House of Xiu
| Xiu Nimja Xiu Ch'ib'al | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country |  Mutul |
| Founded | 2nd century AD (as ruling dynasty) |
| Founder | Dwarf-King Asuitok |
| Current head | K'ilek Xiu |
| Style(s) | "His Eminence" |
| Cadet branches |
|
The Xiu Nimja (Mutli: “Virtuous Great House”), is one of the families recognized as “aristocratic” by the Divine Throne. They are notable for being one of the few Houses where the direct line is still alive, making them one of the oldest, unbroken, dynasty of the Mutul.
The Xiu first appear in history in the 2nd century CE when their oldest known ancestor, Asuitok the Dwarf-King, is said to have founded the city of Oxmal in one night. The Xiu then allied the [Xib, the ruling dynasty of Ka Ytze, and their alliance would dominate the northern Xuman for around a century until climactic conditions and social unrests led to a political crisis in Oxmal that only ended when the Xib installed their favorite candidate on the city’s throne in 330 CE, officializing the transition of the Xiu from allies to vassals.
The Xiu family would remain absent from historical records for six hundreds years until another of their ancestors, Xiu Xupan, Halak Winik of Oxmal, led a clique of aristocrats in a plot against the Kawkom Dynasty that ended with the almost complete disparition of this family, except for one individual who escaped the massacre because he was away at the time on a business venture. This “Xiu Revolt” was followed by a war between the Xiu and their rivals of the “three families” : the Keh, the Pech, and the Chel. It would only end with the K’uhul Ajaw’s arbitration. Oxmal was then raised from a Kuchkabal to a Yajawil.
The Xiu joined the side of the Noble Republic during the Sajal War except for their cadet branch of Xiu-Tutul. But the support both lineages gave to one another ensured they survived the war relatively unharmed. The Direct line lost the Yajawil of Oxmal, but regained it after a decade through negotiations with the Ilok’Tab Dynasty and were even confirmed in their status of “Great House”, with Asuitok the Dwarf as their Divine Ancestor.
History
By tradition, the House of Xiu trace its roots back to Dwarf King Asuitok, the founder of the Oxmal Kingdom between 100 and 130 CE. Asuitok and his descendents became the allies and then the vassals of the Ka Ytze Kingdom for the next 300 years until its conquest by the K'uy Dynasty whereas they became vassals of the Kawkom Dynasty founded by Hunak Keel Kawich, a rebelled lord who helped the K'uy in their conquest of the Ytza kingdom and was thus rewarded with most of the Xuman Peninsula.
During the 9th century, Xiu Xupan rebelled against the Kawkom and overthrew them. This event, known as the Xiu Revolt or the Xiu Rebellion, ended with the massacre of almost every member of the Kawkom Dynasty except for a single known individual who found refuge in the Kayamuca Empire. In the aftermarth, the Kawkom's Yajawil was divided among the Noble Houses of the Xuman Peninsula following the K'uhul Ajaw arbitration. It's then, in 891, that the Xiu saw their holdings elevated from a Kuchkabal to a Yajawil.
The Arbitration was one of the last act taken by the K'uy as not long after, the K'uhul Ajaw died without a clear heir leading to the Cousin Wars. During these, the Xiu naturally became partisans of K'in Chan Chaak the Northern Imperator and one of the five Divine Lords, and of his successors. By then they were already one of the most powerful lineage in the Xuman Peninsula. Their influence was limited however by the K'iche conquest and the establishment of the Nimabal K'iche Dynasty in 1094. They main holdings were then retrograded to a Kuchkabal as they were placed under the distant management of a Northern Yajaw of K'iche origin based in the newly-built K'alak Muul.
Titles and Styles
The Xiu are mainly known for their control over the Yajawil of Oxmal, and have served for generations as Yajaws of the province. They also hold many of the most important Kuchkabalob of the same province, and have served in other administrative functions thourough the Mutul.
Wealth and Finances
Throughout the centuries of its existence, the Xiu have gathered great wealth and vast riches, obtained either through service to the Divine Throne or through their own enterprises. In modern days, their various enterprises and companies are grouped under the banner of the Xiu Group. Today, their possessions include the insurance group "Xiu-pakal" that remain ubiquituous in the Yajawil of Oxmal and the main source of profit for the Group, the port of Waymil, the media group "Ox Chi" that own all of Oxmal's provincial newspapers but also the television network "Ch'at Ychi" that broadcast programs in Ot'aan. A relatively famous property of the House of Xiu is the Akaknak Gallery specialized in pieces and works of art and with a presence not only in Oxmal but also in K'alak Muul. Beyond these fully-owned enterprises, the Xiu Group also handle the family's investments in various other domain, from chocolate to maritime fret and legal consulting.
The Xiu owned the main Acropolis of Oxmal until 1828 when it was requisitioned by the Divine Throne to be turned into the residence of the Yajaw. Even now that the family has regain the title, the Acropolis remain a possession of the state. Other possessions still in the family's hands include various palatial complexes serving as private residences for family members, and many temples and sanctuaries in Oxmal that were constructed or financed in their entirely by the Xiues who as a result keep their charges in the family, even if its in one of the cadet branches.
Cadet Branches
Xiu-Tutul
The Xiu-Tutul (Mutli: "Virtues are Overflowing") are a cadet branch of the Xiu Nimja. They are the descendent of Aj Kabal Xiu and Ix Chel Te Tutul, which sealed the alliance between the Xiu and the Tutul. When the Tutul main lineage disappeared during the 17th century, the Xiu-Tutul inherited most of their titles and positions.
The Xiu-Tutul remained attached to their stronghold of Northern and Western Kupul where they maintained their wealth through the trade of Agave fibers, Citrus fruits, and other agricultural activities, maintaining an important clientele of landowners and farmers who depended on them for their livelihood, as they were both their main buyers, suppliers, and source of investments when they wished to expand their exploitations. The Xiu-Tutul were especially famed for their jurists as it was through Kupul’s judiciary that they managed to remain a counter-power to the Yakawek Lineages which held all the positions in the higher administration.
During the Sajal War, the Yakawkek joined the Noble Republic. In reaction the Xiu-Tutul, their rivals, began to support royalists insurgencies in Kupul. In the following war, they Xiu-Tutul were defeated and their Patriarch was sacrificed and the rest of the family fled to the Xiu for protection despite the direct line also being supporters of the Noble Republic, as they were bound by a form of "Familial Alliance" to each others. Ahin Witz Xiu-Tutul managed to escape house arrest in Oxmal and joined the Royalists forces in Eastern Mutul. When the Xuman Peninsula was reconquered, Ahin Witz was rewarded with the position of Kupul Yajaw while all of his family’s possessions seized by the Yakawkek were restored to them. His son was also crowned Yajaw of Oxmal, but through negotiations between the Xiu and the Ilok’tab Dynasty, facilitated by the Xiu-Tutul, this title returned to the main line a decade later.
The Xiu-Tutul would remain in charge of Kupul until 1932 when the Yakawkek managed to regain the title of Yajaw through their ties to the Orientalists. The Xiu-Tutul returned to power two decades later through their support of the Occidentalists reformists but could not exploit the Purge of the Orientalists to get rid of the Yakawkek because of the latter ties with the Clergy. They would once again loose the title in 2006 when the Yakawkek I-Tzaam Keh, an important figure in the Rezeists circles, was granted the Yajawil.