The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1915-10-30

writes Sylvanus G.. Morley in Pan American
Union. The derivation of the name UxmaI or
Oxmal, some of the early historians wrote it,
is rather obscure OK is the Maya word for
three, and NAL" in the same language means to
pass; to pass thrice" therefore, would seem to
be the meaning of the word, though why the
Tutul Xiu should have applied this name to their
capital is unknown.
Concerning the foundation of TxmaI tho fol
lowing tradition is related by Diego de Landa
the second bishop of Yucatan who wrote in the
nrst generation after the conquest, and who
claims to have gathered his information from ma
t1Ves well versed in the former history of their
country: After the discovery and occuDation oF
Ch1chen liza, which seems to have been the first
pace OF any Importance to be settled in Yucatan
cities sprang up everywhere, and there followed
an era OF great prosperity. How long these diff
ferent cities lived at peace with one another 1vo
are not told, but in time discussions arose and
quarreIs became so frequent that the different
Ioros OF the country found it necessary to take
some concerted action in order to SUPPRESS vio
Ience and to restore order and peace II uos
then decided to build a joint capital where all
those in authority should reside and from which
each one agreed to administer the affairs of lis
own particular domain Without loss of time
these plans were carried out Joint canital
was QUILT in a new and unoccuped region and
was called "Mayapan,' meaning the standard of
the Mayas Thither all the lords assembled
and as the final step in the formation of the new
confederacy, an overload one Cocoon was elected
and duly installed in the new capital as the
supreme ruler. These cucuts laid the foundation
for an era of prosperity, which endured for manv
years Later, after interval not specified nv
Landa in his history, there entered the country
from the south an alien people under the leader
ship of their chief Tutul Xiu. The newcomers
previous to their arrival, had wandered for 4O
years in the wilderness without water other than
that which had fallen from the Skies This CO.
incidence of "4O-years' wandering in the wilder
ness is sufficiently striking to arouse the suspi-
cion that the worthy bishop, in this part of his
a
pious coincidence with a similar episode in the
Old Testament Immediately after their arrival
the wanderers began building in the mountains
not 80 miles distant from the capital a new home
for themselves which they called UxmaI Far
from being angered, however, by this appropria-
ton of his territory at hand Cocoon the
ruler of the Mayapan, welcomed Tutul Kin and
his people, and entered into alliance with
them. Landa thus describes the event.
The people of Mayapan formed a great friend
ship with the Tutul Xiu rejoicing to see that
they cultivated the land like themselves. In
this manner the Tutul Xiu became subject to
the laws of Mayapan, and allied themselves with
the older inhabitants of the country and their
lord highly esteemed by ALL"
Judging from its size and magnifcence the Xiu
capital must have played very important role
in the history of Yucatan before the Spanish con-
quest Indeed. Landa says much.
After time, are told, the supreme power
held by the Cocoon family seems to have turned
their heads. They became successfully more and
oppressive each striving to Guido his prede-
cessors in acts of tyranny and violence. How
ever, there day at last when the other
chiefs of the confederacy could no longer endure
this despotic rule, and a conspiracy Matched
to overthrow the oppressor. With accord,
the conspirators turned to the then lord OF Tx
NAL a decendent of the original Tutul Xiu, who
had founded the city the natural leader in this
movement for liberty, in spite Of the fact that
he was of foreign descent. He is described as
having been a true friend of the public veal, as
his ancestors before him, all of whom had held
resolutely aloof from the tyrannies of the Cocoon
family On an appointed day the conspirators,
led by the lord of Uxmal, met at Mayapan, and
entering the palace of Cocoon slew him and all
his progeny, save one only, who happened
to be absent from the city at the time a mis-
sion to a distant province. After this sanguin-
ary reprisal which avenged at one blow the op-
pressions of many years, the property OF the dead
ruler was seized and divided among his murder
ers and the capital destroyed Whereupon
each chief departed into his own country once
more and the confederacy dissolved. After
The destruction of Mayapan. the Tutul Xiu aban-
doned Uxmal and founded new capital some 30
miles distant which they called Mani meaning
in Maya sit is passed." emphasizing by this name
that the old order was over These events oc-
Cured about the middle OF the fifteenth century.
oo~oo~oooo~-o- ~o~-o-o---o-~~~0~---o-~~--~~-~