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, high on its side wall.. 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 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. 

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

Valladolid Adventures Part 17: The ruins of the Franciscan Ex-Convento de Kikil

 

The front entrance of the Convento de Kikil's church, looking out. The thick walls and old wood rafters show the age of the Franciscan Convento's ruins. Carole and I discovered this place by accident, while returning from our visit to the north coast of Yucatan (see previous posting). As anyone who follows my blog knows, I am a sucker for old ruins and couldn't resist exploring this unexpected and mysterious site.

Convento de Kikil is not as large, nor is it as intact, as Convento de San Bernardino de Siena (see Parts 9-15 of this series). However, it is still impressive and worth a short stop to inspect it. The former cloister (see my next posting) is the most intact part of the site, but it was closed when we visited. I only discovered later that the cloister now contains a museum with artifacts from the Convento's history as well as some pre-hispanic objects. Consequently, I don't have any photos of the museum's contents.

Overview

Google map of the route. Proceed due north on Highway 295 from Valladolid to Kikil. The distance is about 58km (36mi). Highway 295 splits just north of Kikil, with the left fork going to San Felipe and the right to Rio Lagartos. The Convento's ruins are on the right side of the road, about 100m (100yds) before you reach the fork. According to a legend about the pueblo's name, it derives from k'i'ik', the Yucatec Mayan word for blood. The story, says that a priest was once beheaded in the nave of the church. It is also possible that the name comes from k'i'ik' che', the name of a local rubber tree.

Convento de Kikil, as it appears from the road. The large rectangular structure on the right is Templo de Nuestra Señora de Candelaria and it was constructed in 1584. Another source calls it Templo San Román, but I find this name unlikely because San Román was martyred during the Cristero War (1926-29) long after the Convento was abandoned. In addition, some sources claim the Convento wasn't constructed until the middle of the 18th century. However the building style is much more like that of 16th century Franciscan structures.

The building is quite massive, measuring 65m (213.25 ft) long and 15m (49.2 ft) wide. Kikil's population is only about 200, and it was even tinier in the 16th century. To build such a large church, the Franciscan friars must have been very ambitious about their possibilities for evangelism. The cloister is the one-story structure on the left where the friars lived and worked. It was constructed in 1576, preceding the church by eight years. 

Google satellite view of the Convento. The Templo is the long structure (see the red marker) on the lower left, extending back from the parking area. The cloister is the light-colored structure extending at a right-angle from the Templo's other end. The exterior working area (shown in next posting) is behind the cloister to the right. At the far right is a low, circular stone structure that may be the remains of a noria (waterwheel). The area in the upper right is farmland that may have once been cultivated to support the friars and their Convento.

Templo de Nuestra Señora de Candelaria

The facade and front entrance of the Templo are rather plain. This is typical of colonial Mexico's 16th century Franciscan churches. It fitted the rather austere outlook and lifestyle of the Franciscan Order of that period. Above the arched entrance is the choir window. The long crack in the wall is probably from natural deterioration rather than earthquake damage. There is very little tectonic activity in northeastern Yucatan. The stonework at the top of the building's left corner differs from other parts of the facade, indicating a later addition. The most likely possibility is that it was once the base of a campanario (belltower). 

Two plain pilasters support the arch over the entrance. Unlike the rough stone used for the church's walls, the pilasters are of cut stone. This arrangement was typical of the late 16th century stone buildings that replaced the early adobe-and-thatch structures of the first part of the century. These pilasters are load-bearing, while others in the church pilasters are only decorative. Just inside the entrance are two niches which once contained statues of saints or other sacred figures.

Wooden rafters once supported the choir loft, just inside the entrance. The rafters show evidence of charring, indicating that the church was destroyed by fire, probably during the Caste War (1848-1915). That may also have been the occasion when the priest was beheaded. Despite the fire damage, you can still see the carefully carved undersides of the rafters. Decorative details like this can often be found in colonial religious structures, even in areas of a structure that are hard to see with the naked eye. The roof line has developed quite a lot of vegetation, adding to the overall sense of antiquity.

