{"it":{"id":"TX028","kind":"text","sub":"K'iche' Maya","name":"Popol Vuh","place":"Ica","date":"Written in Latin script c.1554-58 from older (incl. hieroglyphic) traditions","oldest":"Ximénez transcription c.1701-03","inst":"Newberry Library, Chicago, Ayer MS 1515 [institution number unverified this session]","lang":"K'iche' (Spanish parallel)","src":[226,520],"lat":-14.065,"lon":-75.729,"tags":["Mesoamerica"],"sum":"The Popol Vuh is the sacred book of the Quiché Maya of Guatemala. It was written by anonymous Quiché authors, and Allen Christenson's translation tells how the gods try more than once to make beings who will honour them.\n\nFirst the gods make animals, but the animals cannot speak their names. Next they shape a body of earth and mud. It is not good. It comes undone and crumbles, goes sodden and mushy, and dissolves. Then they carve people of wood. The men are made of tz'ite wood and the women of reeds. They speak and multiply, but they have no heart or mind and do not remember their makers. Heart of Sky sends a flood upon them. The text says the spider monkeys in the forest today are their descendants, which is why monkeys look like people.\n\nWhat is hard to explain is the idea of failed drafts. The gods learn by trial and error, and each failure leaves something behind in the world.\n\nThe mainstream view is that the story explains the place of people among other living things, and why the Maya saw maize as the stuff of human flesh. Only the last attempt, made of yellow and white maize, gives the gods the people they wanted.\n\nWhat does it mean for a creator to get it wrong first?","why":"In the Maya creation story the gods fail with animals, mud and wood before making people of maize.","nfacts":0,"nsrc":7,"yt":"Read the passage where vision is reduced.","rel":["TX002","TX034"],"hook":"Maya gods made people of mud and then of wood before they got it right with maize."},"S":{"226":["www.mesoweb.com","https://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf"],"520":["Wikipedia: Popol Vuh","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popol_Vuh"]},"rec":{"id":"TX028","alias":["W11T09","W15T13"],"ms":[],"lab":[],"eng":[],"ori":[],"gaps":[],"dat":[],"aa":[{"id":"AA129","a":"Created beings with enhanced faculties restricted by creators = genetic tampering.","who":"AA writers","main":"Indigenous cosmogony; colonial-era transmission via Dominican friar.","ms":"https://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf","st":"unresolved","n":"interpretive claim; no measurable data","nl":1},{"id":"AA206","a":"ancient/NHI-origin claims","who":"various (not itemised)","main":"Recinos rediscovered at Newberry 1941; source text dated 1554-1558 (Recinos, Tedlock)","ms":"W11S56;W11S57;W11S76","st":"no data","n":"Genuine colonial transcription.","nl":"1"},{"id":"AA228","a":"Records contact with non-human/advanced beings or craft","who":"AA literature (see claimant_index)","main":"Written down ~1550 from oral tradition","ms":"W15S24;W15S58","st":"no data","n":"Extends W11T09.","nl":"1"}],"ac":[],"me":[],"ci":[],"cq":[],"sd":[],"pas":[{"ref":"Popol Vuh, 'The Creation of the Mothers of the Quiché Nation' (Christenson PDF p.186)","q":"\"They were blinded like breath upon the face of a mirror.\"","exact":"yes","tr":"A.J. Christenson","url":"https://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf","mo":"limited creation"},{"ref":"Popol Vuh, 'The Creation of the Mud Person' (Christenson PDF p.65)","q":"\"Of earth and mud was its flesh composed.\"","exact":"yes","tr":"A.J. Christenson","url":"https://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf","mo":"creation from clay"},{"ref":"Popol Vuh, 'The Discovery of Maize' (Christenson PDF p.178)","q":"\"the yellow ears of ripe maize and the white ears of ripe maize came\"","exact":"yes","tr":"A.J. Christenson","url":"https://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf","mo":"creation material"}],"tr":[{"by":"Allen J. Christenson","yr":"2003/2007","t":"Popol Vuh (Mesoweb PDF)","lic":"openly published","url":"https://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf"},{"by":"Goetz & Morley (from Recinos)","yr":"1950","t":"Popol Vuh","lic":"copyright","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popol_Vuh"},{"by":"Lewis Spence (Gutenberg #56550; retelling, not a translation)","yr":"1908","t":"The Popol Vuh","lic":"public domain","url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56550"}],"mo":[{"v":"clay_or_earth","ev":"P035","n":"no contact with the