
The Ancient Future of the Itza
The Book of Chilam Balam of Tizimin
University of Texas Press
Published on 1. April 1982
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-0-292-72106-7 (ISBN)
Description
The title of Edmonson's work refers to the Mayan custom of first predicting their history and then living it, and it may be that no other peoples have ever gone so far in this direction. The Book of Chilam Balam was a sacred text prepared by generations of Mayan priests to record the past and to predict the future. The official prophet of each twenty-year rule was the Chilam Balam, or Spokesman of the Jaguar-the Jaguar being the supreme authority charged with converting the prophet's words into fact.
This is a literal but poetic translation of one of fourteen known manuscripts in Yucatecan Maya on ritual and history. It pictures a world of all but incredible numerological order, slowly yielding to Christianity and Spanish political pressure but never surrendering. In fact, it demonstrates the surprising truth of a secret Mayan government during the Spanish rule, which continued to collect tribute in the names of the ruined Classic cities and preserved the essence of the Mayan calendar as a legacy for the tradition's modern inheritors.
The history of the Yucatecan Maya from the seventh to the nineteenth century is revealed. And this is history as the Maya saw it-of a people concerned with lords and priests, with the cosmology which justified their rule, and with the civil war which they perceived as the real dimension of the colonial period.
A work of both history and literature, the Tizimin presents a great deal of Mayan thought, some of which has been suspected but not previously documented. Edmonson's skillful reordering of the text not only makes perfect historical sense but also resolves the long-standing problem of correlating the two colonial Mayan calendars. The book includes both interpretative and literal translations, as well as the Maya parallel couplets and extensive annotations on each page. The beauty of the sacred text is illuminated by the literal translation, while both versions unveil the magnificent historical, philosophical, and social traditions of the most sophisticated native culture in the New World.
The prophetic history of the Tizimin creates a portrait of the continuity and vitality, of the ancient past and the foreordained future of the Maya.
This is a literal but poetic translation of one of fourteen known manuscripts in Yucatecan Maya on ritual and history. It pictures a world of all but incredible numerological order, slowly yielding to Christianity and Spanish political pressure but never surrendering. In fact, it demonstrates the surprising truth of a secret Mayan government during the Spanish rule, which continued to collect tribute in the names of the ruined Classic cities and preserved the essence of the Mayan calendar as a legacy for the tradition's modern inheritors.
The history of the Yucatecan Maya from the seventh to the nineteenth century is revealed. And this is history as the Maya saw it-of a people concerned with lords and priests, with the cosmology which justified their rule, and with the civil war which they perceived as the real dimension of the colonial period.
A work of both history and literature, the Tizimin presents a great deal of Mayan thought, some of which has been suspected but not previously documented. Edmonson's skillful reordering of the text not only makes perfect historical sense but also resolves the long-standing problem of correlating the two colonial Mayan calendars. The book includes both interpretative and literal translations, as well as the Maya parallel couplets and extensive annotations on each page. The beauty of the sacred text is illuminated by the literal translation, while both versions unveil the magnificent historical, philosophical, and social traditions of the most sophisticated native culture in the New World.
The prophetic history of the Tizimin creates a portrait of the continuity and vitality, of the ancient past and the foreordained future of the Maya.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Austin, TX
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 282 mm
Width: 212 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
562 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-292-72106-7 (9780292721067)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Munro S. Edmonson (1924-2002) was a professor of anthropology at Tulane University. He had an international reputation as an outstanding Mesoamericanist and was the author of numerous books.
Translation
Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction
The Seventh Century
8 Ahau
1. The First Chronicle
The Fifteenth Century
8 Ahau
2. The Fall of Mayapan
3. The Conspiracy Collapses
6 Ahau
4. Uxmal and Chichen Itza
4 Ahau
5. Trials of the Itza
6. Hopes of the Xiu
The Sixteenth Century
2 Ahau
7. A Note from Tihosuco
13 Ahau
8. A Time of Troubles
9. The Council of Mayapan
10. The End of the Era
11 Ahau
11. Divided Rule
12. The Flower Katun of the Xiu
13. The Mayapan Calendar of the Itza
14. The Death of the Gods
9 Ahau
15. A Plea for Unity
16. Civil War
17. The Inquisition
7 Ahau
18. Demoralization
19. The Council of Merida
The Seventeenth Century
5 Ahau
20. Merida under the Dons
21. Zotz'il
22. The Annals of Bacalar
3 Ahau
23. Merida under the Gallows
24. Days of the Year
25. The Seven-Day Week
26. Zuyua
1 Ahau
27. The Last Jaguar of Merida
28. The Surrender of Merida
29. A Word from Mani
12 Ahau
30. Valladolid Fights On
31. Class War
10 Ahau
32. Christian Victory
33. Christian Defeat
The Eighteenth Century
8 Ahau
34. The Final Battle for Mayapan
6 Ahau
35. Chic Kalac Rebels
36. Early History
4 Ahau
37. The War Is Over
38. End of the Long Count
2 Ahau
39. The Valladolid Calendar
The Nineteenth Century
13 Ahau
40. The Burners
41. The Word of Itzam Na
11 Ahau
42. Antonio Martinez
Appendix: The Mayan Calendar
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
The Seventh Century
8 Ahau
1. The First Chronicle
The Fifteenth Century
8 Ahau
2. The Fall of Mayapan
3. The Conspiracy Collapses
6 Ahau
4. Uxmal and Chichen Itza
4 Ahau
5. Trials of the Itza
6. Hopes of the Xiu
The Sixteenth Century
2 Ahau
7. A Note from Tihosuco
13 Ahau
8. A Time of Troubles
9. The Council of Mayapan
10. The End of the Era
11 Ahau
11. Divided Rule
12. The Flower Katun of the Xiu
13. The Mayapan Calendar of the Itza
14. The Death of the Gods
9 Ahau
15. A Plea for Unity
16. Civil War
17. The Inquisition
7 Ahau
18. Demoralization
19. The Council of Merida
The Seventeenth Century
5 Ahau
20. Merida under the Dons
21. Zotz'il
22. The Annals of Bacalar
3 Ahau
23. Merida under the Gallows
24. Days of the Year
25. The Seven-Day Week
26. Zuyua
1 Ahau
27. The Last Jaguar of Merida
28. The Surrender of Merida
29. A Word from Mani
12 Ahau
30. Valladolid Fights On
31. Class War
10 Ahau
32. Christian Victory
33. Christian Defeat
The Eighteenth Century
8 Ahau
34. The Final Battle for Mayapan
6 Ahau
35. Chic Kalac Rebels
36. Early History
4 Ahau
37. The War Is Over
38. End of the Long Count
2 Ahau
39. The Valladolid Calendar
The Nineteenth Century
13 Ahau
40. The Burners
41. The Word of Itzam Na
11 Ahau
42. Antonio Martinez
Appendix: The Mayan Calendar
Bibliography
Index