement in the fifth question of Monte jo's probanza, which indi-

cates lack of settlement between Acalan and the Gulf coast, for there were
several towns on the Usumacinta below the junction with the San Pedro
Martir. The only way to solve this difficulty would be to assume that the un-
inhabited stretch was the region extending overland from the lower course
of the San Pedro Martir across the Chumpan area to the Laguna, for which we
have no evidence of settlement at the time of the conquest. We are of the
opinion, however, that what Montejo had in mind was lack of settlement on
the lower part of the Rio de Acalan between the province of Acalan and the
coast.

Morley notes that the province of Acalan, according to Cortes, "was com-
pletely surrounded by streams, all of which emptied into Laguna de Ter-
minos. This was almost literally true, as we have seen, the province lying as

it does between the Rio Candelaria on the north, the Rio San Pedro Martir
on the south, and the Rio Usumacinta on the west."^" This is a rather far-

fetched interpretation of the third passage from Cortes' Fifth Letter quoted
above on page 411, and we shall have more to say about it farther on (see. p.

460). The northern boundary of the area defined by Morley might possibly
be regarded as close enough to the Gulf coast to satisfy the general require-

ments of Montejo's probanza, but the region as a whole is too far inland. More-
over, Morley clearly regards the San Pedro Martir as the center of gravity of
the Acalan area, for he locates Itzamkanac at or near Mactun on the east-west
course of the river in the Peten.^^ In short, it would still be necessary to identify
the San Pedro Martir as the Rio de Acalan, and this would involve the same
difficulties already noted in our discussion of Maudslay's location.
Thus we find it difficult to reconcile a location for Acalan on the San
Pedro Martir with the data in the Montejo probanza of 153 1. Other reasons
for rejecting this location may be briefly stated as follows:

For administrative purposes the province of Acalan was always re-

I.

garded as part of the government of Yucatan and subject to the jurisdiction

22 Morley, 1937-38, i: 73.
^3 Ibid., i: 15-16.
 APPENDIX B 417

of its central governmental agencies. This was true in the time of the Montejos
and also subsequent to 1550, when Yucatan was by alcaldes
administered
mayores or by governors appointed at first by the audiencia to which Yu-
catan was subject and later by direct nomination by the Crown. If Acalan,
and especially its capital, Itzamkanac, had been located on the San Pedro
Martir, it would have been more logical to include the area within the alcaldia
mayor of Tabasco. In 1582 the governor of Yucatan appointed Feliciano
Bravo corregidor of Campeche, with jurisdiction over the districts of Calkini,
Champoton, Tixchel, and the old Acalan area.-^ It is extremely unlikely that
Acalan would have been included in such a jurisdictional unit if the province
had comprised an area so far away as the San Pedro Martir.
2. The Indians of Acalan always paid tribute in Campeche, except for
two brief periods when the payments were made in Tabasco. (See discussion
of the Acalan encomiendas in Chapter 7.) This fact also argues for a location
of the province closer to Yucatan proper than the San Pedro Martir.
3. In 1548 Fray Lorenzo de Bienvenida recommended that the Indians
of Acalan should be moved Campeche or Champoton, where
to a site near
missionary work could be carried on more effectively. This proposal was not
carried out at the time, but about a decade later the Acalan were moved to
Tixchel on Sabancuy estuary.^''' If their original home was on the San Pedro
Martir, it would have been simpler and more logical to have moved them to a
site on the Usumacinta, where other Chontal-speaking towns existed.

4. Finally, we call attention to evidence presented in Appendix D which

clearly 1573-74 citizens of Yucatan and Tabasco regarded the

shows that in
Acalan lands and the Peten area of the San Pedro Martir (then called the Rio
de Tachis) as different and separate regions.
From time to time in the succeeding sections of this appendix we shall

discuss the San Pedro Martir location for Acalan in relation to other problems
and other evidence. We believe, however, that the arguments already pre-
sented constitute a very strong case against the views held by Maudslay and
Morley. If we eliminate the San Pedro Martir as a possible choice for the Rio
de Acalan, then the only other possibility is the Candelaria. But the case in
favor of the Candelaria does not rest solely upon this process of elimination.

We shall now present positive evidence to identify this stream as the Rio de
Acalan.

In Chapter 9 we have described the pacification of the Indians of Zapotitlan

24Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo, AGI, Mexico, leg. 109. Cf. also Appendix D, p. 498, infra.
25 Cf.
pp. 164, 168-71, supra.
41 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

by Don Pablo Paxbolon, cacique of Acalan-Tixchel, and subsequent events

in the Zapotitlan area. After the founding of the mission in March 1569, the
governor of Yucatan placed the inhabitants of Zapotitlan under the care and
protection of Feliciano Bravo, the chief governmental notary, and on Jan-
uary 15, 1570, they were formally assigned to Bravo in encomienda. The
governor's action w^as based on the allegation that the Indians were settled in
"a new land" and were all heathens, ignorant of Christian teaching. These
proceedings were challenged by Anton Garcia, the encomendero of Acalan-
Tixchel, who claimed the Indians as his tributaries. Evidence recorded in the

litigation between Garcia and Bravo and in Document Illb of the Chontal
Text clearly shows that most of the inhabitants of Zapotitlan were Chontal
Indians of Acalan who were living in the old Acalan homeland. Some were
apostate fugitives who had
from Tixchel about 1560, and
fled others, who
were unconverted, were the survivors and descendants of former slaves of the

ruler and principal men of Acalan. They spoke the Chontal language of Acalan-
Tixchel; a high percentage of them had Chontal names; and other evidence
presented in the lawsuit of Garcia v. Bravo indicates that they had formerly
paid tribute to Garcia and to other encomenderos of Acalan.
Travelers from Tixchel to Zapotitlan had to cross Laguna de Terminos
and then proceed up a river with an extensive series of rapids and falls. From
the upper part of this river, above these obstructions, they followed a trail
through the forest 5 leagues to Zapotitlan. Although most of the contem-
porary sources do not record any specific name for this river, a letter of Pax-
bolon to Governor Cespedes, describing the results of his journey to Zapotitlan
in 1568, refers to it as the Rio de Acalan.^^ Document Illb of the Chontal Text
also tells about the arduous labor performed by the Indians of Tixchel in
opening "the difficult falls of the Rio de Acalan" in connection with the mis-
sionary activity carried on in Zapotitlan. Moreover, certain statements in Pax-
bolon's narrative of his first entrada in 1566 clearly imply that "the pueblo of
Acalan" (Acalan-Itzamkanac) could be reached in two days' travel by canoe
after passing the last of the falls, and there is evidence that on the occasion
of Paxbolon's second journey, probably in 1567, some of the fugitives were
temporarily resettled at the site of the old capital,^^ Thus it is evident that the
pueblo of Zapotitlan was located in the old Acalan lands not far from Itzam-
kanac and the Rio de Acalan. Other data prove beyond any reasonable doubt
that this river was the Candelaria.
The general area in vv^hich Zapotitlan was located is indicated by two
26 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, f. 171;.
-' Ibid., ff.
13-14. Cf. discussion in Chapter 9, pp. 189-91, szipra.
 APPENDIX B 419

significant items of evidence. ( i ) In one of the documents recording Bishop

Total's decision to send Fray Juan de Santa Maria as missionary to Zapotitlan
in 1569,we find this passage: "[The bishop] will send Fray Juan de Santa . . .

Maria who. is in charge

. of
. the doctrina of the Indians of Tixchel, which is

on the borders of the said pueblo of Zapotitlan.""^ (2) A witness who gave
testimony in a probanza of the merits and services of Feliciano Bravo in 1573-
74 stated, in reply to a question about Bravo's visit to Zapotitlan in 1570,
that the Indians of this settlement "had been discovered in the province called
Acalan [which is] in the direction of the pueblo of Tixchel."^® The Can-
delaria area southwest of Tixchel obviously fits the general location of Zapotit-
lan as described in these quotations better than the more distant region of the

San Pedro Martir.

Additional evidence in favor of identifying the Candelaria as the Rio de
Acalan is provided by the Alfaro map of 1 579 (Map 2 ) On this map we find a .

"River called Capotitan" placed east of the Usumacinta and tributary to

Laguna de Terminos. Although the Indians of Zapotitlan had been moved to

another site prior to 1579, the earlier entradas of Paxbolon, the missionary
friars, and Feliciano Bravo and the publicity created by the Garcia v. Bravo

litigation undoubtedly caused the name Zapotitlan to be associated for many

years thereafter with the location of the original settlement and the river
which formed part of the route to it. The fact that no settlement is shown on
or near the Rio de Zapotitlan also indicates that Alfaro knew that the region
was no longer occupied.
The position of this river on the map and the manner in which drawn
it is

leave no doubt that it represents the Candelaria. To the west are two unnamed
streams which also empty into Laguna de Terminos. The first (counting from
west to east) is a branch of the Usumacinta and can be only the Palizada.
The second, which parallels the Palizada-Usumacinta, is evidently the Chum-
pan. Thus the Rio de Zapotitlan, in third place from west to east, occupies
the position of the Candelaria. Moreover, the course of the Rio de Zapotitlan,
which extends southward from the Laguna for some distance and then turns
sharply to the east, closely approximates that of the Candelaria. Indeed, this

sharp, right-angle turn in the Rio de Zapotitlan, which was not made neces-
28 ". Tixchel, que es en los confines del dicho pueblo de Zapotitlan." Garcia v. Bravo,
. .

f. 2i6i. The word

confines (translated above as "borders") does not mean, of course, that Tix-
chel and Zapotitlan were adjacent settlements, or that the territory, or jurisdiction, of one
necessarily touched that of the other. It does indicate, hoM^ever, that the two villages were in
the same general region, that they were not separated by great distances, and that there was no
important settlement or Indian group between them.
29 ". en la provincia que llaman Acalan hacia el pueblo de Tichel." Probanzas of Feliciano
. .

Bravo, AGI, Mexico, leg. 109.

420 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

sary by more accurately portrays the change of

lack of space on the map,
direction in the course of the Candelaria than many modern maps. Although
Alfaro apparently had only a vague idea concerning the source of the Rio
de Zapotitlan, he evidently believed that the headwaters extended into the
uncharted region to the east where he filled in the map with hills and sierras

said to run from Bacalar to Puerto Caballos. Modern cartography shows that
the two major branches of the Candelaria, the Arroyo Caribe and the San
Pedro, actually reach some distance inland to southeastern Campeche and to
northern Peten. Finally, since the river which formed part of the route to
Zapotitlan was characterized by an extensive series of rapids and falls, the
Candelaria is the only stream emptying directly into Laguna de Terminos
that can meet this requirement.^*^
Contemporary accounts of the rapids and falls encountered on the Rio de
Acalan en route to Zapotitlan bear a close resemblance to later descriptions of
similar obstructions on the Candelaria. In the narrative of his first entrada
into the interior in April-May 1566, Paxbolon describes the "sierras" (rocky
places) and "saltos" (cascades or falls) through which he and his men had to
pass, dragging their canoes with ropes "by the sheer force of [our] arms." He
says there were seventy of these places, not including others of lesser size
which he did not count.^^ Reports of Bravo's journey to Zapotitlan in De-
cember 1570 mention twenty "saltos," and tell how it was necessary for all
members of the party to get into the water and pull the canoes through by
hand.^^ Henry
Pawling's description of the Candelaria written in 1859 records
the existence of "2 1 saltos about 2 or three feet in height" below Salto Grande.
The latter was a "cascade" 3 varas high, and farther upstream at Pacaitun
there were "other altos . . . formed of hard rock," which had been impossible
for boats of any size until he opened a channel at considerable personal ex-
pense.^^ A more recent description by Acevedo indicates that the falls formerly
30 It may be
argued that the Rio de Zapotitlan does not represent the stream which formed
part of the route from Tixchel to the original settlement of Zapotitlan, but the Mamantel, on or
near which the Indians were resettled prior to 1579. There are serious objections, however, to
such a thesis, (a) The Mamantel occupies fourth place, not third, among the rivers which empty
into Laguna de Terminos, counting from west to east, (b) If the Rio de Zapotitlan were the
Mamantel and not the Candelaria, it would be difficult to explain why Alfaro put the Chumpan
and Mamantel, two lesser streams, on his map and left out the Candelaria, the most important
river system east of the Usumacinta. (c) The Rio de Zapotitlan enters the Laguna from the
south whereas the Mamantel runs east-to-west throughout its known course, (d) If Alfaro had
in mind the stream to which the Zapotitlan people had been moved, he would doubtless have
shown the new settlement on the map.
31
Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, f. 14.
32 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. iiggv-iioiv; Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo, AGI, Mexico, leg. 109.
33 Estadistica del Estado de Campeche, Agricultura e industrias anexas, 1859, vol. 5. MS. in

the Howard-Tilton Library, Middle American Research Institute, Tulane University, New
Orleans.
 APPENDIX B 42 I

extended as far as Salto Ahogado (the name means "choked" or "smothered"

fall).^^

Paxbolon evidently counted all the rapids of any size as well as the actual
falls, or cascades, whereas Bravo and his associates apparently kept account of
only the latter. The number of saltos mentioned in the Bravo documents com-
pares closely, however, with Pawling's count for the Candelaria. It is also

clearfrom Paxbolon's narrative and the reports of Bravo's journey that there
was a continuous series of difficult rapids and falls on the Rio de Acalan ex-
tending over a considerable distance. The obstructions on the Candelaria
formed a similar series spread over a distance of some 45 km. from the first

rapids above Suspiro to Salto Ahogado.

The group of rapids and falls on the San Pedro Martir below Tiradero
extends for only 1 2 km., according to Andrews' report.^*" This group is sep-
arated from the salto just below Mactun by a distance of 90-100 km. Although
occasional rapids exist on the intervening section of the river, they' do not
constitute serious hazards to navigation and they are interspersed between ex-
tensive overflow areas. In short, the major obstructions on the San Pedro
Martir do not form a continuous series such as existed on the Rio de Acalan.
The narratives of Paxbolon's entrada of 1566 and the reports of Bravo's
journey in 1570 also provide valuable data concerning travel time from Tix-
chel. Paxbolon set out from Tixchel on April 25, 1566. He traveled only by
day, and we shall assume 12 hours as an average day's journey. Toward the
end of the third day (April 27) he reached the first rapids of the Rio de
Acalan and before nightfall he passed through six of them. If we give him 2
or 3 hours for this last stretch, the total time from Tixchel would be 33-34
hours. Paxbolon spent all of April 28 and 29 in arduous travel through the
rapids and falls, and on the morning of April 30 (the sixth day from Tixchel),
after getting past nine more of the obstructions, he finally came to the slug-
gish upper part of the river. The passage through the entire series of rapids
and falls must have taken at least 30 hours (2-3 hours on April 27, 24 hours on
April 28 and 29, and about 4 hours on April 30). The remainder of April 30
was spent on the upper part of the river. While
in fishing along the "lagoons"

thus engaged some of the men discovered canoe marks and scattered maize
along the shore, and Paxbolon decided to strike inland instead of going on to
the site of the pueblo of Acalan (Acalan-Itzamkanac) as he originally in-
tended. On the morning of May i he and his men cautiously proceeded over-
land and about midday reached some milpas, probably the site called Sucte

^^Acevedo, 1910, pp. 14-18.

35 Andrews,
1943, p. 54.
422 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

in Document Illb of the Chontal Text, where he later conferred with some
of the apostate fugitives.^*^

Bravo set out from Tixchel on the morning of December 8, 1570, after
Father Monserrate had said mass. Let us assume that Bravo got started down
Sabancuy estuary by 7 a.m. That day he crossed a large lagoon (Laguna de
Terminos), "and afterward night fell upon us (y despues nos anochecio) and
we went along a placid river" (the lower course of the Rio de Acalan below
the rapids and falls). Sunset on December 8, 1570 (Julian calendar) and in
this latitude (about 18° 30' N.) occurred about 5: 30 p.m.^'^ But since the report
implies that Bravo started up the placid river at about dusk we shall give him
1 1.5 hours, instead of the minimum of 10.5 hours to actual sunset, for the trip
from Tixchel to the mouth of the river. The next morning (December 9)
"at the fourth watch," i.e. before dawn, the boats encountered strong current,
and the same day when the moon was up ("con la luna") they began to pass
through the rapids and falls. Moonrise on December 9, 1570, was about 4 p.m.,
but we assume that the reference to the moon means when the travelers first

noticed it after dark. Thus it appears that Bravo reached the rapids and falls

about 24 hours after entering the river, or some 35.5 hours after leaving Tix-
chel. The passage through the obstructions in the river took all of the night
of December 9-10 and "part of the next day." The last phrase is vague, but
20 hours would seem to be a fair estimate for the entire stretch. From the last
of the falls Bravo moved along the "estero," or slug^gish upper part of the
where a trail led off into the interior. Here he apparently
river, to the place

spent the night of December lo-ii, and the next day (December 11) he
marched overland on foot 5 leagues to Zapotitlan.^^
Thus we find that in 1566 Paxbolon reached the rapids and falls of the
Rio de Acalan in 33-34 hours of travel from Tixchel. In 1570 Bravo took
about 35.5 hours, including 1 1.5 hours from Tixchel to the mouth of the river
and 24 hours from the mouth of the river to the rapids. It should also be noted
that Bravo traveled day and night, so that the estimates for his journey repre-
sent a consecutive number of hours.
The distance from Tixchel by direct route across Laguna de Terminos to
the mouth of the Candelaria and thence upstream to the rapids below Suspiro
is about 1 10 km. Both Paxbolon and Bravo could easily have covered this dis-

tance in the time indicated above. In Paxbolon's case an average speed of about

3.33 km. per hour would have been required. Bravo 's average would have

Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, ff. 1 31^-14.

36

This information was kindly supplied by Dr. Walter S. Adams of Mount Wilson Ob-
3'^

servatory, Carnegie Institution of Washington.

38 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2199x7-22021;; Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo, AGI, Mexico, leg. 109.
 APPENDIX B 423

been about km. per hour. In Father Monserrate's account of Bravo's jour-
3.1

ney, which provides most of the travel-time data in this case, the first mention
of obstacles in the river probably refers to actual saltos, which would place
the point reached in 35.5 hours from Tixchel a short distance farther upstream
than the first rapids recorded in Paxbolon's account. The extra distance would
not have been great enough, however, to cause much increase in Bravo's
average speed per hour.
For the sake of argument, however, let us assume that the rapids and falls
on the Rio de Acalan encountered by Paxbolon and Bravo on their journeys
from Tixchel to Zapotitlan were not on the Candelaria but on the San Pedro
Martir. This would mean that they crossed Laguna de Terminos to the
Palizada and then proceeded up this river and part of the Usumacinta to the
San Pedro Martir, where the first rapids and falls would have been encoun-

tered on the stretch below Tiradero, The distance traveled in such case would
have been very much greater than from Tixchel to the rapids of the Can-
delaria, andwould have required an entirely excessive rate of speed per hour.
it

The distance from Tixchel to the mouth of the Palizada by direct route
across Laguna de Terminos is about 80 km. From the mouth of the Palizada
to the rapids of the San Pedro Martir below Tiradero is about 220 km. meas-
ured on a large-scale map. The actual distance is undoubtedly greater since
the maps show only the most important bends in the rivers. Thus the entire
journey from Tixchel to the rapids of the San Pedro Martir would have cov-
ered at least 300 km. We do not believe it possible that Paxbolon or Bravo
could have traveled this distance by canoe in the time indicated for their re-

spective entradas (33 to 34 hours for Paxbolon and 35.5 for Bravo).
In Bravo's case, for example, it would have required an average speed of
8.44 km. per hour for the entire distance and for 35.5 consecutive hours.
Moreover, a somewhat greater speed would have been necessary for the up-
stream stretch from the mouth of the Palizada to the San Pedro Martir rapids.
For this distance, 220 km. in 24 hours, the average figures out at 9.16 km., or
5.7 miles, per hour. This means that Bravo's paddlers would have had to cover
a mile every 10.5 minutes for 24 consecutive hours. Such a rate of travel by
canoe along the winding courses of the Palizada and Usumacinta Rivers, in
places against strong current, is evidently beyond the realm of possibility.^^
39 In the Harvard-Yale boat races at New London, Connecticut, eight-oared racing shells
normally cover a 4-mile upstream straightaway course in 20-22 minutes, or at the rate of 11-12
miles per hour. The oarsmen have had long and rigorous training and they have the advantage
of a light racing craft specially designed for speed. Moreover, they are called upon to exert
maximum energy for only a third of an hour. If they achieve a speed of only 12 miles per
hour (or slightly more if the best record is considered) under these optimum conditions, it is
difficult to believe that Bravo's paddlers could have maintained approximately half this speed
for 24 consecutive hours up the winding courses of the Palizada and Usumacinta Rivers.
424 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

As a basis of comparison it may be noted that in 1525 some of Cortes'

men took most of one day (10-12 hours) to travel by canoe from Iztapa to
Tatahuitalpan, two towns located on the Usumacinta below the mouth of the
San Pedro Martir. Cortes estimated the distance between these settlements as

5 leagues (about 2 1 km.).*" This may refer to the shorter overland route. The
distance by river may have been somewhat greater. It is evident, however,
that the Iztapa-Tatahuitalpan stretch comprised only a small fraction of the
distance that Bravo would have had to cover in 24 hours. It also appears that
the maximum day's journey upstream on the Usumacinta at the time of Cortes'
expedition was 8 leagues (about 33.5 km.).^^ At this rate the distance from
the mouth of the Pahzada to the rapids of the San Pedro Martir (at least 220
km.) would have taken between 6 and 7 days (morning to night).
It is also of some interest to compare the time schedules of Paxbolon and

Bravo for passing the rapids and falls of the Rio de Acalan with a modern
report of travel time up the obstructions on the Candelaria. In 1566 Paxbolon,
who had to remove many logs and rocks from the channel of the Rio de
Acalan, took some 30 hours for this stretch. In 1570, after the channel had
been cleared, Bravo took an estimated 20 hours to get through. Many of the
old obstacles in the Candelaria have been cleared by blasting in recent years.
Nevertheless, when Chamberlain went up the river in 1937, his actual travel
time for the stretch from Suspiro to Salto Grande (in chicle boats towed by
a motor launch) was 12 hours, 10 minutes.^^ It is apparent therefore that the
time schedules of Paxbolon and Bravo for a somewhat greater distance (as far
as Salto Ahogado) and under less favorable conditions make sense in terms of
a passage up the Candelaria.
The foregoing discussion, based on a variety of data, shows that there can
be little doubt that the Candelaria is the Rio de Acalan of early colonial times.
Its proximity to Tixchel, the evidence of the Alfaro map, the basic similarity
of early descriptions of the Rio de Acalan and later accounts of the Can-
delaria, and the schedules of travel time for various stages of the journey from
Tixchel to Zapotitlan — all these factors constitute arguments which admit no
other conclusion.

In 1548 Fray Lorenzo de Bienvenida stated that the journey in canoes to

"the pueblo called Acalan," i.e. the capital of the province, took ten days.
How does this work out in terms of the Candelaria location for the province?

In 1566 Paxbolon reached the upper course of the Candelaria above the falls

^0 Cortes, 1866, p. 407. The Mexican league measures 2.6 miles, or 4.19 Ion.
*i Cf.
pp. 440-41, infra.
*2 Chamberlain to Scholes, April 20, 1937.
 APPENDIX B 425

on the morning of the sixth day from Tixchel. The following day he ad-
vanced overland to the milpas of Sucte. His narrative indicates, however, that
he originally intended to go to the site of the former capital, and that he had
anticipated reaching it in 2 days' travel upstream above the falls, or apparently
by the end of the seventh day from Tixchel.^^ Since Bienvenida's estimate was
probably based on a journey from Campeche, the seat of the nearest Francis-
can convent, we should add at least 2 more days to Paxbolon's travel time
from Tixchel, making a total of at least 9 days. If we take Bravo's 1570 sched-
ule as a basis of estimate, the travel time from Campeche to the Acalan capital
would be between 8 and 9 days.^^ It is apparent therefore that Bienvenida's
lo-day schedule was not excessive, and that when he stated that the pueblo
of Acalan was "far from this land" (northern Yucatan), he was not thinking
of some region far in the interior.
It is more important, however, to examine the Candelaria location in terms

of Monte jo's probanza of 153 1. As we have seen, this probanza sets forth three
major points: (i) the proximity of the province of Acalan to the Gulf coast;
(2) lack of settlement between Acalan and the sea; and (3) a 3-day schedule
of travel time from "the pueblos of Acalan" to Xicalango, i day downstream
to the mouth of the Rio de Acalan and 2 days from there to Xicalango. The
time schedule is the item which deserves most careful analysis.
In 1570 Bravo covered the 60-km. stretch from Tixchel to the mouth of
the Candelaria in 11.5 hours, or at the rate of about 5.2 km. per hour. At a
similar speed the journey from the Candelaria to Xicalango (Cerrillos) by
direct route across the Laguna (about 95 km.) would take 18.3 hours. The
trading canoes in Montejo's time may have been more heavily loaded than
those in which Bravo made the trip to Zapotitlan, and they may have followed
the coast instead of going straight across the Laguna. Under such circum-
stances the time would more closely approximate 2 full days of average travel
of 2 hours each. In any case it is evident that the journey from the mouth of
1

the Candelaria to Xicalango would have required more than i day of average
travel and that Montejo's 2 -day estimate makes sense.

The vital point in the time schedule is the i-day estimate for the journey
downstream from "the pueblos of Acalan" to the mouth of the river. The
phrase "pueblos of Acalan" is vague. It may mean any of the Acalan towns,
but we believe that a more reasonable interpretation, taking the probanza as

a whole, is that it refers to the border towns nearest the coast. This, in turn,

*3
Paxbolon-xMaldonado Papers, Part I, ff. 13-14. Also cf. pp. 187-88, supra.
Bravo's total time to the upper part of the river above the falls was some ^^.^ hours, or
*4

more than 4.5 days of 12 hours each. To these should be added 2 days from the rapids to the
Acalan capital and 2 days, Campeche to Tixchel, making between 8 and 9 days in all.
426 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

raises the question as to how far downstream the nearest towns were located.
The reports of the Zapotitlan entradas do not record detailed information
concerning travel time on the return trip to Tixchel. The most definite evi-
dence we have indicates that in 1568 Paxbolon (traveling by day only) made
the journey in 4 days. Most of the first day would have been used up in cover-
ing the 5 -league overland stretch from Zapotitlan to a point of embarkation
on the Candelaria above the rapids and falls, and another day would have been
required for travel from the mouth of the river to Tixchel. This leaves 2 days
for the downstream stage of the journey. Confirmation of this time schedule
is found in a letter of Paxbolon to Governor Cespedes, in which the cacique
stated that if the Indians of Zapotitlan were moved to the Rio de Acalan,
presumably to a site above the rapids and falls, the journey to Tixchel could
be made in 3 days.^^ The rapids and falls of the Candelaria would have oc-
cupied at least half the downstream stretch to be covered in 2 days. Portages
around or over some of the obstructions would have been necessary, thus
causing some delay; in other cases would undoubtedly have been possible
it

to shoot the falls in the boats. It is evident in any case that the downstream
passage through the rapids and falls would have required less time than the
estimated 20 hours for Bravo going upstream in 1570. Fourteen hours for
the rapids and 10 hours for the distance from Suspiro mouth of the
to the

river might be a fair division of the time; or perhaps itwould be better to

divide the time equally, giving 1 2 hours, or a day, for each part of the down-
stream journey.
It is apparent, however, that for the Candelaria location to meet the
probanza requirement of a one-day journey from "the pueblos of Acalan" to
the mouth of the river we must assume that some of the towns were located
along the rapids and falls, and that the border settlements extended down-
stream toward Suspiro. According to Andrews, there are "constant mound
groups" on the high lands between Suspiro and Salto Grande. Although we
know nothing about their age, the existence of such ruins shows that the area
was suitable for settlement. In reporting these sites Andrews states: "This
^°
region . . . seems to have been fairly heavily populated."
Location of the border towns near Suspiro would satisfy the requirements
of the probanza concerning the proximity of the province of Acalan to the
Gulf coast. It would also give meaning to the statement in the fifth question

of Monte jo's interrogatory indicating lack of settlement between Acalan and

the sea. As Andrews points out, "the lowest portion of the Candelaria is

45 Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part I, f. lyv.

46 Andrews, 1943, p. 45.
 APPENDIX B 427

swamp, which, except for the coastal fringe, is not suitable for a population
of any size."^" Although we do not know that this area was entirely unin-
habited in Montejo's time, it is evident that no towns of any importance, such
as existed on the Usumacinta below the mouth of the San Pedro Martir,

would have been located between the rapids of the Candelaria and the sea.
Although it is necessary to postulate the existence of Acalan towns along
the rapids and falls of the Candelaria, the major settlements, including the

capital, were undoubtedly located on the upper part of the river and its
branches. The falls would have served as a protective barrier against raiding

attacks from the coast, and in the upper part of the Candelaria drainage the
principal towns would have been more strategically located in terms of the
overland trade routes across southern Yucatan and the Peten to the Caribbean
coast. The major ruins reported by Andrews, whatever their age may be, are

all above the falls, and it is rather surprising that he locates Itzamkanac in
the zone between Suspiro and Salto Grande, where none of the mound sites

are known to be of any size.

The Bienvenida letter of 1 548 clearly implies that Acalan-Itzamkanac was
situated above the rapids and falls of the Rio de Acalan, and this is confirmed
by the testimony of soldiers who accompanied Francisco Tamayo Pacheco to
Acalan in 1559.^^ We have also called attention to the fact that the narrative
of Paxboion's entrada of 1566 indicates that the site of the Acalan capital was
two days' journey upstream above the falls. A strategic location for Itzam-

kanac would have been near the junction of the Arroyo Caribe and the Rio
San Pedro, for such a site would command boat traffic on these lesser rivers
and on the main stream of the Candelaria. Paxbolon could easily have reached
the junction in two days from the last of the falls at Salto Ahogado. The
^®
existence of extensive ruins at El Tigre, with "a dozen or more sizable units,"

also shows that at some time in the preconquest period the strategic position
of the site had attracted a numerous population.
Further evidence in favor of placing Itzamkanac near the junction of the
Arroyo Caribe and the Rio San Pedro is provided by data regarding the loca-
tion of Zapotitlan, where the apostate fugitives and former slaves were living
when Paxbolon pacified them in 1568. This place, as we have seen, was 5
leagues, or about a day's journey, from the upper part of the Rio de Acalan
above the falls. North of the Candelaria above Salto Ahogado there is a broad
swamp unsuited for settlement, whereas to the south the country is higher
and hills are seen in the distance. Consequently we should expect Zapotitlan
47 Ibid.
*s Cf. Chapter 168 and note supra.
8, p. 7, p. 174,
*9 Andrews, 1943, p. 49.
428 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

to have been south or southeast of a point on the Candelaria where the trail

led off into the forest. Since Bravo in 1570 evidently reached this trail only
a few hours after passing the last of the falls at Salto Ahogado, he could not
have advanced upstream much farther than La Florida. A 5-league stretch
to the southeast measured from would reach to the western-
a point in this area

most bend of the Rio San Pedro on which the town of Mundo Nuevo is now
located.
According to Document Illb of the Chontal Text, the former slaves, who
formed part of the population of Zapotitlan, had settled at the site of Chakam
when they away from their masters, the ruler and principal men of Acalan.
ran
We know that Chakam was on navigable water.^^ A location up the San
Pedro, or on a creek leading into it, away from the main current of traffic on
the Candelaria would have been a logical place of refuge for the slaves and
their families. When the apostates fled from Tixchel in 1560, they too would
have sought a refuge away from the main stream of the Candelaria. They
settled near Chakam, and in the course of time the two groups merged to form

the settlement later known as Zapotitlan.

Thus both factual data and inference point to a location for Zapotitlan
on or near the Rio San Pedro somewhere in the region of Mundo Nuevo.
Such a location could have been reached, of course, by following the Can-
delaria to the junction of the Caribe and San Pedro, and thence up the latter

stream, instead of by an overland march from some on the Candelaria

position
near La Florida, The route across country, however, was much shorter. More-
over, in 1566 Paxbolon had first established contact with some of the fugitives

after an overland march of half a day to the milpas of Sucte, evidently about
halfway between the Candelaria and Zapotitlan, and he apparently followed
the same general route in 1568 when he finally reached the settlement. Once
the trail had been marked out, it was natural that later visitors to Zapotitlan,
such as Bravo and his party, should use it instead of the longer and more
circuitous approach by water.
On the occasion of Paxbolon's second entrada into the interior, probably
in 1567, some of the apostates were "brought out" and temporarily settled at

the site of the old capital.^^ This obviously implies that Acalan-Itzamkanac
was downstream from the Zapotitlan area at a place nearer to or actually on
the Rio de Acalan, or Candelaria. This fact, together with the evidence that
the capital could be reached in two days' journey upstream from the last of
the falls, clearly points to a location near the junction of the Caribe and the
50 About 1527 Paxbolonacha died in Chakam, and his body was taken to Itzamkanac in a
canoe. Cf. p. 87, supra.
51 See
pp. 189-91, supra.
 APPENDIX B 429

San Pedro. Other evidence in favor of such a location will be presented in our
discussion of Cortes' journey to Honduras in 1524-25.^^
The name Zapotitlan, which was applied to the combined settlement of
apostate fugitives and former slaves, presents an interesting and perplexing
problem."'^ The contemporary sources (1566-71) do not mention Chakam in
any way. only in Document Illb of the Chontal Text, written about 16 10,
It is

that we learn that the slaves had settled there and that Paxbolon found the
apostates living with them when he made his third and successful entrada in

1568. This narrative also explains that the name Zapotitlan was adopted be-
cause the Indians disagreed concerning the original name of the settlement
discovered at that time. "Some of the principal men called it by the name of
Tachumbay and others Tachalte, and still others called it Tanaboo, and others
Tamacuy. So for this reason it was given the name of Zapotitlan."
The Indians of Zapotitlan were not all concentrated in a single, compact
village, some of them living in small groups in the surrounding forests, but
there was evidently a nucleus or center of gravity at or near the site of Chakam.
Although it is possible that the names mentioned by the principal men may
refer to some of the lesser outlying estancias or rancherias, the use of four
names and only four in Document Text strongly suggests that they
Illb of the
were the names of the four quarters of old Chakam. From other statements
in the Text we infer that such a division existed at Itzamkanac, and we should
expect to find it in other important Acalan towns.^^
Why was Zapotitlan chosen as the name for the settlement.? On this point
we can do nothing more than speculate. We know that some of the Acalan
towns had Mexican as well as Chontal names. Itzamkanac, for example, was
also known as Acalan, and after Cortes' time this name apparently came into
general use among the local Spaniards. For Cacchute and Xakhaa we have
Tizatepelt and Teutiercas respectively. It is possible therefore that Zapotitlan
was the Mexican name for Chakam. But why the Mexican name should have
been adopted instead of Chakam is a question for which we have no answer.

Having cited evidence to show that Acalan was located in the drainage of
the Candelaria River, we turn now to a study of the routes of the Cortes and

^- This means, of course, two days of upstream travel in canoes. On the maps the distance

from the last of the falls (Salto Ahogado) to the junction of the Arroyo Caribe and the San
Pedro does not seem to be far, but the maps undoubtedly fail to show many bends in the
Candelaria which would increase the distance by water.
53 The name Zapotitlan was applied as early as December 1568, when Paxbolon made his

third entrada to the old Acalan area.

54 See
pp. 54-55, supra. Documents of 1569 refer to the good lands and cacao groves at
Zapotitlan. This would also suggest the site of a former important settlement.
430 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Avila expeditions of 1524-25 and 1530 respectively, in order to see how they
conform to this location of the province.
The major purpose of Cortes' expedition of 1524-25 was to reassert au-
thority over the Honduras area, in view of the disloyalty of Cristobal de Olid
who had been sent out to occupy the region in Cortes' name early in 1524.
A secondary motive, as revealed by Cortes' own statement quoted below, was
to explore and establish jurisdiction over the extensive unpacified country
between Mexico and the Caribbean coast. An important question to consider
at this point, since it some bearing on the route of the expedition from
has
the Usumacinta to Acalan, is Cortes' objective on the east coast when he set
out from Espiritu Santo in the latter part of 1 5 24.

After Cortes' arrival in Espiritu Santo he summoned Indians from Xical-

ango and Tabasco (Potonchan) who gave him information concerning the
lands through which he would pass en route to the Caribbean. These Indians
also made him a map on cloth, "on which," so Gomara says, "they painted all

the route from Xicalango to Nito, where the Spaniards were, and even to Nica-
ragua, which is on the South Sea, and to [the place] where Pedrarias, gov-
ernor of Tierra Firme, was residing." Herrera states that this map showed the
route "to Naco and Nito in Honduras, and to Nicaragua, indicating the gov-
ernment of Pedrarias, with all which had to be
the rivers and settlements
passed. . .
."^^ At march to the east coast Cortes
the end of his long overland
actually came out at Nito near the mouth of the Rio Dulce. On the basis of
the foregoing data it might be assumed that from the time he left Espiritu
Santo Cortes' actual objective on the Caribbean coast was Nito and that he
consciously sought to follow as direct a route as possible to that place, in ac-
cordance with the native map. Analysis of statements in Cortes' letters and
other evidence indicates, however, that such assumptions are by no means
justified.

Although the passage from Gomara quoted above might be interpreted

as indicating that prior to his departure from Espiritu Santo Cortes knew
that Spaniards were settled at Nito, he actually had no such information. He
had learned that Olid, while in Cuba en route to Honduras, had planned an
act of disloyalty, and this report had caused him to dispatch another force

under Francisco de las Casas to the Honduras country; but when he set out
from Espiritu Santo and for a long time thereafter he did not know the exact
whereabouts of Olid and Las Casas, nor did he possess knowledge of the
events that had occurred after their arrival on the Caribbean coast. More-
over, he had no information concerning the activities of Gil Gonzalez de
55 Lopez de Gomara, 1943, 2: 13; Herrera y Tordesillas, 1726-30, dec. 3, bk. 6, ch. 12.
 APPENDIX B 43 I

Avila, another Spaniard operating in the Honduras area, who founded San
Gil de Buenaventura near the Bay of Amatique, the colonists of which later

moved to Nito.^'' It was only after Cortes reached Acalan that he learned that
Spaniards were settled at Nito, and on the basis of this information and other
data supplied by the Chontal of Acalan he then directed his march to the Rio
Dulce. He did not know who these Spaniards were, however, until shortly
before he reached the east coast.^^
The most explicit statement we have concerning Cortes' knowledge of
events on the east coast when he set out from Espiritu Santo and his actual

objective at that time is recorded in the famous Fifth Letter to Charles V,

dated September 3, 1526, in which Cortes gave a full report of the Honduras
expedition. Referring to his conference with the Indians of Xicalango and
Tabasco, Cortes writes:

I learnt from men much that I wished to know about the country and
these
they also told me on the sea coast on the other side of the land called Yucatan,
that
towards the bay which is called "La Asuncion," there were certain Spaniards who
did them much injury, for besides burning many villages and killing the people
so that many places were laid waste and the people had fled to the forests, they had
done even greater damage to the traders, and the whole trade of that district, which
was very considerable, had been lost.
From personal knowledge they gave me an account of almost all the towns of
that district as far as the place where your Majesty's Governor Pedrarias de Avila
was residing. They also made me a map of it all on a cloth, from which I gathered
that I should be able to march through the greater part of the country, or at least
as far as the spot pointed out to me as the abode of the Spaniards. Hearing such
good news of the road which had to be followed in order to carry out my plans,
and bring the natives of the land to a knowledge of our faith and to the service of
your Majesty, and knowing that in such a long march many and divers provinces
must be crossed, and that people with strange customs would be met with before
one could ascertain whether those Spaniards were followers of the Captains whom
I had sent out —
namely, Diego or Cristobal de Olid, or Pedro de Alvarado, or
Francisco de las Casas —
seemed to me that in order to carry out the matter
^it

satisfactorily it would conduce to the service of your Majesty that I should go there
in person, especially as so much unknown country was to be discovered and ob-
served, and much of it might be brought peacefully under your rule, as has since
been done.^^

Thus we find that the Indians of Xicalango and Tabasco gave a report con-
5^ For a discussion of events in the Honduras area in 1524-25, see Bancroft, 1882-87, i:

ch-.iy.
^^ Cortes, 1866, pp. 422-41, passim; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, chs. 177, 178.
^s Cortes, 1916, pp. 348-49.
432 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

cerning certain Spaniards who had made depredations on the Caribbean coast,
but Cortes was not certain of their identity. Moreover, although the native
map may have marked out the location of towns as far as the jurisdiction of

Pedrarias, it seems clear that the immediate objective of Cortes, when he set

out from Espiritu Santo, was the region of "Asuncion" Bay on the eastern
side of Yucatan, where the marauding Spaniards were said to be. This is also
indicated by the fact that when Cortes arrived in Iztapa on the Usumacinta
he sent orders to his ships waiting off the Tabasco coast to proceed around
Yucatan "to the bay of La Asuncion, for there they would meet me or I
would send instructions to them as to what they should do next."^^
The Bay of "La Asuncion" undoubtedly refers to an arm of the sea on
the east coast of Yucatan discovered in 15 18 by Juan de Grijalva and named
by him Ascension Bay. It is doubtful whether the Indians of Tabasco and
Xicalango were familiar with the name Ascension Bay, but Cortes, after hear-
ing their reports of marauding Spaniards on the Caribbean coast, apparently
concluded that the latter were operating in the region discovered by Grijalva
in 15 18. That he might have expected some of the Spaniards whom he had
sent to Honduras to be in that area is made clear by a statement in his Fourth
Letter, in which he says that Olid had been instructed to found a settlement
at the Cape of Higueras, and then to send one of his ships "to cruise along the

coast of the Ascension Bay, searching for the strait which is believed to be
there." ^0
It is obviously a matter of some importance to determine, as far as possible,

Cortes' ideas concerning the location of this bay. Bancroft asserts that Cortes
applied the name Ascension to the Gulf of Honduras.^-^ Although it may be as-
sumed that Cortes did not possess an exact knowledge of places and distances on
the Caribbean coast, it should be noted that in the Fourth Letter he also states
that Ascension Bay was 60 leagues from the Cape of Higueras.^- This would
place it in the region of Chetumal Bay. On the anonymous Turin map of 1523
we find a "baya de la cention" on the east coast of Yucatan, which evidently re-
fers to Ascension Bay. It is placed too far south to be the present bay of this
name, and its location more closely approximates that of Chetumal Bay.*^^ It is

also significant that in a description of the Caribbean coast written by Oviedo

some time prior to 1550 (apparently based on the lost map of Alonso Chaves
of 1536) we find mention of three bays on the coast northeast of "the ex-
59 Ibid., p. 360.
s° Cortes,
1908, 2: 195.
61 Bancroft, 1882-87, i:
543, note 18.
62
Cortes, 1866, p. 290.
63 A
section of the Turin map is reproduced, with critical commentary, in Harrisse, 1892,
pp. 528-33. For additional data on this map, see Lowery, 1912, pp. 25-26.
 APPENDIX B 433

treme or westernmost part of the Gulf of Higueras," and of these "the near-
est to the Gulf of Higueras is called the bay of la Ascension." ^* Moreover, in
a passage describing the peninsula of Yucatan, Gomara refers to "Chetemal,

which is in the bay of la Ascension." '^^

A reference to Ascension Bay in the

Relaciojies de Yucatan of 1579 indicates that at this later date the name was
applied to the present Ascension Bay, northernmost of the three arms of the
sea on the would appear that in the time of
east coast of Yucatan.^^ But it

Cortes, Oviedo, and Gomara, it was employed to designate Chetumal Bay

farther south. As late as the eighteenth century we also have maps on which
Chetumal Bay is named the Bay of Ascension.*^^ In view of these facts, it
seems evident that what Cortes had in mind was not the Gulf of Honduras,
as Bancroft states, but an arm of the sea farther north on the coast of Yucatan
proper. Bancroft probably assumed that inasmuch as Cortes came out at Nito
on the Gulf of Honduras, this was his actual objective.

The easiest route to Ascension Bay and the east coast of Yucatan would
have been by sea. The passage from the Fifth Letter quoted above indicates,
however, that after his talks with the Indians of Tabasco and Xicalango Cortes
decided that an overland march was feasible and that would also provide an it

opportunity to visit the "many and divers provinces" located between western
Tabasco and the Caribbean and bring them to obedience to the Spanish crown.
As a general guide he had the native map showing the principal settlements of
the area through which he would pass. As noted above, Gomara and Her-
rera state that this map showed the route to Nito and beyond. Bernal Diaz
tells us, however, that "all the pueblos we should pass on the way were marked
as far as Gueacala"^^ (great Acalan, or Itzamkanac). We also know that when
Cortes reached Acalan, where he learned for the first time of the presence of
Spaniards at Nito, he obtained a new map showing in detail the route to the
latter place. This suggests that although the first map made by the Indians of
Tabasco and Xicalango may have indicated the locations of towns as far as

Honduras and beyond, it was meant to serve as an actual guide only as far as
Acalan, where the Chontal, because of their trade with the east coast, would
be able to give Cortes more explicit information as to the whereabouts of
Spaniards on the east coast and the route he should follow.
To sum up, Cortes' objective when he set out from Espiritu Santo was
not Nito, but an area on the east coast known as Ascension Bay, which early
6* Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 21, ch. 8.
65 Lopez de Gomara, 1931, p. 185.
66 RY, 2: 199.
6^^
Cf. maps by D'Anville, 1731 and 1791, by Bellin, 1754 and 1764, by Kitchin, 1762, and by
Hinton, 1755, reproduced in Cartografia de la America Central, 1929.
68 Diaz del Castillo, 1908-16, 5: 12.
434 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

map makers and chroniclers, and probably Cortes himself, identified with
Chetumal Bay. It was also his plan to visit and pacify the principal towns en
route, as indicated on the map made by the Indians of Xicalango and Tabasco.
This map served as a general guide as far as Acalan, where Cortes received
more precise information as to the whereabouts of Spaniards on the Caribbean
coast. On the basis of this information and a new map obtained in Acalan, he
then turned southeast to Tayasal and Nito, instead of going on to the Ascen-
sion Bay area. But even if it could be proved that Cortes' objective from the
beginning was Nito and the Rio Dulce, it would not follow that he necessarily
sought to follow a fairly direct route to the southeast after leaving the Ta-
basco coast, for he was also interested in visiting the principal Indian provinces
in the intervening country, one of which was Acalan. In order to do so, he
would undoubtedly have been willing to deviate from the direct route if

necessary.
The route of Cortes from Espiritu Santo to Tepetitan in southern Tabasco
is fairly well established and does not require detailed analysis here. (For a
discussion of this part of the journey, see Chapter 5, pp. 93-100, supra.) From
Tepetitan Cortes advanced to Iztapa on the left bank of the Usumacinta,^^
thence upstream to Ciuatecpan (called Cagoatespan by Cortes and Ziguate-
pecad by Bernal Diaz), where he crossed the river and marched to Acalan.
It is this stage of the journey, Tepetitan to Acalan, concerning which there
has been the most argument and debate. Three major points are involved:
(a) the location of Iztapa, from which Cortes turned south up the Usuma-
cinta; (b) the location of Ciuatecpan, the point of crossing; and (c) the di-

rection of the route from Ciuatecpan to Acalan.

The march from Tepetitan to Iztapa took three days, during which the
main army followed the trail of an advance party across swampy country,
where "the horses sank to their girths when riderless and led by hand." Out-
side the town was a "great lagoon" across which the Spaniards had to swim
their horses. Thus
'^'^
the actual settlement was apparently on a neck of land
with the river on one side and the lagoon on the other.
^^ Neither Cortes nor Bernal Diaz records a name for the river on which Iztapa and the

upstream towns were located, but there can be no doubt that it was the Usumacinta, which is
the first major river system that Cortes would have encountered marching east, northeast, or
southeast from Tepetitan. Cortes states that the river on which Iztapa was located flowed into
the Rio de Tabasco, or Grijalva, and Bernal Diaz reports that Ciuatecpan, situated upstream
from Iztapa, was on a river which "ended in some lagoons where stood a pueblo named
Gueatasta and near to it was another large pueblo called Xicalango." (Cortes, 1866, p. 408; Diaz
del Castillo, 1908-16, 5: 18.) These statements obviously refer to the branching lower course
of the Usumacinta.
""^
Cortes, 1916, pp. 356-57.
 APPENDIX B 435

Modern maps do not record any site named Iztapa on the UsumacintaJ^
In his account of the upstream march Cortes mentions the names of seven
more towns: Tatahuitalpan, Ozumacintlan (Usumacinta), Ciuatecpan, Pete-
necte, Coazacoalco, Taltenango, and Teutitan. Of these only the name
Usumacinta, a place 2 or 3 leagues below Tenosique, appears on modern
maps. Maudslay and Morley identify it as the Usumacinta of the Cortes
narrative, but there is ample evidence, as we shall see later, that the colonial

settlementwas located farther downstream, below the junction of the San

Pedro Martir and Usumacinta Rivers. This lack of dependable modern
cartographical data means that in fixing the location of Iztapa and other
settlements on the Usumacinta we must depend upon the inadequate data
recorded by Cortes and Bernal Diaz, supplemented by any additional infor-
mation that may be found in other colonial sources.
Unfortunately Cortes does not indicate the direction of his march from
Tepetitan to Iztapa. The one sure fact that we have is his statement that the
journey took three days. From various statements in the Fifth Letter and in
Bernal Diaz' narrative, we find that 6 leagues (approximately 25 km.) was
apparently the maximum overland distance covered in one day in swampy
country. On this basis the three- day march from Tepetitan to Iztapa prob-
ably did not exceed 1 8 leagues. Consequently the site of Montecristo (modern
Emihano Zapata), which is about 16 leagues by airline in an easterly direction
from Tepetitan, probably marks the highest point on the Usumacinta that
Cortes could have reached.
Mrs. Stone places Iztapa just above Jonuta, at a point about 8 leagues by
airline northeast of Tepetitan, and she locates Ciuatecpan, from which Cortes
set out for Acalan, at Montecristo.'^^ In fixing the location of these towns so
far downstream, Mrs. Stone was apparently influenced by three lines of reason-
ing, expressed or implied.

In the first place, Mrs. Stone places considerable reliance on the down-
stream locations of Iztapa and other Usumacinta towns as shown on the Alfaro
map (Map 2). On this map Iztapa is placed above Jonuta on the right
of 1579
bank of the Rio San Pedro y San Pablo. Usumacinta is on the right bank of
what appears to be the Palizada, and two more towns, "Petenete" and
"Tanogic," are located farther upstream. Although the map shows some
distortion, it actually gives a correct idea of the branching lower course of
the Usumacinta system and its connections with the Grijalva River, the Gulf
"1 The modern site of Estapilk below Tenosique is not the same as the sixteenth-century
Iztapa. Cortes could not possibly have reached Estapilla in a three-day march from Tepetitan.
''^
Stone, 1932, pp. 217-20, and map.
43 6 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

coast, and Laguna de Terminos. Its locations for Jonuta, Iztapa, and Usuma-
cinta, however, are grossly inaccurate.
The modern town of Jonuta is located on the Usumacinta proper, above
the point where the San Pedro y San Pablo branches off. A passage in the
relacion of the Villa de Tabasco, written in 1579, the year of the Alfaro
map, indicates that Jonuta was then situated at or near its present site.'^

Consequently Iztapa mustalso have been on the main stream above Jonuta.
Usumacinta was higher up the river but below the mouth of the San Pedro
Martir.''^

Mrs. Stone apparently places Jonuta at its present site, for her suggested
location of Iztapa on the right bank of the Rio San Antonio, which branches
off from the Usumacinta to form Isla del Chinal, puts these towns in the same
relative position as on the Alfaro map. But in order to reconcile these loca-
tions with the fact that on the Alfaro map both Jonuta and Iztapa are east of
the Rio San Pedro y San Pablo, she is compelled to assume that this river com-
prises not only the stream actually so named, but also a considerable stretch

of the Usumacinta proper. For example, she says at one point that Monte-
cristo, where she locates Ciuatecpan, is on the San Pedro y San Pablo. '''^
Such
a line of reasoning is not justified either by modern cartography or by Alfaro's
map. On the latter the legend, "Rio de Usumacinta caudaloso," actually ap-
pears on that part of the main stream between the fork where the San Pedro
y San Pablo branches off and another fork higher up where the Palizada turns
off to Laguna de Terminos, and it is on this very same stretch that Jonuta was
and still is located. The Alfaro map also shows the connection between the
Usumacinta system and the Grijalva, but curiously enough no such connection
appears on Mrs. Stone's map.
Another line of reasoning employed by Mrs. Stone is her identification of
Petenche, marked on modern maps, as the site of the settlement of Petenecte
mentioned by Cortes, recorded on the Alfaro map as Petenete, and also listed

in other colonial sources. According to Cortes, Petenecte was 6 leagues above

Ciuatecpan, and the modern Petenche is about that distance above Mrs. Stone's
site for Ciuatecpan at Montecristo. Although there is a certain similarity in

the names Petenche and Petenecte, this does not establish the fact that they
were the same. Mrs. Stone may have been misled to some extent by a mis-
reading of the name on the Alfaro map, which she gives as Petenete instead
of Petenete, and also by her mistaking a passage from MacNutt's translation

"RY, i: 346-47.
''^
Cf. Appendix D, p. 499, infra.
'^^
Stone, 1932, p. 220.
 APPENDIX B 437

of Cortes' Fifth Letter, in which she has Petenche instead of the speUing
(Petenecte) employed by the translator.'^^
Finally, it is obvious that if Itzamkanac was located on Laguna de Ter-
minos, as Mrs. Stone believes, Cortes' march along the Usumacinta could not
have extended much above Montecristo. Although Mrs. Stone does not argue,
as Andrews does, that Ciuatecpan should be located with respect to a known
location for Acalan, her conviction that Itzamkanac was on Laguna de
Terminos may well have had some influence in her general reasoning about
the location of the Usumacinta towns. If she had placed Ciuatecpan higher
upstream anywhere near the site favored by Maudslay, whom she takes to

task more than once, she would have faced almost insuperable difficulties in
getting Cortes back to the Laguna. It is our own view that Ciuatecpan was
located above the junction of the San Pedro Martir and Usumacinta Rivers,
although not so far as the Tenosique location favored by Maudslay and
others. After we have cited the evidence for our own site, we shall give rea-

sons why Mrs. Stone and Andrews are in error in placing the town below
the junction.
Maudslay places Tepetitan near the modem town of this name, but on
the opposite (right) bank of the Rio de Tepetitan. He then states: "If Cortes
took an easterly course he would have struck the Rio Usumacinta somewhere
near the Laguna de Catasaja, and we may safely locate Ystapa in that position."
On his map Cortes' route runs north of Laguna Catazaja, and Iztapa is placed
at about the point where the Rio Chico or Chiquito, branches off from the
Usumacinta to form Isla Monserrate.'^''' North of Laguna Catazaja are the
swampy Lagunas de San Carlos and a network of rivers and creeks which
would have made a march through this region extremely difficult and hazard-
ous, and we doubt that Cortes could have reached the Usumacinta in three

days' traveling through such country. It is true, of course, that Cortes refers
to swamps encountered between Tepetitan and Iztapa, and he impHes that
the going was difficult at times. Swamps also exist south of Laguna Catazaja,
but descriptions of the country by Charnay and Stephens (see Chapter 5,
p. loi, supra) suggest that the terrain is fairly favorable and would not

present such hazards as the northern route. But our main reason for beheving
that Cortes passed south of Laguna Catazaja, instead of by the route indicated
by Maudslay, is the fact that other evidence, cited below, calls for a location
of Iztapa farther upstream on the Usumacinta than Maudslay's site.

