Valladolid Adventures Part 14: The Magnificent Retablos in the church at Convento de San Bernardino de Siena

 

The apse at the eastern end of the church's nave contains a magnificent altarpiece. The floor-to-ceiling structure, called the retablo mayor, has three columns of niches containing a total of nine sacred figures. Additionally, there are separate retablos on the apse's side walls, as well as on the walls further back in the nave. The retablo mayor was created in the 17th century and was described in a report in 1639 by Bachiller Francisco Cárdenas Valencia.

This posting will contain photos of the various retablos and will also provide some background on the figures and scenes depicted, including why they were important to the Franciscans. For more photos and information about other parts of the Convento de San Bernardino de Siena, see Parts 9-13. In Part 15, which follows this one, I will cover the cloister, where the friars lived and worked.

Center Column

San Bernardino de Siena, the Convento's patron saint. This statue is located at the bottom of the center column of niches. San Bernardino de Siena is known as the "Second Founder" of the Franciscan Order. For more on this important figure of Franciscan history, see Part 13. His niche is framed by two highly-decorated estipite pilasters (non-load-bearing columns), a feature of the Mexican Baroque style. The statue was mentioned in a report by Fraile Diego de Landa in 1556, barely four years after the Convento was founded in 1552.

A nearby sign states that the statue "is located in its original site in the main temple, the same one it has had since the founding of the monastery". The retablo we see today was crafted in the 17th century, 50 or more years after Fraile de Landa's report. Therefore, this statue probably occupied a niche in a main altar retablo that pre-dates the retablo mayor described in Bachiller Valencia's 1639 report. 

Articulated statue of Christ, located in the middle of the center column of the retablo.  The ankles, knees, shoulders, elbows, and wrists are all moveable. The intent is to create a life-like depiction of the crucifixion. This figure was created around the mid-17th century, about a hundred years after the San Bernardino statue was first described by Fraile de Landa. 

Articulated figures are common among artifacts created by pre-hispanic artisans. My friend Richard Perry, an expert on colonial Mexico, tells me that they were also common during Europe's Middle Ages, prior to the Conquest. However, like me, he has found few examples from Mexico's post-Conquest colonial period. The articulated statue above is the only one I have encountered in my 18 years of visiting colonial churches in Mexico. The only other articulated statues I have found were made in the 19th century. If anyone has an explanation for this mysterious historical gap, please leave a comment.

 A Statue of the Virgen de Guadalupe is at the top of the center column. The Virgin of Guadalupe is the patron of Mexico and its poor and indigenous people. She is also a patriotic symbol. Her image appeared on the banners of insurgents fighting for independence from Spain (1810-1821) and during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1917). The Virgen de Guadalupe is nearly always portrayed standing on a crescent moon, which is supported by a small cupid figure. Her body is always turned slightly to the right and entirely surrounded by flames, which represent a halo. She wears a cloak covered with stars.

Her image has several elements with both Catholic and pre-hispanic meanings, including the halo, the crescent moon, and the stars on her clothing. Because of this, and because she first appeared to an indigenous man as a dark-skinned, Nahuatl-speaking woman, she had great appeal to the native people. However, the Franciscans were deeply suspicous. They believed that her cult was a covert way to practice the old religion and resisted recognizing her legitimacy for a century. Given that early controversy, her statue was probably not displayed in the church prior to the mid-17th century. 

Left Column

San Isidro Labrador is displayed at the bottom left. St. Isidore the Farmworker was 

a humble day laborer on the farm of a rich landowner outside Madrid, Spain. According to a codex written a few years after he died, Isidro was born in 1079 and died in1172. I am a bit dubious of these dates because achieving the age of 93 in the Middle Ages would have been astonishing, particularly for an ordinary laborer. He was canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV. The statue above is in the style of sacred art that was popular in the mid-18th century.

Franciscans admire San Isidro Labrador because of his humble status, simple life, and dedication to his work and faith. All these qualities are central to the Franciscan code of behavior. Isidro's job involved plowing the fields but, because of his frequent absences, his fellow workers complained to Juan de Vergas, the landlord. According to the legend, the landlord found Isidro praying by a field, while angels did the plowing for him.  Given these circumstances, Juan de Vergas left him in peace. Isidro was venerated beginning in the 12th century, although he didn't gain sainthood until 400 years later. 

