Indigenous priests and local authorities investigated on Saturday a 30-meter tall ceiba tree that fell into a cenote in Xocén, where according to Maya cosmology, this place is considered the “center of the world”.
Residents who were at home last week heard like thunder and found an enormous hole with the trunk of the tree disappearing through the collapse of a cave roof in the cenote.
A resident named Luis Emanuel Ku Ku stated that the event could have been disastrous as neighbors had cleaned up just hours before, but fortunately they had finished their work almost two hours earlier.
This unusual occurrence has caught the attention of indigenous inhabitants and ancestral priests. Alfredo Fernández, mayor of Valladolid, said that Xocén is considered the center of the world according to Maya cosmology. He emphasized that many sacred books of Maya culture mark this place as the center of the world, giving it a significant load of mysticism for this community.
As a result, Mayan priests are participating in research into the cenote along with experts on cenotes and speleobuzos who conduct studies with support from Yucatán State Sustainable Development Secretariat. Divers investigate the cenote Xocén
Divers are conducting an immersion dive to see the depth of the cenote, studying all its structure, including geology to make decisions together with the community.
The cenote has over 30 meters of depth but due to the land material and branches of the fallen ceiba tree on the cave roof, the water is very cloudy and has little visibility.
Xocén is governed by custom and tradition, with its own authorities elected by the 13 Maya sargentos. The community is one of the few that are governed by customs and traditions in Valladolid, which has a municipal commissioner, an ejidal commissioner, and even so it has a structure called sargentos, according to Mayor Fernández.
The cenote Xocén is considered sacred by indigenous inhabitants and ancestral priests due to its importance in Maya culture. Therefore, experts are conducting research into the site with support from Yucatán State Sustainable Development Secretariat to make decisions together with the community.