Becerra and Gonzalez discuss Cortes' route on the Usumacinta in tqXi-

'^^
Ibid.; Cortes, 1908, 2: 250.
""
Diaz del Castillo, 1908-16, 5: 336 and map.
438 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

tion to local geography and the meaning of place names, with special empha-
sis on the latter, and they conclude that Iztapa was near Montecristo. They
call attention to the existence of lagoons near this town, a point of some im-
portance in view of Cortes' remark that the Spaniards of his advance party
had to swim their horses across a "great lagoon" outside the town. The name
of one of these lagoons is Saquila. According to the Becerra-Gonzalez in-
terpretation, this name means "white water" in Maya. A similar meaning is

ascribed to the Mexican name Iztapa.''^^ We are not especially impressed by

the Becerra-Gonzalez etymologies of the Usumacinta place names, but there
appears to be no doubt that Iztapa connotes something white, and Saquila
might well have the same meaning.''^
Although we do not regard the arguments of Becerra and Gonzalez as
conclusive, we agree that a site near Montecristo is indicated as the probable
location of Iztapa. Montecristo probably marks the highest point upstream
that Cortes could have reached on a three-day march from Tepetitan, but we
also believe that a downstream site is ruled out by evidence concerning the
relative position of the Usumacinta towns and the distances that separated
them.
Various documents of the period 1573-82, including the Alfaro map, list

towns on the Usumacinta in the following order looking upstream: Jonuta,

Popane, Iztapa, Usumacinta, Petenecte, Tenosique. In two cases, however, the
order for Popane and Iztapa is reversed.^^ None of the documents mention
Tatahuitalpan, Ciuatecpan, or the three towns named Coazacoalco, Talten-
ango, and Teutitan, which Cortes places above Petenecte. It is reasonable to
assume, however, that Tenosique was one of the three settlements upstream
from Petenecte. If Popane was actually above Iztapa, we might identify it as

Tatahuitalpan, but most of the available evidence places Popane below Iztapa.
The disappearance of four towns between the time of Cortes and 1573, if

such was the case, may probably be attributed to the Spanish policy of con-
solidating Indian settlements into larger units for missionary and administra-
tive purposes. Declining population was undoubtedly another factor in the
situation. In 1573 the Usumacinta towns were apparently served by the
^8 Becerra, 1910a, pp. 471-75; Gonzalez, 1940, pp. 403-04. Becerra, who places Iztapa be-
tween Montecristo and the mouth of the Rio Chacamax, states that there is also a rancho called
Tierra Blanca on the left bank of the Usumacinta a short distance above Montecristo.
^9 In Maya zacil means "whiteness," or "something white." For Iztapan, a town mentioned in

the Mendoza Codex, Peiiafiel gives "sobre la sal, en la salina," from iztatl, "sal," and pan, "sobre,
lugar"; and for Istapa, a place in Chiapas, he gives "lugar bianco," from iztac, "bianco," and pa,
"lugar" (Peiiafiel, 1897, pt. 2, pp. 140, 146). Rovirosa (1888, p. 21) defines Istapa (Chiapas) as
"sobre la sal," from iztatl, "sal," and pan, "encima, sobre." A
salt marsh would be "white water,"
but we do not know whether salt marshes exist at Laguna Saquila.
80 Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo, AGI, Mexico, leg. 109; DHY, 2: 65; RY, i: 340, 347.
 APPENDIX B 439

friar at Palenque, the Dominican Fray Pedro Lorenzo, but before the end of
the sixteenth century the river settlements were formed into a separate mis-
sionary district served by a secular priest stationed at Usumacinta.
According to Cortes, the distance from Iztapa to Tatahuitalpan, the first
stop upstream, was 5 leagues. ^^ The next town was Usumacinta, visited by
some of the Spaniards going upstream in canoes, but the distance from
Tatahuitalpan is not recorded. As late as Cogolludo's time Usumacinta was
22 leagues from Petenecte,^- and the latter, as we have seen, was below Teno-
sique. Thus Iztapa was at least 27 leagues below Tenosique, to which must
be added estimates for the Tatahuitalpan-Usumacinta and Petenecte-Tenosi-
que distances, which we estimate at not more than 8 leagues and 3-4 leagues
respectively. (The reasoning on which we arrive at these estimates is set forth

farther on in our discussion of the later stages of Cortes' journey up the

Usumacinta.) Adding the known distances and the estimates, we get at least
38-39 leagues (about 159-163 km.) for the distance from Tenosique (which
we locate at or near its present site) to Iztapa.^ Although it is difficult to

measure distances on the Usumacinta, for even a large-scale map shows only
the mqst important bends and loops in the river, a stretch of 38-39 leagues
from Tenosique will not reach to either Mrs. Stone's or Maudslay's location
for Iztapa, and will more closely approximate that of Becerra and Gonzalez
near Montecristo.
Finally, a Tabasco tribute document of 1688 records information con-
cerning certain Usumacinta towns, including "Ystapilla en Monte de Cristo."

From the context it seems clear that this phrase refers to a downstream site

and not to the present site of Estapilla located above the junction of the
Usumacinta and San Pedro Martir between Canizan and modern Usumacinta.
In short, this pueblo of "Ystapilla en Monte de Cristo" was almost certainly
the sixteenth-century town of Iztapa. This evidence, together with the data

81Cortes, 1866, p. 407.

82Cogolludo. 1867-68, bk. 12, ch. 7.
83 In
1573, after his return from the first Tachis expedition (see Appendix D), Feliciano
Bravo visited the Usumacinta towns from Tenosique to Popane, and on his arrival in Popane,
May 8, 1573, signed a document in which he stated that the towns visited occupied a district
of 25-30 leagues along the river. If this estimate is correct, then Popane was some distance above
Montecristo and Iztapa still farther upstream. It is possible, of course, that prior to 1573 these
towns had been moved upstream from their conquest sites, but we have no positive evidence
of this. Moreover, Cogolludo's estimate of 22 leagues for the Usumacinta-Petenecte distance,
to which must be added estimates for the stretch from Popane to Usumacinta and also for that
from Petenecte to Tenosique, constitutes strong evidence that Bravo underestimated to some
extent the Tenosique-Popane distance. On the other hand, if Iztapa were located at the site
indicated by Maudslay, it would be necessary to assume a margin of error of at least 60 per
cent, and more than 80 per cent in the case of Mrs. Stone's location. It hardly seems likely that
Bravo's error would have been so great.
440 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

already cited, constitutes rather conclusive proof that the town of Iztapa
visited by Cortes was modern Montecristo (Emiliano Zapata) .^
at or near
From Iztapa Cortes advanced up the Usumacinta to Tatahuitalpan, said
to be 5 leagues distant. Some of the Spaniards made the trip in canoes, and
the main army marched overland, crossing a deep river {rio hondo) over
which a bridge had been built by the Indians of Iztapa. The journey took one
day, and Cortes states that the army reached Tatahuitalpan ahead of the
canoes, which were delayed by "the swift current and the many bends in the
stream." He describes Tatahuitalpan as "a small pueblo which we found
burnt and abandoned." ^^
Maudslay locates Tatahuitalpan near Montecristo,^^ an obvious location
with respect to his site for Iztapa, for it would have taken Cortes across the
base of a triangle, the other sides being formed by the Usumacinta. Airline
distance overland is about 6 leagues, and the river route is at least 9-10 leagues.
Although we should not raise serious objection to the overland distance from
Maudslay's Iztapa to Montecristo, the 9-10-league water route would appear
to be a rapid rate of travel for a one-day journey in canoes against strong
current. Moreover, Cortes' narrative indicates that although the canoes were
delayed by the current and bends in the river, they reached Tatahuitalpan
early enough so that he could send some men across the river the same day
to search for the natives of the town, who had fled to the opposite bank. In

short, there is reason to doubt that the Spaniards in the canoes could have
made the journey from Maudslay's Iztapa to Montecristo within the time that
can be allowed for the trip.

Becerra and Gonzalez identify Rio Chacamax, which flows into the
Usumacinta a short distance above xMontecristo, as the deep river bridged by
the Indians of Iztapa; and they locate Tatahuitalpan near the Arroyo de
Balancan Viejo, shown on Gonzalez' map as a southern tributary of the
Usumacinta, joining the main stream between Pobilcuc and San Jose.^' Again
they employ linguistic arguments to support their conclusion. According to
Becerra, whose definitions are adopted by Gonzalez, Balancan means "a place
abandoned because of fire" in Maya; and the Mexican name Tatahuitalpan,
which Becerra derives from Tlatla-uei-tlalpan, is defined as "in the burnt
plain." ^^ As noted above, Tatahuitalpan was "burnt and abandoned" when

8* AGI, Contaduria, leg. 920.

85 Cortes, {916, pp. 358-60.
86 Diaz del Castillo, 1908-16, 5: 336.
s''
The Tulane-Carnegie map of the Mava area (based on the work sheets of the 1:1,000,000
maps issued by the American Geographical Society) shows an unnamed lagoon just to the east
of Pobilcuc. On Gonzalez' map this lagoon forms part of the Arroyo de Balancan \^ie)o.
88 Becerra, 1910a, p. 505; Gonzalez, 1940, p. 404.
 APPENDIX B 441

Cortes arrived. Tlatlaueitlalpan might possibly signify a large place or land

that had been burned, but we question the meaning ascribed to Balancan.^^
It is not clear whether Cortes' 5 -league distance from Iztapa to Tatahuital-

pan was by water or overland, which would normally be less than the river
distance. Cortes says that Tatahuitalpan was 5 leagues "higher up the river"
{el no which would normally mean by water. Yet we know that
arriba),^^

the army was able to make good time, because the trail had been prepared in
advance and the deep river bridged, and it could probably have made 5 leagues
and still get in ahead of the canoes.
If Iztapa was near Montecristo, a site 5 leagues overland would be near
Pobilcuc, The distance by water in this case would not be much greater.
A site near San Jose on the eastern side of the great loop of the Usumacinta
above Pobilcuc would lend greater force to Cortes' remark about the "many
bends" in the river. Such a location for Tatahuitalpan, however, would not
only increase the land distance from Montecristo to 7 or 8 leagues, but would
also involve a water route of about 1 1 leagues, which is too much for a day's
journey against current. For these reasons we prefer the suggested location
near Pobilcuc. Between this place and Montecristo the river winds somewhat,
but not to the extent it does farther upstream, and it seems evident that it

was the current more than the bends in the river that delayed the canoes. It
may be noted that the Pobilcuc location for Tatahuitalpan is not far from
the site suggested by Becerra and Gonzalez.
Cortes' arduous overland march from Tatahuitalpan to Ciuatecpan, dur-
ing which the Spaniards had to cross two broad swamps and bridge a stream,
and later got lost in the high forest, has been described in Chapter 5.*^^ The
most significant item in Cortes' account is the fact that on the last day he
directed the march to the northeast and reached Ciuatecpan in the afternoon.

With regard to the travel time as recorded in Cortes' narrative, we can add
up three days (two in high forest and the last day to the northeast) in addi-
tion to an unstated time for building the bridge and crossing the two swamps.
In Bernal Diaz' version of the upstream march we find a similar account of an

89 Penafiel defines Tlalpan (from tlalli, "tierra," and pan, "en, sobre") as "en el suelo, kigar
que esta en tierra;" Huitlalpan (huey, "grande," and tlalpan) as "Tlalpan el grande;" and in one
case he derives tlatla from tlatlac, "quemado" (Penafiel, 1897, pt. 2, pp. 134, 284, 289). Thus
Becerra's Tlatla-uei-tlalpan might possibly mean "bumt-great-ground." The last two elements
(uei and tlalpan) no doubt signify a large expanse of ground, but there is less certainty regard-
ing the first, since the Molina dictionary gives some 500 words beginning with tlatla. Although
we are unable to translate Balancan, we can find no grounds for the definition given by Becerra
and Gonzalez. Peiiafiel {op. cit., pt. 2, perhaps the name should be Balan-
p. 41) suggests that
chan, "que significa lagarto."
90 Cortes,
1916, p. 359; 1866, p. 407.
91 See pp. 102-03, supra.
44 2 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

arduous journey between Iztapa and a place called Tamaztepeque, but the
old soldier obviously had in mind the difficulties encountered between Tata-
huitalpan and Ciuatecpan. He states that although the Indians said it would
take three days, the march actually lasted seven days.^- A seven-day period
fits in well with other facts in the Cortes narrative. The canoes sent upstream
arrived at Ciuatecpan ahead of Cortes, after spending some time en route at
the town of Usumacinta. At Ciuatecpan they waited two days for Cortes
and then went on up the river to Petenecte, not later than the very day when
Cortes finally arrived. So counting that day plus two that they waited at
Ciuatecpan, and another for the stay at Usumacinta, we reduce the time the
canoes were in actual travel from Tatahuitalpan to Ciuatecpan to three days.
This suggests that the Indians' estimate of a three-day journey was for the
trip by water.
We have already seen that Usumacinta was 22 leagues from Petenecte.
According to Cortes the latter place was 6 leagues above Ciuatecpan, so we
get 1 6 leagues for the Usumacinta-Ciuatecpan distance. This is more than we
can assume for a one-day journey upstream. Giving it two days, we have one
day left for the stretch from Tatahuitalpan to Usumacinta. If the rate of travel
was about the same throughout, then the distance to Usumacinta was 8
leagues, or about the maximum daily travel against current. A site 8 leagues
upstream from Pobilcuc would place the pueblo of Usumacinta in the region
of modern Balancan. This locates the town below the junction of the San
Pedro Martir and Usumacinta Rivers, and fits in with evidence from the Bravo
probanzas which also indicates a below-junction location.^^
In regard to Ciuatecpan, Maudslay states that it "must be somewhere near
the modern Tenosique," and his map shows the crossing just above the latter
place. His conclusion is based on the fact that Ciuatecpan was higher up-
stream than Usumacinta, "which marked on the maps."^^ In assuming
is still

that colonial Usumacinta was located at the modern town, Maudslay com-
pletely ignores all the evidence concerning the relative position of the river
settlements. The from modern Usumacinta to Tenosique is only 3
distance
leagues, whereas we have shown, on the basis of Cogolludo's estimate of the
Usumacinta-Petenecte distance, that Ciuatecpan was 1 6 leagues from Usuma-
cinta. Moreover, if Ciuatecpan was at Tenosique, then according to Cortes'
statement we must place Petenecte 6 leagues farther upstream, and colonial
Tenosique would be still farther up the river. But this would put both Pete-
necte and Tenosique in the gorge of the Usumacinta River.
92 Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 175.
93 Cf. Appendix D.
94^ Diaz del Castillo, 1908-16, 5: 336-37 and map.
 APPENDIX B 443

Becerra and Gonzalez also place Ciuatecpan near modern Tenosique.^^

They base their conclusion in part on linguistic arguments which we do not
regard as valid. Becerra derives Cagoatespan, the incorrect form of Ciuatecpan
given by Cortes, from Tsauatecpan, which he defines as "palace of the spin-

ners" (evidently from tzaiia, "to spin," or tzaiiani, "spinner," and from tecpan,
which means "government house" and has often been translated as "palace").
Seler has long since shown, however, that the correct form of the name was
Ciuatecpan, which he translates as "palace of the woman (of the goddess). "^^
Becerra also reconstructs the name of Tenosique and its variants (Tanocic,

etc.) as Tanatziic {tana, "house," and tziic, "to unravel, to count threads")
so as to obtain a meaning in Chontal similar to that ascribed to Ciuatecpan.
But the Chontal Text gives the name as Tanodzic, which would appear to be
the correct form and does not easily lend itself to such a definition.
Another argument employed by Becerra and Gonzalez is the statement
that Cogolludo places Tenosique between Usumacinta and Petenecte, i.e., in
the same relative position occupied by Ciuatecpan in Cortes' time. iVctually

we find no justification for this in Cogolludo, unless the authors, assuming that
colonial and modern Usumacinta are the same, took note of Cogolludo's
statement that Petenecte was 22 leagues above Usumacinta, which would
place Petenecte above modern Tenosique. They disregard, however, Cogol-
ludo's remark that Tenosique was the last town up the Usumacinta River.^^
Gonzalez' actual location for colonial Tenosique (and consequently for
Ciuatecpan) is at the rancheria of Concepcion, a short distance below modern
Tenosique, and he places Petenecte at the rancheria of Buenavista upstream
from modern Tenosique.^^
Morley does not express an opinion as to the sites of Iztapa and Tatahuital-
pan, but he locates Ciuatecpan "not far below the modern village of Teno-
sique." This location is based in part on the fact that Ciuatecpan was above
Usumacinta, which Morley identifies as the modern settlement of this name,
and below Petenecte, which, in turn, was below Tenosique.^^ This means,
however, that he has to squeeze Usumacinta, Ciuatecpan, Petenecte, and
Tenosique into a 3 -league distance, although Cortes separates Ciuatecpan and
Petenecte by 6 leagues and Cogolludo states that Usumacinta and Petenecte
were 22 leagues apart. It should be noted, however, that .Morley also cites
other evidence to support his conclusion that Cortes crossed the Usumacinta

95 Becerra, 1910a, pp. 504-05; Gonzalez, 1940, p. 409.

s^"
See p. 57, supra.
97 Cogolludo, 1867-68, bk. 12, ch. 3.
9s Gonzalez, 1940, p. 409.
99 Morley, 1937-38, i: 11-13.
444 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

a short distance below Tenosique. Before reviewing this data we shall give

our own idea as to the location of Ciuatecpan.

On town of Usumacinta near
the basis of our general location for the
Balancan, Ciuatecpan would be 6 leagues farther up the river in the Canizan-
1

Estapilla area. However, we must also take into account the fact that
Ciuatecpan was also 6 leagues below Petenecte, which, in turn, was an un-
stated distance below Tenosique. Consequently, in order to fix the location
of Ciuatecpan in relation to these two upstream settlements we must be rea-
sonably certain of the location of colonial Tenosique and also arrive at some
estimate of the distance which separated it from Petenecte.
It is generally agreed that colonial Tenosique was located at or near the

modern town of this name, but we submit the following evidence in order
to remove any lingering doubt on this point. In all the lists of Usumacinta
River towns for the period 1573-82 Tenosique is always farthest upstream.
The Alfaro map also locates it in the same relative position. A document in
the Bravo papers of 1573 refers to Tenosique as "the last pueblo of Christians,"
beyond which extended the unpacified area of the interior. During his ex-
pedition of 1530 from Chiapas to Champoton, Alonso de Avila reached a
place named Tanoche, just below the gorge of a great river which lower
down flowed into the Rio de Grijalva.^^° Taking into account Avila's march
from Chiapas, this river can only be the Usumacinta, and Tenosique, as we
know, is just below a gorge on this stream. But do the names Tanoche and
Tenosique refer to the same place? Oviedo Tanoche was 60 leagues
states that

from the Rio de Grijalva, which would place the town far upstream on the
Usumacinta in the Tenosique area. The Chontal form of Tenosique is Tanod-
zic. The variant spellings in the colonial papers —Tanocic, Tenogic, Tanotzic,
Tagnodzic, Tanoci, Tanogil, etc. — are obviously derived from the Chontal
form. Tanoci and Tanocil are so similar to Avila's Tanoche, and also to Tano-
chil orTanochel of the Gil-Godoy episode of 1536, that there can be little
doubt that all these names refer to the same place. Moreover, on the Alfaro
map the upper part of the Usumacinta above "Tanocic" is named "Tanochel."
Alfaro, of course, places all the Usumacinta towns too far downstream. A
correct location of "Tanocic," or Tenosique,would have been close to the
place where the "Rio de Tanochel" emerges from the mountains.
Cortes does not record the name Tenosique or any of its variant spellings,
—
but he does mention three towns with Nahuatl names Coazacoalco, Talten-
ango, and Teutitan —that were above Petenecte. One of these was undoubt-
edly Tenosique. From Ciuatecpan Cortes sent word of his arrival to the
100 Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo, AGI, Mexico, leg. 109; Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32,
ch. 4.
 APPENDIX B 445

Spaniards who were at Petenecte, and the following afternoon "at the hour
of vespers" this group returned to Ciuatecpan. They told Cortes that mes-
sengers had been sent to the Indians of the three towns farther upstream, "who
would probably come to see me during the next day. And so it turned out,
for the next day there came down the river six or eight canoes with people
from all these pueblos." ^^-^ Thus we find that within two days Cortes' mes-
sengers went to Petenecte and the Spaniards there returned to Ciuatecpan,
and that sometime during the third day the Indians came from the towns above
Petenecte. Because of the current, which Cortes says was very strong at
Ciuatecpan, the 6 leagues upstream to Petenecte would probably have taken
from early morning until at least midafternoon of the first day. The journey
downstream on the second day would have taken less time, but the Spaniards
undoubtedly started before noon. From Cortes' account we also infer that

when the Spaniards in Petenecte received Cortes' message, they, in turn, sent
word to the three pueblos upstream and obtained a reply before leaving for
Ciuatecpan. Unless the three towns were very close at hand, the persons who
went up to them probably made the upstream journey the first day, i.e. after

midafternoon, and came back down to Petenecte before noon the next
morning. This would imply a journey of not more than 3-4 leagues each
way, and probably less. Since we do not know whether Tenosique was nearest
to Petenecte or the farthest upstream, we can only assume the latter and call
the Petenecte-Tenosique distance 3-4 leagues. Adding the 6 leagues from
Ciuatecpan to Petenecte, we have an estimated distance of 9-10 leagues from
modern Tenosique down to a site for Ciuatecpan.
The modern site of Canizan is approximately 9 leagues from Tenosique.
In the preceding discussion we tentatively placed Ciuatecpan in the Canizan-
Estapilla area, on the basis of a location for Usumacinta not far from Balancan.
But we know that on the last day of his march to Ciuatecpan Cortes followed
a direction from southwest to northeast, so he could not possibly have struck
the river near Estapilla. A site at Canizan or on the bend of the river above it

would, however, permit an approach from the southwest.

Finally, we have two more bits of evidence that deserve mention. Cortes
tells that the Indians of Ciuatecpan had fled to a lagoon east of the river. In
the Spanish version of the Chontal Text we read that Ciuatecpan was at the

"junta de los rios," a phrase used to translate the Chontal word tiixakhaa,
which micrht also be translated as "where the waters mingle." Some modern
maps show a stream called the Chicmux^°^ flowing into the Usumacinta close

101 Cortes, 1916,

pp. 363-64.
102On some maps it is called the Arroyo Mactun; others show the Arroyo Mactun as a
branch of the Chicmux.
44<^ ACALAN-TIXCHEL

to Canizan. On one map we have seen this stream parallels the Usumacinta
for a short distance, joining the latter at a ranch named Chicmux just above
Canizan. The Espinosa and Hiibbe-Aznar Perez maps of Yucatan and Tabasco
show a lagoon (Laguna Chixmuc) on this small watercourse. All this would
mean little by itself, for there are so many places on the Usumacinta "where
the waters mingle," or where there are lagoons, temporary or permanent,
near the river. But having worked out a location for Ciuatecpan near Canizan
on the basis of other evidence, we believe that the data just mentioned may
well have some significance.^"^
We turn now to Morley's major arguments for locating Ciuatecpan close
to Tenosique. First, he cites the fact that when Avila reached Tanoche, or
Tenosique, in 1530, the Indians guided him to "the road cut through by
Cortes four and a half years earlier (the inference being that this road was
near by) ." Second, he quotes a passage from the Spanish version of the Chon-
tal Text which states that the Spaniards under Cortes "entraron por Tano9ic"
and then passed on to the lands of Acalan.^^^ This evidence clearly associates

the Cortes route with the Tenosique area, but in view of the fact that Teno-
sique was above Petenecte and the latter, in turn, was also 6 leagues above
Ciuatecpan, the place where Cortes crossed the Usumacinta could not have
been between the modern villages of Usumacinta and Tenosique as Morley
believes. Moreover, the Oviedo data concerning Avila's march and the pas-
sage from the Spanish version of the Chontal Text are not inconsistent with
our location for Ciuatecpan near Canizan. The Cortes road, to which the
Indians guided Avila, obviously from Tenosique (Canizan is
was not far

only 9 leagues downstream) but not necessarily so close at hand as Morley

suggests. Although the Spanish word por, used to indicate direction, usually
means "through" or "by way of," in this case it probably means "near" or
"in the region of."^^^ In any case, this evidence clearly imphes that Cortes
crossed the Usumacinta at some point upstream in the general region of
Tenosique, i.e., above the junction of the Usumacinta and San Pedro Martir
Rivers.
As already noted Mrs. Stone favors a location for Ciuatecpan at Monte-
cristo below the junction. She attempts to reconcile Oviedo's account of
Avila's march with this location, but her arguments are of dubious validity.^'"^

i°2 It is also interesting to note that the Tulane-Carnegie map shows a ruin on the left
bank of the Usumacinta at Canizan.
i°* Morley, 1937-38, i: 12-13.
should be noted that the language of the Chontal original is ambiguous, for the
1°-''
It
phrase ochiob tanodzic, which the translators rendered as "entraron por Tanogic," has no
preposition.
106 \li-s. Stone points out that Oviedo does not state the distance from Tenosique to Cortes'
 APPENDIX B 447

At the time her paper was written the Chontal Text was not known. Andrews
also favors a downstream location for Ciuatecpan, although he does not specify
any particular site. His arguments take no account of the Oviedo evidence, nor

does he refer to the passage from the Spanish version of the Chontal Text cited
by Morley.^"^ Perez Martinez, who accepts the Stone-Andrews thesis of a
location below the junction of the Usumacinta and San Pedro Martir, places
the town "near the place where the Rio de Palizada branches off from the
Usumacinta." ^°®
Any discussion of the question whether Ciuatecpan was above or below
the junction of the Usumacinta and San Pedro Martir must also take into
account the location of the great "estero" where Cortes built the famous bridge
on his march from Ciuatecpan to Acalan in 1525. Avila also crossed this same
estero (Oviedo calls it a "laguna") in 1530. Mrs, Stone identifies it as an
estuary on Laguna de Terminos, a logical location in terms of her sites for

Ciuatecpan and Itzamkanac. Andrews does not attempt to locate it, but he
does cite reasons to challenge Motley's view that the estero was "a widened
^^^
or overflow section of the Rio San Pedro Martir."
It is not necessary to examine the validity of Mrs. Stone's and Andrews'
arguments, for we now have evidence that the estero was actually on the San
Pedro Martir. The passage from the Spanish version of the Chontal Text
mentioned above states that the Spaniards with Cortes "entraron por Tanogic

y pasaron por el pueblo de Taxich [Tachix in the Chontal original]," and then
advanced to the lands of Acalan. Likewise, the Spanish version refers to a

second expedition, obviously that of Avila, as follows: 'Vinieron otros es-

road, i.e., to Ciuatecpan or nearby. This is quite true, but the Oviedo narrative as a whole
clearly implies that the road crossed the Usumacinta in the general region of Tenosique and
not at some point as far downstream as Montecristo. Mrs. Stone also states that after arriving
at the road Avila marched three days to the great estero where Cortes had built a bridge in
1525. Actually Oviedo gives no time schedule for this stage of Avila's journey. He docs state,
however, that when Avila returned to Tenosique from the estero, the journey took "almost
three days." But this makes a vast difference not only as to the location of the estero in relation
to Tenosique, but also as to the site of Ciuatecpan. We
see no way of solving the problem in
terms of Mrs. Stone's locations for Ciuatecpan and her site for Itzamkanac on Laguna de Ter-
minos (Stone, 1932, pp. 231-33; Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32, chs. 4, 5).
10'' Andrews,
1943, pp. 17-21.
108 p^j-e2
Martinez, 1945, p. 277. Cf. also pp. 232-33, 277-81, passmi. The author cites the
statement of Diaz del Castillo (ch. 176) that Ciuatecpan was situated on a great river "que iba a
dar en unos esteros donde habia una poblacion que se dice Gueyatasta, y junto a el estaba otro
gran pueblo que se dice Xicalango." Influenced by the Stone-Andrews thesis of a downstream
location for Ciuatecpan, he interprets the passage as referring to the lower course of the
Usumacinta-Palizada. He also calls attention to a statement in the Chontal Text which refers
to the Ciuatecpan people "en la junta de los rios" (the Chontal for this phrase is tuxakha, "where
the waters mingle"), and he concludes that this "alludes to the Palizada and Usumacinta."
Actually, the phrase could apply to any river junction or place "where the waters mingle" on
the Usumacinta.
109 Stone, Andrews,
1932, pp. 220-21, 232-33; 1943, pp. 19-20.
448 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

pafioles y entraron y pasaron por donde el Capitan del Valle [Cortes] paso,
por el pueblo de Tehix [Tachiix in the Chontal]." It may be noted, however,
that in neither case does the Chontal original have words for "pueblo de." The
Text merely states that Cortes and the second expedition "passed Tachix."
In Appendix D we describe the entradas of Feliciano Bravo from Tenosique
to the Peten in 1573 and 1580. In each case he marched overland from Teno-
sique to a "Rio de Tachis," and then advanced upstream in canoes toward the
Itza country. This Rio de Tachis can be only the San Pedro Martir. Conse-
quently, the statements in the Chontal Text that Cortes "entered" by way of
the Tenosique district and then "passed Tachix" en route to Acalan clearly
indicate that he crossed the San Pedro Martir at some point.
If Ciuatecpan were located at Montecristo or at any other point some
distance below the junction of the Usumacinta and San Pedro Martir, both
Cortes and Avila would have had to make a roundabout march to cross, or
indeed to have passed anywhere near, the latter stream en route to Mrs. Stone's
and Andrews' respective locations for Itzamkanac on Laguna de Terminos
and the lower Candelaria.
The next stage of Cortes' journey which requires detailed discussion is

the march from Ciuatecpan to Itzamkanac, the Acalan capital. Crossing the
Usumacinta at Ciuatecpan, Cortes traveled for three days along a narrow trail

until he came to an ester o or ancon 500 paces wide (a section of the Rio San
Pedro Martir) which blocked, his advance. After a fruitless search for a ford,
he called upon the Spaniards and Mexican auxiliaries to build a bridge across

the stream and although it seemed a hopeless task, the bridge was finally com-
pleted, owing in large measure to the commander's leadership and driving
energy. On the right bank of the river the army encountered swamp, where
a

the soldiers had trouble in getting the horses through to solid ground. But

once the estero and swamp were crossed, the army was able to advance with-
out difficulty to the lands of Acalan.
The first Acalan town, called Tizatepelt by Cortes, was reached in a

two-day journey from the swamp. After a stay of six days at this place, Cortes
continued the march to a larger settlement named Teutiercas 5 leagues distant,
and from there the army eventually proceeded to Itzamkanac, which was
apparently a day's journey or less farther on. The actual travel time from the
swamp on the right bank of the San Pedro Martir to the Acalan capital may
be reckoned as about four days. In Acalan Cortes received information con-
cerning the Spaniards at Nito, to which he now directed his march. On
leaving Itzamkanac the army crossed a nearby river and advanced through
Cehache country en route to Tayasal on Lake Peten.^^^
ii** Cortes, 1866, pp. 413-427.
 APPENDIX B 449

As we have stated in the first section of this appendix, Becerra places the
crossing of the estero, or San Pedro Martir, near the modern site of Gracias a
Dios, southeast of Tenosique. He places the Acalan lands in western Peten,
but he does not attempt to locate the capital. Gonzalez directs Cortes' march
even more sharply to the southeast from Tenosique, placing the crossing of
the San Pedro Martir near El Ceibo on the present trail from Tenosique to

the Peten. From this point the route turns slightly northeast to the site for
Itzamkanac, on the extreme headwaters of the San Pedro branch of the
Candelaria, which is shown on Gonzalez' map as extending a considerable
distance southward into the Peten.^^-^
On Maudslay's maps the Cortes route crosses the San Pedro Martir almost
directly east of Tenosique and then swings southeast paralleling the river to
a tentative location for Itzamkanac east of the Mexico-Guatemala boundary.
Morley's route for Cortes is essentially the same. He places the crossing of the
San Pedro Martir between La Revancha and Santa Elena and locates It-

zamkanac at or near the modern settlement of Mactun on the north bank of

the river in the Peten. Maudslay's location for the Acalan capital is in the

same general locality.^^^

Thus all four of these writers agree on a southeasterly route for Cortes
from Ciuatecpan to the Acalan lands. It is our own view that Cortes marched
northeast from Ciuatecpan, crossed the San Pedro Martir near Nuevo Leon,
then proceeded to the San Pedro branch of the Candelaria, and finally reached
Itzamkanac near the confluence of the San Pedro and Arroyo Caribe. This
view is naturally based in part on our belief that the Acalan lands were
located in the Candelaria drainage. But in the preceding discussion we have also
shown that the province was closer to the Gulf coast than the area in which
Becerra, Gonzalez, Maudslay, and Morley place it, and we have presented
various arguments to prove that the Rio de Acalan, on which Itzamkanac
was located, cannot be identified as the San Pedro Martir. We now propose
to refute the thesis that Cortes followed a southeasterly route from Ciuatecpan
to the Peten, where the four writers mentioned above place the province of
Acalan and its capital.

I.At Ciuatecpan Cortes conferred with the Indians concerning the route
he should take to Acalan. The Ciuatecpan people told him that he should
proceed by way of the towns higher up the river, and they had already
opened 6 leagues of road before the arrival of the natives from these upstream
settlements. The latter insisted, however, that such a route would be very
^11
Becerra, 1910a, p. 413; Gonzalez, 1940, pp. 411-17, and map.
11- Diaz del Castillo, 1908-16, 5: maps; Morley, 1937-38, i: 13-16. On plate 179 of Morley's
work Mactun is shown on the south bank of the river, but in vol. i, ch. i, note 89, he notes that
this is an error.
450 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

circuitous ("muy gran rodeo") and that the direct road was by way of a

merchant trail leading from the right bank of the Usumacinta opposite
Ciuatecpan, "by which they would guide me to Acalan." The Indians finally
agreed among themselves that this was the better way.^^^ It was evidently the
plan of the Ciuatecpan people to get the Spaniards quickly out of town at

any cost and to put the onus of transportation across the Usumacinta and
provisioning for the journey to Acalan on their upstream neighbors. But when
the Indians from Petenecte and the other settlements above Ciuatecpan ar-

rived and talked to Cortes, they promptly put an end to any such scheme.
They had geography on their side of the argument, and the Ciuatecpan
people finally had to acknowledge it.

In the case of a Peten location for the Acalan capital, a march upstream
from the Canizan area (where we locate Ciuatecpan) to the region of Teno-
sique (one of the upstream towns) and thence across country to the San
Pedro Martir would, of course, have been more roundabout than a route

directly to the southeast from Canizan, but it would not have been unduly
circuitous. On the other hand, any upstream march, regardless of its distance,

would indeed have been circuitous if Acalan was located to the northeast in
the Candelaria drainage. In short, the objection to an upriver journey made
by the visitors from Petenecte and neighboring towns apphes with very much
greater force in the case of a Candelaria location for Itzamkanac than it does
in the case of a Peten site. If we also take into account the evidence already
cited in favor of a Candelaria location, there can be little doubt that the
direct road from Ciuatecpan to the Acalan capital was to the northeast and
not to the southeast.^^^
2. Morley states that Cortes' march from Ciuatecpan to the great estero

was "through continuously hilly country." This statement is evidently based

on Cortes' remark that after leaving Ciuatecpan the army traveled for three
days along a narrow trail "por unas montafias harto espesas.""^ One meaning
of the word "montafias" is elevated or mountainous terrain, and if Cortes used
113 Cortes, 1866, p. 413, and 1916, p. 365.
11* The Indians fromPetenecte and adjacent towns told Cortes that an upstream march
would also take him through "difficult and uninhabited country." This has been interpreted as
meaning that the suggested upstream route extended far to the south into the rough, mountain-
ous region above Tenosique. In such case the line of march to a Peten location for Itzamkanac
would have been much more circuitous than by way of Tenosique and thence overland to the
San Pedro Martir. But we doubt that the Ciuatecpan people had any idea of sending Cortes
so far to the south.Moreover, with Acalan located in the Candelaria drainage, a route by way
of Tenosique, east or southeast to the San Pedro Martir, and thence in a northeasterly direction
through the Peten to the headwaters of the Candelaria would have been "very circuitous." It
would also have crossed through difficult country, for which we have no evidence of permanent
settlements at the time of the conquest.
115 Morley, 1937-38, i: 13; Cortes, 1866, p. 413.
 APPENDIX B 45 ^

it from Ciuatecpan skirting the wedge of elevated country

in this sense, a route
separating the Usumacinta and the San Pedi'o Martir would be called for.
The more southeasterly routes from Tenosique to the San Pedro Martir sug-
gested by Becerra and Gonzalez would satisfy such a requirement better than
the Maudslay-Moriey route, which crosses through country where
modern
maps indicate a maximum elevation of less than 200 m. But the word "mon-
taiias"can also mean forested country,^^^ and the adjective "espesas" (dense,
thick) employed by Cortes strongly suggests such a meaning in this case.
Andrews has called attention to this point in his criticism of Motley's route
for Cortes from Ciuatecpan to Itzamkanac, and it is also interesting to note

that Maudslay "through thick forest.""' Thus a

translates Cortes' phrase as

northeasterly route from Canizan to the San Pedro Martir across low country
where the elevation is less than 100 m. would satisfy the requirements of this
phase of Cortes' narrative as well as of a southeasterly march across higher
terrain. The army would have encountered thick forest in either case.

3. Cortes was searching for a ford across the estero, or San Pedro
When
Martir, his guides, evidently from Ciuatecpan, told him that such a search
was useless unless he traveled upstream for twenty days "hasta las sierras.""^

The sierras here mentioned (note that Cortes in this case uses the word "sie-

rras" and not "montafias") obviously refer to the elevated country, rising in
places to a height of 500 m. or more, extending from near Tenosique south-
eastward into central Peten. The northwestern, and also the highest, portion
of this area forms the wedge or divide, mentioned in the preceding paragraph,

which Usumacinta and San Pedro Martir and forces the latter
separates the
stream to turn north after crossing the Mexico-Guatemala boundary. Al-
though the guides may have exaggerated the time that would have been re-
quired to reach a ford, it is evident that Cortes had struck the San Pedro
Martir a considerable distance downstream from the sierras. The points of

crossing at Gracias a Dios and at El Ceibo suggested by Becerra and Gon-

zalez respectively are at the foothills of the divide between the two rivers,

and the sites indicated by Maudslay and Morley, although farther down-
stream, are also too close to the sierras to give the statements of the guides
much meaning. In short, a site for the crossing of the San Pedro Alartir north-
east of Canizan, where we locate Ciuatecpan, would satisfy this part of Cortes'

116 Chapter 10 of the present volume deals with the history of the "Alontanas" missions
that were established in 1604 et seq. in the area southeast of Tixchel. These missions were so
named because they were located in a bush and forest area, not in mountainous or elevated
country.
11 '^
Andrews, 1943, p. 19; Cortes, 1916, p. 365.
118 Cortes, 1866, p. 413.
452 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

narrative better than those suggested by the proponents of a southeasterly

route to Itzamkanac.
4. Mrs. Stone, who places Ciuatecpan at Montecristo, believes that Cortes
marched in a northeasterly direction to Itzamkanac, which she locates on
Laguna de Terminos. Morley raises an objection on the ground that "such
a direction would have taken the army a tremendous distance out of the most
direct route to the next identifiable point of its itinerary after leaving Itzam-
kanac and the Province of Acalan, namely Tayasal at the western end of Lake
Peten Itza."^^*^ This line of argument implies that Itzamkanac should be
located in terms of a direct route from Ciuatecpan to Tayasal and other
identifiable points of Cortes' itinerary beyond Acalan; that Cortes' objective
on leaving Ciuatecpan was not only Itzamkanac but also other points on his
later route toNito and the Caribbean coast. We have already noted, how-
ever, that Cortes' objective prior to reaching Acalan was apparently As-
cension Bay, which he may have confused with Chetumal Bay, in eastern
Yucatan. Consequently, if Cortes,on leaving Ciuatecpan, followed a fairly
direct route to an objective beyond Acalan, it would be more reasonable to
assume that he marched northeast instead of southeast. It was only after he
reached Acalan that he learned of the presence of Spaniards at Nito and
directed hismarch toward the latter place on the basis of a new map provided
by the Indians of Acalan. Thus the thesis of a direct route to the southeast is
tenable only for the journey beyond Acalan.
Crossing a wide river near Itzamkanac, Cortes passed through certain
towns of the Cehache Indians on the way to Tayasal. In Chapter 3 we have
shown that the Cehache occupied the lacustrine belt extending from Mocu
and Cilvituk south into northern Peten. According to available documentary
evidence the southern limits of the province, even at the end of the seven-
teenth century after the Cehache had been subject to prolonged pressure by fu-
gitive Maya from northern Yucatan, were in the region of Chuntuqui. Conse-
quently, if Itzamkanac was located on the north bank of the San Pedro Martir
at or would not have been necessary for Cortes to cross the
near Mactun, it

river in order to march through Cehache territory. Moreover, a march from

Mactun to Tayasal by way of the southern part of the Cehache country as
defined above would have necessitated a lengthy detour to the northeast. In
short, the thesis of a direct route to the southeast falls down in the very first

case where it has definite validity.

On Maudslay's map the Cehache area, designated as Mazateca, is spread
across the San Pedro Martir southeast of the location for Itzamkanac, and
119 Morley, 1937-38, i: 12.
 APPENDIX B 453

Cortes' route, which crosses the river at the latter place, runs through the
Thus Maudslay achieves a
southern part of the indicated Cehache territory/"^
direct route through Cehache country to Tayasal, but only by placing the
Cehache farther south than is warranted by the documentary evidence.
Morley describes the Cehache province at the end of the seventeenth cen-
tury as extending from the northern boundary of the Department of Peten
to "somewhere around the headwaters of the Rio San Pedro Martir, east of

Agua Dulce along the general line from Salchiche to Santa Cruz, roughly 9
or 10 leagues north of the lake."^-^ Like Maudslay, he errs in extending the
Cehache territory too far to the south. The narrative of Avendaiio's journey
to Tayasal in 1696, of which Morley gives a summary, mentions no towns or
settlements between the Cehache rancheria at Chuntuqui and the first settle-
ment of the Chakan Itza west of Lake Peten. The narrative also indicates a
distance of about 29 leagues between these points.^^^ In 1525 Cortes marched
five days through uninhabited country from Yasuncabil, the last Cehache
town, to the lake. The logical route for a march from Mactun to Tayasal
through the southern part of the Cehache province as defined by Morley
would be north of the San Pedro Martir and around its headwaters. Cortes'
narrative explicitly states, however, that on leaving Itzamkanac the army
crossed a "gran estero" (a wide, sluggish river), a point which Morley fails
to mention. If Cortes crossed the San Pedro Martir at Mactun and followed a
direct route to Tayasal, he would not have passed through Cehache country
as delimited by Morley.

5. Morley 's location for Itzamkanac is based in part on his interpretation

of certain passages in the Chontal Text and in the Spanish version of the same.
He calls attention to the fact that in several places the term Mactun occurs
together with the name Acalan in references to the people or to the province
of Acalan, and he also states that in one case the capital of the province is

referred to as Mactun de Acalan (Tamactun Acalan in the Text). Morley

then adds:

The writer regards it as highly probable that while Acalan was the Nahuatl
name of the province and, by extension, of its capital or principal settlement as
well, the Maya (Chontal) name for the people as likewise for the province and
sometimes, by extension, even for its capital was Mactun, though the proper
Chontal name of the principal town or capital was Itzamkanac. By referring to
plate 179 it will be seen that the name Mactun still attaches to a small settlement
i-°Diaz del Castillo, 1908-16, 5: "Map of Guatemala and Adjacent Areas."
121Morley, 1937-38, i: 72.
122 Means,
1917, pp. 124-29; Morley, 1937-38, i: 50-51. Means' map (plate VI) places Chun-
tuqui south of the San Pedro Martir, but we see no justification whatever for such a location.
454 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

on the north bank of the Rio San Pedro Martir, 22 km. in an an* line east-southeast

of the point (Santa Clara) where the river passes out of the Department of Peten,
Guatemala, and into the State of Tabasco, Mexico. This the writer believes must
be very near, if not indeed actually at, the site of Itzamkanac, the capital of the
ancient Province of Acalan.^-^

This line of argument is open to various objections. The duplication of

place names in Yucatan and Tabasco, as well as in other parts of Middle
America, makes it necessary to exercise caution in forming conclusions based
on the appearance of a certain name at any given point on modern maps.
Mactun occurs not only in the case cited above by Morley but also as the
name of an arroyo, or small stream, tributary to the Usumacinta near Canizan.
On the basis of name occurrence it would be just as logical to locate Itzam-

kanac in the latter area as at the site of the settlement of Mactun on the San
Pedro Martir. Although the case is not entirely comparable, it may be noted
that Maler's incorrect location for Itzamkanac at Canizan was based on the
similarity of the two names.^-"*
The term Mactun appears at least eleven times in the Chontal Text, but
in no case do we find it alone as a name for the Acalan capital. It appears alone
only once (folio 721^, line 4) in the plural form Amactunob, "iMactun people."
In all other cases w^e find it together with or in association with the name
Acalan, and in almost every passage the reference is to the province or its

people. In only one passage, describing the arrival of the Franciscan mission-
ary. Fray Diego de Bejar, on April 20, 1550, is there any certainty that the
capital is indicated, and in this case the Text reads "Tamactun Acalan" (folio

74^, line 24) . In contrast, the Text records the name of the capital four times

as Itzamkanac, once as Acalan Itzamkanac, and once as Itzamkanac Acalan.

These facts indicate that Mactun was probably a qualifying term, and also

that was normally used with reference to the province or its people rather
it

than to any particular settlement.

We cannot translate the term Mactun with absolute certainty. Mac can
mean which chokes or obstructs something. Tun means some kind of
that
rock, and it evidently indicates a natural feature of the landscape by which
the country is characterized in the minds of the people. As already noted,
Mactun appears on modern maps as the name of a river and of a river settle-

ment. In the Chontal Text it refers to a province, a people, and possibly a

settlement located on a river, the Rio de Acalan. An important feature of the

123 Morley, 1937-38, i: 15-16. On plate 179 of Morley's work Mactun is shown on the south
bank of the river, but in vol. i, ch. i, note 89, he notes that this is an error.
124 Maler, 1910, p. 165.
 APPENDIX B 455

Rio de Acalan was the stone ledges which created an extensive series of rapids
and falls. Rapids exist on the San Pedro Martir below the modern settlement
of Mactun, as well as below Tiradero. We do not know whether such ob-
stacles exist on the Arroyo Mactun, tributary of the Usumacinta. The fore-
going data suggest, however, that Mactun (the name can be either Chontal
or Maya) is a term descriptive of a region of rapids or falls.^^

If our reasoning is correct, then the name Mactun as employed in the

Chontal Text indicates that the people of Acalan regarded the rapids and
falls of the Rio de Acalan as the characteristic feature of their country. In
other words, Acalan, which means "land of boats" in Nahuatl, was also a
^-^
"rapids" province, and its inhabitants, the Amactunob, were "rapids people."
It is evident, however, that such a province could have been located on the
Candelaria as well as on the San Pedro Martir.
With regard to any settlement named Mactun on the San Pedro Martir,

we do not know whether it goes back to pre-Spanish times. We find no men-

tion of any such place in the reports of the expeditions of Feliciano Bravo up
the Rio de Tachis, or San Pedro Martir, in 1573 and 1580, although on each
occasion he undoubtedly passed the site of the modern settlement. It is pos-
sible, of course, that a tract of land along or near the rapids on the east-west
course of the river in the Peten was always known as Mactun; but it is also

more likely that a new and later settlement established close to these rapids

would be called Mactun. Moreover, the reports of Bravo 's entradas contain
no hint that he had entered Acalan territory or that he had passed the site
of Itzamkanac on his upstream journeys toward the Itza country. Indeed,
witnesses who were asked to testify concerning Bravo's services made a

clear distinction between the Acalan country and the Tachis, or San Pedro
Martir, area.^^'
6. We have already taken note of various statements in Cortes' narrative
which refer to a water route from Acalan and its capital to the coastal settle-

ments of Xicalango by way of Laguna de Terminos.^-^ If Itzamkanac was on

the San Pedro Martir, then the water route would have comprised this stream
and the Usumacinta. In other words, Itzamkanac would have been located on
a branch of the same river on which Cortes marched upstream from Iztapa.
1-5 Cf. discussion in Chapter 3, pp. 51-52, supra.
126 This does not mean that the capital of the province and other principal towns were
necessarily locatedon or close to the rapids of the Rio de Acalan. In the Yucatan documents
towns of' the Xiu province are often referred to as "sierra" settlements, although they were
actually some distance from the sierra, or range of hills, to which reference is made.
i27Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo, AGI, Mexico, leg. 109. Also cf. discussion of tb.c Bra\n
entradas in Appendix D.
12s Ct
pp. 411-12, supra.
456 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

At this point we also call special attention to the fact that while Cortes was at

Iztapa he sent messengers to his ships waiting off the Gulf coast to obtain food
and transport them by water to Acalan, where he would be waiting.
supplies
This would mean, in the case of a location for Itzamkanac at Mactun, that
the supplies were to be transportedup the Usumacinta and San Pedro Martir
Rivers, and that Cortes already had at least a general knowledge of such a
route. After his arrival in Acalan Cortes would have received more precise
information from Paxbolonacha and the Acalan merchants, and he would also
have learned then, if not before, that Itzamkanac was located on a branch of
the Usumacinta.
We should expect therefore that Cortes would have given some explicit
indication of one or more of these facts in the narrative of his journey. But
the Fifth Letter contains no statement that clearly and unmistakably defines
the water route from Acalan to the Gulf coast as the Usumacinta-San Pedro
Martir system; no explicit evidence that the supplies were to be sent up the
same river on which the army was encamped when the messengers were sent
to the coast; no statement that Itzamkanac was located on a branch of the
great river on which the towns of Iztapa, Tatahuitalpan, Usumacinta, and
Ciuatecpan were situated; no statement that the Acalan capital was located
on the very river across which Cortes built the famous bridge. The lack of
any such data in Cortes' narrative clearly implies that in marching from
Ciuatecpan to Itzamkanac the army crossed from one river system to another,
i.e., from the Usumacinta-San Pedro Martir to the Candelaria. That such was
the case proved by Montejo's probanza of 153 1, which places Acalan close
is

to the Gulf coast and in which we have testimony that the Rio de Acalan
(the "gran estero" on which Cortes said Itzamkanac was located) emptied di-

rectly into Laguna de Terminos. It is evident therefore that the supplies from
the ships were to be sent across Laguna de Terminos and up the Candelaria,
while Cortes and the army followed another route to Acalan. Likewise, the
Tabasco merchants who gave Paxbolonacha advance knowledge of the Span-
iards undoubtedly came by the Terminos-Candelaria route.
7. A final objection to Maudslay's location for Itzamkanac may be made
on the basis of the salto, or sharp drop in the San Pedro Martir, just below
Mactun. Neither Cortes nor Bernal Diaz refers to any falls near the Acalan
capital. Bernal Diaz traveled by canoe through most of the region surrounding
Itzamkanac in search of food for the army, and if he had encountered any
such obstructions to navigation he would almost certainly have mentioned
them.
Gonzalez places Itzamkanac on the Candelaria system, but his location
 APPENDIX B 457

for the capital on the extreme headwaters of the San Pedro branch, which he
extends farther south into the Peten than do most cartographers of the region,
is too far upstream. The records of Paxbolon's entradas into the Zapotitlan
area in 1566-68 indicate that Itzamkanac could be reached in a two-day
journey above the falls and rapids of the Rio de Acalan. would not be It

possible to reach Gonzalez' site for Itzamkanac within two days from Salto
Ahogado, in former times the upper limit of the falls on the Candelaria.
Andrews reports rapids on the upper part of the San Pedro branch,^-'' but
these, in turn, are too far from the coast to be identified as the obstacles men-
tioned in the narrative of Paxbolon's entradas.
The foregoing evidence should be sufficient to refute the idea that Cortes
followed a southeasterly route from Ciuatecpan to Itzamkanac. A route to the
northeast not only satisfies certain requirements of Cortes' narrative as well
as a march to the southeast, but in some cases permits a more reasonable in-
terpretation of the narrative. We shall now describe the line of march we
believe the army followed to the Acalan capital and thence across the Cehache
country to Tayasal.
As stated above, we place the crossing of the estero, or San Pedro Martir,
Nuevo Leon northeast of Canizan. The airline distance from
in the region of
Canizan to Nuevo Leon is approximately 30 km., a short stretch for a three-
day march. But since the army followed a narrow trail through thick forest,
the advance was probably slow and arduous; and the actual route, winding
through the forest, was necessarily longer than the airline distance. In 1530

Avila took "almost three days" to return from the estero to Tanoche, or
Tenosique.
Near Nuevo Leon a small stream (the Rio Nuevo Leon, also called the

"zanja" of Nuevo Leon) enters the Usumacinta from the east. On some maps
this tributary is shown with branching mouths, indicating a low flood area,
and on at least one map (Balancan Sheet, Military Intelligence Division,
U. S. A., 1935, Map No. 107 E-15-S-III) we find an extensive area of swamp
drained by this "zanja." These topographical data fit in with Cortes' account
of an estero, said to be 500 paces wide, and a swamp on the right bank of the
river, and also with Oviedo's description of a great lagoon 2 leagues wide en-
countered by Avila in 1530. Avila arrived in the rainy season when the flood
waters would have been more extensive, and although Cortes passed through
in the dry season, he refers to the "muchas aguas que habia," evidently out-
of -season rains.^^°

129 Andrews, 1943, p. 46.

130 Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-55, bk. 32, chs. 4, 5; Cortes, 1866, pp. 413-14.
45^ ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Certain statements in Cortes' Fifth Letter and in the narrative of Bernal

Diaz have been interpreted as indicating that there was also a water route
from Ciuatecpan to Acalan. Cortes tells us that from Ciuatecpan he sent a
Spaniard and some Indians "in a canoe by water to the province of Acalan"
to announce his coming and to find out whether the supplies had arrived from
the ships. Later he sent out another advance party, evidently the one of which
Bernal Diaz was a member. In Maudslay's translation of Bernal Diaz' account
of the activities of this second party we find this statement: "We did all the
journey in canoes by rivers and lagoons. . .
." By reference to the Spanish
original we find, however, that this statement ("y todo se andaba en canoas
por rios y esteros") does not refer to Bernal Diaz' journey to Acalan, but
obviously goes with his preceding reference to the Acalan settlements and
means that communication between these settlements was in canoes by rivers
and esteros. In another passage Bernal Diaz also mentions "crossing the
swamps with difficulty" en route to Acalan, a remark that would have little

meaning if he had made the entire journey by canoe. Moreover, Cortes specifi-

cally states that the second advance party was sent "por tierra" with guides
1
from Ciuatecpan who knew the road.^^^ Thus the question is how to interpret
Cortes' statement that the first party was sent "in a canoe by water to the
province of Acalan."
If this statement means that the entire journey was to be made by water,
then there would be only two alternatives in the case of a location for Acalan
in the Candelaria drainage. One would be down the Usumacinta and the
Palizada to Laguna de Terminos, thence to the mouth of the Candelaria, and
upstream to the Acalan settlements. But this route can probably be ruled out,
since it would have taken a long time and Cortes was evidently anxious to
learn whether the supplies from the ships had arrived. The second alternative
would have been down the Usumacinta to the mouth of the San Pedro Martir,
thence upstream on the latter river to a point where there was some sort of
water connection, possibly with portages, to the San Pedro branch of the
Candelaria. Some of the older maps actually show a connection, called the
Arroyo Pedernal, between these streams across the northwest corner of the
Peten. Exact topographical data for this area are not available, but in former
times, prior to the blasting of channels through the rapids and falls of the
Candelaria, there were probably more extensive swamp and overflow areas on
the upper reaches of the river, including the San Pedro branch. Such areas
and the swamp, or zanja, east of the San Pedro Martir near Nuevo Leon may
have provided a passage with portages for canoes from one stream to the other.
131 Cortes, 1866, p. 413; Diaz del Castillo, 1908-16, 5: 19-20; 1939, ch. 176.
 APPENDIX B 459

It is also possible, indeed probable, that Cortes' statement merely means

that the first advance party set out by canoe and was expected to proceed by
water as far as possible, i.e., to some point on the San Pedro Martir or to the
great swamp east of the river, and then by a short overland march to the
Acalan settlements. The main army later reached the first Acalan farms after

a march of only a day and a half from the swamp. Advocates of a San Pedro
Martir location for Acalan may argue that the advance party was expected to
proceed by way of the Usumacinta and San Pedro Martir all the way to
Itzamkanac, and that Cortes' statements constitute evidence in favor of their
location of the province, but there are so many reasons for rejecting a San
Pedro Martir location for Acalan that such an argument does not merit
serious consideration. It is evident that canoes could go from Ciuatecpan to
within a relatively short distance of the Acalan frontier, and it may be that
Cortes thought of the Acalan province as beginning on the farther side of
the great swamp. Moreover, as we have indicated above, there may actually
have been a water route for canoes, with easy portages, from the San Pedro
Martir to the San Pedro branch of the Candelaria.
From the swamps on the right bank of the San Pedro Martir, Cortes and
his army advanced toward the frontier settlements of Acalan. About noon of
the second day they came to some planted fields, and later in the afternoon,

after making a detour around aswamp, they arrived at the first town. This
settlement, called Tizatepelt in Cortes' Fifth Letter, was apparently the place
named Cacchute in the brief narrative of the journey in the Chontal Text."^
Neither the Mexican nor the Chontal name appears to provide a definite clue

to the location of the town.^'^^ If we assume a distance of 9 or 10 leagues in a

northeasterly direction from Nuevo Leon on the San Pedro Martir, the
settlement would have been situated in the region of the great bend of the
San Pedro branch of the Candelaria above the junction with the Esperanza.-^^^

The lord of Tizatepelt had his people open a road to a larger settlement
5 leagues farther on. Cortes gives the name of this second town as Teutiercas,

evidently the place named Tuxakha in the Chontal Text. The term tiixakha,

which means "where the waters mingle," is translated in one passage of the
Spanish version of the Text as "junta de los rios." Ixtlilxochitl, who gives the

122 Cortes. 1866,

pp. 416-17.
issSeler (1904, p. 79) defines Tizatepetlan (the form given by Gomara and Ixtlilxochitl)
as "the white earth mountain" or "village of the white earth." AVe have tentatively translated
Cacchute as "white cedar" (cf. p. 388, supra).
134^ If Cortes had marched almost due north from the San Pedro Martir, he would have

struck the Candelaria below the rapids. But since neither he nor Bernal Diaz mentions these
obstacles, it is evident that the army's route was to the northeast to the upper part of the river
above the rapids.
460 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

name of the town as Teotilac, indicates that it was on a river. ^^'^ It seems hkely
was located on the Arroyo San Pedro
therefore that Teutiercas, or Tnxakha,
somewhere on the lower part of the great bend and possibly at the junction
with the Arroyo Esperanza.^^^
From Teutiercas, where Paxbolonacha came to meet Cortes, the army
proceeded to Itzamkanac. Cortes does not state the distance for this stage

of the march, but was evidently made in one day or' less, and we may assume
it

a maximum distance of from 5 to 6 leagues.^^'^ Depending on the general

direction of the march and also the exact location of Teutiercas, the army
could have reached the Candelaria at various points from the junction of the
Arroyo Caribe and the San Pedro downstream toward La Florida. But we
also have to take into account the fact that Itzamkanac- Acalan was some two
days' journey above the rapids and falls, and this would indicate a location
near the junction. And we must also assume that it was on the south bank of
the Candelaria, since the Cortes narrative gives no evidence that any major
stream was crossed between the estero, or San Pedro Martir, and Itzamkanac.
A site for the capital on the south bank of the Candelaria near the junction
of the Arroyo Caribe and the San Pedro also satisfies other requirements of

the various accounts of Cortes' stay in Acalan. ( i ) It is far enough above the
rapids and falls to explain why neither Cortes nor Bernal Diaz mention these
obstacles in the Rio de Acalan. (2) It occupies a position from which Cortes
had to cross a river and only one (evidently the Arroyo San Pedro) en route
to Cehache country, and it also enables us to plot a march through this area

and thence to Tayasal in the time allotted by the Fifth Letter. (3) It is cen-
trally and strategically located in a network of waterways (the Candelaria,

itstwo main branches, connecting creeks, swamps, and overflow areas) that
would give meaning to Cortes' remark that Acalan was "surrounded by
esteros." Gonzalez defines the province as the northwestern Peten, with the
San Pedro Martir and the San Pedro branch of the Candelaria as the sur-

rounding waterways. Morley suggests an even larger area bounded by the

Candelaria, the San Pedro Martir, and the Usumacinta.^^® It seems obvious,
however, that Cortes was describing^ the part of Acalan that he actually saw,
not a larger area, parts of which he could not have visited if he had taken a

12° Cortes, 1866, p. 417; Alva Ixtlilxochitl, 1891-92, i: 412.

i36Seler (1904, p. 79) derives Teutiercas (recorded as Teuticcac by Gomara) from

teotl-icac (cf. Ixtlilxochitl's Teotilac) as "the upright standing god," and he calls attention to
the fact that at Teutiercas the Chontal worshipped a female deity to whom maidens were
sacrificed. The forms recorded bv Gomara and Ixtlilxochitl probably reproduce the actual name
more accurately than Cortes' Teutiercas, since there is no written r in Nahuatl.
137 Cortes, 1866,
p. 419.
138 Gonzalez, Morley, 1937-38,
1940, p. 415-16; i: 73.
 APPENDIX B 46

southeasterly route from Ciuatecpan on the Usumacinta to the San Pedro

Martir, Mactun, and thence to Tayasal. Moreover, the region of the upper
Candelaria and its two major branches would constitute an area surrounded
by esteros directly tributary to Laguna de Terminos, as Cortes' narrative im-
plies and Montejo's probanza requires. (4) From a site near the junction of
the Arroyo Caribe and the San Pedro it would have been possible, as Bernal
Diaz relates, for the Spaniards to visit the neighboring settlements in canoes
and rapidly accumulate supply of food for the army.^^^ (5) Bernal Diaz also
a

states that some of the towns were on mainland and others on islands. ^^^ Before
the blasting of the rapids of the Candelaria, there was probably more overflow
on the upper part of the mainstream and its branches, creating inundated areas
surrounding plots of higher ground. Andrews reports that even today the
country north of the Candelaria is swamp.-^*-^

Having obtained information from Paxbolonacha and the Acalan merchants

concerning the Spaniards at Nito, Cortes now prepared to march toward the
latter area. The Chontal made him a map of the route he should follow, fur-

nished supplies of food, and provided guides to take him to the Cehache coun-
try which bordered the province of Acalan on the east.
Itzamkanac lay beside a swamp and just beyond the latter flowed a wide,
sluggish river ("gran estero") which it was necessary to cross to march toward
the Cehache country. Since the town was apparently on the south bank of
the Candelaria near the junction of its two major branches, the estero must
have been either the main Candelaria or the San Pedro branch. Cortes also
states that between the estero and the first Cehache farms his route lay through
level, heavily forested country and was impeded by no river or swamp. Conse-
quently it is difficult to escape the conclusion that he crossed the San Pedro
not far above the junction and proceeded in an easterly direction, probably a

little south of east, between the Arroyo Caribe and the Arroyo Esperanza to
the lacustrine belt beyond Laguna Misteriosa.-^^^

If Cortes had crossed the main Candelaria, he would have immediately

encountered swampy country north of the river. It would also have been
necessary either to cross the Arroyo Caribe or else to make a long detour
around the north end of Isla Pac, the great swampy area draining into the
upper part of the latter stream. This would have also taken Cortes to the

Cehache country, it is true, but he would have been so far from Lake Peten
that we find it impossible to reconcile such a route with either his or Bernal
Diaz' account of the journey.

