Hacienda Hunxectamán is located in the Mérida Municipality in the state of Yucatán in southeastern Mexico. It is one of the properties that arose during the nineteenth century henequen boom. It is part of the Cuxtal Ecological Reserve which was set aside in 1993 to protect both the man-made and natural history of the reserve area of Mérida.
Toponymy
The name (Hunxectamán) is a word derived from the Yucatec Mayan language, which can be spelled as Hunxactaman, Hunxectamán, or Uxec Taman.[3] It comes from the words "hun" meaning one, "xec" meaning group and "taman" meaning sheep (ram/lamb).[4]
How to get there
The property is located 11 km south of Mérida on Calle 77.
On 28 June 1993 the Cuxtal Ecological Reserve was designated to protect the history of the 7 large haciendas, their adjoining pueblas, 12 minor archaeological sites, 6 cenotes and one of Mérida's important water supply stations.[5] Hacienda Hunxectamán was part of this historic designation.[6]
Within the reserve are the following protected haciendas:[6]
All of the henequen plantations ceased to exist as autonomous communities with the agrarian land reform implemented by President Lazaro Cardenas in 1937. His decree turned the haciendas into collective ejidos, leaving only 150 hectares to the former landowners for use as private property.[8] Figures before 1937 indicate populations living on the farm. After 1937, figures indicate those living in the community, as the remaining Hacienda Hunxectamán houses only the owner's immediate family.
According to the 2005 census conducted by the INEGI, the population of the city was 104 inhabitants, of whom 55 were men and 49 were women.[9]
Population of Hunxectamán (also shown as Uxec Taman) by year