Christ at the Column occupies the niche above San Isidro. In this statue, Jesus embraces the column where he was beaten with whips prior to his crucifixion. San Pedro (the Apostle Peter) kneels before him. Also present, but not visible here, is a rooster. According to the legend of the crucifixion, Jesus had predicted that Peter would deny him three times before the rooster crowed. The image symbolizes penitence and forgiveness.

Created in the 17th century, the statue was first mentioned in an inventory conducted in 1755.  In that year, the Franciscans turned over the Convento to the secular clergy of the local diocese. This "secularization" process happened repeatedly to Franciscan conventos in the Spanish Empire. This was part of the Bourbon Dynasty reforms enacted during the 18th century. The secularlizations were intended to weaken the power of the monastic orders and to make them more accountable to the Crown. 

Santa Teresa de Jesus stands in the upper left, above Christ at the Column. St. Teresa of Jesus is also known as Santa Terese de Avila, the place where she was born in 1515. She was a mystic and religious reformer who was a central figure during the Spanish Counter-Reformation. Her grandfather had been a Jew who was forced to convert and barely escaped the clutches of the Spanish Inquisition. Her father successfully assimilated into Christian society and became wealthy as a wool merchant. He raised Teresa as a pious Catholic and she entered the the Carmelite Order in 1534 at age 20.

Santa Teresa de Jesus was renowned for her spiritual experiences and visions. She came to feel that the Carmelite Order was too lax and vowed to found a reformed version of the Order. In this, she was advised and supported by a Franciscan named Pedro de Alcantara. During her work on this, Teresa had to overcome fierce resistance, much of it from her original Order. However, she eventually founded conventos all over Spain for both women and men. Teresa de Jesus died in 1582 and was canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV. Her statue is considered relatively modern, since it dates to the late 19th or early 20th century.

Right Column

The niche containing San Juan Bautista is at the bottom of the right column. The wooden statue was carved in the style used in 18th century sacred art.  St. John the Baptist was a Jewish reformer and preacher who baptised Jesus. Although he was never a disciple of Jesus, San Juan Bautista is considered a precursor of Jesus. He is revered by the Franciscans because he lived in poverty and simplicity and believed in the importance of repentance. Also revering him are the Eastern Orothodox Christians, the Baha'i and Druze faiths, and the Muslims. 

John the Baptist may have been an actual historical figure. He was mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus only a few decades after John's baptism of Jesus. In his book, "Jewish Antiquities",  Josephus describes John as a virtuous and righteous man who called the Jews to repentance and baptism. He states that John's execution by the local ruler Herod Antipas was due to Herod's fear that John's influence with the people might lead to a rebellion. Josephus never mentions the biblical story that Herod's wife demanded that John's head be brought to her on a platter because of his denunciation of her marriage to Herod.

San Martin de Porres stands in the niche directly above San Juan Bautista. The statue was originally located in the Capilla de la Tercera Orden (Third Order Chapel - see Part 13). In 2002, it was moved to its present location in the retablo mayor. Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579 and died there in 1639. He was the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a woman who was a freed African slave. This background limited Martin's prospects due to colonial Peru's strict racial laws. He tried to join the Dominican Order, but was only allowed to be a "donado" (volunteer) for menial tasks like sweeping.

Martin de Porres eventually became a full member of the Dominicans, but suffered from considerable prejudice from others in his Order because of his mixed-race background. He was eventually recognized for his humility, piety, and work with the the poor and sick.  Sometimes, he put them in the bed in his own room. He was associated with several miracles, including the ability to pass through locked doors. His devotion to simplicity and service to others is the reason why the Franciscans honored him here with a statue. The statue holds a broom to symbolize Martin de Porres's devotion to simple work.

Other Retablos in the Nave

The Retablo de San Antonio is on the right wall of the nave. It is positioned about half way between the apse and the entrance to the hall leading to the Capilla de la Tercera Orden. The wooden retablo and its statue of San Antonio holding the infant Jesus and a palm frond were carved during the first half of the 17th century. The retablo and its statue are an extraordinary example of Mexican Baroque. It has four spiraling Solomonic columns typical of that style. The spirals are represented as vines with fruit hanging off them. Nearly every inch of the retablo is covered with sacred scenes and other decorations.

