The Mayan Codex

79

The Chilan bowed first towards his master, the Halach Uinich, and then towards his audience. He raised the codex briefly to his forehead, and then kissed it. Carefully, even tenderly, he opened the manuscript and began to read.

‘I, Akbal Coatl – which the Spaniards would translate as “night serpent” – Chilan and ak k’u hun – which is priest and chief guardian of the sacred books – write this on the evening of the twelfth day of July in the year of our Lord 1562, which is the worst day the world has ever known. I write this to bear witness against Friar Diego de Landa, because such must be done. I write this in the last remaining of the Maya holy books, using the backs of the holy leaves, and for this blasphemy may Kukulcan, who is the true God, forgive me.

‘For three months now Friar de Landa has travelled throughout our country, a few days behind his soldiers, enforcing the orders of the Franciscan monks. As Provincial of the Franciscan order in the Yucatan, Friar de Landa has the full backing of the Judge of the High Court of Guatemala and the Confines, Tomas Lopez. It must be added here that Judge Lopez is also a friar of the Franciscan order, and that Judge Lopez has directed, in this capacity, that any and all Maya towns still remaining outside the Franciscan remit be turned over instantly into Franciscan hands.

‘In addition, Judge Lopez has given Friar de Landa full Imperial authority, using the Papal Bull exponi nobis as his justification, in respect of what is called “the regimentation of daily and social life”. Judge Lopez also stipulates that any violations of the Friar’s rights in this matter, and all infringements by the native Indians in misguided support of their previous rights, “be punished as by the Inquisition”. Here is the full text of the Ordinances of the Royal Audience of the Confines, promulgated by Judge Lopez in 1552:

“Coming from the Royal Audiencia in Guatemala, at the request of the Friars in Yucatan, and decreed for the conduct and treatment of the Indians.

In exercise of the power of our Emperor, vested in me, I command you, the caciques, chief men and people, as follows:

No cacique shall be absent from his town, save for the temporal or spiritual good, or as called by the padres, for over 50 days, on pain of loss of office.

The Indians must not live off in the forests, but come into the towns together, in good strong houses, under pain of whipping or prison.

To avoid difficulties in doctrination, no Indian shall change from one town to another without permission of the local Spanish authorities.

Since many of the chiefs and older men, in the respect they hold by their ancient descent, call the people into secret meetings to teach their old rites and draw them from the Christian doctrine, in their weakness of understanding, all such actions and meetings are prohibited.

The caciques shall not hold gatherings, nor go about at night, after the bells are sounded for the souls in purgatory.

Every cacique or chief of a town shall carry in mind the list of all the people. Every man of the common people absenting himself from his town for over 30 or 40 days, save in public service or with the padres, even with permission from his cacique, shall be punished by 100 blows and 100 days in prison.

Every town, within two years, must have a good church, and one only, to which all may come. Nor may any cacique build any other church than the one, under pain of 100 blows.

Every town shall have schools where the Indians shall be taught the necessity of baptism, without which no one can enjoy God. The schools shall be built by the town, and the caciques shall compel them thereto, in the form and manner required by the padres, and at places designated by them.

On the days for doctrination, one shall go through the towns, bearing a cross and cloth, to call all people together, where all shall gather in order, those of each town by themselves.

If any one, after having heard the holy word and left his false doctrines, shall return to these, he shall be imprisoned to await the due punishment to be ordered by the Royal Audiencia.

No Indian shall undertake by himself to preach the holy word save by express license of the religious fathers.

No baptized person shall possess idols, sacrifice any animals, draw blood by piercing their ears or noses, nor perform any rite, nor burn incense thereto, or fast in worship of their false idols.

No Indian baptized, shall return to be baptized a second time.

Many Indians having been told that their children will die if baptized, I command that all children be brought for baptism.

Matrimony being in great respect among the Indians, I ordain that no one shall have more than one wife, and that an adulterer shall receive 100 blows, and other punishments if he does not amend.

No cacique shall have to do with a female slave.

No one shall be so daring as to marry secretly.

No one shall marry twice, on penalty of branding with a hot iron in a figure 4 on the forehead.

No purchase gifts shall be made to the woman’s parents, nor shall the youth be required by them, as by their old customs, to remain and serve in their father-in-law’s house for two or three years.

No one shall give a heathen name to his children.

All people must bend the knee before the sacrament, recite the prayers fixed when the Ave is rung, and reverence the cross and images.

Every one, man or woman, must go to the church both morning and evening, and say an Ave and Paternoster with all reverence.

At meals all shall say grace before and after, and on retiring at night cross themselves and recite the prayers the fathers will teach them.

No one shall cast grains of corn for divination, nor tell dreams, nor wear any marks or ornaments of their heathendom, nor tattoo themselves.

So lacking in charity and care even for their wives or husbands, or family, are the Indians, that I command that all shall care for them when sick, etc.

Where much sickness comes to a town, it shall be reported, and the fathers shall have those at hand for instruction in holy dying.

All inheritances shall be properly cared for.

There shall be no holding in slavery, and all so held shall be set free. But allow to the caciques, principal men or other powerful Indians to hire people for their service, all of whom shall be reported to the padres and taken to them for doctrination.

The custom of banquets to large numbers is so common, and so destructive of Christianity, that I order that no general banquets be given by any one save at marriages or like fiestas, but then no more than a dozen people may be invited.

No dances shall be held except in daytime.

God gave us time for work, and time for his service; whereby I order the keeping of all church fiestas, as and in the manner fixed by the religious fathers.

