Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition of The Mayan Book of The Dawn of Life and The Glories of Gods and Kings |  | Creator: Dennis Tedlock
Publisher: Touchstone
Category: Book
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Rating:  19 reviews
Media: Paperback
Edition: Original
Pages: 384
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Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 0684818450
Dewey Decimal Number: 299.784
EAN: 9780684818450
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Product Description
Popol Vuh, the Quiché Mayan book of creation, is not only the most important text in the native languages of the Americas, it is also an extraordinary document of the human imagination. It begins with the deeds of Mayan gods in the darkness of a primeval sea and ends with the radiant splendor of the Mayan lords who founded the Quiché kingdom in the Guatemalan highlands. Originally written in Mayan hieroglyphs, it was transcribed into the Roman alphabet in the sixteenth century. This new edition of Dennis Tedlock's unabridged, widely praised translation includes new notes and commentary, newly translated passages, newly deciphered hieroglyphs, and over forty new illustrations.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 19
 Ian Myles Slater on: Even More Definitive? July 13, 2004
Ian M. Slater (Los Angeles, CA United States)
76 out of 81 found this review helpful
The "Popol Vuh," written in a Mayan language but a European script, is the most substantial surviving account of the Maya view of their own history, including that of their gods and divine ancestors, and has presented a host of problems for translators. The Tedlock translation of 1985 added new information to the work of many distinguished predecessors, and made substantial parts of the narrative clear (or at least much clearer).
The fact that a fairly extensively revised edition of this book was not only possible, but necessary, in 1996, a decade after its first publication, might have discouraged the publisher from continuing to call the new version "Definitive" on the cover. The title page more precisely calls it a Revised Edition of "Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life ... with commentary based on the ancient knowledge of the modern Quiche Maya." However, "Definitive" seems to be the marketing buzzword. But how would a third edition be described? (Dennis Tedlock has recently -- 2003 -- returned to the writings of the post-Conquest Maya aristocrats who actually produced the existing "Popol Vuh," in "Rabinal Achi: A Mayan Drama of War and Sacrifice," so it is clear that his work in the area continues.)
In fact, the work of Dennis and Barbara Tedlock with living Quiche Maya ritualists (priests / diviners / shamans), which, in the first edition, added so much to understanding this early post-Conquest text, was part of a larger expansion of Maya studies, including a more complete decipherment of ancient inscriptions, and greatly improved studies of Maya art. It is now possible to recognize events, and even characters, of the "Popol Vuh" in art centuries older, and their prototypes a millennium earlier. Meso-American cultures have been re-analyzed, and lost details recovered, as part of a major, and very rapid, shift in understanding.
As an example: a large part of the story of "Popol Vuh" involves games played in ball-courts, in this world and the world of the dead; a major collection of papers on this theme, in Mayan and other cultures, "The Mesoamerican Ballgame," was based on a conference held the same year the first edition of Tedlock's translation appeared (Scarborough and Wilcox, 1991).
Another change was the adoption of a new official system for writing Mayan languages in the Roman alphabet, one devised, for the first time, by native speakers of the various languages. This adds considerably to etymological and grammatical precision, but enormously complicates recognizing words and names in older systems. (Anyone familiar with the juggling of Wade-Giles and Pinyin transliterations of Chinese will be only too familiar with the kind of adjustment process for ordinary readers.)
Tedlock has attempted, with considerable success, to incorporate this new information, and the new transcription system, into the old structure of the book. In the process, besides adding fascinating illustrations and fine-tuning the translation, he has restructured the introduction and notes. Some interesting personal observations are gone, or greatly reduced. References to older literature, often with Tedlock's reconsiderations, have generally been replaced by citations of more recent studies. Once debatable points have been given firm answers, and new questions have been raised. Some material which, at a first glance, I assumed to be missing, turned out, on close examination (with copies of both editions open in front of me, and the help of a lot of post-it flags), to have been broken up or consolidated in different contexts. In a few places, however, the strain shows, as a once-clear line of argument is disrupted. The sheer complication of the material explicated, in which social, cosmic / astronomical, and agricultural references are constantly intertwined, probably made this inevitable.
Archeological and epigraphic material has somewhat eclipsed in prominence the modern Maya contribution to this edition, although for fuller information it was always necessary to turn to Barbara Tedlock's "Time and the Highland Maya."
Among more recent publications of considerable value for understanding the mythological and astronomical material, Susan Milbrath's "Star Gods of the Maya: Astronomy in Art, Folklore, and Calendars" (1999) is exhausting, but I found it particularly illuminating. A series of books of which the late Linda Schele was co-author or co-editor (The Blood of Kings," 1986; "The Forest of Kings," 1990; "Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path," 1993; and "The Code of Kings," 1999) are more popular in style, and very rewarding; unfortunately, like everything else in Mayan studies, they have dated very quickly, and the reader should always keep the date of publication in mind. Technical studies -- linguistic, epigraphic, archeological, art-historical -- are now abundant, but also harder for me to judge.
