Popol Vuh

Tine Line

Mayan Important Centers

Linguistic Map

Chichicastenengo were the Popol Vuh was written

The Popol Vuh was written between 1554 and 1558 It was translated by a Dominican friar named Francisco Ximénez in 1701 The manuscript is at the Newberry Library in Chicago

The Popol Vuh is about the genesis of this Mayan group The Popol Vuh is divided in three parts: 1. Creation of the world and origin of human beings. 2. Mythical adventures of the twin gods Hunahpú (one blowgun ) and Xbalamke (small jaguar-deer). 3. Exodus of the Quiche people and conquest of Mexico.

Some scholars suggest that the main en la cultura maya, como en la nahua, that the creation of humans was the main reason for the creation of life. Gods created human beings in Mesoamerican cultures by sacrificing themselves. In turn, gods expected sacrifices and praises from human beings. Human beings were subjected to the gods.

In the Popol Vuh the deities first created the animals. Animals are destroyed because don have the gift of speaking to praise the gods. The first human beings are created of clay. These humans are inconsistent, so they are destroyed. In the second attempt, the gods create the human beings out of wood. These humans lacked emotions and did not have a soul. They do not praise the gods, so are destroyed by a flood. Those who survived became monkeys. In the last attempt, the gods make the human beings out of corn. Maize is the most precious crop in all Mesoamerican cultures and so the human beings made of corn are close to perfection for the gods. They were also conceived by a virgin

The gods created human beings by means of sacrificing themselves, but humans are will always be limited to cosmic hierarchy.