Umán is a city 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 political divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. I ...

and the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Together with

Kanasín Kanasín (In the Yucatec Maya language: “tense or strongly tightened”) is a city in the Mexican state of Yucatán and the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. It is located in the northwestern region of the state, forming par ...

, it is part of the Mérida metropolitan area. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 56,409 inhabitants, making it the 4th most populous city in the state behind

Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...

, Kanasín, and Mérida.

Topynym

The word "Umán" means “purchase” in the

Yucatec Maya language Yucatec Maya (; referred to by its speakers simply as Maya or as , is one of the 32 Mayan languages of the Mayan language family. Yucatec Maya is spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula and northern Belize. There is also a significant diasporic commu ...

and it also means "your path" or "your walk".

History

There is no accurate data on when Umán was founded, though it existed before the

conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...

and in antiquity belonged to the chieftainship of

Ah Canul Ah Canul was the name of a Maya Kuchkabal of the northwest Yucatán Peninsula, before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century. Origin of name Ah Canul literally means "protector", derived from the verb ''canan'' which ...

. At colonization, it 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 Francisco Hernández recorded as one of the earliest encomenderos. Yucatán declared its independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821 and in 1825, the area was assigned to the Lower Camino Real with its headquarters in Hunucmá Municipality. In 1921, Umán was designated as seat of its own municipality.

Governance

Umán is the seat of its eponymous municipality in which its municipal president is elected for a three-year term. The town council has nine councilpersons, who serve as Secretary and councilors of heritage and sports, policing, education and health, public works, potable water, rural development and social management, roads and markets, nomenclature and recruiting, ecology, public monuments.

Demographics

Local festivals

Every year from 13 to 15 September, Umán holds a celebration for the Christ of Love.

Tourist attractions

* The ex-convent and Church of St. Francis of Assisi, built in the eighteenth century * Archaeological sites at Bolon, Hotzus and Kizil * Hacienda Xtepén * Hacienda

Yaxcopoil Hacienda Yaxcopoil (YASH-coh-poh-EEL) is a town and hacienda located near Mérida in the Umán Municipality, Yucatán, Mexico. Hacienda Yaxcopoil dates back to the 17th century, the name Yaxcopoil means "the place of the green alamo trees" in the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uman Municipality seats in Yucatán Populated places in Yucatán