Popol vuh

Mesoweb Publications

POPOL VUH
Sacred Book of the Quiché Maya People

Translation and Commentary by
Allen J. Christenson

2007 Popol Vuh: Sacred Book of the Quiché Maya People. Electronic version of original 2003 publication. Mesoweb: www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf.

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To my wife, Janet Xa at nu saqil, at nu k'aslemal Chib'e q'ij saq

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thisvolume is the culmination of nearly twenty-five years of collaboration with friends and colleagues who have been more than generous with their time, expertise, encouragement, and at times, sympathy. It has become a somewhat clichéd and expected thing to claim that a work would not be possible without such support. It is nonetheless true, at least from my experience, and I am indebted to all thosewho helped move the process along. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my Maya teachers, colleagues, and friends who have selflessly devoted their time and knowledge to help carry out this project. Without their efforts, none of it would have ever gotten off the ground. I would like to particularly recognize in this regard don Vicente de León Abac, who, withpatience and kindness, guided me through the complexity and poetry of K'iche' theology and ceremonialism. Without his wisdom, I would have missed much of the beauty of ancestral vision that is woven into the very fabric of the Popol Vuh. I dearly miss him. I would also like to acknowledge the profound influence that Antonio Ajtujal Vásquez had on this work. It was his kind and gentle voice that Ioften heard when I struggled at times to understand the ancient words of this text. Others who have aided this work include Diego Chávez Petzey, Nicolás Chávez Sojuel, Felix Choy, Gregorio Chuc, Juan Mendoza, Francisco Mendoza, and Juan Zárate. I am deeply indebted to Jim Mondloch for his extraordinary generosity in offering to read through the translation. His depth of knowledge with regard toK'iche' grammar, syntax, and 2

modern usage were invaluable. I purchased a copy of his “Basic Quiché Grammar” in 1976 to help in my quest to learn the language at a time when such aids were very rare. The book was a steadfast friend and companion during the next few years. Not only was it a brilliant work but it proved to be just the size and weight to dispatch mosquitos on the wall of my adobeshack. I thus owe to him, not only much of my initial knowledge of the K'iche' language, but my red blood cell count in those days as well. I am also grateful to John Robertson for his guidance, particularly with regard to the orthography of the text. He was a patient educator to me when I began work with the K'iche' language nearly twenty-five years ago, helping to prepare a dictionary and grammar.He was an ideal boss and a wise teacher. It is a great honor for me to occupy the office next door to his at the university. I am sincerely indebted to my friend and colleague Ruud van Akkeren who went to extraordinary lengths to share with me his profound understanding of highland Maya ethnohistory. I value his knowledge, experience, and generosity in reading through various versions of thisvolume and offering his insights. As in much of what I do that is of worth in the academic world, I acknowledge the influence of my mentor, Linda Schele. As a graduate student, Linda encouraged me to complete the translation of the Popol Vuh at a time when I was content to throw up my hands after I had worked through the mythic sections. It was her love for the Maya people and passion for theirlanguage that reminded me why we take on overwhelming tasks such as this, and why it’s worth the price in life and heart that we put into them. Among the many who have contributed in invaluable ways to this project, I would like to recognize with my sincerest thanks the following individuals: Claude Baudez, Karen Bassie, James Brady, Linda Brown, Margaret Bruchez, Michael Carrasco, Garrett Cook, Doris...