THE POPOL VUH

writing in hieroglyphics The logosyllabic writing system used by the Maya civilization, consisting of complex symbols called glyphs., and who probably influenced their mythology most profoundly. The Toltecs A powerful Mesoamerican culture that preceded the Aztecs; historical debate continues regarding the extent of their direct influence on the Maya. were not, however, in any way cognate Related by blood or linguistic origin. with the Mayans, and were in all likelihood rapidly absorbed by them. The Mayans were notably an agricultural people, and it is not impossible that in their country the maize-plant Corn; the primary staple of Mesoamerican diets and a central element of their religious creation stories. was first cultivated with the object of obtaining a regular cereal supply (3).

Such, then, were the people whose mythology produced the body of tradition and sacred history known as the “Popol Vuh” The "Book of the Mat" or "Book of the People," the foundational sacred text of the K'iche' Maya.; and before we pass to a consideration of their beliefs, their gods, and their religious affinities, it will be well to summarise the three books of it which treat of these things, as fully as space will permit, using for that purpose both the French translation of Brasseur Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg (1814–1874), a French writer and historian who rediscovered and translated the manuscript. and the Spanish one of Ximénez Francisco Ximénez, a Dominican friar who discovered the manuscript in the early 18th century and made the first transcription and Spanish translation..

THE FIRST BOOK

Over a universe wrapped in the gloom of a dense and primeval night passed the god Hurakan The "Heart of Sky" and a god of wind and storm; his name is the root of the English word "hurricane.", the mighty wind. He called out “earth,” and the solid land appeared. The chief gods took counsel; they were Hurakan, Gucumatz The "Sovereign Plumed Serpent," a creator deity similar to the Aztec Quetzalcoatl., the serpent covered with green feathers, and Xpiyacoc and Xmucane The divine grandparents and master diviners; they are often invoked as midwives and matchmakers in Mayan tradition., the mother and father gods. As the result of their deliberations animals were created. But as yet