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The History and Culture of The Yucatan
"Mayan Mexico is a fascinating study"

The geography and culture of Mayan Mexico
The Yucatan Peninsula (Cancun, Cozumel, Playa Del Carmen, Chichen Itza)

TULUM and the MAYAN RUINS

Five kilometers south of Akumal on Hwy.307, a side road leads to Tulum, the largest fortified Maya site on the Quintana Roo coast. Tulum, meaning "wall" in Maya, is quite small (the area enclosed by the wall measures 380 by 165 meters). It has well preserved structures that reveal the stylized Toltec influence and an impressive history. The sturdy stone was built three to five meters high, with an average thickness of seven meters. Originally this site was called Zama ("Sunrise"). Appropriately, the sun rises out of the ocean over Tulum, which is perched on a cliff 12 meters above the sea. The first view of this noble, then brightly colored fortress impressed the Spaniards in Juan de Grijalva’s expedition as they sailed past the Quintana Roo coast in 1518. This was their first encounter with the Indians on this new continent, and according to ship’s log of the Grijalva expedition mentions seeing "a village so large, that Seville would not have appeared larger or better."

Tulum was part of a series of coastal forts, towns, watchtowers, and shrines established along the coast as far south as Chetumal and north past Cancun. Archaeologists place the beginnings of Tulum in the Post Classic Period after the Maya civilization had already passed its peak, somewhere between A.D. 700-1000. Although a stela dated A.D. 564 was found at Tulum, investigators are certain that it was moved there from some other

place long after it had been carved and date figures were cut into it after it was moved. The structures reveal a strong Toltec influence, such as flat roofs, plumed serpents, columns, and even pottery shapes that have definitely been established as Toltec.

From 1850, Tulum was a part of the Chan Santa Cruz Indians ‘ "Talking Cross Cult." The Spanish had taught the Indians Catholic rituals, many reminiscent of Maya ceremonies; even the cross reminded them of their tree of life. In fact for centuries the gods had been speaking to their priests through idols. In order to manipulate the Indians, a clever revolutionary half-caste, Jose Maria Barrera, used an Indian ventriloquist, Manual Nahual, to speak through the cross. They began three years after the Caste War ended at a cross in a forest shrine near what is now known as Felipe Carrillo Puerto but was then called Chan. A voice from the cross, urged the Indians to take up arms against the Mexicans once again. Bewildered, impressed, and never doubting, they accepted the curious occurrence almost immediately. The original cross was replaced with three crosses that continued to "instruct" the simple Indians from the holy, highly guarded site. This political-religious cult grew quickly and ruled Quintana Roo efficiently. The well-armed, jungle-wise Chan Santa Cruz Indians (also called Cruzob) successfully kept the Mexican government out of the territory for 50 years. Even the British government in British Honduras (now known as Belize) treated this cult with respect, more out of fear of their than out of diplomacy, and because they needed the timber trade. Around 1895 the Indians requested that the Territory of Quintana Roo be annexed by British Honduras, but the Mexican government flatly refused and sent in a new expeditionary force to try once again to reclaim Quintana Roo.
The Mexican government was doomed from the outset. They fought not only armed and elusive Indians but constant attacks of malaria and the jungle itself. The small army managed to fight its way into the capital of Chan Santa Cruz, where they were virtually trapped for a year. The standoff continued until the Mexican Revolution in 1911, when President Porfirio Diaz resigned.
Four years later the Mexican army gave up, the capital was returned to the Indians, and they continued to rule as an independent state, an embarrassment and even-present thorn in the side of the broadening Mexican Republic. This small, determined group of Indians from another time zone managed to keep their independence and culture intact while the rest of the world proceeded into the 20^th century. But life in the jungle is tough on everyone. With famine, measles epidemic, malaria and 90 years of fighting (and beating) the Mexican army, the Chan Santa Cruz Indians’ population was reduced to 10,000. Weary, in 1935 they decided to quit the fight and were accorded the recognition given to a respected adversary. When their elderly leaders signed a peace treaty, most of the Chan Santa Cruz Indians agreed to allow Mexico to rule them. This was probably the longest war in the Americas.

Into The Twentieth Century
One of the few pure Chan Indian villages left in 1935 was Tulum, and today many residents are descendants of these independent people. Even after signing the treaty, the Indians still maintained control of the area and outsiders were highly discouraged from traveling through. A skeleton imbedded in the cement at the base of one of the temples at Tulum, is the remains of an uninvited archaeologist as a warning to other would-be intruders.

All of this has changed. With foresight, the Mexican government in the 60’s recognized the beautiful Quitana Roo coast as a potential tourist draw, and the new state entered the 20^th century.
The advent of roads and airports has paved the way for the rest of the world to visit the unique ruins of Tulum. Workmen have been modernizing and enlarging the Tulum airstrip. The indigenous people welcome tourists and what they represent---money---at least for now.
The once thick stands of coconut trees along this part of the coast were part of an immense coconut plantation, that included Akumal and Xelha and was owned by a gentleman, named Don Pablo Bush. Bush initiated the CEDAM organization made up of a group of daring archaeological divers. Bush and CEDAM donated Xelha Lagoon to the government for use as a national park. CEDAM stands for Conservation, Education, Diving, Archaeology, and Museums

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