Publisher's Synopsis
Set in a new world recently created by the Plumed Serpent and Hurikan the Mayan Gods of Creation, the Popol Vuh is the story of how the first humans were created. It is an epic story of the struggle of good over evil set in the oasis of this new world. From the only four remaining Mayan codices, scholars believe that the original Popol Vuh was a collection of intricate calculations involving the visible bodies found in the night sky. And that from these manuscripts the past, present, and future events could be seen. This collection of stories comes from a clandestine manuscript written under the Spanish clergy's oppression during the 16th century. it was later translated into Spanish by a visiting priest and lost in piles of documents until found by a French priest over a hundred years later and again ignored until the end of the last century when it was finally translated into English. With the new interest in Mayan anthology, these stories have led to an understanding of images found on pottery, mural paintings, and stone carvings dating back to early classic Mayan culture (AD300-900).
The author of this book has taken great care to transcribe the stories in a logical order and created abundant illustrations to facilitate an easy understanding of each story. A glossary has been included to understand characters, places, and other relevant information. Although some names were changed by the original writers of the Popol Vuh to protect themselves from their oppressors, the stories are thought to explain astronomical arrangements but, our understanding of this is still just one of many mysteries of the Maya.
