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Izamal
 Forty
miles east of Merida, is the quiet, old fashioned, colonial
town of Izamal. In the centre of town lies the great
Monastery of Izamal, which houses one of the most venerated
statues of Mary in all of Mexico. To this statue are
attributed thousands of miracle healings. The usual
Christian explanation for these miracles is that the
prayers of the pilgrims call forth the benevolence and
therapeutic powers of Mary.
During the time of the Spanish conquest of Yucatan
(1527-1547), Izamal was one of the largest and most
beautiful cities on the peninsula. A pilgrimage site
since as early as 1000 BC, Izamal had become the most
important religious centre in northern Yucatan during
the Early Classic Period of AD 300-600. The city was
considered by the Mayans to be the abode of Kinichkakmo,
a manifestation of the sun god, and of the god Itzam
Na (the name Izamal derives from the god's name). Itzam
Na was a deity of healing and resurrection, the creator
of arts and writing, and the introducer of many important
agricultural items. He was also head of the Mayan pantheon,
bearing the title of ahaulil or `Lord' and was shown
as presiding over a collection of lesser deities.
 Following
the capture of Izamal by the Spanish, the local population
was enslaved and forced to dismantle the top of an enormous
pyramid in the centre of the city. Upon the now flattened
pyramid, at the place where previously had stood the
sanctuary of the god Itzam Na, the enslaved Indians
were forced, in 1553, to erect a monastery and church.
This was done because of the Christian belief that a
church would discourage the Indians from their 'devil
worship'. Soon after the consecration of the church
and the installation of the Marian statue, miracles
of healing began to occur. These miracles were explained
by the Christian authorities as resulting from the grace
of Mary. Yet, were the miracles really caused by the
wooden statue of Mary inside the church or might they
be better explained by reference to  the
Mayan's mythic beliefs about the power of Izamal. The
Mayans had built their pilgrimage shrine to Itzam Na,
as a god of healing, at this precise location, and,
if we have no records of healing miracles in Mayan times
(other than those encoded in the myths), it is only
because the Christians burned all the Mayan writings
and libraries during their conquest of Yucatan. It is
however believed, that the miracles of healing at Izamal
are caused by a combination of factors including the
specific energies of the earth at the site (the reason
the Mayans originally choose the place), the prayers
of the pilgrims, whether they be to Mayan Gods or the
Virgin Mary, and the psychic field that had been created
over time by the thousands of pilgrims who have visited
the site.
 Izamal's
Mayan structures have not been reconstructed, like those
at nearby Chichen Itza, therefore the town is seldom
visited by tourists. The sleepy little town comes to
life twice a year however, when thousands of Mayans
come on pilgrimage for the October 18 Procession of
the Black Christ and the December 8 Procession of the
Virgin of Izamal.
The picture to the right quite clearly shows the stonework
on the church, which all came from the Maya Temple of
P'ap'hol-chaak.
Today, the area still has both spanish & mayan
languages, as you will see from the street signs. The
Spanish dishing out punishments for mayans continuing
to worship their own gods only forced them to take things
deep underground, and was probably the reason many of
the ceremonies & culture survive to this day.
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