Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
For a fascinating read on the myriad ways in which coffee cultivation has af-
fected Guatemala's history and societal relations, including events in the civil
war as they took place on a plantation caught in the crossfire, check out Daniel
Wilkinson's excellent book,
Silence on the Mountain.
BelievedtohavebeenwrittenbyanunknownMayanscribeinthe1560s,the
Po-
pol Vuh
(Council Book), was found in the church archives in Chichicastenango
early in the 18th century by parish priest Francisco Ximénez Amazingly, it sur-
vived the burning and destruction most Mayan writings fell prey to at the hands
of the Spanish and lives on as an important document recording K′iche′ histories
andlegends.XiménezpainstakinglytranscribedthedocumentintoLatinandthen
translateditintoSpanish.ItisnowtheonlysurvivingcopyoftheMayantextand
resides in Chicago's Newberry Library.
The
Popol Vuh
contains the K′iche′ peoples' creation myths as well as their
history before the arrival of the Spanish. Although there are some striking sim-
ilarities with Christian writings, including the Old Testament, scholars believe
these are coincidences rather than evidence of overt Christian influence—this
despite the fact that the text was written about 40 years after the conquest. It
mentions Christianity only at its beginning and its end, framing the narration (as
opposed to the events themselves) of the
Popol Vuh
as taking place within the
context of the Christian era, for better or worse.
The topic describes the moment of creation as having been spurred instantly
by the words of the gods themselves describing the moments preceding creation
with,“Whatevermightbeissimplynotthere:onlymurmurs,ripples,inthedark,
in the night.” It also describes how the gods attempt to create humans to give
meaning to creation and have beings that can speak, praise, and keep the passing
of time, first forming them out of earth and mud, which soon dissolves. The
secondversionofhumankind,thetextrelates,wascreatedoutofwood,butthese
beings were dull and could not speak in words. The gods decide to annihilate
them by sending a flood and other devastations, including the revolt of the be-
ings' own possessions, which turn and destroy their owners. The topic explains
that the remains of this previous version of humankind are the monkeys and hu-
manlike creatures we see today. The gods finally create humankind using corn,
which is not surprising given its importance as a Mayan subsistence crop to this
day.
