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    The Popol Vuh
    Unavailable
    The Popol Vuh
    Unavailable
    The Popol Vuh
    Ebook270 pages2 hours

    The Popol Vuh

    By Milkweed Editions

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    A NEW YORK TIMES BEST POETRY BOOK OF 2018
    A WORLD LITERATURE TODAY NOTABLE TRANSLATION

    In the beginning, the world is spoken into existence with one word: “Earth.” There are no inhabitants, and no sun—only the broad sky, silent sea, and sovereign Framer and Shaper. Then come the twin heroes Hunahpu and Xbalanque. Wielding blowguns, they begin a journey to hell and back, ready to confront the folly of false deities as well as death itself, in service to the world and to humanity.

    This is the story of the Mayan Popol Vuh, “the book of the woven mat,” one of the only epics indigenous to the Americas. Originally sung and chanted, before being translated into prose—and now, for the first time, translated back into verse by Michael Bazzett—this is a story of the generative power of language. A story that asks not only Where did you come from? but How might you live again? A story that, for the first time in English, lives fully as “the phonetic rendering of a living pulse.”

    By turns poetic and lucid, sinuous and accessible, this striking new translation of The Popol Vuh—the first in the Seedbank series of world literature—breathes new life into an essential tale.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMilkweed Editions
    Release dateJan 1, 2002
    ISBN9781571319180
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for The Popol Vuh

    4.5/5

    12 ratings6 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in mythology or Mesoamerican literature.
    • 5/5
      Despite what other reviewers have said, I would like to point out that this is the Christenson translation, not Tedlock (though it is based on his work). That being said, this is my preferred translation; it's clear and avoids too much translatorese. It's well annotated and generally well researched.
    • 5/5
      this is the real thing, authentic pre-columbian mayan mythology. of course you already know that if you're reading this. if you don't know that already, get the book in any translation and check it out.
    • 4/5
      The introduction and notes in the edition I read (ISBN 0671617710 ) were an excellent guide to a culture I am fairly ignorant of. Translator Dennis Tedlock did an great job at explaining the nuances of the cultural significance of the myths.I found it particularly interesting that most of the stories in the Popol Vuh can be linked to specific astronomical/calendrical events. An incredibly complex and sophisticated world-view.The journeys of the hero-gods into the underworld realm of Xibalba were both funny and horrifyingly grotesque at the same time. Though probably not as horrifying as the semi-historical section towards the end in which the mythic origins of human sacrifice are explained.Tedlock very generously acknowledges the help he received from contemporary Quiché Maya practitioners, particularly Andrés Xiloj who initiated him as Daykeeper, one who is able to perform divinations using the 260-day ritual calendar of the Maya.
    • 5/5
      This was a wonderful read. Not only are these tales deeply allegorical, insightful and truthful but amusing and facinating. I read this three time and then transcribed the entire work.
    • 4/5
      Both biblical and atmospheric verse in a great creation/origin story. I now get the references to Xibalba in Aronofsky's underappreciated film "The Fountain".