Ancestors and lineage are ubiquitous themes that pervade the ethnographic and ethnohistoric literature of Yucatán. The extent to which rhesc themes exerted a powerful influence on everything from dynastic succession to the placement of fields and orchards will be demonstrated in this chapter and those to follow. Here, principles, practices, and places of ancestor veneration and lineage organization throughout the Maya region are discussed in order to establish the presence and importance of these institutions.

ANATOMY OF A LINEAGE

By A.D. 1547, Spaniards had succeeded in gaining a foothold in northern Yucatán. One of their first actions was to divide the land into encomiendas that were bestowed as spoils of conquest on the Spanish adventurers (Farriss 1984). Shortly thereafter, the Spanish Crown asked for detailed descriptions of the occupied lands: geography, hydrology, crop production, crop potential, and presence of metals and precious stones, as well as descriptions of the population and political history of the current occupants. Having very limited knowledge of the partially subjugated Maya population, many of the encomenderos relied on the literate Maya Caspar Antonio Chi to “ghostwrite” the historical portion of their reports or relaciones geográficas.