Travel Guide Maní

12 km north of Oxkutzcab, this village of 5,000 inhabitants was at the time of the Spanish conquest one of the most powerful kingdoms of Yucatán. Its chief Tutul Xiu eventually allied himself with the conquistador Montejo, facilitating the conquest of the peninsula. It houses the Convent of San Miguel Arcángel, which in 1562 was the scene of one of the largest autodafés of the entire colonial period, after the Spaniards discovered bones and statues of the ancient Mayan gods in a cave. It was during this autodafé that most of the Mayan codices were destroyed. In the main square of Oxkutzcab there is a fresco that relates these events.