Muzul Territory

The Musul or Muzul Territory is thought to have been a Postclassic polity of the former Maya Lowlands, in present-day Belize. Little is currently known of the Territory, though it is presumed to have been subordinate to or formed part of the Dzuluinicob Province or the Mopan Territory.

Territory of the Muzul Maya
ca 15th cent–1756
Map of the Muzul Territory in central Belize, covering the non-coastal portions of the drainage basins of the Sibun, Bar, Sittee Rivers and North Stann Creek; approximate locations of principal settlements marked; waterways shown.
Map of the Muzul Territory in the late 16th century / in central Belize / 2023 map per Jones 1977 and Jones 1989 / via Commons
StatusDissolved
CapitalZaui / likely
Common languagesMopan Mayan / likely
Religion
Maya polytheism
GovernmentConfederacy of settlements with aristocratic and theocratic features / likely
Leader 
• ca 1677
Juan Muzul / last known
Historical eraPostclassic to Precolonial / likely
• Established
ca 15th cent
• Disestablished
1756
Today part ofBelize
Common language per Jones 1998, pp. 21, 168–169, 175, 408, 556, though see Jones 1989, p. 267 for dissent. Capital per Jones 1989, p. 267. Leader per Jones 1989, p. 267. Map per Jones 1977, pp. 5–7 and Jones 1989, p. 39, though see Thompson 1988, pp. 17, 21 for dissent. Founding date per Jones 1977, pp. xvi, 67–68. Dissolution date per Schwartz 1990, p. 300. Form of government per von Houwald 1984, p. 263 and Jones 1989, p. 267.

Geography

The Territory is thought to have stretched east of Tipu, south of the Belize River, and north of South Stann Creek, thereby encompassing the drainage basins of Sibun River, North Stann Creek, and Sittee River.[1] This would situate the Territory south and east of Dzuluinicob, northeast of Mopan Territory, and north of Manche Chol Territory.

History

Pre-Columbian

It has been suggested that Tipu and its environs formed part of the Territory until Columbian times, when the Spanish conquest of Yucatan is thought to have driven troves of northern, Yucatec Mayan speaking refugees to the area, an event which would have relegated native residents to minority status.[2]

Columbian

The Territory is thought to have been under the close political, cultural, or spiritual influence of the Peten Itza Kingdom.[3][note 1]

At least some of the Territory came under Spanish control in 1695 when an embassy to Merida, Yucatan, offered the Spanish governor submission to Church and Crown.[4][note 2] Another part of the Territory was subjected to forced relocation during Spanish reducciones in 1754–1756.[5][note 3]

Society

The Territory's residents, the Muzul Maya, are thought to have been members of a single ch'ibal, 'patronymic lineage,' that is, 'a highly localised group named after their dominant political family.'[6][7] Inhabitants are believed to have been some of the indios del monte, 'wild Indians,' often referred to in Spanish colonial records, ie pagan natives residing south of Belize River with a mother tongue other than Yucatec Mayan.[8][note 4]

Legacy

Scarce little is presently known of the Territory or its inhabitants.[9][10] Along with residents of the former Mopan Territory, they are thought to be ancestors of the modern Mopan Maya people of Belize and Guatemala.[9]