139 Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 177. 1*1 Andrews, 1943, p. 45.
^^°lbid., ch. 176. 1*2 Cortes, 1866, Andrews,
pp. 419-23; 1943, p. 12.
462 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

The only other possible route, apparently, would have been to cross the
San Pedro above its junction with the Esperanza and proceed to the southeast
between these two streams. This might be shorter than the route we have
suggested, but it is open to several objections. It would necessitate locating
Itzamkanac farther up the San Pedro than seems compatible with the docu-
mentary evidence concerning the location of this town. It also seems doubtful
that a lake country could have been reached in this direction in less than three
days (the time required to reach the first Cehache town in the lake area).
Finally, it is open to question whether the Cehache area extended so far south-

west that Cortes would have been obliged to travel through it for more than
two days in the direction of Lake Peten. As mentioned above, the Cehache
settlements, even at the end of the seventeenth century after they had long
been crowded toward the south, extended only as far as the neighborhood of
Chuntuqui.
Upon leaving Itzamkanac the army spent the first day in crossing the
swamp and the river adjoining the town. The second day, after traveling 5
leagues, Cortes met his scouts who reported on the route to the Cehache
border. Later two Acalan merchants were seized near a lake and impressed
into service as guides. After advancing some distance farther, the expedition
stopped for the night in the forest. On the following day a skirmish occurred
with an armed Cehache patrol, one of whom was captured, but the others
made their escape. That night the Spaniards made a dry camp near some
farms, and in the morning (fourth day) they crossed a swamp and reached
a fortified town some 3 leagues from where they had slept. This settlement
(called Pueblo Cercado by Bernal Diaz) was situated on a rock beside a large

lake. Evidently it lay in the lacustrine belt between the heavy rain forest,
through which the expedition had passed, and the drier forest of southeastern
Campeche. From here the army could have headed only in a southerly di-

rection toward Lake Peten.^^^

Their route now led through a savanna country where they saw many
deer; and they passed the sites of two villages which, according to Bernal Diaz,
had been burned by a raiding party of foreign invaders. -^^^ After traveling 7
leagues the expedition came to the town, larger than the first, called Tiac,

where Cortes noted that each barrio was separately fortified in addition to a

1*3 Cortes, 1866,

pp. 423-25; Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 177.
144 Diaz del Castillo (1939, ch. 177) states that "it seems to me" the Cehache told him that
these foreign invaders were Lacandon. It is evident, however, that he was not entirely sure of
his memory on this point. We
doubt that the Lacandon were ranging farther north than the
San Pedro Martir, although it m.ay have been possible. ^Ve are incHned to believe that the
invaders were Itza, or groups of the Rfo de Tachis people, who also were probably Itra, men-
tioned in the Bravo probanzas.
 APPENDIX B 465

palisade surrounding the entire settlement. Bernal Diaz adds that it was on an
island in a lake, through which they waded to reach the place. Another day's
travel brought them to the third and last Cehache town on their route, al-

though the heads of five or six other settlements had also supplied Cortes

with provisions. He calls this place Yasuncabil and notes that it was fortified

like the others. Bernal Diaz tells us that it was on a large lake and that it took
two days to reach it.^^"^

If we roughly estimate Cortes' course as extending some 17 leagues east

by south from the Rio San Pedro to the first Cehache town, and another
14 leagues southeast to Yasuncabil, it would place the latter town in the
region of Chuntuqui. (We estimate a day's travel as 7 leagues, partly because
the army could have made faster time in this country than in the swamps of
Tabasco. Moreover, as we have already noted, Cortes states that he made 7
leagues in one day between Pueblo Cercado and Tiac.) This area, as we have
seen, was still occupied by the Cehache at the end of the seventeenth century.
At Yasuncabil supplies were assembled for a five-day journey through
uninhabited country.^^*^ Four leagues were covered the first day, but no other
distances are recorded for this stage of the journey. The route crossed the
hilly (sierra) country north of Lake Peten. One difficult pass was called Puerto
de Alabastro, but the rock for which it was named was probably a very fine

limestone. On the fifth day the scouts reached the lake, and that night the
army camped on its shore. ^^^
The airline distance from Chuntuqui to Lake Peten is approximately 6^
km., but the actual travel distance would, of course, have been longer. The
narrative of Avendaiio's journey in 1696 indicates that the distance traveled
from Chuntuqui to the first settlement of the Chakan Itza (5 leagues west of
the lake)was about 29 leagues. Maler gives the distance from Chuntuqui to
San Andres on the western end of the lake as 30 leagues, or 127.5 ^^^- Although
we are of the opinion that both Avendano and Maler overestimated the length
of their respective routes, we shall use their figures as a basis of calculation
for Cortes journey.
Avendaiio, who had no local guides and in places had to depend on the
batches, or blazes on trees, made by Itza travelers, covered his route in six
days. Maler followed an old pack trail that runs through Santa Rita and San
Miguel and reached San Andres in four days. Their respective schedules aver-
145 Cortes, 1866, Diaz del Castillo, 1939, ch. 178.
pp. 425-26;
146
Both Avendano in the late seventeenth century and Maler 200 years later found the
country between Chuntuqui and Lake Peten uninhabited (Means, 1917, pp. 124-29; Maler, 1910,
p. 150)'.
14^ Cortes, 1866,
pp. 426-27.
464 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

age five days, which was Cortes' travel time from Yasuncabil to Lake Peten.
Although Cortes was accompanied by a large force of soldiers and auxiliaries,

he also had competent local guides who knew the most direct route to the
lake. Moreover, Cortes could take no risk of running short of food on this

uninhabited stretch, and consequently he must have traveled as rapidly as

possible. Under ordinary circumstances he could easily have covered 29-30
leagues in five days. The only problem is whether the hilly country between
the headwaters of the San Pedro Martir and Lake Peten would have slowed
down his rate of travel sufficiently to create serious doubt whether he could
have reached the lake in the allotted time. Although Cortes mentions "sierras"
and a difficult pass, his account of the journey, to which he devotes about six

lines, does not give the impression that the march was especially difficult.

Avendaiio refers to "rough ascents and descents," but these stretches (includ-
ing the "Hell of Ytzaes," which apparently caused him little trouble) com-
prised little more than one-third of the entire distance. Maler does not appear
to have considered his own route a difficult one to travel. Consequently, we
doubt that the hilly country actually constituted a serious obstacle. Every-
thing considered, we believe that five days were sufficient time for Cortes to

march from Yasuncabil in the general latitude of Chuntuqui to Lake Peten. ^^^
From Tayasal the expedition followed the trade route already discussed
to the rapids of the Sarstoon and, farther on, to Nito near the mouth of the
Rio Dulce.^^'^

In 1530 Alonso de Avila, marching from Chiapa, reached the Usumacinta

3 leagues up the gorge above Tanoche, or Tenosique, and proceeded down-
stream in canoes to the latter place. The Spaniards rounded up some natives of
the town, who guided them to Cortes' road from Ciuatecpan (Canizan) to
the great estero, or San Pedro Martir. The narrative of Alonso de Lujan in-

corporated in Oviedo's Histor'm Gejieral describes the estero as "a very large
lagoon two leagues in width." Since the rainy season was on, the overffow area
was naturally much wider than when Cortes crossed it in late February or early
March, 1525. Cortes' bridge was gone, except for a few timbers in the water.
Avila and his men set to work to build another bridge, but he was forced to
abandon it because the heavy rains hindered the work. So he turned back to
Tanoche, a journey of "almost three days," and established his camp in some
maize fields near the town. Here the expedition is said to have remained more
than four months of the rainy season. At the end of this time the Indians took
148 Means, 1917, pp. 124-29; Maler, 1910, pp. 150-52.
143 See p. 60, supra; Morley, 1937-38, i: 17-19.
 APPENDIX B 465

canoes to the lagoon, evidently by way of the Usumacinta and the lower San
Pedro Martir, and the Spaniards made the crossing to the opposite shore.^^*^

The implication of the Lujan-Oviedo narrative is that the expedition had

remained in Tanoche until the rains abated some time in the autumn of 1530.
We now have evidence that this was not the case, for we have recently found
an encomienda grant by Avila dated at Salamanca de Acalan on August i,

1530.^^^ Avila was in Acalan about six weeks. Assuming that the encomienda

grant was made during the first or second week of his stay, it would mean that
Avila left Tanoche in July, when the rains were at their height. Since the rains
had already started by the time Avila first arrived in Tanoche, it is also evi-
dent that he did not spend four months in this settlement. We surmise, there-
fore, that the major purpose of his return to the town after his first journey
to the San Pedro Martir was not to await better weather but to make arrange-
ments for the Indians to take canoes to the lagoon so that the expedition could
make the crossing.
On the right bank of the San Pedro Martir the expedition picked up the
Cortes road again, although it was practically closed {jniiy cerrado) and could
be followed only with great difficulty. Indeed, it appears that they left the
trail and took a route to the west of the San Pedro branch of the Candelaria,
for Oviedo mentions no important towns en route. The first Acalan settle-

ments reached by the expedition were some small villages only 3 leagues from
the capital.
Oviedo gives the distance from the lagoon, or San Pedro Martir, to Acalan
as 30 leagues. With one exception, Oviedo uses this figure to measure all the
stages of Avila's journey from Teapa to Champoton, and it seems likely that
it represents an estimate of travel time or a comparative measure of distances
rather than distances actually traveled. In this particular case we have a basis

of comparison in Cortes' narrative of the expedition of 1525. Cortes took four

days to go from the San Pedro iMartir to Itzamkanac, and the travel distance
may be estimated as 20-24 leagues, the smaller figure probably being the closer
estimate. During the two days Cortes evidently followed the trail of the
first

advance party, which had brought provisions from the Acalan settlements.
On the third and fourth days he proceeded along a road opened in advance
by the Indians. Avila, on the other hand, had to cut a path through thick
15° The Lujan-Oviedo account of the Avila expedition is found in Oviedo y Valdes, 1851-
55, bk. 32, chs. 4, 5. The discussion of the expedition in the text above is based on this source,

except as otherwise indicated in the following notes.

Sanchez, hija de Pedro
151 This encomienda grant is found in a lawsuit entitled "Isabel

Galiano, difunto, con Francisco Manrique, vecino de Yucatan, sobre los indios de Yobain y
Tixcacal, 1557." AGI, Justicia, leg. 1012, num. 2, ramo 3.
466 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

forest, and, as already noted, he apparently took a route farther west, which
may have been somewhat longer. Consequently, a travel time of six days, with
an estimated 5 leagues per day, would compare favorably with Cortes'
schedule.
Oviedo tells us that during the march from the lagoon to Acalan the
expedition suffered from thirst and that the soldiers obtained water from a
kind of caiia, or bamboolike growth, and also from "cardos" growing on trees
(probably a kind of epiphyte). This statement has puzzled students, since
Oviedo's narrative implies that the march was made toward the end of the
rainy season. It becomes even more puzzling now that we know that the
march occurred not later than July, when the rains must have been heavy. It
seems obvious that Oviedo garbled Lujan's narrative or that Lujan had in
mind an incident that occurred at some other time and mistakenly introduced
it in this part of the narrative.

After a stay of about six weeks in Acalan, Avila set out again early in

September 1530, and marched through Cehache country to Champoton. Since

his route was to the northeast, he evidently passed through the northern part

of the Cehache province, instead of the southern part through which Cortes
marched in 1525. Oviedo states that when Avila left the Acalan capital he
crossed a swamp two crossbow shots in width, a river, and another swamp on
the farther side. He then continued on his journey to a town called Mazatlan,
but this was really the name for the entire Cehache area. Oviedo mentions no
towns along the way, and the route was said to be so swampy that nowhere
were they able to light a fire for a distance of 30 leagues. The latter statement
has been regarded as an exaggeration, for it has been supposed that the wet
season had ended. The story has more meaning now, since the journey must
have occurred in September, when the rains were still in progress. It strongly

suggests that the expedition crossed the main Candelaria near where it forks,

passed close to the swamps along Arroyo Caribe, and

the north shore of the
then continued north skirting the edge of the lacustrine belt which extends
from Lake Mocu down into Guatemala. West of this area of lakes and swamps
is the rolling country covered by rain forest, which one sees along the Ferromex

railroad.

The settlement of Mazatlan, which was deserted, was apparently of some

size, since it is called a city. It was fortified by a ditch and a palisade of heavy

timbers, like the Cehache towns mentioned by Cortes and Bernal Diaz. Ex-
cursions were made into the surrounding country, and some Indians were
captured; but Oviedo tells us that they died under torture rather than give
any information, so the Spaniards learned nothing of any other towns which
 APPENDIX B 467

might have been in the neighborhood. We doubt the latter statement, how-
ever, for a witness in Montejo's probanza of 153 1 states that certain lords of

Mazatlan gave Avila tribute.^°^ But he evidently regarded the area as poor
and sparsely populated, and he decided to continue his journey.
According to Oviedo, a boy was found who guided the expedition to
Champoton 30 leagues away. Again the Montejo probanza gives a different
story, for here we are told that certain Cehache chieftains accompanied the
force as far as the coast. ^^^ The Oviedo account states that the expedition

passed through many woodlands and swamps, so it seems likely that they kept
modern road from
well to the west, following the general direction of the
iUocu and passing through the region where Sahcabchen was later established.
This would have taken them through a country that would be inundated in
the rainy season.
The location of the Cehache town where the expedition stopped is of
course a matter of speculation. According to Oviedo, it was 30 leagues from
the Acalan capital and 30 leagues from Champoton, but these estimates are a
relative rather than an accurate measure of the distances traveled, and indi-
cate that the town of Mazatlan was about equidistant from Itzamkanac and
Champoton. The northern end of the lacustrine belt, which was inhabited
by Cehache in the sixteenth century is about midway from the fork of the
Candelaria and Champoton. Moreover, Montejo's probanza indicates that the
part of the Cehache country visited by Avila was fairly close to the coast.

The statement that Acalan and Aiazatlan were only 7 or 8 leagues from the
coast,^^* which undoubtedly refers to the borders of these provinces, may be a
conscious underestimate, but the general tenor of the probanza shows that
Avila's Mazatlan was not far inland.
As we have noted elsewhere, Andrews has found ruins at Las Ruinas and
Cilvituk which appear to date from the last archaeological period preceding
the Spanish conquest. It is hard to tell whether or not these sites were still

occupied when Avila visited the Cehache area, but it seems fairly certain that
the district was not a part of Acalan or of the cacicazgo of Champoton, and
that we may rather ascribe it to the Cehache.
In concluding this survey of Avila's march, we call attention to the fact
that it would be quite impossible to reconcile Maudslay's location for the
Cehache with the Lujan-Oviedo narrative. The part of the area which Mauds-
lay designates as Mazateca is not equidistant nor in any way approximately so
from his locations for Itzamkanac and Champoton. We find no mention of
152 Montejo v. Alvarado.
153 Ibid.
154 This statement occurs in Montejo's preliminary petition initiating the probanza {ibid.).
468 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Oviedo in Maudslay's study of the Cortes route, and he apparently disregarded

the Avila phase of the problem of the location of Acalan.
The northern boundary of the Cehache province at the end of the seven-
by Morley falls to the south of any midway point
teenth century as defined
between Mactun and Champoton. At the time of the conquest and for some
time thereafter there were Cehache settlements to the north of the Peten
boundary, and there is evidence that scattered Cehache settlements existed in
the northern area even at the end of the seventeenth century. Consequently
it would be possible to have a Cehache town equidistant from Mactun and
Champoton. But any such location would be too far inland to satisfy the gen-
eral requirements of the Montejo probanza. Moreover, Morley gives no indi-

cation that the Cehache were north of the Peten boundary in earlier times.
In his discussion of Cortes' route he states that the province was "east or east-
southeast of Mactun," which implies a more southern extension of the area
than the limits ascribed to the province at the end of the seventeenth century.-^^^

The major points in this lengthy discussion of the location of the province
and towns of iVcalan may be summarized as follows:
1. The Acalan lands were located in the drainage of an important river
system which provided a route of communication and trade to Laguna de
Terminos and thence to the coastal towns of Xicalango and Tabasco. An
important feature of this river was an extensive series of rapids and falls which
impeded traffic between the A calan capital and the coast.

2. Montejo's probanza of 153 1 indicates that this river, the Rio de Acalan,
emptied directly into Laguna de Terminos, that the Acalan lands were fairly

close to the coast, and that the border towns of Acalan were one day's journey
by canoe from the coast.

3. The Candelaria River, which empties directly into Laguna de Terminos

and is characterized by a long series of rapids and falls, meets the require-
ments as stated in the preceding paragraphs. On the other hand, we find it

difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile these requirements with a location for

Acalan on the Rio San Pedro Martir, on which rapids and falls also exist.

4. The reports of journeys made in 1566-70 to the Zapotitlan area, where

two groups of Acalan Indians were Hving after most of the Indians had been
moved to Tixchel, clearly indicate that the Rio de Acalan was the Candelaria.
5. The Rio Zapotitlan marked on the Alfaro map is evidently the same as

the Rio de Acalan. On the map this river occupies the position of the Can-
delaria.
155 jviorley, 1937-38, i: 16.
 APPENDIX B 469

6. The reports of the entradas of Feliciano Bravo up the Rio de Tachis,

or San Pedro Martir, in 1573 and 1580, indicate that Acalan was located in
another area, which can only be the Candelaria drainage.
7. The Candelaria location fits other evidence such as the administrative
status of Acalan as part of the province of Yucatan, and, in 1582, as part of
the corregimiento of Campeche, better than a San Pedro Martir location.
8. The town of Iztapa, where Cortes reached the Usumacinta on his ex-
pedition in 1524-25, was located near Montecristo (modern Emiliano Zapata)
and Ciuatecpan, where he crossed the river en route to Acalan, was near
modern Canizan.
9. From Ciuatecpan Cortes took a northeasterly route to Acalan. The
great estero, where he built the famous bridge, was an overflow section of the
San Pedro Martir near modern Nuevo Leon.
10. From the great estero Cortes crossed over to the San Pedro branch
of the Candelaria and eventually reached Itzamkanac on the main stream of
the Candelaria.
1 1 Although some of the Acalan settlements were apparently located
along the rapids and falls of the Candelaria, the major towns were situated
above these obstacles on the main stream and its branches.
12. We place Itzamkanac, the capital, south of the main Candelaria and
west of the Rio San Pedro near the junction of these rivers. (The extensive
ruins reported by Andrews and Chamberlain at El Tigre indicate that this was
a preconquest settlement of importance, but w^e do not know their age.)

13. Teutiercas, or Tuxakha, was apparently on the Rio San Pedro, pos-
sibly near its junction with the Esperanza. The town of Chakam, where Pax-
bolonacha died and where the unconverted Acalan slaves later took refuge,
was also on or near the San Pedro; and Tizatepelt, or Cacchute, was near, if
not actually on, this same stream.
14. Upon leaving Itzamkanac, Cortes crossed the Rio San Pedro near
its junction with the Candelaria, marched east by south to the southern part
of the Cehache area, southeast through three Cehache towns, the last of them
in the region of Chuntuqui, and thence south and southeast to Tayasal.
15. Avila crossed the main Candelaria at Itzamkanac and marched north-
east to the northern part of the lacustrine belt occupied by the Cehache, and
thence northwest to Champoton. The town called Mazatlan described in the
Lujan-Oviedo narrative was about equidistant between the fork of the Can-
delaria and Champoton, possibly in the Mocu-Cilvituk area.
 Appendix C
Matricula of Tixchel, 1569

SO LITTLE
Chontal
the
is known of the social organization of either the Acalan or
of Tabasco that the matricula, or hst, of the tributaries at
Tixchel, taken in 1569, is of especial interest. Here are the names of 270 mar-
ried couples and five widowers. Inasmuch as this list was compiled for pur-
poses of taxation, children and unmarried adults are not included. It begins as
follows:-^

First, being in the house of the said Don Pablo Antonio Paxbolon, governor of
the said town, the people of his house were counted, and in it the following tribu-
taries were found:
House. Don Pablo Antonio Paxbolon, married to Maria Yxnace [lu or -lut? ]

Luis Paxbolon, married to Maria Yxnahual.

Francisco Paxut, married to Lucia Yxnahuacan.
Alonso Pacoy, to Mencia Yxnoc.
Agustfn Ahcat, married to Angelina Yxna[. .]. .

Felipe Champel, married to Ines Yxtunich.

Martin Bol, married to Francisca Yxnapatzim.
Domingo Martin Cab, married to Juana Yxmulu.
Marcos Chanmulu, married to Luisa Ysnahua.-

Immediately following we read, "House. Juan Chachan, married to Maria

Yxnaut," and the list continues as above, but there is no indication where the
count for this house ends.
This would indicate that Don Pablo's home was a multiple-family house,
but it is hard to tell how many others of this type there were at Tixchel. Many
1 This matricula (copy in Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2\\-ir-2\2%v) was made at Tixchel on Feb-

ruary 14-16, 1569, as the basis of a new assessment of tribute. The tributary unit in Yucatan at
this time was the married couple. Exemption was granted in the case of widows and widowers,
the aged and infirm, juveniles (married couples under sixteen years of age), pueblo officials,
persons serving as singers {cantores) in the village church, and hidalgos (persons of noble de-
scent). It was the custom, however, when a reassessment was made, to list all the married
couples and heads of families and then subtract those who were exempt. The net total was
multiplied by the amount of tribute payable per unit (in the case of Tixchel it was one manta
for each eligible tributary unit), thus giving the total tribute assessment for the entire village.
Later on, in the 1580's, widows, widowers, and unmarried adults were assessed as half -tributaries.
The Tixchel matricula of 1569 lists 275 married couples or heads of families. Of these, more
than 50 were declared exempt. For additional details, see Chapter 8, pp. 182-84, supra.
2 Garcia v. Bravo, f. 2ii7r and v. Preferred or reconstructed forms of these names will be

found at the end of this appendix. This and the other extracts which follow have been made
from a copy by E. B. Adams and compared with photographs of the documents.
470
 APPENDIX C 47 I

of the neighbors of the Acalan had such houses, and those of the Choi Lacan-
don have already been described. Among the Manche Choi the two largest
towns had about loo houses each, whereas in others the number ranged from
ten or twelve to thirty. Here, it was reported, "each house is a family with
sons, daughters-in-law, relatives, etc." At Tayasal, the Itza capital, each house
contained "an entire collection of relatives (toda U7ia parentela) however large ,

it might be."^ Bienvenida tells us that in northern Yucatan there was "hardly
a house which contains only a single citizen (vecino). On the contrary, every
house has two, three, four, six, and some still more; and among them is one
paterfamilias, who is the head of the house."
For the Chontal of Tabasco our information is less definite, but in 1541
Alonso Lopez had moved to another town the people of three houses at Teco-
luta containing ten men and from Chichicapa, nine houses in which there were
about forty men. Apparently there were also some single-family houses, for
five houses at Omitan and five at Culico belonging to widows do not appear
to have paid a tribute of cacao. It seems unlikely that multiple-family houses
would have been exempted in this manner.^
Other evidence, however, points to the existence of a considerable num-
ber of homes containing more than one family. Only fifteen houses are re-

ported in Xicalango in 1541. Not only does the description of the place in

1544 give the impression of a town of more than fifteen families, but in 1579,

when the population of Tabasco had still further decreased, Xicalango had
thirty tributaries. The implication is the same if we compare the statistics for
other towns, as we see from the following examples:

Chichicapa: 1541, 3 remaining houses; 1579, 8 tributaries.

Culico: 1541, 15 houses, 5 of them of widows; 1579, 29 tributaries,
Huimango: 1541, 30 houses; 1579, 100 tributaries.
Jalpa: 1541, 20 houses; 1579, 48 tributaries.
Jalupa: 1541, 20 houses; 1579, 60 tributaries.
Ma9ateupa: 1541, 17 houses; 1579, 31 tributaries,
Nacajuca: 1 541, 20 houses; 1579, 60 tributaries.
Soyataco: 1541, 8 houses; 1579, 32 tributaries.

There was some shifting of the population from one town to another during
sRemesal, 1932, bk. 11, ch. 19; Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, 1701, bk. 8, ch. 12. Don Pablo was
only twenty-six years old at this time and could not have had sons-in-law. Whether or not he
had a brother is uncertain. In the absence of any stated relationship it is possible that the eight
couples following his name did not belong to his house. We
are inclined, however, to believe
that they did, possibly as retainers of the cacique.
4 Cartas de Indias, 1877, p. 78.
5 Fiscal V. Lopez. There can be little doubt that the term ijidios ("Indian men") employed
here designates married men.

I
472 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

these thirty-eight years, but we doubt that it was sufficient to invahdate the

conclusions drawn from this comparison.^ Some of the exactions by the

Spaniards reported in 1541 would appear to be beyond the capacity of the
people on the basis of single-family houses. Two towns, one of five houses
and the other of six, each planted 2000 cacao trees for the conquerors in addi-
tion to maintaining their own groves.''^
In Yucatan the Spanish authorities disapproved of several families living
in the same house, and separate houses for each family were prescribed by
1
an ordinance of Lopez Medel in 1552, but we do not know how rapidly this
regulation was enforced. In Cozumel, where there was little Spanish super-
vision, the old conditions still prevailed in 1570. A census of this date lists the
names of the adult occupants of the houses, and we find from two to seven
married couples living in each.^ After the multiple-family houses fell into
disuse in colonial Yucatan, groups of married couples, many of them related
to one another, apparently continued to live together on the same ground
plot, but each couple with their unmarried children occupied a separate house.
This may have been the case at Tixchel, whatever their former manner of
living was in Acalan.
At Tixchel, as in Cozumel, the population was counted by houses. At the
beginning of the second day of the count it was noted that, "The said Indian

alcaldes, regidores, and principal men of the said town, before the captain
and in the presence of me, the said notary, continued the said enumeration
through the said interpreter as on the first day already passed and declared
by their names and houses the following Indian tributaries."^ At the begin-
ning of the third day this statement was repeated, and at the end of the day
itwas noted that, "The said Indian governor, alcaldes, [and] regidores of tiie
said town stated that the said enumeration was concluded and that it [the
town] does not contain more people, houses, or any other thing bearing on
the matter that could be declared."^" In spite of these notations, however, the
only two houses that actually appear in the list are the two which we have
mentioned.
Although, with these exceptions, the names are not listed by houses, three-
quarters of them fall in what we shall call relationship groups. All the men's
names in the list are accompanied by those of their wives, except for four

6 Ibid.; p. 53, supra; RY, i: 332-38. Cf. Roys, 1943, p. 103.

7 Fiscal V. Lopez.
8 Lopez de Cogolludo, 1867H58, bk. 5, ch. 16; Roys, 1941, doc. 41; Roys, Scholes, and x\dams,
1940, p. 14.^
9 Garcia v. Bravo, f. 21201;.
'^'^ Ibid., iiigr.
 APPENDIX C 473

widowers and one whose wife had deserted him. Immediately following the
names of fifty-nine of these men are those of others stated to be related to
them by blood or marriage, mostly the latter. Altogether we find fifty-nine
brothers-m-law {ciinados, including one concunado) of the heads of the
groups, sixty-one sons-in-law (yerjws), nine brothers (hermanos), six sons
(hijos), two stepsons (entejiados) , one uncle (tio), and thirteen nephews
{sobrinos)
Among the 275 married couples and widowers listed, no relationship is

indicated for sixty-seven. Of the fifty-nine relationship groups, we find

twenty-five of only two couples each, ten of three, thirteen of four, four of
five, one of six, four of seven, one of ten, and one of twelve. Although it is

not so stated, it would appear that each relationship group was a residence
group living either in a multiple-family house or on a single ground plot. To
judge by a matricula compiled at Ppencuyut in northern Yucatan in 1584,
it seems possible that some of the unrelated married couples combined to form
larger residence groups, but this is a matter of conjecture.^-^

Even taking the Spanish terms of relationship literally, we run into some
ambiguity. Only one of the brothers-in-law is called a concuiiado ("husband
of wife's sister"), but the relationship of the others to the head still remains
uncertain. We have defined cufiado as "brother-in-law," but formerly it

could also mean an affinal relative in any degree. In our discussion we shall

treat the sobrino as a blood relation of the head of the group, but this is an
assumption, and he might be a relative of the head's wife.
Dr. Sol Tax, who has kindly studied the data presented here, notes in the
case of the large groups that "it is obvious that the relatives referred to must
be classificatory in most cases. If the 'cunados' and 'yernos' were really what
they seem, one would have to conclude that the population was increasing
tremendously. . . . Therefore one may soundly assume that a man did not
normally have the several 'cunados' and 'yernos' except if farther relatives
were called that. I shall assume therefore that the 'groups' consisted of some
couplesmore distantly related. Such terminology is not inconsistent with
what Eggan found in the old dictionaries."^^
The indications of blood relationship occur mostly in the larger groups. In
the thirty-five groups consisting only of two or three couples each we find no
hijos and only three hermanos and three sobrinos of the heads. The following
tabulation offers some idea of the composition of the various groups.
11Cuenta y visita del pueblo de Ppencuyut 1584, Archive General de la Nacion,
. . .

Mexico, Tierras, tome 2809, exp. 20.

12 Tax to Redfield,
July 6, 1943, and March 14, 1944; Redfield to Roys, July 9, 1943, March
15, 1944; Eggan, 1934, pp. 190-92.
474 acalan-tixchel

Blood Relationship Indicated No. of Grodps

Hermano only 2
Hermano, sobrino, cufiado 2
Hermano, cufiado 2
Hermano, cunado, yerno i

Hermano, yerno i

Hermano, sobrino, cunado, yerno i

Hijo, sobrino, yerno i

Hijo, entenado, yerno i

Hijo, yerno 3
Tio, yerno, cufiado i

Sobrino only 2
Sobrino, cufiado, yerno i

Total n

Affinal Relationship Indicated No. of Groups

Entenado, cufiado, yerno i

Cufiado only 16
Cufiado, yerno 8
Yerno only 16

Total 41

Since affinal relationship of the men is indicated in 70 per cent of these

groups, it seems evident that there was a strong tendency toward matrilocal
residence. This brings up the question of inheritance and descent. As we have
seen, Don Pablo Paxbolon had come into his chieftainship of the nation
through descent in the male line over a period of eight generations, but we
have no other specific information regarding inheritance among the Acalan.
Among the Yucatecan Maya, although descent was reckoned in both the
paternal and maternal lines, the formal lineage groups, which were exogamous,
the inheritance of property, and that of certain political positions were based
on patrilineal descent. Inheritance in the male line has also been generally ac-
cepted for the Nahua peoples.^^ Although there are indications that the Maya

Roys, 1943, p. 28; Thompson, 1937, pp. 58-61. As we have noted elsewhere, among the
13

Maya of Yucatan the headship of the residence group appears to have been inherited in the
patrilineal line; in the Cozumel census the head of the multiple-family house is referred to as
the owner (Roys, Scholes, and Adams, 1940, pp. 15, 18). Various Maya phrases designating
either the head of the establishment, including family and servants, or the owner of the house
indicate that they were the same person. Especially suggestive are such expressions as u chim na,
defined as "dueiio de casa" but really meaning the principal person in the house, and Juan tab
otochi, "Juan es su dueiio y senor" [of the house] (Vienna dictionary, f. i()v; Motul dictionary,
1929, p. 821). Consequently it would appear that inheritance of the headship, like that of the
house itself, was patrilineal. Our belief that the same was true of the Nahua is based largely on
inferences made from Zurita's account of their political and social organization (Zurita, 1891,
passbii) It will be recalled, however, that in the absence of sons or brothers a woman sometimes
.

inherited the caciqueship. This was not the case in Yucatan.

 APPENDIX C 475

system differed in some respects from the Acalan, their relations were close,
and the culture and religion of both appear to be very similar. Furthermore
Mexican influences were very strong; more than 40 per cent of the Acalan
had Nahuatl names. This would suggest that, whatever the system might have
been at an earlier period of their history, at the time of the Spanish conquest
the customs regarding inheritance were like those of the Yucatecan Maya
and the Mexicans. These are inferences, however; our only positive evidence
is that of the manner in which the chieftainship of the nation was inherited.

The situation presents a problem. Whether or not all the yernos were
actually sons-in-law, Tax notes that it is obvious that daughters tended to
bring their husbands home. If we include the sobrinos, a considerable minority
of the members of the groups are blood relations of the head, but it is difficult

to account for the presence of only a single uncle, more alleged brothers than
sons, and more nephews than either brothers or sons. It is also of interest
still

to note that more than half the groups consist of only two or three couples
each. Tax has also called our attention to the Chorti, whose language is little
more than a dialectal variant of Chontal. Among these people the married
couple is permanently attached to the group that pays for the wedding. He
notes that under such conditions a rich family tends to become large, and a

poor one tends to disappear as a group; and that the large groups listed in the

Tixchel matricula may be considered as "successful" or "rich."^^

Another question that naturally arises is how far the grouping of relations
indicated by the matricula corresponded to social conditions in Acalan before
the population had been moved from their isolated situation in the interior

of the peninsula to Tixchel on the coast. Here, during the twelve years prior
to 1569, the people were not only subject to Spanish supervision, but they
came into closer contact with the Yucatecan Maya. Among the latter in
Cozumel both men and women bearing the patronymic of the head were
still living in multiple-family houses in 1570, and we infer that a considerable
number of them were and daughters. In the case of some of the
his sons

daughters and their husbands this residence may have been only temporary,
14 Tax to Redfield, Anarch 14, 1944; Wisdom,
1940, p. 255. Tax, who has not investigated the
grounds for our belief that inheritance of property was in the male line, takes patrilineal descent
as given and to reconcile this with commonly matrilocal residence suggests "the assumption of a
social system by which only one son inherited his father's position as 'head of the house or
group' and perhaps the paraphernalia as well. This would account for the paucity of
. . .

brothers in the same group and also father-sons, if we assumed that all sons but one had to leave
the establishment, perhaps being 'set up' in other establishments or else going to live at their
wives' establishments. This system is frequently in force in Guatemala, and something like it
was present in medieval Europe." He cites the Chorti example and also notes that since the
sons, except one, are separated from the group, the remaining married children tend to be
women. Noting the problem where no son is listed, he suggests that the head of the group had
no sons living to maturity.
47^ ACALAN-TIXCHEL

since in Yucatan several years of marriage service by the bridegroom has

been reported.^'''

Space does not permit publishing the entire matricula in this study, but a
few extracts will give some idea of the manner in which it was compiled.

Domingo Macua, [married] to Mencia Yxzulu.

Marcos Paxcanan, his son-in-law, married to Magdalena Ysnatzin.

Luis Ytzal, married to Ana Yxna9elut.

Agustin Acha, nephew, married to Isabel Ysna [. . .]

Sebastian Paxoc, married to Maria Ysnalamat.

Antonio Max, brother, married to Catalina Ysbolon.

Alonso Quibit, married to Maria Yxgelu.

Martin Paxoc, brother-in-law, [married] to Catalina Ysinaynucuy. I

Luis Celut, married to Luisa Yxzapa.

Luis Paxmala, brother-in-law, to Maria Yxnoc,
Agustin Paxmalu, brother-in-law, married to Luisa Yxnabayn.

Jorge Quibit, married to Maria Yshuan.

Juan Pazoc, son-in-law, married to Luisa Ysnapatzin.
Luis Paxmalu, son-in-law, married to Luisa Capa.

Juan Ahecha, married to Marta Maybit.

Melchor Pasmala, brother, married to Luisa Chimali.
Luis Achamal, son-in-law, married to Mencia Bol.

Martin Pamalin, married to Ines ....

Miguel Pactucum, son-in-law, married to Luisa Yxcochute.
Fabian Paxuyte, nephew, married to Luisa Yxnauyt, right hand crippled.

Alonso Abomay, married to Mencia Yxtzu.

Martin Celut, son-in-law, married to Isabel ^elut.
Luis Patzin, son-in-law, married to Luisa Ysbolon.
Pedro Pazim, brother-in-law, to ... .

Martin Paxbolon, married to Francisca Yxnapatzin.

Luis Paco, son, married to Luisa Yxcelut.
Martin Yxquintz, stepson, married to Catalina Yxnahuzuin.
Juan Pactuny, son-in-law, married to Mencia Yxcelut.
15 Roys, Scholes, and Adams, 1940, pp. 14-15.
 APPENDIX C 477

Sebastian Pacha, married to Maria Yspazim.

Fabian Ybit, brother-in-law, married to Francisca Ysnazelut.
Luis Paxmulun, brother-in-law, married to Francisca Ysnoc.
Juan Ybit, son-in-law, married to Mencia Yscoa.

Juan Pacua, married to Ines Natzelut.

Pedro Acha, son, married to Mencia Yxnapatzin.
Luis Paxmulu, nephew, married to Maria Yxmaqui.
Anton Patzin, son-in-law, married to Juana Yxnapatzin; he is very old and lame.
Agustin Paniz, son-in-law, married to Maria Yxnacanan.
Agustin . .son-in-law, married to ...
.
, .

Luis Ach, nephew, married to Francisca Yxbanex. She is blind in one eye and
says she sees poorly with the right eye. Also she is bent over.

Alonso Pastun, widower; he has no wife.

Mateo Paxmala, uncle, married to Luisa Yxlamat.
Martin Paxmolo, son-in-law, married to Ana Ysnachavan.
Another Juan Boluch, brother-in-law, married to Lucia Ysnalamat.
Anton Pacha, son-in-law, married to Luisa Yxaba.
Alonso Pamalin, brother-in-law, married to Luisa Yscoanen.
Baltasar Pazelu, brother-in-law, married to Magdalena Ysnalamat.

Francisco Patny, married to Leonor Yxcoy.

Luis Macua, brother-in-law, married to Mencia Ysmalin.
Marcos Canancha, son-in-law, married to Francisca Ysmalamat.
Francisco Ybit, son-in-law, married to Maria Ysnacha.
Sebastian Panacha, son-in-law, married to Leonor Ys9elu.
Juan Bautista Zelu, step-son, married to Maria Ys9elu.
Alonso Ybit, son-in-law, married to Francisca Yszelu; singer.

Francisco Pactucum, married to Luisa Yxnalahun.

Marcos Pachaqui, son-in-law, married to Ana Yxnazelu.
Melchor Pacoy, nephew, married to Isabel Canal.
Francisco Nahan, brother-in-law, married to Luisa Yxcomulgada.
Luis Paxmala, nephew, married to Luisa Yxchamal. These are juveniles
fifteen years old.
Pedro Pazin, son-in-law, married to Luisa Ystaam.
Another Luis Paxmala, the brother of Melchor, married to Maria Yxnacha.
Agustin Pazai, nephew, married to Luisa Yxmantzin.
Juan Bolay, brother-in-law, married to Luisa Yxnapazin. He is crippled in
the left foot, the large toe missing,
Domingo Papalahum, son-in-law, married to Ana Yxgipa. He is a singer
and attached to the church.

Luis Pacohi, married to Isabel Ysmolu.

Luis Maniche, son-in-law, married to Juana Yschimali.
478 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Pedro Lamat, son-in-law, married to Luisa Yxan.

Domingo Paxbolon, brother-in-law, married to Ana Ystuny.
Fabian Chimal, son-in-law, married to iMaria Yxaba.
Jorge Achax, brother-in-laM^, married to Maria Ysnamacua.
Francisco Uncha, brot:her-in-law, married toAna Ysmulu.
Mateo Zelud, son-in-law, married to Antonia Ysmacua. He has a leg badly
injured by an old sore; [he is] sickly and covered with boils.
Miguel Paxmolu, son-in-law, married to Ana Yschaque. He is old and sick.
Sebastian Cheue, son-in-law, married to Ursula Ysnaluchcoy.
Juan Buch, brother-in-law, married to Ana Ysnalamat.
Alonso Quivit, married to Ursula Ysnaman, brother-in-law.^^

It seems obvious that the surnames recorded in the Tixchel matricula are
neither patronymics nor matronymics, since brothers, sisters, parents, and
children all have different surnames. We surmise, however, that the children
who were born and baptized in Tixchel were given the surnames of their
fathers. A number of these Acalan names are still to be found in a matricula of

Usulaban compiled in 1688.^^ Occasionally we find in the Tixchel matricula a

man and wife whose surnames either are the same or differ only in the prefix.

Barring a few exceptional cases, such marriages were forbidden in pre-

Spanish Yucatan, where the surname was a patronymic and indicated mem-
bership in an exogamous lineage group. Not only is it very rare in the matricu-

las of the seventeenth century, but people say there is a prejudice against such
a practice at the present time. In the Tixchel matricula, however, the fol-
lowing cases are recorded:

Alonso Acat, married to Luisa Ix-na-acat.

Juan Bautista Celu, married to Maria Ix-celu.
Hernando Pa-celu, married to Luisa Ix-na-celut.
Francisco Celut, married to Catalina Celut.
Martin Celut, married to Isabel Celut.
Fabian Pax-iuit, married to Luisa Ix-na-iuit.
Luis Patzin, married to Antonia Ix-na-patzin.^^

As might be expected, a number of the heads of relationship groups were

persons of some prominence in the town. Don Juan Pacua, who was one of
the signers of a petition to the Crown for more Franciscan missionaries in

1^Garcia v. Bravo, ff. ziijr-iiiSv.

Matricula de los pueblos de la provincia de Yucatan
I''
. .1688, AGI, Contadurfa, leg,
. ,

920, exp. I. A few people with Acalan names were also living at this time in the neighboring
tov/ns of Santo Domingo de Chekubul and San Cristobal de "Chekubul" (probably Chiuoha).
^8 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. 2ii8r, iiigr, iiiir and v, iii^v, and 2125?-. Celu and C^lut are con-

sidered to be variants of the same name.

 APPENDIX C 479

1567, was no doubt the principal of this name who appears in 1569 as the
head of a group of seven couples, but we can not account for the omission
of his title in the matricula.^® Fehpe Acat, who had also signed the 1567 peti-
tion, was the head of a group of only two couples, and we do not know his

rank. Another principal, Francisco Pactucum, headed a group of ten couples,

but the third principal, Luis Paxoc, was a widower. He probably lived with
one or more of the couples who follow his name on the list, but no relation-
ship is mentioned. The alcalde, Alonso Quiuit, might be either the head of a
group of two couples or another of the same name in the group of twelve
couples cited above. It is of interest to note that the two alcaldes called Alonso
Quiuit and Fabian Quiuit at the beginning of the matricula are evidently the
same as those who signed the document as Alonso Martin and Fabian Gon-
zalez. This is also true of the town clerk, who signed both the first document
of the Text and the matricula as Juan Bautista, but he appears in the body of
the latter document as Juan Bautista Celu, stepson of Francisco Pactum, who
heads a group of seven related couples. No Spanish surnames appear in the
actual list of tributaries.
One of the regidores mentioned in the first document of the Text was
Hernando Kanan. He appears in the matricula two years later as the son of
the aged Francisco Chacbalam and Juana Ix-na-uitz, who head a group of
four couples. Another regidor, Pedro Naua, was a member of a group of three
couples headed by his brother-in-law, Alonso Celut. Alonso Chacbalam, one
of the old men who testified as to the truth of the history of Don Pablo's
ancestry, heads a group consisting of himself, a son-in-law, and a brother-in-
law; but the other aged witness, Luis Tutzin, is not associated with any of
his relatives in the matricula.

There was some juvenile or child marriage among the Acalan of Tixchel,
and in such cases the approximate ages are given in the matricula. Frequently
both spouses were young, but in nearly half the instances recorded the age of
only one is mentioned, and we infer that the other was considered to be an
adult. Of those, where only the age of one is given, one wife was nine years
old and had deserted her husband, and two were twelve and sixteen respec-
tively; one husband was twelve or thirteen, and another was fifteen. Where
the ages of both spouses are recorded, we learn of one couple, both of whom
were twelve; another, fourteen; and two couples, fifteen years of age. In one
case the husband was seventeen and the wife, fourteen. Of one pair, both are
said to have been juveniles {muchachos), and of another it is recorded that
they were adolescents {fuozos) .~^
10 AGI, Mexico, leg. 367, f. 68r. 20 Garcia v. Bravo, ff. iii-jr-iii^v.
480 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

It is what proportion of the older people had been married at

hard to tell

an early age and how

representative these cases were of conditions in pre-
Spanish times. Of the Yucatecan Maya, Landa tells us that formerly the usual
age at marriage had been twenty, but in his time they were marrying when
they were twelve or fourteen. Pagan baptism, however, seems to have been a
puberty rite, and we learn from more than one source that after this ceremony
young people were considered to be of marriageable age. Consequently we are
inclined to believe that juvenile marriage had not been unusual among the
Acalan in pre-Spanish times.^^

The following list of Acalan names has been compiled largely from the
Tixchel list of tributaries and the Chontal Text, but a few have been added
from the baptismal records of Zapotitlan. Many names in these manuscripts
have been badly garbled by the Spanish scribes, and, wherever possible, the
Text is used as a standard for their reconstruction. Some of these recon-
structions are obvious, but others must be considered tentative, especially
with names of Mexican origin. Indeed, would require a Nahuatl linguist
it

familiar with the dialects of southern Mexico and Central America to deter-
mine the correct forms of these names with any degree of confidence.
The presentation of the names offers something of a problem. The Chontal
Text, which we have taken as our standard, is written in the special notation
devised by the Franciscan missionaries for writing Yucatecan iMaya.^^ In the
Tixchel matricula, the Zapotitlan records, and the Spanish version of the
Acalan narrative, however, the names are written, often carelessly, as they
sounded to the Spanish scribe and in the orthography of the time. In only a
few cases is the glottalized A^-sound designated by the letter k, as was custo-
mary in northern Yucatan.
Often the two systems coincide, but when they conflict, the name is re-

constructed according to the Yucatecan notation, so that it will correspond

with the orthography of the Text, and is placed in brackets. The form of the
name at the beginning of each entry, if it is not a reconstruction, is to be con-
sidered the preferred one, and wherever possible, it is the form employed in the

Text. Following the preferred or reconstructed form, variations of the name,

as written by the scribe, are recorded so that the reader can form his own
opinion of the reconstructions which we have proposed. The numeral in

parentheses at the end of each entry refers only to the number of times that
the name occurs in the matricula. This gives an approximate idea of its fre-

quency among the adult population at Tixchel in 1569. Names believed to be

21 Landa, 1941, p. 100 and Tozzer note; Roys, 1943, p. 25.

22 P.
364, supra.
 APPENDIX C 48 I

of Nahuatl origin are designated by the letter N. An effort has been made
to transcribe most of the men's names in the matricula, but quite a number of
the women's names in this document are either illegible or so garbled that no
attempt has been made to reproduce them.
The preferred or reconstructed forms are divided by a single hyphen to
indicate a prefix and by a double hyphen to show a compound name. Such
divisions, however, are only for the purposes of this study and do not occur
in any of the documents, except possibly by accident.
As already noted, the masculine prefixes Pa-, Pac-, and Pax- appear to be
variations of Pap-, but we are ignorant of their significance. Pap is the word
for father in Huaxteca and Chontal. We find the latter both in the Text and
in the modern language, but as yet it has not been recorded as occurring in
Maya or in the other languages of the Maya stock. In Yucatecan Maya it was
formerly yimi and in Manche Choi, 7;;/"; but in western Choi, Chorti, the
Chiapas group, and several of the highland languages of Guatemala tat or
some similar word referable to the Nahuatl tatli ("father") has been reported.
Papa has been cited from widely separated parts of Mexico either as a term
of respect or meaning "father" or "priest."
Ix- is a feminine prefix in Yucatecan Maya, Chontal, and other languages
of the Maya stock. Na- means "mother" in various languages of the stock in-
cluding Maya, Choi, and Chontal. In Chorti it is tu, but in others the word is

nan, which is evidently referable to the Nahuatl nantli ("mother"). This pre-
fix, like the masculine, is hard to explain. It does not necessarily indicate that
a woman has children, nor does it designate a matronymic as in northern
Yucatan. It occurs also amono- the modern Lacandon. Here the sons of each
family are given certain names according to the priority of their birth, and
the daughters receive the same names preceded by the prefix Na-. For example,
the oldest son is named Kin and the first daughter, Na-kin. In this case the
prefix does not seem to indicate a mother, and Tozzer translates it as "house." ^^
In Maya and Tzeltal na and otoch or otot both have this meaning, but in
Chontal, Choi, and Chorti we have as yet found only the word otot.

PERSONAL NAMES OF THE ACALAN

Men's Names

A-BOL. A- is considered to be a masculine prefix like Maya ah. Ah tool is the Maya
name of a certain stingless wild bee. (2)
23 Tozzer, 1907, p. 42. In spite of the negative evidence, it seems possible that na was also a

Chontal word designating some kind of a building, but doubtful that this meaning is to be asso-
ciated with the feminine prefix.
482 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

[A-cuTz]. Acuz. Cutz ("wild turkey") is a Maya patronymic. Cf. Roys, 1940, pp. 42-
46, for this and other Maya names.
A-CHAMAL. Possibly a variant of Chimal, since Spanish writers sometimes substitute a
for i in Tabasco place names, writing ^agoatan for Ciuatan. Chamal, however, is

defined as a cigar or a tubular tobacco pipe in Maya. ( i

A-KiN. Aquin, Aquini, jAkin. Km can mean "priest" or "sun" in Chontal. In Maya ah
kin means "priest"; kin is defined as "sun," "day," and the name of a certain in-
sect. (2)

A-KUK. Kuk ("quetzal") is a Maya patronymic, (i)

A-MULu. Mulu. (N., i)
Cf.
A-PAP-pizoN. Reading doubtful. ( i
*A-PAX-TucuN. Cf. Pap-tucun.
*A-TOX=PECH. Tox, for which no applicable meaning has been found, and Pech ("gara-
pata") are Maya patronymics.
A-TZUK. Possibly A-kuk is intended, since k and tz have a similar appearance in the
manuscript, (i)

[Abin]. Auin, Avim. Reconstruction based on the name Macua=abin in the Text. Habin
is the Maya name of Piscidia com?nunis Harms., or dogwood. (2)

Abomay. Possibly a compound name, A-bol=may, is intended. ( i

AcAT. Ahcat. Referable to the Mexican day name Acatl ("reed"). (N., 11)
AcAT=PAX-BOLON. Cf Pax-bolon. ( i
.

[A51PAC]. Atzipac. Cf. ^ipac; also Pipil "a-sipaket" ("alligator," Lehmann, 1920, 2:

1048). Here the initial a- may mean "water." In Aztec it is prefixed to various
names of marine fauna and objects associated with water {atl). (N., i)

AcHA. Ach, Hacha. (6)

*AcHACHU. Possibly a compound name Acha=chu.
ACHAX. (i)
Ahecha. Possibly Acha is intended. ( i
*AuxAUAi.. Discussed on p. 78, supra. (N.?)
[AxMox]. Asmox. (i)

BoL. Cf. A-bol. Bol is a modern Lacandon name (Tozzer, 1907, p. 42), (i)
BoLAY. Cf. Maya bolay ("a beast of prey") and the Acalan place name, Tabolay, p. 389,
supra, (i)
*BoLON-LAMAT. Apparently 9 Lamat, a day name with its coefficient. Bolon, the coeffi-
cient, is here treated as a prefix and separated from Lamat by a single hyphen. Cf.
Maya Lamat and Tzeltal Lambat (Seler, 1902-23, i :
448, 473). A place name, Bolon-
lamat, appears in the Text. ( i

[Bolon=pa-acha] Bolonpacha. Cf. Bolon and Pa-acha. (i)

.

[Buluch]. Boluch, Buch. Evidently the Chontal word for "eleven." Cf. p. 61^, supra.

(2)
*BuLUCH=ATZi. Cf. p. 6s, supra.

Gab. a common Maya patronymic, but in the matricula we find a Domingo Martin Cab
married to Juana Ix-mulu, whose name is Chontal. ( i
Caltzin. Apparently a Mexican name, since -tzin and -tzintli are Nahuatl suffixes.
Usually called honorifics ("reverei^ciales''^) they are also applied to the possessions
,

fFound only in the baptismal records of Zapotitlan.