All preparation of their ancient drinks is prohibited, and the caciques, principal men, and even the encomenderos are ordered within two months to gather and burn all utensils or cups used therein, on penalty of 20 pesos fine if they allow more to be made.

Towns must be in the Spanish fashion, have guesthouses, one for Spaniards and another for Indians. Also marketplaces to avoid all travelling about to sell or buy. Nor shall any merchant, Indian, Mexican, mestizo or negro, be lodged in any private house.

Proper weights and measures shall be provided within two months, on penalty of 20 pesos gold.

I command the raising of cattle to be introduced among the Indians. The chief tribute of the country being cotton mantles, I order that teaching for this be given.

I order that all women wear long skirts and over them their huipiles; and that all men wear shirts and go shod, at least with sandals.

Since the Indians are always wandering the woods to hunt, I order that all bows and arrows are to be burned. But each cacique shall hold two or three dozen bows, with arrows, for special occasions, or necessity as against tigers.

Good roads from town to town shall be kept in order.

No negro, slave or mestizo shall enter any village save with his master, and then stay more than a day and night.”

‘All this I know and can transmit to you because I am Friar de Landa’s private secretary, charged with translation, notation, and documentation of the rights of the Church – in this capacity I work alongside the Friar’s official notary, Francisco de Orozco, as his trusted lieutenant. Why then, you ask, am I bearing witness to de Landa’s perfidy by writing in the last of the Maya holy books when, to all intents and purposes, I am an integral part of his retinue, an honorary member of the Franciscan order, and de Landa’s personal representative amongst the Maya? This I will now explain to you.

‘When I was a young child it was decided that, as second son of the noble household of the Ah Maxam, I should be trained in the duties of royal scribe, so that I could arrange royal ceremonies, oversee royal marriages, keep the genealogical lists, and record any tributes and offerings paid by client states. As ah ts’ib – “he of the writing” – I was an honoured and valued member of the royal household.

‘When the Franciscans came and took over our city, my father and the few remaining of our priests decided that I must become as one with the Spaniards – take on their customs, learn their language, study Latin, acknowledge their ascendancy – so that one at least amongst us could understand the full implications of the horror that was clearly about to fall upon our people. This I agreed to do.

‘To that end I studied hard, making myself useful to the friars in any and all capacities, until I attained a position as high as it was possible for one of Maya ancestry to go. Thanks to this I was able also, and via subterfuge, to warn my people of impending problems, destroy offending documentation, and influence Friar de Landa, to the extent that I was able, in the hope that, as one interested in our culture and history, he would ride upon the backs of our people without the use of his spurs.

‘This situation continued until three months ago. Some years before this time, thinking that Friar de Landa was a more tolerant man than he was, Nachi Cocom, last great ruler of the Cocom lineage, and imagining himself to be Friar de Landa’s friend, had shown the Friar the secret library of Maya writings, which included 2673 books and codices, 5000 sacred images and idols – including those to Kan u Uayeyub and Bolon Dzacab used during the Year-Bearing Ceremonies – and 13 large altar stones we know as kanal acantum. These, together with 22 smaller stones, and 127 vases and funerary urns containing the bones of priests, noblemen, and kings, made up the complete historical record of our people from the beginnings of the first Great World Age.

‘Cocom showed Friar de Landa these things on the understanding that they were no longer used, but merely kept as part of Maya historical record, and that he trusted that he could rely on Friar de Landa, as his friend and as a man of God, to honour the trust he was putting in him. Friar de Landa at first appeared to accede to this stipulation, leading Nachi Cocom to tell Friar de Landa about our belief in Los Aluxes. This belief states that a certain number of enlightened beings have been left behind by the gods to guard the magnetic spiritual places and objects of the earth, and that it is only via the intercession of these spiritual guardians that the destiny of the world may be secured. Cocom foolishly believed that Friar de Landa, with all his stated interest in Maya culture, was one such person.

‘When Nachi Cocom died, Friar de Landa repaid Cocom’s trust by seizing the library and all its contents, and by posthumously accusing the Chief of idolatry, digging up his body from its grave, burning its remains, and scattering his ashes across the fields. You must know that for a Maya king and spiritual leader, the manner of his death and burial is of the utmost importance. To die well is considered a blessing amongst our people. Maize would have been placed in Cocom’s mouth, and jade and stone beads would have been added as currency to pay for his spirit’s journey through the underworld. His corpse would have been wrapped in cotton, and both his body and his grave would have been covered in cinnabar, as red is considered by us to be both the colour of death and of rebirth.

‘By digging up Nachi Cocom’s body, Friar de Landa thought to deprive Cocom’s soul of eternal rest, and by seizing the library he thought to manifest his and his Church’s dominance over our traditional spiritual leaders.

‘Then, more recently, Friar de Landa received further information from the traitor Antonio Gaspar Xiu [the former Chi Xiu], descendant of Tutul Xiu, great chief of the Xiu clan, traditional enemies of the Cocoms, about the continuing power of the Maya religion. Thanks to this information, and to the privileged knowledge he had of our holy books, Friar de Landa convinced himself that those who had allowed themselves to be baptized by the Franciscan order were secretly continuing in the faith of their forefathers. I attempted to explain to him that what was in fact occurring was a natural thing – an inevitable misunderstanding occasioned by Friar de Landa’s transformation of the great Maya pyramid at Izamal into the Catholic Church of San Antonio. I told him that my people were bewildered by the mass of contradictory messages they were receiving.

‘“Then we must un-confuse them,” said the Friar.’