In the Caribbean jungles of Quintana Roo, two Mayan brothers lived.
They were fierce warriors, and also very different. One was cold and arrogant. The other, they say, was gentle, kind, and giving.
And they both fell for the same woman: Nicté-Ha.
They battled to win her love.
But, like the brothers in the Greek tragedy Antigone, they killed each other in battle.
In the afterlife, they pleaded to the gods to let them return to be with Nicté-Ha.
And the gods agreed. They sent them back in the form of two trees.
The first brother, who was arrogant and cold, was turned into el Chechén: a poisonous tree with bark that seems to peel, and leaves and branches that leave thick rashes and burns on those who come in contact with it.
The other brother was also reborn. The gods transformed him into el Chacá: a tree that is never far away from el Chechén, and which heals those touched by his brother.
Nicté-Há died of sadness at the tragic death of her warriors.
The gods transformed her into a water lily, a beautiful white flower that blooms over the cenotes of the region, never far from el Chechén and el Chacá.
But that is only the beginning of the story.
Along the banks of the clear turquoise waters of Bacalar Lagoon in the southern Yucatan, there is an area where el Chechén and el Chacá grow in abundance.
A veritable forest of poisonous trees, they line the channel that leads into Bacalar Lagoon from the open ocean. This was the route taken by the Spanish—and later, pirates—to invade the region.
They say Mayan warriors planted the Chechén forest here to guard against these invaders, who would mistakenly rub against the trees without knowledge of their poison and the curative attributes of their brother Chacá just nearby.
Others say it was the gods who planted the forest. Either way, these two Mayan warriors are still defending their land, in the jungles of Quintana Roo.
This is the fifth episode of Stories of Resistance.
Stories of Resistance is a new project, co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.
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Written and produced by Michael Fox.
This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Michael Fox.
Michael Fox | Radio Free (2025-02-17T14:39:03+00:00) Stories of Resistance: Two Mayan Warriors. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/02/17/stories-of-resistance-two-mayan-warriors/
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