* Appears in the Text as a pagan name and not preceded by a baptismal name.
 APPENDIX C 483

of the honored person, and the example caltzintli ("house") is given. They may
indicate merely affection and approval and have been considered diminutives also
(Tapia Zenteno, 1885, pp. 15-16; Molina, 1886, pp. 139-40; Galdo Guzman, 1890,
p. 302). The name may be referable to calli ("house") or possibly cacalli ("crovi^").
Cf. Aztec ayotl ("turtle") and Pipil ayutzin (Lehmann, 1920, 2: 1048). (N., 2)
Cantzin. Cf. Caltzin. (N., i
Catan. (i)
*Catanatz.
f[Ci=PECH?]. Quipeche. Pech is a common Maya patronymic meaning "garapata" in
both Chontal and Maya. Here Ci is apparently the equivalent of the Maya ceh
("deer"). Cf. Acalan Ciach and Maya Cehach, both of which refer to the same
tribe or people. Consequently the name of the cacicazgo Ceh Pech in northern
Yucatan might be referable to this personal name.
[Coat]. Coate. Apparently referable to the Mexican day name Coatl ("serpent"). Cf.
Pa-cua. (N., i)

^ELU. Tzelu, Zelu. Although listed here as a separate name, it is evidently the same as
^elut, a contraction of Upelut and referable to ocelotl ("jaguar"). Here, as in
coatl, the final tl does not appear to be an essential part of the vi^ord, since the
plurals are given as ooceloh and cocoah (Rincon, 1888, p. 234). (N., 3)
[^elu=iuit]. ^eluit. Cf. luit. (N., i)
^ELUT. Tzelut, Zelud, Zelut. Referable to the Nahuatl ocelotl ("jaguar"), which might
be either a day name or that of a military order. Cf. pp. 65-66, supra. (N., 12)
*^elut=a-pech. Cf. Ci=pech.
*(Jelut=holcan. Holcan, which means "brave warrior," is apparently a title following
the name.
tQpAC. Referable to the Mexican day name Qipactli, sometimes defined as "swordfish"
and sometimes as "crocodile." (N.)

Ghacanan. Chac means "red," and the name might be reconstructed either as Chac-
kanan or as a compound name, Acha=kanan. Cf. Kanan. (2)
*Chacantun. In Maya chacan could mean something apparent or plainly visible, and
tun, a rock or stone; but such a meaning would seem more applicable to a place
than to a personal name.
•Chacbalam. Chabalam, Chacbalan, Chavalan, Checbalan. In Maya chac means "red"
and balam, "jaguar"; the name is the Chontal word for "puma." (4)
Chacchan. Chachan. Chac means "red" and chan, "serpent"; possibly it is the name of a
species. (2)
*Chancha. We surmise that this is a contraction of a compound name, Chan=acha.
[Chan=mucuy]. Chanmocuy. Chan (Chontal: "four," "serpent," "sky") and Mucuy
(Maya: "dove") are both Maya patronymics, (i)
Chan=mulu. Probably a compound of Chan and Mulu, but if Mulu is referable to a
day name, Tzeltal Molu or Maya Muluc, it could be a day name with the coeffi-
cient 4. Cf Mulu, ( I
.

*Chanpel. Apparently the Chontal word for four {chan) followed by the numerical
suffix {pel) defined as "times" in the modern language (Blom and La Farge, 1926-
27, 2: 468). This suffix is ppel in Maya. (4)
Cheue. (i)
484 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

[Chicnaui]. Chicnabi, Chicnav. Nahuatl, "nine." (N., 2)

Chimal. Chimul. Nahuatl chimalli ("shield"); also a common patronymic in northern
Yucatan. (N., 2)

*HuNCHA, Uncha. (5)

[Icim]. Yquin. Apparently referable to Maya ici?n ("owl"), (i)

Itzal, This might be referable either to the Maya itzajn ("lizard") or to Itza, a patrony-
mic and the name of a people, ( i
[Iuit]. Ybit, Yvit. Apparently referable to Nahuatl hdtl ("feather"), and the patrony-
mic of a ruling family in Yucatan. In the Nahual dialect of Pochutla, Oax., iuit
means "sister," and the word has been referred to the Aztec icuitl (Lehmann, 1920,
2: 1077). (N., 6)

[Iuit=acha]. Ybitacha. (i)

[IzciNTi?]. Written Yzquintz. It seems possible that the final 2 was an error of the
scribe. Yzquinty could well be referable to the Mexican day name Itzcuintli
("dog"). Cf. Ix-na-izcin and the Chontalpa name Izquin (p. 62, supra). An early
ruler of Tequiziztlan in the Valley of Mexico was named Izcuin (Nuttall, 1926,
p. 63). (N.? I)

Kanan. Canan. Kanan is the Maya name of a medicinal shrub or small tree Hamelia
patens Jacq. It also means "that which is precious or necessary." Seler (1902-23,
r: 464) associates this word with the Tzeltal day name Ghanan. (3)
[Kanan=acha] Canancha. (i)
.

[KiN=NAL?]. Quinaal. Cf. A-kin, Nal=chan, and Ix-nal=abin. (i)

*KiN=TENCAB. See Tencab.
*KiN=TZucTi. Kin ("priest") is probably prefixed as a title. Tziicti (literally, "tuft at the
mouth") is the Maya word for "moustache" and apparently has much the same
meaning in modern Chontal, where it is defined as ''^barba''' (Blom and La Farge,
1926-27, 2: 470, ^Hsuctik^'')

Laax. (i)
Lahun. In Maya and Tzeltal "ten" and probably the same in Chontal. The Choi word
"luju77i" (Stoll) is very similar, (i)
^Lamat. Cf. Bolon-lamat. (2)
*Lamat=azel. Evidently a compound name, but no name Azel has been found recorded.

Macua. This name resembles the Nahuatl verb macoa ("to help another so that he may
help me," Molina, 1880, 2: 501'), but ina and coa appear as syllables of words with
various meanings. Cf. Pa-cua. (N.? 4)
*Macua=abin. Cf. Abin.
[Macua=a-tzuk]. Macuiaatzuk. (i)
*Macua=aua. Cf. Ix-aua.
[Macua=chauan] Macuachaban. Cf Ix-chauan. ( i
. .

[Macuil?]. Macabil. Perhaps referable to the Nahuatl macuil ("five"). (N.? i)

Malna. Doubtfully referable to the Mexican day name Malinalli ("a kind of grass").
(N.? i)
[Maman?]. Man, Manun. Cf. Ix-maman and Na-maman. (2)
[Maman=acha?]. Manacha. (i)
 APPENDIX C 485

Maniche. We are reminded of the names Manachi, Manicha, and Ix-manichi in the
Zapotitlan baptismal records (Garcia t;. Bravo, ff. 1966^, ig6gr). (i)
Max. Max means "monkey" in Chontal, Choi, and Tzeltal and "wild chile" in Maya.
Maax is the Maya name for a small variety of monkey. ( i

May. May ("fawn," also a ritual word for "deer") is a common patronymic in northern
Yucatan.
MuLU. Probably referable to the Nahuatl molotl ("sparrow"), but it is also possible
that it should be associated with the Maya and Tzeltal day names, Muluc and Molo.
Cf. Seler, 1902-23, i: 473, for a discussion of these day names. (N.? 2)
*Mututzin=ahau. Evidently referable to the Aztec mototli, defined as "a small animal
like a squirrel" (Molina, 1880, 2: 6ov), and to the Pipil mutujtzin ("ardilla," Leh-
mann, 1920, 2: 1034). Here the suffix -tzin appears to be a diminutive. Ahau is a
title following the name. (N.)

Nahan. (i)
Nal=chan. Nal ("young maize plant") and Chan are both Maya patronymics. Cf. Pa-
nal and Ix-chan. ( i
Naua. Nahua, Nava. Apparently referable to the name of the Nahua people or their
language. Nahual, however, is a spirit that takes the form of an animal, and naualli
is defined as "wizard" (Brinton, 1894, p. 5, and p. 78, supra). In Maya naual is a

verb, "to reel with weakness or like a drunken man" (Motul dictionary). Nahuat
is a common patronymic in northern Yucatan. (N., 4)

[Naui-cali]. Navy call. The Mexican day name Naui Calli ("9 house"), which here
includes the numerical coefficient. Cf. Bolon-lamat. (N., i

[Pa-acha]. Pacha. Cf. Acha. (3)

Pa-cohi. Coh ("puma") is a Maya patronymic, but Pa-coy may be intended here, (i)
Pa-coy. Covi is a Maya patronymic, but no applicable meaning has been found. (3)

Pa-cua. Cf. Ix-cua. Perhaps referable to the Mexican day name Coatl ("serpent"). Cua
apparently corresponds to the Maya "boy name" Ah Cuat and to "^?/^," the Pipil
form of coatl recorded by Scherzer at Izcalco (Lehmann, 1920, 2: 1027). (N.? 3)
Pa-cua=necio. Nepio seems to be Spanish. Possibly it is merely descriptive of the person
recorded. ( i

[Pa-celu]. *Pacelic (probably an error of the scribe), Pazelu. Cf. Celu. (N., i)

[Pa-celut]. Pazelut. Cf. Celut. (N., i

[Pa-chaci]. Pachaqui. (i)

[Pa-chauan?]. Pachava. Cf. Ikchaua (p. 57, supra) and Ix-chauan. (i)
*Pa-chimai.. Cf. Chimal. (N. 2)
*Pa-chimal=ahix. Evidently a compound name, but Ahix is not found as a single name.
[Pa-chuci]. Pachuqui. Possibly the same as Pa-chaci. (i)
[Pa-dzay]. Pazai, Pazay. Dzay ("eye tooth," "tusk") is a Maya patronymic. (2)
*Pa-dzay=ato. Possibly it should be =a-to. To is a Maya patronymic, but no applicable
meaning has been found.
'^Pa-locem. Paloquem. Near the Lacandon was a large Choi-speaking town named
Locen. (i)
Pa-nacha. (i)
[Pa-naua]. Panaba. Cf. Naua. (N., i)
[Pa-oco?]. Paco, Poco. Cf. Pax-oco. (N.? 2)
Pa-nal. Cf Nal=chan and lx-nal=abin. ( i
.
486 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

fPA-PATZiN. Cf. Patzin. (N.)

[Pa-quiuit]. Pacuit. Cf. Quiuit. (N., i)
Pa-tox. Cf A-tox=pech. ( i
.

Pa-uitz. Uitz ("hill" or "mountain") is a common Maya patronymic. (2)

Pac-bac. Found only in the Spanish version of the Text. Cf Pa-cua. .

[Pac-tuni]. Pactuny, Patny. Cf. Ix-tuni and Pax-tun. (3)

*Pap-can. Papcam. Can is a common Maya patronymic. Here can is probably referable

to the Maya can in the sense of "to converse" or "to speak formally," since the
Maya can meaning "four" or "serpent" and caan meaning "sky" become chan in
Chontal. In the same manner Maya cab ("honey") becomes chab in Acalan Chon-
tal, but Maya cab ("land") still remains cab in the language of the Acalan. Maya
cambez and Chontal cantez both mean "to teach," literally "to cause to learn," (2)
[Pap-lahun], Papalahum. Cf. Lahun. (i)
*Pap-tucun. Pactucum, Patucun. ( 3

*Pax-bolon. Bolon means "nine" in Maya and Choi and presumably the same in Chon-
tal. One of the gods at Campeche was named Ah Bolonil or Ah Bolon Ahau
(Vienna dictionary, f. 129^). (12)
*Pax-bolon=acha. Cf. Acha.
Pax-cabam. (i)
Pax-coy A. Possibly a variant of Pa-coy. ( i

[Pax-iuit]. Paxvt, Paxvyt, Paxvyte. Cf. luit. (3)

[Pax-kanan]. Paxcanan, Pascanan. Cf. Kanan. (2)
[Pax-kin?]. Paxquin. Cf. A-kin. (i)
[Pax-kuk?]. Paxcuc. Cf. A-kuk. (i)
Pax-mala. Pasmala, Paxmalan. (8)
Pax-malin. Pamalin, Paxmalim. Apparently referable to the Mexican day name Mali-
nalli ("grass"). Malina is defined as "to twist," as one twists a cord. Cf. Malna. (N.,

4)
[Pax-maman]. Paxmana, fPaxmanan. Cf. Ix-maman. (i)
*Pax-mulu. Paxmalu, Paxmolo, Pazmulo, Paxmolu, Paxmulun. Cf. Mulu. (N.? 7)
*Pax-oc. Paxoc. Oc is a Maya day name. See p. 6$, supra. (4)
[Pax-oc=chacchan] *Paxhocchacchan. Cf. Chac-chan.
.

Pax-oco. Paoco. Oco is a Nahuatl word meaning "pine." (N., 3

*Pax-tun. Pastun, Patun. Tun, which means "rock" or "stone" in Chontal, is a common
patronymic in northern Yucatan, where it has much the same meaning. (3)
*Pax-ua. No meaning has been found for ua which seems applicable. The name occurs
twice in the Text but only in a compound name in the matricula.
[Pax-ua=acat]. Paxhuacat, Paxvaca. Cf. Acat. (2)
fPAX-UAN. Paxjuan (Matricula of Concepcion de Usulaban, 1688. AGI, Contaduria 920).
These two names, which are not in the Text or the Tixchel matricula, may be
variants of Pax-ua.
*Pax-uan=a-puk. Divisions very tentative. No applicable meaning has been found in
Maya, and the letter k rarely, if ever, appears in names of Mexican origin.

Paba. Possibly Pa-ua is intended, but we are also reminded of the Nahuatl pauatl
("fruit"), (i)
*Pa9imactun. Perhaps Pa-cima=tun was intended. Zima and Tun are both Maya
patronymics.
 APPENDIX C 487

Patzin. Pazim, Pazin. The suffix -tzin strongly suggests a Nahuatl name. are re- We
minded of ("medicine generally, a plaster, unguent, etc"). (N., 10)
patli
Patzin=bolon. Cf. Bolon.
*Patzin=chiciua. Evidently a compound name, but no name Chiciua has been found.
[Patzin=mulu]. Pazinmulu. Cf. Mulu. (i)
PoLHAUAN. Reading doubtful. ( i

Popo. A tribe of this name is also mentioned (p. 398, supra). (5)

QuiuiT. Quibit, Quivit. Here we have follow^ed the Chontal Text in abandoning the
Yucatecan orthography, which would be ciuit. The name is apparently referable to
the Mexican day name Quiauitl ("rain"). (N., 6)
[Quiuit=9Elut] Quibitarlut. Cf. ^elut. (N., i)
.

[Quiuit=chan]. Quibitcham. Cf. Chan=mulu. (i)

SiCABiN. Reading doubtful, (i)

*Tamalyaxun. Tamal might be a Chontal preposition meaning "during" or "among."

In Maya yaxum (literally "the green bird") seems to be a ritual term for the
quetzal (kuk). It has also been reported verbally as an unidentified tree (Roys,
1933, pp. 63, 74, 99).
•{•Tencab. The Text tells of a Kin ("priest") Tencab (p. 395, supra), and a Luis Tencab
appears in the Zapotitlan records. Te?n, ten, and cab are have Maya words, but we
found no applicable meaning.
ToHxuN. Perhaps referable to the Nahuatl toxontinemi ("to be poor and in great
need"). Nemi means "to live." (N.? i)
TuTZiN. Tuzin, Tuzi. Perhaps referable either to the Nahuatl tlotli ("hawk") or
tototl ("bird") followed by the familiar suffix -tzin. We
are reminded of the name
of the Chichimec ruler, Tlotzin, and of the Yucatecan patronymics, Tut and
Tutul. (N., 6)

[Ulum]. Ulun. Ulum means "turkey" in Maya, (i)

[Uian] Vian. Perhaps referable to Pax-uan and Ix-uan.
. ( 2

Ymban. (i)

ZoL. Reading doubtful. The initial letter much resembles /. ( i

Zu. Possibly Dzul, a common patronymic in Yucatan, is intended. This was also the
name of a people in Tabasco (p. 82, supra) ( i .

Women^s Names
[Acha]. Abcha. (i)

BoL. Cf. A-bol. (i)

Canal. Possibly Camal, a common Maya patronymic, is intended. ( i

Cantzin. The suffix -tzin suggests a Mexican origin. (N., i

[Qelu]. Zelu. Cf. ^elu, men's names.J (N., i)

JHereinafter designated as m.n.

488 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

C^ELUT. Tzelut, Zelut. Cf. ^elut, m.n. (N., 5)

[QpAc]. ^ipa. Cf. Qipac, m.n. (N., i)

Ghimal. Cf. Chimal, m.n. (N., 2)

[Ecat]. tEcate. Referable to the Mexican day name Ehecatl ("wind"). In the Zapotitlan
records Maria Ecate appears as the wife of Juan Macua. (N.)

[Ix-acha]. Yxcha, Yscha. (2)

Ix-AN. (i)
[Ix-APATA?]. Ysapata. Possibly Ix-zapa is intended, (i)
[Ix-aua]. Yxaba. Cf. Macua-aua. Perhaps referable to the Nahuatl auatl ("oak," "cater-
pillar," or "spine") or to aua ("the resident of a town"). (N., 2)
[Ix-bol]. Yxbol. Cf. A-bol. (i)
Ix-BOLON. Yxbolon, Yxbolom, Yxbolum, Ysbolun, Yspolon, Tisbolon. Cf. Pax-bolon.
(17)
flx-CAB, Cf. Cab, m.n.
[Ix-COANEN?]. Yscoanen. Probably a garbled compound name. Cf. Ix-cua. (i)
Ix-cocH. Perhaps referable to the Nahuatl cocho ("parrot"), although coch and koch
are Maya words. (N.? i)
[Ix-cocHAN=cuco?]. Yscochancuco. Cf. Ix-cuco. (i)
[Ix-cochut]. Yxcochute. Referable to the Nahuatl cochotl ("parrot"). (N., i)
Ix-coMULGADA. Ixcomudo. It is difficult to account for these Spanish forms. (2)
[Ix-coy]. Yscoy. Cf. Pa-coy, m.n. (9)
[Ix-cuA or Ix-coa]. Yscua or Yscoa. Reading doubtful. Cf. Pa-cua, m.n. (i)
Ix-cuco. It is possible that Ix-kuk is intended. Cf. Pax-kuk, m.n. ( i

Ix-gELU. Yscelu, Yxzelu. Cf. (^elu, m.n. (N., 6)

Ix-CELUT. Yszelut. Cf. (Jelut, m.n. (N., 5)
[Ix-ciPAc]. Yscipa, tYxcipat. Cf. Qipac, m.n. (N., 2)
[Ix-chaci]. Yschaqui. Cf. Pa-chaci, m.n. (i)
[Ix-CHAMALi] Yschamali. Possibly a variant of Ix-chimali. Cf. A-chamal, m.n. (2)
.

Ix-CHAN. Cf. Chan=mucuy, m.n. (i)

[Ix-chauan]. Yschauan, Yscha van. Cf. Pa-chauan, m.n. (4)
Ix-CHiMALi. Yschimali. Cf. Chimal, m.n. The reason for the final i is uncertain. In Yu-
catan a final il is often added to a patronymic, but people say it still remains the
same name. (N., 2)
[Ix-icim]. Yssiquin. Cf. Icim, m.n. (i)
[Ix-kanan]. Yscanan, Yxcanan. Cf. Kanan, m.n. (3)
[Ix-KUMUN?]. Yxcomud, Yxconun. Kumun is a Maya patronymic, but we do not know
its meaning. (2)

[Ix-KUMUN=coY?]. Yxcomuncoy. (i)

[Ix-lamat]. Yslamalat. Cf. Lamat, m.n. (i)
[Ix-locen] Ysloquin. Cf Pa-locen, m.n.
. . ( i

[Ix-MACi]. Yxmaqui, Ysmaaqui. (2)

[Ix-mala]. Ysmala. Cf. Pax-mala, m.n. (2)
[Ix-malin]. Ysmalin. Cf. Pax-malin, m.n. (N? i)
[Ix-maman]. Ysmanan, Ysmama. There may be some association between this name
and those of the Mamantel River and the town of Mama in northern Yucatan. The
latter is accented differently from most, if not all, other Yucatecan names ending
\na. (3)
 APPENDIX C 489

Ix-MANTZiN. The suffix -tzm i-uggests a Nahuatl origin. Possibly Ixnantzin is intended.
Cf. Ix-natzin. (N.? i)
Ix-MULU. Ysmolu. Cf. Mulu, m.n. (N.? 3)
[Ix-NALA?]. Ysnala. Ix-mala may be intended. ( i
Ix-NAL=ABiN. Ysnalavin. Cf Nal=chan and Abin, m.n. ( i
.

Ix-NATZiN. Ysnatzin, Ysnazim. The suffix -tzin suggests a Mexican origin. Cf. Nahuatl
nantli ("mother"), also Pipil nu-nan ("mi madre," or "mi senora"), and tu-nantzin
("the Virgin Mary,"' literally "our mother" or "our lady," Lehmann, 1920, 2: 1033).
(N., 3)
[Ix=naua]. Yxnahua, Yxnahual, Ysnahua. Cf. Nana, m.n. (N., 3)
Ix-NAUA=CAN. (N.? l)
[Ix-nauat]. Yxnahuat, Ysnahuat, Ysnahuate. Possibly a variant of Tx-naua. Nauat is a
common patronymic among the Maya. (N., 4)
[Ix-patzin]. Yspazim. Cf. Patzin, m.n. (N., i)
Ix-popo. Yspopo. Cf. Popo, m.n. (4)
[Ix-put]. Ysput. Put is the Maya word for "papaya," and Pot is a Maya patronymic.
(i)
[Ix-suchil]. Yssuchi. Referable to the Mexican day name Xochitl ("flower"). (N., i)

[Ix-TAAM? ] Ystaam.
. ( i

Ix-TucuN. Cf. Pap-tucun. ( i

Ix-TUNi. Ystuny, Ystuy. Cf. Pax-tun and Pac-tuni. (7)

Ix-TUNicH. Less rare at Zapotitlan. Tunich means "rock" in Maya, but we have not
found the word employed as a name in northern Yucatan. ( i
[Ix-uan]. Yxvan, Yxven, Yshuan, Yxbanex. Cf. Pax-uan, m.n. (5)
Ix-ZAPA. Yscapa. Perhaps the same as Ixcipa, a variant of Ix-cipac. Cf. A-chamal, m.n.
(N.? 3)
[Ix-zu?]. A doubtful reconstruction of Yxzua and Ystzu. Cf. Zu, m.n. (2)
Ix-zuLU. Zulu is a Maya patronymic and may be a variant of ^elu. (N.? i)

[Ix-NA-acat]. Yxnacat, Yxnacate, Ysnacat. Cf. Acat, m.n. (N., 12)

[Ix-na-acha] Yxnacha, Ysnacha. Cf Acha, m.n. (12)
. .

Ix-na-cua. Cf. Pa-cua, m.n. Ix-macua may be intended. (N.? i)

[Ix-NA-^ELu] Yxnazelu, Yxnatzelun. Cf. Celu, m.n. (N., 2)
.

[Ix-NA-gELU=iuiT] Ysnaceluit. Cf. (Jelut=iuit, m.n. (N., i)

.

Ix-NA-CELUT. Ysnazelut. Cf. Celut, m.n. (N., 7)

[Ix-na-chauan]. Ysnachaguan, Ysnachaua, Ysnachavan. Cf. Chauan, m.n. (3)
Ix-NA-CHiMAL. Cf. Chimal, m.n. (N., i
[Ix-na-icim]. Ysnayquim, Yxnaquin, Ysnaquin. Cf. Icim, m.n. (6)
[Ix-NA-izciN?]. Ysnazquin. Perhaps referable to the Mexican day name Itzcuintli
("dog"). (N.? i_)

[Ix-na-iuit] Yxnaybit, Yxnavyt, Yxnaut. Cf. luit, m.n. (N., 4)

.

[Ix-na-kanan]. Yxnacanan. Cf. Kanan, m.n. (i)

Ix-NA-LAHUN. Cf Lahun, m.n. . ( i

Ix-NA-LAMAT. Yxmalamat, Ysnalamat. Cf. Lamat, m.n. (6)

Ix-NA-LUCH=coY. Luch is the Chontal and Maya name of the tree gourd. Cf. Pa-coy.
(0
Ix-NA-MAcuA. Yxnamacua. Cf. A4acua, m.n. (N.? 4)
[Ix-NA-MAMAN?]. Ysnamau. Cf. Ix-maman. (i)
[Ix-NA-Mucu y] Ysinaynucuy. Cf. Chan=mucuy, m.n. (i)
.

[Ix-NA-oc]. Yxnoc, Ysnoc, Ysno, Yxno. Cf. Pax-oc, m.n. (4)

49° ACALAN-TIXCHEL

[Ix-NA-oco]. Yxnoco. Cf. Pax-oco, m.n. (N., i)

Ix-NA-PATZiN. Yxnapatzim, Yxnapazin, Ysnapatzin, Ysnapatzma. Cf. Patzin, m.n. (N.,
12)
[Ix-NA-PEZ=iuiT or Ix-NA-piz=ruiT]. Yxnapcxuyt, Ysnapizuyt. We can find no meaning
for pez or piz that seems applicable to a name. Cf. luit, m.n. (N., 2)
Ix-NA-TUTZiN. Ysnatutzin. Cf Tutzin, m.n. (N., 3
.

[Ix-NA-UAiN?]. Ysnabayn. Ix-naua=ain might possibly be intended. Ain is the Maya

name of the alligator and a very similar word, ^^djin" is reported by Stoll from the
Chontal. (i)
[Ix-NA-uiTz] Ysnahuiz. Uitz, which means "hUl" or "mountain" in Maya,
. is a common
patronymic in northern Yucatan. In Nahuatl uitz seems to be associated with a
spine or sharp point. ( i

[Na-acha]. Nacha. Cf. Acha, m.n. (i) \

Na-^elut. Natzelut. Cf. (^elut, m.n. (N., 3)
[Na-iuit]. Maybit. Cf. luit, m.n. (N., i)
Na-lahun. Cf Lahun, m.n. ( i
.

Na-mama. Cf. Ix-maman. (i)

SucHiL. Cf. Ix-suchil. (N., i)

•{•Yquipac. Possibly Ix-quipac is intended by the scribe. This would be referable to the
name Quipaque found in the Chontalpa (p. 62, supra).

Zapa. Cf. Ix-zapa. (N., 2)

 Appendix D
Explorations of Feliciano Bravo in
Southeastern Tabasco and the Peten

CHAPTER 9 we have described the part played by Fehciano Bravo,

INescribano mayor de gobernacion of the province of Yucatan, in the
Zapotitlan episode. In 1573 and again in 1580 Bravo was also the leader of
exploring expeditions in southeastern Tabasco and the Peten. The story of
these expeditions constitutes a new chapter in the long history of Spanish
which occupied the lands bordering on the
efforts to pacify the Indian tribes

provinces of Yucatan, Tabasco, Chiapas, and Verapaz.-^

Bravo's chief associate in these expeditions was Fray Pedro Lorenzo, a
Dominican stationed at Palenque, who had achieved considerable reputation
because of his missionary activities and his knowledge of Indian languages. In
1563-64 Fray Pedro pacified some of the hostile Indians of Pochutla in east-
ern Chiapas and settled them at Ocosingo. Remesal calls him "the apostle of
that land."" Later he made Palenque the center of his missionary labors and
obtained "good results" in converting the Indians of adjacent areas.^ His
linguistic attainments are attested by statements in the Bravo probanzas that
he knew four or five Indian languages, including Chontal.^

At various times Fray Pedro had sought to get in touch with certain
heathen and apostate Indians of the interior, who were a menace to the
safety of the frontier pueblos in southeastern Tabasco, especially those located
along the Usumacinta. On one occasion he had gone out with a few Indians
of Palenque to seek these hostile groups, but without success. Subsequent

1 Information concerning these explorations is found in the Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo,

AGI, Mexico, leg. 109, cited in preceding chapters. The story as told in Appendix D is based
on this source, unless otherwise indicated in the notes.
2 Remesal, 1932, bk. 10, chs. 17, 18. Antonio de Leon Pinelo (Stone,
1932, pp. 245-46) gives
his name as Laurencio.
3 In 1576 Fray Pedro's work was brought to the attention of the Crown, and on May
15
of that year royal cedulas were sent out to the Audiencia of Guatemala and to the governor of
Yucatan instructing them to give him all possible aid. According to these documents, he had
settled his converts in a pueblo which had more than 500 inhabitants. (AGI, Mexico, leg. 2999.)
This place was undoubtedly Palenque.
4 After Bravo returned from the expedition of 1573 he took Fray Pedro to the Chontalpa

in northern Tabasco, where he preached in Chontal to the Indians of Bravo's encomienda. This
was said to have given great pleasure to the Indians, for the clergy who had been assigned to
that area had not known the Chontal language. An undated "Memorial de la provincia de
Yucatan y Tabasco" (AGI, Indiferente General, leg. 1373) describes Fray Pedro as "a great
servant of God, of great learning and good example, . who knows four or six languages."
. .

491
492 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

efFbrts to locate them had also been unsuccessful because the Indians whom
he sent were afraid to penetrate far enough into the bush and forest. So finally
Fray Pedro sent letters to Yucatan suggesting that an expedition be organized
to find them and effect their conversion to Christianity.

This appeal was received with favor by Don Diego de Santillan, governor
of Yucatan, who issued an order February 15, 1573, naming Feliciano Bravo
as captain of a force to accompany Fray Pedro on another trip into the in-

terior. In the preamble the governor stated that according to Fray Pedro's
report the heathens and apostates were located several days' journey from
Palenque,^ "in the district of Tay^a and Tachis." Bravo was instructed to
proceed to Tabasco and there organize an expedition to bring about their
submission to the king and the faith.

In accordance with Santillan's order, Bravo went to Santa Maria de la

Victoria, capital of Tabasco, where he made the necessary preparations.
After presenting his commission to the cabildo, he explained the purpose of
the expedition and called upon the encomenderos of Tabasco, or their substi-
tutes, to serve as escort for Fray Pedro Lorenzo, who was to act as interpreter
and as preacher of the Gospel. Two Spaniards were also sent to the pueblos
of Jonuta, Popane, Iztapa, and Usumacinta on the Usumacinta River to ob-
tain canoes and paddlers, and "to take the canoes by way of the Rio de Tachis"^
to a place where Bravo would meet them by marching overland from Teno-
sique, the starting point of the expedition.

On April 20, 1573, Bravo and his small force of soldiers arrived in Teno-
sique, "the last settlement of the Christian pueblos which border the said

heathen Indians." Fray Pedro Lorenzo had already arrived from Palenque, and
after mass Bravo explained the missionary character of the entrada to the
Indians of the various towns who were accompany him. It is interesting
to

to note that among the latter were some said to have come from the pueblos
of "x\lacandon," Pochutla, Zinacantan, and Copaltepeque in Chiapas.^ We
suspect, however, that the Lacandon and Pochutla people were Indians moved
to Ocosingo by Fray Pedro Lorenzo. It is difficult to believe that any un-

pacified Indians from Lacandon and Pochutla would have accompanied a

missionary expedition.
The next day (April 2 1 ) the expedition left Tenosique and started over-
land to the Rio de Tachis. Instead of the usual Indian carriers, more than
twenty horses were used to transport the food and supplies. The route was
through heavy forest {nw^itmas) and some of Bravo's companions later re-
5 Another document, dated a few weeks later, gave the distance from Palenque as eight
days' journey.
6 The others came from Palenque, Tepetitan, Chilapa, Petenecte, and Tenosique.
 APPENDIX D 493

lated how went ahead, leading his horse and cutting a path in
the captain
places with his sword. One of them also stated that the route was through
"new country where Christians had never traveled." On the second after-
. . .

noon (April 22), after traveling 10 leagues from Tenosique, the party reached
the place on the Rio de Tachis to which the canoes had been brought. This
place was named Puerto de la Buena Esperanza.
Here a member of the expedition named Juan de Ordufia, "who has ex-
perience and full knowledge of the said heathen Indians," made a sworn state-
ment in which he told how these Indians terrorized the frontier pueblos,
especially Tenosique, and cited the case of an Indian woman of the latter
pueblo who had been carried off and who later escaped from her captors. He
also stated:

The where they have

said heathens frequent the shores of this river [Tachis],
their canoes and near here an isolated Indian hut where they kept their idols, with
their settlement a short distance farther in. And it is said now that they have moved
to a peiiol which is at a lake in that region, and that a short time ago as many as
two hundred Indians from the pueblos of Pochutla and Lacandon went to them
well armed after their fashion. The said infidels are so harmful, triumphing in
doing and without [meeting] resistance, that they went forth and killed
evil,

[almost] all of them, for only twenty of them escaped. The latter have said, told,
and related what has been stated above, and in particular they told it to Juan May,
an Indian of Petenecte whom they saw in this company.''' And for this reason it is

a very just thing, of great service to God

and his Majesty, that this land should be
made safe from the aforesaid infidel huntsmen, because the Christians in their
district are so terrified of them that two or three times [when] he has gone up by
this river to explore the region, the Indians whom he was taking kept holding

back without his being able to move them forward.

On April 23 Bravo and his companions left the Puerto de la Buena Es-
peranza and proceeded upstream in the canoes. Five days later (April 28) they
came to a "bay where the river widened out," laternamed Bahia de la As-
cension because they celebrated the feast of the Ascension there. At this place
they saw "a great deal of smoke and signs of settlement" off to the right. The
next day they followed the river looking for a place where they could go
inland to these settlements, but their searchwas unsuccessful and they re-
turned to the Bahia where a camp was established. From here Fray Pedro and
a few Spaniards and Indians went to seek a trail to the settlements, but the

"^
We
doubt that any of the twenty Indians of Pochutla and Lacandon who escaped the
massacre were members of Bravo's expedition. The people who told this storv to Juan iVIay of
Petenecte were probably Indians from Ocosingo, who had received the news from Pochutla
and Lacandon.
494 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

forestwas so dense that they finally found

two or three days they returned to camp.
it impossible to go on, and after i
On Ascension Day Fray Pedro said mass, and afterwards made a speech
in which he proposed that the expedition should turn back to Tenosique. The
Indians were tired and restless, and food was running short. x\lthough the

heathens had not been found, their location was now known, and Fray Pedro
stated that it would be possible to return later and preach to them. Bravo and
the other Spaniards agreed, and the same day the expedition set out on the
return journey. On May 2 they reached Tenosique.
From Tenosique Bravo went down the Usumacinta, visiting the various
pueblos that were located along its shores. In each he paid for supplies that
had been furnished for the expedition and inquired into the state of the mis-

sions and pueblo affairs.^ From Popane he turned back to Palenque, and from
there went to northern Tabasco where he had encomiendas, and finally re-

turned to Yucatan a few weeks later.

The expedition of 1573 had obviously failed to achieve the results ex-
pected. Later in the year Fray Pedro asked Diego de Orduna, one of Bravo 's
companions, to go back and try to obtain more information concerning the
land they had visited. With a few Indians Orduiia went out again to the Rio
de Tachis and advanced upstream for five days. On the fourth day he en-
countered signs of the "wild Indians," and his companions began to display
fear. The next day he had some of them climb a hill in order to look for other

signs of the settlement, "and when they returned it was with so much fear
and outcry that they did not know how to tell him anything they might have
seen, and they were unwilling to go any farther." So he was obliged to return

and report to Fray Pedro what had happened. Apparently no further efforts

were made to renew the explorations at this time.

We have already noted that Governor Santillan's decree authorizing the

expedition of 1573 stated that the heathen and apostate Indians whom Fray
Pedro wished to convert were located "in the district of Tay9a and Tachis."
Reports of Bravo and Fray Pedro, made soon after their return, do not desig-
nate by name the region they had explored, but in a document dated at Santa
Maria de la Victoria on July 11, 1573, Bravo referred to the expedition as
the "Jornada de Tayca." On the same day one of his companions made a

sworn statement concerning the entrada in which he stated that "the said

Feliciano Bravo entered the land of the heathen Indians A^^hich they call

Tayga."
8 Bravo had also been appointed visitador in Tabasco, with authority to investigate local
administration and correct abuses.
 APPENDIX D 495

These statements, as well as other evidence to be recorded below, indicate

that Bravo and Fray Pedro had entered, or at least approached, the region
dominated by the Itza Indians in the central Peten. The Rio de Tachis along
which they had traveled in canoes for five days was evidently the San Pedro
Martir, which rises in the Peten, flows west across the Guatemala-Mexico
boundary, turns north to Tiradero in southeastern Tabasco, and then west
to join the Usumacinta above Balancan.
In 1576 reports reached Spain concerning the success of Fray Pedro's
missionary activities in the Palenque district, and on May 15 of that year
royal orders were sent to the Audiencia of Guatemala and the governor of
Yucatan to give him all possible assistance.^ These instructions did not pro-
duce immediate results, but in 1579 Don Guillen de las Casas, governor of
Yucatan, authorized a new expedition into the interior. The circumstances
which prompted this move are explained in part by an interesting document in
Bravo's probanzas.
It appears that for some time Governor Las Casas had been interested in
a project for an expedition to the Itza territory and adjacent areas, and that
he had sent reports concerning the scheme to Spain. Early in 1579 an Indian
of Hocaba, named Pedro Uc, returned to Yucatan from a sojourn among the
Itza, and the governor seized the opportunity to obtain additional informa-
tion about the lands to the south. On April 1 8 he ordered Fehciano Bravo to
receive the Indian's testimony, of which the essential part is given below.

This witness said that he has been in the province of Tahytza, which is of in-
and at the time Father Fray Lorenzo and Feliciano Bravo went to
fidel Indians,

the discovery of that land, he was in a large settled town which the said Indians
have. By and lakes, according to the road they took, and through forests
rivers
where they wandered, as this declarant and the Indians of the said town were
aware and knew, [Lorenzo and Bravo] had arrived as near as a day's journey from
the said town.
This said town has a population of about two thousand Indians who dwell in
houses of the said place. Each Indian does not have his own house, but many live
together in each one of the said houses; and they do not have any stronghold or
fortress. And from a great river, by which Fray Pedro and Feliciano Bravo were
traveling toward the east, a little estero branches off, and this extends to within
three leagues of the said pueblo. By established custom among them the Indians
of the [town] do not travel or have any sign of a road toward that river, at least
where it can be discovered. When the said Fray Pedro and Feliciano went where
they did, the [Indians] believed that they had discovered it and would reach the
said place. The said Indians were agreed that they would receive them in peace
if they wished to have it, and if they saw and understood that they were not going

9 Cf. note 3, supra.

49<^ ACALAN-TIXCHEL

to do them harm; but if they perceived the contrary, and that they wished to
make war upon them, they had decided to wage it with them. This declarant
understood this at thatwhen he was in the said town. He had gone from this
time
province as a boy with other Indians who are now dead.
The aforesaid infidel Indians usually know and have information about what
goes on in this land among the Christian Indians, for the Indians of this land go there
and have dealings with them. And now they have learned and know very well the
character of the said governor, Don Guillen de las Casas, who is governing this
land at present, and therefore the understood from them that they
[witness]
[might be approached] ^*^ with ease and great peace because they are aware that
the said governor shows great favor to the Indians and does not wish them to be
ill treated.
is from the province of Hocaba, and a short time ago he came
This declarant
from toward the sierras of Mazatlan with other Indians who remained in
that land
that region. And this declarant joined some Christian Indians, who were traveling
through the forests seeking wax, and came to this land.
The Indians of the said town and those of its environs sacrifice and perform
idolatries of their paganism and antiquity, and they have their idols. They sustain
themselves by farming, hunting, and fishing.

Part of this testimony may have been elicited by leading questions pro-
pounded by Bravo, but the story obviously provided an excuse for sending
out an expedition of exploration and reconnaissance without waiting for a
reply to the reports which Governor Las Casas had sent to Spain. On No-
vember 12, 1579, the governor renewed Bravo's old commission, issued by
Santillan in 1573, and instructed him to proceed to Palenque where Fray
Pedro Lorenzo was still living and to enlist his support in the organization of

a new entrada into the interior. The purpose of the expedition was clearly
stated by Fray Pedro in testimony given after his return, in which he de-
scribed the journey as "an expedition to discover the new land of Tayca, by
way of the Rio de Tachis, in order to know and learn what there is along
the shores and [in the] district of the said river, which borders upon the land
of Yucatan and Lacandon."
Preparations for this second expedition were made in the same manner as

for that of 1573. Canoes were sent up the Rio de Tachis to a designated spot
to await the arrival of Bravo and his companions, who were to go overland
from Tenosique. About fifty Indians were assembled to accompany the Span-
iards, who numbered twelve or thirteen persons. Among the latter were the

veteran Diego de Orduiia and a certain Francisco Gomez, "experienced in

10 A
few words seem to have been omitted here. They probably refer to the possibiHty of
converting these Indians and inducing them to acknowledge Spanish sovereignty, for when
Governor Las Casas renewed Bravo's commission later in the year, he stated that he had been
informed that the Indians of the interior desired to become Christians.
 APPENDIX D 497

measuring altitude and in demarcation of the land." Food and other supplies
were collected at Tenosique to be transported overland to the Rio de Tachis
on horses.
The expedition left Tenosique on Easter Sunday, 1580, and after a day's
journey through the forest reached an "embarcadero" on the Rio de Tachis
where seventeen canoes were waiting. On the following Wednesday the force
started upstream in the canoes and after seven days came to a place where it

Avas impossible to proceed any farther because of the "grandes palizadas e

impedimentos" which obstructed the course of the river.^^ Here they found

signs of habitation, for there were canoes along shore and -"the land was cut
^"
over.
Some of the Spaniards desired to advance inland for a day's journey or
two in search of the Indian settlements, but the plan had to be abandoned. The
Indians who had accompanied the expedition were restless and anxious to re-
turn home, and Fray Pedro Lorenzo had fallen ill and was unable to travel on
foot. The expedition turned back and reached Tenosique on April 2 1 . The
following statement concerning the return trip is taken from testimony given
by Diego de Ordufia.

They agreed to return and did so, making entradas inland in order to become
well acquainted with the country. On
one of these [entradas], from a very high
penol which overlooked everything, they descried the location of the capital of
Taica, which is a penol in a lake at the foot of three sierras which surround it, and
so the cacique of Alacandon and Pochutla and others of his nation whom they
were taking with them recognized it and pointed it out. The aforesaid cacique
. . .

is called Cenuncabenal.^^
The which we saM^ in this way and which were recognized as the loca-
sierras
tion of the said Taizawxre about four leagues a^vav. Two men of the said com-
pany taken by the aforesaid captain, who are named Martin de Arriaga and Caspar
Martin, skilled and well-informed with regard to sold and silver mines, saw and
considered, [and they so] stated and affirmed under oath, that according to their
[mining] experience, the sierras at the aforesaid place which the said Indians held
were of great mineral wealth in gold, if any mines existed in the world.
^^ The Spanish reads:
". hallaron el dicho ri'o cerrado con grandes palizadas e impedi-
. .

mentos que no pudieron pasar por el adelante." The meaning of this phrase is not entirely
se
clear. Falizada usually means an artificial stockade, or a barrier thrown up for defensive pur-
poses in war. In this case it probably refers to some sort of natural barrier.
12 The Spanish reads, "la tierra talada." Talctr means "to fell trees, to desolate, to lav waste

a country." The phrase probably describes milpa lands in which the trees had been cut down
to be burned before planting maize.
13 This reference to the "cacique of Alacandon and Pochutla" is, of course, of some interest.

Since the Pochutla and Lacandon people on this expedition and that of 1573 M^ere probably
Indians of these settlements who had been moved to Ocosingo by Fray Pedro Lorenzo in
earlier years, we infer that they continued to have their own cacique and probably a barrio of
their own in their new place of residence.
498 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Dulce.
The watersheds in that region ran in a southeasterly direction toward Golfo i
In the present state of affairs the entrance to the aforesaid land by way of the
said river is well ascertained, discovered, and known, and this witness considers it

the best there can be, for about thirty years ago this witness, in the company of
Captain Francisco de Montejo with more than thirty Spaniards and two thousand
Indians, made an entrada by way of Yucatan in order to ascertain and discover the
aforesaid Tay9a. Although he journeyed many days he was never able to reach it,
or even the present point, and he returned with the loss of more than a thousand
Indians who
remained in the forests, dead from thirst, for there was no water along
the route they took nor is there any coming through that region to the said new
land of Tayca, as this witness has seen. And now at one day's journey away from
the said river they will reach the land of the said Tayca, according to what has
been seen and the smoke from fires which was sighted on this occasion and had
also been observed during the [made] during the previous expedition.
side trip
Nevertheless, this witness believes that a force and more than twelve harquebusiers
are necessary in order to be safe from the said infidels, who are daring and harmful
according to M^hat this witness has learned from more than twelve years' residence
in this region where he lives.

Thus the expedition of 1580 had apparently taken the Spaniards farther
inland than in 1573, and according to Orduiia they had sighted the district in
which the chief Itza stronghold was located. In summing up the results. Fray
Pedro Lorenzo said that "the passage and entrance" to the heathen Indians
was now known, and he had faith that their conversion could be achieved
"with the aid of God, for it is His cause." More than two years passed, how-
ever, before plans were made for another entrada.
Upon receipt of the governor's reports concerning the advisability of
pacifying the Indians of the interior, the Crown, on November i, 1579, in-
structed Las Casas to take suitable action to achieve this end. Acting on these
instructions, the governor renewed Bravo's old commissions on August 30,

1582. At the same time Bravo was appointed corregidor of the Campeche
district, "so that from there, by way of the province of Tixchel, he might
plan to make the entrada and open the road, both to the provinces of Cliiapa
and Tabasco and to the new land which he is ordered to discover." For this
new venture Bravo and Fray Pedro Lorenzo were to receive all necessary aid.

The language of Bravo's appointment shows, however, that it was now the

plan to enter the interior from southwestern Yucatan, instead of following

the Tenosique-Rio de Tachis route of the previous expeditions.
Bravo took office as corregidor in October and began to make plans for

the entrada. In order to obtain information concerning the interior of the

peninsula, he summoned for examination certain Indians who knew the coun-
 APPENDIX D 499

try because they had gone there to hunt and to collect wax. Their testimony
contains a few interesting details about sites and Indian settlements they had
visited, but it provides very little information of a definite character that
would have been D a new route southward from
useful to Bravo in charting
Campeche. In November Bravo returned to Merida where he petitioned the
governor for financial assistance to carry out the entrada. The documentary
evidence ends at this point, and we have no record that the expedition was
ever made.
The story of Bravo's explorations has been related in some detail because
any new information concerning Spanish activities in the unconquered lands
between Yucatan and Guatemala is worth recording. Moreover, the data
presented above, especially the references to the Rio de Tachis, have consid-
erable significance in relation to the Acalan problem.
We have already stated that the Rio de Tachis, which Bravo followed in
his expeditions of 1573 and 1580, was apparently the San Pedro Martir.
Analysis of the evidence in the Bravo documents clearly indicates this identi-
fication.

1. We have already quoted various statements which show that the ex-
peditions of 1573 and 1580 were directed toward "Tayca," the lands of the
Itza in the central Peten. The headwaters of the San Pedro Martir reach to
within a short distance of Lake Peten, center of the Itza territory.
2. In 1573 the canoes that were sent to the point of embarkation on the
Rio de Tachis were furnished by the pueblos of Jonuta, Popane, Iztapa, and
Usumacinta, of which the first three are known to have been located on the
Usumacinta River below the junction with the San Pedro Martir. None was
sent from Petenecte and Tenosique, located above the junction of the two
streams. This suggests that it was Bravo's plan to have the canoes brought
up the Usumacinta to the San Pedro Martir, and thence up the latter stream
to a point where he would meet them by traveling overland from Tenosique.
(If this reasoning is valid, it constitutes strong evidence that the town of
Usumacinta was also situated below the junction of the Usumacinta and San
Pedro Martir. This is a point of some importance in relation to Cortes' route
from Iztapa to Ciuatecpan in 1524-25. Cf. discussion on pp. 435-48, supra.)
3. The names of the towns which furnished canoes in 1580 are not re-
corded, but Diego de Orduna stated that the canoes had been brought up-
stream at the cost of great labor, "because of the great falls and rapids [the
river] has." There are falls and rapids on the San Pedro Martir between
Tiradero and the junction with the Usumacinta.^^
^* Andrews, 1943, p. 54.
500 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

4. The journey overland from Tenosique to the Rio de Tachis in 1573

took less than two days. The distance was said to be about 10 leagues, or
some 40 km. It is about 30 km. airline by an eastern or slightly southeastern
route from Tenosique to the San Pedro Martir. In 1580 this stage of the
journey took one day. The shorter time might be explained by the fact that
the route was already known, or by assuming that Bravo followed a more
direct route to the river than in 1573. The point of embarkation in each case
was probably near the modern site of Santa Elena.
5. In 1573, after five days of travel up the Tachis, the Spaniards reached
a place where the river widened out to form what they called a bay (bahia).
In five days canoes moving up the San Pedro Martir from a place near Santa
Elena on the south-north course of the river east of Tenosique could advance
Along the south bank of the river in
a considerable distance into the Peten.

the Peten are numerous swamp and overflow areas which might possibly be
described as bays. According to Pedro Uc's story, the Spaniards reached a
point about a day's journey from a western Itza settlement located three
leagues beyond an estero that branched off from the stream, "by which Fray
Pedro and Feliciano Bravo were traveling toward the east." On the upper

course of the San Pedro Martir in the Peten are many small tributaries which
drain lagoons or esteros.^"*

6. In 1580, after traveling upstream for seven days, the Spaniards came
to a place where obstacles in the river prevented their advancing any farther.
The inference seems to be that they had reached the end of canoe navigation.
After turning back they climbed a high peilol from which they sighted the
sierras surrounding Lake Peten. In the case of the San Pedro Martir the end
of navigation would probably be reached at Paso Caballos.-^^ Assuming that
the hill the Spaniards climbed was in the region of Paso Caballos, it would
have been possible for them to sight the sierras mentioned. It seems likely,

however, that Orduna minimized the distance when he stated that the sierras
were about 4 leagues away.
If the Rio de Tachis was not the San Pedro Martir, then the only alterna-

tive would be to assume that Bravo reached the confines of Itza territory by

traveling up the Usumacinta and its tributary, the Rio de la Pasion. It may be
15 According to Lundell, the northern banks of the San Pedro Martir "are precipitous,

while the southern banks are mostly swampy." He also notes that "in the drainage system of the
San Pedro Martir numerous arroyos are found which during the dry season are reduced to a
series of unconnected pools." One of these arroyos extends southeastward toward Kantetul, lo-
cated only a short distance north of Lake Peten (Lundell, 1937, pp. 24-25, and pi. i).
16 Lundell (ibid.,
p. 24) states that the San Pedro Martir is navigable for small boats as far
as El Paso (Paso Caballos) The Hedges map of Guatemala also marks Paso Caballos as the end
.

of canoe navigation on the San Pedro Martir (communication by S. G. Morley)

 APPENDIX D 501

argued that the falls and rapids in the Rio de Tachis mentioned in 1580 by
Diego de Orduna refer to the tumbling torrent of the Usumacinta in the
gorge above Tenosique, and that the overland part of the journey in 1573
and again in 1580 was made to by-pass the gorge. If the canoes were sent up
the Usumacinta to a point which Bravo reached by traveling overland, it

would be necessary, however, to explain why they were brought from pueblos
downstream below the junction of the Usumacinta and the San Pedro Martir,
instead of from Petenecte and Tenosique which were nearer at hand. More-
over, it is doubtful whether Bravo could have moved up the Usumacinta and
the Pasion to a place bordering on the region dominated by the Itzas within
five or seven days. Finally, if Bravo reached the end of canoe navigation in
1580, such a place on the Pasion would have taken him toward the headwaters
of that stream and beyond a point close to Itza territory.

Identification of the Rio de Tachis as the San Pedro Martir aids in the

interpretation of certain passages of the Acalan narrative. In the Spanish

version of Document III we read that when Cortes went to Acalan in 1525
he "entered by way of Tanodzic and passed by the pueblo of Tachix and
came out at the beginning of the land of Cacchutte," one of the Acalan settle-

ments. We are also told that a second Spanish expedition, obviously that of
Avila, "came and entered and went through, as the Capitan del Valle had
done, by
the pueblo of Tachix and the pueblo of Cacchutte." Contemporary
accounts of the Cortes and Avila expeditions do not mention any settlement
named Tachix, or Tachis, along the line of march from the Usumacinta to
the beginning of the x\calan lands. Moreover, it should be noted that in both
passages the words "pueblo of" are found only in the Spanish version, not in
The Chontal merely records the fact that Cortes, on
the Chontal original.
theway from the Usumacinta to Acalan, passed through or by way of Tachix.
The name might refer to a settlement, a region, or, as we know now, a river.
If the Rio de Tachis was the San Pedro Martir, then the narrative clearly
implies that Cortes crossed this stream on the way to Acalan.
Such an interpretation of the Text complements and confirms other evi-
dence that Ciuatecpan, where Cortes crossed the Usumacinta en route to
Acalan, was located about the junction with the San Pedro Martir. It also

proves beyond any reasonable doubt that the great estero, or lagoon, encoun-
tered by Cortes and Avila between the Usumacinta and Acalan was an over-
flow section of the San Pedro Martir. Moreover, if we reverse the process of
reasoning and take into account all the data concerning Cortes' route, includ-
ing the references to Tachix in the Text, we find that such data constitutes
additional proof that the Rio de Tachis was the San Pedro Martir. In short, the
502 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

early sources concerning the Cortes expedition, the Text, and the evidence in
the Bravo papers form a mosaic that fits together in a remarkable manner.
In Appendix B we have noted that Maudslay and Morley locate Itzam-
kanac, the capital of Acalan, on or near the San Pedro Martir within the
western boundary of the Peten. If their views are correct, it is evident that the
Bravo-Lorenzo expeditions of 1573 and 1580 would have crossed former
Acalan territory; indeed, in traveling up the Rio de Tachis, or San Pedro
Martir, Bravo passed the site of Mactun which Morley identifies as the prob-
able location of Itzamkanac. But there is not the slightest hint in any of the
documents relating to these entradas that Bravo had entered the old Acalan
area. On the contrary, we find that in both Yucatan and Tabasco the prov-
ince of Acalan and the Tachis, or San Pedro Martir, area explored by Bravo
and Fray Pedro Lorenzo were regarded as separate and distinct areas.

This fact is recorded in a general probanza of services formulated by

Bravo in the autumn of 1573. One of his supporting witnesses was Juan de
Montejo, grandson of the conqueror. Montejo gave testimony concerning an
earlier entrada by Bravo "to a new settlement of heathen Indians who had
been discovered in a province called Acalan toward the pueblo of Tixchel."
This statement obviously refers to Bravo's journey from Tixchel to Zapotit-
lan in December 1570 Chapter 9 and Appendix B). The witness then
(see
related that Bravo subsequently went to Tabasco where, by order of Gov-
ernor Santillan, he made another expedition "for the conversion of other
heathen Indians who are said to live in another province called Tayca." The
latter statement can only refer to the first journey of Bravo and Lorenzo to
the Rio de Tachis, or San Pedro Martir, in 1573. Another witness was Fran-
cisco de Peiiate, a resident of the Chontalpa in Tabasco. After testifying con-
cerning the explorations of 1573, he stated that he had heard that "prior to
this [Bravo] went on another journey for the conversion of other Indians

who are in the region of Acalan."

 Appendix E

Report of Indian Settlements in the Interior

of the Yucatan Peninsula in 1604

THE swamp
FLIGHT
and
the
of Indians from the mission towns of northern Yucatan to
forest areas in the interior of the peninsula created a seri-
ous problem to which the provincial authorities gave increasing attention in
the latter part of the sixteenth century and throughout the seventeenth. In
Chapter i o we have given some account of this problem, especially in relation
to the activities of Don Pablo Paxbolon, cacique and governor of Tixchel,
and in Chapter 1 1 we have described the history of certain forest, or Montailas,
missions established in the south-central part of the peninsula.
The history of the Montaiias missions dates from 1604, when Paxbolon
made a journey to the interior country to obtain information concerning
settlements of fugitive and unsubdued Indians. On this entrada the cacique
traveled six days from Tixchel to a region called Nacaukumil, where he
visited two settlements, or foci of settlement, about i league apart. From
later documents we was some 4-6 leagues east of Popola,
learn that this area
the latter being situated on the upper course of the Mamantel River. From
the Indians of Nacaukumil Paxbolon received reports of other settlements
located toward the east, north and northeast, and southeast. This information
was recorded in a memoria, or report, later transmitted to Governor Fernandez
de Velasco by Paxbolon's son-in-law, Francisco Maldonado, and other citi-

zens of Campeche as evidence in support of a petition for formal authorization

to undertake the pacification of the interior settlements. In May 1604, the
petitioners, having been granted a capitulacion, or contract, to carry out their
scheme, journeyed to Nacaukumil and thence to another place called Auatayn,
where missions were by Franciscan friars who accompanied the
established
expedition. Subsequently the contract with Maldonado and his associates was
suspended, but the Franciscans carried on the work thus begun and founded
other missions in the Montafias area.
Paxbolon's report of 1 604, of which a translation is given below, has con-
siderable interest, since it illustrates the number, size, and character of the
interior settlements already existing at the beginning of the seventeenth cen-
tury. The large number of apostate fugitives in these settlements is shown by
the preponderance of Christian names for the principal men and leaders. In

503
504 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

certain cases, such as Ixkik and Tixchalche, we two chieftains,

find record of
one with a Christian name and the other with a pagan name. Some of these
men with pagan names may have been autochthonous residents of the region;
others were probably descendants of apostate fugitives who had fled from
northern Yucatan in earHer years. It is not surprising to find only pagan
names for the leaders of Petox, a Cehache village, since the Cehache had never
been converted. In the case of Chunpich, whose chieftains also had pagan
names, the situation is not entirely clear, although this may well have been
another Cehache settlement, for in Avendano's time at the end of the seven-
teenth century Chunpich was in Cehache territory.
Most of name beginning Caca-, are
the Petox names, especially the long
unfamiliar, although this is not surprising since Petox was a Cehache settle-
ment. These names show, however, that the Cehache had Na- names, as
might have been expected, and that the ah kin, or native priest, was an im-
portant member of local government. But this was also true among the
fugitives.

