PopolVuh
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.
1
To my wife, Janet
Xa at nu saqil, at nu k'aslemal
Chib'e q'ij saq
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This volume 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 those who 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, with patience 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 I often 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 to K'iche' grammar,
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.
1
To my wife, Janet
Xa at nu saqil, at nu k'aslemal
Chib'e q'ij saq
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This volume 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 those who 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, with patience 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 I often 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 to K'iche' grammar,