San Antonio de Padua (1195-1231) was a contemporary of San Francisco de Asis (1181-1226), the Franciscan Order's founder. Antonio was known for his teaching skills and was assigned by Francisco to guide the studies of young members of the Order. He also taught at several Italian universities. However, preaching was his great gift. When he visited the court of Pope Gregory IX in 1228, the Pope was so impressed that he commissioned Anthony to produce a collection of his sermons. Gregory called Antonio the "Ark of the Testament". He died in 1231 and was canonized by Pope Gregory only a year later, in 1232. 

Detail from the Retablo de San Antonio. The panel, which is located above the statue, shows the "Miracle of the Resuscitation". The figures in the carved wooden panel all wear clothing typical of the 17th century. San Antonio is the haloed figure in the center, cradling the child while the mother and other figures look on.

The story behind the miracle is that a child named Tomas was found drowned in a bathtub by his mother. She immediately sought out Antonio for help, promising that she would make a donation of bread to the poor, in the amount of the weight of her child, if the saint would resuscitate him. Antonio succeeded and the mother kept her promise. It strikes me that this seems like a rather small price to pay for the act. But, maybe bread was expensive and she was poor, although she does wear rather sumptuous clothing in the carving.

The Retablo del Divino Redentor is located on the right side of the apse.  The Retablo of the Devine Redeemer is another fine example of 17th century Mexican Baroque. The four columns are highly decorated at their bases and capitals but are without Solomonic spirals. The top of the retablo has several carved panels showing the "Coronation of the Virgin Mary" as the Queen of Heaven. A statue of Jesus is in the niche, clothed only in an undergarment over his midsection. He raises his right hand in blessing and, in his left, he holds a staff topped by a small cross.

This completes Part 14 of my series on our Valladolid Adventures. I hope you enjoyed it. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question in the Comments, please include your email address so that I can respond in a timely fashion.

Hasta luego, Jim

Valladolid Adventures: Part 13: Convento de San Bernardino de Siena - Church Nave and Sacristy

 The Church Nave & Third Order Chapel

Nave and main altar of the church. The church has a single nave, ending in an apse. The apse contains the main altar and a huge, floor-to-ceiling altarpiece called a retablo with niches for nine statues. On the side walls, there are several other elaborate retablos crafted in the 16th and 17th centuries. I will show them in detail in a later posting. In addition, there are niches in the walls that are covered with murals painted in the 16th century. They were hidden from view for hundreds of years and only rediscovered in the late 20th century. My photos of several of these mural paintings will be shown later in this posting.

The church is the central architectural element of the Convento complex. It is dedicated to San Bernardino de Siena, a Franciscan friar who evangelized all over Italy. He drew immense crowds to hear his carefully thought-out sermons, some of which went on for many hours. San Bernardino helped revitalize the Catholic Church in Italy. and to spur reforms in the decadent late-Renaissance society of mid-15th century Italy. His views were controversial in his own time and some of them would be today. San Bernardino is known as the second most important Franciscan after St. Francis himself.

An unrestored pilaster which is part of the original church construction. A pilaster is a non-load-supporting pillar that is used for decorative purposes. This one appears to have been deliberately left in the deteriorated condition in which the church's restorers found it. 

Bernardino Albizzeschi was born in 1380 in Massa Marittima in the Republic of Siena. The Republic was in a part of Italy controlled by the Holy Roman Empire at that time. He came from a noble familly and his father was Governor of Siena. However, he was orphaned at six and was raised by a pious aunt who sent him to school. There he learned civil and canon law. In 1403, he joined the strictest part of the Franciscan Order and in 1404, he was ordained as a priest. In 1405 he was commissioned as a preacher and became one of the greatest preachers of his time, with a style that was simple, populist, and full of imagery.

Hallway leading to the Capilla de la Tercera Orden. The Third Order Chapel extends off to the right, about half way down the length of the nave. It is one of several chapels within the Convento and the only one that branches off directly from the nave. In its apse, there is a retablo, guarded by the statues of angels on either side.

