Born María López, María de La Candelaria (c.1698 - d.1716) was a
Tzeltal Tzeltal may refer to:
* Tzeltal people, an ethnic group of Mexico
* Tzeltal language
Tzeltal or Tseltal () is a Mayan language spoken in the Mexican state of Chiapas, mostly in the municipalities of Ocosingo, Altamirano, Huixtán, Tenejapa, ...
Maya woman and one of the leaders of the
Tzeltal Rebellion. Her father, Agustín López, was the sacristan of Cancuc in the district of
Chiapas
Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
. In June 1712 María announced to the people of
Tzeltal Tzeltal may refer to:
* Tzeltal people, an ethnic group of Mexico
* Tzeltal language
Tzeltal or Tseltal () is a Mayan language spoken in the Mexican state of Chiapas, mostly in the municipalities of Ocosingo, Altamirano, Huixtán, Tenejapa, ...
that
the Virgin Mary had
appeared to her with the request that a chapel be built in her honor. Prior to this announcement, the region of Chiapas had gone through two decades of social and political turmoil caused by poor harvests, repeated conflict among the Spaniards, one native rebellion, and a tribute system that was particularly burdensome on the Indians in the mountain regions. Following María's announcement Cancuc's Dominican friar attempted to punish her and her father, as well as those who believed in the miracle of the apparition. But the inhabitants of
Tzeltal Tzeltal may refer to:
* Tzeltal people, an ethnic group of Mexico
* Tzeltal language
Tzeltal or Tseltal () is a Mayan language spoken in the Mexican state of Chiapas, mostly in the municipalities of Ocosingo, Altamirano, Huixtán, Tenejapa, ...
expelled the friar and built the chapel siding with María.
Over the following months, María López took the name María de la Candelaria.
The news of the Virgin's apparition had spread through the Mayan region drawing numerous Indians to the newly established chapel. On August 8, María de la Candelaria stood in front of the chapel and told a multitude of people that the Virgin had ordered the annihilation of the Spaniards and of other forms of Spanish authority including all kinds of tribute, the clergy, the bishop, and the mayor.
Indians from thirty two communities including
Tzeltal Tzeltal may refer to:
* Tzeltal people, an ethnic group of Mexico
* Tzeltal language
Tzeltal or Tseltal () is a Mayan language spoken in the Mexican state of Chiapas, mostly in the municipalities of Ocosingo, Altamirano, Huixtán, Tenejapa, ...
,
Tzotzil, and
Ch'ol rose up in a multiethnic rebellion against the Spaniards that lasted about three and a half months. Alongside Sebastian Gomez de la Gloria -a Tzotzil Indian man from
Chenalhó who claimed to have risen to Heaven-, María de la Candelaria led the rebel army and appointed Indian vicars who replaced Spanish clergy and preached the miracle of the apparition in churches of rebel towns.
On November 21 the Spaniards recaptured Cancuc and María de la Candelaria escaped with her father and other family members. Together they hid around in a series of Tzotzil towns until they found permanent refuge in the forest of Chihuisbalam between the Valley of Huitiupán and
Yajalón. About three years later, in February 1716, María de la Candelaria died in childbirth. Soon after her death her family was discovered and captured by the Spaniards. During their trial María's father admitted that the miracle of the apparition had been a ploy to overthrow the Spaniards in Chiapas.
In spite of her central role in the Tzeltal Rebellion, María de la Candelaria appears to have been forgotten by the native people of Chiapas. Modern accounts of this historical event focus on Juan López, a rebel captain who was executed by the Indians.
[Albán and Rus.]
Candelaria, María de La
. 2001
Further reading
Bricker, Victoria Reifler. The Indian Christ, the Indian King: The Historical Substrate of Maya Myth and Ritual. Austin, 1981. Anthropologically oriented study of rebellions in the Maya region.
Brinton, Daniel G. María Candelaria: An Historic Drama from American Aboriginal Life. Philadelphia, 1897.
Gosner, Kevin. Soldiers of the Virgin: The Moral Economy of a Colonial Maya Rebellion. Tucson, 1992. Detailed monograph on the 1712 rebellion and its economic causes. Its characterization of the period preceding the rebellion as one of economic crisis, however, is open to debate
Viqueira, Juan Pedro. Indios rebeldes e idólatras. Dos ensayos históricos sobre la rebelión India de Cancuc, Chiapas, acaecida en el año de 1712. Mexico City, 1997. Examination of the regional dynamics of the rebellion and the religious beliefs of the Indians who participated in it.
References
1698 births
1716 deaths
Native American women in warfare
Women in 16th-century warfare
Women in war in Mexico
18th-century Mexican women