Looking down the length of the nave toward where the apse used to be. The apse is the curved end of a nave where the main alter is located. All that remains here is just open space. There are four empty niches visible, two on either wall. They are separated by two doorways, one either side of the mid-section of the church. The floor, which was once tiled, is now covered by grass and weeds. Much of the original lime plaster still covers the walls.

Detail of one of the nave's niches and a pilaster. The niche was probably filled with one of the many Franciscan saints, perhaps one who was martyred. It could even have contained a statue of San Francisco (St. Francis) himself. Although plain in design, the pilaster is carefully carved, unlike the rough stones in the walls. As with many pilasters, it does not support any weight, but is just a decorative element. 

View from the apse area back toward the entrance and choir window. The roof apparently collapsed during a hurricane in 1920. Over time, looters have dug holes in the walls. Other holes in the nave were dug by graverobbers looking for valuables in the tombs below the floor. Efforts to prevent further deterioration began in 2020. 

Plans for renovation of the decayed structure have been submitted by a committee of local citizens. However, the federal Maya Train Project put things on hold. In addition, there is a dispute over who controls the Convento's ruins. The disagreement is between the local committee, which is backed by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), and local government officials. 

One of the two side doors of the nave. Thick walls were necessary because outside buttresses were not used for support. The walls' rough limestone chunks were held in place with mortar made from sascab and honey. Sascab is a powder from decayed limestone that was widely used for mortar from pre-hispanic times through the colonial era. Quarried limestone was sometimes crushed and burned, along with animal bones, to create mortar. However, when it was available, sascab was the preferred material. It didn't require burning and the consequent necessity of large scale woodcutting to feed the fires.

This completes Part 17 of my Valladolid Adventures series. In Part 18, I will show you the cloister and some of the Convento de Kikil's external features, including its work areas. I hope you have enjoyed this posting. 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 so that I may respond in a timely manner.

Hasta luego, Jim

Valladolid Adventures Part 16: A day-trip to Yucatan's north coast

Homenaje al Pescador ("Homage to the Fisherman"). This statue on the malecón celebrates San Felipe's long history as a fishing port on Yucatan's north coast. The blowing palms show the strong, chilly wind off the ocean that was blowing. During the winter months, when we visited, Yucatan's coastal areas can be surprisingly cool and breezy. San Felipe's population is 1,838, but the town looked bigger when we drove into it. It sits at the mouth of an estuary that is part of the Rio Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, which has concentrations of pink flamingos similar to those at Celestún, on Yucatan's west coast.

We went on this adventure to see what  the area to the north of Valladolid had to offer. In this posting, I'll show a bit of San Felipe and its malecón (waterfront) lined with fishing boats. During our drive back to Valladolid, we briefly visited the small city of Timizin, with its historic Parroquia de los Tres Reyes (Church of the Three Kings). Near Tizimin, we also discovered and explored the ruins of the Franciscan Ex-Convento de Kikil.  However, that will be covered in the following two postings.

Overview

Google satellite map of northern Yucatan showing our route. We took Highway 295, a libre (free) road that proceeds due north from Valladolid. At Kikil, a short distance north of Timizin, the road splits, with the right fork going to Rio Lagartos and the left going to San Felipe. The two pueblos are about 11km (6.8mi) apart along the north coast. When you reach San Felipe, stay on the same road all the way to the malecón. The length of the trip (one way) is 107km (66.5mi) and it takes a little less than two hours. The country you pass through is flat and covered with farmland and forests. Traffic was light during our drive. 

The fishing port of San Felipe

The pier near the statue has a palm-frond palapa at its end. I was impressed by the town's general sense of prosperity. All of the boats I saw looked in good condition, with large, powerful motors mounted on their sterns. Everything, including the boats and the town itself, seemed clean and well-kept. Notice the land that lines the horizon in the background. This is part of a long, narrow east-to-west spit of land that forms the northern part of the bay and protects both San Felipe and Rio Lagartos from the open ocean beyond. The land spit is part of the Biosphere Reserve. 