Great edition of an essential world text - lots of helps April 21, 2005
Craig Matteson (Ann Arbor, MI)
32 out of 32 found this review helpful
The Maya did not divide their everyday lives and religion. In fact, they didn't have a religion in our sense at all. Their everyday lives were bound up in visions, stories of the heavens, earth, past, and future that were not separate from the reality of their everyday experience. This book, the "Popol Vuh" means Council Book. That is, it is a book for the Lords to consult. One of its other titles is "The Light That Came From Beside the Sea". It is a document of the Quiche Maya who lived (and still live) in a portion of what is present day Guatemala.
The "Popol Vuh" tells the essential myth of the ball game and the hero twins. Its story is far too involved and strange to try and explain it in this review. The story explains things about the Sun, Moon, and Venus in their play across the heavens. It prepares the living for what awaits them in Xibalba (the awful place below the earth). And there is constant gratitude for the knowledge of the creation of men from maize and the light of understanding this book brings them. The various sacred places of mountains, caves, and of ritual sacrifice are all here and powerfully expressed.
Dennis Tedlock translated the text into clear and very readable English. However, that is not sufficient for the uninitiated to understand. So, Tedlock provides us with an introductory essay to help us understand the context of these stories. At the back he also provides notes on the text arranged by page number, a glossary of terms (which we desperately need to read the book), a wonderful bibliography for further reading, and an index.
Now, a couple of things to keep in mind when you read this book (and you should). This text has one written source, and it is written in the Mayan language with a Western alphabet. Also, this copy is post Conquest so there is no real way to know how the story was changed or influenced by the Christian stories that were also (forcibly) taught to the Maya, if at all. If you end up believing that this story is an intact retelling of the true Myth without Christian influences, there are some pretty strange and wonderful parallels. If you are uncomfortable with some of the parallels, then you will want to explain them away by claiming corruption by the Christian conquerors. Take your pick. No one really knows.
Terrific edition of an important text that you can really enjoy reading and adding to your understanding of the world and the total range of the human experience.
The Authority September 24, 2001
Thomas F. Ogara (Jacksonville, FL USA)
26 out of 27 found this review helpful
It is difficult to imagine a better version of the "Popol Vuh" than this one. It is literary, it is scholarly, and it is well written - by a man who knows his subject. It provides incredible insight into the world of the ancient Maya and their modern descendents.If you're interested in Maya studies and you haven't read this book yet, then you haven't even gotten started. As time goes on it becomes more and more apparent that this book is our guide to understanding Maya iconography, and we are incredibly lucky to have a book like this available to us at all. To have such a well-done translation is almost too much to ask. Small wonder that other writers on the Maya simply cite this book as "Tedlock" - it's considered a foregone conclusion that you know which book is meant. Now if only somebody could come up with a good English version of the "Chilam Balam." Are there any takers out there?
The Greatest Work of the Americas' Greatest Civilization! April 15, 2005
Plotinus
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I cannot heap enough praises on this book. Bravo!
This book is an English edition of a transliteration into latin letters of the Popul Vuh: the sacred religious and wisdom text of the Maya. It was studied by Mayan leaders, and recited aloud to the people. Everyone knew the stories. In the original books, there were many glosses, anecdotes and images elaborating upon the text; and in this English edition, the author has provided us with just these same sorts of things, including beautiful mysterious Mayan art on nearly every page. I absolutely love Mayan civilization's artwork, architecture, script and it's greatest story; they appeal to me profoundly on a deep aesthetic level. Mayan civilization seemingly had so much mystery and excitement. They even had stadiums where thay watched sporting contests! This book opens up this whole civilization to us and allows us to get intimate with it. And, for those of us living in the Americas, this is the greatest work of literature of our greatest ancient civilization!!! It's human value is inestimable; and it still contains lots of wisdom for us, if we are willing to learn from it. It was the book of kings, and now it is ours!
The Mayan Bible March 28, 2004
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
This prize-winning translation of the Popol Vuh, the Mayan Bible, is the best one ever published. The translator not only knows the language but he is also a participant in the culture. His other books, "Days from a Dream Almanac" (poetry) and "Breath on the Mirror" (short stories)show his deeply poetic understanding of the culture. Now he has a new translation "Rabinal Achi," a Pre-Columbian Mayan play still performed today. These are mystical books that are also absolutely accurate.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 19
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