Popol Vuh (alsoPopul Vuh orPop Vuj)[1][2] is a text recounting the mythology and history of theKʼicheʼ people ofGuatemala, one of theMaya peoples who also inhabit the Mexican states ofChiapas,Campeche,Yucatan andQuintana Roo, as well as areas ofBelize,Honduras andEl Salvador.
ThePopol Vuh is a foundational sacred narrative of the Kʼich'eʼ people from long before theSpanish conquest of the Maya.[3] It includes the Mayancreation myth, the exploits of theHero Twins Hunahpú and Xbalanqué,[4] and a chronicle of the Kʼicheʼ people.
The name "Popol Vuh" translates as "Book of the Community" or "Book of Counsel" (literally "Book that pertains to the mat", since a woven mat was used as a royal throne in ancient Kʼicheʼ society and symbolised the unity of the community).[5] It was originally preserved through oral tradition[6] until approximately 1550, when it was recorded in writing.[7] The documentation of thePopol Vuh is credited to the 18th-century SpanishDominican friarFrancisco Ximénez, who prepared a manuscript with a transcription in Kʼicheʼ and parallel columns with translations into Spanish.[6][8]
Like theChilam Balam and similar texts, thePopol Vuh is of particular importance given the scarcity of early accounts dealing withMesoamerican mythologies. As part of the Spanishconquest,missionaries and colonists destroyed many documents.[9]
In 1701, Francisco Ximénez, aDominican priest, came to Santo TomásChichicastenango (also known as Santo Tomás Chuilá). This town was in the Quiché territory and is likely where Ximénez first recorded the work.[10] Ximénez transcribed and translated the account, setting up parallelKʼicheʼ andSpanish language columns in his manuscript. (He represented the Kʼicheʼ language phonetically withLatin andParra characters.) In or around 1714, Ximénez incorporated the Spanish content in book one, chapters 2–21 of hisHistoria de la provincia de San Vicente de Chiapa y Guatemala de la orden de predicadores. Ximénez's manuscripts were held posthumously by the Dominican Order until GeneralFrancisco Morazán expelled the clerics fromGuatemala in 1829–30. At that time the Order's documents were taken over largely by theUniversidad de San Carlos.
From 1852 to 1855,Moritz Wagner andCarl Scherzer traveled in Central America, arriving inGuatemala City in early May 1854.[11] Scherzer found Ximénez's writings in the university library, noting that there was one particular item "del mayor interés" ('of the greatest interest'). With assistance from the Guatemalan historian and archivistJuan Gavarrete, Scherzer copied (or had a copy made of) the Spanish content from the last half of the manuscript, which he published upon his return to Europe.[12] In 1855, French AbbotCharles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg also came across Ximénez's manuscript in the university library. However, whereas Scherzer copied the manuscript, Brasseur apparently stole the university's volume and took it back to France.[13] After Brasseur's death in 1874, the Mexico-Guatémalienne collection containingPopol Vuh passed toAlphonse Pinart, through whom it was sold toEdward E. Ayer. In 1897, Ayer decided to donate his 17,000 pieces toThe Newberry Library inChicago, a project that was not completed until 1911. Father Ximénez's transcription-translation ofPopol Vuh was among Ayer's donated items.
Priest Ximénez's manuscript sank into obscurity untilAdrián Recinos rediscovered it at the Newberry in 1941. Recinos is generally credited with finding the manuscript and publishing the first direct edition since Scherzer. ButMunro Edmonson and Carlos López attribute the first rediscovery toWalter Lehmann in 1928.[14] Experts Allen Christenson, Néstor Quiroa, Rosa Helena Chinchilla Mazariegos, John Woodruff, and Carlos López all consider the Newberry volume to be Ximénez's one and only "original."
'Popol Vuh' is also spelled as 'Popol Vuj', its sound in Spanish use is close to German term for 'book': 'buch', in the translation of title meaning by Adrián Recinos, both phonetics and etymology connect to 'People's book', in the line of 'people' used as a synonym for the whole nation or tribe, as in 'Bible, book of Lord's people'.