Most preachers of Bernardino's time recited rhetorical orations during mass, usually in Latin. Unlike them, Bernardino preached to the public in colloquial Italian. Captivating as a speaker, he used imagery and creative language his audience could appreciate. His themes were drawn from the daily lives of the people to whom he spoke. As a result, he drew huge audiences. The civil authorities in the towns where he preached quickly realized that these big crowds brought in money. Consequently, speaking invitations often came from them rather than from the local clergy, who were sometimes put off by his populist style. 

Retablo in the Chapel of the Third Order. The Third Order is a subdivision within the Franciscan Order. It is composed of people who want to follow in the footsteps of St. Francis, but don't want to give up marriage, or live in a convent. This retablo contains a reliquary (container for sacred relics). Reliquaries are usually guarded by a pair of angels like the ones you see above. The relics may include the bones of a saint or other objects considered to be holy because they came in contact with the saint during his lifetime. There was no sign indicating what kind of relics this one contains.

The Renaissance period of the 15th century was a time of great decadence, It was the age of the Borgia popes, who lived in great luxury and led scandalous lives. Much of the Church hierarchy followed suit. Bernardino's work reflected the growing public revulsion against Church decadence and that of Italian society in general. He preached against immodesty, excessive luxury, gambling, and blasphemy. He also considered homosexuality to be a great sin. However, Bernardino's sermons were not always well-received by those who didn't see these things as problems or profited by them. Consequently, at times he was physically attacked.

16th Century Murals that were concealed for centuries

The Baptism of Jesus. Mural showing Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist. Two angels observe the action. The one seated on the left caresses a lamb, while the other brandishes a banner. This is one of a number of early colonial murals found in 1978 by Padre Andrés Lopez Ruiz. They were painted in the 16th or early 17th century but had been covered over later. They were discovered when Lopez Ruiz removed a couple of the nave's retablos for restoration. Behind the retablos were niches covered with scenes of holy figures and biblical events, painted in a naive style. 

Angels sing to the tune of a stringed instrument. Many of the scenes in the murals are celebratory. Above, a trio of winged figures surrounds a book of music. Their gestures and facial expressions indicate that they are singing. To the right, another angel strums a stringed instrument. The unsophisticated style of the paintings, as well as the materials used, suggest that they were the work of an indigenous artist, rather than a European. The Franciscan friars employed large numbers of Maya workers to construct the church and these included many craftsmen and artists. However, the name of the mural artist is unknown.

Jesus speaks to a reverent crowd of saints, martyrs, and popes. This scene appears in the curved top of one of the niches. Why the paintings were hidden, when, and by whom, are all unknown. Perhaps the more sophisticated retablos that concealed them were considered more appropriate to the tastes of a later era. The color used in the backgrounds of many of the scenes is the famous "Maya blue", a striking turquoise color. 

The Maya developed the blue pigment around 800 AD, in pre-hispanic times. After the Spanish arrived, it was employed by native artists to decorate early colonial convents, but the secret of its ingredients was forgotten after the 18th century. Finally, in the 1950s, an analysis showed that the pigment was made by mixing organic and inorgaic materials that included clay, palygorskite, and indigo. In 1993, Mexican historian and chemist Constantine Reyes-Valerio published the first recipe for making Maya blue since early colonial times.

Santa Catalina de Alejandría (287 AD-305 AD). Wearing a crown and wielding a sword in her left hand, St. Catherine of Alexandria stands to the left of the niche. A sign at the mural identifies her as Santa Barbara (3rd-4th century AD), but my friend Richard Perry (an expert on colonial Mexico) believes she is actually Santa Catalina. These two saints have both been portrayed with swords and wearing crowns, so it can be difficult to tell them apart. Santa Catalina wears a crown because she was a princess, while Santa Barbara's crown symbolizes her sainthood. The swords they carry indicate they were martyred by beheading.

I finally came to the conclusion that Richard is correct after I reviewed a number of Google images of both saints. What I discovered is that Santa Barbara is nearly always portrayed carrying a glowing chalice in one of her hands, while I found none showing Santa Catalina holding one. The chalice symbolizes the cup of suffering. Often, it is only through little symbolic details that you can tell the difference between images of saints. It is also instructive that even an official sign can contain inaccuracies, so it's good to double check.

