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POPUL VUH

“The Book of the People”Translated into English by

Delia Goetz and Sylvanus Griswold Morley

from Adrián Recino’s translation

from Quiché into Spanish

Plantin Press, Los Angeles[1954, copyright not registered or renewed]

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CONTENTS

PageINTRODUCTION1. The Chronicles of the Indians 32. The Manuscript of Chichicastenango 73. The Author of the

Popol Vuh

84. The Writings of Father Ximénez 95. The Translations of the

Popol Vuh

16A PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY 21THE BOOK OF THE PEOPLE: POPOL VUHPreamble 34Part I 38Part II 64Part III 126Part IV 149APPENDIX[a] A Note by Sylvanus Griswold Morley 191[b] A Note by Adrián Recinos 192[c] Paper Concerning the Origin of the Lords195

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INTRODUCTION

1. The Chronicles of the Indians

hen the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards was completed, Hernán Cortés, who had heardof the existence of rich lands inhabited by a number of tribes in Guatemala, decided to send Pedrode Alvarado, the most fearless of his captains, to subdue them.In the sixteenth century, the territory immediately to the south of Mexico, which is now theRepublic of Guatemala, was inhabited by various independent nations which were descendedfrom the ancient Maya, founders of the remarkable civilization whose remains are to be foundthroughout northern Guatemala and western Honduras, in Chiapas, and in Yucatán, Mexico. Of the nations located in the interior of Guatemala, the most important and numerous, without doubt,were the kingdoms of the Quiché and of the Cakchiquel, rival nations which had often made warupon each other for territorial, political, and economic reasons, and which continually disputedwith each other for supremacy. At the time of the Spanish Conquest, the Quiché nation was themost powerful and cultured of all those that occupied the region of Central America. In 1524,when Alvarado attacked the Quiché, the Indians offered vigorous resistance, but after bloodybattles they were forced to surrender before the superiority of the arms and tactics of theSpaniards. As a last desperate measure, the Quiché kings decided to receive Alvarado in peace atUtatlán, their capital. But once within its walls, the astute Spanish captain suspected that theywere trying to destroy him and his army in the narrow streets between the fortifications, and so hewithdrew to the surrounding fields and there seized the kings, condemned them to death astraitors, and executed them before their terrorized subjects. Then he ordered the city razed to theground and the inhabitants scattered in all directions.When the conquest of the Quiché was completed, it is likely that a part of the inhabitants of Utatlán, especially members of the nobility and the priesthood, who had their houses in the capitaland saw them disappear in the devouring flames, moved to Chichicastenango, the next town,which the ancient Quiché called Chuilá, or “place of nettles.” Later the Spaniards named thistown Santo Tomás and entrusted its pacification to missionaries of the religious orders, whoconverted the inhabitants to the Roman Catholic faith and introduced them to the civilization of the Old World. In this way, Santo Tomás Chichicastenango, as it is still called, became animportant center of the Quiché Indians, which prospered throughout the three hundred years of Spanish rule and which today is still one of the most industrious and extensive Indiancommunities of Guatemala and the Mecca of foreigners, who are strongly attracted by the naturalbeauty of the place and the picturesque dress and customs of its people.At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Father Francisco Ximénez of the Dominican Orderlived within the thick walls of the convent of Chichicastenango. Father Ximénez was a wise andvirtuous man, who knew the languages of the Indians and had a lively interest in converting themto the Christian faith. It is probable that in his dealings with them, and through his help andfatherly advice, he had won their confidence and had succeeded in having them tell him the stonesand traditions of their race. Ximénez, as I have said, was an accomplished linguist and, therefore,