Unfortunately the report is very vague as to the location of the settlements

Hsted, nor do the meanings of the names, as defined in the notes, help in this
connection, except in the case of Nacaukumil. In some cases, however, such as
Ichmachich, Ichbalche, Ixtok (Tzuctok), and Chekubul, where missions were
later founded, it is possible to work out tentative locations on the basis of

other sources. (See Map 4.)

One copy of the report (to be cited as Copy A) is in the Paxbolon-Mal-
donado Papers, Part II, ff. gv-i i. Another (to be cited as Copy B) is found

in AGI, Mexico, leg. 359. In many cases the names are spelled differently in
the two copies. In the translation we give what seems to be the better spelling,
followed by a reconstruction of the name in parentheses. Variant spellings are
given in the notes. In the same way we give in parentheses reconstructions of
the personal names, although some of these are doubtful.

[TraTislation]

Report of the settlements^ of fugitives^ in the forests, according to what

was learned from the Indians who made the declaration to Don Pablo Pax-
bolon. They are as follows:

1 Spanish, "pueblos." From other sources it seems clear that most of these settlements were

not compact villages but more or less scattered settlements in the general locality of the
"pueblo" listed, like the two settlements of Nacaukumil.
2 "Cimarrones." Although most of the Indians of these settlements were evidently apostate

fugitives from northern Yucatan or their descendants, the Cehache and Itza and possibly the
Indians of Chunpich (who may have been Cehache) were unconverted heathens who had lived
in the interior since preconquest times.
 APPENDIX E 505

1. In the first place, the first settlement which Don Pablo Paxbolon
reached, [called] Nacaucumil-taquiache (Nacaukumil-taquiache) .^ It has
about 30 married men and those who command it are called — [names not
given].
2. Nequecumil (Nacaukumil)^ is the second settlement Don Pablo
reached. It is governed by Pedro Zeque (Tzek)^ and has about 50 married
Indians.
It is about I league from one to the other. They are not in a compact town
but are scattered.*
3. One day's journey toward the east is the settlement of Yxquique
(Ixkik).''' It was not possible to learn how many people it has. Those who
govern it Napolcobo (Napol Couoh) and Juan Tuyu.^
are called

4. Toward the east and beyond this said settlement there is another settle-

ment called Chunlucho (Chunluch).^ It is another day's journey farther on.

It was impossible to learn the number of people it has. Those who govern it

are Juan Cocom and two others.

5. Toward the said east and in the direction of Bacalar is another settle-

ment beyond those mentioned above. No report of its population has been
brought. Those who command this settlement [called] Zapebobon^*^ are
named Luis Cu (Ku) and five others.
6. Continuing toward the said east is the settlement of Tibacab.^^ Those

who govern it are Francisco Uco (Uc) and three others.

7. Continuing toward the east is the settlement of Yxtoc (Ixtok).^^ Fran-

cisco Canche, Antonio Pech, and six other principal men govern it.
3 Cacaucumil in Copy A, but other variants indicate that naca was the first element. Ucum,
or ukum, can mean "river," and taquiache evidently refers to the land of the Cehache. The most
applicable meaning for naca is hard to determine but it may mean "close to" or "up" the river
in question. Since Nacaukumil was a short distance east of Popola, which was situated on the
Mamantel, the name shows that this river led toward the Cehache area.
* Nequyumil in Copy A.
5 Pedro Zeque, or Cec, later became governor of the mission town of Nacaukumil (see

ch. 11).
^ The Indians of these rancherias were subsequently congregated into a single settlement

of the same name and later known as Chacuitzil. In the iVIaldonado-Paxbolon probanza of 161
this mission settlement is also called Ichcun and Yscuncabil (Paxbolon- A'laldonadO Papers,
Part II).
''
Copy B.
Isquiqui in
8 Tuque (Tuc?) in Copy B.
9 Chumluchu in Copy A.
10 In 1615 Francisco Sanchez Cerdan, a prominent citizen of Campeche, told about a

journey he had made into the interior country southeast of Campeche m

the late 1570's (Pax-
bolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, ff. 2$']v-6zv). One of the sites visited at that time was a place
called Dzopohobon.
11 Sanchez Cerdan's report of his entrada of the 1570's (see preceding note) mentions a
site called Tubacab located near two permanent lakes or lagoons.
12 This place was evidently Tzuctok, where a mission was established in 1605 (see ch. 11).
In 1605 Francisco Canche was elected governor of Tzuctok and Antonio Pech was named
^o6 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

8. Continuing toward the east is another settlement called Chumpiche

(Chunpich)/^ They [Paxbolon's informants at Nacaukumil] declare that it

may have 200 houses. The reason for this statement is that they [the inhabi-
tants of Chunpich] are enemies of those who testify. They say that there
are many people and that they do not wish to be Christians, [These people]
are about four days' journey from the declarants, the other aforesaid settle-
ments being in between. From there [Chunpich] to Bacalar is all populated/^
so they say. They do not give the names of any settlements or caciques. Those
who govern this settlement [of Chunpich] are called Ah Kin Aca (Ake?
Acat.^)^^ and Namay Queb (Keb) and three others.
On the north [from Nacaukumil] is the settlement of Tixchalchel
9. (Tix-
chalche) }^ Namay Que (Ceh) and Miguel Ucan govern it.
10. Toward the said north is the settlement of Cucmiz.^"^ Three principal
men govern it.
II. Toward the said north is the settlement of Yxchemachiche (Ichma-
chich) }^ Three principal men govern it.

12. In the same direction is the settlement of Ichbalche.^^ Eight principal

men govern it.

alcalde. Moreover, Tzuctok was located near the settlement of Chunpich, which is listed after
Ixtok in the report above. Documents of 1668-70 refer to a site named Ichtok east of Chekubul,
but this place was not the same as Ixtok, or Tzuctok, since Fray Cristobal Sanchez reached it
en route to Tzuctok in 1670.
13 Hunpiche in Copy B. Chun is a prefix meaning "at the base of something" or "the trunk

of a tree"; pich is the ear tree, or conacaste, an important timber tree (Roys, 1943, p. 50). In
the late 1690's Chunpich was located some 8 leagues from Tzuctok on the route to Batcab and
Chuntuqui. It was probably in the region of modern Cumpich north of the Mexico-Guatemala
boundary. At this time the Chunpich area was inhabited by Cehache (Means, 1917, p. 117). It
is also interesting to note that in 1605 Tzuctok was said to be the "puerta" to the Cehache area.
1* It was in this area that the mission of Sacalum was later founded. Cf. ch. 11.
15 Ake is probably indicated here, since we have found Ac for Ake in other documents.

Acat has been found only as an Acalan or Nahuatl name.

16 Tischaloche in Copy A.
i'^
Cucomiz in Copy A. Zuuc
is a general term for grass or zacate; miz is Tillandsia brachy-

caulos Schl., an epiphyte. In place names, however, tzuc is occasionally a prefix, indicating a
locality where the plant or other natural feature which follows is found. Cf. Sucopo (Maya,
Tzucop), which means "a grove of anonas {op)." Documents of 1615 refer to a site named
Cucmiz a short distance west of Sahcabchen in the locality where the pueblo of Holail was
founded.
IS Ychomahuh in Copy A. Other documents record the name as Machich, Chichmachich,

Chichimachiche. Ich means "in" or "among"; machich e is reported as an unidentified timber

tree (Standley, 1930, p. 176). We
are reminded of Ichmul, a well-known town in northern
Yucatan, which means "among the mounds." After the founding of the Montanas missions in
1604-05, Ichmachich was a visita of Ichbalche. In 1615 the people of Ichmachich were resettled
at Cheusih together with those of Chacuitzil (formerly Nacaukumil) and Chunhaz (see ch. 11).
Modern maps show a place named Machich southeast of Sahcabchen, but this could not have
been the site of the mission town of Ichmachich.
19 Yschebalche in Copy B. Also recorded in other documents as Ysbalche, Esbalche,

Ychebaz. Ich is here a prefix, as in Ichmachich; and balche (Lonchocarpus longistylus Pittier),
"a tree from which they make wine and become drunk" (Motul dictionary) The mission settle- .
 APPENDIX E 507

13. is the settlement of Coobziz.^'° Six principal men

In the same direction
govern The chief is called Juan May.
it.

14. Toward the said north is the settlement of Yxchan (Ixchan) .-^ Ah Kin

Pech and two other principal men govern it.

15. Toward the said north is the settlement of Checubul (Chekubul)
.^^

Miguel No (Noh) and Diego To govern it.

And all these settlements are in the neighborhood and direction as given
by the declarants.
16. Toward the southeast [from Nacaukumil] is the settlement of Tazul.^^
These [Indians] scattered because they did not wish to be Christians and they
heard that [Spaniards?] were going to them, and so they went to Tayza. The
latter attacked them and routed them. Only one Indian died. And since this
happened a short time ago, they are not reassembled. They say that they now
wish to be Christians. Fifteen captains and principal men govern them.
17. Toward the said southeast are the Quiaches (Cehaches). This settle-
ment is called Petox.^* Those who govern it are called"^ Ah Kin Cholo (Xol? )
Batab Chac, Ah Kin Zel (or Tzel) , Nabon Cacaalezuc.^^ There are as many
as 20 captains.
18. Toward the said southeast is the famous town of Tayza (Tayasal) and
other settlements subject to it, the names of which are not known.

ment of Ichbalche was also known as Ichcayab. Although zayab usually means a spring, it is
also reported as a synonym for the balche (Standley, 1930, p. 297). The Franciscan convent of
Ichbalche, founded in 1604-05, was the chief center of missionary activity in the Montaiias area
until 1615, when the people of Ichbalche and Tzuctok were moved to Sahcabchen (see ch. 11).
20 Coobciz in Copy B.
21 Modern maps show a site named Taschan located between Pixoyal and Lake Mocu,
There was also a mission settlement named Texan in the Montaiias area, 1609-15.
22 Hecubul in Copy B. In other seventeenth-century documents the naxne appears as Cheku-

bul, Chikubul, Chicbul, Chekbul. xModern maps show two sites named Chekubul and Chicbxil
southeast of Tixchel. The early documents, however, mention only one settlement (cf. refer-
ences to Chekubul in ch. 13).
23 Tacul in Copy B. In another document we find the name recorded as Tajul.
24 Pet means "something circular," and in compounds is sometimes applied to tracts of land,

like cornfields, gardens, and orchards, even when they are not circular. Ox is the breadnut, and
itseems likely that a grove of such trees is indicated.
25 The Spanish text reads, "el
q. los rixe se llama," but the names which follow evidently
refer to more than one person.
26 Cacaalligie in Copy B.
<
 Glossary

[The definitions given here apply to the use of the terms in this volume, and in some
cases they are oversimplified. Many
terms of Indian origin employed in the preceding
chapters, appendices, and explanatory notes and already defined where they occur have
been omitted from this list.]

Acalli (Nahuatl): canoe.

adelantado (Span.): a title conferred upon some of the conquerors, which usually im-
plied a considerable measure of independent jurisdiction.
adelantamiento (Span.) the area governed by an adelantado.
:

ahau (Maya): ruler; sometimes the title prefixed to the patronymic of the halach uinic.
ahau (Chontal): title of the Acalan ruler and of some of the lesser chieftains; translated
in the Spanish version of the Chontal Text as "rey," "principal," and "gobernador."
ah cuchcab (Maya) a member of the town council; the head of a subdivision of a town.
:

ah kin (Maya): priest.

ah kulel (Maya) a deputy or
: assistant of the batab.
alcalde (Span.): a local magistrate.
alcalde vtayor (Span.): a subordinate colonial official in charge of a province or pro-
vincial subdivision.
alcalde ordinario (Span.): the elected magistrate of a Spanish or Indian town.
alcaldia mayor (Span.) area governed by an alcalde mayor.
:

alguacil (Span.): a minor peace officer; bailiff.

alguacil may or (Span.): chief bailiff.

arroba (Span.): a weight of approximately 25 pounds, or a liquid measure of about 4

gallons.
arroyo (Span.) : a river or stream, often of seasonal character.
audiencia (Span.): one of the highest judicial courts in the colonies, which also enjoyed
a considerable measure of administrative authority; also the area in which an
audiencia exercised jurisdiction.
auto (Span.): decree, edict.
ayuda de costa (Span.): pension; grant-in-aid.
ayuntamiento (Span.): a municipal government.

Barrio (Span.): ward, subdivision of a town.

batab (Maya): in pre-Spanish times the civil and military head of a town; during the
colonial period the cacique and later on the governor of an Indian town.

Cabecera (Span.): the capital, principal town, or administrative center of a province,

district, or mission area.
cabildo (Span.): town council or corporation.
cacicazgo (Span.) : the dignity or office of a cacique and his territory; native province or
political subdivision.
cacique (Span.): an Indian chief; in colonial times the holder of a certain hereditary
position, and later the governor of an Indian town.
calpulli (Nahuatl): a landholding lineage group; a ward or subdivision of a town,
cantor (Span.): singer, chanter in village church.

509
51 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

capilla (Span.): chapel; altar space.

capkulacion (Span.): agreement, contract.
carga (Span.) a measure of cacao or maize.
:

casa (Span.): house; a line or branch of a family.

cenote (from Maya dzonot): a natural cistern or water hole peculiar to the Yucatan
Peninsula.
chalchihuitl (Nahuatl): a green precious stone.
chontalli (Nahuatl): foreigner.
cimarron (Span.): a fugitive Indian.
cifnatl (Nahuatl) a medicinal plant believed to be a species of Phaseolus.
:

cizin (Maya): devil, idol.

comisario (Span.) : superior or director of a new mission area.
concunado (Span.): husband of wife's sister.
corregidor (Span.): a subordinate governmental official with authority over a city or a
provincial subdivision.
corregi?niento (Span.): area governed by a corregidor.
cunado (Span.): brother-in-law.
cura (Span.): parish priest.

Defimdor (Span.) : a member of an elected council (definitorio) in a Franciscan province

to advise the Provincial and assist in the administration of the province between
meetings of the provincial chapter. (A custodia, or semi-independent subdivision of
a Franciscan province, also had a board of definidores, as in the case of the Fran-
ciscan missions in Yucatan prior to 1561.)
doctrina (Span.): Christian instruction; a town or village of Christian Indians.
ducado (Span.): a monetary unit of 375 maravedis in value, equivalent to five-sixths of a
gold peso {peso de oro de minas).
dzul (Maya): foreigner; also a common Yucatecan Maya patronymic. In the Chontal
Text the term is employed to designate a certain foreign nation.

EncoTfiendero (Span.): \\o\dtv oi ^n encomienda.

encomenda (Span.): an allotment of Indians under obligation to give service, tribute,
or both, to a Spanish colonist.
entenado (Span.): stepson.
entrada (Span.): an expedition for purposes of exploration or military conquest.
escribano (Span.) : notary; clerk of an Indian town.
escribano mayor de gobernacion (Span.): chief governmental notary.
ester o (Span.): estuary, wide expanse of water, swamp or overflow area, a sluggish river
or stream.
expediente (Span.) : a file or series of documents.

Fanega (Span.): a dry measure of approximately 1.6 bushels.

(Span.): crown attorney; prosecuting attorney.
fiscal

Gallina (Span.): hen. The term gallina de Castilla was used to describe the European
variety, and gallina de la tierra to describe the native turkey.
guardian (Span.): the head of a Franciscan convent and its mission district.

guardiania (Span.): a mission district administered by a guardian.

Halach uinic (Maya): a head chief or territorial ruler of an independent Maya state.
 GLOSSARY 5 1

hermano (Span.): brother.

hidalgo (Span.): a noble.
hucup (Chontal): canoe.

Juez de coTnision (Span.): a judicial officer appointed to conduct an investigation or to

deal with some particular case or legal inquiry; a judge-delegate.

Katun (Maya) : a time period of 7200 days, or approximately 20 years.

Laguna (Span.): lake; lagoon.

legajo (Span.): a bundle of papers or documents.

Macegual, niacehual, viazeual (Nahuatl): a common Indian, not a noble.

maestre de campo (Span.): a certain military officer of high rank.
7/iaestro de doctrina (Span.): a native teacher who instructed other Indians in Christian
doctrine.
Tfianta (Span.): a mantle; a length of cloth. In Yucatan the tribute tnanta comprised four
piernas, or lengths, of cotton cloth measuring 4 varas by three-fourths of a vara each,
making a total of about 10 square yards (English measure).
maravedi (Span.) :
0.094 gram of pure silver (Hamilton, 1934, p. 3 18).
matricula (Span.): an count or list, such
official as a count of tributaries, heads of fam-
ilies, or adult inhabitants of a town.
memor'ia (Span.): list, report.
mestizo (Span.) person of mixed Spanish and Indian blood.
: a
Tnezquita (Span.): mosque; often used in colonial documents to describe native temples
or sanctuaries.
milpa (Nahuatl): farm plot; land cultivated according to the customary Maya system of
agriculture involving the burning of the bush prior to planting.
Tnilpertas (Span.): milpa ]ands.
montana (Span.) a forested area; : also hilly or mountainous terrain.
monte (Span.): bush; forest.

Natural (Span.): native; natural.

nuc uinic, nucalob, nucha uinicob (Chontal): the inferior chieftains or principal men, as
contrasted with the ahaus.
nucil, nucil uinicob, nucbe uinicob (Maya): the elders or principal men of a town.

Ocelotl (Nahuatl): jaguar.

oidor (Span.): member of an audiencia; in the case of audiencias which had separate
panels for criminal and civil cases, the oidores served in civil cases.

Partido (Span.): a local district or administrative area; the district administered by a

curate or beneficed priest.
peso (Span.): a monetary unit, Spanish dollar. The peso de oro comun (the silver peso
or piece of eight) had the value of 272 maravedis, or 8 reales or tomines of 34 mara-
vedis each; the peso de oro de minas had the value of 450 maravedis.
peten (Maya): island.
pierna (Span.) : a length of cloth measuring 4 varas by three-fourths of a vara; one-fourth
of a tribute inanta.
pozole (Nahuatl) : a drink made of maize dough and water.
5 1 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

principal (Span.): an Indian of recognized noble status; the head of a subdivision of a

town.
probanza (Span.): proof; an official record of merits and services.
procurador (Span.): solicitor, attorney, legal agent.
provisor (Span.): a diocesan judge named by the bishop.

i
Quicin, quizin (from Maya cizin, q.v.).

Rancheria (Span.): a small settlement.

real (Span.): a monetary unit of 34 maravedis in value, one-eighth of a silver peso; a
military camp.
regidor (Span.) : a member of the tow^n council.
relacion (Span.): an account, relation, or report.
repartimiento (Span,): an allotment; an alternative term for the encomienda; a general
term for the system of forced Indian labor for pay; also used in Yucatan to describe
the system of forced contracts by which the Indians were obliged to accept advances
of money or raw materials in return f of which they had to supply stated quantities
of beeswax, honey, cochineal, cotton, cotton cloth, etc.
reservado (Span.): person exempt from tribute.
residencia (Span.): an accounting required of the holder of a public office.

Sab ana (Span.): savanna.

sacbe (Maya): a paved road.
salto (Span.): cascade, waterfall.
serior (Span.): lord.
senor natural (Span.): a natural lord; a term applied to native rulers and their de-
scendants.
sobrino (Span.): nephew.

Tameme (from Nahuatl tla7nama) : Indian carrier or burden bearer.

tasacion (Span.): a tax or tribute assessment.
tecpan (Nahuatl): government house.
tio (Span.): uncle.
toTfiin (Span.) : one-eighth of a silver peso; one real.

toston (Span.): half a peso.

tun (Chontal): stone or rock.
tun (Maya): a precious green stone; a soft limestone overlying the older rock and shell
conglomerate, and in compoimds something made of stone; also a time period of
360 days.

Ucum, ukum (Maya): ester o or river.

Vara (Span.) : a linear measure of about 33 inches; a staff of office.

vicario (Span.) : a priest to whom certain authority has been delegated by the bishop.
villa (Span.) : a town enjoying certain privileges of local government.
visita (Span.): an official visitation, inspection, or judicial inquiry; an ecclesiastical term
designating an Indian town with a church but no resident clergy.
visitador (Span.): an official authorized to make a visitation or inspection (visita).

viudo (Span.): widower.

 GLOSSARY 5 1 3

Xocelhaa (Chontal): river.

xocola (Maya): river.

Yerno (Span.): son-in-law.

Zanja (Span.): channel, canal.

I
I
 References

ACEVEDO, J.R.
1910 El partido de Carmen (Estado de Campeche). Mexico.
AcosTA, Jose de
1880 The natural and moral history of the Indies. . . . Reprinted from the English
translated edition of Edward Grimston, 1604. (Works issued by the Hak-
luyt Society, nos. 50, 51.) London.
Adams, E. B.
1945 Note on thelife of Francisco de Cardenas Valencia. The Americas, 2: 21-29.
Washington.
Aguilera Martinez, J. G.
1942 Geografia del Estado de Tabasco. Villahermosa.
Alva Ixtlilxochitl, Fernando de
1891-92 Obras historicas. 2 vols. Mexico.
Andre w^s, E. W.
1943 The archaeology of southwestern Campeche. Carnegie Inst. Wash., Pub. 546,
Contrib. 40. Washington.
Anghiera, Pietro Martire d'
191 2 De orbe novo, the eight decades of Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, Translated from
the Latin with notes and introduction by F. A. MacNutt. 2 vols. New York
and London.
Annals of the Cakchiquels
See Villacorta C, 1934.
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[Anton Garcia] contra Feliciano Bravo, escribano, y Juan Vazquez y Juan de Mon-
serrate. 1570-71. Justicia, leg. 250, ff. 1885-2255'z;. (Cited as Garcia v. Bravo. This
expediente forms part of the first legajo of the residencia of Gov. Luis Cespedes
de Oviedo.)
Autos hechos a instancia del defensor de indios, Juan de Sanabria, sobre la reduccion
de los que habia en las montanas de aquella provincia [de Yucatan]. 1609. Pa-
tronato, leg. 231, num. 4, ramo 16. (Copy of materials in the Paxbolon-Maldonado
Papers, Part II, if. i^6r-20^v, and a few supplementary documents not included
in the latter.)
Autos hechos por Pedro Garcia de Ricalde en virtud de comision del Sr. Maese de
Campo Don Rodrigo Flores de Aldana, gobernador de estas provincias, sobre la
reduccion de los indios de Sahcabchen y otros pueblos. 1668-70. Escribania de
Camara, leg. 317B, pza. 8.
Confirmation of a pension granted to Juan de Ribera y Garate on half of the en-
comienda of Pocmuch. 1648-60. Mexico, leg. 243.
Contra Antonio Gonzalez por malos tratamientos a los [indios] de Sahcabchen sobre
que recibiesen repartimientos de cera, de que resulto ausentarse los indios de aquel
partido a las montaiias. 1666-70. Escribania de Camara, leg. 317C, pza. 4.
Cuaderno de testimonios de certificaciones dadas por los oficiales de Yucatan y
alcaldes mayores de sus partidos de las personas que poseian las encomiendas y
su producto. 1688. Contaduria, leg. 920, exp. 2.

Cuentas de real hacienda dadas por los oficiales reales de Yucatan. 1540-1606. Con-
taduria, leg. 91 1 A.

5^5
5 6 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Archivo General de Indias, Sevilla — continued

Documents relating to the missions of Las Montaiias. 1604-05. Mexico, leg. 359.
(Copy of materials in the Paxbolon-Maldonado Papers, Part II, if. i-ys'y.)
Don Francisco de Montejo, gobernador y capitan general de la provincia de Yu-
catan, con el Adelantado D. Pedro de Alvarado, sobre derecho a una encomienda
de indios. 1541. Justicia, leg. 134, num. 3.
El Adelantado Don Francisco de Montejo, gobernador de las provincias de Yu-
catan, con Don Pedro de Alvarado, gobernador de Guatemala, sobre el derecho
a los terminos del Rio de Grijalva, que dicho Montejo habia conquistado
y paci-
ficado a Su costa, 1530-33. Justicia, leg. 1005, num. 3, ramo i. (Cited as Montejo v.
Alvarado.
El fiscal con los oiiciales reales de la provincia de Yucatan sobre ciertas adiciones que
fueron puestas por el gobernador de ella de varias ayudas de costa que pagaron.
1567. Justicia, leg. 209, num. 4.
El fiscal contra Alonso Lopez, vecino de la villa de Santa Maria de la Victoria de
Tabasco, sobre haberse titulado visitador y exigido a los indios de la provincia de
Tabasco diferentes contribuciones. 1541-45. Justicia, leg. 195. (Cited as Fiscal v.
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Expediente formado a instancia del Capitan Pedro Ochoa de Leguizamo sobre ir a
su costa al nuevo descubrimiento del Valle de Suchicane. 1604-05. Patronato, leg.
20, num. 5, ramo 25.
Informacion de los malos tratam-ientos que los espaiioles hacen a los indios de la
provincia de Tabasco. 1605. Mexico, leg. 369.
Informacion de los meritos y servicios del Capitan Francisco Tamayo Pacheco. 1568.
Patronato, leg. 82, num. 2, ramo i.

Informacion de los servicios de Fray Juan de Izquierdo, obispo de Yucatan. 1595.

Mexico, leg. 369.
Informacion de servicios de Alonso Gomez de Santoyo, teniente de gobernador y
justicia mayor en la provincia de Tabasco. 1565-66. Mexico, leg. 98.
Isabel Sanchez, hija de Pedro Galiano, difunto, con Francisco Manrique, vecino de
Yucatan, sobre los indios de Yobain y Tixcacal. 1557. Justicia, leg. 1012, num. 3,
ramo 3.

Letter of Antonio Laynez to the governor of Yucatan. Aug. 29, 1669. Mexico, leg. 307.
Letter of Bishop Diego Vazquez de Mercado to the king. Merida, October 12, 1606.

Mexico, leg. 369.

Letter of Don Pablo Paxbolon and other native officials of Tixchel to the king. Feb-
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Letter of Francisco Palomino to the king. Merida, October 2, 1572. Mexico, leg. 99.

Letter of Fray Cristobal Sanchez to the provincial. Nacab, August 5, 1670. Mexico,
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Matricula de los pueblos de la provincia de Yucatan con certificaciones de sus vicarios.
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Memorial de la clerecia ciudad de Merida y obispado de Yucatan hecho por su

de la

Seiioria el Dr. Don Juan Alonso de Ocon, obispo de dicho obispado Merida, . . . ,

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 REFERENCES 517

Archivo General de Indias, Sevilla — continued

tiene. 1606. Mexico, leg. 1841. (The printed text of this document in Paso y Tron-
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Nombramiento del obispo de beneficiados a los partidos de Tichel y Tepetitlan. 1606.
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Probanza de los meritos y servicios de Bias Gonzalez. . . . 1567-70. Patronato, leg. 68,
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Probanza of the merits and services of Don Juan Chan, cacique and governor of
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Probanza of the merits and services of Iriigo de Sugasti. 1598-16 15. Mexico, leg. 242.
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Probanza of the merits and services of Lorenzo de Godoy. 1562. Guatemala, leg. in.
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Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo, escribano mayor de gobernacion in Yucatan. 1565-78.
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Probanzas of Feliciano Bravo, escribano mayor de gobernacion in Yucatan. 1562-82.
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Ratificaciones de los indios que dijeron en los sumarios secretos de esta Villa de Cam-
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Madrid, March i, 1535. Guatemala, leg. 402, libro T-i.
5l8 ACALAN-TIXCHEL

Archivo General de Indias, Sevilla continued —

Royal cedula to Lie. Alonso Lopez de Cerrato, president of the Audiencia of Guate-
mala concerning the Indians of the province of Cimatan. Valladolid, July 7, 1560.
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Royal cedula to the Audiencia of Guatemala requesting a report on the services of 1
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Royal cedula to the governor of Yucatan transmitting a petition of Gregorio de
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June 28, 1599. Mexico, leg. 2999, libro D-4.
Royal cedulas to the viceroy of NeM^ Spain and to the governor of Yucatan. Torde-
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Sobre las diligencias que se han hecho para la reduccion de los indios de Sahcabchen
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Testimonio de las cartas de los indios de las montaiias y administracion a los dichos
del Rdo. P. Fr. Cristobal Sanchez, y asimismo administracion en el beneficio de
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 Index

Abdication, of Paxbolonacha, 87, 122, 141 Aguilar, Mateo de, encomendero of Tixchel,
Abductions, in frontier towns, 229, 306, 308, 238,242,303,405
309, 312, 345 Aguilera Martinez, J. G., 37
Abuses, avoided by Cortes, 391; in Tabasco, Ah Bolon Ahau, god, 486
494; of encomenderos, 148-50, 156, 163-64, Ah Bolonil, god, 486
336, 348, 350; of Spaniards, 149, 150, 163, 164, Ah Canul, province, 130, 147, 228, 245, 304,
260, 261-62, 266, 305-06, 307; of Spanisli of- 3", 332
ficials, 165, 305-06 Ah ciichcabs, 334; term defined, 55, 402
Aca, Ah Kin, name, 506 Ah Hulneb, god, 77
Acacia, town named for, 387 Ah kayom, defined, 46
Acacia fnilleriona, 387 Ah Kebob, people, 402
Acala, Choi, people, 316; confused with Aca- Ah Kin Chel, province, 130, 134, 144, 322
lan, 6, 407, 409, 410; language of, 17; location Ah kins, 228. See also Priests, native
of, 136; water communication with, 80 Ah kulel, defined, 46, 55
Acalan, Rio de, see Rio de Acalan Ahau, defined, ^y, term discussed, 384, 390, 394,
Acalan, town, see Itzamkanac, town 396
Acalan narrative, see Chontal Text Ahualulco, people, 95, 96; in Tabasco, 318
Acalan Tamactun, 397. See also Mactun Ahualulco, town, 94, 96; ruins near, 95
Acalan Ahcuz, Francisco, 185, 189, 190
Acalli, defined, 50 Ahuitzotl, 35
Acat, name, 26, 479 Ahyza, town, 260. See also Tayasal
Acatan, town, 32 Alacandon, see Lacandon, people
Acayuca, town, 95 Alaminos, Anton de, 88
Acevedo, J. H., 48, 49, 50, 420 Alcalde mayor, of Tabasco, 125, 132, 138; of
Acha, name, 224 Yucatan, 138, 169, 173, 176
Acha, Isabel, 66, 175, 361, 386 Alcalde ordinario, of Campeche, 212, 242, 249,
Acha, Martin, 398 255, 293, 294; of Merida, 295; of San Pedro,
Acha, Miguel, 313 136; of Villa de Tabasco, 145
Achachu, name, 185, 399 Alcaldes, Indian, of Ichbalche, 283, 284, 287;
Acha-quiuit, name, 224 of Ichmachich, 287; of Sacalum, 287; of
Agilbaob, town, 398, 399 Tixchel, 177, 236, 383, 385, 472; of Tzuctok,
Acipac, 37n. 287; of Usulaban, 236
Agitiache, name, 402 Alfaro map, 11, 16, 24, 88n., 97, 98, 99, 435, 436,
Aeon, Laguna, 280 438, 444; evidence of, 424; Rio de Zapotitlan
Acucyah, town, Acalan war with, 384. See on, 419, 420; Taxaual on, 383; Usumacinta
also Tabasquillo towns on, 444. See also Maps
Acumba, lake, 99 Alfaro Santa Cruz, Melchor de, report by, 16,
Acuz, Francisco, 399 24. See also Alfaro map.
Adams, E. B., 365, 366 Alguacil, Indian, 178; of Ichbalche, 283
Adams, W. S., 112 Alguacil mayor, of Campeche, 294
Adelantado, 252; of Yucatan, see Montejo Alligator, name meaning, 482
Administration, Indian, reforms in, 146 Allspice, trees, 280
Adultery, punishment of, 46 Alonso, Fray, 187
Advisers, of Acalan ruler, 120 Alta Verapaz, emigrants from, 353
Aedes aegypti, 343 Altar covering, 204
Africa, yellow fever imported from, 326 Altar space, 179, 195
Agriculture, at Tixchel, 170-71, 219, 242-44, Alva Ixlilxochitl, Fernando de, 5, 55, 64, 93,
301-02, 336; conditions, 140; in Acalan, 322, 99, 107, 108, 112, 113, 114, 116, 117, 118, 459,
347; in Lacandon area, 40; in northeastern 460
Yucatan, 302, 320; in south-central Yucatan, Alvarado, Jeronimo de, 142
333; in Usulaban area, 242-44; in Yucatan, i; Alvarado, Pedro de, in, 118, 140; contro-
population in areas of, 165 versies with Montejo, 8; 130-36, 139-40;
Agua Dulce, site, 453 with Grijalva expedition, 90
Aguada, 276 Alvarez de Miranda, Pedro, 44
Aguilar, Geronimo de, at Potonchan, 36-37 Alvarez Magana, Fernando, 305
Aguilar, Mateo, alcalde of Campeche, 294 Amactun, see Mactun
530 INDEX

Amactunob, people, 454, 455 Arrows, 191-92, 222, 400, 401, 402; requisi-
Amacua, name, 224 tioned at Sahcabchen, 344, 346
Amacua-gelu, name, 224 Art, i; Maya, 64; of Chichen Itza, 75; of east
Amatique, Bay of, 17, 30, 60, 431 coast of Yucatan, 320; of Gulf coast, 354;
Amatitan, town, deserted, 61; terrorized, 33 of Old Empire, 20, 21; Olmec, 22
Amatitlan, town, 48 Arzueta, Cristobal de, grant of 500 tributaries
Amber, see Topaz to, 259; pacification of interior settlements,
American Geographical Society, 440 255-56, 258-70; notary of expedition, 259,
Anahuac Xicalanco, 31 265; services against pirates, 255
Anaite, ruins, 42 Ascension Bay, 102, 164, 434; confused with
Ancestry, of Paxbolon, 8, 74, 141, 175, 292, Chetumal Bay, iii, 452; discovery of, 432;
293, 294, 299, 354, 383-86, 474, 479 embarking point for Honduras, 319; Gri-
Andrade, M. J., 17, 364 jalva at, 88; location of, 431-34; plan to
Andrews, E. W., 4, 48, 49, 50, 54, 67, 70, 71, pacify area of, 251, 254; trade by way of, 58
72, 76, 83, 276, 277, 307, 347, 410, 421, 426, Asphaltum, 319
427, 447, 459, 461, 467, 469 Assessments, tribute, see Tribute, schedules of
Anghiera, Pietro Martire d', 22, 38 Astapa, town, 24, 98
Animal, child named for, 66 Astronomical symbols, at Santa Rita, 83
Annatto, commerce in, 245, 323; in Acalan, 59 Asuncion Bay, see Ascension Bay
Anona, town named for, 506 Atapan, devil of, 158; division of Itzamkanac,
Anta, town, change of location, 98 54, 56, 390, 395
Anthurium tetragonum, 334 Atasta, Lake, 27
Apaspolon, 362. See also Paxbolonacha Atasta, town, 28
Apaxmulu, name, 224. See also Paxmulu Atitlan, Lake, 44
Apaxtun, name, 224. See also Paxtun at Tula and Chichen
Atlantean figures, Itza, 22
Apay, language, 18 Atoxpech, name, 399
Apopomena, town, 81; Acalan war with, 384. Atrocities, in War of the Castes, 345
See also Popomena Auatayn, town, church at, 263; governor of,
Apostasy, 251; in Acalan, 173; of fugitives, 263, 402; letter of officials to governor, 271;
334; pardon for, 231, 262, 263 location of, 275; Maldonado expedition in,
Apostates, Lorenzo's and Bravo's expeditions 263-64; mission at, 263, 270, 280, 284-85, 337,
to, 49 iff. See also Fugitives 503; moved to Chunhaz, 277, 282-85, 338;
Apsidal structures, 71, 72 petitions to Luna y Arellano, 265-67, 276,
Aquebob, see Ah Kebob, people 282; proposal to move, 270-71; proposed
Aranda, Diego de, 145-46; abuse of Indians, move to Chacuitzil, 276; Santa Maria's letter
149, 150; encomendero of Acalan, 145, 147, to, 260, 263; visita of Chacuitzil, 280; water
150, 201, 396 supply of, 276
Arbolancha, Hernando de, 33 Audiencia of Confines, see Audiencia of Gua-
Archaeological reports, 353 temala
Archaeological sites, 92, 95; on Chetumal Bay, Audiencia of Guatemala, 491, 495; campaign
83 against Lacandon, 173, 398; confirmed Gar-
Archaeology, of Candelaria area, 4; of Cehache cia's title to encomienda of Acalan, 148, 201,
area, 467; of Chichen Itza, 319; of Chontal 213; confirmed Yucatan tribute schedules,
area, 22, 318; of Kaminaljuyu, 354 150; decree authorizing native officials to
Archer, god, 77 make arrests, 179; jurisdiction of, 135, 138,
Architecture, i; of Northern Yucatan, 75; se- 156; visitador appointed by, 146, 152, 348,
quences of, in Tabasco, 318 396
Archivo General de Indias, 16, 410; investiga- Audiencia of Mexico, 216, 217, 359, 362; ap-
tions in, 7; Paxbolon papers in, 359 pointed Montejo alcalde mayor of Tabasco,
Arellano, Carlos de Luna y, see Luna y Arell- 124-25, 132; Garcia's appeal to, 201, 204, 208,
ano 211, 213; jurisdiction of, 138, 2oin.; Mon-
Arevalo, Alonso de, encomendero, of Tega- tejo'sappeal for aid to, 134," oidor of, visita-
cab, 142, 143; of Yobain and Taxaman, 144- dor of Yucatan, 230
45 Audiencia of New Spain, see Audiencia of
Argiielles, Ambrosio de, expedition to east Mexico
coast, 251, 254 Augustinian fathers, 397
Armadillos, 30 Auxaual, name, arrived at Tenosique, 78, 79;
Armor, cotton, 126; Spanish, 92; wooden, 89 came from Cozumel, 383; descendants of,
Arriaga, A4artin de, 497 82; son of, 80, 384
Arroba, defined, 151 Auxiliaries, Mexican, of Cortes, 93, 97, 102,
 INDEX 531

Auxiliaries continued Baradero Chico, site, 397

119, i6i, 448; native, of Mirones, 342; of Baradero Grande, site, 397
Monte jo, 86 Barricades, inside Cehache towns, 70
Avendano, Andres de, at Tayasal, 72; expedi- Barrios, of Cehache towns, 462; of Tixchel,
tion to Peten, 278-79, 310, 453, 463, 464 178. See also Subdivisions
Avila, Alonso de, at Chetumal, 85; at Tanoche Barrios Leal, Jacinto de, expedition against La-
(Tenosique), 27, 444-48, 457, 464-65; ex- candon, 42, 43, 45
pedition of: from Chiapas to Champoton, 5, Barter, 94; by Grijalva, 89. See also Commerce
8, 9, ID, 13, 27, 68, 70, 122, 126-28, 131, 137, Bat, people, 21; in Maya art, 20
138, 139, 142-44, 155, 160, 162, 363, 392, 393, Batab, defined, 55; mentioned, 334; of Cehache,
406, 409, 411, 412, 415, 430, 444, 446, 447-48, 73; of fugitive settlements, 306, 307, 309,
457, 464-68, 469; to Honduras, 3, 18, 129-30, 343; of Tiquintunpa, 314. See also Chief-
135 — in Cehache area, 68, 70, 466, 467; in tains
Tabasco, 126; in Yucatan, 3, 18, 123, 125, 129 Batcab, town, 50, 69, 257; route to, 506
Axes, copper, 22, 94; purchase of, 268; stone, Baz, Don Cristobal, 309
44; trade in, 245 Beads, glass, 89; gold, 30, 89; nose, 29, 39, 43;
Ayuda de costa, 291. See also Pension 316
shell, 58, 59,
Ayutla, town, 28 Beans, cultivation of, 170, 188; destroyed, 284;
Aznar Perez, A., 276, 277, 446 in Tabasco, 30; in Zoque area, 31; planted
Aztec, language, 62; word for foreigner in, 15. for Batab Yam, 309; tribute of, 59, 149, 151,
See also Nahuatl 152, 180, 240, 393, 396
Aztec, people, confederacy of, 34, 86, 89, 91; Becerra, M. E., 408, 409, 410, 437-41, 443, 449,
day names of, 65; defeat of, 120; merchants, 451; study of Chontal language, 9; vocabu-
29, 31, 34, 35, 91; names, 66; resistance to lary by, 19
Cortes, 166; trading colony of, 36. See also Bed, Lacandon, 43
Nahua, people Bee, wild, name meaning, 481
Beeswax, collection of, 228, 234, 253, 261, 335,
Baatun, 334 404, 496, 499; supplied by Indians, 305; trade
Bacalar, 228, 262, 279, 280; Acalan war with, 10 in, 245; tribute of, 151, 152, 180, 240
Bacalar, Lake, 84 Bejar, Diego de, 454; conversion of Acalan,
Bacalar, town, 321, 505; country west of, all 56, 157-58, 168, 175,
394-96
populated, 506; heathen ceremonies in dis- Beleiia, Pedro inspection
de, of Montaiias
trict of, 346; insurrection in district of, 334, missions, 253, 280, 282
343; mentioned in Alfaro map, 420; parish Belize River, 60
of, 85; settlement of, 77. See also Bakhalal Bells, church, 195, 207, 208, 209, 210, 213, 215,
Baessler-Archiv, 117 263, 267
Bahia de la Ascension, on Rio de Tachis, 493 Beltran de Santa Rosa, Pedro, grammar by,
Bailiff, see Alguacil
264
Bakhalal, town, Chetumal beyond, 385. See
Bequaert, J. C, 342
also Bacalar
Berendt, C. H., 19, 276
Balam, Maya patronymic, 78
Balam, Marcos, 206-07, 4^3 Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, 117
Balancal, town, attacked by Dzul, 385. See Bienvenida, Lorenzo de, 155, 156, 393; letter
also Balancan to Prince Philip, 6, 10, 54, 149, 150, 161, 163,
Balancan, town, 25, 61, 63, 104, 495; attacked 168, 411, 414, 415, 417, 424, 425, 427, 471
by Dzul, 86, 385; location of other sites re- Birds, represented on incensarios, 320
ferred to, 444, 445; meaning of name, 440, Bishop, of Yucatan, 156, 178, 187, 188, 192, 193,
441, 442. 194, 195, 204, 205, 224, 238, 239, 252, 266, 267,
Balancan Vie jo, Arroyo de, 440 270, 280, 291, 301, 310, 399, 405. See also in-
Balche, drink, 286 dividual names of
Baltasar, apostate fugitive, 189 Bixa orellana L., 59
Bananas, 140 Blanco, Juan Martin, 360, 361
Bancroft, H. H., 432, 433 Blom, F., 91, 92, 96
Baptism, 157, 158, 178, 262, 263, 266; of Acalan Blood, sacrifice of, 58
people, 10, 141, 158, 396; of Chiuoha people, Blo^vguns, 44
222, 223, 225; of Cuauhtemoc, 392; of fol- Boca Nueva, pass, 80, 384
lowers of Tzakum-May, 234; of fugitives, Body painting, 189
404; of natives, 394; of Paxbolon, 66, 175; Bolay, name, 6$
of slaves, 159; pagan, 480; preparation for, Bolon, name, 65
232, 262; Zapotitlan lists of, 64, 65, 192, 194, Bolonlamat, Juan, 65
195, 199, 200, 209, 212, 480, 482, 485 Bolonlamat, place name, 384
532 INDEX

Bolonpeten, swamp, 50, 276, 278, 343, 345, 347; Cabildo, of Campeche, 264; of Merida, 310; of
sherds found at, 71. See also Isla Pac Tixchel, 177
Bolonpeten, town, fugitive settlement, 276-77, Cabtanilcab, deity, 57, 395
306, 310; leader of, 307, 310, 311; location Cacalezuc, Nabon, 507
of, 307; raids from, 308, 309, 311; warriors Cacao, commerce in, 3, 29, 31, 58, 244, 316, 319;
of, 306 god of planters, 57; groves, 32, 59, 184, 192,
Boluch, or Buch, name, 65 234, 243, 328, 404, 429; grower, 18; imported,
Bonete, 334 243; in land of Ulua, 391; in Veracruz, 22;
Bonifacio, Melchor, 294 lands, 318; production of, 15, 28, 29, 30, 80,
Bonilla, Pedro Martin de, 231 83, 320, 321, 324; raised for cacique, 207;
Boquiapa, town, 97 trees, 172, 243, 387, 472; tribute of, 148
Bosque, Joseph del, 234, 238, 270, 280-82, 288, (^acchute, town, 55, 64, 107, 143, 388; Cortes
404 at, 459, 501; location of, 469; Mexican name
Bote, town, 398 of, 429; Spaniards at, 390, 393. See also
Bows, 191, 400 Tizatepek
Boxes, of tortoise-shell for Host, 244 Cachi, town, 325; economics of, 320
Brainerd, G. W., 76 Cacicazgo, of Ah Kin Chel, 144; of Cochuah,
Bravaisia mbiflora, 388 129; of UaymU-Chetumal, 129
Bravo, Feliciano, chief governmental notary, Caciques, 177; Acalan, attitude toward Cortes,
193, 195; corregidor of Campeche, 417, 498; 118; cacao and maize cultivated for, 207;
expeditions to southeastern Tabasco and the exempt from forced labor, 291; exempt
Peten, 33, 222, 248, 439, 448, 455, 469, 491- from tribute, 182, 291; functions of, 177;
502; journey to Zapotitlan, 208-11, 420, 422- hereditary, 177, 221, 231, 264, 299; juris-

24, 425, 426, 428, 491, 502; lawsuit with Gar- diction of, 177, 178, 187, 191-93, 197, 200,
cia, 8, 182, 183, 196-217, 331, 418; lieutenant 206-07, 219, 221, 233, 235, 236-37, 256, 264,
governor of Tabasco, 222; met Chiuoha peo- 299; mestizos, 298, 351; of Ciuatan, 107; of
ple, 222-26, 227, 332; probanzas of, 222, 225, Coatzacoalco, 91; of Cozumel, 77; of Iztapa,
226,419,462,491,495,502 loi, 102; of Potonchan, 89; of Tabasco, 97;
Breadnut, 333, 334; food in time of famine, of Xicalango, 93; owned slaves, 143; post-
308; town named for, 387 conquest status of, 177; privileges of, 176,
Brick, burned, 32, 53; in Tabasco, 20 231, 233, 291, 299; put in chains, 127; service
Bridge, at Itzamkanac, iii, 392, 393; Cortes', to, 291; term discussed, 177; title of, 176,
16, 104-05, 107, 109, 117, 118, 126, 408, 440, 218, 292; tribute to, 190, 194, 260; woman,
447, 448, 456, 464, 469; on road to Ciuatecpan, 36. See also Chieftains; Governors; Lords;
102; over Rio Copilco, 96; over Rio Gon- Rulers
zalez, 97; over swamp near Ciuatan, 98; over Cacmucnal, town, 64, 387
Arroyo Tepecintila, 99 Cactam, town, 81, 384. See also Xicalango
Bridle, 244 Qagoatan, see Ciuatan, town
Brinton, D. J., 408 Cakchiquel, area, 9
British Honduras, 65; archaeology of, 72, 319, Cakchiquel, people, rulers of, 91
320; Choi replaced by Maya in, 353; Kekchi Cakchiquels, Annals of the, 2
in, 28 Calabashes, name meaning, 489; planted for
British Museum, map, 84 Batab Yam, 309; tribute of, 149, 152, 396.
British piracy, 302-03. See also English corsairs See also Gourds
Buccaneers, 302-03, 351; attacks by, 352; dan- Calenturas, 324. See also Fevers
ger from, 345. See also Corsairs Calkini, town, 287; decree issued at, 405; en-
Buenaventura, Juan de, 287, 339; guardian of comienda of, 2^6-gj
Chacuitzil, 280, 282, 284-85; guardian of Ich- Calkini, Cronica de, 56
balche, 285-86; resettlement of Montanas Calli, defined, 63
missions, 288 Calopogonium coeruleum, 334
Building, costs, 154; labor, 150, 154, 171, 179, Calotmul, ruined site, 71
286, 288 Calpulli, defined, 43
Buildings, of Chichen Itza, i of vaulted stone,
;
Calpuls, Lacandon, 43
I.See also Church; Convent; Houses Caltzin, name, 395
Buluch, defined, 65 Caltzin, Francisco, 158
Buluchatzi, name, 395 Yaxakumche,
Carnal, Fernando, of 167
Bustamante, Francisco de, definitor, 267
Camal, Francisco, 335
Butterflies, gold, 30
Ccmiino de la provincia, 220
Cab, Domingo Martin, 482 Campeche, port, pirate menace to, 303
Cabecera, 147, 160, 236 Campeche, province, fugitives from, 228, 311;
 INDEX 533

Campeche, province continued Canitzam, town, 25, 26. See also Canizan,
Indian traders of, 232, 245, 261; inspection town
of, 287; lieutenant captain general of, 249 Canizan, town, 52, 104, 439; location of, 445,
Campeche, State, 2, 420 446; location of Acalan referred to, 408; lo-
Campeche, town, 6, 146, 148, 152, 157, 158, 168, cation of Ciuatecpan referred to, 450, 469;
171, 201, 203, 208, 210, 212, 213, 214, 229, 234, name discussed, 454; other locations referred
242, 249, 251, 255, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, to, 457. See also Canitzam, town
267, 268, 270, 271, 277, 278, 287, 291, 292, Cannibalism, ceremonial, 46, 58
293, 294, 303, 304, 307, 311, 324, 325, 336, Canoe routes, 30, 131, 170, 226, 245-46, 276-
359, 360, 414, 425; Acalan tribute paid at, 77, 279, 302, 411, 414, 415, 416, 418, 420-28,
131, 144, 145, 154, 417; alcalde ordinar to of, 440, 441, 442, 455-59, 492, 499-501
212, 242, 249, 255, 293, 294; alguacil mayor Canoes, 157, 461; at Potonchan, 37; dead ruler
of, 294; base for conquest of Yucatan, 129, carried demanded by conquerors, 31,
in, 87;

130, 134, 393; cabildo of, 264; called Cochis- 149; dragged over falls, 188, 420; from Tix-
tlan, 34; captain of artillery of, 249, 297; cor- chel seized, 173, 198; journey to Acalan by,
regidor of, 417, 498; corregimiento of, 469; 414-16, 418, 420-28, 429, 455-59; Lacandon
curate of, 294; dialect of, 321; flight from escaped in, 41; Laguna Catazaja accessible to,
Sahcabchen to, 344; founding of, 137; Fran- 100; of Zoque, 31, 318; on Rio de Tachis,
ciscan convent at, 11, 155, 169, 175, 178, 180, 448, 482, 493, 496-97, 499-501; on Usumacinta
225, 237, 248, 252, 329; gods at, 486;
292, River, 439, 440, 441, 442, 445, 464-65, 492,
Grijalva at, 88, 90; jurisdiction over Acalan- 499; Paxbolon's refusal to supply Bravo with,
Tixchel, 131, 144, 145, 147, 149, 154, 179, 205; rate of travel by, 421-26; size of, 277;
383, 396; lieutenant governor in, 182, 211, trade by, 30, 31, 81, 83, 165, 172, 184, 244,
212; Maldonado at, 11, 351; merchants of, 246, 302, 320, 381, 411; transportation by,
3, 317; missionaries at, 394; modem houses 244; tribute of, 58, 396; used by
149, 152,
at, 72; murder of Indians from,
335; pil- Avila, 126, 127, used by Bravo,
129, 464;
grims from, 33; public granary of, 242; rail- 223, 448, 492, 493, 496-97, 499-501; used by
road from, 7, 220, 409; relations with Ta- Cortes, 94, 97, 101-03, III' 4"; wood for,
basco, 320; reports by citizens of, 503, 505; 59, 192
residence of Acalan encomenderos, 147; re- Canpech, language, 321
turn of Bejar to, 395; robbery of travelers Cantores, exempt from tribute, 182. See also
from, 404; Tixchel cleared by people of, Singers
171, 397 Canul, lineage, 76; foreigners in Yucatan, 76;
Campeche, Villa of San Francisco de, see expelled from Mayapan, 80
Campeche, town Capitan del Valle, see Cortes
Can, Nachan, 82 Capitulacion, see Contract
Canche, Francisco, 257, 272, 505 (^apotitan, river called, 16. See also Rio de
Canche, Rafael, 26 Zapotitlan
Candelaria, Hacienda, 48 Captain general, of Yucatan, 133, 138, 292
Candelaria area, archaeology of, 4; compared Captain of artillery, of Campeche, 249, 297
with Tixchel, 327-38 Captives, skins of, 114
Candelaria basin, 50, 54, 59; Acalan located in, Cardenas, Francisco de Villalobos, see Villa-
3, 6, 8, lo-ii, 13, 48, 137, 141, 159, 161, 172, lobos Cardenas
174, 184, 185, 219, 227-28, 245, 317, 321-22, Cardenas, Luis de, 117
329, 406-69; deserted, 11, 331; introduc- Cardenas Valencia, Francisco de, 280, 300, 301
tion of disease in, 167; inhabitants of, 82;
Caribbean coast, 129, 130, 430; commerce on,
political organization of, 355; towns in, 87.
124, 164, 170, 235, 246, 302-03, 316, 320;
See also Candelaria River
Cortes' route to, 452; depredations on, 164,
Candelaria River, 7, 11, 59, 131, 188, 190, 192,
432; fugitives on, 335; location of Acalan re-
208, 220, 245, 331, 408, 411, 414, 416, 456, ferred to, 406
459; Acalan towns on, 51, 52, 102, 410, 424-
Caribbean Sea, 60, 353; map of, 406; Spaniards
29, 460-61, 469; crossed by Avila, 466; de-
on, 434
scribed, 48-50; identified with Rio de
Caribe, Arroyo, 50, 67, 71, 2^7, 307, 461; branch
Acalan, 417-24; rapids and falls on, 10, 48-49,
of the Candelaria, 188, 220, 277, 279, 420;
51, 52, 58, 128, 158, 159, 168, 173, 174, 188, 209,
junction with Rio San Pedro, 52, 188, 427-
220, 414, 418, 420-27, 455, 460, 461, 468, 469;
29, 449, 460; swamps on, 466
tributaries of, 7, 49-50, 52, 55, 67, 71, 127, 185,
Carmen, Isla, 28, 81, 88, 89, 90, 220; buccaneers
188, 220, 277, 279, 410, 420, 449, 458, 459,
on, 351
460, 461, 468, 469. See also Candelaria basin;
Rio de Acalan Carmen, Laguna del, 95
Candlesticks, 195 Carmen, town, 48
534 INDEX

Carnegie Institution of Washington, see Maps, Qelut, Alonso, 479

Tulane-Carnegie Celut Holcan, name, 395
Carriers, 290; Acalan, 87, 121, 396; demanded Qelutapech, name, 392
by conquerors, 149 Cenote, Sacrificial, cloth recovered from, 39,
Casas, Bartolome de las, 89 319
Casas, Francisco de las, iii, 118, 430, 431 Cenotes, 81, 288, 326
Casas, Guillen de las, 16, 495, 496, 498 Centeno, Maria, pension on encomienda of
Castile, emperor in, 109, 391 Tixchel, 303-04
Castrillo, Gomezde, 214, 398 Centla, town, Cortes' victory at, 26, 90; ex-
Catarrh, 166 cavations at, 37
Catarros, see Catarrh Central America, 220; Nahuatl in, 23
Catazaja, Laguna, 100, loi, 437 Cenuncabenal, name, 497
Catechisms, 9 Ceramic horizon, at Tula and Chichen Itza, 22
Cathedral of Yucatan, 210 Ceramics, of Gulf coast compared with other
Catoche, Cape, 88, 89, 251 areas, 354; sequences in Tabasco, 318; studies
Cattle men, 343 by Brainerd, 76
Cattle raising, 244 Ceremonial centers, abandoned, 84
Cattle ranch, 290; site of Chetumal, 83 Ceremonies, Aztec, 114; pagan, 229, 272, 286,
Cauich, Juan, 230, 403 306, 310, 323, 339, 341,346
Cauich, town, 69, 278, 279, 280, 340; mission Cerrillos, site, 27
at, 277, 338; Sacalum people moved to, 289, Cerro de los Muertos, hill, 49, 50
307 Cervera de Acufia, Damian, lieutenant gover-
Causeway, near Potonchan, 81 nor, 295
Cedar, Spanish, canoes of, 59 Cespedes de Oviedo, Luis, count of Tixchel,
Cedar, white, town named for, 388 182-83, 198, 202, 203; residencia of, 8, 216;
Cedula, royal, concerning: encomienda dis- Zapotitlan episode, 186-87, 192-218, 399, 418,
putes, 216; pacification of Itza and Lacan- 426
don, 259, 274; tribute assessments, 150; tribute Cespedes de Simancas, Juan, count of Tixchel,
—
exemption, 269, 295 of encomienda succes- 182-84
sion, 147; remitting Maldonado case to gov- Chab, Juan, 400, 401
ernor, 296; to Montejo, 132-34, 135, 140. Chabte, division of Itzamkanac, 54, 56, 158,
See also Legislation 390, 395
Ceh, Namay, name, 506 Chac, Batab, name, 507
Ceh Pech, province, 322; meaning of name, Chacamax River, 40, 45
483; ruler of, 130 Chacantun, name, 399
Cehache, people, 67-73, "^8, 219, 272, 273, 335; Chacbalam, name, 65, 78; companion of Au-
Acalan war with, 10; at Chunpich, 257; at xaual, 383
Petox, 258; caciques of, 128; chieftains of, Chacbalam, Alonso, 383, 385, 479; informa-
273, 467; commerce of, 58, 59, 165, 235, 245, tion by, 362
273» 323, 331; culture of, 73; garment of, Chacbalam, Francisco, 479
344; influence of, 344; Maya-speaking, 237; Chacbalam, Marcos, 386
pacification of, 237, 273, 274-75, 335, 337-38; Chacchan, name, 65, 224
relations with fugitives, 228-29, 3^*75 335, Chacchan, Juan, 386
337-38, 343 Chachan, Juan, 470
.