Statues around the Nave

San Judas Tadeo. One of the statues displayed along the nave's wall is of San Judas Tadeo (St. Jude Thaddeus), also known as Jude the Apostle. He is sometimes confused with Judas Iscariot, whose betrayal led to Jesus' crucifixion. Both names originate from Judah, a common name at the time. Images of San Judas Tadeo usually show him holding a staff, symbolizing the weapon with which he was martyred. He also wears a circular pendant hanging from his neck. On it is the image of Jesus, which he touches with devotion. The pendant refers to a miracle of healing in the city of Edessa (modern southeast Turkey). 

According to the legend, which doesn't appear in the New Testament, King Abgar of Edessa was dying. He sent a message to Jesus asking him to come and heal him. Instead, Jesus sent Judas, along with a cloth that he had pressed to his own face. When Judas presented the cloth to Abgar, Jesus' face appeared on it and the King was immediately healed. As a result of this story, Judas is always shown wearing a pendant bearing the image of Jesus. The Franciscans revered San Judas Tadeo because he is the patron of hope in desperate situations, an appealing idea to friars who often found themselves in just those circumstances. 

Another display along the nave's wall. This one shows Jesus and God, seated together under a sunburst with a dove at its center. Winged cherubs frolic at their feet. God is the old man on the right with the gray hair. Given the importance of these two in the Christian religion, I find it odd that their placement is off to the side, in the rear of the nave. You would think this display would be at the center of the great retablo in the apse, or at least at its top, looking down on all the rest of the lesser figures. 

The Sacristy and Vestments

An armoire in the sacristy contains vestments. These include several of the pieces of clothing worn by priests during mass. The garment inside the armoire is called a chasuble and is worn as an outer garment. Its color signifies the liturgical season or feast. In this case the color red symbolizes the Holy Spirit and martyrdom. The long narrow cloth on the left, with crosses on its ends, is a stole. It is worn around the neck and symbolizes the priestly office. The fringed cord hanging on the right is called a cincture. This is worn around the waist and symbolizes chastity and continence. 

In a Catholic church, the sacristy is the room where religious clothing like that shown above is stored and where the priest dresses before conducting mass or other religious rituals. Usually, it is located adjacent to the nave. The sacred clothing, statues, and paintings, as well as church architecture, have all been developed over two millennia. Despite many changes along the way, there has been an amazing continuity over that length of time. Tradition is a very powerful force in the Catholic Church.

This completes Part 13 of my Valladolid Adventures series. I hope you have enjoyed it. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question, please include your email address so that I may respond in a timely fashion.

Hasta luego, Jim

Valladolid Adventures Part 12: Artifacts recovered from the depths of Cenote Ziis-Há

 

Display of 19th century flintlock muskets recovered from the cenote. It is not unusual for archeologists to discover pre-hispanic artifacts when they dive into Yucatan's deep cenotes. Most of them were thrown in as offerings to the gods. When divers searched the bottom of Cenote Ziis-Há in 2001, they did find a number of ancient offerings, as well as pre-historic animal bones. However, to their astonishment, they also found large numbers of weapons from the mid-19th century. These included flintlock muskets and a large number of musket parts, a cannon, bullets and cannon balls, lance heads, and much more. 

How this 19th century arsenal ended up littering the cenote's depths is a question people have been asking ever since. In this posting, I'll show you some of these artifacts and explore a possible answer to that questioin. The story involves the violent clashes that occurred in 1847, in the immediate vicinity of Convento de San Bernardino de Siena. This was the beginning of Yucatan's 68-year Caste War (1847-1915).

Looking through the museum's "dutch door" into one of the Convento's courtyards.  We entered through this door into the small museum contained in Valladolid's 16th century Franciscan Convento. The museum contains artifacts from the Convento's 600-year history and others from centuries before the Spanish arrived. Along with these items, they also found bones from various animals dating back 11,000 years. These animals probably fell accidentally into the cenote and drowned.

