Epic
Popol Vuh
Anonymous · 1550
Synopsis
The sacred book of the Quiché Maya tells of the creation of the world by the gods, their successive attempts to shape man, and the fabulous adventures of the hero twins Hunahpú and Ixbalanqué, who descend to confront the lords of death in the underworld of Xibalbá.
Context
The text was written down in K'iche' but in Latin characters, around 1550, by anonymous Maya who wanted to save what the destruction of the codices had swept away. The manuscript remained hidden until a Dominican, Francisco Ximénez, parish priest of Chichicastenango, obtained it around 1701, copied it and translated it into Spanish in parallel columns. Without this copy, the only one that survives, the K'iche' text would be lost. Passed to the University of San Carlos when the convents were closed, it was discovered by an Austrian physician in 1854, then by a French abbé who took it away to Europe.
Who it is for
A dense narrative with many names, to be read with the notes. The part on the twins is the most accessible.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as the founding text of Maya literature; Ximénez's manuscript is kept at the Newberry Library in Chicago.