A Yucatecan Archange
Tipikal is a village within the municipality of Maní, in the south of the state, 86 km (53 miles) from Merida. According to Dr. Alfredo Barrera Vásquez, the place name is Maya, and translates as “Place of the flood plains”.
In the center of the village stands the church of St. Mary Magdalene, whose feast is celebrated on the 22nd July. Friar Diego López de Cogolludo notes that it was a visiting village of the nearby monastery of St. Michael in Maní, founded in 1549.
A unique tradition in Tipikal is the celebration known as Pa´puúl, meaning “breaking pots”, which can be seen as an exceptional expression of Yucatecan religiosity, displaying marked Mayan-Christian syncretism. The ritual takes place on the 24th June, in honor of St. John the Baptist, and consists of breaking earthenware pots and gourds containing wild animals such as iguanas, snakes and opossums, or domestic birds like chickens, ducks and doves. When the containers are broken, the animals are released and flee into the woods to beg for the arrival of rain needed for farming.
The church of Mary Magdalene in Tipikal houses a valuable collection of polychrome wooden reredoses with gold leaf details. One of them holds an interesting oil painting of the Archangel Michael, who is presented as a dashing young man wearing a breastplate and helmet, and carrying a staff of command, all symbols of his rank as a prince in the celestial hosts.
The archangel’s right hand is raised, pointing at the phrase “Qui ut Deus” (Who is equal to God?) which is a Latin translation of the Hebrew name Mija-El, or Michael.
The reredos and the painting of St. Michael probably date from the 18th century, and although we have no information regarding the painter, the evidence suggests the hand of a folk artist: the naive treatment of the clothes and how they drape, as well as the proportions of the figure, who appears somewhat chubby. The architectural and sculptural complex at Tipikal was professionally restored between 2011 and 2012, thanks to the Adopt an Artwork program. This jewel of sacred art can normally be seen during church opening times.
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