Tecun Uman
Tecun Uman | |
---|---|
Born | 1500? |
Died | February 20, 1524 |
Tecun Uman
Battle of El Pinar
In 1522 Hernán Cortés sent Mexican allies to scout the Soconusco region of lowland Chiapas, where they met delegations from Iximche and Q'umarkaj at Tuxpán;[2] both of the powerful highland Maya kingdoms declared their loyalty to the king of Spain.[3] But Cortés' allies in Soconusco soon informed him that the K'iche' and the Kaqchikel were not loyal, and were instead harassing Spain's allies in the region. Cortés decided to despatch Pedro de Alvarado with 180 cavalry, 300 infantry, crossbows, muskets, 4 cannons, large amounts of ammunition and gunpowder, and thousands of allied Mexican warriors from Tlaxcala, Cholula and other cities in central Mexico;[4] they arrived in Soconusco in 1523.[3]
Pedro de Alvarado and his army advanced along the
The legend
The legends relate that Tecun Uman entered battle adorned with precious
Another account claims a much more complex confrontation of religious and material forces.
A different version states Tecun Uman had an opportunity to kill Alvarado but ultimately failed and was slain by one of Alvarado's subordinates, a soldier known by the name of Argueta.[13]
Local folklore from the area around the former K'iche' capital of Q'umarkaj preserves the belief that he was buried at the small archaeological site of
Historical evidence
The true existence of a historical Tecun Uman is subject of ongoing debate. One piece of evidence to suggest he lived comes from a letter written by Alvarado to Hernán Cortés. However, the letter is quite sparing in details, with Alvarado only mentioning of the battle that ensued: "in this affair one of the four chiefs of the city of
The Popol Vuh[16] confirms the observations of Bartolomé de las Casas and the Título de Totonicapán, which record that four lords ruled the K'iche' at the time of the Spanish conquest. The first-born son of the Keeper of the Mat (the most powerful of the lords) was expected to prove himself by leading the K'iche' army and was given the title "nima rajpop achij", the same title given to Tecun Uman in the Título K'oyoi. This is all tied together by the genealogy of the K'iche' lords that is given near the end of the Popul Vuh and a section of the Título de Totonicapan, which both refer to the son of the Keeper of the Mat as "Tecum" at the time of Alvarado's arrival.[citation needed]
A second explanation for the absence of greater detail in Alvarado's letter is that Tecun Uman actually did battle with one of Alvarado's subordinates, by the name of Argueta. This suggestion is based on the claim of Argueta's descendants that the lance they keep as an heirloom of their predecessor is stained with the blood of the K'iche' hero.[13]
Name
It is believed that "Tecun Uman" was more than likely not the ruler's name at all but may have functioned as a sort of title. The earliest recorded appearance of the name is in the Título C'oyoi in which he is referred to as "nima rajpop achij adelantado Tecum umam rey k'iche' don k'iq'ab'." Translated, this phrase means: "great captain-general Tecum, grandson of the K'iche' king Don K'iqab'." Therefore, the word "uman" or "umam" simply means "grandson of" and is not part of Tecun's name at all. It has been suggested that "umam" may have been a reference to his genealogy, or the name may have originally been derived from another title given to the hero, "q'uq'umam", meaning "ancient one of quetzal feathers", or it might have come from the indigenous name for a prominent local volcano: "Teyocuman."[13]
Baile de la Conquista
The Guatemalan Baile de la Conquista ("Dance of the Conquest") is a traditional dance borrowing its structure from the Spanish Baile de los Moros ("Dance of the Moors"), which commemorates the expulsion of the Moors from Spain. The dance is known to have been performed throughout certain regions of colonial Latin America during a time when Catholic priests encouraged its use to aid them in the conversion of various native populations.[citation needed]
