Motul (from Mayan: Mutul: toponymic, “the 'mut' bird”; it can also mean “knot”), officially Motul de Carrillo Puerto, is the capital city of the municipality of Motul located in the central coastal region of the Mexican state of Yucatán, at an approximate distance of 45 kilometers northeast of the city of Mérida, the capital of the entity. According to the INEGI census carried out in 2020, the city has just over 26 thousand inhabitants. The city is famous for being the place of origin of Motuleños eggs, a typical traditional dish of Yucatan cuisine. The official name of the city pays tribute to former governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto, originally from Motul, who was an important figure for the state at the beginning of the 20th century for his fight against the exploitation of the Mayan people.
History
Motul was a site of the
Pre-Columbian
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...
Maya civilization
The Maya civilization () was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. It is known by its ancient temples and glyphs (script). The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writin ...
, said to have been founded in the 11th century by a priest named Zac Mutul. The city was ruled by the Pech family. After the fall of Yucatán's central government in
Mayapan
Mayapan (Màyapáan in Yucatec Maya language, Modern Maya; in Spanish language, Spanish Mayapán) is a Pre-Columbian Maya civilization, Maya site a couple of kilometers south of the town of Telchaquillo in Municipality of Tecoh, approximately ...
in the 1440s, the Pech ruled a regional kingdom called Cehpech with its capital in Motul.
With the
Spanish conquest of Yucatán
The Spanish conquest of Yucatán was the campaign undertaken by the Spanish Empire, Spanish ''conquistadores'' against the Mesoamerican chronology, Late Postclassic Maya civilization, Maya states and polities in the Yucatán Peninsula, a vast ...
,
Conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
Francisco de Montejo
Francisco de Montejo (; 1479 – 1553) was a Spanish conquistador in Mexico and Central America.
Early years
Francisco de Montejo was born about 1473 to a family of lesser Spanish nobility in Salamanca, Spain. He never documented his parentag ...
made Motul a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
colonial town. Motul has a Spanish colonial era
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
with interesting
fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
s.
Motul was granted the status of a
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
on 22 February 1872.
Motul was the birthplace of
Felipe Carrillo Puerto, a former
Governor of Yucatán who was assassinated in 1924. In his honor, the formal name of the city of Motul was changed to Motul de Carrillo Puerto.
Motul is known as the place of origin of the popular dish ''
huevos motuleños'' (eggs Motul style).
Location
Motul is located in the central region of the State and borders to the north with the municipalities of Telchac Pueblo and Dzemul; to the south with Cacalchén; to the east with Cansahcab and to the west with Baca.
It is in the central place of the region known as the henequen zone of Yucatán, having located in the city important manufacturing centers of the henequen agroindustry during the time of Cordemex, a parastatal company that concentrated the activity towards the end of the last century.
Traditional holidays
The guilds in Motul are part of the customs and traditions. For Catholics, the festival begins on July 1 with the traditional mañanitas and the descent of the Virgin of Carmen who at 4:00 in the morning walks through the main streets of the city center, then returns and is placed on an altar. especially inside the ecclesiastical nave.
The participating unions are:
* July 1: Downhill Guild.
* July 2: Ladies and Young Ladies Guild.
* July 3: Guadalupe Guild, faith and hope.
* July 4: Half-Blood Guild #1.
* July 5: Guild of Day Laborers and Farmers.
* July 6: Drivers Guild.
* July 7: Guild of Tanners, Shoemakers and Millers.
* July 8: Bakers Guild.
* July 9: Guild of Builders.
* July 10: Carpenters Guild.
* July 11: Guild of mechanics, blacksmiths and drivers.
* July 12: Mixed Guild.
* July 13: Suppliers Guild.
* July 14: Guild of Faith, Hope and Charity.
* July 15: Guild of Ladies and Young Ladies #1, at night after the burning of the pyrotechnics, the traditional dairy is held.
* July 16: Half-Blood Guild #2. That same day, a procession is held to the Virgen del Carmen in which thousands of believers gather and join in the celebration.
* July 17: Peasant Guild July 18: Guild of youth groups.
* July 19: Guild symbol of divine justice.
* July 20: Guild of Peace and Union.
* July 21: Peasant Youth Guild.
* July 22: Guild of young people, gentlemen, ladies and ladies.
* July 23: Guild union of youth and children and closing of the Virgin.
Localities belonging to the municipality
Within the municipal jurisdiction, in addition to the capital, 8 towns considered important are included: Kiní, Mesatunich, Sacapuc, Timul, Ucí.
Other localities, although with a smaller number of inhabitants, are: Kambul, Kancabal, Kamcapchén, Komchén Martínez, Kopté, Rogelio Chalé, Sabacnah, Sakolá, San Antonio Dzinah, San Pedro Cámara, San Pedro Chacabal, San Rafael, San Antonio, San Roque, Santa Cruz Pachón, Santa Teresa, Tanyá, Tekal, Texán Espejo, Ticopó Gutiérrez, Uitzil, Haceh, Hacienda Marco and Rancho Kamcapchén.
References
Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
YucatánEnciclopedia de los Municipios de México
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Motul, Yucatan
Populated places in Yucatán
Populated places established in the 11th century
11th-century establishments in North America