Pre-hispanic artifacts

Post-Classic Maya incense burner. The Post-Classic era lasted from 900 AD -1519 AD. This clay device, called a chemul, was used to burn copal incense during religious rituals. Traces of the incense indicate that it was probably still burning when the chemul was thrown into the cenote as a sacrifice. The incense burner measures 12cm tall x 12cm wide (4.72 x 4.72 inches). Black and red paint still adhered to it when it was found. The design is anthropomorphic (human featured). The face has two bulging eyes under large eyebrows, a partially damaged nose, and a pair of fangs protrudes from either side of the mouth. 

Hollow log used as a drum. A horizontal hollow log drum was called a tun kul by Maya musicians. Long rectangular slots were carved along the top side of the log when it lay flat. This gave it a pleasing tone when it was struck by a padded stick. Music was an important part of pre-hispanic Maya religious rituals, as well as in various secular celebrations and dances. Since it was made entirely of wood, the drum must have floated for a while before becoming waterlogged and sinking to the bottom.

19th century military artifacts 

Ammunition for a musket and a cannon. A cannon with its gun carriage was also found, but they were not on display when I visited. The musket ball (left) is 16mm (0.62in) in diameter. It also might have been part of a collection of balls, called grapeshot. When loaded into a cannon, it effectively became a huge shotgun. A load of these balls, blasted at close range, would have been devastating. The cannon ball (right) was for long-range work. It was capable of killing several warriors at a time. This is unlikely to have been Maya ammunition, because they had few firearms and no cannon.

A large arsenal had been deliberately dropped into the cenote. Some of the muskets had been tied together with cords, while others had been thrown in more randomly. The Maya would have been delighted to find a large, intact cache of firearms and ammunition and would not have intentionally destroyed them. Their opponents, the Yucatecos (non-Maya elites), were highly motivated to keep arms and ammunition, and particularly cannon, out of the hands of Maya rebels.

A nearly intact flintlock musket. The wood stock of the weapon is somewhat deteriorated and the metal parts are rusted, but it is clearly recognizable as a flintlock musket from the late 18th or early 19th centuries. It has been identified as the "India pattern" manufactured by Ketland & Co. of Birmingham, England. The company operated from 1776 to 1830. This type of musket would have been used by the British Army during the American Revolution and in the series of wars against the French that culminated in the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. 

When the British were fighting against Napoleon's forces in Spain from 1808-1814, they supplied their Spanish allies with muskets like this. Some of those weapons may have ended up in Yucatan, which was a Spanish colony until 1821. They might have been used by Spanish soldiers and local royalist militia fighting against insurgents during the War of Independence (1810-1821). We also know that in 1847 the government of Yucatan imported 2000 British muskets from the Spanish colony of Cuba. They arrived on the Spanish ship Amistad Campechana shortly before the Maya uprising that began that same year. 

Collection of musket parts, including four flintlock mechanisms. Also included are five brackets used to secure the muskets' barrels to their wooden stocks. At the bottom right are two metal tubes which kept ramrods in place. A flintlock weapon used a piece of flint, which was fitted into the hammer. When the trigger was pulled, the hammer sprang down, striking the flint against a metal plate. This created a spark which ignited the powder in the gun's barrel. 

The threat of Maya uprisings always haunted the Spanish in Yucatan. The conquistador Francisco Montejo el Sobrino established the new city of Valladolid in 1545, after he conquered the Maya in eastern Yucatan. But the Maya had a disconcerting habit of not staying conquered. In 1546, 20,000 Maya rebels attacked Valladolid and were beaten back with great difficulty.  Over the next 500 years, the Spanish and the Yucatecos (who took over after Independencia), were kept on edge by many more uprisings. The east coast of Yucatan  remained under Maya control well into the 20th century.

More musket parts recovered from the cenote. Included are several trigger guards, some oval parts which held the long barrels in place, faceplates from the sides of the wooden stocks, and a collection of bolts. Archeologists have identified 72 parts from at least 31 different muskets. In addition, they recovered ammunition and a cannon mounted on a gun carriage. 

The actions of the Spanish, and the later Yucateco authorities, caused much resentment among the Maya. As mentioned previously, they took over Ziis-Ha and other key cenotes in water-scarce northern Yucatan. The Franciscan friars and those of other Orders often forced the Maya to gather in large villages, in a practice called congregación. The intent was to convert them and to enforce Catholic religious practices. The friars also burned vast pre-hispanic hieroglyphic libraries and destroyed Maya religious shrines. Maya lands were seized to form haciendas and the owners used forced labor under the ecomienda system. 

