Maya And The K Iche Summary
K’iche’ (Quiche’) Maya and the Popol Vuh
K’iche’ (Quiche’) Maya and the Popol Vuh
The K’iche’ (Quiché) Maya had an advanced civilization in pre-Columbian times with a high level of political and social organization. Archaeological findings have shown large populations centers and a complex class structure. While the early Mayan people did not have an exact written language the fact of oral tradition has left historians to be lucky enough to have later writers to preserve the stories. The written records and oral traditions are preserved in the sacred book of the Maya known as the Popol Vuh; written in the native K’iche’ language after the conquest of the Spanish in 1524. This now lost manuscript was later recorded in the seventeenth century by Father Francisco Ximénez. The sacred book of the Maya, the Popol Vuh, is a rare survivor from the Spanish invasion, and explains the mythology, traditions, creations, and the history of the K’iche’ themselves.
To understand the sacred text of the Maya, one must have knowledge of the people who created it. The Maya civilization began approximately around 2000 BC and reached the height of its existence during the Classic period between AD 300 and AD 900. Mayan Indians live throughout the present day …show more content…
The Popol Vuh is divided into two parts. The first part contains the history of the Mayas and also the creation stories. The second part deals completely with the K’iche’. The first part of part one consists of two stories: the first is the creation stories of the failure of the gods to create beings that were able to adore, obey and sustain themselves which is the first three chapters. And the second tells the tale of the two hero twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque. The text itself is a very long story so provided below is a summarized
K’iche’ (Quiche’) Maya and the Popol Vuh
The K’iche’ (Quiché) Maya had an advanced civilization in pre-Columbian times with a high level of political and social organization. Archaeological findings have shown large populations centers and a complex class structure. While the early Mayan people did not have an exact written language the fact of oral tradition has left historians to be lucky enough to have later writers to preserve the stories. The written records and oral traditions are preserved in the sacred book of the Maya known as the Popol Vuh; written in the native K’iche’ language after the conquest of the Spanish in 1524. This now lost manuscript was later recorded in the seventeenth century by Father Francisco Ximénez. The sacred book of the Maya, the Popol Vuh, is a rare survivor from the Spanish invasion, and explains the mythology, traditions, creations, and the history of the K’iche’ themselves.
To understand the sacred text of the Maya, one must have knowledge of the people who created it. The Maya civilization began approximately around 2000 BC and reached the height of its existence during the Classic period between AD 300 and AD 900. Mayan Indians live throughout the present day …show more content…
The Popol Vuh is divided into two parts. The first part contains the history of the Mayas and also the creation stories. The second part deals completely with the K’iche’. The first part of part one consists of two stories: the first is the creation stories of the failure of the gods to create beings that were able to adore, obey and sustain themselves which is the first three chapters. And the second tells the tale of the two hero twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque. The text itself is a very long story so provided below is a summarized