NAKUK PECH.
1562.
CHRONICLE OF CHICXULUB.
Among the ancient documents collected by Pio Perez was a series relating to the town of Chicxulub, about six leagues north of Merida. They are entitled Documentos de Tierras de Chicxulub, 1542. They consist of a history of the town and of the conquest of the country, written by Nakuk Pech, about 1562; a survey of the town lands by several members of the Pech family, testified to Feb. 7, 1542; a partial list of the Spanish conquerors; a portion of an account by another member of the Pech family, and a further statement by Nakuk Pech.
The longest and the most interesting of these is the history of the Conquest, or, as the writer calls it, “the history and the chronicle of Chacxulubchen”—u belil u kahlail Cħac Xulub Cħen—this being one of the native forms of the name of the town. It is headed “Conquest and Map,” but the map has disappeared. Usually such “maps” accompanying the title papers of towns in Yucatan have as a central figure the outlines of a church with the name of the town; around this is drawn the figure of the town lands, with the names of the wells, trees, stones and other landmarks mentioned in the titles.
The writer, Nakuk Pech, baptized Pablo Pech, must have been between sixty and seventy years of age when he drew up his statement, inasmuch as he mentions occurrences, as late as 1562, and also speaks of himself as an adult in 1519. He belonged to a noble family, the Pechs of Cumkal, who are mentioned by Sanchez Aguilar as hereditary batabs, or independent chiefs. They appear to have given their names to the province on the west coast called Kin Pech, or Campech, known to the English as Campeachy, and to that of Ceh Pech, in which the city of Ho, afterwards called Merida, was situated. The Abbe Brasséur, on very slight grounds, surmised that they were not originally of Maya stock, but probably descendants of the Caribs.[190-1]