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It is generally believed that Ximénez borrowed a phonetic manuscript from a parishioner for his source, although Néstor Quiroa points out that "such a manuscript has never been found, and thus Ximenez's work represents the only source for scholarly studies."[15] This document would have been a phonetic rendering of an oral recitation performed in or aroundSanta Cruz del Quiché shortly followingPedro de Alvarado's 1524 conquest. By comparing the genealogy at the end ofPopol Vuh with dated colonial records, Adrián Recinos andDennis Tedlock suggest a date between 1554 and 1558.[16] But to the extent that the text speaks of a "written" document, Woodruff cautions that "critics appear to have taken the text of the first folio recto too much at face value in drawing conclusions aboutPopol Vuh's survival."[17] If there was an early post-conquest document, one theory (first proposed by Rudolf Schuller) ascribes the phonetic authorship to Diego Reynoso, one of the signatories of theTítulo de Totonicapán.[18] Another possible author could have been Don Cristóbal Velasco, who, also inTitulo de Totonicapán, is listed as "Nim Chokoh Cavec" ('Great Steward of the Kaweq').[19][20] In either case, the colonial presence is clear inPopol Vuh's preamble: "This we shall write now under the Law of God and Christianity; we shall bring it to light because now thePopol Vuh, as it is called, cannot be seen any more, in which was clearly seen the coming from the other side of the sea and the narration of our obscurity, and our life was clearly seen."[21] Accordingly, the need to "preserve" the content presupposes an imminent disappearance of the content, and therefore, Edmonson theorized a pre-conquest glyphic codex. No evidence of such a codex has yet been found.
A minority, however, disputes the existence of pre-Ximénez texts on the same basis that is used to argue their existence. Both positions are based on two statements by Ximénez. The first of these comes fromHistoria de la provincia where Ximénez writes that he found various texts during his curacy of Santo Tomás Chichicastenango that were guarded with such secrecy "that not even a trace of it was revealed among the elder ministers" although "almost all of them have it memorized."[22] The second passage used to argue pre-Ximénez texts comes from Ximénez's addendum toPopol Vuh. There he states that many of the natives' practices can be "seen in a book that they have, something like a prophecy, from the beginning of their [pre-Christian] days, where they have all the months and signs corresponding to each day, one of which I have in my possession."[23] Scherzer explains in a footnote that what Ximénez is referencing "is only a secret calendar" and that he himself had "found this rustic calendar previously in various indigenous towns in the Guatemalan highlands" during his travels with Wagner.[24] This presents a contradiction because the item which Ximénez has in his possession is notPopol Vuh, and a carefully guarded item is not likely to have been easily available to Ximénez. Apart from this, Woodruff surmises that because "Ximenez never discloses his source, instead inviting readers to infer what they wish [. . .], it is plausible that there was no such alphabetic redaction among the Indians. The implied alternative is that he or another missionary made the first written text from an oral recitation."[25]
Many versions of thelegend of theHero Twins Hunahpú and Xbalanqué circulated through the Maya peoples[citation needed], but the story that survives was preserved by theDominican priestFrancisco Ximénez[6] who translated the document between 1700 and 1715.[26] Maya deities in thePost-Classic codices differ from the earlier versions described in theEarly Classic period. In Mayan mythology Hunahpú and Xbalanqué are the second pair of twins out of three, preceded byHun-Hunahpú and his brother Vucub-Hunahpú, and precursors to the third pair of twins,Hun Batz and Hun Chuen. In thePopol Vuh, the first set of twins, Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hanahpú were invited to the Mayan Underworld,Xibalba, to play a ballgame with the Xibalban lords. In the Underworld the twins faced many trials filled with trickery; eventually they fail and are put to death. The Hero Twins, Hunahpú and Xbalanqué, are magically conceived after the death of their father, Hun-Hunahpú, and in time they return to Xibalba to avenge the deaths of their father and uncle by defeating the Lords of the Underworld.
Popol Vuh encompasses a range of subjects that includes creation, ancestry, history, and cosmology. There are no content divisions in the Newberry Library's holograph, but popular editions have adopted the organization imposed byBrasseur de Bourbourg in 1861 in order to facilitate comparative studies.[27] Though some variation has been tested byDennis Tedlock and Allen Christenson, editions typically take the following form:
Preamble
Book One
Book Two
Book Three
Book Four
A visual comparison of two sections of thePopol Vuh are presented below and include the original Kʼiche, literal English translation, and modern English translation as shown by Allen Christenson.[30][31][32]
| Original Kʼiche | Literal English translation | Modern English translation |
|---|---|---|
AREʼ U XEʼ OJER TZIJ,
Xchiqatikibʼaʼ wi ojer tzij, U tikaribʼal, U xeʼnabʼal puch, Ronojel xbʼan pa
| THIS ITS ROOT ANCIENT WORD,
