Popol Vuh

By Dennis Tedlock

Categories: History, Religion & Spirituality

The Popol Vuh is the sacred narrative of the K'iche' Maya of Guatemala, here in the English translation by anthropologist Dennis Tedlock, first published in 1985 and revised in 1996. It tells how the gods tried to make humans from mud and wood before succeeding with maize, and how the hero twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque defeated the lords of the underworld, Xibalba, in a ballgame. It ends with the history of the K'iche' ruling lineages. Tedlock's notes draw on his work with a K'iche' daykeeper.

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• Mel Gibson: “And of course, then we read the book by Jared Diamond, Collapse. I read the Mayan Bible, the Popol Vuh.”