View from the pier's palapa back toward the malecón. The palm fronds show the powerful winds that buffeted us. Restaurants, stores, and hotels line the shore along the malecón. Many of San Felipe's homes and other structures were originally built with varnished cedar which could resist the moist salt air. However, they couldn't withstand the force of Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, which destroyed a lot of them. It was apparently so powerful that even the protection of the land spit didn't save them.

Looking west along the palm-lined malecón. Each of these boats has its own name. The one in the foreground is called "Aremy K". Notice the horizon in the upper right. That is the mouth of the bay and beyond is the Gulf of Mexico (NOT "America"). The shore of what is now San Felipe was first visited 200 years ago by Maya fishermen from Santa Clara or Dzilam Bravo. According to legend, they sought shelter during bad weather. Looking for fresh water, they followed the sound of the native Chuleb birds and found a spring which they called Akta Chuleb ("Ahead of Chuleb").

The view toward the east shows more boats and piers. Although the wind was chilly, the day was sparkling clear, and sunny. Above-ground water is scarce in Yucatan, but with the discovery of the Akta Chuleb spring, it became possible to establish a temporary fishing camp. As more and more Maya visited, they discovered good land for farming and hunting. Some brought their families and settled permanently. At an unknown time, Akta Chuleb was given the new name of San Felipe, to honor the Franciscan martyr San Felipe de Jesus. My bet is that it happened when the the first friars arrived, because that was their usual practice. 

Restaurant El Popular Vaselina is located where the pier meets the malecón. The restaurant is covered by a thatched palapa and its sign has lobsters on either end dressed as waiters. Not surprisingly, its specialty is seafood.  San Felipe has many good restaurants and several inexpensive hotels along its waterfront. Although we didn't stay long, (Carole doesn't care for windy places) the town has plenty to do. In addition to strolling along the malecón waterfront, boats can be hired to fish or to visit the Biosphere Reserve and an archeological site. San Felipe has a very laid-back atmosphere. Hopefully, it is not yet overrun by tourists.

Tizamin de los Reyes

A statue commemorating motherhood shows seated woman nursing her baby. The subject of motherhood is popular in Mexiccan art. I have seen other statues glorifying it in places like Mérida, Yucatan's capital. The statue stands on the perimieter of Parque Principal Francisco Cantón, the main plaza of the city of Tizimin. In the local Maya dialect, the name of the city means "Place of the Tapir". It is located 52km (32mi) north of Valladolid on Highway 295, about half-way between that city and the north coast. With a population of 47,000, Tizimin is the second largest city in eastern Yucatan, after Valladolid. 

Parque Principal Francisco Cantón and its central kiosco. It is a very neat and well-kept plaza with many benches for those wishing to while away a sunny afternoon. All the buildings around the plaza are freshly painted in a variety of pastels. Francisco Cantón (1833-1917) joined the military at age 16 to fight the Maya during the Caste War (1848-1915). He later supported the rule of the French-imposed Emperior Maximillian (1862-1867). However, after the war, he reconciled with the Liberal Party under Porfirio Diaz and served as Governor of Yucatan from 1898 to 1902. 

Parroquia de los Tres Reyes stands across from the plaza's east side. The Church of the Three Kings is named after the three magi who, according to the New Testament, were guided by a star to visit Bethlehem and bring gifts to the Baby Jesus. The church was built in the 17th century, but the Franciscans had been evangelizing in the area since the middle of the 16th. In fact, Valladolid was originally founded in 1543 in the Tizimin municipality (equivalent to a US county). The new city was moved to its present location two years later because the first site was too swampy and unhealthy.

Melchior, one of the Three Kings, standing in a glass case in the church. The other two, Gaspar and Balthazar, stand nearby. A 16th century Franciscan friar named Andrés de Avendaño was inspired to use the Three Kings as an evangelizing tool at Tizimin. The three most important local gods were Yum Chac (Lord of the Rain), Yum Kaax (Lord of the Field), and Yum Ik (Lord of the Air). The Franciscan friar simply worked to substitute the Three Kings for the trio of Maya gods. This was similar to the tactic used by missionaries who created the Christmas tree to capitalize on the pagan German worship of the fir tree. 

