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For Tecum Umam --
Destination: Ethnic group
Barth
Destination: K'iche'
Colonial Period
The K'iche' first made contact with the Spanish conquistadors in 1523, with the arrival of an expeditionary force led by Pedro de Alvarado.
Early Republican Period
Religion
Traditional Maya religious custom, or costumbre, is a syncretic conglomeration of pre-Columbian traditions and Catholicism. It combines devotion to the Catholic saints and celebrations of the Catholic festivals with traditional dances and elaborate ceremonies conducted at ceremonial sites that are scattered throughout the surrounding mountains.
Evangelical Protestantism has become increasingly strong since its arrival in the region in the 1970s.
Destination:Tecum Umam
Tecum Umam (or Tecun Uman) was a legendary figure of Guatemalan and K'iche' history. Raised to the status of a national hero of Guatemala, celebrated by poets and invoked in ritual and festival contexts throughout the highlands, Tecum Umam is known as the defender of the K'iche' people and a symbol of indigenous resistance because of his role in the indigenous military resistance to the Spanish conquest of his homeland.
The legend
The legend of Tecum Umam tells us that he commanded the thousands of K'iche' warriors who met the army of invading Spanish and indigenous warriors under Pedro de Alvarado on the plains of El Pinar in February of 1524. In the midst of the fray, Tecum Umam and Alvarado met face to face, each with weapon in hand. Alvarado was mounted on a horse and clad in armor while Tecum Umam wore the feathers of his nagual (animal spirit companion), the quetzal. A battle ensued that claimed the life of the K'iche' hero.
Taking to the sky in the form of an eagle, Tecum Umam struck down Alvarado's horse believing man and animal to be one and the same. He realized his error and turned for a second attack but Alvarado's spear pierced his opponent's chest and Tecum Umam fell to the ground dead. Then a quetzal landed on the fallen hero's chest, staining its breast feathers red with blood; the bright colors of the quetzal continue to remind us today of the great deeds of Tecum Umam.
This legend is often held to be largely apocryphal[1] but it is also widely assumed to ultimately be built around the actions of a real person.[2][3] The legend's absolute accuracy notwithstanding, Tecum Umam has inspired a wide variety of activities ranging from the production of statues and poetry to the retelling of the legend in the form of folkloric dances to prays to the defender of the K'iche' for protection.
Tecum Umam's Legacy
National Hero
Tecum Umam was declared a National Hero of Guatemalan on March 22, 1960[3] and is the only figure to have earned that title. He is celebrated annually on February 20 and is memorialized by prominent statues in Guatemala City and Quetzaltenango.
- Asturias poem
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A bust of the K'iche' hero is also featured on front of Guatemala's 0.50 Quetzal bill. To the left of Tecum Umam is the Resplendent Quetzal for which the currency is named. This is the national bird of Guatemala as well as the spiritual companion, or nagual of Tecum Umam. The bird's bright red chest and the elegant tail feathers are both significant in the legend outlined above.
Tecum Umam's presence on this bill is notable because it places him in the company of some of the most important figures in Guatemalan history. He joins the ranks of other national heroes that are featured on Guatemala's currency, among whom are Justo Rufino Barrios, a military leader in his own right and an early president of Guatemala; Mariano Gálvez, chief of state of Guatemala from 1831 until 1838; and Francisco Marroquín, an early defender of the rights of indigenous peoples against Alvarado's governance.
Kíche' Hero
- Baile de la conquista
- Images present in ritual context (San Simón's room, etc.)
Did he exist?
Photo © by Marco Palma, used by permission.
Tecum Umam's status as either a man or a myth is a topic of lengthy and ongoing discussion. Historical research has demonstrated with some degree of surety that the man celebrated as a national hero of Guatemala probably did not exist quite as he is presented in the legend outlined above, but there is also strong evidence to suggest that this character was not simply dreamed up.[2]
One piece of evidence comes from Alvarado himself in a letter written to Hernán Cortés.
U b'i Tecum Umam - Tecum Umam's name
"Tecum Umam" was almost certainly not the proper name of the fallen K'iche' lord who Alvarado mentioned in his letter to Cortes, though it may have functioned as a sort of title. Ruud W. van Akkeren[2] provides several insights on this topic.
- ↑ Ronald W. Wilhelm. 1994. Columbus's Legacy, Conquest or Invasion? An Analysis of Counterhegemonic Potential in Guatemalan Teacher Practice and Curriculum. Anthropology and Education 25(3): 173-195.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ruud W. van Akkeren. 2004. Tecum Umam: ¿Personaje Mítico o Histórico? Paper presented at Ciclo de Conferencias 2004, Museo Popul Vuh, Universidad Francisco Marroquín
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 J. Daniel Contreras R. 2004. Dos guerreros indígenas. In El Memorial de Sololá y los inicios de la colonización española en Guatemala. J. Daniel Contreras R. and Jorge Luján Muñoz, eds. Pp. 65-76. Guatemala City: Academia de Geografía e Historia de Guatemala. ISBN 99922-737-1-2