Maní is a small

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in Maní Municipality in the central region of the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

, in the Mexican state of

Yucatán Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate mun ...

. It is about 100 km to the south south-east of

Mérida, Yucatán Mérida () is the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, and the largest city in southeastern Mexico. The city is also the seat of the eponymous Municipality. It is located in the northwest corner of the Yucatán Peninsula, about 35 km (22 ...

, some 16 km east of

Ticul Ticul is a city and the municipal seat of the Ticul Municipality, Yucatán in Mexico. It is located some 100 km south of the state capital city of Mérida. In 2000 Ticul had a population of about 28,000 people. The majority are ethnically ...

. The village of Tipikal lies 6 km to the east.Lougheed. The population is currently around 4000, similar now to the estimated 4500 in the 16th century.

History

Maní's four millennium existence historically involves mostly its early

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

period, followed in recent centuries by its Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

and religious period. Its Mexican period beginning over a century ago involved conflict.

Early history

Maní has been continuously occupied for approximately 4000 years. In the postclassic

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

n era it was home to the

Tutul-Xiu Tutul-Xiu, also Tutul Xiues or Mani, was the name of a Mayan chiefdom of the central Yucatán Peninsula with capital in Maní, before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century. Earlier history In later accounts the C ...

dynasty, which moved their capital here from

Uxmal Uxmal (Yucatec Maya: ''Óoxmáal'' ) is an ancient Maya city of the classical period located in present-day Mexico. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of Maya culture, along with Palenque, Chichen Itza and Calakmul ...

in the 13th century. The Xiu were the dominant power in the western Yucatán after the fall of

Mayapan Mayapan (Màayapáan in Modern Maya; in Spanish Mayapán) is a Pre-Columbian Maya site a couple of kilometers south of the town of Telchaquillo in Municipality of Tecoh, approximately 40 km south-east of Mérida and 100 km west o ...

in 1441. Maní served as the main religious center in honor of the deity

Kukulcan K’uk’ulkan, also spelled Kukulkan, ( "''Plumed Serpent''", "''Amazing Serpent''") is the name of a Mesoamerican serpent deity that was worshipped by the Yucatec Maya people of the Yucatán Peninsula before the Spanish conquest of Yucatán. ...

(Cukulcan, Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl) for the Maya with an annual ''chic kaban'' festival until 1341. With the arrival of the Spanish the Xiu of Maní allied themselves with the Spanish and assisted in the conquest of the rest of the peninsula.Clendinnen, ''Cost'', p. 98.

Maya book burning

On 12 July 1562,Nimoy, ''In Search Of...'' Friar

Diego de Landa Diego de Landa Calderón, O.F.M. (12 November 1524 – 29 April 1579) was a Spanish Franciscan bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Yucatán. Many historians criticize his campaign against idolatry. In particular, he burned almost a ...

, who held the office of inquisitor before the Monastery of San Miguel Arcángel, held an

auto de fe Auto may refer to: * An automaton * An automobile * An autonomous car * An automatic transmission * An auto rickshaw * Short for automatic * Auto (art), a form of Portuguese dramatic play * ''Auto'' (film), 2007 Tamil comedy film * Auto (play), ...

Inquisitional ceremony in Maní, burning a number of Maya hieroglyphic books and a reported 5000 idols, saying that they were "works of the devil". The number of books burned is disputed. Landa claimed only burning 27. This act and numerous incidents of torture at the monastery were used to speed the mass adoption of Roman Catholicism throughout the region. Landa's burning of these sacred books with Mayan writing and the subsequent reaction were described by him as follows:

Guerra de Castas

Maní was involved in part of the multi-decade conflict in the ''Guerra de Castas'', the Caste War of the Yucatán. An engraved stone narrates an episode of the event for Maní in 1850.

Church and Convent of San Miguel

The town has an old

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

established in 1549,Established 1549; built between 1548–57. the ''Parroquia y Exconvento de San Miguel Arcangel''. The large building was built using cut stones from many of the

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

structures of Maní. A large open chapel is on the north side with the two bell gables on the church facade. Inside, the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

vault has some early colonial era fresco

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

interior houses three

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

carved altars with statues of saints and images. Restoration work on the monastery building and its artwork began in 2001.

Surroundings

The area around Maní is largely devoted to agriculture, principally

henequen Henequen (''Agave fourcroydes'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to southern Mexico and Guatemala. It is reportedly naturalized in Italy, the Canary Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Cayman Islands and ...

, maiz,

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

, and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

Hammock A hammock (from Spanish , borrowed from Taíno and Arawak ) is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two or more points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a wo ...

s are made in the city.

Festivals

Each 15 to 24 August Maní holds a festival in honor of the Virgin of the Assumption. Each 3 January is a festival of the Virgin of Candlemas.

Photo gallery

File:2002.12.30_31_House_Maní_Yucatan_Mexico.jpg, House in the Main Square File:Mani_Yucatan_Street_2002.12.30_22.jpg, A street File:Mani_Yucatan_church_2002.12.30_25.jpg, An arch at the Church File:Mani_Yucatan_church_2002.12.30_28.jpg, An Inscription at the Church File:San_Miguel_Arcangel_Mani 2.JPG, San Miguel Arcangel, Mani

Notes

Citations

References

English * Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1883), ''The Native Races of the Pacific States'', ''Vol. II: Civilized Nations'', Bancroft & Co., San Francisco, 1883 edition. *. * Clendinnen, Inga (2010), "Disciplining the Indians: Franciscan Ideology and Missionary Violence in Sixteenth Century Yucatán" (essay; chapter 3), ''The Cost of Courage in Aztec Society: Essays on Mesoamerican Society and Culture'', Cambridge University Press, (hardback). *Lougheed, Vivien (2009), ''Travel Adventures: Yucatan – Chetumal, Merida & Campeche'', "Chapter 4.10.2.9: Mani", Hunter Travel (guides), Hunter Publishing, Inc., Edison, New Jersey. *Nicholson, H.B. (2001), ''Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl: The Once and Future Lord of the Toltecs'', University Press of Colorado; Boulder, Colorado. * Nimoy, Leonard (narrator) (1978), '' In Search of... (TV series)'', Episode 28 (Series 2, Episode 4; airdate 1978 January 7), "Mayan Mysteries",

Alan Landsburg Productions Alan Landsburg Productions (ALP) was an independent television production company founded by Alan Landsburg in 1971. The company had produced '' In Search of...'' and ''That's Incredible!'', two early examples of reality television decades before ...

, copyright 1977. * Sharer, Robert J. (1994), ''The Ancient Maya'', 5th edition. Spanish *INEGI (2010); , Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía ational Institute of Statistics and Geography (Mexico) *Solís, Juan F. Molina (1896)
''Historia Antigua de Yucatán''
La ruina de Uxmal y la fundación de Maní. Supplemento (1896), Biblioteca Virtual de Yucatan.

External links

in Spanish language {{DEFAULTSORT:Mani, Yucatan Maya sites in Yucatán Populated places in Yucatán Ancient libraries Maya sites that survived the end of the Classic Period