A lance head and various other parts. Other than the lance head, the function of the other parts is unclear. You might think that lances were an anachronism in the mid-19th century. However, they were still in use among some of the world's cavalry units as late as the beginning of the Second World War.

The henequen boom greatly accelerated land seizures in the mid-19th century (see Part 7 of this series). The encomienda system was later replaced by an equally oppressive system of debt slavery. All this came to a head in 1847. Yucatan was already in turmoil at the time. In 1839, the Yucatecos had declared Yucatan to be independent from Mexico. There were two factions and two competing capitals. Then, in 1846, Mexico was invaded and much of it was occupied by American armies. Seeing the disarray among the Yucatecos, and that the Mexican government was distracted by the Americans, the Maya prepared for a great revolt. 

The shaft of a piece of wooden machinery. This may have been part of the Convento's  noria (waterwheel) system, which had been built over the cenote. It had fallen into disrepair after the Convento was secularized in 1755. In the century that followed, part of the mechanism may have tumbled into the sinkhole. It is also possible that the noria's waterwheel was dismantled and some of its parts thrown into the cenote to create the space necessary for the arsenal to be dropped into the water. 

In June of 1847, Santiago Méndez was a leader of one of the two Yucateco factions. He heard that the Maya were massing men and supplies in a pueblo near Valladolid. He marched there and summarily executed a local Maya leader. Méndez then rampaged through other villages, burning them and ordering more arbitrary executions. In response, the outraged Maya rounded up and killed all the Yucatecos and other non-Maya people they could lay their hands on. The Maya then marched on Valladolid. Their initial point of attack was the pueblo of Sisal, just outside the city and adjacent to the Convento.

Mural about the Caste War, located in the Palacio Gobierno in Mérida. Ragged Maya fighters, armed with machetes, slash at Yucateco soldiers. This was war "up close and personal" and few prisoners were taken on either side. The Maya were poorly armed, when compared to the Yucateco forces. However, they had overwhelming numbers and a burning hatred born of centuries of abuse. In addition, many of the Maya had military experience. They had served in the various armies involved in the civil wars that had wracked Mexico during the first half of the 19th century. They now put that experience to use.

The Maya forces attacking Sisal numbered about 3000 and were commanded by a man named Trujeque. The Yucateco defenders were led by Comandante Venegas, who led a battalion of 300 well-armed men. They had a cannon, an arsenal of extra muskets and plenty of ammunition. The Yucateco force was well-entrenched and managed to hold off the Maya for two days, even though Trujeque's army outnumbered them by ten to one.

However, when it became clear that his forces would ultimately be overwhelmed, Venegas decided to surrender. It may have been at this point that he ordered his men to throw their weapons into the cenote to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Maya. There are other possible explanations for the presence of the arsenal at the bottom of the cenote, but this one seems most likely to me. 

These bells once hung in the Convento's bellfry, but were removed during the revolt. The bells did not end up in the Cenote Ziis-Há, however. They were taken to the Capilla de San Roque (now the Museum of San Roque) in Valladolid and buried in its atrium. It was not unusual during wartime for church bells to be melted down and the metal re-cast as cannons. This may have been the reason they were removed and hidden. The Convento's church was ransacked, but the rest of the Convento was left mostly intact. 

Comandante Venegas's surrender did not save him or his men. Either his white flag was not seen before the final assault, or it was ignored. The entire garrison were slaughtered, along with most of Sisal's non-Maya women, children, the elderly, and priests. The Maya went on to capture Valladolid and all of Yucatan except for the cities of Campeche and Mérida. The Governor was about to order a complete evacuation of Yucatan when the Maya suddenly began to retreat. The season had changed and the Maya farmers had to return to till their fields or their families would have starved. Yucatan's Caste War then dragged on until 1915.

This completes Part 12 of my Valladolid Adventures series. I hope you have enjoyed it. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question in the Comments, please include your email address so that I can respond in a timely fashion.

Hasta luego, Jim