María Uicab was a priestess and
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 ...
leader, born in
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 ...
in the 19th century. She flourished during the
Caste War of Yucatán. She was also known by the nicknames ''Patron Saint'' and ''Queen of
Tulum
Tulum (, yua, Tulu'um) is the site of a pre-Columbian Mayan walled city which served as a major port for Coba, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The ruins are situated on cliffs along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Carib ...
''. It seems that her original name could have been María Petrona Uicab and that she was married three times, first in 1860.
She was influential in the
Cruzoob religious movement. A charismatic woman, she had a skill for making her followers obey her. She did this by appealing to their superstitions. In a temple in the city of Tulum, she supposedly interpreted "the voices of three crosses." The crosses stood upon an altar, and Uicab claimed to be able to interpret their commands. After 1875, her name stopped appearing in written sources; it seems that by that time, she had died. Even so, the end of her life is a mystery. One possibility is that she was assassinated by her own followers in the Cruzoob movement; another is that she died of old age.
References
Bibliography
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*{{cite book , last1=Villalobos González , first1=Martha Herminia , title=El bosque sitiado: asaltos armados, concesiones forestales y estrategias de resistencia durante la Guerra de Castas , date=2006 , publisher=Centro de Investigación y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social , location=Google Books , isbn=9789707017627 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VLsmZpkij4IC , language=Spanish
People from Yucatán
Mexican religious leaders
Maya people