The[Book of the]Songs of Dzitbalché (Spanish:[El libro de] los cantares de Dzitbalché), originally titledThe Book of the Dances of the Ancients, is a Mayan book containing poetry. It is the source of almost all the ancientMayan lyricpoems that have survived, and is closely connected to theBooks ofChilam Balam which are sacred books of the colonial Yucatec Maya. The sole surviving copy of theSongs of Dzitbalché was written in alphabeticMayan in the 18th century.
The author of the book identifies himself as Ah Bam, an elder of the town ofDzitbalché. He appears to say that the book was originally written in 1440.Manuscripts of this era were often copies of copies of copies, meaning scholars have to locate internal evidence for clues to the original date of composition. Many of the poems appear to be much older than the manuscript itself, and contain ancient ceremonial and ritual material. Other poems are songs oflove,philosophy, andspirituality. Many of them appear to have had a musical accompaniment.
The Book of the Dances of the Ancients, its original name, was changed to the current title by its firsttranslator.
The first full Spanish translation was crafted by theMexicananthropologist andlinguist Barrera Vásquez in 1965. In 1982, Munro Edmunson produced an English version, followed by John Curl's online publication in 2005 of selected pieces from the codex. David Bowles, in 2013, composed English-verse translations of all of the songs in hisFlower, Song, Dance: Aztec and Mayan Poetry.
Barrera Vásquez, Alfredo, ed. (1979–81).El libro de los cantares de Dzitbalché: Una traducción fiel de los Documentos. Mérida: Ediciones del Ayuntamiento de Mérida, Yucatán.(in Yucatec Maya and Spanish)
Bolles, David; Alejandra Bolles (2004)."A Grammar of the Yucatecan Mayan Language"(revised online edition, 1996 Lee, New Hampshire).Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. (FAMSI). The Foundation Research Department. Retrieved2007-04-03.
Bowles, David, ed. (2013).Flower, Song, Dance: Aztec and Mayan Poetry. Beaumont TX: Lamar University Press.ISBN978-0985255282.
Cocom Pech, Jorge Miguel (1999)."La literatura maya contemporánea en la Península de Yucatán". In Lorraine A. Williams-Beck (ed.).Calkiní: Una historia compartida (in Spanish) (online extract at calkini.net ed.). Campeche: H. Ayuntamiento de Calkiní, Ediciones Nave de Papel. Retrieved2007-04-03.
