Chilam Balam Of Chumayel Sparknotes

After reading The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel by Ralph L. Roys, I knew this would be a perfect reading for my response paper due to the historical significance I interpreted through reading. I found this text particularly interesting due to the fact that I was supposedly reading the ‘secrets’ of the Mayan people. Throughout the years in my history courses, little seemed to be taught on the actual feelings of the native people. We learned plenty about the Spanish Conquistadors and how they forced their religion and culture on the native people, but never about how those people truly felt. Yes, you can predict how they would have felt, but reading about the impact of an entire culture being lost in such a short time had a different effect
At the time it was written, Spanish Conquistadors were ‘discovering’ the New World, forcing European culture, language and religion on the native peoples of the Americas, including the Mayans as well as other indigenous people in the Mexico region. These books serve as a primary source for our knowledge today on the history of the Mayan religion, language, folklore and even their view on astronomy, which played a key role in the creation of the infamous Mayan Calendar. Within these nine books, Mayan thought is reflected in several of their native languages and pictures. Spanish Missionaries later translated these texts and eventually Ralph L. Roys translated the text into English in 1933. When it comes to understanding a culture lost hundreds of years ago with minimal written records, this is a favorable record in understanding and exploring the old Mayan civilization after the Spanish Conquest. Historians are also able to use this text to see the change the Spanish Conquistadors forced onto the native people. By comparing the records in the Chilam Balam, readers will be able to take note of the drastic difference and enormous change these people went through when Europeans invaded their homelands. With a vastly different culture, the change was not easy but the Spanish persisted using their ‘superiority’ and eventually changed the lives of
The Mayans used these books in order to preserve their culture, religion and other forms of beliefs. Upon invasion, the goal of the Spanish was to eradicate Mayan language and culture, ultimately forcing their European lifestyle on the natives. By writing these books, they could keep their culture alive so it would not be forgotten by the future Mayan generations. At the time of publication in the 1500s, the Mayans believed that written word had sacred significance. Texts were sacred objects, written by priests, who were ultimately the interpreter for the gods. This belief of divine objects reflected their parts of their religion and culture, giving insight on who was responsible for the recorded documents and how the priests interpreted these messages from their