Old World","url":"https://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf"},{"v":"flood","ev":"flood destroys wooden people","n":"no contact","url":"https://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf"}],"tl":[{"comp":"pre-conquest oral; alphabetic K'iche' text c.1554-58","old":"Ximénez copy c.1701","pub":"Scherzer 1857; Brasseur 1861","b":"S","url":"https://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf"}],"wit":[{"id":"W11T09","mw":"Newberry Ayer MS 1515, Ximenez holograph c.1700-1703, 2 v. ([4],120; [4],56,6 leaves), 31 cm; Popol Vuh = 56 leaves, double-column Kiche/Spanish","kn":"Recinos rediscovered at Newberry 1941; source text dated 1554-1558 (Recinos, Tedlock)","pf":"genuine (colonial transcription)","st":"no data","sn":"Genuine colonial transcription.","b":"V","s":["W11S56","W11S57","W11S76"]},{"id":"W15T13","mw":"Ximenez manuscript (Ayer MS 1515, Newberry), K'iche' + Spanish parallel columns; Ximenez at Chichicastenango 1701; Ayer bought from Leclerc 1887; at Newberry since 1912","kn":"Written down ~1550 from oral tradition","pf":"genuine (colonial copy)","st":"no data","sn":"Extends W11T09.","b":"V","s":["W15S24","W15S58"]}],"tx":{"mainstream_reading":"Indigenous cosmogony; colonial-era transmission via Dominican friar.","alternative_reading":"Created beings with enhanced faculties restricted by creators = genetic tampering.","alt_proponent":"AA writers","mistranslation_or_dispute":"Christenson 2003/2007 translation openly available as PDF (Mesoweb); Goetz-Morley 1950 older.","key_theme":"gods make humans from mud (fail), wood (fail), then maize (succeed); first men see too far, sight clouded","language":"K'iche' (Spanish parallel)","physical_object_institution":"Newberry Library, Chicago, Ayer MS 1515 [institution number unverified this session]","composition_date":"Written in Latin script c.1554-58 from older (incl. hieroglyphic) traditions","oldest_ms_date":"Ximénez transcription c.1701-03","b":"V"},"sub":[],"src":[{"id":"W11S56","t":"Newberry Library record Ayer MS 1515","u":"https://collections.newberry.org/asset-management/2KXJ8ZSQGH5XT?Flat=FP&WS=SearchResults"},{"id":"W11S57","t":"CARLI/Newberry digital Ayer MS 1515","u":"https://collections.carli.illinois.edu/digital/collection/nby_dig/id/9443/"},{"id":"W11S76","t":"Wikipedia Popol Vuh","u":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Popol_Vuh&oldid=1379313047"},{"id":"W15S24","t":"Wikipedia Popol Vuh","u":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Popol_Vuh&oldid=1379313047"},{"id":"W15S58","t":"Newberry Library research guide: Popol Vuh","u":"https://www.newberry.org/collection/research-guide/popol-vuh"},{"id":"S0769","t":"www.mesoweb.com","u":"https://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf"},{"id":"S0579","t":"Wikipedia: Popol Vuh","u":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popol_Vuh"},{"id":null,"t":"Brasseur de Bourbourg, C. É. 1861. Popol Vuh: le livre sacré et les mythes de l’antiquité américaine (Paris: Arthus Bertrand).","u":"https://archive.org/details/popolvuhlelivres00bras"},{"id":null,"t":"The King James Bible, Genesis 3. Project Gutenberg eBook 10.","u":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10"},{"id":null,"t":"SLUB Dresden, Codex Dresdensis, Mscr.Dresd.R.310 (digital edition, table of contents).","u":"https://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/2967/1"},{"id":null,"t":"The Flood story: translation. Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, t.1.7.4, University of Oxford.","u":"https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr174.htm"}],"qs":["What does it mean for a creator to get it wrong first?","Why would monkeys be the leftovers of a failed people?"],"gal":[{"src":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Popol_vuh.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Popol_vuh.jpg","title":"Popol vuh.jpg","lic":"Public domain","licurl":"","by":"Francisco Ximénez","cap":"First page of the Popol Vuh manuscript, Saved at Newberry Library, Chicago, Yesterday Collection"},{"src":"https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Codex_Lacambalam_l%C3%A1mina_15.png/1280px-Codex_Lacambalam_l%C3%A1mina_15.