Ceh Pech (pronounced ''Keh Pech'', 'Ceh (deer): patronymic, perhaps Ah Ceh; Pech (tick), perhaps also a

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

composed of the union of two family names') is the name of a

post-classic Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation until 3500 BCE); the Archaic (before 2600 BCE), the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BCE – ...

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 ...

ruling family A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

and a province, or ''

kuchkabal A ( , , 'province,' 'state,' 'polity') was a system of social and political organisation common to Maya polities of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Maya Lowlands, during the Mesoamerican_chronology#Postclassic_Period, Mesoamerican Postclas ...

'' of the northern

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

. It existed before the

Spanish conquest of the Yucatán 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 ...

in the 16th century. The Pech family exists to the present day.

History

15th century

The socio-political dissolution of the

League of Mayapan The League of Mayapan ( Yucatec: Luub Mayapan Maya glyphs: ) was a confederation of Maya states in the Postclassic period of Mesoamerica on the Yucatan Peninsula. The main members of the league were the Itza, the Tutul-Xiu, Mayapan, and U ...

occurred in the mid-15th century, before the arrival of Europeans. 16 jurisdictions ended, who occupied the territory now comprised by the Mexican states of Yucatán,

Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...

, and

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 administrative divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into municipalities of ...

Naum Pech is considered to be the founder of the

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

. He was a relative of the Cocomes dynasty 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 ...

and reigned as the

Halach Uinik Halach uinik or halach uinic (Yucatec Maya:'real man') was the name given to the supreme ruler, overlord or chief, as they were called in the colonial period of a Maya ''kuchkabal''. Most ''kuchkabal'' were run by a halach uinik, who ruled on beh ...

from 1470 in Motul (now in the

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...

), the capital of the principality that was named after his family: Ceh Pech. Other members of the family's lineage of the Pech appeared in other locations such as: Tunal Ah Pech and their children, who settled in Maxtunil, Ah Kom Pech, seated in Xulcumcheel, Nakuk Pech, the batab of Chicxulub Pueblo. Ah Makam Pech, batab of Yaxkukul, and other relatives played leadership roles in the region.

16th century

Similar to the Tutul Xiu, the Ceh Pech cooperated early on, although not consistently, with the Spanish ''conquistadores''. At times the Ceh Pech even provided

auxiliary troops The (; ) were introduced as non-citizen troops attached to the citizen Roman legion, legions by Augustus after his reorganisation of the Imperial Roman army from 27 BC. By the 2nd century, the contained the same number of infantry as the ...

against principalities of the free Maya, pursuing traditional local policies of enmity. Nevertheless, their capital was conquered in 1538 and they lost their sovereignty. However, the Ceh Pech received recognition of their

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

by the Spanish and were allowed to carry the title of

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, Gu ...

, usually reserved for the head of the family. In addition, the family retained their inherent economic and social supremacy over their former estates. On May 8, 1544 members of the Ceh Pech family sent a letter to the Spanish King

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

in order to draw attention to their situation. Between December 25, 1557 and January 6, 1558 Alonso Ortiz de Argueta, the Spanish governor of Yucatán, received homage of Melchor Pech from Chuburna and Francisco Pech from Concal as representatives of their family on the occasion of the accession of Philip II to the throne. In 1567 the Pech family represented the Batab (governor) in 21 of 25 towns in Ceh Pech.

Later centuries

In 1688 15 adult members of the family are mentioned in tax lists, although a total number of 34 family members were known at that time. As late as the 17th and 18th century the office of Batab in Yaxkukul, Ixil, Motul, Chuburna and Chicxulub was run by a member of the Pech. In Ixil the Pech possessed by far the largest estates.

Family Members

* Ah Kom Pech * Ah Makam Pech * Francisco Pech * Melchor Pech * Naum Pech, from 1470 Halach Huinik in Motul * Nakuk Pech (1490–1562), Batab of Xulub Chen (today's Chicxulub), author of ''The history of Xulub Chen''. (1562)Mayathan: ''Ubelil u kablail Chac Xulub Chen.''; English: ''The Chronicle of Chac Xulub.'' * Tunal Ah Pech

References