This magnificent retablo stands in the apse at the end of the nave. The carved wood structure has thirteen niches for statues and paintings of various saints and sacred scenes. The retablo is in the Mexican Baroque style and includes sixteen spiraling Solomonic columns. Tizimin's Parroquia de los Tres Reyes is the second most important shrine to the Three Kings in the world, after the one in Cologne, Germany. The annual fiesta on January 6 draws thousands of participants. It includes a parade in which the Three Kings are paraded through the town. A similar fiesta is held the same day in a pueblo near Ajijic, where I live.

A sliver reliquary is bracketed by 12 silver candlesticks. Reliquaries are used to contain sacred relics. The number of candlesticks suggests that they represent the Twelve Apostles. Usually, reliquaries are in the shape of a box with a door in the front. This exquisitely decorated version is shaped like a coffee can, with a dome on top. Often, reliquaries are guarded by a brace of angel statues, but there were none in evidence here. There was also no indication of the nature of the relics contained in this reliquary.

A hexagonal pulpit is mounted on a side wall of the nave. I was impressed by the beautifully painted relief carvings of sacred figures on each of its six sides. The term pulpit comes from the Latin "pulpitum". The use of raised platforms dates back to ancient Israelite worship and Greek and Roman speaking traditions. They were first mentioned in regard to Christian practices by Cyprian of Carthage in the 3rd century AD. By the Middle Ages, they had become prominent features in churches. While pulpits in Catholic churches are often found on a side wall, in Protestant churches they are usually in the front.

A niche along the nave's wall contains a statue of the Virgen de Guadalupe. I immediately thought of her when I saw this statue. However, upon closer inspection, I had doubts. Many of the attributes of the Virgen de Guadalupe are present, including the sunburst halo that surrounds her and the type of clothing she wears. However, although I have taken hundreds of photos of her images all over Mexico, until Tizimin I had never encountered one in which she holds a child. After I Googled up numerous images of her holding the Baby Jesus, I was able to confirm my original opinion. Live and learn!

This completes Part 16 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 fashion.

Hasta luego, Jim

 

Valladolid Adventures Part 15: Convento de San Bernardino de Siena - The Cloister and Refectory

 

View of the Convento's bell tower from a courtyard window of the cloister. This cloister is a square, two-story structure with a central courtyard. It adjoins the north side of the church and has open-air arcades along all four sides of each level. Within a cloister are the parts of a convento where the friars meditated, studied, and exercised. In addition, there are individual "cells" where the friars slept and prayed. Another feature is the refectory, where they dined and met together.

In this posting, I'll show you the cloister at Convento San Bernardino de Siena and explain its various functions. I'll also talk about how the Franciscans viewed themselves and their work and the complex relationship they had with the Maya they came to evangelize. I'll include some quotes from the letters and reports of Franciscan friars during the centuries that they worked in Yucatan. This will be my last posting in the Convento sub-series within my overall Valladolid Adventures series. The sub-series begins with Part 9. 

Refectory and Hallways

The dining area of the refectory could also be used for meetings. There are ruins of a kitchen to the northeast of the cloister that appears to have been connected to the refectory at one time. However, all that is left of the kitchen is an old limestone wall with an arched doorway (see Part 11). The friars' diet included fruits and vegetables from their orchard behind the Convento. The cenote, which provided water for the Convento and its orchard, was also full of tasty bagre (catfish). Cattle provided beef for the refectory table, as well as income from their sale. All in all, the friars seem to have eaten pretty well.

The earliest Franciscans in Nueva España (colonial Mexico) were the famous Twelve Apostles of Mexico. They arrived in 1524, shortly after the Aztec defeat. However, the Franciscans didn't get to Yucatan until 1535, at a time when the Maya were still fiercely resisting Spanish incursions. The conquistador Francisco Montejo el Sobrino founded the city of Valladolid in 1545, on the site of the old Maya city of Zaci. Soon, Franciscan friars began to evangelize in the area. They founded Convento de San Bernardino de Siena in 1552 near the adjacent village of Ziis-Há and the cenote which bears the same name.

