Sac Balam
Nuestra Señora de los Dolores del Lacandón | |
| Location |  Mexico |
|---|---|
| Region | Lacandon Jungle, Chiapas |
| Type | Lost Maya city |
| History | |
| Builder | Lakandon Ch'ol |
| Founded | 1586 |
| Abandoned | 1712 |
| Periods | Spanish conquest |
| Cultures | Maya civilization |
| Events | Conquered in 1695 |
Sac Balam is a lost Maya city in the Lacandon Jungle of Chiapas in Mexico that was the capital of the Lakandon Ch'ol where they resisted Spanish rule for more than a century, after being conquered in 1695, it was renamed as Nuestra Señora de los Dolores del Lacandón (or simply Dolores) and became a colonial settlement until its abandonment and disappearance in the early 18th century.[1]
It was founded around 1586 by the Lakandon Ch'ol after the destruction of their capital Lakam-Tún by the conquistadors and remained isolated and free from colonial rule for over 100 years until 1695 when the city was conquered and was renamed as Nuestra Señora de los Dolores del Lacandón, being the only colonial settlement inside the Lacandon Jungle until 1712 when all its inhabitants were displaced and the city was abandoned. Since then Sac Balam disappeared from all colonial sources or chronicles and its exact location is considered lost inside a dense jungle area of difficult access for archaeological exploration.[2]
History
[edit]Sac Balam (meaning White Jaguar in Ch'olti') was the capital of the Lakandon Ch'ol established in the depths of the jungle as a place of resistance after the destruction of the city of Lakam-Tún during the Spanish conquest of the last remaining independent Maya region in the late 17th century.[3]
Sac Balam was the last capital of the Lakandon Ch'ol people in which they managed to remain free from Spanish rule for more than 100 years, by the end of the 17th century, it was inhabited by hundreds of people who lived in more than 300 houses and was governed by the leaders Chancuc, Tuztecat and Tuhnol who controlled some sectors of the settlement and a main chief-priest of higher rank called Cabnal who organized attacks against other indigenous groups that had already been catechized. In 1695, after the Spanish discovered the existence of Sac Balam and after several previous failed attempts, a military expedition was organized to complete the conquest of the Lacandon Jungle and pacify the region. When the Spanish arrived in Sac Balam, most of the Lakandon Ch'ol fled from the city and the conquistadors renamed it as Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Lacandón (Our Lady of Sorrows of the Lacandon), turning it into a colonial settlement for the religious and political control of the region. After several days, the indigenous people returned to the city in search of their crops, and the missionaries took advantage of this to show a peaceful contact, to which the Lakandon Ch'ol had no option since they were also completely besieged by soldiers, however, a faction led by the leader Cabnal disappeared, some time later he was captured after trying to organize a rebellion and was transferred as a prisoner for his Catholic conversion but he died of illness shortly after. Dolores became a peaceful settlement of approximately 300 to 500 inhabitants, the Spanish censuses of city showed a drastic decrease in its population due to the high mortality of the indigenous people due to the exposure to disease.[4]
Dolores was abandoned and it disappeared from colonial sources in the year 1712 when the colonial authority ordered the relocation of all its inhabitants due to the economic difficulties faced by the Spanish in maintaining the city due to its great isolation in the depths of the jungle, the few indigenous Lakandon Ch'ol population that survived by that time was forced to move to distant regions where they quickly died of disease, the vast majority dying during their journey without even reaching their destination. Finally, the Lakandon Ch'ol became completely extinct around the year 1750. In 1712 all references or mentions in colonial sources and chronicles about the territory of the Lakandon Ch'ol also disappeared and no type of human presence, expeditions or settlements in the region were recorded again, the jungle was completely unpopulated until the arrival of a Yucatecan-speaking Maya people identified as the present-day Lacandon (self-called Jach Winik) from Chiapas. Since then, the ruins of Sac Balam or Dolores have been buried in the dense jungle of the region and its location is considered lost.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Las ciudades perdidas mayas". Cuarto Poder Chiapas. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ^ "In search of the 'white jaguar': Archaeologists travel deep into the jungle to find a lost Maya city".
- ^ "En busca de la fortaleza de los lacandones". La Crónica de Hoy México. 2020-08-24. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
- ^ "Historia y registro arqueológico de Laguna Miramar, Ocosingo, Chiapas".
- ^ "Pons Saez, Nuria. (1996). "Conquista y pacificacion del grupo lacandon: siglos XVI y XVII". Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico" (PDF).