The popol vuh and the dominican religious extirpation. He is the author of the manuscript known as ayer ms 1515, housed at the newberry library in chicago. I happened to have with me a copy of the popol vuh manuscript, a book that was compiled in the midsixteenth century at a town that still exists less than thirty miles from where we sat. The mayan book of the dawn of life, revised and expanded. The popol vuh and the dominican religious extirpation in. The popol vuh was first transcribed in the quiche language, but in latin characters, in the middle of. Guatemala, by the dominican priest francisco ximenez 16661729. In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content. The popol vuh and the dominican friar francisco ximenez. How gods created mankind, according to the popol vuh. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our. To give a brief background, popol vuh is a mythistory of the quiche. In the eighteenth century, padre fray francisco ximenez, of the dominican order, came to the village of chichicastenango, guatemala, where the ancient tradition of the quiche maya still prevailed.
In the case of highland guatemala, many titulos and other narratives, including the nativeauthored original popol vuh, arc dated as early as 1554. Sin embargo, investigaciones posteriores han demostrado. Popol vuh also popol wuj or popul vuh or pop vuj is a text recounting the mythology and history of the k. Ximenez, francisco 16661722 people and organisations trove.
Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more. The popol vuh,the sacred book of the quiche maya of guatemala,tells the story of the origins of man and the adventures of hunahpu and xbalanque,twin brothers who later became the sun and the moon. How gods created mankind, according to the popol vuh, the. Ximenez translated it and included it in his historic work, but also transcribed the text into. There is, as woodruff has noted, little biographical data about ximenez. Adrian recinos, an author from guatemala explains that. The mayan book of the dawn of life, revised and expanded edition, nueva york, simon and schuster, 1996 1985, p. The popol vuh, written in the 16th century, was discovered in the possession of the indigenous residents of the town of santo tomas chuila, today chichicastenango, guatemala, by father fray francisco ximenez, at the beginning of the 18th century. The definitive edition of the mayan book of the dawn of life and the glories of gods and kings. Dominican friar francisco ximenez, undertook his work explicitly to refute.
So the remarkable popol vuh records events from the beginning of time to the present day of its writers, switching from myth to history, and tying the two together to guide the maya. The original manuscript popol vuh is not divided into parts or chapters. The scholarship of the nineteenth century was unequal to the adequate translation of the popol vuh. The popol vuh began as an oral tradition that was later written down by an indigenous leader, and then recopied by dominican friar francisco ximenez in the early 1700s. The popul vuh, which has been translated as book of the council, book of the. It is argued that his work was first and foremost intended to be a religious treatise to carry out the conversion of the kiche to christianity.
Just as mysteriously as the book appeared, it disappeared but was available enough to be copied. The popol vuh is the story of creation according to the quiche maya of the region known today as guatemala. Popol vuh means roughly council book, and had been used for centuries by mayan leaders to give them instruction when making important decisions. Popol vuh the sacred book of the mayas written by editor vopus the popol vuh kiche for council book or book of the community. The maya creation myth story summary of the popol vuh. Thanks to his kind and understanding spirit, the priest won the esteem of the population and in gratitude. The popul vuh, which has been translated as book of the council, book of the community, book of the people, and the sacred book, is the creation account of the quiche mayan people. The chichen itza series 3 the ball game the yucatan.
The popol vuh and the dominican religious extirpation in highland guatemala. The most futile and vain work of father francisco ximenez. Augustin estrada monroy ximenez, francisco, 1666approximately 1722 book. In a convincing argument in favor of the authenticity of the popol vuh, lewis spence declares. Jack himelblau in his book quiche worlds in creation. The very fact that it was composed in the quiche tongue is almost sufficient proof of its genuine american character. The maya quiche narrative as a product of religious extirpation in colonial highland guatemala welcome to the ideals repository javascript is disabled for your browser.
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