Cehache, province, 67-y}, 223; archaeology of, Chactemal, town, Acalan imposed tribute on,
320; Avila expedition in, 5, 128, 466-68; 385. See also Chetumal, town
boundaries of, 468; called Mazatian, 128, 412; Chacuitzil, site, proposed move of Auatayn
Cortes expedition in, 60, 68, no, 119, 392, and Chacuitzil to, 276, 277
457, 460, 461-64, 469; fugitive Indians in, 46, Chacuitzil, town, 332, 402n.; mission at, 280,
219, 228-29, 232-33, 335, 337; location of, 7, 282, 284-85;moved to Cheusih, 277, 289, 340,
67, 219, 228-29, 257, 272, 335, 337, 452-53, 506; moved to Chunhaz, 282-84; Nacauku-
468, 506; river leading to, 50, 68, 257, 505; mil moved to, 275, 338; other names of, 275;
Tayel near, 82; towns of, 50, 68-70, 229, proposed move to Chacuitzil, site, 276; visita
257, 258, 272, 273, 274, 278-79, 384, 462-63, of, 280; water supply of, 276. See also Na-

504, 507. See also Mazatian caukumil; Population

Ceiba, Cuauhtemoc's head nailed to, 116, 392; Chacujal, town, 19, 54
town named for, 388 Chajul, town, 40
Celu, name, 62, 66, 224 Chakam, town, 64; flight of slaves to, 55, 161-
^elu, Juan Bautista, 67, 479. See also Juan 62, 173, 185, 186, 329-30, 399; fugitives at,
Bautista, clerk 330, 399; location of, 428, 429, 469; Paxbo-
Celut, name, 62, 6^ lonacha's death at, 87, 121, 392; population
 INDEX 535

Chakam continued Chekubul continued

of, i6o; seized by Acalan, 86, 385; settled Maya fugitives, 300, 314; visited by fugitives,
by serving people, 387 312. See also Population
Chalchiuitl, defined, 58 Chencan, site, 335, 402; robberies at, 404
Chalice, 399 Chetumal, province, 124, 164, 322
Chamberlain, R. S., 7, 48, 49, 410, 469 Chetumal, town, 81, 124; attacked by Acalan,
Champoton, province, 34, 287 82, 86; cacao produced at, 320, 324; com-
Champoton, town, 138, 228, 311, 344, 395; mercial interests of, 317, 320; dialect of, 321;
Acalan summoned to, 393; Acalan war with, location of, 83, 84, 85. See also Chactemal
10, 81, 384; Avila expedition to, 5, 68, 128, Chetumal Bay, 82, 83, 123, 124; confused with
144, 392, 406, 444, 466-68; base for conquest Ascension Bay, iii, 432, 433, 452; incen-
of Yucatan, 129, 136, 137; called Cochistlan, sarios from, 320
34; Cordoba at, 88; expedition against Cheucil, Arroyo, 277. See also Chaucel, Ar-
Tzakum-May, 234, 404; governor of,
236, royo
206; Grijalva at, 90; Indian laborers of, 171, Cheuitzil, site, see Chacuitzil, site
288; Indian traders of, 245; location of: Cheusih, town, abandoned, 311-12, 313, 352;
Acalan referred to, 467; Cehache area re- fugitives from, 307, 313; Ichmachich,
ferred to, 468; Mazatlan referred to, 469 Chacuitzil, and Chunhaz moved to, 289, 296,
meeting of officials of interior settlements 300, 301, 340, 342, 5o6n.; location of, 277,
at, 287-88, 289, 340; merchants of, 3, 317; 289; matricula of, 289; Maya settlement, 314;
mission at, 178, 189, 193, 195, 205, 210, 237, mission at: 289-90; part of Popola curacy,
238; modern house at, 52; name discussed, 301, 311; part of Tixchel curacy, 290, 300
52n.; pilgrims from, 33; population of, 324, — 289; repartimiento system in,
officials of,

325; proposed removal of Acalan to site 307.See also Population

near, 168, 414, 417; relations with Tabasco, Chi, Caspar Antonio, 383
320; resettlement of Indians of Montanas Chiapa, town, 464
missions near, 270-71, 287-88, 295-96, 340; Chiapas, province, 5, 45, 267, 406, 444; alleged
road to Usumacinta from, 230; Tixchel location of Acalan, 407; "bat people" of,
cleared by people of, 171, 397 21; Bravo's Indian allies from, 492; Choi in,
Champoton River, 288 39» 353 > commerce with, 318; communica-
Chan, name, 65 tions with, 259; depredations of Lacandon
Chan, Juan, 229, 231-32, 335 in, 173; government of, 126, 132, 133-34,
Chan, Pedro, 230, 332, 402 135, 137; highlands of, 40, 244; lands border-
Chan Laguna, site, 68, 71 ing on, 491; languages in, 15, 18, 19, 21, 481;
Chan Santa Cruz, town, 341 pacification of, 136; relations of Chichen
Chaiiabal, language, 15, 18 Itza with, 319; road from Campeche to, 498;
Chafiabal, people, 40 topaz mines in, 29; trade routes of, 15;
Chanbel uinicob, defined, 397n. Tzeltal manuscript in, 2; Zoque area in,
Chancenote, area, fugitives from, 228 38-39
Chancenote, town, 335; cacique of, 229, 231- Chiapas Mountains, 98
32; fugitives settled near, 336; number of Chicbul, site, 507
tributaries, 162 Chichen Itza, architecture, 24; association with
Chancha, name, 399 Tula, 2, 22, 23; buildings and sculptures, i;
Chanes, people, 69 cacique of, 130; cenote at, 39, 319; Ciudad
Chanhilix, town, 172, 388, 398 Real at, 130; erotic sculpture at, 80; fine
Chanhix, town, see Chanhilix orange ware at, 22; history of, 319; Mexican
Chanpel, name, 65, 384 domination of, 76; Mexican period, 75; set-
Charnay, D., loi, 437 tlement of, 77; trade with Honduras, 58
Chasuble, 399 Chichicapa, town, multiple-family houses in,
Chauaca, town, population of, 324; described, 471; terrorized by Cimatan warriors, 33
53;economics of, 320 Chicle, 7, 71, 140, 220
Chaucel, Arroyo, 277. See also Cheucil Chicmux, ranch, 446
Chaves, Alonso, 432 Chicmux, stream, 445
Chekubul, town, 352; chieftains of, 507; Chon- Chicnau, name, 65
tal element in, 314; fugitives from, 307, 311; Chicoase, name, 63
location of, 257, 300, 504; matricula of, 313, Chieftains, Acalan: mentioned, $1^, in, 122,
314; mission of: administrative center of 139, 144, 157, merchant-, 172,
158, 159, 299;
Popola curacy, 312; advocation of, 313; men- 247; resisted move to Tixchel, 172, 174; Tix-
tioned, 310; part of Popola curacy, 301, 311, chel governed by, 172, 175, 176 at Poton- —
312; part of Tixchel curacy, 257, 300, 301 chan, 90; Cehache, 273, 467; Mexican, 112-
repartimiento system in, 307; settlement of 15, 1 17-19; of Auatayn, 263; of Bolonpeten,
536 INDEX

Chieftains continued Choi, area, eastern, 320. See also Manche

311; of Chiuoha, 224; of fugitives, 228, 230; Choi, area
of Ichbalche, 264; of Ixchan, 258; of Ixkik, Choi, language, 3, 15, 17, 18, 19, 39, 65, 132, 317,
258; of Ixtok, 257, 272; of Mayapan, 232; of 481; at Palenque, 40; of Lacandon, 45; of
Montaiias area, 287; of Nacaukumil, 257; of Locen, 46; weakness of, 353
northeastern Yucatan, 229; of northern Yu- Choi, people, 18, 316; at Palenque, 40; on m
catan, 130, 131; of Petox, 257; of Puilha, 204, Usumacinta River, 63. See also Manche
206; of Tahbalam, 204, 206; of Tixchel, 242, Choi, people
244, 245; of Tzuctok, 273, 281, 283, 284; of Choi Acala, people, see Acala
Usumacinta towns, 317; of Zapotitlan, 189, Cholo, Ah Kin, name, 507
201, 204, 206, 210, 211, 330; owned horses, Choloid, linguistic group, 19
244. See also Batab; Caciques; Lords; Prin- Cholula, town, god of commerce at, 57; pot-
cipal men; Rulers tety of, 23
Chikinchel, province, 321; commercial towns Chontal, language, 3, 15, 17-20, 194, 225, 248,
in, 320 2935 315, 317, 481; at Potonchan, 37, 89; at
Chilam Balam, Books of, i, 23, 74, 308 Xicalango, 35; at Zapotitlan, 192, 195, 200,
Chilapa, town, 24; Acalan tribute delivered at, 214, 418; extinct in Tixchel district, 352; in-
154, 396; Cortes at, 98, 99, 100 struction of priests in, 238; of Chiuoha, 223-
Chilateupa, town, 31 25, 240; of Tixchel clerk, 363; on Usuma-
Childbirth, goddess of, 57, 383 cinta River, 25, 26; Pedro Lorenzo preached
Children, abandoned by fugitives, 228; car- in, 491; prefixes in, 65, 481; relation to Choi
ried off by fugitives, 229, 306, 308 and Chorti, 132; reports in, 175; same as
Chile, encomiendas in, 348 Chontalpa, 192; spoken by Acalan, 67;
Chile, pepper, 188; in Zoque area, 31, 39; trib- spoken by Orduria, 351, 386; study of, 365;
ute of, 149, 152, 180, 240, 396; wild, town word for God in, 394; words in Maya, 75
named for, 387, 485 Chontal Text, break in, 362, 398; cited, 10, 41,
Chimay, flora, town named for, 387 53, 55, 56, 58, 63, 64, 66, 75, 79-82, 107, 109-
Chinal, Isla del, 436 10, 112, 115-17, 121-22, 137, 146, 149, 152,
Chijiamitl, defined, 43 i5<5-59> 161, 163, 169, 171, 173, 174, 185, 187,
Chinil, site, 394 190, 221-22, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 229, 234,
Chiquimula, Department of, 18 241, 243, 293-94, 300. 317, 32i> 347, 418, 428,
Chiquimula, town, 18 429, 443, 447, 454-55, 480, 501; contents of,
Chirimital, Lacandon, 43 8-9, 74, 355, 359-64; English translation of,
China, town, see Chiuoha 1 3' 359' 3*51, 366; facsimile reproduction of,
Chiuoha, town, 230, 245, 403; cacique and n> 359» 3*55; formulation of, 293, 299, 359;
governor of, 236; Chontal settlement, 224- importance of, 10, 13, 74, 359, 362-64; lan-
27, 314; church at, 222; corsair attacks on, guage of, 9-10, 19-20; Mexican version of,
307-08, 352; flight of Paxua to, 51, 171, 221, 66, 361; notation of, 364-65; Spanish trans-
227, 328, 329, 385, 397; fugitives from, 307, lation of, 13, 25, 294, 359, 360, 361, 363, 365-
311; government of, 225; language of, 223, 66, 367ff., 414, 447, 459, 480
224, 225, 240, 333; later history of, 311-14; lo- Chontalli, defined, 15
cation of, 222, 225-27; matricula of, 313, 314; Chontalpa, district, 25, 27; cacao lands in, 318;
Maya mission at: advocation
settlers in, 236; commerce of, 30, 31, 58, 59, 154, 184, 245;
of, 313; mentioned, 222; part of Popola Cortes in, 96, 97; encomiendas in, 92; gold
curacy, 311, 312; part of Tixchel curacy, ornaments in, 89; language of, 19, 192, 238;
239, 300; visita of Campeche, 225, 237 missionaries in, 238, 491; personal names in,
moved closer to coast, 226, 227; officials of, 62, 65; raided by Cimataa, 33; thickly popu-
314; pacification of, 221-28, 240, 314, 331- lated, 24; Zoque living in, 28
32, 400-02; part of encomienda of Tixchel, Chorti, language, 3, 15, 17, 18, 19, 317, 320;
240, 241, 303, 304, 352; personal names of in- Chontal and Choi related to, 132; where
habitants, 224-25, 314; principal men of, 222, spoken, 353
224, 227; proposed removal of to Usulaban, Christianity, introduction of, 13, 155-59; loy-
234-36, 404-05; repartimiento system in, 307; alty to, 180; reconciled with paganism, 341.
visited by fugitives, 312. See also China; See also Conversion; Religious instruction
Population Chronicler, native, 225
Chivoja, site, 226, 227, 397. See also Chiuoha Chronicles, i; colonial, 11, 406; early Spanish,
Chivoja, town, 332 362. See also Mava chronicles
Chivoja Grande, Arroyo, 226, 227, 331, 397 Chuj, language, 15, 18
Chixmuc, Laguna, 446 Chulul, wood, 188
Chocmoes, people, 69 Chumpan River, location of Acalan referred
Chocpalocem Ahau, name, no, 390 to, 414, 416; on Alfaro map, 419, 420
 INDEX 537

Chvinab, town, 387. See also Chakam Ciudad Real, Antonio de, cited, 19, 41, 42, 60,
Chunal, savannas of, 288, 403 237-38, 243, 329, 332; Franciscan provincial,
Chunhaz, town, 279, Auatayn moved to, 277, 260, 267, 270

283; consolidation settlement at, 283-86, Ciudad Real, town, at Chichen Itza, 130; at
338-39; headquarters of guardiania of Cha- Dzilam, 134
cuitzil- Auatayn, 284-85; location of, 279, Clergy, secular, 178, 205, 235, 237; in Tixchel,
283; mission of San Juan de, 251, 252, 285, 238-40, 300-01, 336; natives of Yucatan, 238-
286; moved to Cheusih, 277, 289, 340, 506; 39; report on, 301
shortage of food at, 284; water supply of, Clerk, of Tixchel, 178, 360, 361, 363, 383, 385,
284. See also Population 386, 397, 405, 479. See also Notary
Chunluch, town, 257, 505 Climate, 140; of northern Yucatan, 142, 327;
Chunpich, lake, 69 of south-central Yucatan, 333; of Tabasco,
Chunpich, town, 50, 257, 278-79; account of,
506; chieftains of, 504; inhabited by Cehache, Cloth, bark, 43; commerce m, 29, 30, 39, 58, 59,

257. See also Population 245; exported from Yucatan, 3, 316; from
Chunpuct, see Chunputit Sacred Cenote, 319; gifts of colored, 224; of
Chunputit, fugitive settlement, 306 Zoque, 38, 39, 319; silk, 38
Chuntuqui, site, 68, 69, 229, 257; Cehache in Clothing, 192, 223; gifts of, 209; travelers
region of, 452, 453; Cortes' route referred to, robbed of, 404
464; distance to Lake Peten, 463; route to, Coatis, 30
5o6n, Coatl, name, 33
Chunuitzil, site, location of, 230 Coatzacoalco, town in Veracruz, 91, 92, 94
Chunuitzil, town, 275. See also Chacuitzil; Coatzacoalco, town on Usumacinta, 103
Nacaukumil Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, 31
Church, at Chan Santa Cruz, 341; at Chiuoha, Coazacoalco, town on Usumacinta, 438, 444.
222; Cimatan, 33; at Ichbalche, 286; at
at See also Coatzacoalco
Itzamkanac, 158; at Sahcabchen, 288; at Coccoloba uvifera, 387
Tixchel, 179, 195, 202, 209-10, 212, 215, 238, Cochineal, 305; in Zoque area, 39; plantation,
303; at Tzuctok, 272, 345; at Usulaban, 405; 48
at Zapotitlan, 195, 206-10, 212, 213, 215; Cochistlan, place name, 34
cost of building and equipping, 154; near Cochistli, defined, 34
Ichpaatun, 85; records in native lan- Cocho, defined, 34
guages, 9 Cochuah, people, 321
Cicinob, defined, 395 Cochuah, province, 322; Avila in, 129; chief-
Cigar, name meaning, 482 tains of, 134
(^ilba, see Agilbaob, town Cocola, see Xocola, town
Cilvituk, Lake, 71, 72, 128, 257, 278, 307 Cocom, family, rulers of Mayapan, 34, 57, 58,
Cilvituk, site, 67, 68, 70, 72; location of Mazat- 7<5, 77, 319
lan referred to, 469; ruins at, 320, 467 Cocom, Juan, of Chunluch, 505
Cbnarrones, defined, 186, 224 Coconut, 170
Cimatan, town, 39, 61, 324; commercial center Cocosqiii, defined, 63
at, 29,31-33, 34, 91, 318; description of, 32; Codices, Mexican, 72, 84
encomienda in, 92; Mexican stronghold at, day names, 62, 65
Coefficient, of
35; Nahuatl-speaking, 27, 31, 318; pacifica- CogoUudo, see Lopez de CogoUudo
tion of, 32-33, 94, 97, 126, 322 Cohuanacoch, lord of Tezcoco, 114, 115; in
Ci?natl, defined, 16, 32 command of auxiliaries, 93
Cipac, name, 37n. Collars, Indians taken to Tixchel in, 172
(^ipaque, name, 62, 63 Colonies, administration of, 298, 349; island,
Cipaque, Francisco, 37n. 346; Nahuatl-speaking, 21; of Mexican mer-
Cithute, town, encomienda of, 143 chants, 35
Ciuatan, town, cacique of, 107; Cortes at, 97- Colonists, 168, 271, 280-81, 287, 291, 340, 342;
99; named for goddess, 57 association with Francisco Maldonado, 250,
Ciuatecpan, town, 25, 27, 438; captured by 336; farms and ranches of, 290; fears of,
Acalan, 82; Cortes at, 103, 104, 106, 390, 435, 352; forbidden to visit interior, 266, 267, 272,
442, 445, 449, 501; Cortes' route to, 499; loca- 273, 281, 339; of Champoton, 137; of Hon-
tion of, 434, 436, 437, 444, 446, 447, 448, 452, duras, 135; of Tabasco, 124, 165; of Yuca-
456, 469; name discussed, 57, 63, 443; recap- tan, 132, 239, 246; opposition to friars, 156;
tured by Dzul, 86; relations with Acalan, pacification of unsubdued areas by, 231, 254,
384; route to Acalan from, 126, 450, 451, 457, 261-62
458 Columns, at Cilvituk, 72; at Ichpaatun, 84;
Ciudad Chetumal, 84 sculptured, at Chichen Itza, 80; serpent, 22
538 INDEX

Comalcalco, site, 20, 317; art of, 21; history Contract continued
of, 20; occupied by Cimatan warriors, ciates, 255, 258-60, 265, 267, 269, 292, 294-
33;
ruined city at, 20 97; with Spanish colonists, 231, 253-54
Comisario, 252; of Ichbalche, 270; of Nacau- Contracts, forced, see Repartimiento
kumil and Auatayn, 270 Convent, at Tixchel, 238. See also Campeche,
Comitan, town, 41, 42, 173 Franciscan convent at
Commerce, canoe, 81, 165, 172, 184, 244, 246, Conversion, of Acalan, 9, 10, 87, 141, 155-59,
302, 320, 336; centers of, 4, 31-38, 58, 78, 91, 168, 185, 239, 323, 363, 364, 395; in
299,
164-65, 290, 318-20, 324, 325, 355; contraband, Usumacinta region, 317; of heathen Indians,
245; facilitated by similar languages, 3; god 232, 233, 251-90; of interior tribes, 222, 223,
of, 57; inland,
245-47; intertribal, 320; of 251-90; of Itza, 252, 273; of Zapotitlan, 190-
Acalan, 3-4, 58-60, 123, 124, 165,
5, 8, 12, 33, 96
171, 316, 320, 322, 323, 355; of Cehache, Coobziz, town, 257, 507
58, 59, 165, 235, 245, 273, 323, 331; of Copilco- Copal, at Tixchel, 243, 329; commerce in,
I
Ulua area, 132; of Honduras, 3, 29, 34, 58, 243, 245, 323; gift of, 224, 391; incense, 94;
59, 78, 316, 319, 320; of Mexico, 29, 31, 34, price of, 152; trees, 172, 324, 328; tribute
35, 39, 91, 318; of New
245; ofSpain, of, 59, 149, 152, 180, 181, 393, 396
Nito, 4, 34, 58, 59, 86, 316-17, 320; of Sahcab- Copaltepeque, town, 492
chen, 290, 343; of Tabasco, 3, 4, 8, 12, 15, 28- Copan, town and ruins, 15; art of, 21; language
36, 81, 82, 124, 131, 154, 164, 165, 167, 184, of, 18
235, 244, 246, 248, 290, 302, 316-17, 320, 321, Copilco, province, 96, 97, 126
323, 324, 325, 411; of Tixchel, 12, 184, 219, Copilco, town, 31, 96, 97
243, 244-47, 299, 302, 329; of Yucatan, 3, Copilco River, 96, 97, 98, 131, 132, 134, 413
12, 30, 33-34, 39, 58, 78, 81, 82, 86, 154, 165, Copilco-Ulua area, 7, 124, 131-36, 140, 413
167, 171, 184, 235, 243, 244, 245, 246, 290, 302, Copilco-zacualco, town, 96, 97
316, 319, 320, 321, 323, 324, 325; of Zoque, 39, Copilco-zacualco River, 17. See also Copilco
319; on Caribbean coast, 124, 164, 170, 235, River
246, 302-03, 323, 431; profits of,
316, 320, Copper, alloyed with gold, 59; among Lacan-
246-47; river, 219; routes of, 15, 78, 81, 131, don, 44; axes, 22, 94; commerce in, 3; idol of,
165, 170, 229, 245-46; with interior, 12, 41, 224; imported, 29
165, 170, 184, 219, 228, 232, 235, 245-47, 251, Corn, see Maize
253, 268, 290, 302, 331, 343 Coronel, Juan, grammar by, 364
Commercial empire, 3, 60, 316-17, 319, 321 Corozal, town, 83
Commissions, to Indian governors, 207, 231-32 Corregidor, 231, 417, 498
Commoners, 244, 266; in Acalan, 56; prop- Corsairs, Dutch, 302; English, 249, 251, 255,
erty of, 172; cultivated land, 242. See also 302, 307-08, 311, 351, 352; foreign, 12, 255,
Plebeians 302-03, 305; French, 302
Composicion, discussed, 349 Cortes, Heman, 35, 36, 82, 90-91, 124, 130,
Communications, between Yucatan, Tabasco, 144, account of Acalan trade by, 58-
166;
Chiapas, and Verapaz, 259; with Acalan, 128, 59, Potonchan, 29, 81;
316; at Nito, 58; at
158, 159, 168, 188, 192, 218, 425; with Ce- bridge over San Pedro Martir, 16, 104-05,
hache and Itza country, 273; with interior, 107, 109, 117, 126, 447, 448, 464, 469; de-
219, 245-46; with Lacandon and Acala, 80; scription: of Acalan, 123, 159, 160, 416, 460;
with Montarias missions, 287; with Usulaban, of Itzamkanac, 4, 52, no; of Iztapa, 27; of
235 —
Teutiercas, §^, 57, 108 executed Cuauhte-
Complaints, of Cehache, 273; to colonial au- moc and Mexican lords, 5, 87, 1 13-19, 155,
thorities, 179, 283, 286, 307 363, 388, 392; expedition to Honduras, 5,
Concepcion, site, 50, 69, 257, 279, 443 10, 13, 93, 118, 406, 411, 429, 43off.; Fifth
Concepcion de la Pimienta, site, 280 Letter of, 5, 8, ^§, 64, 93, no, 123, 164, 363,
Conduacan, town, 31, 32, 33 409, 411-12, 416, 431, 433, 435, 456, 458, 459;
Confederacy, Aztec, 34, 86, 89, 91; Indian, Fourth Letter of, 432; gold obtained by, 29;
121; proposed by Dzul, 86 in Acalan, 5, 9, 51, 54, 55, 57, 59, 87, 106-
Conil, town, decline of population at, 324; 22, 139, 155, 161, 162, 165, 226, 292, 316,
economics of, 320 322, 362, 363, 385, 390-93, 401, 403, 433, 434,
Conical, town, mission center, 155; number of 459h5i, 501; in Cehache area, 68, 69, 70, 73,
tributaries, 162 452, 462-64, 466; in Tabasco, 90-91; inter-
Consejo, ruins, 83 preters of, 19; native maps obtained by, 30,
Contract, authorizing Paxbolon to pacify fugi- 33, 60, 93-94, III, 430, 431, 433, 434, 452;
tives, 230-33; for conquest of Yucatan, 123, relations of Paxbolonacha with, 66, 87, 107-
133; with Funes for expedition against fugi- 10, 162, 354, 363-64, 390-92; route of: from
tives, 253-59; with Maldonado and asso- Espiritu Santo to Tepetitan, 93-100, 434;
 INDEX 539

Cortes, Heman continued Damages, in Maya law, 344

from Tepetitan to Acalan,
100-09, 4-4'
13, Dampier, W., 31, 33, 94-96
434-52, 455-60, 464-66, 469, 499, 501; from Dances, agricultural, 114
Acalan to Tayasal, 68, 119, 392, 448, 452- D'Anville, Jean Baptiste Bourguignon, 7, 406
53, 461-64, 466; from Tayasal to Nito, 60, Davila, Pedrarias, 430, 431
464; mentioned, 406, 407, 408, 415, 429, Day names, Mexican, 62, 65
430, 468, 469, 501 Dean, of Yucatan Cathedral, 210, 224
Cortes, Martin, confused with his father, 390 Decrees, royal, see Cedula
Costello, Dudley, 406, 407, 408 Deer, in Tabasco, 30; supernatural, 387; wor-
Costume, Cehache, 344 shipped by Cehache, 67
Cotexmi, see Mexicalcingo Defender of the Indians, 217, 235, 405. See also
Cotton, 184, 305; armor, 126; cloth, 244, 305; Palomino
in Zoque area, 39; production, 243; trade Definidor, 169
in,243-44; tribute of, 59, 149, 152, 396 Deities, of forest and field, 341
Cougar, skins, 29 Delgado, Diego, 280, 342
Coughs, chronic, 166 Delgado, Frutos, 310
Council men, see Regidores Descent, great, 21; Mexican, of Xiu, 22;
Couoh, Napol, name, 505 reckoning of, 66, 474, 475
Courts, architectural, 71; of justice, 22 Devils, 56, 158, 394, 395. See also Idols
Cozcaquauhtli, day name, 63 Dialects, Mexican, 62; of Chontal and Choi,
Cozumel Island, 383; Acalan rulers from 77, 17; of Mexico and Central America, 480; of
79, 383; census of, 78, 474; conditions on, Pochutla, 484
323; Cortes at, 90; Grijalva at, 88; houses Diaz, Juan, 88, 89
in, multiple-family houses in, 472; pa-
72; Diaz del Castillo, Bernal, 5-6, 91, 93, 94, 99,
tronymics in, 475; shrine on, 57, 321; sit- 155, 166, 316, 349; account of Cehache, 67,
uation of, 78; visited by merchants, 3; visited 70, 462-63, 466; account of Mexican plot,
by pilgrims, 33 113, 117, 119; account of Potonchan, 36, 37;
Crocodile, name meaning, 483 at Ciuatecpan, 86; description of Cimatan,
Cross, worship of, 341, 347 32; encomienda at Teapa, 98; gives only
Crossbow, Spanish, 120 Mexican names, 63; in Acalan, 50, 51, 52, 59,
Crown towns, 143, 152; administration of, 213 87, 104, 106, 107, 160, 456; in Chontalpa, 96,
Cruz, Juan de la, 281-85, 33^5 339 97; location of Ahualulco, 95; location of
Cuaquilteupa, town, 31, 32, 33 Espiritu Santo, 92; map described by, 433;
Cuatequil, labor system, 150 narrative of, 408, 409, 435, 447, 458-61; place
Cuauhtemoc, 5, 87, 93, 112-20, 155, 292, 363, names according to, 434; report of Grijalva
388, 391,392,410 expedition, 89; towns mentioned by, 25, 27;
Cuba, 430
89, 90, 94, True History by, 5, 16, 363
Cuccacoatel, or Cuccacoatel, name, 63 Dictionaries, kinship terminology in, 473; lack-
Cucmiz, town, 257, 506 ing for Chontal, 19
Cuculteupa, town, 31, 33 Diego the Mulatto, 303
Cuilonia, town, 91 Diocese, of Yucatan, 207, 210; administrator
Cukulchan, god, 56, 57, 158, 395 of, 224; secular clergy of, 301
Culico, town, change of location, 98; multiple- Diseases, 284, 305, 327; in Acalan, 10, 326, 327,
family houses in, 471 328; in Guatemala, 324; in Tabasco, 166-67,
Culture, conflicts, 364; decline of, 322; intru- 324; in Tixchel, 247, 304, 405; in Yucatan,
sive, 23, 41, 61, 95; Mazapan, 23; Mexican, 123, 304, 323-24, 325, 326; introduction of,
22, 23, 74; Nahua, in Tabasco, 318; of 166-67, 3-35 3-<5
Cehache, 73 Ditch, fortified, 70, 466
Culua, Mexicans called, 86n. Divorce, 334
Cumpich, Aguada, 69, 279 Dog, name meaning, 489
Cupul, people, 77, 321 Dogs, gold figures of, 29
Cupul, province, 130, 134, 322 Dogwood, name meaning, 482
Cupul, Kukuni, name, 77 Dolores, town, 41, 42, 44, 45
Curassows, 30 Dominicans, 39, 45, 397, 407, 439
Customs, nati\e, 2, 155, 159, 179-80, 185, 189, Doncel, Gines, 145
191, 192, 195, 223, 228, 253, 273, 281, 286, 306, Doncel, Julian, 393, 396
309 Dowrv, of Paxbolon's daughters, 246, 249
Cuylonemiquis, site, 91 Drainage, 326, 327
Cuyo de las Damas, site, 57 Drought, 334; flight to forest during, 309; j)re-
Cuyos, term discussed, 404 n. dictions of, 308-09
540 INDEX

Drunkenness, 286, 312, 352 Encomenderos continued

Ducks, gold figures of, 29, 89 against, 217; residence of, 147; reports by,
Dutch piracy, 302-03 326; tributaries lost by, 334, 340; tribute of
Dwellings, see Houses fugitives to, 259. See also Aguilar, Mateo de;
DyestufTs, commerce in, 58 Garcia, Anton
Dyewood, 140, 219 Encomienda, 231, 240, 266, 287, 338; claim of
Dynasties, in Yucatan and Guatemala, 23 Maldonado to, 292, 294-97, 3'5o; grants: by
Dysentery, 166, 304, 324, 325, 326 Avila, 5, 127, 128, 131, 142, 155, 465; to Mal-
Dzidzantun, town, number of tributaries, 162 donado associates, 295 — in northern Yucatan,
Dzilam, port, see Ciudad Real 144, 145, 347, 348, 350; Indians: abuse and ex-
Dzilam, town, number of tributaries, 162 ploitation of, 148-50, 163-64, 350; "vacant",
Dzitnup, town, 78 196 — litigation over, see Bravo, Garcia, Za-
Dzul, lineage, 344 potitlan; of Acalan-Tixchel, 6, 8, 87, 145-48,
Dzul, people, enemies of Acalan, 82, 86, 384 240-42, 303-05, 331, 347-52, 396, 418; of Cal-
Dzuluinicob, see New River kini, 296-97; of Montejo family, 129, 138; of
Dzunum, defined, 388 Pocmuch, 304; of Tahbalam, 196, 202, 203,
216, 217, 240; of Tahgacab, 143; of Taxaman,
llagles, carved, at Tula and Chichen Itza, 22 144; of Teapa, 98; of Usulaban, former Tix-
Eagles and Jaguars, military order, 66 chel, 303, 352; petition for, 291; promised to:
Ear tree, 334; town named for, 506 Maldonado and associates, 259; members of
Earplugs, among Lacandon, 43; gold, 29, 30 Argiielles expedition, 254 —royal confirma-
Earrings, gold, 89 tion of, 305; size of, 139; succession to, 147;
Ears, pierced, 82 system: 147, 148, 295, 347-50; introduction of
Ebtun, town, document at, 347; Titles of, 355 in Acalan, 10, 142-48 —
vacant, 145, 296, 303.
Ecab, province, 321; chieftains of, 134; com- See also Encomenderos
mercial towns in, 320 English corsairs, 249, 251, 255, 307-08, 311, 351,
Ecab, town, 325; economics of, 320 352. See also British piracy
Ecclesiastical censures, 156 Enriquez de Guzman, Juan, 126
Ecclesiastical immunity, 265 Epidemics, 166, 167, 247, 304, 312, 323, 326, 334,
Economic conditions, 167; at Campeche and 343. 352
Champoton, 325; at Tixchel, 171, 172, 174-75, Escalona, Juan de, 158
181, 184, 242-48, 301-02, 336; in Acalan, 142, Escobar, Fernando de, 142, 143
164-65, 323; inCopilco-Ulua area, 7, 124, Escribario, see Clerk; Notary
131, 132, 140, 164-65; in Higueras-Honduras, Escribano mayor de gobernacion, see Notary,
164; in Sahcabchen, 290; in Tabasco, 142, chief governmental
164, 165; in Yucatan, 142, 164, 165, 327 Esperanza, Arroyo, 50, 108, no, 459, 461, 462
Eggan, P., 473 Esperanza, site, 50
Ekbalam, name, conqueror in Yucatan, 79, 80 Espinosa, A., 276, 277, 408, 446
Ekbalam, town, 79 Espiritu Santo, 92-94, 96, 97, 117; Cortes' de-
Ekchuuah, god, 57, 395. See also Ykchaua parture from, 430-33; document dated at,
El Baradero, site, 397 no; Indians from Xicalango and Tabasco at,
El Cayo, 29 III
El Ceibo, site, 451 Esquipulas, land of, 18
El Prospero, place name, 45 Estancias, along Candelaria, 220; of Maldo-
El Retiro, 20 nado, 242, 243, 249, 403, 404; of Paxbolon,
El Salvador, Nahuatl-speaking colonies in, 21; 230, 242, 244, 246, 402
Pipil of, 62, 91 Estancieros, abuse of Indians by, 307
El Tigre, site, ruins at, 427, 469 Estapilla, town, 439, 445
Elab, Tzeltal day name, 65 Estela, town, 143
Embroidery, rabbit hair used for, 316 Estero, discussion of term, 41
Emiliano, Zapata, town, 317, 435, 469. See also Ethnography, of southern Yucatan peninsula,
Montecristo 4; of Tabasco, 95, 408
Encomenderos, abuse of Indians by, 148-50, Ethnology, of northern Yucatan, 3; studies in,
156, 163-64, 336, 348, 350; apostates returned 353
to, 233; obligations of, 154-55, '79; of Aca-
lan, 142-48, 149, 150, 153, 154, 158, 160, 161, Jbabrics, see Cloth
169, 180, 240, 303-05, 348, 363, 396, 397, 418; Factories, in the Chontalpa, 31
of Calkini, 296-97; of northern Yucatan, 229; Factors, in Honduras, 3; on the Ulua River, 34
of Tabasco, 148-49, 150, 163, 217, 248, 492; Famine, 333; Tixchel, 174, 328, 399; caused
at
of Tixchel, 8, 303-05, 348-49, 405; of by locusts, 326; flight because of, 334; pre-
Zapotitlan, 196-218; Palomino's campaign dictions of, 308-09
 INDEX 541

Fancourt, C. St. J., 406, 407 Fortification, Cehache, 70

Farms, 150; at Chilapa, 99, 154; in Acalan, 328, Fortis sounds, 364, 365
459; in Sahcabchen area, 290, 296; in Tachis Fowl, 184; burned, 284; gifts of, 127; requisi-

district, 496; in Tixctiel area, 249, 302; of tioned by Cortes, 106, iii; Spanish, 396;
Paxbolon, 299 supply of at Tixchel, 243; tribute of, 59, 163,
Fauna, names derived from, 61, 64, 65 242. See also Hens; Turkeys
Feather, name meaning, 484 Franciscan friars, 291; accompanied Maldo-
Feathers, commerce in, 3, 316, 319; imported, nado expedition, 260; at Champoton, 189; at
29; in Ulua, 391 Tixchel, 189-90, 237, 238, 243, 397, 401, 405;
Featherwork, 20, 89, 244 Chontal-speaking, 238; concentration of pop-
Fernandez, Juan, 280 ulation by, 326; from Europe, 239; in Acalan,
Fernandez de Velasco, Diego, 234, 235, 252, 138-39, 155, 156-59, 168-69, 454; in Yucatan,
254, 258, 404, 405; contract with Funes, 254, influence of, 150, 169, 172, 179,
6, isS'S^'t i'59i

255; contract with Maldonado and associates, 187; jurisdiction of, 178, 235, 237, 238-39,
255-56, 258-60, 264-65, 292, 503 280; of Campeche, 11, 158, 169, 175, 178, 180,

Fernandez A4aIdonado, Alonso, 255; granted 225, 248, 252, 260, 292, 394; reduction of In-
800 tributaries for son, 259; pacification of dians of interior, 252-53, 255, 259-90, 295,
interior settlements, 255-56, 258-70 310-12; witnesses in Paxbolon-Maldonado
Fernandez Alaldonado, Nicolas, 296-97 probanza, 292. See also Missionaries
Ferrocarril del Sureste, 277, 409. See also Rail- Franciscan Order, 399; Commissary General in
road New Spain of, 237, 238; definitors of, 169,
Festivals, Church, 179; drunken, 352; heathen, 267, 270; inadequate personnel of, 274; pro-
344 vincial of, 252, 260, 266, 267, 268, 270, 274,
Fevers, 166, 284, 304 280, 283, 284, 285, 288, 310; provincial chap-
Fifth Letter to Charles V, see Cortes ter of, 178, 237-38; provincial records of, 253
Figueroa, Ambrosio de, 300, 301 Francisco Felipe, alcalde of Tixchel, 383, 385
Figueroa, Antonio de, inspection of province, French piracy, 302
287; iMaldonado petition for encomienda to, Frescoes, at Santa Rita, 72, 83, 84; at Tulum,
294-96; Paxbolon-Maldonado probanza be-
fore, 292-93, 294; resettlement of Montanas F"riars, see Franciscan friars; Missionaries
missions, 287-89, 295-96 Friezes, at Tula and Chichen Itza, 22; at Tu-
Fine orange ware, 22, 319 lum, 72
Fire ceremony in Mexico, 86 Frontal, 195, 399
Firearms, 120, 346 Frontier, linguistic, 96, 225, 331
Fiscal, of Council of the Indies, 296 Frontier districts, 246, 279; fugitives from, 228-
Fish, 334; commerce in, 320; in Tabasco, 30; 29, 311; security of, 229, 253, 334; south-
tribute of, 151 western, 236, 305-15
Fisheries, Tixchel, 244, 327,
at 329, 336; in Fruit, at Tixchel, 243; gift of, 391
northeastern Yucatan, 324 Fruit trees, 172; cut down at Tzuctok and
Fishers, at Tabasquillo, 38 Ichbalche, 288
Fishing, 171, 188, 244, 302; in Lacandon area, FuensaHda, Bartolome de, report by, 83, 84,
40; on Candelaria, 421 85 '.
^
Five, name meaning, 484 Fuentes y Guzman, Francisco Antonio de, 35,
Flint, knives, 94; name derived from, 387 91
Flora,names derived from, 61, 64 Fugitives, alliance of with English feared, 352;
Florcs de Aldana, Rodrigo, 306, 309 character of, 334, 339; continued flight of,
Flower, name meaning, 489 340; from Acalan, 162-63, 167, 221, 226-27;
Food, 123, 128, 137, 143, 232; given to priest, from Hecelchakan, 229-31, 233, 330, 332, 333,
179; obtained from forests during famine, 402; from interior settlements, 263, 286; from
308; production, 184, 242-43, 247, 302; pro- justice, 228, 334; from Sahcabchen-Popola
vided at new settlement, 288; requisitioned area, 307-08, 311, 344; from Tixchel: apos-
by Cortes, 121; shortage of, 163, 173, 174, tate, 185-86, 189, 190, 194, 195, 200, 329-31,
181, 284; tribute of, 163, 242 427-429; mentioned, 171-74, 175, 181, 201,
Forest, dry, 67 214-15, 221, 227, 327, 328, 329, 398, 418; paci-
Forest Indians, "king" of, 307. See also Fugi- fication of, 185-201, 221, 398-400; settlement
tive Indians; Heathen Indians; Interior, In- of, 183; slaves, 185-86, 190, 191, 194, 329, 399,
dians of; Interior settlements; Montafias mis- —
427-29, 469 Maya: apostate, 9, 68, 163, 186,
sions 193, 202, 217, 219, 240, 245, 251, 253, 258, 261,
Forest products, 253; trade in, 245 264, 273, 302, 305-15, 330, 332-47; mentioned,
Forest settlements, see Interior settlements; 27, 68-69, ''52,. 332, 335; reduction of, 228-36,
Montaiias missions 243, 253, 272, 332-41, 354—raids by, 12, 229-
542 INDEX

Fugitives continued Gold continued

30, 234, 236, 243, 253, 306, 308-12, 335, 344, 21, 90; lack of, 128, 139, 140, 143; leaf, 89;
345, 403-04; reasons for flight, 162, 164, 167, ornaments, 94
228, 260, 261, 266, 305-08, 309, 311, 334, 343; Golfo Dulce, conditions in area of, 164; water-
reduction of, 185-200, 221-36, 248, 251-
11, sheds of, 498
90, 291, 292, 294-95, 310-12, 322, 329-46, 400- Gomara, see Lopez de Gomara
04; relations witii Cehache, 228-29, 232-33, Gomez, Francisco, 496
307^ 335> 343i 344-45- See also Apostates; Gonzalez, Bias, encomendero in Acalan, 142;
Commerce, with interior; Forest Indians; In- testimony of, 214
terior, Indians of; Interior settlements Gonzalez, Gregorio, accompanied Maldonado
Funes, Gregorio de, 253-54, '^SS expedition, 260, 262; comisario of Nacau-
kumil and Auatayn, 270; death of, 270, 280;
Crage, Thomas, 38 missionary at Auatayn and Nacaukumil, 263-
Galiano, Pedro, 145, 465; encomendero: of 64, 270-71
Tegacab, 142, 143; of Yobain and Taxaman, Gonzalez, Juan, agent of Anton Garcia, 203,
144 214
Galindo, J., 18 Gonzalez, Juan de Dios, map by, 7, 84
Gallina, 180, 240, 241, 243, 304. See alsd Fowl; Gonzalez, P. A., 92, 409, 410, 437—41, 449, 451,
Hens; Turkeys 457,460
Game, in south-central Yucatan, 334 Gonzalez, Pedro, encomendero in Acalan, 142,
Gann, T. W. F., 83, 84, 85 143,
Garapata, name meaning, 483 Gonzalez Davila, Gil, in, 430-31
Garcia, Anton, daughter of, 242; encomen- Gonzalo, Don, governor of Tixchel, 175, 176,
dero: of Acalan, 146, 147-48, 153, 154-55, 182
169, 363, 396, 397; of Acalan-Tixchel, 180-83, Gourds, tribute of, 59. See also Calabashes
i96ff., 240, 242; of Pocboc, 147-48 lawsuit — Government, of Indian towns, 146, 156, 174,
with Bravo, 8, 183, 196-218, 240, 331, 348, 176-78, 207, 236, 307, 309; of Yucatan, see
383, 385, 418; married widow of Aranda, 147, Yucatan
396 Governor, Indian, functions of, 177; of Acalan,
Garcia, Juan, 270 390, 397; of Auatayn, 263; of Champoton,
Garcia, Luis, 383, 385 206, 214; Ichbalche, 283, 284, 287; of
of
Garcia Caltzin, Lucas, 214 Ichmachich, of Itzamkanac, 395; of
287;
Garcia de Palacio, Diego, 18; new tribute Nacaukumil, 257, 262; of new settlements in
schedules made by, 240-42; visitador of Yu- Tixchel area, 231; of Popola, 233; of Puilha,
catan, 230, 231, 362, 403 206-07, 2'o; of Sacalum, 287; of Sahcabchen,
Garcia de Paredes, Alonso, destruction of 289, 309, 345; of Tahbalam, 206-07, ^'o; of
Tzuctok, 310-11, 346, 347; expedition to Tixchel, see Gonzalo, Paxbolon; of Tzuctok,
Peten, 69, 278 272, 284, 287; of Usulaban, 313; of Zapotitlan,
Gardens, 170; at Potonchan, 37 206-07, 209
Garzon, Bartolome, 225, 401 Governor, Spanish, of Tierra Firme, 430, 431;
Gates, W., 19 of Yucatan, 138, 181, 191, 192, 224, 230, 232,
Gayangos, P. de, 41 233, 234, 235, 239, 252, 253, 254, 256, 258, 264-
Geography, of Acalan country, 7; of Indies, 70, 271, 272, 274-75, 276, 281, 283, 286, 287,
16; of northern Yucatan, 3 291, 292, 296, 310, 340, 343, 345, 360, 393, 399,
Gil, Francisco, in Acalan, 393, 396; in Chiapas 400, 404, 405, 413, 491, 492, 495, 496, 498, 499,
and Tabasco, 136, 140 503; delegates of in Paxbolon-Maldonado
Gil y Saenz, M., 28, 33, 38, 95 probanza hearings, 293-94; practiced reparti-
Glottalized sounds, 364 miento system, 305-06. See also individual
Glyphs, at Cilvituk, 72; at Comalcalco, 20 names of
Goddess, 57; at Teutiercas, 460; in Tulum Gracias a Dios, site, 408, 451
fresco, 319; town named for, 443. See also Graff^, Laurent de, 95
Ix Chel Grammar, Chontal, 19
Godoy, Lorenzo, march from Tenosique to Grammatical material, 9
Champoton, 136-37, 138, 363, 393, 396 Grass, name meaning, 484, 486
Gods, 156, 157, 180, 309; at Campeche, 486; Grasshoppers, gold, 30
Chontal word for, 394; Maya, at Santa Rita, Grijalva, Juan de, 29, 72, 75, 88, 89, 90, 94, 124,
83; of Acalan, 393; of battles, 41; of ruling 432
class, 56, 57; sky, 64 Grijalva River, 24, 27, 31, 36, 38, 89, 93, 94, 97,
Gold, among Acalan, 44, 59; articles of, 30; 98, 124, 126, 132, 434-36, 444
commerce in, 3; from Usumacinta towns, Guacaqualco, place name, 132
103; imported, 29; in Ulua, 391; in Veracruz, Gualtipan, town, 32
 INDEX 543

Guardiania, of Chacuitzil, 280, 281, 284-85; of Helps, A., 407

Chunhaz, of Ichbalche, 252, 280, 281,
252; Hemorrhages, 166, 324
285, 287; of Sacalum, 252; of Sahcabchen, Hens, price of, 241; tribute of, 149, 150, 152,
289; of Tixchel, 12, 178-79, 237-38; of Tzuc- 181, 184, 240, 241, 243, 396. See also Fowl;
tok, 280 Turkeys
Guardians, 169; of Campeche convent, 252, Hernandez, Pedro, 304
260; of Hecelchakan, 282; of interior con- Hernandez de Cordoba, Francisco, 88, 89
vents, 263, 280, 281-82, 285-86; of Sah- Herrera y Tordesillas, Antonio de, 5, 58, 166,
cabchen, 288, 289, 307, 309-10; of Tixchel, 433
238 Hidalgos, Indian, 177, 470. See also Nobility
Guatemala, 58, 169, 229, 251, 267, 396; bound- Higueras, Cape of, 432
ary of, 69, 71, 229, 409, 449; encomienda in, Higueras, Gulf Honduras, Gulf of
of, see

349; government 130-34, 139; highlands

of, Higueras, province, 129, 132, 140; government
of, I, 9; immigrants in, 2; lacustrine belt in, of, 135, 137, 165; pacification of, 135
466; languages of, 18, 19, 21, 62, 353, 481; Hocaba, province, rulers of, 76, 130
malaria in, 324; natural resources of, 140; Hocaba, town, 495, 496; mission at, 239, 405
northern coast of, 30; Pipil invasion of, 35; Hocaba-Homun, town, number of tributaries,
relations of Chichen
Itza with, 319; ruling 162
dynasties in, 23; smallpox in, 166; social or- Hoi, town, Sahcabchen fugitives settled at, 311
ganization in, 375; Stephens' journey from, Holail, site, 234
48. See also Audiencia of Guatemala Holail, town, 311, 312, 506; Ah Kin Kuyoc in,
Guatemala City, 354 309; fugitives from, 307, 311; fugitives from
Guatemala-Mexico boundary, 69, 71, 229, 409, frontier settlements in, 311; government of,
449 309; location of, 289; "mosques" in, 310; raids
Gucacala, name for Itzamkanac, 433 on, 308, 309, 311, 345; repartimiento system
Gueatasta, town, 434. See also Atasta; Gueya- in, 307; settlers at, 289; visita of Sahcabchen,

tasta 289, 311. See also Population

Guerrero, Gonzalo, 82-83 Holha, site, 234, 403, 404
Gueyatasta, district of, reduced by Montejo, Holha River, 403
126 Holtun, port, 81, 384
Guides, of Avila, 126; of Cortes, 73, 86, in, Holtun Itza, site or port, 81
462, 464; of Godoy, 137; Santa Maria's re- Homolna, town, 64; name defined, 388
quest for, 261 Homosexuals, Mexican, 91
Guitar, 175 Homun, town, see Hocaba-Homun
Guzman, Nuiio de, 124-25 Honduras, province, 18, 96, 317; Avila ex-
pedition to, 3, 18, 129-30, 135; Chorti spoken
rlacienda, at site of Tixchel, 170, 303; origin in, 353; commerce of, 3, 7, 29, 34, 58, 59, 316.
of, 349 319, 320; Cortes' expedition to, 5, 10, 13, 19,
Hair, worn long, 189, 192, 223, 401 93, 118, 406, 411, 429, 430; gold from, 29;
Halach uinic, discussed, 55, 384 government of, 7, 135, 137, 164-65, 412, 413;
Halpern, A. M., 18, 19 Montejo's voyage to, 123-24; Nahuatl-speak-
Hamelia patens, 484 ing colonies in, 21; Olid in, 113; reports
Harquebusiers, 498 from, 316; Spaniards in, 97, 432; towns in,
Haselden, R. B., 16 433
Hats, gift of, 204, 224 Honduras, Bay of, 73
Hau, see Kau Honduras, Gulf of, 78, 80, 316, 317, 431, 432
Havana, 88 Honduras walnut, 388
Hawk, name meaning, 487 Honey, 253, 305; gift of, 391; in Zoque area,
Headbands, 29, 94 39; requisitioned in Acalan, in; -trade in,
Headdresses, 20 245; tribute of, 59, 149, 151, rfz, 180, 240,
Heathen Acalan after conver-
Indians, 9; in 393, 396; wild, 334
sion, 159, 185; inTabasco, 222; marriage of, Honorifics, Nahuatl, 482
262; of Chiuoha, 221-28; of Chunpich, 257; Horseback, license to ride, 244
on east coast, 229, 251; Zapotitlan people Horses, as pack animals, 244, 288; owned by
said to be, 193, 200, 215. See also Cehache; Indians, 244
Commerce, with interior; Forest Indians; Household utensils, see Pottery
Fugitive Indians; Interior, Indians of; In- Houses, 232, 234, 288; at Champoton, 325; at
terior settlements; Itza Chunpich, 257; at Cimatan, 32; at Ichbalche
Hecelchakan, town, 282, 288, 332; encomen- burned, 288; at Itzamkanac, 161; at Sah-
dero of, 231; fugitives from, 229-31, 233, 332, cabchen, 288; at site of Acalan, 190; at Tix-
333, 402; guardian of, 282; traders of, 245 chel, 171, 303; at Tzuctok burned, 283, 284,
544 INDEX

Houses continued Idols continued

288-89; built for Batab Yam, 309, 344; built 395, 396, 398; in colonial times, 346; in Tachis
for Paxbolon, 264, 344; Cehache, 70; cost of district, 496; of clay and stone, 286; of
building, 154; gardens around, 170; land suit- patron deity of katun, 309; of Tabasco
able for, 404; multiple-family, 53, 54, 160, Chontal, 58; on Isla Carmen, 90; replaced
470-72, 474, 475, 495; of Lacandon, 41, 43; by cross, 347
of Locen, 46; of Potonchan, 38; property, Iguanas, 30, 404
171; sites for, 210, 288; "straw," 238; with Ikchaua, god, 57
rounded ends, 72 Images, 195, 202, 204, 207, 210, 262, 401; carved
(
Huaxtec region, 319 by Paxbolon, 175, 238
Huaxteca, language, 481 Incensarios, 320; at Santa Rita, 84; from Cil-
Hiibbe, J., 276, 277, 446 vituk, 72; in Candelaria area, 4
Huimango, town, 31; change of location, 98; Incense, pine resin, 58; tribute of, 59
houses in, 47 Incest, cases of in interior settlements, 286
Huimanguillo, town, 95, 97 Indies, ecclesiastical affairs in, 239; reports
Huipil, defined, 344 on, 16
Hummingbird, town named for, 388 Indies, Council of the, 132, 133, 135, 138, 252,
Hunabku, see Hunabqu 254, ^SS^ 274, 281, 296, 359
Hunabqu, god, 272 Indios cimarrones, see Cimarrones
Huncha, name, 79; companion of Auxaual, 383 Industry, at Tixchel, 244, 246, 329, 336
Huncha, Miguel, native teacher, 192, 209 Infections, intestinal, 166, 324, 326
Hunlucho, site, fugitives settled at, 400 Infieles, 225. See also Heathen Indians
Hunters, oratories of, 89 Infirmities, exemption from tribute for, 151,
Hunting, 228, 234; in Lacandon area, 40; in 161, 180, 182, 183, 240
Tachis district, 496 Inheritance, among Chontal, Maya, and Na-
Huntington Library, 16 hua, 474, 475; of encomiendas, 147
Initial Series, period of, 354
Ichbalche, town, alcaldes of, 283, 284, 287; Inscriptions, not dated at Comalcalco, 20
alguacil of,whipped, 283; chieftains of, 264, Insect,Dzul leader named for, 86
504; church of, 286; Santa Maria at, 273; Insurrection, at Sacalum, 342; in Bacalar dis-
fugitives from, 286; governor of, 283, 284, trict, 334, 343; in Yucatan and Tabasco,
287, 289; inhabitants of, 286; location of, 257, 322; Tzeltal, 40
264, 275, 277-78, 504; meeting of officials of Interian, Cristobal de, 262
Aiontanas settlements at, 284; mission of, Interior, Indians of, power and influence of,
251, 252, 270, 271-72, 280, 282, 285-86, 287, 305, 306-10, 334, 336, 343-47; raids by, 12,
289, 337; moved to Sahcabchen, 278, 288-89, 229-30, 234, 236, 243, 253, 306, 308-12, 334-
340, 507; petition to Governor Luna y Are- 35, 344-45, 403-04; reduction of, 185-200,
llano, 265-67; visitas of, 257, 271, 279, 280, 221-36, 237, 248, 250, 251-90, 292, 294-96,
285-86, 289. See also Population 310-12, 333-47. See also Apostates; Com-
Ichcun, town, 275. See also Nacaukumil merce, with interior; Forest Indians; Fugi-
Ichmachich, town, 257; alcaldes of, 287; chief- tive Indians; Heathen Indians; Interior set-
tains of, 506; governor of, 287; location of, tlements
278, 504; mission at, 338; moved to Cheusih, Interior, missions of, see Montaflas missions
277, 289, 340; moved to Chunhaz, 283-85. Interior settlements, at present time, 341;
See also Population caciques of, 310; Cehache, 228-29, 245, 272,
Ichmul, town, 506; mission of, 239, 405; visita 273, 274, 278-79, 335, 343; of apostate fugi-
of Ichbalche, 257, 271, 280 tives, 68, 219, 228-29, 232, 245-46, 300, 305-
Ichpaa, see Mayapan ^5' 334» 33*^47' Paxbolon's report of, 256-
Ichpatun, ruins, 84, 85, 86 58, 503. See also Chiuoha; Montanas mis-
Ichtok, site, 506 sions; Puilha; Tahbalam; Zapotitlan
Ici7n, defined, 6^ Interpreters, at Tixchel, 472; Caspar Antonio
Idolaters, 262, 400 in Yucatan, 383; governor of Champoton
Idolatry, 173, 179, 190, 253, 273, 281, 286, 306, served as, 206; of Avila, 127; of Cortes, 36,
312, 329, 338, 341, 352; house of, 392; meas- 91, 93; of Grijalva expedition, 89; of Mal-
ures against, 158, 229, 254, 274, 286; modem, donado expedition, 262; Paxbolon served as,
347 223; received testimony of Indians, 294;
Idols, 191, 224, 286; at Tonala, 94; burning of, translated Chontal Text, 294
192; destruction of, 286, 330, 395, Intestinal infections, see Infections
155,
396;
158,
found near Laguna de Terminos, 89; Inundations, in Tabasco, 98
1
gift of copper, 224; houses of at Ciuatecpan, Iquin, name, 65
102; in Acalan, 56, 57, 119, 157-58, 159, 173, Iquinuapa, town, 97
 INDEX 545

