Abstract

PENICHE MORENO, Paola. Viudez y segundas nupcias entre los mayas yucatecos del siglo XVIII. Península [online]. 2006, vol.1, n.1, pp.13-26. ISSN 1870-5766.

Marriage was one of the spheres of indigenous social organization of greater importance in the colonial context. For the Spaniards was a mean to start up the conversion of the natives and, at the same time, justified the economic extraction. For the Mayan people was a fundamental part of the integration of the individuals to the society, due to its celebration involved great siblings networks. But for Mayan people marriage was also a form to survive in the difficult demographic context that characterized the colonial time. This article deals with widowhood and the second (and third and fourth) marriages, which had a significant presence in the colonial society. The work is based on the analysis of demographic sources of Eighteen Century (sacramental acts, censuses and registers), complemented with qualitative colonial texts and contemporary ethnographies of the Mayan area.

Keywords : widowhood; second marriages; Mayan people; Colonial Yucatan.