Notes and references

Explanatory footnotes
  1. von Houwald 1984, pp. 265–266 notes that [los Muzules eran] una "nación" íntimamente ligada a los Itzáes, '[the Muzuls were] a "nation" intimately tied to the Itzas,' and that los Muzules siempre se mencionan en relación con los Itzáes, 'the Muzuls are always mentioned [in Spanish colonial accounts] in relation with the Itzas.' Spanish colonial accounts reported that Kan Ek' sólo conocía, aparte de la suya, las "naciones" de los Mopanes, del Tipú y de los Muzules, 'knew only, other than his own, the "nations" of the Mopans, of the Tipu and of the Muzuls' (von Houwald 1984, p. 266). Upon the 1697 fall of Tayasal, the Territory's caciques were listed in Spanish records as among those who le obedecían a, 'obeyed,' Martín Francisco Chan, nephew of the recently deposed Kan Ek' of Tayasal (von Houwald 1984, p. 265).
  2. Despite this, in 1707, Tipu was 'attacked by its disenchanted Muzul neighbours, who had killed the town's cacique, his lieutenant, and as many as fifteen principales' (Jones 1989, p. 271). Some or many of the Territory's residents were nonetheless forcibly resettled near Lake Peten Itza at San Luis, Dolores, Santa Ana, San Andrés, San José, and Santo Toribio in 1700–1713 (Schwartz 1990, pp. 36, 61, Jones 1998, pp. 433–434).
  3. Resettled near Lake Peten Itza 'in and around Santa Ana, San Luis and (a few) San Andrés' (Schwartz 1990, p. 300).
  4. The Territory's inhabitants were sometimes referred to as Mopan Maya, suggesting residents spoke the Mopan Mayan language, or that the Territory itself formed part of the Mopan Territory (Jones 1977, p. 25, Jones 1998, pp. 21, 168–169, 175, 408, 556). However, Jones 1989, pp. 267, 334 suggests residents may have rather or additionally spoken Yucatec or Chol Mayan.

Short citations
  1. Jones 1977, pp. 5–7; Wilk & Chapin 1988, p. 6; Thompson 1988, pp. 20–21.
  2. Jones 1977, pp. xvi, 67–68.
  3. von Houwald 1984, pp. 263, 265–266; Jones 1998, pp. 224, 434.
  4. Jones 1977, pp. 5, 56–57; Jones 1989, pp. 259, 261–264; Jones 1998, pp. 168–169, 175, 179.
  5. Jones 1977, p. 67; Schwartz 1990, p. 300.
  6. von Houwald 1984, p. 263.
  7. Jones 1989, p. 267.
  8. Jones 1977, pp. 5, 25, 67–68; Jones 1989, p. 236; Schwartz 1990, p. 300.
  9. Wilk & Chapin 1988, p. 6.
  10. von Houwald 1984, p. 266.

Full citations
  1. Jones GD, ed. (1977). Anthropology and History in Yucatán. The Texas Pan American Series. Austin, Tex. and London: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292703147. OL 18272858W.
  2. Jones GD (1989). Maya Resistance to Spanish Rule: Time and History on a Colonial Frontier. Albuquerque, New Mex.: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 082631161X. OL 2213175M.
  3. Jones GD (1998). The Conquest of the Last Maya Kingdom. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804733171.
  4. Schwartz NB, ed. (1990). Forest Society: A Social History of Petén, Guatemala. The Ethnohistory Series. Philadelphia, Penn.: University of Pennsylvania Press. JSTOR stable/j.ctv4s7k6r.
  5. Tanaka-McFarlane Y (August 2018). Documenting Belizean Mopan: An Exploration on the Role of Language Documentation and Renewal from Language Ideological, Affective, Ethnographic, and Discourse Perspectives (PhD thesis). Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University. OCLC 1077076621. ProQuest 10827467.
  6. Thompson JE (1988) [first published 1972 by Benex Press]. The Maya of Belize: Historical Chapters Since Columbus (reprint of 1st ed.). Benque Viejo, Belize: Cubola Productions. ISBN 9686233032. OL 1792198M.
  7. von Houwald G (1984). "Mapa y Descripción de la Montaña del Petén e Ytzá: Interpretación de un documento de los años poco después de la conquista de Tayasal". Indiana. 9: 255–278. doi:10.18441/ind.v9i0.255-271.
  8. Wilk R, Chapin M (September 1988). Ethnic Minorities in Belize: Mopan, Kekchi, and Garifuna (Report). Washington, DC: US Agency for International Development. Doc ID PN-ABI-653.

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