Barrios, Mayordomías, and Cabildo: Ancient Traditions and Political Pragmatism in Late Colonial Yanhuitlan, Oaxaca

The Mixtec community of Santo Domingo Yanhuitlan, in Oaxaca, was a major cacicazgo in southwestern Mesoamerica in the postclassic period. Soon after the Spanish conquest, it became a booming economic center, thanks to the introduction of sericulture and the opening of the Pacific maritime trade. Native rulers deftly adopted and adapted to Spanish institutions, customs and lifestyle, guaranteeing the substantial integration of the community in the newly-established colony. In the following centuries, epidemics and economic crises gradually eroded the authority of traditional rulership, while the cabildo, a representative institution introduced by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century, took a leading a role of in resolving land property disputes. In the religious realm, barrios presided over the organization of festivals throughout the liturgical year.

Extant documents present an interesting but fragmentary picture of the trajectory from a native to a Hispanic type of leadership in Yanhuitlan. A fuller understanding could perhaps be gained through a comparison with similar cases from late colonial New Spain.