Mayan History in Isla Mujeres

In Pre-Columbian times the island was sacred to the Mayan aged goddess of childbirth and medicine, Ix Chel. When the Spanish arrived here in the 16th century they named it “Isla Mujeres” because of the many cult images of goddesses here. But the first news we have about the island are from the period between the years 564 – 1516 AC, when the island was part of the mayan province called Ekab (there where 4 mayan provinces in what is today the State of Quintana Roo). Since then, the island was considered sacred by the mayan civilization, therefore, this was not a mayan village where to live in, but a sanctuary dedicated to mayan goddess Ixchel. Besides this, the mayan also exploited the salt that the island produced in the “salinas” (small interior lagoons) that back in those times, the salt was used not only for the conservation of food and medicine but also has a generally accepted currency for commerce of goods along the whole mayan region. The Mayan goddess Ixchel had a temple in what is today the Hacienda Mundaca (Mundaca’s Plantation House)

There was a small Mayan temple on the south tip of the island, however in 1988 Hurricane Gilbert caused extensive damage to it, leaving most of the foundation and a very small portion of the temple. Since the 1970s along with Cancun there has been substantial development for tourism in Isla Mujeres.