Valladolid Adventures Part 18: Ex-Convento de Kikil's cloister and exterior features

 

Arcade and portales at the entrance to Ex-Convento de Kikil's cloister. In the foreground, an old stone watering trough now serves as a planter. This is the best-preserved section of the Ex-Convento. In the previous posting (Part 17), we looked at the ruins of Templo de Nuestra Señora de Candelaria, the Ex-Convento's church. It was built by the Franciscans in 1584 to serve the friars and those they evangelized. In this part, I will show you some of the cloister area, where the friars lived and worked. We'll also take a look at some of the exterior features of the church, and the work area that lies behind the cloister.

The Cloister

Front view of the cloister. The church is attached to the cloister's right end, at a 90 degree angle. The cloister was built in 1576, eight years before the church.  Typical activities occurring in the cloister included prayer and meditation, study and reading, manual labor, education for novices, informal conversations and recreation, and various rituals and ceremonies. It also contained the friars' cells (personal spaces/bedrooms) and a refectory for dining. In addition to its other purposes, the Ex-Convento also functioned as a civil registry, because facilities for civil administration were scarce.

The cloister, viewed from the left. On the right is the massive wall of the Templo. Today, the cloister contains a small museum. Unfortunately, no one was around when we visited. Consequently, we didn't realize the museum even existed until I did some later research for this posting. The museum is reported to contain pre-hispanic artifacts, including a replica of a Chac Mool. This is a large stone carving of a human figure reclining on its back with a bowl for blood on its stomach. Chac Mools are closely associated with human sacrifice.

The museum also contains colonial era items. These include an original church bell made of copper and tin and weighing about 150 kilos (331 lbs). In addition, there are a couple of weapons used during the Spanish Conquest of Mexico and some wooden steps made of zapote (sapodilla wood). The steps are the remains of a staircase that once led to the church's campanario (bell tower).

View of the cloister's arcade from the left end. The door at the end of the arcade appears to lead into the Templo. Notice the vigas (wooden rafters) on the ceiling of the arcade. These appear to be part of the original construction. I have seen the same sort of rafters at other early colonial sites, including in the front arcade of Convento de San Bernardino de Siena, in Valladolid. The windows contain wooden bars which may also be original. A series of chandeliers hang from the ceiling. They would have once been lit by candles, but probably contain electric bulbs today.

Exterior features of the Templo

One of the Templo's windows has a pointed arch. Gothic pointed arches are features typical of architecture during Europe's Middle Ages.  Just inside the window, there appears to be a passageway between the exterior and interior walls. I didn't notice the passageway until I closely examined this photograph. During later research, I found mention of hidden passages within the church. 

The term "Gothic" was originally pejorative, since post-medieval people viewed the Goths as barbarian destroyers of Roman culture. However, the great 17th century English architect Christopher Wren rejected this interpretation of pointed arches. He asserted that they originated with the Muslim culture, which was in many ways more advanced than the culture of Christian Europe during the Middle Ages. As a result, Christian architects, particularly in Spain, emulated the pointed arch, as well as many other Muslim styles.

The walls of the Templo are largely unadorned. The high walls give the church the aspect of a fortress. This is not accidental. Churches often became the place of refuge for people fleeing attackers. These might be Maya rebels, pirates, bandits, or military units in one of Mexico's many internal conflicts. The high, thick walls and heavy doors of a church could offer protection and a good place for defense against assaults. Templo San Servacio, the Franciscan church in Valladolid, actually has gun slits on the two towers that frame its entrance. Half-way along the wall is one of the Templo's two side doors.

One of the nave's niches, seen through the side door. This is the doorway on the eastern wall of the Templo, seen in the previous photo. The thick walls are made of rough limestone chunks that were mortared together with sascab. This naturally-occurring powdered lime, when mixed with honey, was often used for mortar during pre-hispanic and early colonial times. The thickness of the walls enabled their height, as well as keepng the church cool during hot weather. Niches like the one above were once filled with statues of saints or other sacred figures. 

This narrow arched window is in the upper part of the Templo's wall. The primary purpose of this window must have been to provide light and ventilation for the nave below. It would have been too high on the wall to allow any kind of view, except of the sky. Notice the cut blocks framing the window. Early colonial-era architects used cut stone primarily for the framing of doors, windows, cornices and the corners of buildings. For the rest of the construction, rough limestone chunks would be  used because they were much cheaper and easier to obtain than stone cut by masons. 

Window with wooden bars in the Templo's rear wall. I originally thought this was a door, because of how tall it is. Then I noticed similar windows along the wall in the arcade. The lack of hinges or latches normally appearing on a door was a further indication that this is a window. There must have once been internal shutters to keep out wind and rain. Such shutters would also have served for security, because I am doubtful that wooden bars like this would have withstood a determined assailant. 

This opening in the Templo's rear leads into the ruins of the apse containing the altar. In the lower right are the remains of a small room that connects the apse with the cloister. This was probably the sacristy, where the ceremonial clothing of the priest was stored. There are reports that Ex-Convento de Kikil is inhabited by paranormal spirits. According to locals, these are none-threatening, intelligent energies that once belonged to friars who were massacred at the Ex-Convento. The killings probably occurred when it was sacked during the beginning stages of the great Maya revolt known as the Caste War (1848-1915).

Outside work areas

Google satellite view of the cloister and the outside work area. The cloister is the light-colored rectangular building. In the center of the photo's right side, you can see a circle of stone, with a smaller stone structure in its center. Vegetation traces a path from the bottom right of the cloister to the stone circle, indicating an important relationship. This whole area would have been the location for many of the manual tasks necessary for the day-to-day functioning of the Ex-Convento. The area in the upper right is the beginning of fields that would have grown the crops required to feed the friars and their Maya workers.

The circular stone structure may be the ruins of a noria. The stone wall is about 1.2m (4ft) tall and circles an area about 15m (50ft) across. Above the wall, you can see a stone structure in the center. I was mystified by the stone circle when I photographed it. Then, I researched the noria (waterwheel) ruins at Convento de San Bernardino de Siena, I now believe that these are the ruins of Ex-Convento de Kikil's noria. Above-ground water is scarce in northern Yucatan, except beneath the limestone surface. A cenote (sinkhole filled with water) is in the general area, but not close to the Ex-Convento. A well was needed.

Stone pit in the middle of the noria. This is probably the ruins of the well. From this, the noria extracted water for drinking, cooking, washing, and to nourish the plants that the friars were growing for food. The stone shaft in the upper left would have been part of the mechanism's structure. Norias were very common at Yucatan's conventos and haciendas from the 16th century until well into the 20th. A yoked burro would have trudged around the inside of the the circular stone wall, pulling a beam that turned the waterwheel in the center. For more information on colonial norias, and a diagram of how they worked, see Part 11.

This unidentified structure may have been a colonial-era furnace. The area behind the arched opening is quite shallow. This leads me to believe that it may have once been a large furnace, used for some 17th century industrial purpose. Another mystery is the standing stone about 7m (20ft) from the entrance arch. Standing stones at pre-hispanic sites are common and usually served as monuments to a ruler or an event. However, this stone's purpose and possible relation to the "furnace" remains unclear. 

This completes Part 18 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 can respond in a timely manner.

Hasta luego, Jim