Hunac Ceel Cauich (fl. late 12th and early 13th centuries) was a

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

general from Telchaquillo who conquered Chichen Itzá and founded the Cocom dynasty. While the rulers of Chichen Itzá were in part descendants of

Toltec The Toltec culture () was a Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula (Mesoamerican site), Tula, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoam ...

outsiders who might have been disliked for being foreign oppressors or the war a simple one of conquest, the Maya history attributes the cause of the war to the theft of a wife of a powerful ruler by a powerful lord. (On the other hand, rulers of both the attackers and the attacked are labeled Itzá.) According to the history, Hunac Ceel, also known as Cauich, unsuccessfully fought the Itzás, having been taken captive. Ah Mex K'uuk threw him into the sacred

cenote A cenote ( or ; ) is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting when a collapse of limestone bedrock exposes groundwater. The term originated on the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, where the ancient Maya commonly used cenotes for water supplies, and ...

of Chichén Itzá as a sacrifice to the gods. However, he survived an entire night in the water. He told a prophecy of the rain god

Chaac Chaac (also spelled Chac or, in Classic Maya language, Classic Mayan, Chaahk ) is the name of the Maya civilization, Maya god of rain, thunder, and lightning. With his lightning axe, Chaac strikes the clouds, causing them to produce thunder and r ...

about the year's coming harvest. He went on, under the sponsorship of Ah Mex K'uuk, to become lord of

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 ...

, a city which, along with Chichen Itzá and

Uxmal Uxmal (Yucatec Maya: ''Óoxmáal'' ) is an ancient Maya civilization, Maya city of the classical period located in present-day Mexico. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of Maya culture, along with Palenque, Chichen ...

, ruled northern Yucatan (Chapter II, "The Rise of Hunac Ceel" in the ''

Chilam Balam The Books of Chilam Balam () are handwritten, chiefly 17th and 18th-centuries Maya miscellanies, named after the small Yucatec towns where they were originally kept, and preserving important traditional knowledge in which indigenous Maya and ea ...

'' of Chumayel. With the assistance of highland forces, he attacked Chichen Itzá, overthrowing the local ruling elite and establishing Mayapan as the sole ruler of the region. Ralph L. Roys, in his commentary on the Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel posits the interpretation that someone from Chichen Itzá stole away with the bride of Ah Ulil, the ruler of

Izamal Izamal () is a small city in the Mexican Yucatán (state), state of Yucatán, east of state capital Mérida, Yucatán, Mérida, in southern Mexico. Izamal was continuously occupied throughout most of Mesoamerican chronology; in 2000, the city' ...

. Hunac Ceel and his Mexican allies used this as a pretext or reason to sack the city in Izamal's name and to go on to profoundly re-order the entire political landscape (Appendix C: "The Hunac Ceel Episode").

Legacy

Hunac Ceel's actions upset not only the political balance of power in north Yucatan but the demographics of Chichen Itzá and the Lake Petén Itzá area, where the Itzá were still living at the time of European contact. The feature film '' Kings of the Sun'' begins with Hunac Ceel's forces attacking Chichen Itzá. He is played by Leo Gordon. In the year 2000, the Mexican folk dance and music group Hunac-Ceel was founded in

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

Sources

The main source describing Hunac Ceel's conspiracy and conquest is the '' Books of Chilam Balam,'' especially the Books of Chilam Balam of Mani and of Chumayel, which describe Hunac Ceel as using treachery to drive Chac-Xib-Chac out of Chichen Itzá in the year Tun 10 of Katun 8 Ahau, accompanied by the depopulation of the city and of his rise to power resulting from the event at the cenote.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunac Ceel 12th-century generals Maya people 12th-century South American people 13th-century South American people Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown 13th-century generals