In the early days of the uprising the Maya tended to be loosely organized around the major leaders: Jacinto Pat and Cecilio Che. As the rebellion grew and absorbed more runaways and rebels the Maya split into regional groups led by their "lieutenants"and field commanders: Venancio Pec (northern chief) Venancio Puc ( forces around Bacalar) Florentino Chan (southern chief) Crescinio Poot (forces around Tekax) Jose Maria Beffera (forces around Campeche) Bonafacio Novello (munition trains from Belize) Under them Mayan units were probably organised as "companies" based on the villages they came from; led by their village headman variously known as Patrons, Caciques, or Batabs (chief or leader). Many of these had held militia commissions and were known by their previous ranks (Captain being common). In later years the Cruzob Maya of Chan Santa Cruz established a more formal organization and strict heirarchy adopting Ladino style ranks. The Cruzob state was headedby thePatron of theCross knownas the Tatich (sort of a Commander in Chief). The Cruzob Army commander or General in Chief was the Tata Chikiuc (General of the Plaza) and below him were the Captains of the village companies called Nochilob (Company officers). Back to Table of Contents -- Savage and Soldier Vol. XXIII No. 2 Back to Savage and Soldier List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by Milton Soong. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com