One of the cloister's ground floor corridors While the church has some sumptuous Baroque decorations, the cloister is more in tune with the Franciscan ideals of poverty and simplicity. The limited decorations include the statue in the corner and the simple cross in the niche next to it. Otherwise, the walls are bare. 

The Franciscan vision was to create a utopian society among the native people, based on Christian ideals. This involved establishing communities under the friars' direction, with Catholic rituals strictly enforced. Native religious beliefs, which the Franciscans viewed as "devil worship", would need to be eradicated. The Maya would be congregated in large villages and organized to farm in the European fashion. Initially, the Franciscans believed all this could be accomplished through gentle persuasion and personal example. However many of the Maya were not interested in all these changes and resisted from the start.

Statue of Jesus, or possibly one of the saints. I initially identified this as a statue of Jesus. After reviewing a number of images of various bearded Catholic saints holding staffs topped with crosses and clutching books with their other hand, I am not so sure. There was no sign identifying the figure, nor could I find any photo or information about it in my reference materials. My friend Richard Perry, who is an expert on colonial religious topics, suggests the statue could be Jesus, the Archangel Raphael or possibly John the Baptist. But, he is also not sure.

The Franciscans' utopian plan sought to transform a complex Maya culture that had existed for thousands of years. A particular problem was the native religion, which permeated every aspect of their lives. The Maya were very reluctant to discard these beliefs for an alien system imposed by foreigners. In addition, many of the friars had little respect for the Maya as adults, capable of rational thought. Instead, they viewed them as unsophisticated children needing control and direction. Consequently, punishment would sometimes be required to keep the Maya on the strict path necessary to achieve the Franciscan utopia.

A 19th century treadle sewing machine is another hallway decoration. Its place in the Convento's history is unclear to me. Treadle sewing machines like this were patented by Isaac Merritt Singer in 1851. Since the Franciscans turned over their Convento to the secular clergy in 1755, this treadle machine couldn't have belonged to them. It might have been imported in the 19th century by the secular priests who took over the complex. It might also be a random addition to the displays by someone who thought an old item like this belonged in the Convento's historical collection.

The Franciscans strictly enforced compulsory attendance to mass. The Maya under their control were required to assemble in a public area before mass so that they could be counted and their names checked off of lists. Tardiness could result in a blow from a stick wielded by one of the native religious police recruited by the friars. Anyone who missed mass entirely needed to provide an acceptable excuse, such as illness. People who were unable to provide such an excuse were whipped. If the person had a history of such absences, the whipping could be severe and prolonged.*

*Historia de Yucatan, by Fr. Diego Lopez de Cogolludo, published in 1688

The Cloister

The cloister's courtyard, viewed through one of the arched portales. The cloister is an enclosed world, with limited entrances. The whole atmosphere is inward looking. This was intended to create a private space for the friars where they could write, study, meditate, and teach the Order's novices. It was deliberately set up to separate the friars from the distractions of the outside world. In addition to the inward focus, the stark simplicity of the construction and decor were an expression of the Franciscan ideals.

Despite mandatory participation in Catholic religious rites, many Maya continued to covertly worship the old gods. When they were discovered, sometimes through snitching by neighbors, they were often punished severely.  Diego de Landa, a Franciscan bishop, was infamously zealous in his efforts to stop "idolatry". He ordered ancient statues to be smashed and temples and pyramids dismantled. In an attempt to erase any memory by the Maya of their traditional religion, the bishop ordered the collection and public burning of ancient hieroglyphic manuscripts. This was a deliberate act of cultural genocide.

Looking up from the courtyard to the second story arcade. Standing in the courtyard, I was a bit overwhelmed with the massiveness of the structure surrounding me. The walls are sheer and thick and almost devoid of decoration. It is no coincidence that monastic structures like this sometimes became prisons. The friars live in what they literally called cells. The addition of locked doors and barred windows could easily transform a religious institution into a prison. In fact, ecclesiastical prisons were created as early as the third century AD.