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Codex_Lacambalam_l%C3%A1mina_15.png","title":"Codex Lacambalam lámina 15.png","lic":"CC BY-SA 4.0","licurl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0","by":"Lacambalam","cap":"This drawing is part of the codex also known as Codex Grolier. The day positions are part of a Venus almanaque. The whole codex described all day positions of 1"},{"src":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Empiezan_las_historias%28Popol_vuh%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Empiezan_las_historias(Popol_vuh).jpg","title":"Empiezan las historias(Popol vuh).jpg","lic":"Public domain","licurl":"","by":"Francisco Ximénez","cap":"Title page of oldest known Popol Vuh manuscript"},{"src":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Empiezan_las_historias%28preamble%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Empiezan_las_historias(preamble).jpg","title":"Empiezan las historias(preamble).jpg","lic":"Public domain","licurl":"","by":"Unknown","cap":"parallel text of oldest known Popol Vuh manuscript"},{"src":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Empiezan_las_historias%28titlepage%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Empiezan_las_historias(titlepage).jpg","title":"Empiezan las historias(titlepage).jpg","lic":"Public domain","licurl":"","by":"Francisco Ximénez","cap":"Title page of oldest known Popol Vuh manuscript"}],"sum":"# The Popol Vuh: The Gods Who Made People, Then Dimmed Their Eyes\n\nThe first true people could see everything. In the sacred book of the K'iche' Maya, four men have just been shaped from maize, and when they open their eyes nothing is hidden from them. \"Perfect was their sight,\" runs Allen Christenson's translation, \"and perfect was their knowledge of everything beneath the sky.\" If they gazed about them, looking intently, \"they beheld that which was in the sky.\" Their makers watched this, and grew afraid.\n\n\"It is a mistake that they have become like gods,\" the creators say. \"Their works will merely be equated with ours. Their knowledge will extend to the furthest reaches, and they will see everything.\" So they decide to \"undo them a little.\" Heart of Sky blurs their eyes, and they are \"blinded like breath upon the face of a mirror.\" From then on they \"could see only nearby.\" The wisdom of the first four people, the text says, \"was lost there at their foundation.\"\n\nMost creation stories end when the first people are made. The Popol Vuh keeps going, and what it says is startling: human beings are not unfinished. They were limited on purpose.\n\n## The sacred book of the K'iche'\n\nThe Popol Vuh, usually translated as \"Book of the Council\" or \"Book of the Community,\" is the great sacred narrative of the K'iche' Maya of the Guatemalan highlands. It tells of the creation of the world, the long adventures of the hero twins against the lords of the underworld, and the origins and history of the K'iche' lineages down to the Spanish conquest. Its authors are anonymous. Scholars date the text they wrote to about 1554 to 1558, a generation after the conquest, set down in Latin letters from older traditions that had been kept in painted books and in memory.\n\nThe authors explain why they are writing. They do so \"under the law of God and Christianity,\" because \"there is no longer the means whereby the Popol Vuh may be seen.\" They add a line that has haunted readers since: \"The original book exists that was written anciently, but its witnesses and those who ponder it hide their faces.\"\n\n## Three failures\n\nBefore the maize people, the gods fail three times, and the Popol Vuh records each attempt with the frankness of a workshop.\n\nThe first attempt is the animals. They \"only squawked and chattered and roared.\" Because \"they were not able to speak our names,\" they are sent to the canyons and forests, and their flesh will be eaten.\n\nThe second is a body of mud. \"Of earth and mud was its flesh composed.\" It speaks, \"but without knowledge,\" and cannot walk or multiply. It cannot hold a shape. \"It merely fell apart and dissolved.\" The makers admit it: \"We have made a mistake; thus let this be merely a mistake.\"\n\nThe third is people of wood, the men carved from tz'ite wood and the women from reeds. \"They had the appearance of people and spoke like people as well.\" They spread across the earth and have children. But they have no heart and no mind, their faces are dry, their bodies stiff, \"their faces were masks,\" and \"they did not remember their Framer or their Shaper.\" So Heart of Sky plans a flood \"that came down upon the heads of the effigies carved of wood.\" Then \"there came a great resin down from the sky,\" and creatures come to gouge out their eyes. The text says the spider monkeys of the forest are what remains of them, which is why monkeys look like people.