Hidden corridors
According to the dictionary of Yucatecan Spanish, the name of Dzemul, situated in the north of Yucatan, 45 km from Merida, means “ruined mound” from ts’eej, ruined or destroyed, and múul, a mound or hill. The church, dedicated to St Anne, is notable for its double circuit of corridors within the walls, and its elegant façade of carved stone with floral and geometric relief details.
Although the exact dates of construction are unknown, it is believed to be 17th century. It consists of an atrium, the church proper, and a presbytery. On a level with the choir, there are two narrow internal passages or corridors that run round the perimeter.
According to Dr Marisol Ordaz Tamayo, in Vice-regal religious architecture in Yucatan, the corridors in Dzemul church are unique in the Peninsula because “they run at different heights, the lower one being at the level of the choir, and interrupted by the chapels forming the transept of the church…”.
During the tenure of General Salvador Alvarado as Governor (1915-1917) the parapet separating the atrium from the rest of the church was destroyed.
In the baptistery, within a small vaulted chapel, there is a baptismal font carved from a single piece of stone and bearing the following inscription: “Made on the 22nd of May 1691. Lorenzo Chimalhmelac”, which may refer to the artist, or of the donor of this antique piece. The main reredos is also outstanding, featuring columns, cornices and mouldings that classify it as early 19th-century neo-Classical.
Our Lady of the Expectation is the patron saint of the community, and the Feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorating the maternity of the Virgin Mary and her imminent childbirth is celebrated from the 14th to the 18th of December.
In November 2011, under the governorship of Ivonne Ortega Pacheco, a native of the village, conservation work was carried out on the church.
The treasures inside the church of St. Anne, whose feast day is the 26th of July, can be viewed when the church is open for services.
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