In Guatemala, the dance recounts the early events of the conquest, centering on the confrontation between Tecun Uman and Pedro de Alvarado, which in turn serves as a symbol for the much larger conflict in which they were involved. The dance reenacts the invasion led by Alvarado and the conquest of Guatemala. To fit the traditions of the Baile de los Moros, the role of the Moorish prince is replaced with that of Tecun Uman. It has therefore been suggested that the structure of the dance forced them to create a leader for the native armies, with Tecun Uman created specifically for that purpose.[13] This theory is generally given little credence, in light of the observation that such documents as the Título K'oyoi appeared long before the first performances of the Baile de la Conquista.[17]
National Hero
Tecun Uman was declared a National Hero of Guatemala on March 22, 1960, and is celebrated annually on February 20 for the bravery and dignity he demonstrated in opposition to the Spanish Conquistadors.[18] Tecun Uman's namesakes include a small town in the department of San Marcos on the Guatemala-Mexico border as well as countless hotels, restaurants, and Spanish schools throughout Guatemala. He is also memorialized in a poem by Miguel Ángel Asturias that bears his name.[19] In contrast to his popularity, he is at times rejected by Maya cultural activists who consider his status as a national hero a source of irony, considering the long history of mistreatment of Guatemala's native population.[20]
See also
- Cerro Quiac
- Kaibil Balam
- Tecunumania, which is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae, named after the King.[21]
Notes
- ^ Alternate transliterations include Tecún Umán, Tecúm Umán, Tecúm Umam, Tekun Umam, etc.
- ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 763. Restall and Asselbergs 2007, p. 3.
- ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 763. Lovell 2005, p. 58. Matthew 2012, pp. 78-79.
- ^ Recinos 1952, 1986, p. 65. Gall 1967, pp. 40–41.
- ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 764. Gall 1967, p. 41.
- ^ Gall 1967, pp. 41–42. Díaz del Castillo 1632, 2005, p. 510.
- ^ a b Restall and Asselbergs 2007, pp. 9, 30.
- ^ Cornejo Sam 2009, pp. 269–270.
- ^ Animal Diversity - The Resplendent Quetzal
- ^ Authentic Maya: Tecun Uman, Pedro de Alvarado, and the Virgin Mary Archived 2007-10-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d Tecum Umam: ¿Personaje Mítico o Histórico? (SPANISH) Archived 2008-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Carmack 2001, pp.222-223.
- ^ Pedro de Alvarado. 1969. An Account of the Conquest of Guatemala in 1524 by Pedro de Alvarado. Sedley J. Mackie, ed. New York: Kraus Reprint Co.
- ISBN 0-684-81845-0
- ^ [Barbara Bode. 1961. The Dance of the Conquest of Guatemala. New Orleans: Middle American Research Institute, Tulane University.]
- ^ "Tecún Umán Monument - Revue Magazine". Revue Magazine. 2011-09-09. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
- ^ PALABRA VIRTUAL: Tecun Uman, Miguel Ángel Asturias
- ^ CULTURAL SURVIVAL: Guatemala - Everybody's Indian When the Occasion's Right
- ^ "Tecunumania Standl. & Steyerm. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
References
- Carmack, Robert M. (2001a). Kik'ulmatajem le K'iche'aab': Evolución del Reino K'iche' (in Spanish). Guatemala: Iximulew. OCLC 253481949.
- Cornejo Sam, Mariano. Q'antel (Cantel): Patrimonio cultural-histórico del pueblo de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción Cantel: Tzion'elil echba'l kech aj kntelab "Tierra de Viento y Neblina" (in Spanish). Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.
- OCLC 34997012.
- Gall, Francis (July–December 1967). "Los Gonzalo de Alvarado, Conquistadores de Guatemala". Anales de la Sociedad de Geografía e Historia (in Spanish). XL. Guatemala City, Guatemala: OCLC 72773975.
- Lovell, W. George (2005). Conquest and Survival in Colonial Guatemala: A Historical Geography of the Cuchumatán Highlands, 1500–1821 (3rd ed.). Montreal, Canada: OCLC 58051691.
- Matthew, Laura E. (2012). Memories of Conquest: Becoming Mexicano in Colonial Guatemala (hardback). First Peoples. Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA: OCLC 752286995.
- OCLC 243309954.
- OCLC 165478850.
- OCLC 57577446.