In 1567, prominent Maya leaders wrote King Phillip II about even worse abuses than document destruction. Their letter states that "we see ourselves maimed by cruel tortures, with many dead, and robbed of our property." Those who practiced the old religion were chained up in monastic prisons. Others were given as slaves to Spaniards. The remains of baptized Maya who were posthumously accused of idolatry were disinterred from church cemeteries and their bones scattered in the woods. In their letter, the Maya leaders declared "may Diego de Landa and his companions suffer the penance for the evils they have done to us." In 1577, the King finally rebuked the Franciscan bishop and reined in his abuses. 

A stone stairway leads up to the cloister's second story. The metal gates and railings are modern additions, but the stone stairs are original. As my steps echoed on them, I thought of the centuries of echoing footsteps by the friars as they mounted the staircase and moved about within their cloister.

Another Franciscan strategy that resulted in considerable Maya resentment was called congregación. When the Spanish arrived, most Maya lived in small, dispersed hamlets. Establishing and exercising control meant forcing them to move to larger villages. This served both religious and civil purposes. A large enough village could provide the labor and resources to support a church and its clerics. The largest villages could become sites for conventos like San Bernardino de Siena. Congregación also enabled civil authorities to more easily collect tribute, recruit forced labor, and to otherwise maintain control.

Second story arcade. Except for a a hanging lamp and single line of stenciled flowers painted along the wall everything else is starkly simple. Doorways along the inner side of the arcade lead into rooms that served as the friars' personal living spaces, meditation areas, classrooms for novices, and storage and administrative areas.

The process of congregación was not always an easy one. After it began in Yucatan in the 1530s, one friar wrote that "these people love their huts, cling to their habits, love their mother mountain, the ravine of their childhood, and it is extremely difficult to remove them from that place". He noted that, while "some said yes, others could not make up their mind whether they liked the idea or not." Others said yes, "but never had it in their minds that they would move and were strongly determined not ot leave their old house." Still others "frankly said that they did not wish to move and abandon the houses in which they were born".

Stenciled decorations on the wall of the second story arcade. The work of congregación had to be redone again and again. When the new villages were constructed and the Maya, willing or not, were moved there from their ancestral homes, the friars would leave to work on their next village project. However, a friar reported that "once the Father had gone, the inhabitants returned to the woods, and they had to be gathered up again." When they were re-installed in their new homes, "the old ones were demolished and the places of their old beliefs destroyed." The friar lamented the effort it took "to make them understand that all of this was done for their own good and without any other consideration."

The treatment of the Maya as children; the destruction of their religious objects and sites; the burning of their sacred texts; the forced acceptance of a foreign religion; the demand that they vacate their ancestral homes and move to new and unfamiliar villages; the brutal punishments for those who resisted; all these led to a deep hatred of Spaniards in general and the friars in particular. It resulted in periodic violent revolts, including one in 1546, only a year after Valladolid was founded. An example of Maya hatred occurred during that uprising, when a pair of friars were first crucified and then shot full of arrows.

View down into the cloister courtyard from the second story. The Franciscans, at least most of them, were truly dedicated to their utopian ideals. Those ideals differed from the motivation of other Spaniards. The civil authorities and ordinary Spaniards simply wanted to maintain political domination and to exploit the Maya for the maximum gain. In contrast, the Franciscans were prepared to treat the Maya with the kindness of a parent toward a child who is willing to submit to the parent's strict rules. There were even occasions when the friars stepped in to protect their native parishioners from abuse by greedy Spaniards. 

Fundamentally, however, the Franciscan utopia was just another aspect of what has been called the "Spiritual Conquest". It was well understood in colonial times that the evangelical Orders were expected to act in concert with the civil and military authorities in order to pacify and control the native people. The Spanish knew that they couldn't maintain control simply with the sword. The Maya needed to be persuaded that their subjugation was the will of God. Franciscan utopianism was the velvet glove which concealed the iron fist.

This completes Part 15 of my Valladolid Adventures series. It is also my last posting on the great Convento de San Bernardino de Siena. My next few postings will explore other aspects of Valladolid and eastern Yucatan. I hope you have enjoyed this one. 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 promptly.

Hasta luego, Jim