Iron, for arrowheads, 346; tools traded to Iztapa continued

Cehache, 70 of, 434-41; Paxua's rule extended to, 384;
Isabel, Dona, niece of Montezuma, 34 route to, 100.
Isla Carmen, see Carmen, Isla
Isla Pac, swamp, 50, 67H58, 71, 229, 230, 257, J acal, used as church, 262
276-77, 278, 279, 283, 306, 307, 338, 343. Jacket, Lacandon, 43
See also Bolonpeten Jackson, Jacob, 303
Istapa, Chiapas, 438 Jade, 29
Itza,people, 272, 273, 407, 453, 463, 504; com- Jaguar, day name meaning, 66; personal name
merce of, 58, 70, 245, 273; enemies of Lacan- meaning, 483; supernatural, 78; town named
don, 44; eroticism ascribed to, 80; invaded for, 389
Cehache area, 462; invaded Yucatan, 75-77; Jaguars, carved, at Tula and Chichen Itza, 22;
location of, 44, 495-99, 501; multiple-family skins of, 29
houses of, 54, 471; pacification of, 251, 252, Jahuacapa, town, 24
259, 270, 273, 274, 342, 346, 347; phallic cult Jalapa, town, 24, 28, 98, 99
introduced by, 23; raids by, 80; religion of, Jalpa, town, 25; houses in, 471; Zoque living
41; routed Tazul people, 257; settlements of, at, 28

4, 495, 497 Jalupa, town, houses in, 471

Itzam, defined, 64 Jatate River, 42
Itzamkanac, town, 108, 109, 116, 131, 227, 240, Jauacapa, town, 98
389, 390, 391, 392; abandonment of, 172, Jewelry, tribute of, 148
328; Avila at, 70, 127-28, 142-43; called Jicama cimarrona, defined, 334; food in time
Gueacala, 433; church of, 158; Cortes at, 4, of famine, 308
52, 54, iio-ii, 119, 392, 460; descriptions Jicaque, people, 321
of, 4, 52, 53, no; founding of, 66, 86-87, Jimenez Placer, Carlos, 16
385; location of, 408-11, 413, 414, 416, 417, Jomenas, see Pichucalco, town
427, 428, 437, 447, 449, 453-57, 460, 461, 467, Jonuta, town, 24, 63, 10 1, 408; canoes obtained
469; meaning of name, 64; multiple-family from, 492, 499; locations of other towns re-
houses at, 53-54; patron deities of, 383; ferred to, 435, 436; on Alfaro map, 438;
residence of Paxbolonacha at, 386, 391; partly Mexican, 28; people of Xicalango
route to, 451, 465; site of, 185, i88, 190, 199- moved to, 35
200; subdivisions of, 32, 54, 55, 158, 390, 395, Juan Bautista, clerk, 361, 383, 386. See also
429; temples at, ^6. See also Population; Qelu, Juan Bautista
Salamanca de Acalan Juarros, Domingo, 18
Itzamna, god, 64 Jucotzimit, Pipil leader, 86
Itzas, Hell of, ravine, 464 ]iiez de comision, 294
luit, family, 76 Julian, Maya interpreter, 89
Ix Chel, goddess, 383; shrine on Cozumel, 33, Justice, administration of, 163, 164, 179; Maya,
57, 77, 321; worshipped in Acalan, 395 344
Ixcan River, 28, 42
Ixchan, town, 257, 258, 507 Jvabah, ruins, 74
Ixil, people, 40 Kaminaljuyu, ruins, 354
Ixkik, town, 257, 258; chieftains of, 505 Kanan, Hernando, 383, 385, 386, 479
Ixlean, see Rio de Sacapulas Kanlum, town, 64, 389
Ix-mulu, Juana, 482 Kante, tree, town named for, 387
Ix-na-uitz, Juana, 479 Katun, cult, 309; time period, 308. See also
Ixnazelu, Catalina, 66 Prophecies
Ixtapangoya, town, 32, 38, 126 Kau, name, 26
Ixtlilxochitl, see Alva Ixtlilxochitl Kauil, Juan, 77
noble of Tezcoco, 115
Ixtlilxochitl, Keb, name, 263. See also Queb
Ixtok, town, 257. See also Tzuctok Keb, Namay, 506
Izabal, Department of, 324 Kekchi, language, 19
Izabal, Lake, 17, 18 Kekchi, people, 28; emigrants from Alta
Izamal, town, 155 Verapaz, 353; pioneering spirit of, 354
Izcalco, town, 485 Kidder, A. V., 24, 319, 354
Izcuin,name, 484 Kinacnal, site, 234, 404
Izquierdo, Juan de, 239, 405 King, of Forest Indians, 307
Iztapa, town, 24, 25, 27; Bravo obtained Kintencab, name, 158, 395
canoes from, 492, 499; Cortes at, 86, loi, Kintzucti, name, 390
110, III, 432, 456; Cortes' route from, 424, Knives, gift of, 89, 204; trade in, 245; trav-
442; discussion of name, 63, 82, 438; location elers robbed of, 404
546 INDEX

Ku, Francisco, 206-07 Landa continued

Ku, Luis, 505 239; restored secularized missions to Fran-
Kub, discussed, 344 cisan Order, 178, 237, 238-39
Kukuitz, town, cacique of, 310; fugitive settle- Laon, Jorge, 398
ment, 306 Las Alunas, place name, 137
Kukulcan, god, 395; same as Acalan Cukul- Las Montahas, see Montaiias missions
chan, ^6 Las Palmas, coconut plantation, 170
Kunche, tree, town named for, 387 Las Playas, site, loi
Kuyoc, Ah Kin, 309 Las Ruinas, site, 54, 71, 72, 467
Laws of the Indies, 351
1-a Asuncion, bay, see Ascension Bay Lawsuits, at Valladolid, 77; heard by native
La Ceiba, town, 288 priest, 309, 344; recorded in Archivo Gen-
La Farge, O., 9, 19, 20, 91, 92, 96, 364 eral de Indias, 7
La Florida, site, 428, 460 Legends, historical, i, 2, 21; of Quetzalcoatl,
La Rambla, see Ahualulco, town, 94 80; of Tula, 23
La Reforma, site, 415 Legislation, royal, 194, 196
La Revancha, site, 449 Lehmann, W., 95
La Venta, ruins, 92, 95, 96, 318 Lenca, people, 321
Labna, ruins, 74 Leon Pinelo, Antonio de, 6, 407, 491
Labor, 138, 139, 142, 149, 150, 228, 266, 348; Lerma, Juan de, 129, 135
eliminated from encomienda system, 150, Lexicographical material, 9
154' 348, 349; forced: 150, 176, 217, 305, 350; Library of Congress, 359
exemption from, 267, 287, 291 —in logging Lieutenant governor, 198, 201, 232, 233, 243,
operations, 307, 343; rates of pay, 153, 154, 244-45, 255i 295; in Campeche, 182, 211,
307, 343, 350. See also Laborers, Indian; 212; of Tabasco, 136, 222
Service Lime, 303
Laborers, Indian, 163, 167, 171, 288, 289; build- Lime pit, town named for, 388
ing, 150, 154, 288; farm, 148, 150; wages of, Limon, stream, 50
150, 153, 154. 350 Lineages, among Cehache, 69; Canul, 80; exog-
Lacandon, area, 18, 39-47, 496; pacification amous in Yucatan, 478; groups of, 474; on
of, 259; water communication with, 80 Cozumel Island, 77, 78
Lacandon, people, 39-47, 316, 344-45, 462; ac- Lingua franca, 15, 321
companied Bravo, 492, 497; cacique of, 497; Linguistic areas, 3, 6, 21-24, ^55 9^i 129, 131,
costume of, 43, 344; enemies of, 44; ex- 132, 317; frontier between iMaya and Chon-
peditions against, 6, 41-43, 173-74, 32^1 39^' tal, 225, 331
407; highland Indians driven away by, 28; Linguists, Chontal, 12, 25, 193-94, ^3^, 239?
language of, 17, 18, 39, 40, 45, 344, 353, 481; 248, 294; Maya, 151, 155, 239, 252, 262, 267;
meaning of name, 40; multiple-family houses Nahuatl, 239
of, 54, 471; religion of, 41, 47; settlements Literature, native, 2

of, 41-44, 407, 492, 493, 497; wars of, 40- Litter, missionary carried in, 399
41. 493 Livestock, 288; destroyed at Tzuctok, 338;
Lacandon, Laguna del, 41, 44 in Tixchel area, 242-43
Lacanha, Lake, 40, 42 Livingston, town, 28, 354
Lacantun River, 42, 46 Lizard, name meaning, 484; sky monster, 64
Lacustrine belt, x\vila in, 466; occupied by Lizards, gold figures of, 29, 89
Cehache, 67-71, 228-29, 245, 335, 452 Loaisa, Nicolas de, 311-12
Laguneta, site, 50 Loaisa, Garcia Jufre de, assessment of Tix-
Lahun, name, 61^ chel, 180-82, 201; revision of Yucatan tribute
Lamat, name, 65, 399 schedules, 151-52, 180, 240
Lamatazel, name, 364; death of, 156-67, 394; Locen, people, 46
father of Paxbolon, 66, 141, 175, 385; son of Locen, town, 485
Paxbolonacha, 141, 385, 393 Locusts, famine caused by, 326, 334
Lances, 192 Logwood, export of, 351; in Acalan area, 140,
Land, as dowry, 249; assigned to Indians after 219; in Sahcabchen area, 290, 307; opera-
reduction, 230, 232; at Sahcabchen, 288; at tors, 343
Tixchel, 170-71, 184, 219, 242-43, 297, 301- Loincloths, 20, 233; of Choi, 40; of Lacandon,
02; at Zapotitlan, 192, 210; documents, i; 43
in Usulaban area, 234, 242-43, 302; owner- Lonchocarpus longistylus, 506
ship, 171, 172, 297; systems, 349 Loopholes, at Cehache towns, 70; at Cimatan,
Landa, Diego de, 224; arrival Yucatan,
155; cited, 35, 57, 319, 480;
in
death of.
P
Lopez, Alonso, 17, 30, 89, 132-35, 146, 471
54,
 INDEX 547

Lopez, Gonzalo, 145-46, 201 Maize -continued

Lopez de Cogolludo, Diego, 12, 45, 46, 83, in Tabasco, 30; in Zoque area, 31, 39; price
179, 251-53, 254, 270, 271, 274, 279, 280, 300, of, 153, 241; raised for cacique, 207; requisi-

301, 302, 303, 304, 439, 442, 443 tioned by Cortes, 103, io6, iii; shortage of,
Lopez de Gomara, Francisco, 5, 38, 107, 112, 242; tribute of, 59, 149, 151, 152, 163, 180,
460
113, 118, 120, 430, 433, 459, 181, 240, 241, 242, 393, 396; used in im-
Lopez Medel, Tomas, decrees concerning en- provised mass service, 346. See also Milpa
comienda of Acalan, 146-48, 152, 153-54, 180, system
181, 348, 396; ordinances of, 146, 472; re- Malaria, 166-67, 324, 325, 326, 327
forms of, 146, 154, 168-69 Maldonado, Francisco, 13, 249-50, 291-98;
Loquehuas, see Toquegua, people associates of, 11, 255-56, 258, 259, 260, 261,
Lord, natural, 293; defined, 176-77; Paxbolon's 262, 264, 265, 267, 268, 269, 292, 294, 295,
status as, ij6-jj, 193, 197, 200, 221, 264; serv- 297, 299, 336, 503; claim to encomienda,
ice and tribute to, i94n., 264. See also 292, 294-97, 33*5; death of, 298; dispute with
Caciques Villalon, 268-69; estancias of, 242, 243, 249,
Lords, hereditary, 231; Acalan, 131, 236, 293; 403, 404; grant of 600 tributaries to, 259,
Cupul, 134; Mexican, 112, 117, 118. See also 295, 297; marriages of, 249, 255, 292, 296, 297,
Chieftains 361, 386; pacification of interior settlements,
Lorenzo, Pedro, associated with Tachis ex- 255-5<5,257, 258-70, 273, 292, 294-97, 299,
pedition, 491-98, 500, 502; at Palenque, 25, 33*^37) 503; probanzas of, 8, 66, 112, 116,
39, 40, 438-39, 496 157, 162, 226, 246, 253, 264, 291-98, 359,
Los Cerrillos, Hacienda, 100 360; report by, 232-33, 246, 503; relations
Los Cerrillos, hills, 100 with Paxbolon, 11, 250, 255, 351; sons of,
Lothrop, S. K., 319 249, 292, 296-98
Lujan, Alonso de, 5, 68, 127, 160, 162, 325, Maldonado, Jeronimo, 259
464-67, 469 Maldonado, Martin, grandson of Paxbolon,
Luna y Arellano, Carlos de, 239-40, 287; 249, 292, 293, 297, 298, 386; heir of Pax-
policy concerning pacification of interior, bolon, 297; hereditary rights of, 292, 293,
252, 254-55, 265-70, 272-75, 276, 281-85, 295 298; petition for encomienda for, 296; peti-
Luna y Arellano, Tristan, 252 tion to Paxbolon, 293, 360, 361, 383
Lundell, C. L., 59, 72, 388, 500 Maler, T., 29, 71, 72, 307, 347, 407, 408, 410,
454, 463, 464
JVlac, defined, 52, 454 Maluco, Sabanas de, 100
Ma^ateupa, town, houses in, 471 Mam, people, migration of, 28
Maceguales, defined, 397 Mama, town, name discussed, 488
Machetes, forced purchase of, 268; trade in, Mamantel, embarcadero of, 230, 403. See also
robbed of, 404
245; travelers Popola
Machona, Laguna, 95 Mamantel, town, 218, 277; abandonment of,
MacNutt, F. A., 411, 436 352; joined to Tiquintunpa, 301; Maya
Mactun, Arroyo, 455 majority in, 314; merger settlement, 300;
Mactun, people, 51, 391, 403; towns of, 361, new name for Mazcab, 300, 304, 314; part
386 of curacy of Popola, 301; part of encom-
Mactun, Acalan place name, 51, 395; mean- ienda of Tixchel, 304, 352. See also Mazcab;
ing of name, 51-52, 454-55 Tiquintunpa-Mamantel; Tiquintunpa-Maz-
Mactun, site on Rio San Pedro Martir, 52, cab; Xocola
409, 415, 416, 421, 449, 452, 456, 461, 468, 502 Mamantel area, settlements in, 218-19, 221,
Macua, Tomas, 172, 173, 174, 398 226, 235, 236, 240, 245, 275, 276, 331, 336-37,
Macuaabin, name, 66, 86, 385 503
Macuaaua, name, 392 Mamantel River, 219, 221, 226,
69, 230, 236,
Macuspana, Cerro de, 98 240, 245, 257, 275, 276-77, 331, 414, 503;
Macuspana, town, 17, 24, 98; district of, 20 canoe communication to, 68; drainage of,
Madrid, 296 276-77; location of Rio de Zapotitlan re-
Maestros de doctrina, see Teachers, native ferred to, 4 2 on.; name discussed, 352, 488;
Magdalena Coltipan, town, 32 tributaries of, 67
Magistrates, petty, see Alcaldes
Mamas, see Mas, name
Mahazcab, see Mazcab, town
Mamoid, linguistic group, 18. See also Mam,
Mahogany, 388
people
Maize, 188, 288, 304; consumption, 153; cul-
tivation of, 170-71, 173, 184, 242, 244, 288, Manac Chontal, language, 224
301; destroyed, 284; fields planted for Batab Manatees, 30
Yam, 309; gift of, 391; god, 57; gruel, 346; Manche Choi, area, 45, 80, 353
548 INDEX

Manche Choi, people, 17, 41, 316; language Maya, language continued
of, 481; multiple-family houses of, 471 275 353^ 354, 355- See also Linguistic area;
Mangrove swamp, 170, 303 Linguists
Mani, Book of Chilam Balam of, 22 Maya, people, i, 123, 136, 162, 238, 242; age
Mani, town, caciques of, 177, 329; mission of marriage among, 480; art of, 64; at Puilha
center, 155; number of tributaries, 162; and Tahbalam, 186, 202, 217; civilization in
tribute of, 152 Tabasco, 21; ceremony of, 83; descent
Manrique, Francisco, 465 among, 474; fugitives, 219, 228-36, 245, 302;
Manta, described, 151; gift of, 224; price of, in Tixchel area, 12, 236-37, 302, 313-15; in-
241; tribute of, 149, 150, 152, 154, 180, 181, heritance among, 475; little knowledge of
183, 201, 240, 241, 242, 396 Nahuatl among, 383; multiple-family houses
Mapa de Tepechpan, 116 among, 54; name a reproach, 321; on Usu-
Maps, archaeological, 27, 84, 92; colonial, 6-7, macinta River, 63; part of economic bloc,
II, 220, 406; modern, 25, 226, 257, 276, 300, 18; pioneering spirit of, 354; principal men

314, 406-10, 415, 435, 436; of Candelaria among, 55; scribes, 308; wide survival of,
area, 458; of Guatemala, joon.; of Usuma- 355; writers, 75. See also Apostates; Fugi-
cinta area, 439, 440, 442, 446; of Yucatan, tives
408; used by Cortes, 30, 33, 60, 93, 100, 102, Maya Chronicles, 8, 56, 75, 76
III, 430, 431, 433, 434, 452. See also Alfaro Maya Mountains, 60
map Mayapan, town, archaeology of, 75; called
Marin, Luis, 106 Ichpaa, 84; chieftain of, 232; Cocom rulers
Marina, Dona, 91, 93, 117 of, 34, 57, 58, 77; contemporary with Tu-
Markets, 245; at Chichen Itza, 319; in Vera- lum, 78; fall of, 322, 326; hegemony of, 76,
cruz, 22 319; Mexican auxiliaries at, 35
Marques del Valle, see Cortes Mayapan, village in Bacalar parish, 85
Marriage, cases when forbidden in Yucatan, MayordoTnos, 178
478; juvenile among Acalan, 479, 480; serv- Maz, name, 26
ice, 475-76 Mazapa, see Rio de Dos Bocas
Married men, see Tributaries Mazapan, culture, 23
Martin, Alonso, 383, 386 Mazateca, people, 384. See also Cehache, people
Martin, Caspar, 497 Mazateca, province, 413, 452, 467. See also
Masks, gold, 30; wooden, 89 Cehache, province
Mason, J. A., 18, 19 Mazatlan, province, 8, 128, 131, 223, 246, 412,
Masonry, of Yucatan, 75 413, 496; fugitive Indians in, 232-33. See
Mass service, improvised by apostates, 346 Cehache, province
also

Massacre, at Sacalum, 342 Mazatlan, town, 144, 466; location of, 128,

Matamoros, site, 68 469; lords of, 467

Matias, Francisco, assistant to Santa Maria, Mazcab, town, 221, 222, 226, 230, 234, 236,

271-73, 280; attempt on life of, 281; guardian 237, 239, 245, 247, 300, 304, 314; location of,
of Ichbalche, 280, 282, 283, 284, 285 300; new name for Xocola, 218, 403; part of
Matriculas, of Ppencuyut, 473; of Popola, 312- encomienda of Tixchel, 303; proposal to
13; of Tixchel, 13, 53, 54, 64-67, 78, 79, 181-
move, 404. See also A-Iamantel; Tiquintunpa-
84, 198, 201, 353, 470, 475, 478, 479, 481
Mamantel; Tiquintunpa-Mazcab; Xocola
Matrilocal residence, 317, 475 Means, P. A., 453
Aleasles, 166, 324, 326
Matronymics, 478, 481
Alecatepec, to"wn, 95
Mats, at Xicalango, 36
Mecoacan, town, 31
Maudslay, A. P., 16, 100, 409-11, 415-17, 437,
Mecoacan, Laguna de, ruins on island in, 20
439, 440, 442, 449, 451-53, 456, 458, 467, 468, Medicine, goddess of, 57, 383
502 Mejia de Figueroa, Diego, guardian of Tix-
May, Juan, 493 chel, 234, 238, 404; Chontal linguist, 238
Maya, area, 134, 137, 335; intruders into, 23; Men, carried off by fugitives, 229, 306, 308;.
linguistic, 6, 225, 331; Nahua culture in, 318 house of: at Potonchan, 38; at Xicalango,
Maya, language, dictionary of, 19; European 36; Lacandon, 43
script adapted to, i, 364-65; foreign words Mendez de Sotomayor, Juan, 34
in, 75; known by copyist of Chontal Text, Mengin, Ernst, 117
363; literature in, 9, 77; manuscripts in, i, Mercedarian Order, 33, 178, 193, 399
9-10, 56, 74, 364; name for Chontal in, 52; Mercenaries, Mexican, at Mayapan, 319
related to other languages, 3, 14, 19, 28, 132, Merchants, 164, 170, 184, 232, 245, 251, 253,
spoken by Creoles, 239; sooken on
317, ^Si; 335, 431; Acalan, 3-4, 10, 30, 34, 58, 60, 67,
Usumacinta River, 25, 26; strength of, 26- 73, 86, III, 119, 123, 124, 143, 154, 165, 172,
 INDEX 549

Merchants continued Military service, in Yucatan, 80

456, 461, 462; Aztec, 29, 31, 34-35, 91; god Militia, native, 331, 335, 342; Spanish, 348
of, 57; in Acalan, 107; in Veracruz, 22; in- Milpa system, 170-71, 242-43, 301-02
formants of Cortes, 30, 33, 59, 93-94, m, Milpas, 188, 190, 200, 223, 234, 288; at Sucte,
456, 461, 462; of Sahcabchen, 70, 290; of 190, 425; in forest, 309; in Sahcabchen area,
Tabasco, 3, 64, 107, 317, 318, 321, 456; of 288; in Usulaban area, 234, 242-43, 404;
Tixchel, 184, 245; of Xicalango, 34, 36, 58, tended by slaves, 172
317; of Yucatan, 3, 34, 58, 317, 319; robbed, Mines, in western Peten, 497
229, 234; shrines of, 90; Spanish, 165, 180, Miramar, Lake, 42
184, 248, 290, 307, 343; visited Cozumel, 3, Miranda, Cristobal de, 210, 224
33734, 321 Mirones y Lezcano, Francisco de, expedition
Merida, 142, 192, 195, 198, 202, 203, 210, 212, of, 280, 342
213, 214, 222, 224, 230, 251, 252, 255, 261, 265, Missal, 399
266, 267, 283, 284, 286, 287, 292, 294, 359, Mission centers, 155-56, 169, 235, 237, 261,

499; alcalde ordinario of, 295; cabildo of, 287.See also Guardiania
310; founding of, 137; Maya name of, 74; Mission discipline, 229, 286-87, 310, 312, 334,
mission center, 155; museum at, 77; rebels
punished at, 342 Mission reports, 7, 67, 69, 285
Mesa, Alonso de, 25 Missionaries, 146, 228, 251; among Choi Acala,
Messengers, Indian, 289 407; at Chiuoha, 224; at Nohaa, 45-46; at
Mestiza, daughter of Paxbolon, 249 Tixchel, 237-38, 243, 328; at Usulaban, 335;
Mestizos, 179, 329; ineligible for caciqueship, at Zapotitlan, 8, 193-96, 198-99, 200, 204, 205,
298, 351 206-11, 330-31; cooperation of native leaders
Metates, effigy type, 319 with, 189-90, 191, 192, 291, 322, 329, 334,
Mexia, Gonzalo, 104, 106 335> 347, 354-55; criticism of encomenderos,
Mexicalcingo, name, 112, 115, 117 163; European script adapted by, 364, 480;
Mexican Church, Second Council of, 187 in Acalan, 10, 155, 156-59, 168, 169, 327, 328,
Mexican dialects in Central America, 2 454; in Palenque district, 491-92, 495; in
Mexican culture, intrusive in Tabasco, 21 Tabasco, 12, i9n., 25, 238, 317; in Yucatan,
Mexican intruders, in Yucatan, 21-24, "^i, 76 25, 155-56, 168, 169, 260, 261-62, 334, 393;
Mexican language, see Nahuatl petition for, 478; salary of, 154, 202; to in-
Mexican lords, 112, 117, 118 terior settlements, 252-53, 259-90, 310-12,
Mexicans, on Gulf coast, 22, 23 336-47; visited Chetumal, 83-84; with
Mexico, 147, 148, 155, 163, 229, 230, 319, 391, Cortes, 155. See also Franciscan friars
397; art of, 23; boundary of, 69, 71, 229, 409, Missionary program, in Acalan, 142, 154-59,
449; commerce of, 29, 31, 34, 35, 39, 91, 318; 164, 168, 292; in interior, 273, 274, 281-90,
men's house in, 36; natural resources of, 295; in Yucatan, 138, 146, 155-56, 261-62;
140; new fire ceremony in, 86; political or- in Zapotitlan, 194, 207, 212, 215; limited to
ganization of, 78; products of, 244; small- apostate fugitives, 273; methods, 157-58;
pox in, 166. See also Audiencia of Mexico; Paxbolon's cooperation with, 180, 187, 248;
New Spain success of at Tixchel, 179-80
Mexico, Gulf of, 170, 384; commerce on, 316; iMissions, controlled by Franciscans, 239; in
map of, 406; passes to, 80 Usumacinta towns, 494; secularization of,
Mexico, Valley of, 2, 31, 39, 92, 484; mission- 178, 237, 238-39, 405. See also individual
aries trained in, 19; trade routes from, 15 names of towns and Montafias missions
Mexico City, 35, 93, 100, 187. See also Tenoch- 2\lita, labor system, 150

titlan Mitla, ruins, frescoes at, 72, 83

Mexico-Guatemala boundary, 69, 71, 229, 409, Mixe, people, 92; described, 38
Mixe-Zoquean, languages, 22, 96
Middle America, considered culturally, 354; Mixteca, of Oaxaca, 23
decline of population in, 323; duplication Mixteca-Puebla civilization, 23
of names in, 454; fine orange ware in, 22; Miz, defined, 506
non-Mexican areas in, 61; political organi- Mo, patronymic, 69
zation in, 78 Mocochi, town, number of tributaries, 162
Middle American Research Institute, Tulane Mocu, Lake, 71, 128, 257, 278, 335, 466, 507
University, 420 Alocu, site, 67, 70, 71, 452, 467; location of
Migrations, 2; from Tula to Maya area, 23; in- Mazatlan referred to, 469
cluding women, 23; of Acalan rulers, 78; of Molina dictionary, 91, 441
mountaineers to hot country, 28 Molina Solis, J. F., 408
Military device, in Mexico, 86 Moloacan, town, 95
Military orders, Nahua, 66 Molotl, defined, 78
 550 INDEX

Monastic houses, see Mission centers Mulattoes, 179, i-ji-'ji, 329

Monkey, name meaning, 485; town named Multe, town, 25, 26
for, 387 Mulultzekal, ruins, 74
Monserrate, Juan de, curate of Tixchel and Mundo Nuevo, town, 185, 190, 428
Champoton, 178, 205, 237, 400; missionary Mufioz, Hernan, 142
to Zapotitlan, 205-17, 422, 423 Music, taught to Paxbolon, 175
Monserrate, Isla, 437 Musical instruments, in Tixchel church, 238
Montanas, defined, 251, 255 Mututzin Ahau, name, 390
Montanas missions, 13, 246, 251-90, 294-97, Mythology, of Quiche, 21
307, 336-43, 451; abandoned, 253, 287, 340;
conditions in, 281-82, 286-87, 297, 338-43; Ps a, defined, 65
founded, 11, 251, 252-53, 267, 280, 287, 299, Nacab, place, 310
337^ 338, 342, 35I1 360; guardians of, 252, Nacajuca, town, 25; Cortes at, 96, 97, 98;
253, 280; history of, 296, 340, 359, 503; loca- houses in, 471
tion of, 275-80, 337-38; proposed count of Nacaukumil, district, 256-58, 270-71, 300
Indians of, 295; rehgious instruction in, 295; Nacaukumil, town, 256-68, 262-63, 264, 267,
resettlement of, 271, 282-85, 287-90, 295- 278, 279, 504, 506, 507; church at, 262; gov-
96, 338-40; superior of, 252; tributaries of, ernor of, 257, 262; location of, 275, 276, 277;

296-97; visita of, 281-85. ^^^ ^^^^ Popula- Maldonado expedition in, 262, 268; mission
tion at, 257, 262, 270, 337; moved to Chacuitzil,
Montecristo, town, 317; Cortes at, 408; other ^75' 338; other names for, 275; Paxbolon's
locations referred to, 435-41, 446-48, 469. visit to, 258, 503, 505; petition to Luna y
See also Emiliano Zapata, town Arellano, 265-67; proposal to move, 270-71
Montejo, Don Ambrosio de, testimony of, Nacaukumil-taquiache, town, 256-57, 505; lo-
214; visit to Zapotitlan, 194, 206 cation of, 68; meaning of name, 256-67
Montejo, Francisco de, adelantado, 10, 83, 87, Naco, town, commercial center at, 320-21;
123-26, 129-36, 137-41, 142, 143, 150, 159, route to, 321, 430
162, 164, 165, 248, 317, 326, 393, 415; en- Naco, valley, 133
comienda grants by, 142, 144-46; encomien- Naguatan, town, 32
das of, 129, 138, 348; plan to occupy Acalan, Nahua, people, culture of, 2, 22; descent of,
5, 125, 126-29, 142; probanzas of, 7-8, 68, 24; inheritance among, 474; Mixe inferior
128, 131-32, 142, 143, 159, 412-17, 425-27, to, 38; of Puebla, 23; on Gulf coast, 22

461, 467, 468; territorial pretensions of, 7-8, Nahual, dialect, 484
96, 123-25, 130-36, 139-41,412-14 Nahual, spirit, 485
Montejo, Francisco de, nephew, 137, 498 Nahuahsm, 78
Montejo, Francisco de, son, 83, 124, 125, 129, Nahuatl, language, 2, 17, 20, 23; derivation of
130, 134, 136, 137, 140, 165, 248 Auxaual from, 78; in Acalan, 64-67, 318; in
Montejo, Juan de, 502 Chontal areas, 19, 22, 27, 60-63, 3i8, 321,
Montezuma, 34, 35, §6, 77 353> 3^ii 383; in Coatzacoalcos area, 91-92;
Mop, town, 44, 406 in Tabasco, 22, 23, 27, 31, 35, 60-63, 3''8,
Mopan, people, 65 321, 353, 361; lingua franca, 15, 321; name
Morales Villavicencio, Juan de, 42 of Acalan, 41, 51, 389, 455; name of luit
Moran, Francisco, 17 family, 76; names of Lacandon settlements,
Morley, S. G., 79, 100, 409, 415-17, 443, 446, 41; spoken by Dzul, 82
449-54, 460, 468, 500, 502 Names, personal, 476ff., 48 iff.; Chontal, 26,
Mortar, 32, 36, 37, 38 64, 78, 195, 224, 313-14, 353, 418; Christian:
Mosaic, turquoise, 89 acquired at baptism, 158, 224; mentioned,
Mosques, 55, 310, 312. See also Temples 157, 225, 227; of Indians of interior, 258
Mosquitoes, 284, 288 hyphenated, 66; in Chontalpa, 62; in Cozu-
Motagua River, 18; commerce of, 58 mel, 77-79; Maya, 25, 26, 78, 236, 313-14;
Motolinia, Toribio, 118 meaning Mexican,
of, 13; 27, 62-63, 66, 67,
Motul, town, caciques of, 177, 329 78-79, 480; of Acalan, 8, 13, 26, ^6, 6i\-6j,
Motul dictionary, 19, 364, 384 78, of leaders of interior settlements,
318;
Mounds, at Santa Rita, 83; at site of Tixchel, 257; pagan, 224, 399; Spanish, 314
303; at Tichel Hacienda, 81, 170; at Usula- Names, place, in Acalan, 9, 318; in Tabasco,
ban, 404; in Cehache area, 71 61; in Yucatan, 64; meaning of, 408, 438;
Mountain, name meaning, 486, 490 of Chontal towns, 363; of Mexican towns in
Moustache, name meaning, 484 Tabasco, 82; preserved in Yucatan, 74
Muchacha de doctrina, carried off by fugi- Names, spelling of, 365, 366
tives, 312 Naua, Pedro, 383, 386, 479
Mujeres, Isla de, idols found on, 57 Naui Calli, day name, 6$
 INDEX 55^

Navycali, Martin, 65 Oco, defined, 78

Necklaces, 94; gold, 29, 30, 89 Ocosingo, town, 42, 45; Lacandon settled at,
Negroes, forbidden to visit forest settlements, 39, 491-93, 497
272-73 Ocuapan, town, 95, 96
New Laws of 1542, 138, 150, 348 Ocumba, town, 99
New River, 83 Office, petitions for, 291
New Spain, 35, 123, 124, 125, 126, 146, 245, Officials, native, 177-78, 182, 236, 262, 263,
261; Commissary General of Franciscans 271, 289, 303, 312, 313, 361; authorized to
in, 237; encomenderos of, 350; encomienda make arrests, 179; elective, 177, 236; exempt
in, 348; forced labor in, 150; language of, from tribute, 151, 161, 183, 240, 47on.; of in-
17; native ruler of, 391; tribute schedules of, terior settlements, 284, 287-88, 339, 340, 341,
153. See also Mexico 343; of Usumacinta towns, 317
Nezahualcoyotl, ruler of Tezcoco, 114 Officials, Spanish, 170, 180, 323; abuse of In-
Nicapa, town, 32 dians by, 165, 305-06; grants by, 348; juris-
Nicaragua, Chontal of, 15; Nahuatl-speaking diction of, 231; use of Nahuatl by, 361
colonies in, 21; route to, 430 Oidor, of Guatemala, 180, 398; of Mexico,
Nieto, Juan, 204, 206
Nine, name meaning, 486 Old Empire, i, 3, 49, 74, 77; absence of phallic

Nito, town, 73; Acalan commerce with, 4, cult in, 24; art of, 21, 22; Chontal area a
34, 58, 59-60, 86, III, 316, 317; commercial part of, 20; cities in the Peten, 4; in Tabasco,
center, 164, 165, 320; compared with Naco, 318; influenced by Olmec art, 22; occupa-
320-21; location of, 320; route to, 59-60, tion of Santa Rita during, 84; roof con-
321, 430, 433-34, 452, 461, 464; Spaniards at, struction of, 72
III, 430-32, 448, 461 Olid, Cristobal de, iii, 113, 118, 430, 431, 432
Nixche, tree, 387 Olmec art, 22
Nobility, Indian, exempt from tribute, 161, Olmeca, people, 22
182, 183, 241; in Acalan, 56; postconquest Olmeca Uixtotin, people, 22
status of, 176-78; right to ride horseback, Oluta, town, 92
244 Om, Laguna, 280
Noche Triste, 120 Omitan, town, 471
Noguera, E., 84 Omoa, town, 18
Noh, Miguel, 507 Omoa Mountains, 320
Nohaa, town, 45, 46 Oracles, crosses regarded as, 341
Nohku, river, 47 Orange trees,
94
Nohthub, see Thub, town Oratories, on shore of Laguna de Terminos^
Nohukum, see Rio Hondo 89
Nomenclature, of Acalan people, 75; of arch- Orbita, Juan de, 83
aeological sites, 74; of places, 387; of Ta- Orchards, in Acalan, 171, 172, 328; in Chilapa,
basco and Acalan, 79 99
Nonoual, place name, 2 Ordaz, Diego de, 91
Nose, pierced, 82 Orden de Nuestra Senora de la Merced, see
Notary, chief governmental, 217. See also Mercedarian Order
Bravo Ordinances, for administration of Indian set-
Notary, royal, 293, 294, 296 tlements, 177; of Tomas Lopez, 146, 159
Notary, town, of Tixchel, 293. See also Qerk Orduna, Diego de, accompanied Tachis ex-
Novices, master of, 169 peditions, 494, 496, 497-501; father-in-law
Nuc uinicob, defined, 394, 404 of Paxbolon, 248, 351, 361, 386
Nucha uinicob, term discussed, 392 Orduna, Juan de, 493
Nueva Ocafia, province, 259, 262, 264, 269, Orduna, Mencia de, wife of Paxbolon, 248,
270
298
Nueva Se villa, founding of, 164
Organ, in Tixchel church, 175
Nuevo Leon, site, 104, 449, 457, 459, 469
Organist, Paxbolon served as, 175, 238
Numerals, Chontal, 6^
Organization, political, 39, 55, 56, 75, 78, 317,
Oaxaca, State, 23; Chontal of, 15; Mixe of, 38 328, 364, 474; religious, 46, 56; social, 8, 13,

Observatory, Mt. Wilson, 1 1 56,61, 317,470

Obsidian, commerce in, 3, 29 Ornaments, ecclesiastical, 208, 210, 212, 213,
Oc, A^aya day name, 65 215, 222, 259, 263, 267, 268, 399, 401; pro-
Ocelotl, day name, 6$ vided by encomendero, 158, 202, 209
Ocelotl, defined, 62 Orozco y Berra, M., 6, 112, 407, 408, 410
Oco, name, 63 Ortega, Alonso de, 267
55^ INDEX

Ortiz, Joseph, encomendero of Tixchel, 303- Paredes, Juan de, 173

04 Parrot, name meaning, 488
Osorio, Baltasar de, 124, 125, 129 Partido, 311
Oviedo y Valdes, Gonzalo Fernandez de, 5, Paso Caballos, site, 500
27, 53, 84, 89-90, 121, 126, 127, 128, 139, 143, Paso Nuevo, town, 92
160, 162, 411, 432, 433, 446-47, 457, 464, 465- Pasturage, 244, 288
69 Pat, lineage, 78
Owl, name meaning, 484 Patrilineal descent, 475;among Maya, 474
Oxkutzcab, town, 335; militia from, 342, 343; Patronymics, 26, 64, 65; in Yucatan, 82; lack-
traders of, 245 ing in Tixchel matricula, 478; Maya, 26, 66,
Ozumacintlan, see Usumacinta, town 475, 482-90
Patzin, name, 26
Pacaitun, site, 7, 49, 51, 420 Patzin, Baltasar, 189, 214
Pacbac, Alonso, 398 Patzin, Francisco, 189, 191
Pachechen, site, 69 Patzinbolon, Alonso, 386
Pacheco, family, campaigns of, 164 Patzinchiciua, name, 66, 109, 390
Pachimal, name, second Acalan ruler, 80, 384 Pauling, see Pawling, Henry
Pachimalahix I, fifth Acalan ruler, 82, 86, 385 Pawling, Henry, 220; description of Candel-
Pachimalahix II, ruler of Acalan, 156; im- aria by, 48-49, 420-2
prisoned by Spaniards, 127, 141, 393; son of, Paxbolon, slave, 399
141, 169, 397; son of Paxbolonacha, 127, 141, Paxbolon, Agustin, 386
385; succeeded Paxbolonacha, 122, 141 Paxbolon, Catalina, married Francisco Mal-
Pacific coast, languages of, 364 donado, 248-49, 292, 361, 386
Pagimatun, name, 399 Paxbolon, Don Pablo, cacique and governor
Pack animals, horses as, 244, 288 of Tixchel, 66, 141, 175-78, 182, 248^50, 291-
Pactucum, Francisco, 479 94, 297, 329-37, 344, 354755. 361; accom-
Pactuni, Francisco, 479 panied Maldonado expedition, 262, 263, 291,
Pacua, Juan, 478 299, 336-37, 503; age of, 47in.; commis-
Paddlers, furnished to Spaniards, 149 sions of, 221-22, 234, 256, 291, 292, 331, 335,
Paddles, tribute of, 59, 149, 152, 396 399; contract to pacify fugitives, 230-33,
Padzayato, name, 390 333; daughters of, 246, 248-49, 292, 351, 361,
Padzunun, division of Itzamkanac, 54, 56 386; death of, 297, 299; descent of, 8, 74,
Paganism, abandoned by Acalan, 364; long 141, 175, 292, 293, 294, 299, 354, 383-86,
hair a sign of, 189, 192, 223, 401; reversion 474, 479; education of, 11, 175, 180, 248, 292,
to, 327, 334, 337, 341. See also Heathen In- 329, 354; estancia of, 230, 242, 244, 246, 402;
dians expedition to interior settlements, 256-58,
Paint, body, 189; commerce in, 58 260, 261, 263, 267, 336, 344, 503flF.; farms of,
Paixban, site, 69 299; frontier activities of, 221-36 passim,
Palencano, language, 17 237, 246, 331-37; governor of new settle-
Palenque, town, art of, 21; Cortes' route re- ments in Tixchel area, 231, 331; grandson
ferred to, 408; cultural center at, 20; in- of, 249, 260, 292, 297-98, 351; journeys to
habitants of area, 39-40, 45; language at, 17; Zapotitlan, 418-29, 457; jurisdiction of, 176,
Pedro Lorenzo at, 39-40, 438-39, 491-
25, 177-78, 180, 187, 191, 193, 194, 197, 200,
92, 495, 496; ruins of, 20, 408; Stephens at, 206-09, 218, 219, 221, 225, 228, 230, 231, 233,
48, lOI 234, 235, 236-37, 248, 256, 293, 299, 329733.
Palisades, 32, 466; in Cehache area, 70 336, 386; last years of, 299, 351; later activi-
Palizada River, 415, 416 ties of, 13; marriages of, 248-50, 351, 361,
Palma, Hernando de la, encomendero in 386; memorial to Cespedes, 186-87, 197, 199,
Acalan, 145, 396 200, 418; mother of, 66n.; multiple-family
Palocem, slave, 399 house of, 470; natural lord of Acalan, 175-
Palomino, Francisco, 193, 196, 197, 198, 200, 78, 189, 191, 192, 193, 200, 207, 221, 264, 291,
202, 205, 212, 217 292, 293, 299; no recompense for services
Panlao estuary, 410, 41 of, 291; pacification of: Chiuoha, 221-28,
Panob, town, 398, 399 331-32, 397, 400-02; forest Indians, 162-
Pantheon, Yucatecan, 57 63, 232, 255, 291, 292; Maya fugitives,
Pap, defined, 6^, 481 228-36, 291, 292, 332-33, 335-36, 402-05;
Papaya, name meaning, 489 Zapotitlan, 183, 186-94, ^9^97. 199-200, 202,
Papcan, name, 395 204-09, 214, 218-19, 221, 291, 32^31, 399-
Paptucun, Baltasar, 386
Paredes, Alonso Garcia de, see Garcia de
400, 417-18, 427, 428, 429
horseback,
—
permission to ride
petition for pension, 291;
244;
Paredes probanzas of, 8, ii2n., 116, 121, 157, 162,
 INDEX 553

Paxbolon, Don Pablo continued Pedernal, Arroyo, 458

226, 238, 246, 253, 264, 291-98, 359-60; re- Peg Leg, 303
lations with Francisco Maldonado, 249-50, Penafiel, A., 441
255, 351; report of interior settlements, 256- Penate, Francisco de, 502
68, 263, 278, 279, 300, 336, 503ff.; successors Pendants, 20; gold, 30; on earrings, 89
of, 298, 299, 351; titles of, 176, 218, 292; Pension, 348-49; on Tixchel encomienda, 303-
trading interests of, 184, 190, 219, 235, 246- 04, 349. See also Ayuda de costa
47, 248, 299, 331, 351; wealth of, 246-47, Peonage, 350
297 Perez. Alonso, 293, 294
Paxbolon, Pablo, clerk, 383, 386 Perez Martinez, H., 117, 410, 447
Paxbolon, Maria, daughter of Paxbolon, 249, Peru, 134; forced labor in, 150
298, 386 Pesos, gold and silver, 153
Paxbolonacha, Acalan ruler, 86-87, 3^2, 362, Pesquera, Diego de, missionary to Acalan,
385, 389!?.; abdication of, 87, 121-22, 141; 158, 214, 396-97; transfer of Acalan to Tix-
brother of, at Nito, 58; death of, 79, 87, chel, 169-74, 175' 17^' 1^2' 1^5' 3^^' 39^
121, 392, 428n., 469; hyphenated name of, Pestilences, see Diseases
66-67; merchant, 4, 58; principal men of, Peta, town, 44
54-55, 390-91; relations with Cortes, 87, Petcah, town, 289; mission at, 279; visita of
106-16, 119-22, 155, 162, 354, 390-92, 456, Tzuctok, 280, 289
460, 461; resided at Itzamkanac, 52, 66, Peten, Department of, 72, 279, 280; expedi-
87-88, III, 385, 386, 389; role of in con- tions to, 13-14, 248, 278, 310, 49iff.; Itza
spiracy against Cortes, 1 15-16, 119, 363-64, lands in, 251, 272, 495, 499, 500; Kekchi in,
391-92; sons of, 107, 108, 109, no, 122, 127, 28; lacustrine belt in, 67; location of Acalan
141, 156, 157, 389, 394 referred to, 408, 409, 410, 415, 416, 417; lo-
Paxbolonacha, Pablo Antonio, see Paxbolon, cation of Cehache area referred to, 229, 258,
Don Pablo 453
Paxbolon-Alaldonado Papers, see Probanzas Peten, Lake, 7, 280; Cortes' route to, 60, 68,
Paxcanan, Baltasar, 185 406, 410, 448, 452-53, 461-64; Itza on, 44, 54,
Paxcanan, Diego, chieftain of Zapotitlan, 185, 76, 316, 342, 346, 499; location of Acalan re-
186, 189, 190, 192, 194, 200, 210, 211, 212; ferred to, 406, 407, 408, 410; road to, 69
appointed governor, 206-07; flight of, 227, Petenacte, see Petenecte
399; testimony of, 201, 209, 214 Petenche, site, 436
Paxcanan, Gonzalo, 399 Petenecte, town, 25, 27, 61, 63, 493; Cortes'
Paxhochacchan, name, 109, 390 interview with Indians of, 450; location of,
Paxmulu, companion of Auxaual, 78, 383 24, 27, 103, 104, 435, 436-37, 438, 439, 442-46
Paxmulu, of Chiuoha, 222, 401. See also Petenmax, town, 387
Apaxmulu Peter Martyr, see Anghiera, Pietro Martire d'
Paxoc, companion of Auxaual, 78, 383 Petha, Laguna, 44
Paxoc, Luis, 479 Peto, town, school children of, 353
Paxoco, name, 78 Petox, town, 258, 504, 507
Paxtun, of Chiuoha, 222, 401. See also Apaxtun Phallic cult, 23
Paxtun, Martin, 185, 399 Phaseolus sp., 16, 32
Paxtun, Pedro, conversion of, 157-58, 364, Philip, Prince (Philip II), Bienvenida's letter
394-96; succeeded to rulership, 141, 157, to, 6, 54, 161, 168, 414
394; successor of, 169; youngest son of Pax- Philip III, policy of, 343
bolonacha, 141, 157, 385, 393 Phonetic symbols, 364-65
Paxua, fourth Acalan ruler, 81, 82, 384, 385 Pichucalco, town, 63
Paxua, Luis, flight of, 51, 171, 172, 227, 385, Picture manuscript, A-lexican, 116
397; son of Pachimalahix II, 141, 169, 385; Pie de Palo, see Peg Leg
succeeded Paxtun, 169 Pierna, see Mantas, description of
Paxuanapuk, name, 109, 390 Piers, at Comalcalco, 20
Paya, people, 3 2
Pigs, burned, 284
Payo Obispo, see Ciudad Chetumal
Pilecuautzimit, Pipil leader, 86
Pazelu, of Chiuoha, 222, 401
Pileus viexicanus, 334, 387
Peabody Museum of Harvard University, 320
Pilgrims, to Chichen Itza, 319; to Cozumel,
Peccaries, 30
Pech, Ah Kin, name, 507 33-34, 57, 77
Pech, Antonio, 257, 505 Pimienta, see Allspice
Pech, Melchor, 177 Pine, pitch, commerce in, 58
Pechucalco, town, 98 Pine, tree, name meaning, 486
Pechugueras, see Coughs Pipil, language, 43, 62, 95
554 INDEX

Pipil, people, 91; compared with Acalan, 56; Popoluca of Veracruz, people, 91 language of,
;

invaded Guatemala, 35; names of leaders, 86 92, 95, 96; name discussed, 92; towns of, 95
Pirates, see Corsairs Popomena, place name, 384. See also Apopo-
Piscidiaconmnmis, 482 mena
town, cenote at, 81
Piste, Population, centers of, 128, 144, 162; Nahuatl-
Fithecolohium albicans, 387 speaking, 63; of Acalan: 123, 125, 128, 139,
Pitzotl, defined, 63 152-53, 158, 159, 328, 475; decline of, 6, 10,
Pix, Antonio, 309 145, i59>h57, 168, 181, 219, 323-27 of Can-—
Pixoyal, site, 257, 279, 507 delaria basin, 49, 82, 329, 331; of Chacuitzil,
Pizarro, Francisco, 134 289; of Chekubul, 301, 312-15; of Chetumal
Plantings, of maize and beans for tribute, 151 district, 164; of Cheusih, 289, 301; of Chi-
Platanar River, 39 uoha, 221, 223, 227, 312-15, 332; of Chunhaz,
Platforms, at Centla, 37; at Comalcalco, 20; for 289; of Chunpich, 257; of curacy of Popola-
archers, 32, 70, 71 Tixchel, 311-15; of fugitive settlements, 306,
Plebeians, killed ruler at Ekbalam, 79; life hard 343; of Holail, 311; of Ichbalche, 271, 289;
for, 329. See also Commoners of Ichmachich, 289; of Itzamkanac, i6cm52;
Plumage, see Feathers of Montaiias missions, 271, 289; of Puilha
Plumbate, at Chichen Itza, 319 and Tahbalam, 186, 330; of Sahcabchen, 289,
Pobilcuc, site, 102, 440-42 290, 311, 340; of Sahcabchen-Popola area,
Pocboc, town, encomienda of, 147-48 309-15; of Tabasco, 166-67, 3^8, 471; of
Pochotl, defined, 398 Tixchel, 175, 181-84, 219, 247-48, 313, 327-
Pochutla, district of, pacification of, 136 29, 47off.;of Tixchel area, 236-37, 241, 247,
Pochutla, Lacandon town, 41, 44; expedition 300-01, 304-05, 309-15, 331-33, 349, 351-52;
against, 173, 398n., 407; Indian allies from of Tzuctok, 289; of Usulaban, 302, 312-15,
492, 497; pacification of, 491; warred with 335-36; of Xocola, 236-37, 247; of Yucatan,
town on Rio de Tachis, 493 139, 142, 162, 164, 181, 237, 304, 324-27; of
Pochutla, Oax., town, 484 Zapotitlan, 185-86, 247, 329-30; policy of
Pocmuch, town, encomienda of, 304 concentration of: 146, 155-56, 168-69, i?''
Pokonchi, language, 19 326, 327; at iVIamantel, 300; at Nacaukumil,
Pole, town, 123 257; in Montaiias area, 282-85, 287-90, 338-
Pole-and-thatch structures, 179, 195, 238, 303 40; in Tixchel area, 234-36, 243, 335-36
Polochic River, 54; commerce of, 38 Portico, at Xicalango, 36
Pom, Laguna de, 384 Potonchan, town, 78; cacique of, 97; com-
Pom, town, name defined, 384 merce of, 3, 24, 27,33,36, 58, 165, 317, 320;
Pomeba, see Popomena 325; Cortes' at, 29, 81, 90-91; Cortes' in-
Ponce, Alonso, Commissary General of New formants from, 430; description of, 36-38;
Spain, 237; travels of, 12 Grijalva at, 29, 89; language of, 31; name dis-
Ponce, Antonio, 146-48 cussed, 61; pilgrims from, 77, 321
Potters, at Tabasquillo, 38; in Veracruz, 22
Poo, people, see Popo, people
Pottery, at Cholula, 23; at Santa Rita and
Popane, town, 24, 63, 438; Bravo at, 439n., 494;
Ichpaatun, 84; at Cilvituk, 72; at Tulum, 75;
furnished canoes for Tachis expedition, 492,
in Candelaria area, 4, 49; in Zoque area, 92;
499 painting of, 59; tribute of kitchen, 152, 180,
Popo, people, 398
240; Veracruz fine orange, 22, 319
Popol Vuh, I Poultry, see Fowl; Hens; Turkeys
Popola, district, withdrawal of inhabitants of, Pozole, gifts of, 262
311-12 Ppencuyut, town, matricula of, 473
Popola, town, 236, 245, 257, 262, 275, 276, 277, Prayers, Christian, in native languages, 9
287, 336, 503, 505; abandonment of, 311-12; Precious stones, 22, 29, 148
cacique and governor of, 233; corsair attacks Prefixes, in Chontal, 78, 384, 481
on, 308, 352; founding of, 231, 232, 332-33; Prescott, W. H., 7, 11, 406
fugitives from, 307, 313; fugitives settled at, Prices, 151, 181, 241-42; under Repartimiento
232, 233, 335, 403; location of, 226, 230, 332; system, 305
Maya settlement, 237, 240, 314; mission at: Priests, pagan, at Nohaa, 46; at Sacalum, 342;
capital of Tixchel curacy, 301, 311-15, 351; Aztec, ii4n.; in Quintana Roo, 341; influ-
matriculas of, 312-13; part of Tixchel cu- ence of, 155, 228; Lacandon, 43; of Acalan,
racy, 239, 300; visita of Campeche, 237 — 158, 395; of Cehache, 73, 504; of fugitive
proposed removal of to Usulaban, 234-36, settlements, 228, 306, 309, 334, 343, 344, 504.
404; raids on, 308; repartimiento system in, See also Ah ki?is

307 Principal men, idolatry of, 312; of Acalan, 55,

Popoluca of Puebla, people, 92 56, 127, 131, 143, 156, 157, 175, 386, 390-91,
 INDEX 555

