HUM 2461 Humanities of Latin America SFC Spring 2012 Day 3 Attendance Homework for Thursday (Day4) Chac: finish movie / discussion Lecture on Mayas Popol Vuh: preliminary discussion. Read and print for class: (a) title page; (b) preamble; (c) all nine chapters of Part I only Xavier Quijas Yxayótl: "Singing Earth" Mesoamerican clay flutes, drums "Music for Rain God"

Notes on Popol Vuh Book of the People

Writers of Popol Vuh

"writing" (tz’ib’) + "he who writes" (ah tz’ib’) _____________________________________ It is a description of the act of writing

Notes on Popol Vuh (1) 2500 BCE – 1550 CE: oral text Myth: "gift of Quetzalcóatl to humans" 353 CE: Mayas invent 365-day calendar ca. 1550: Maya Quiché MS Diego Reynoso, town councilman Santa Cruz Quiché, Guatemala ca. 1700: Fr. Francisco Ximénez Spanish translation Newberry Library, Chicago

Notes on Popol Vuh (1a) Three parts: Part 1  9 chapters The oldest literary/religious printed work in Latin America (16th Century edition). Oral text (between 2500 B.C.E. and 1550 C.E.)

Notes on Popol Vuh (1b) Religious (creation and gods). 4 Codex (books) found The Paris Codex (1930s) The Grolier Codex (1970s) The Dresden Codex (1810, Alexander von Humbolt) The Madrid Codex (Under possession of Juan de Tro y Ortolano in Madrid in 1866)

The Peresianus Codex (France)

The Grolier Codex (Mexico,1970s)

The Codex Dresdensis (Germany)

The Tro-Cortesianus Codex (Spain)

Notes on Popol Vuh (2) Retranslation into Maya Quiché Opening 2 lines: Are, u xe 'oher tzih. Varal K'iche, u bi. This is the root of the former word. Here is Quiché by name.

Notes on Popol Vuh (3) Genre: near-heroic myth and history no single hero myth and history of a people (Quiché Maya) origins to 1550 Coherent literary work order, scope, unity, episodes Popol Vuh: totality of the Maya Epoch Next Epoch: "Holy Cross"

Notes on Popol Vuh (4) 4 Mythic Cycles 1st Cycle: wood "men" puppets (to line 820) 2nd Cycle: destruction of 7 Parrot & sons (l. 1674) 3rd Cycle: Hero twins become Sun & Moon (l. 4708) 4th Cycle: ½ of whole text (men learn to pray) first Fathers to present Heart of Heaven & Earth

Notes on Popol Vuh (5) Quiché people in 4th creation First Fathers, from corn by creator Quiché: most powerful Maya in Guatemala in 1550 Modern Quiché call their language Cakchiquel Quiché society: patriarchal, patrilineal, patrilocal "God" in Quiché: Dios qahavixel Public religious drama / private divination

Notes on Popol Vuh (6) Quiché (Yucatán, Aztec) calendar: sacred mystery Quiché "count of days" 260 days (13 deified numbers x 20 days) Solar calendar: 18 months x 20 days) + 5 year cycles only begin on 4 days (of 20 days) 13-year cycle x 4 beginning days = 52 years

Notes on Popol Vuh (7) Toltec / Aztec influence 900 – 1500 military & religious terms Place: Utatlán, Guatemala (sacred geography) Rivers, mountains, highlands, volcanoes, valleys Quiché came from Tula (myth) Popol Vuh: chronicle of one lineage: Kaveks of Quiché Pedro de Alvarado conquered Quichés 1524-1525

See you Thursday Hasta el jueves À jeudi Até à quinta feira

http://www.famsi.org/mayawriting/codices/