Uayma Municipality (In the
Yucatec Maya Language: “water not here”) is one of the 106
municipalities in the
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
state of
Yucatán, containing (196.72 km
2) of land and located roughly 165 km east of the city of
Mérida.
History
There is no accurate data on when the town was founded, though it existed before
the conquest and in antiquity belonged to the chieftainship of Cupules.
At colonization, Uayma became part of the
encomienda
The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...
system with the first recorded encomendero as Juan Bellido 1549-1579. From him it passed to Martín de Güemes 1579; Gaspar González, Pedro de Valencia, and Pedro de Valencia II 1607; Francisco Menéndez Morán 1683-1688; and thereafter to Joaquin Menéndez.
Yucatán declared its independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821 and in 1825, the area was assigned to the partition of
Valladolid Municipality. During the
Caste War of Yucatán
The Caste War of Yucatán (1847–1915) began with the revolt of Native Maya people of the Yucatán Peninsula against Hispanic populations, called ''Yucatecos''. The latter had long held political and economic control of the region. A lengthy w ...
the city was abandoned but repopulated after federal troops regained possession of it. In 1918, it was designated as its own municipality.
Governance
The municipal president is elected for a three-year term. The town council has four councilpersons, who serve as Secretary and councilors of public works, education, nomenclature and public monuments.
Communities
The head of the municipality is
Uayma, Yucatán. There are 16 populated areas of the municipality.
The most notable, after the seat, include San Lorenzo, Santa María Aznar, and Xkatbe. The significant populations are shown below:
Local festivals
Every year on 3 May the festival of the Holy Cross is celebrated and on 15 May the feast of San Isidro Labrador, the town's patron saint is held. Also on 4 August a fiesta for Santo Domingo is recognized.
Tourist attractions
* The ex-convent and Church of Santo Domingo, built in the seventeenth century, destroyed during the Caste War, and rebuilt in the 19th century is one of the most famous structures of the municipality.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uayma
Municipalities of Yucatán