Principal men continued Putun, dialect, 17

392, 394, 395; of Auxaual, 78-79; of Chiuoha, Putun, people, name defined, 52
222, 224, 227, 312, 401; of Ixtok, 257; of Putunthan, language, 17, 52
PuUha and Tahbalam, 192-93, 206; of Tazul, Pyramid, at Cholula, 23; at Tonala, 94
257; of Tixchel, 177-78, 234-35, 238, 361,
404, 472, 479; of Tzuctok, 272; of Yucatan, C^ueb, Miguel, 263, 402
80; of Zapotitlan, 189, 190, 192, 200, 206, 207, Quechula, town, 39
209; slaves of, ^6, 143, 399. See also Chief- Queh, Luis, 400
tains Quelem, or Quelen, language, 19
Principales, see Principal men Quetzal, name meaning, 482
Probanzas, in Archivo General de Indias, 7; Quetzalcoatl, god, 56, 57; Cocom descended
of Bravo, 222, 225, 226, 419, 491, 495, 502; of from, 76; cult of, 23; legend of, 80
Godoy, 136-37; of grandson of Marina, Quiche, people, i; mythology of, 21; rulers of,
ii7n.; of Montejo, 7-8, 68, 128, 131-32, 142, 91
i43i 1591 412-171 425-27. 4<5i, 467. 468; of Quiche area, 9
Paxbolon and Maldonado, 8, ii2n., 116, 121, Quichoid, linguistic group, 18, 19
157, 162, 226, 238, 246, 253, 264, 291-98, 359- Quinines, see Idols
60, 504; purposes of, 291 Quijada, Diego de, 176, 177, 182
Procurador general of Yucatan, 253 Quintana Roo, territory, conditions in, 341;
Progreso, site, 409 mission in, 279, 342
Property, Indian, 171, 172, 288; unlawful sei- Quipaque, name, 63
zure of, 149 Quiuit, name, 224
Prophecies, effect of in Acalan, 120; historical Quiuit, Alonso, 479
allusions in, i, 162; katun, 308-09; proclaimed Quiuit, Anton, 383, 385, 386
by fugitives, 308-09, 344; year, or tun, 308 Quiuit, Fabian, 479
Protector of the Indians, see Palomino
Frotium copal, 59 -tVabbits, 30; hair of, commerce in, 29, 316
Provincial, see Franciscan Order, provincial of Raids, by Spaniards, 164, 273, 432; piratical, 12,
Provisor, of diocese of Yucatan, 207, 208, 210 302-03, 305, 307-08, 311, 351. See also Fugi-
Puberty 480
rite, tives; Interior, Indians of
Puc, Francisco, 307 Railroad, Campeche-Tenosique, 7, 220; Ferro-
Puctun, see Putun mex, 466. See also Ferrocarril
Puebla, State, 23 Rain, forest, 15, 49, 50, 67; god, 58; name mean-
Pueblo Cercado, town, 462, 463 ing, 487
Pueblos, see Towns Rainfall, in northern Yucatan, 326; in Tabasco,
Puerta, Juan de la, 155, 156, 393 15
Puerto Caballos, 129, 130, 132, 133, 134, 135, Ramada structure, used as church, 263, 286
420 Ramirez de Quiiaones, Pedro, expedition.
Puerto de Alabastro, 463 against Lacandon, 41, 173, 398, 407
Puerto de la Buena Esperanza, 493 Ramon, tree, town named for, 387
Puerto Deseado, 88, 89. See also Puerto Es- Rancherias, Cehache, 228-29; in Montaiias area,
condido 271, 272; of fugitives, 228
Puerto Escondido, 81, 88, 223, 303, 351, 384 Rank, hereditary, ij6-jj
Puhila, 218. See also PuUha, town Redfield, R., 353
Puila, see Puilha, town Reed, name meaning, 482
Puilha, town, chieftains of, 204, 206; encomi- Reels, tortoise-shell, 244
enda of, 196, 202, 203, 216, 217, 240; gov- Refugees, see Fugitives
ernor of, 206-07, 210; inhabitants of, 186, Regidores, Indian, 236; of Tixchel, 177, 201,
192-93, 195, 330; jurisdiction over, 221; 472; of Tzuctok, 284
moved to Xocola, 218, 219, 221, 240, 245, Regidores, Spanish, of Villa de Tabasco, 145
40on., 402-03; proposed transfer of to Zapo- Relacion de la Villa de Tabasco, 16, 166, 167
titlan, 210-11. See also Population Relaciones de Yucatan, 11, 16, 316, 433
Puma, 78n.; name meaning, 483, 485; town Relationship, affinal, 474; blood, 474; groups,
named for, 389n. 472, 473, 475, 478
Punishments, for failure to comply with re- Relief carvings, at Comalcalco, 20; at Cilvituk,
partimiento, 305-06; of idolatry, 158, 395-96; 72
threatened by fugitives, 306 Religion, pagan, 228, 229, 309; of Acalan, 58,
Punta Baradero, 397 75, 364; survival of, 173, 179-80, 185, 327, 334,
Purchase of office, 217
339; 341, 346-47
Pustunich, town, 347 Religious instruction, 230-31, 232, 253, 266; at
Putum, see Putun Tixchel, 175, 177, 178, 247; at Tzuctok, 273;
556 INDEX

Religious instruction continued Rio San Pedro Martir continued

at Zapotitlan, 191-94, 202, 205, 209, 330; in in- 27, 447, 464-65; Bravo's expeditions on, 44,
terior settlements, 252-53, 255, 260, 261, 271, 448, 455, 469, 49iff.; Cortes' bridge over,
281, 285, 287, 292, 294-95; in Tixchel area, 104-05, 118, 126, 408, 447-49, 456, 464, 469;
234, 404; obligation of encomenderos to pro- headwaters of, 46, 464; identified with Rio
vide, 154-55, 295; of Acalan, 158-59, 168-69, de Tachis, 448, 495, 499-502; junction with
327, 394-95; of Chiuoha people, 222, 224; Usumacinta, 26, 103-04, 406, 414, 416, 424,
payment for, 154-55, 202 427, 435, 436, 442, 446, 447, 499; location of
Remesal, Antonio de, 28, 41, 491 Acalan referred to, 6, 48, 406-10, 415-17,
Repartimiento, forced contract, 305-06, 307 449-61, 468, 502; possible connection with
Repartimiento, labor system, 150, 350 Candelaria, 50; rapids on, 52, 414-15, 421,
Reparthniento general, of encomiendas in Yu- 423, 424, 456, 499-500; tributaries of, 67, 410.
catan, 143, 144 See also Rio de Tachis
Reservoirs, artificial, 333 Rio San Pedro y San Pablo, 435, 436
Residence, groups, 473, 474; matrilocal, 317, 475 Rio Seco, 24, 27, 97. See also Rio de Dos Bocas
Residencias, of Cespedes de Oviedo, 8, 216; of Rio Tacotalpa, 24, 97
Montejo, 137, 138 Rio Tortuguero, 96, 131
Resin, pine, 58 Rio Tulija, 100
Rest houses, 60 Rio Usumacinta, see Usumacinta River
Retaining walls, brick, 20 Rio de Acalan, 15, 192, 197, 200, 208, 426; dif-
Revenues, Crown, 145, 152, 229 ferent from Rio San Pedro Martir, 415-17,
Revolt, in Acalan, 173-74, 185; in Higueras- 421, 423-24, 449, 455; identified with Can-
Honduras, 164; in Tabasco, 125-26; in Yu- delaria, 417-29, 468; Mactun on, 454-55;
catan, 137. See also Insurrection mouth of, 415, 456; rapids and falls on, 128,
Reyes, Caspar de los, 294 158, 168, 188, 210, 399, 411, 414, 415, 418,
Rhoeo discolor, 392 420-27, 455, 457, 460, 468; settlements on, 159,
Rib eras, defined, 61 425-28; trade via, 131, 412-13. See also Can-
Rings, tortoise-shell, 244 delaria River
Rio Cancuen, 60 Rio de Capotitan, see Rio de Zapotitlan
Rfo Chacamax, 438', 440 Rio de Chiapa, 97
Rio Chameleon, 320 Rio de Dos Bocas, 24, 31, 96, 97, 98. See also
Rio Chico, 57, loi, 437 Rio Seco
Rio Chilapa, 24, 98, 99 Rio de Lagartos, 251
Rio Chumpan, see Chumpan River Rio de Sacapulas, 42
Rio Coatzacoalcos, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96 Rio de Tabasco, see Grijalva River
Rio Conduacan, 98 Rio de Tachis, 39on.; Bravo's expeditions on,
Rio Copilco, see Copilco River 448, 455, 469, 491-502; falls and rapids on,
Rio Dulce, 4, 18, 58, 60, 320; Cortes at, 430, 431, 501; identified with Rio San Pedro Martir,
464; Kekchi settlements on, 28, 354; Nito on, 448, 495, 499-502; Ordufia's expedition on,
316,434 494. See also Rio San Pedro Martir
Rio Escondido, 410 Rio de Tanoche, see Usumacinta River
Rio Gonzalez, 24, 97 Rio de Tepetitan, 98, 437
Rio Grijalva, see Grijalva River Rio de Tonala, 90
Rio Hondo, 83, 84 Rio de Zapotitlan, 11, 16, 419-20, 468
Rio Mamantel, see Mamantel River Rio de la Pasion, 30, 60, 500
Rio A'lacuspana, 98, 99 Ceremonies
Rites, see
Rio Nuevo, 24 Roads, by sea at Chencan, 404; from: Acalan
Rio Nuevo Leon, 457 to area, 392; Champoton to Usuma-
Cehache
Rio Paixban, 50 cinta,230-31; Chiuoha, 403; Ciuatecpan to
Rio Palizada, 419, 423, 424, 435, 436, 447, 458 —
Acalan, 104, 106, 458 of Cortes, 126, 446,
Rio Poana, 63 465; paved, at Tixchel, 81, 170, 303; to:
Rio Polochic, 19 Chiapas and Tabasco, 498; Ciuatecpan, 102;
Rio San Antonio, 436 Itzamkanac, no; Iztapa, loi; Lake Peten, 69;
Rio San Pedro, 50, iii, 220, 420; Avila's route Tatahuitalpan, loi, 102; Usulaban, 404, 405;
referred to, 127, 465; location of: Acalan Zapotitlan, 192, 399
towns referred to, 55, 107, 108, 459-60, 469;
Rock, name meaning, 483, 486, 489
Chakam referred to, 55, 173, 185, 190, 428,
Rodriguez, Juan, 235, 236, 239, 285, 405
469; Itzamkanac referred to, 52, no, 173, 188,
427, 449, 456-57, 460-61, 462, 469
—
rapids on, Roldan, Juan, 285
Romadizos, see Catarrh
water connection with, 458
457;
Rio San Pedro Martir, crossed by Avila, 126- Roof, anthropomorphic supports of, 77; beam-
 INDEX 557

Roof continued Sahcabchen continued

and-mortar, 72, 75; slope of, at Comalcalco, 288; church at, 288; fugitives from, 47, 311;
2D fugitives in, 311, 343; government of, 309,
Rope, tribute of, 152 344; governor of, 289, 309, 345; location of,
Rosado A'losquera, Juan, 296 288, 403n.; manufactures of, 290; matricula
Rovirosa, N., 37, 63, 98, 438
J. of, 289; mission of San Antonio de, 288, 289,
Royal patronage, 237, 239 311; Montahas missions moved to, 278, 288-
Roys, R. L., 28, 366 90, 296, 297, 307, 340-42; "mosques" in, 310;
Rubber people, 22 289; raids on, 308, 309, 334-35,
officials of,
Rueda, Gabriel de, 237, 400 344-45; repartimiento system in, 307; report
Ruge, S., 407 from, 347; trade of, 289, 290; water supply
Ruins, at El Tigre, 427; in Candelaria area, 4, of, 288. See also Population
426, 427; of preconquest settlement at Tix- Salamanca, Spain, 138
chel, 303; near Ahualulco, 95 Salamanca de Acalan, 142-43, 465; founded by
Ruiz de Ontive'ros, Cristobal, 25.5-56, 258-70 Avila, 127, 141; disestablishment of, 128, 155.
Rulers, Acalan: 55-56, 85, 316, 321-22, 361, 362; See also Itzamkanac
autonomy of, 142, 171; authority of, 55, no; Salary, of governor of Yucatan, 153; of priest,
came from Cozumel, 77; conversion of, 156- 27, 154, 179, 202, 212, 215
58, 393-96; idol of, 56-57, 120, 395; jurisdic- Salazar, Gonzalo de, 288
tion of, 191, 200, 218; merchant-, 58, 247; Salazar, Leon de, 295
opposed move to Tixchel, 169, 171-72; slaves Salchiche, site, 453
of, 399; succession of, 79-82, 85, 86-87, i^^^ Salt, beds, 59, 320, 324; commerce in, 30, 59,
141, 169, 172, 175, 361, 362, 383-86; treatment 73, 244, 245, 316, 320; gift of, 189;production
of by Avila, 127-28, 141 —hereditary, 264, in Yucatan, 3; requisitioned in Acalan, in;
299; Mexican, 56, 77, 99, 144, 392; status of, tribute of, 151
176-77, 299; territorial, 5^, 177, 221, 236, 255; Salto Ahogado, site, 49, 51, 457; falls at, 421,
Yucatan, 55, 58, 75-77, 79-80, 87, 130, 177, 427; passed by Bravo, 428
322. See also individual names of Salto Grande, site, 4, 49, 51, 420, 424, 426
Ruling class, Acalan, ^6, 79, 322, 354; gods of, Salvajes, 225. See also Heathen Indians
56, 57; of Chontal towns, 318; resistance to San Andres, town on Lake Peten, 463
change, 171-72; Xiu, 322; Zoque, 39 San Anton, Cape, 88
Ruling families, native, exempt from tribute, San Anton, town, see Tonala
151; status of descendants of, 176-77 San Antonio, place name, 276
Ruling family of Acalan, head of, 122, 175, 187, San Buenaventura, Gabriel de, grammar by,
249, 291, 292; history of, 75, 78-82, 86-87, 364
291-92; services of, 291-92; succession of, San Carlos, Lagunas de, loi, 437
141, 298, 383 ff. San Carlos, town, dialect of, 19
San Cristobal, town, 126
oabancuy Estuary, 10, 81, 169, 170, 185, 188, San Cristobal Huimanguillo, see Huimanguillo
226, 235, 242, 302, 303, 327, 397, 417 San Enrique, ruined site at, 4, 49
Sacalum, town, abandonment of, 289, 340; al- San Fernando, town, 99; dialect of, 20
caldes of, 287; governor of, 287; insurrection San Francisco de Ocuapa, see Ocuapan
at, 342; location of, 279-80; mission of San San Gil de Buenaventura, town, 431
Francisco de, 251, 252, 279-80, 285, 289, 338, San Jose, B. H., ruins, 319
342; mission of La Concepcion de la San Jose, site on Usumacinta, 440
Pimienta moved to, 280; visita of Ichbalche, San Lucas Tzalac, town, 17
285-86; visita of Tzuctok, 280 San Miguel, site in Peten, 463
Sacbe, see Road, paved San Pedro, town, see Tenosique
Saci, see Valladolid San Pedro Martir River, see Rio San Pedro
Saclum, place name, 251. See also Sacalum Martir
Sacred Cenote, at Chichen Itza, 39, 319 San Rafael, site, 50
Sacrifices, 224; human, 46, 346; in Tabasco, 58; San Roman, town, 214
of traders and hunters, 89 Sanabria, Juan de, 405
Sacristans, fugitive, 251 Sanchez, Cristobal, 25; at Sahcabchen, 307,
Saddle, 244 309-10, 346; in inteirior settlements, 310-11,
Sahagun, Bernardino de, 22, 31, 35, 91 345-46, 5o6n.
Sahcabchen, area, Avila in, 467; Batab Yam in, Sanchez, Gonzalo, 142
309; fugitives from, 307-08; logwood in, 307 Sanchez, Isabel, 465
Sahcabchen, town, 279, 312; abandonment of, Sanchez Cerdan, Francisco, report on Mon-
297; Ah Kin Kuyoc in, 309, 344; arrows tahas area, 281, 505
requisitioned at, 346; building of houses at, Sanchez de Aguilar, Pedro, 239
558 INDEX

Sanchez Tinoco, Hernan, curate of Tixchel, Service, personal, household, 148-49, 261; in
239-40 Cozumel, 323; of Acalan, 131, 138, 143, 144,
Sandals, rubber, 22 148, 149-50; of encomienda Indians, 127, 148-
Sandoval, Gonzalo de, 92, 106 50, 154, 163; to cacique and natural lord,
Santa Ana, town on Usumacinta, 25, 16 176, i94n., 207, 231, 291; to priest, 179
Santa Ana, town on Gulf coast, 94, 95 Services, reward for, 291
Santa Cruz, site in Peten, 453 Settlements, see Towns
Santa Cruz Indians, 341 Sexual irregularities, 286, 339
Santa Elena, site, 449 Shattuck, G. C, 166
Santa Eulalia, town, 28 Shell, burned for lime, 37
Santa Maria de la Victoria, see Tabasco, Villa Sherds, see Pottery
de Shield, 192, 400; name meaning, 484; town
Santa Maria Maggiore, 286 named for, 389
Santa Maria, Juan de, Franciscan, activities in Shirts, gift of, 204
Montanas area, 260-75, 277-78, 279, 337-38; Shrines, near Tatahuitalpan, 102; on Cozumel,
comisario of Ichbalche, 270; founded Mon- 32; on Isla Carmen, 90
tafias missions, 252-53, 257; guardian of Silk, manufactured by Zoque, 38
Campeche convent, 260; report to Luna v Silver, 140; in Ulua, 391
Arellano, 273-75; visit to New Spain, 261 Singers, exempt from tribute, 470; fugitive,
Santa Maria, Juan de, Mercedarian, curate of 251.See also Cantores
Tixchel and Champoton, 178, 205, 237, 419; Sinsimato, town, decline of population at,
missionary to Zapotitlan, 193-96, 198-205 324
passtjn, 207, 212, 213, 215, 399, 419 Sioux, Dakota, phonetics of, 365
Santa Rita, B. H., ruins at, 72, 83, 84 Sisal, port, attacked by English, 255
Santa Rita, Peten, site, 463 Sisal hemp, 140
Santillan, Diego de, authorized Bravo expedi- Slaves, commerce in, 3, 29, 30, 58, 59, 143, 316;
tion, 222, 492, 494; Garcia v. Bravo litigation conversion of, 159; emancipation of, 159,
before, 213, 215, 216, 217-18, 240, 331; 171-72; fugitive, 55, 162, 172-73, 185, 186,
granted military commissions to Paxbolon, 191, 194, 329, 399, 418, 427-29, 469; in Acalan,
221-22; ordered count and tax of Zapotitlan, 56, 87; of cacique and principal men, 121,
and Tahbalam, 217
Puilha, 143, 399, 418, 428; sale of encomienda In-
Santo Tomas, town, 17 dians as, 149; tribute of, 143-44
Sapodilla, 334 Smallpox, 166, 167, 324, 326
Sapper, K., 9, 19, 45 Snails, gold, 30
Saquila, Laguna, 438 Sodomy, portrayed in idols, 9on.
Sarauz, Antonio de, 312-13 Soil, 170, 184, 333
Sarstoon River, 17, 60; commerce of, 58; Soldiers, iii, 261, 266, 268, 269, 271, 272, 273,
rapids on, 464 280, 281; of Avila, 125, 128, 131, 142; of
Savannas, around Cimatan, 32; at Tixchel, 81, Cortes, 93, in, 117, 119, 123, 139, 144,
170, 244; called cifnatans, 16; in Lacandon 161, 162, 165, 166; of Mirones, 342, 343; of
area, 40; in northeastern Yucatan, 324; in Monte) o, 123, 124, 134, 145; of Tamayo
Tabasco, 15; near Catazaja, loi; of Chunal, Pacheco, 173, 174, 328, 398
288, 403; on Candelaria River, 49 Soils, Francisco de, 230
Sayab, fugitive settlement, 306 Solosuchiapa, town, 39
Sayula, town, 92 Sopuerta, Hernando de, Franciscan Provincial,
Sayula River, 39 281
Scherzer, K., 485 Sorcerer, 79
Scholes, F. v., 7, 84, 366 Sosmula, site, 311-12, 352
Scissors, gift of, 89, 204, 224 Sotelo, Cristobal de, 142-43
Scribes, Spanish, 61, 62 Sotuta, province, 134, 322; Cocom rulers of,
Script, European, adapted to Maya and Chon- 57 .

tal languages, 364-65 Sound shifts, Chontal, 19, 387n.; Mexican, 62

Sculptures, at Comalcalco, 20, 21; at Mayapan South America, 134; cultures derived from,
and Tulum, 75; in Pipil area, Veracruz, and 321
Tabasco, 2; lacking ih Cehache area, 71; on South Sea, 430
Gulf coast, 354 Soyataco, town, houses in, 471
Secular clergy, see Clergy, secular Spain, 155, 169, 239, 297
Seler, E., 24, 57, 95, 443 Spaniards, 124, 126, 138, 155, 177, 190, 191, 227,
Senor natural, see Lord, natural 228, 239, 251, 255, 257, 261, 269, 304, 308, 355;
Serpent, feathered, 57 arrival in Acalan, 88fF., 390; abuse of In-
Serpent, name meaning, 483, 485 dians by, 149, 150, 163, 164, 260, 261-62, 266,
 INDEX 559

Spaniards continued Swamps continued

305-06, 307; conduct of, 156; disrupted na- Rio San Pedro Martir, 104, 105, 448, 457,
tive trade, 165; exactions by, 472; forbidden 459. See also Isla Pac
to interfere with Paxbolon's frontier activi- Sword, Spanish, 120
ties, 231; forbidden to visit forest settle- Swordfish, name meaning, 483
ments, 272-73; introduction of disease by,
166-67; raids on Cehache by, 273 1 abasco, province, 6, 7, 96, 139, 140, 142, 144,
Spanish colonial policy, 176-77 157, 180, 223, 259, 273, 432, 433, 434; Acalan
Spanish language, taught to Indians, 175, 251 in, 10; archaeology of, 20, 320; Chontal of,
Spanish law, 176 12, i5ff.; commerce of, 3, 4, 8, 12, 15, 28-
Sparrow, name meaning, 485 38, 82, 123, 131, 154, 164, 165, 167, 184, 235,
Spears, 400, 402 244, 246, 248, 290, 302, 316, 320, 321, 323,
Spinden, H. J., 83 324, 325, 411; cultural center in, 60; deriva-
Spindle, cups, 29; whorls, 319 tion of name, 36, 37n.; disease in, 166-67, 324;
Spoons, tortoise-shell, 244 duplication of place names in, 454; encomen-
Squash, 30, 170; seeds, tribute of, 59, 149, 152, deros of, 148-49, 150, 163, 217, 248, 492; ex-
393, 396 ploration oiF southeastern, 222, 49iflF.; geog-
Staffs, of office, 262 raphy of, 124; government of, 124-25, 129,
Stela, at Ichpaatun, 84; Old Empire, 72 130-31, 132, 133, 134, 136, 138, 146, 164-65,
Stephens, J. L., 45, 48, loi, 220, 437 222; Grijalva in, 89-90; languages of, 3, 9,
StoU, O., 9 23, 24-28, 31, 35, 36-37, 238; maps of, II, 16,
Stone, D. Z., 42, 410, 411, 435-37, 446, 447, 451 24, 446; Mexican mercenaries from, 35, 319;
Stone cities, 20; in south-central Yucatan, 333 pacification of, 32-33; political traditions in,
Stones, semiprecious, 316 351; population of, 166-67, 3 '8, 47 '> ports
Streets, laid out at Zapotitlan, 206; paved, 22 of, 320; reports of, 16, 24, 35; revolt in, 92,
Subdivisions, among Cehache people, 69; of 125-26, 136; rivers of, 15; road from Cam-
Cehache town, 70; of Itzamkanac, 32, 54, 55, peche towns of, 2, 23, 24-28, 31-38,
to, 498;
$6, 158, 390, 395, 429; of Taxakha, 116, 392n. water routes to, 41
81, 149;
See also Barrios Tabasco, town, see Potonchan
Substructures, at Ciuatecpan, 27; at Potonchan, Tabasco, Villa de, 90, 125, 126, 149, 492, 494;
37; at Xicalango, 36 Acalan tributes taken to, 145, 154; alcalde
Sucopo, town, Maya name of, 506 ordinario of, 145; curate of, 239; founding
Sucte, site east of Champoton, 69 of, 124; regidor of, 146; Relacion de la, 16,
Sucte, Acalan, 190, 399, 421, 425, 428
site in 24, 58, 166, 167, 436
Suffixes, Nahuatl, 482; numerical, 384 Tabasquillo, town, 38, 81-82; Acalan war with,
Sugasti, Ifiigo de, alcalde ordinario of Cam- 384
peche, 255; commander of expedition, 259, Tabay, god, 57, 395
262, 263, 264-65, 266, 267; grant of 600 tribu- Tablas, stream, 50
taries to, 259; pacification of interior settle- Tabolay, town, 389
ments, 255-56, 258-70, 273; services against Tacacau, town, 386n., 387
corsairs, 255 Ta§acto, division of Itzamkanac, 54, 158, 390,
Sugte, see Sucte, site in Acalan 395
Sun, god, 58; symbol of, 72; worshipped by Tacalha, milpas of, 223, 225, 227; location of,
Lacandon, 41 226
Surnames, in Tixchel matricula, 478; Spanish, Tachabte, or Tachabtte, see Chabte
47? Tachakam, see Chakam, town
Suspiro, 421, 422, 424, 426
site, 48, Tachalte, place name, 399, 429. See also Zapo-
Swamps, 223, 228, 291; around Cimatan, 32, 33; titlan, town
at Itzamkanac, 392, 461, 466; at Tixchel, 81, Tachimal, town, 389
170, 228, 303; at Ulumal, 288; Avila's jour- Tachimaytun, town, 64, 387
ney through, 467; behind Tonala, 94; be- Tachis, place name, 390, 393, 501. See also Rio
tween Iztapa and Ciuatecpan, 102; between de Tachis
Nacaukumil and Auatayn, 263; between Te- Tachumbay, place name, 399, 429. See also
petitan and Usumacinta River, 100, 437; Zapotitlan
crossed to reach Tepetitan, 99; east of Ciua- Tachunyupi, site, 222, 226, 400
tan, 98-99; in Acalan, 144, 188, 460; in Ce- Tacuba, town, 114; lord of, 93
hache area, 70, 71, 128, 232, 335; in north- Tacul, town, 152
eastern Yucatan, 324; in Usumacinta area, Tadzunun, place name, 158, 390, 395
441; nearChunhaz, 283, 284; on Arroyo Tahbalam, town, chieftains of, 204, 206; en-
on Candelaria River, 49; on Rio
Caribe, 50; comienda of, 196, 202, 203, 216, 217, 240;
Nuevo Leon, 457; on Rio de Tachis, 500; on governor of, 206-07, 210; inhabitants of,
560 INDEX

Tahbalam continued Taxaual, town, 78

186, 192-93, 195, 330, 331; jurisdiction over, Tayasal, town, 119, 258, 260, 507; Avendano
221, 331; moved to Xocola, 218, 219, 221, 240, at, 72; compared with Itzamkanac, 4, no;

245, 331, 40011.; proposed transfer of to Cortes at, 434, 448, 464; death of Delgado
Zapotitlan, 210-11. See also Population at, 342; Fuensalida's journey to, 83; location
Tahbudzil, town, name defined, 388 of, 497; multiple-family houses at, 471; route
Tahcab, town, discussion of name, 386 to, 392, 448, 451-53, 457, 460-64, 466; trade
Tahgacab, town, 143, 160, 388 of, 60. See also Ahyza; Tayza
Tahchakan, see Chakam Tayaxttelal, town, 388
Taho, see Tiho, town Tayga, see Taitza, province
Taitza, province, 507; expeditions to discover, Tayel, town, 82, 384, 387
492-502. See also Tayasal, town Taykbalam, town, 389
Tajul, see Tazul, town Tayza, 257, 258. See also Tayasal, town
Takunchelal, town, 387 Tazes, province, 130
Taltenango, town, 103, 438, 444 Tazul, town, 257-58, 507
Tamacaztepec, see Chilapa, town Teachers, native, 158, 168, 178, 192, 194, 204,
Tamactun, place name, 389, 398. See also 209, 327, 400
Mactun Teapa, town, 63, 126, 465; described, 38
Tamacuy, place name, 429 Teapa River, 39, 97
Tamalyaxun, name, 390 Tegacab, town, see Tahgacab
Tamatun, place name, 384. See also Tamactun Tecoh, town, 152
Tamayo Pacheco, Francisco, expedition to Tecpan, at Potonchan, 38; term defined, 32,
Acalan, 173-74, 181, 185, 362, 398, 427 443
Tamaztepeque, town, 442 Tecpan-Atitlan, Memorial of, i. See also
Tamcmes, see Carriers Cakchiquels, Annals of the
Tamucuy, place name, 399. See also Zapo- Tecpan Cimatan, place name, 32
titlan Tecoluta, town, 471; vocabulary compiled at,
Tamulte Popane, town, 24, 25 19
Tamultun, town, 64 Tecominoacan, town, 95
Tanaboo, place name, 399, 429. See also Zapo- Tekax, town, number of tributaries, 162
titlan Telchac, town, 152; number of tributaries, 162
Tangut, town, 64; name defined, 388 Temax, town, 387
Taniuitz, town, 64, 388 Temchay, town, 278, 306
Tanlum, town, 306, 310 Temilotzin, name, 115
Tanoche, town, 126, 127, 444, 446, 457, 464, Temples, Acalan, 119, 120; at Cilvituk, 72; at
465. See also Tenosique, town Ciuatan, 32; at Copilco-zacualco, 97; at
Tanochicti, town, 389 Itzamkanac, Potonchan, 38;
4, 52, 56, 160; at
Tanodzic, town, 65, 383, 390, 501. See also at Teutiercas, 55, 57, 160; at Tonala, 94; at
Tenosique, town Xicalango, 36; idols in, 309; Lacandon, 43;
Tanupolchicbul, name, 77 of Ciuatecpan, 27; of fugitives, 334; of the
Tapalapa, town, 39 Sun at Palenque, 41. See also Mosques
Tapia, Mexican cacique, 113 Ten, name meaning, 484
Tapib, town, name defined, 64, 387 Tena77iitl, defined, 81
Tapom, town, 389 Tenciz, town, no
Tapop, town, 389 Tenochtitlan, town, 105, 112, 113, 118; divi-
Taquiache, defined, 257 sions of, 32, 56; fall of, 92. See also Mexico
Taquichel Alagatlan, 223 City
Tasacion, see Tribute, schedules of Tenosique, town, 30, 138, 222; Acalan at, 10,
Taschan, site, 257, 507. See also Ixchan 51, 78-80, 82, 86; Avila at, 27, 126, 446, 457,
Taschan, town, 279. See also Texan 464; Bravo at, 248, 448, 492, 494, 496-97;
Tatahuitalpan, town, loi, 102, 424, 435, 438; Chontal derivation of name, 61, 63, 383, 443,
Cortes at, 440, 441; described, 440; distance 444; Cortes' route referred to, 390, 408,
from Iztapa to, 439; other locations referred 446-50; distance of Rio de Tachis from, 493,
to, 442 500; founding of San Pedro at, 136, 140;
Tatenam, site, 80, 81, 384 gorge above, 464, 501; language of, 25-26,
Tatok, town, 387 317; location of, 24-25, 435, 437, 438, 442,
Tattooing, 82 444-45, 446, 450; locations of other towns
Tatuani, name, 63 referred to, 27, 45, 104, 435, 438, 439, 442-
Tax, S., 53, 473, 475 43, 445, 449; railroad to, 220, 409. See also
Taxaman, town, encomienda of, 144 Tanoche, town; Tanodzic, town
Taxation, see Tribute Teoticaccac, town, see Tuxakha, town
 INDEX 561

Teotilac, town, 55, 64, 107, 112. See also Teu- Tipu, town, 280, 286, 406
tiercas, town Tiquintunpa, town, 230, 234, 245-46, 247, 277,
Teotitan-copilco, town, 96. See also Copilco, 333, 404; batab of, 314; Chontal element in,
town 236, 314; government of, 236; location of,
Teotihuacan, ruins, 354 218, 219, 222, 226, 236; mission at, 237, 239,
Tepecintila, Arroyo, 99 301; officials of, 236, 314; part of encomienda
Tepecintila, town, 24, 28, 99 of Tixchel, 303, 304; raids on, 308; Zapo-
Tepetitan, town, 24, 28; Cortes at, 99-100, 434, titlan moved to, 218-19, 314. See also Ma-

435, 437, 438; location of, 99, 437 mantel; Tiquintunpa-Mamantel; Tiquin-
Tepetitan River, see Rio de Tepetitan tunpa-Mazcab; Zapotitlan
Tepetitlan, ward of Mexico City, 100 Tiquintunpa-Mamantel, town, abandonment
Tepetl itzintlan, defined, 99 of, 311-12; fugitives from, 307, 313; part of
Tequiziztlan, town, 484 curacy of Popola, 311; repartimiento sys-
Terminos, place name, 384 tem in, 307. See also Tiquintunpa-Mazcab
Terminos, Bahia de, see Terminos, Laguna de Tiquintunpa-Mamantel-Popola, merger settle-
Terminos, Boca de, 80 ment, 311-12, 314
Terminos, Laguna de, Grijalva at, 88, 90; on Tiquintunpa-Mazcab, town, merger settle-
route to Acalan, 11, 48, 102, 188, 192, 208, ment, 300. See also Mamantel; Tiquintunpa-
411-16, 418-20, 422, 455, 456, 458, 468; other Mamantel
locations referred to, 27-28, 169, 226, 227, Tiradero, site, 415, 421, 423, 455, 495, 499
327, 331, 437, 447; piratical base at, 302; Tixbahumilhaa, town, 398
passes leading to, 80-81, 88, 90, 384; region Tixbaumilha, see Tixbahumilhaa, town
of, 2, 3, 6-7, 10, 31, 51, 219, 316, 335, 406,
Tixcacal, town, 465
407, 408, 410; streams flowing into, 11, 48, Tixcem, site, 404
51, 414-16, 419-20, 435-36, 461, 468
Tixchalche, town, 257, 504, 506
Terminos, Puerto de, 90
Tixchel, area, 221-50 and passim; decline of,
Territorial rulers, see Rulers
Tetlepanquetzal, lord Tacuba, 93, 113-15, 118 12, 13, 299-315
Teutiercas, town, 64; Cortes at, 55, 57, 127, Tixchel, town, 13, 168-84, ^^9i ^^^^ ^^3' ^^5'
226, 228, 229, 230, 234, 236-48, 255, 258, 262,
448, 459-60; location of, 408, 469; name dis-
cussed, 429; temples at, 55, 57, 160. See also 293, 383; Acalan moved to, 6, 8, 9, lo-ii,

Tuxakha, town i3< 5I1 i55> 168-75, 214. 215, 239,

159^ 162,

Teutitan, town on Usumacinta River, 103, 438, 292, 299, 327-28, 396-98; alcaldes of, 177,
236, 383, 385; alguaciles of, 178; assessment
444
Teutitlan Copilco, see Copilco, town of, 180-84, 198) 202, 203, 215; barrios of,
Texan, town, 257, 507n.; location of, 279; mis- 178; cabildo of, 177, 293; chieftains of, 242,
sion at, 279; visita of Ichbalche, 280, 289. 244, 245; church of, 179, 195, 202, 209, 210,
See also Ixchan; Taschan 212, 215, 238; clerk of, 67, 178, 383; cor-

Texixtepec, town, 92 sairs at, 303; destruction and abandonment

Textiles, in Veracruz area, 90. See also Cloth of, 12, 243, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 311, 312,
Tezcoco, Lake, 100 351-52; economic conditions in, 170-73, 174,
Tezcoco, town, 99, 115; lord of, 5, 93 184, 301-02, 327-29; encomienda of, 303-05,
Thomas, Cyrus, 408 347-52; Franciscan convent at, 237-38, 270;
Thompson, J. E. S., 17, 23, 65, 84, 91, 92, 319,
fugitives settled at, 232; government of, 11,

320, 354, 410; linguistic observations, 22; 174-78, 179, 291, 299, 329, 354-55; language
study of Lacandon, 41, 45 of, 17, 192, 200; later history of, 299-303,

T'hoo, see Merida 351; location of, 245, 303; Maya settlers in,
Thub, town, 306, 310, 346 236; mayordomos of, 178; mission at, 12,

Tiac, town, 70, 73, 462, 463 174,178-80, 189-90, 193, 195, 202, 205, 210,
Tibacab, town, 257, 505 215, 222, 225, 234, 235, 237-40, 247, 257, 290,
Tigactam, town, 81 300-01, 303; named for goddess, 57; notary
Tichel, see Tixchel of, 293; people of moved to Usulaban, 240,
Tichel Hacienda, description of, 170, 303; 243, 303, 304, 313, 351; preconquest settle-
mounds at, 81 ment at, 51, 170, 303, 384; principal men of,

Tierra Blanca, rancho, 438 177-78, 234-35, 238; proposed removal of to

Tierra Firme, 430 Usulaban, 234-36, 335-36; regidores of, 177,
Tiho, town, see Merida 201, 383; site of, 51, 169-71, 303, 327-28;
Tila, town, 39, 136
testimony of Indians See also Agui-
of, 294.

Tillandsia brachycaiilos, town named for, 506 lar, Mateo de; Apostates; Commerce; Fugi-

Timber, sent from Zapotitlan to Tixchel, 207 tives; Garcia, Anton; Paxbolon; Population
Tinoco, Rodrigo, 260, 262-64 Tixkan^ubim, town, derivation of name, 387
562 INDEX

Tixkokob, town, mission at, 239, 405; num- Traders, see Merchants
ber of tributaries, 162 Traditions, historical, 354; in Tabasco, 21, 318;
Tixmalindzunum, town, 388 Maya, 74, 76, 319; of death of Cuauhtemoc,
Tizatepelt, town, 143; Cortes at, 107, 127, 448, 112; oral, in Acalan, 363
459; location of, 459, 469; name discussed, Traditions, political, in Tabasco, 351
429, 459; population of, 160. See also Cac- Trails, between Campeche and Tixchel, 229;
chute between Yucatan and the Usumacinta, 220;
Tixapetlan, see Tizatepelt, town coastal, 234; to interior, 245-46; to Zapo-
Tizimin, town, 228 titlan, used by corsairs, 307-08
188;
Tlacatlu, name, 113 Transportation, by water, 29. See also Ca-
Tlatelolco, part of A-Iexico City, 100 noes; Carriers; Pack animals
Tlotzin, name, 487 Travelers, 170, 179, 180, 231
To, Diego, 507 Treasury, royal, 295; officials of, 213, 215, 249,
Tobacco pipe, name meaning, 482 296
Tok, defined, 387 Tres Zapotes, ruins, 92
ToUan, see Tula, ruins Tributaries, definition of, 151, 240-41; half-,
Toltec, art, 22; capital, 2, 22
241; of Acalan, 147, 152-53, 161, 183, 240,
Tomb, place named for, 387
328; of Yucatan, 151-52, 162, 180, 229, 324-
Tonala, Tab., town, 94, 95, 96
26; of Chichen Itza, 319; of Pocboc, 147; of
Tools, flint, 30; metal, 346 Teapa, 63; of Tixchel, 53, 64, 180-84, 198,
Topaz, 29, 39, 43
241, 304, 328, 47off.; of Usulaban, 304; of
Topiltepec, town, 41, 173 Zapotitlan (former Acalan), 196, 201, 202,
Toquegua, people, 18
213, 215; payment by, 240, 241-42, 289, 350;
Toral, Alonso, i87n. promised to Maldonado and associates, 259,
Toral, Francisco de, first resident bishop of
295, 296; royal, 163, 223, 231, 240, 259, 266,
Yucatan, 156; role of in Zapotitlan episode,
287, 296, 297, 304, 340
187, 188, 192, 1^3, 195, 204, 205, 330, 399, Tribute, 10, 217, 228, 231, 233, 240, 261, 295,
419; secularization of missions, 178, 237
305. 334i 338, 34o> 347-48; collection of,
Torches, 58
177, 217, 304; excessive demands for, 148-
Toro, Pedro de, 296, 297, 359
50, 163, 266; exemption from, 33, 151, 161,
Torquemada, Juan de, 2, 34, 114, 117, 118
169, 176, 180, 182, 183, 194, 196, 209, 217,
Torres, Alonso de, 142
223, 231, 240, 255, 259, 266, 267, 269, 272,
Tortillas, used in improvised mass service, 346
287, 291, 295, 296, 328, 333, 336, 337, 470; of
Tortoise shell, exported, 29; industry at Tix-
Acalan: delivery of, 131, 138, 145, 154, 167;
chel, 244, 302, 329, 336
kinds of, 143-44, 149, 152, 163, 180; men-
Tortuguero, ruins, 20
tioned, 59, 128, 131, 138, 139, 143-44, '45' '4^'
Torture, of Cehache, 466; of Mexicalcingo,
149-50, 152-54, 161, 163, 167, 180, 181, 201,
"5 213' 215, 347, 348, 393, 396, 402, 417; sched-
Town council, of Tzuctok, 272. See also Ca-
ules of, 148, 149, 152-53, 161, 180, 181, 213,
bildo
Towns, 170; Acalan, 4, 7, 63, 64, 107, 131, 143,
215, 348, 350; value of, 139, 152-53 of —
Calkini, 297; of Cozumel, 323; of Mexico,
149, 159-62, 168, 227, 361-62, 363, 386-89,
148, 153, 350; of Tabasco, 148-49, 471; of
394, 396, 414, 426; Aztec-dominated, 90;
Tixchel: kinds of, 180-81, 183, 241; sched-
autonomous, 227; Cehache, 68-70, 229, 272,
ules of, 180-84, 198, 201, 202, 203, 213, 214,
273, 274, 278-79, 462, 463, 467-69, 504; gov-
215, 241-42, 243, 304, 347, 348, 350, 403;
ernment of, 35, 39, 43, 146, 176-78, 228, 236,
396; in Bacalar parish, 85; in Mamantel area,
value of, 241-42, 304, 348-49, 350 of Yuca- —
tan: kinds of, 150-51, 152, 180, 240, 242;
218-19; in Sahcabchen-Popola area, 307-08,
mentioned, 142, 144, 149, 289; schedules of,
309, 311-15; in Tabasco, 16, 20-21, 23, 24-
146, 149, 150-53, 180, 181, 240, 341, 347, 348;
28, 30, 31-38, 53, 60, 61, 81, 95-104, 131, 136,
149, 318; in Yucatan, 77, 151, 152, 160, 162,
value of, 151, 152, 153, 350 of Zapotitlan, —
217; persons subject to, 241; schedules of,
177, 228, 229, 253, 261, 304, 320, 321; Lacan-
150-53, 240-42, 289, 304, 347, 348; slaves as,
don, 41-46, 173; location of Chontal, 227;
143-44, 148; to cacique, 190, 194, 260, 330;
Locen, 46; of Tixchel area, 234-37, 241, 328-
to rulers, 80, 86, 319, 385
33, 336; on Rio de Tachis, 493, 495-96; Popo-
Trincheras, ruins, 84
luca, 91-92, 95-97; Zoque, 32, 38-39, 318.
Trujillo, 129, 130, 135
See also individual names of; Crown towns;
Interior settlements; Montanas missions Tuberculosis, 166
Tozzer, A. M., 57, 481; study of Lacandon, Tuholham, town, 64, 389
41. 47 Tula, ruins, 2; compared with Chichen Itza,
Trade, see Commerce 22; religious architecture of, 24
 INDEX 563

Tulane-Carnegie archaeological map, 84, 92, Tzuctok —continued

440, 446 337, 343; moved to Chunhaz, 282-85, 338;
Tulapan, see Tula, ruins moved to Sahcabchen, 288-89, 307, 340;
TuUan, see Tula, ruins principal men of, 272, 273, 505; regidores of,
Tulum, ruins, archaeology of, 75, 77; con- 284; reoccupation of site of, 307; warriors
temporary with Mayapan, 78; fresco at, 319; of, 306. See also Ixtok
friezes at, 72 Tzutuhil, people, rulers of, 91
Tumbala, town, Choi in, 39
Tumulte, see Multe, town Uatunhobonnixtte, town, 387
Tun, defined, 387, 454 Uaxactun, ruined site, 71
Tun, name, 486 Uaymil, district, dialect of, 321
Tun prophecies, see Prophecies UaymU-Chetumal. cacicazgo, 129, 144; con-
Tupilco, Laguna, 3, 18, 60, 96, 316, 317 quest of, 164
Turkeys, at Tixchel, 184, 243; name meaning, Uc, Francisco, 505
487; price of, 241; requisitioned by Cortes, Uc, Pedro, 495, 500
391; tribute of, 150, 152, 181, 240, 241, 243, Ucelo, name, 62
393, 396. See also Fowl; Hens Ueuentzin, defined, 63
Turquoise, 29; at Chichen Itza, 319 Uiba than, defined, 20
Turtles, gold, 30; fishing for, 244 Ukum, defined, 68
Tusk, name meaning, 485 Ulapa, town, 96, 97
Tutul, town, 398 Ulua, land of, 391
Tutul Xiu, province, 322 Ulua River, 15, 18, 60, 123, 129, 165; com-
Tutulxiu, name of Xiu rulers, 80. See also merce on, 3, 34, 58, 316-17; extension of
Xiu Montejo's claims to, 7, 96, 124, 131-36, 413;
Tutzin, Francisco, 386 linguistic frontier, 3, 17, 132; region of, 129-
Tutzin, Luis, 362, 383, 385, 479 30
Tuxakha, town, Cortes at, 55, 107-11, 114, 115, Ulum, defined, 6^
390; Cuauhtemoc executed at, 112, 388, 392; Ulumal, site, 287-88
location of, 55, 460, 469; name discussed, 64, Ulun, name, 6$
429, 445, 459; subdivisions of, 116, 392n. See Usulaban, site, 234, 335, 403, 404; location of,
also Teutiercas 235; proposed settlement at, 234-36, 243,
Tuxpeiia, site, 57 404-05
Tuxtepec, town, 91 Usulaban, town, 235-36, 243, 244, 299; aban-
Tuxtla Sierra, 92 donment of, 315; alcaldes of, 236; Chontal
Tuyu, ah cuchcab, name, 402 in, 237, 303, 313;church at, 235-36; corsair
Tuyu, Juan, 505 attacks on, 307-08; encomienda of, 303, 304,
Tuzantepetl, town, 92 352; fugitives from, 307, 311; government
Tzakum-May, Pedro, 234, 236, 243, 403, 404 of, 236; governor of, 313; matricula of, 313,
Tzama, see Zama, town 314; Maya settlers at, 12, 236, 237, 240, 302,
Tzek, name, 257. See also Zeque 313, 335-36; mission at, 235-36, 239, 300,
Tzek, Pedro, 505 301, 303, 311, 312, 313; officials of, 313; re-
Tzeltal, language, 15, 18, 19, 6§, 481; manu- partimiento system in, 307; Tixchel people
script in, 2 moved to, 12, 240, 243, 303,
304, 313, 349,
Tzeltal, people, 40 351; visited by fugitives, 312
Tzental, lanoruas;e, see Tzeltal Usulaban area, 234, 242-43, 249, 301, 302, 335,
Tzitzimime, demons, 86 404
Tzitzimit, Dzul leader, 86, 385 , Usulutan, town, 62
Tzitzimitl, name of military device, 86 Usumacinta, town. Bravo obtained canoes
Tzotzil, language, 15, 18, 19 from, 492, 499; Cortes' expedition at, 102,
Tzotzil, people, 21 435; language of, 25; location of, 24, 27, 435,
Tzuc, Gonzalo, 403 436, 438, 442-45; Mexican name, 63
Tzuctok, town, alcaldes of, 287; batab of, Usumacinta area, 273, 303
307, 309, 344; caciques of, 272; chieftains of, Usumacinta River, 3, 6, 30, 40, 45, 61, 220,
273, 281, 283, 284, 338; church at, 272; coun- 230, 316, 495; Avila at, 126-27, 446, 464, 465;
cil of, 272; destruction of, 310-11, 345-46; colored stones in, 29; Cortes at, 100-04, 39<''
fugitive settlement, 279, 306, 307-11, 343-47; 410, 434-50, 469; Dzul on, 82, 86; extent of
governor of, 272, 284, 287, 505n.; Holail Acalan rule on, 384; junction with Rio San
settled by Indians
of, 289; inhabitants of, Pedro Martir, 414, 435, 437, 439, 442, 446,
272, location of, 69, 272, 278-79, 307,
281; 447, 448, 495, 499, 501; Lacandon fled to,
505, 506; mission of San Jeronimo de, 251, 44; language spoken on, 17, 317, 353; loca-
252. 257. 272-73, 279-82, 285-86, 287, 289, tion of Acalan referred to, 406-10, 414-15,
564 INDEX

Usumacinta 'River—continued Villalobos Cardenas, Francisco de, resettle-

455-56, 458, 460; Montejo the Younger at, ment of Montahas missions, 288-89
136; Morales expedition at, 42; navigation VUlalon, Antonio de, definitor, 267; dispute
on, 30, 80, 423-24; place names on, 63; rapids with Maldonado, 268-69
on, 80, 414-15; route to Itza territory on, Villalpando, Luis de, 151, 155, 156, 393
500; towns on, 24-28, 39, 78, 347, 427, 434- Villareal y Alosa, Juan de, 47
48, 469, 491, 492, 494, 499, 501; tributaries of, Villa-Seiiory Sanchez, J. A. de, 95
42, 419, 435-36, 440, 445-46, 447, 457 Visitador, of Yucatan, see Garcia de Palacio;
Usumacinta valley, 39; Acalan in, 10, 51, 78- Lopez Medel
82, 86, 384 Vozmediano, Antonio de, 232
Uva del mar, tree, 387
Uxkakaltok, site, 335, 404 Wages, of Indians, 153, 154, 307, 350
Uxmal, ruins, 74 Wagner, H. R., no, 118
Uxpeten, town, 387 Walled city, 84, 325
Uyajal, province, 18 War chief, 82
Uzulhaban, see Usulaban, town War of the Castes, 342, 345, 347
Warehouses, at Nito, in; in Chontalpa, 31;
Vaillant, G. C, 23 in Honduras, 3; on Ulua River, 34
Valdes, Buenaventura, 285 Warriors, Itza, 257; of Chiuoha, 222; of fugi-
Valladolid, town, 78, 142, 214, 228, 288; de- tive settlements, 306, 343; of Tixchel, 221,
cline of population at, 326; lawsuit at, 77; 222; on Aztec frontier, 91; title meaning,
Maya name of, 74; mission center, 155 483
Vallecillo, Juan de, 124 Wars, 251, 276, 496; effect on trade, 165; in-
Vargas iMachuca, Juan de, 296-97 ternal, 326; of Acalan, 86, 384, 385; of
Vaults, brick, 20; in northern Yucatan, 75 Lacandon, 40
Vazquez de Mercado, Diego, 239, 246, 266, Water holes, 333. See also Aguadas
280-81, 338, 342 Water lily,388
Vazquez Tirado, Juan, 206, 208, 209, 210, 211, Water supply, at Auatayn and Chacuitzil, 276;
212, 213, 214, 216 at Chunhaz, 284; at Sahcabchen, 288; of
Vela, Juan, 174, 214, 398 south-central Yucatan, 333
Velasco, Diego Fernandez de, see Fernandez Wauchope, R., 53, 71, 72
de Velasco Wax, see Beeswax
Velasco, Francisca de, 146, 147, 396 Weapons, 30, 191-92
Velasquez, Diego, 88, 89 Weaving, Ix Chel patroness of, 57
Velasquez, Juan, 113 Wells, 288, 326
Velazquez de Gijon, Francisco, 222, 224 West Indies, 129
Veneer, stone, 75 Whipping, 173, 283
Venus, planet, 57 Widowers, exempt from tribute, 180, 182, 183,
Vera, Miguel de, 158, 168, 396 470; half -tributaries, 241, 470
Vera Ordofiez de Villaquiran, Diego de, 45 Widows, exempt from tribute, 180, 183, 470;
Veracruz area, 22, 23; art of, 354; Cortes in, half-tributaries, 241, 470
91; fine orange pottery from, 22, 319; gold Wind, god, 58; name meaning, 488
from, 29; Huastec region of, 319; Mixe of, Witch, 78
38; Nahuatl spoken in, 95; phallic cult in, Wives, abandoned by fugitives, 228, 259
24; reached by Grijalva, 90; trade routes Wizard, 485
of, 15 Women, accompanying migrations, 23; car
Verapaz, province, Choi area in, 17; com- ried off by fugitives, 229, 306, 308, 312
munications with, 259; depredations of La- Wood, for building, 286; for canoes, 192
candon in, 173; lands bordering on, 251, 262, Wood carving, skill of Paxbolon, 175
407, 491; language of, 18 . Wristlets, 20
Verdugo, Antonio, 189-90, 330
Vestments, 268, 401, 403 yCagual, defined, 78
Vetancurt, Agustin de, 112
Xalkukun, see Xotkukun, Arroyo
Xamanha, 123
Vicar, of Tixchel, 193, 400, 405
Xan, town, 257. See also Ixchan
Vico, Domingo de, 407
Xaualli, defined, 78
Villages, see Towns Xelha, town, 123
Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, Juan de, 6, 41, 43, Xicalan, town, 81, 384. See also Xicalango,
50, 69, 70, 279, 407 town
Villahermosa, town, 97; rainfall at, 15; vocab- Xicalango, Lagunas de, see Terminos, La-
ulary compiled at, 19 guna de
 INDEX 565

Xicalango, lighthouse, 28 Yucatan continued

Xicalango, town, attacked Tixchel, 81; Chon- 222, 223, 225, 229, 238-39, 248, 251, 252, 253,
tal name for, 81; commerce of, 3, 4, 8, 27, 259, 261, 275, 290, 292, 296, 301, 302, 303,
29, 30, 33-36, 41, 58, 67, 82, 106, 164, 165, 304, 308, 316, 319, 321, 333, 343, 348, 355,
317, 320; Cortes' ships at, 102; described, 408, 446, 469, 471, 472, 473, 476, 478, 481;
36; encomienda of, 129; government of, 35- discovery of, 88; dupUcation of place names
36; location of, 27-28, 434; map made by in, 454; east coast of, 90, in, 251; Hispano-
people of, 30, 430-31, 433-34; mercenaries Indian civilization in, 355; lands bordering
from, 319; Mexican element in, 27, 34-36, on, 491, 496; pre-Spanish history of, 4, 75-
60, 318; multiple-family houses in, 471; Na- 77; south-central portion of, 333-34; ter-
huatl spoken at, 31, 35-36, 67; pilgrims from, ritorjo de la sierra in, 100; unpacified regions

77, 321; Potonchan subject to, 38; reduc- of, 228, 229, 231, 245, 246, 248, 251-90 passim,
tion of, 126; water route to, 131, 411-131 292, 305-15, 333-47. See also special topics
415-16,425,455,468 Yxnaut, Maria, 470
Xicolli, see Xicul
Xicul, defined, 344; worn by Lacandon, 43 ^acapa, town, 18
Ximenez, Francisco, 18, 28, 42, 44, 407 Zalu, see Zulu, name
Xiu, family, 22, 56, 74, 76, 79-80, 86, 130, 322 Zama, town, ruins at, 75
Xiu, province, 228, 245, 311, 455n. Zapebobon, tovsm, 257, 505
Xiu, Francisco Montejo, 177 Zapote, trees, 140; town named for, 399
Xiu, Juan, 335 Zapotec, people, Mixe inferior to, 38
Xiu Chronicle, 355 Zapotitlan, town, 185-220, 222, 226, 230, 236,
Xlabpak, ruins, 74 245, 291, 333, 40on., 402, 404, 419, 424, 502;
Xocelhaa, defined, 400 baptismal records of, 64, 192, 194-96, 199,
Xocola, town, 219, 221, 222, 226, 230, 236, 245, 200, 209, 212, 480; controversy over en-
300, 314, 332-33; fugitives settled at, 218, comienda of, 8, 196-218, 240, 241, 331; loca-

400, 403; fugitives sought by people of, 402- tion of, II, 185, 195, 197, 200, 240, 419, 427-
03; inhabitants of, 236-37; part of enco- 29; Maya settlers in, 236; mission at, 194, 204,

mienda of Acalan-Tixchel, 241, 352; pro- 205, 206, 212, 215, 237, 239, 245; name of,

posed removal of to Usulaban, 234-36; 399, 429; pacification of, 13, 186-93, 221,
visita of Campeche, 237; visita of Tixchel, 237, 245, 330,399-400, 417, 427; people of:
See also Mazcab
239. II, 185-86, 195, 196-202, 214-15, 227,
194,
Xoquelha, see Xocola, town 329-30, 399, 428, 429; moved to Tiquin-
Xotkukun, Arroyo, 277 tunpa, 218-19, 245, 314; proposed transfer
Xuncahuitl, see Yasuncabil of to Tixchel, 202, 205-07, 331 proposed re- —
moval of to Usulaban, 234-36; route to,
Yam, Juan, 307, 309-11, 344 420-24, 425, 457, 468. See also Tiquintunpa
Yasuncabil, town, 68, 70, 453, 463, 464 Zavala, S., 349, 350
Yaxakumche, town, 335 Zeque, Pedro, chieftain of Nacaukumil, 257;
Yaxchilan, ruins, 80 elected governor, 262. See also Tzek
Yaxdzan, place name, 116, 392 Zima, name, 486
Yaxkukul, town, 152 Zinacantan, town, 39, 492
Yellow fever, 12, 304, 326, 343, 352 Zip, defined, 387
Ykchaua, god, 395
Zoque area, 92, 96, 126; products of, 38-39
Yobain, town, 144, 465
Zoque, language, 28
Yocotan, dialect, 17, 19
Yscuncabil, town, 275. See also Nacaukumil Zoque, people, 28, 92; cloth made by, 38,

Yucatan, 3, 15, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 36, 39, 319; commerce of, 30-31, 38-39; towns
of, 31. 32, 38, 39. 63, 318
41, 59, 82, 123-41, 142, 143, 144, 145, 148, 149,
150-53, 163, 168, 169, 170, 171, 178, 180, 193, Zulu, name, 62
195, 197, 202, 204, 207, 212, 219, 220, 221, Zurita, Alonso de, 474
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