\n\nChristenson notes that every failed creation is destroyed for the same reason: it cannot worship the gods in intelligible words. Then four animals, the fox, the coyote, the parakeet and the raven, show the gods \"the yellow ears of maize and the white ears of maize.\" From that the flesh of the true people is made, and \"water was their blood.\"\n\n## How the book survived\n\nThe Popol Vuh survives because one priest copied it. Between 1701 and 1704, Christenson writes, the Dominican friar Francisco Ximenez, parish priest of Chichicastenango, persuaded the keepers of the book to let him transcribe it. He wrote that the people knew it as \"the doctrine which they first imbibed with their mother's milk, and that all of them knew it almost by heart.\" The original they kept has not been seen since the early 1700s.\n\nXimenez's manuscript, catalogued at the Newberry Library in Chicago as Ayer MS 1515, sets the K'iche' text in Latin letters beside a Spanish translation. The library calls it \"possibly the earliest surviving copy,\" dates it more broadly to between 1700 and 1715, and notes that the K'iche' is \"studded with corrections,\" suggesting it may have been read aloud by as many as three people while the friar wrote.\n\nIt nearly vanished. The Austrian traveller Carl Scherzer saw it in the university library in Guatemala City in 1854 and feared it was \"written in such light ink that the original might very well become illegible.\" He published the Spanish in 1856, the first time the Popol Vuh appeared in print. In 1861 the French cleric Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg published the K'iche' with a French translation in Paris, having, he said, bought the manuscript in Rabinal in 1855, a claim the Newberry calls \"a matter of some dispute.\" After his death it passed through collectors and a Paris bookseller to Edward E. Ayer, who bought it in 1887. It has been at the Newberry since 1912, and was rediscovered there by the Guatemalan scholar Adrian Recinos in 1941.\n\n## The mainstream reading\n\nScholars treat the Popol Vuh as a genuine K'iche' work, written down in the colonial period from older tradition, and the record lists the claims built on it as interpretation with no measurable data. On that reading the story explains the place of people among other living things and why the Maya saw maize as the very stuff of human flesh. In Christenson's commentary the Maya called themselves \"maize people,\" and foreigners who ate bread \"wheat people.\"\n\nThe obvious question is whether the parts that sound biblical came from the missionaries. The authors wrote under Christian rule and said so. Genesis has a line very close to the gods' fear: \"Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil,\" and God sends him out \"lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life.\" But a great flood is painted in the Dresden Codex, a folded Maya book 356 centimetres long that its library dates to about 1300 to 1521, on a page the library titles \"the great flood,\" where, as Christenson identifies it, an old goddess pours water from an inverted jar. A flood before the present age, he writes, \"was a widespread tradition in Mesoamerica.\" The texts do not settle whether the echo is influence, convergence or both.\n\n## What is left open\n\nOther peoples imagined a flood, and a creator who drowns an earlier world. What sets the Popol Vuh apart is its tone. The gods here are not all-knowing. They experiment, misjudge their materials, call their own work a mistake and destroy it. When at last they succeed, they succeed too well, and must reach in and adjust what they have made, reducing a faculty they had built in. Some modern writers have read that as a memory of deliberate design, of beings shaped and then edited by their makers. The text itself only says what was done, and why.\n\nPicture the four maize men in the first dawn, looking out on a world with nothing hidden in it, the whole sky open to their eyes, and then the breath on the mirror, and the world closing in to arm's length."},"img":null,"md":null,"hh":[{"v":"K'iche'","h":"Language: K'iche' (Spanish parallel)","s":[303]}],"hs":{"303":["www.mesoweb.com","https://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf"]},"lh":{"s":"img/h/TX028.webp","w":1223,"h":1750,"o":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Popol_vuh.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled"}}