We shall plant ancient word, Its planting, Its root-beginning as well, Everything done in
| THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE ANCIENT TRADITIONS
We shall begin to tell the ancient stories of the beginning, the origin of all that was done in
|
| Original Kʼiche | Literal English translation | Modern English translation |
|---|---|---|
| AREʼ U TZIJOXIK Waʼe. Kʼa katzʼininoq, Katzʼinonik, | THIS ITS ACCOUNT These things. Still be it silent, It is silent, Still it is hushed, | THIS IS THE ACCOUNT of when all is still silent All is silent |
Since Brasseur's and Scherzer's first editions, thePopol Vuh has been translated into many other languages besides its original Kʼicheʼ.[37] The Spanish edition byAdrián Recinos is still a major reference, as is Recino's English translation by Delia Goetz. Other English translations[38] include those of Victor Montejo,[39] Munro Edmonson (1985), and Dennis Tedlock (1985, 1996).[40] Tedlock's version is notable because it builds on commentary and interpretation by a modern Kʼicheʼdaykeeper,Andrés Xiloj. Augustín Estrada Monroy published a facsimile edition in the 1970s and Ohio State University has a digital version and transcription online. Modern translations and transcriptions of the Kʼicheʼ text have been published by, among others,Sam Colop (1999) andAllen J. Christenson (2004). In 2018,The New York Times named Michael Bazzett's new translation as one of the ten best books of poetry of 2018.[41] The tale of Hunahpu and Xbalanque has also been rendered as an hour-long animated film byPatricia Amlin.[42][43]
ThePopol Vuh continues to be an important part in the belief system of many Kʼicheʼ.[citation needed] Although Catholicism is generally seen as the dominant religion, some believe that many natives practice asyncretic blend of Christian and indigenous beliefs. Some stories from thePopol Vuh continued to be told by modern Maya as folklegends; some stories recorded by anthropologists in the 20th century may preserve portions of the ancient tales in greater detail than the Ximénez manuscript.[citation needed] On August 22, 2012, thePopol Vuh was declaredintangible cultural heritage ofGuatemala by the Guatemalan Ministry of Culture.[44]
Since its rediscovery by Europeans in the nineteenth century, thePopol Vuh has attracted the attention of many creators of cultural works.
Mexican muralistDiego Rivera produced a series of watercolors in 1931 as illustrations for the book.
In 1934, the early avant-garde Franco-American composerEdgard Varèse wrote hisEcuatorial, a setting of words from thePopol Vuh for bass soloist and various instruments.
The planet of Camazotz in Madeleine L'Engle'sA Wrinkle in Time (1962) is named forthe bat-god of the hero-twins story.
In 1969 inMunich, Germany, keyboardistFlorian Fricke—at the time ensconced in Mayan myth—formed a band namedPopol Vuh with synth player Frank Fiedler and percussionist Holger Trulzsch. Their 1970 debut album,Affenstunde, reflected this spiritual connection.Another band by the same name, this one of Norwegian descent, formed around the same time, its name also inspired by the Kʼicheʼ writings.
The text was used by German film directorWerner Herzog as extensive narration for the first chapter of his movieFata Morgana (1971). Herzog and Florian Fricke were life long collaborators and friends.
The Argentinian composerAlberto Ginastera began writing his symphonic workPopol Vuh in 1975, but did not complete the piece before his death in 1983.[45]
The myths and legends included inLouis L'Amour's novelThe Haunted Mesa (1987) are largely based on thePopol Vuh.
ThePopol Vuh is referenced throughoutRobert Rodriguez's television showFrom Dusk till Dawn: The Series (2014). In particular, the show'sprotagonists, the Gecko Brothers,Seth andRichie, are referred to as the embodiment of Hunahpú and Xbalanqué, the hero twins, from thePopol Vuh.
In the 2024 historical novelDaughter of Fire bySofia Robleda, the preservation of thePopol Vuh is central to the plot.
Quotes from thePopol Vuh are used in "Live Gloriously", the main theme for the video gameCivilization VII.
Contemporary archaeologists (first of allMichael D. Coe) have found depictions of characters and episodes fromPopol Vuh onMayan ceramics and other art objects (e.g., theHero Twins,Howler Monkey Gods, the shooting ofVucub-Caquix and, as many believe, the restoration of the Twins' dead father,Hun Hunahpu).[46] The accompanying sections of hieroglyphical text could thus, theoretically, relate to passages from thePopol Vuh.Richard D. Hansen found a stucco frieze depicting two floating figures that might be theHero Twins[47][48][49][50] at the site ofEl Mirador.[51]
Following the Twin Hero narrative, mankind is fashioned from white and yellow corn, demonstrating the crop's transcendent importance in Maya culture. To the Maya of the Classic period,Hun Hunahpu may have represented the maize god. Although in thePopol Vuh his severed head is unequivocally stated to have become a calabash, some scholars believe the calabash to be interchangeable with a cacao pod or an ear of corn. In this line, decapitation and sacrifice correspond to harvesting corn and the sacrifices accompanying planting and harvesting.[52] Planting and harvesting also relate to Maya astronomy and the calendar, since the cycles of the moon and sun determined the crop seasons.[53]
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