Folio 3, Verso (last 26 lines)
xeqha chicut hupacha qui chicabano chutzin ta vi chinauachir ta vi quihiloy quech ziquÿ quech xecha ta xquinaohih chic xa cabÿh chique xpiyacoc, xmucane, hun ahpu vuch, hun ahpu vtiu. quitiha chic vquihixic vbitaxic xevqhan qui quib ah tzac ah bit. Ta xquibÿh cut chire xpiyacoc, xmucane cate cut vbixic ri chiquech ri enic vachinel, ratit quih ratit zac que vqhaxic cumal ri tzacol bitol are qui bi ri xpiyacoc, xmucane
Xeqha qu ri huracan uq tepeu qucumatz ta xquibih chirech ah quih ah bit enic vachinel xuculu, xa pu churico che ta chic chi cauinac bitoh, chica vinac tzacoh ta chic tzucul cool coh ziquixtah, cohnabaxtah puch, catoc ta cut pa tzih iyom mamom catit camam xpiyacoc, xmucane chatah ta chavaxoc, ta zaquiroc ca ziquixic, ca toquexic ca
Folio 4, Recto and Verso
nabaxic rumal vinac tzac, vinac bit, vinac poy, vinac anom cha ta chuxoc chicutun ibi hunahpu vuch, hunahpu vtiu camul alom, camul qaholom nimac nima tzÿz ah cuval ah yamanic ah chut ah tzalam, ah raxalac, ah raxazel ah εol, ah toltecat ratit quih ra titzac quixvqhaxic rumal catzac cabit chimala chi ixim, chi tzite xa chibanatahic xa pu chel apan oc chicahah chicacotah puch vchi vach che xevqhaxic e ah quih cate puch vcahic v quihiloxic ri xmalic chi ixim chi tzite quih bit xeqha qu ri hun atit hun mama chiquech are ri mama are ah tzite xpiyacoc vbi. are cu ri atit ahquih ahbit chi racan xmucane vbi xeqha cut ta xquitiquiba quih xa chuculu xa pu churico chabÿh cata caxiquin, caqhauic catzihontah xa chuculu ri che chahavaxic chicotox puch cumal ahtzac ahbit. ve are tzucul cool ta chavax oc ta zaquiroc at ixim at tzite, at quih, at bit. catchoconic cattaquentah xqha chire ixim tzite, quih bit. cat quixla vloc at vqux cah macahizah vchi vvach tepeu qucumatz xeqha ta xquibih cut v zuculiquil vtz are chuxic ri i poy aham che chiqhauic chitzihon bala chuvach vleu ta chuxoc xeqha cut ta xquibih huzuc xbanic poy aham che xe vinac vachinic xe vinac tzihonic puch are vinaquil vvach vleu xevxic xe poquic xemealanic, xeqaholonic ri poy aham che macu habi qui qux ma pu habi qui naoh maui natal cah tzac cah bit xaloc xebinic, xechacanic maui xquinatah chic ri v qux cah quehe cut xepah chivi xa vtihtobexic xa pu v vababexic chi vinac queqhau nabec, xa chaquih qui vach mana zonol cacan, qui εab mahabi qui quiquel, qui comahil, ma habi qui ticoual, qui cabchÿal cha quih cotz qoh qui vach. ca pichipoh cacan, quicab caie ioh quitiohil quehe cut maui xenau chivi chuvach tzacol bitol alai quech, quxlaai quech enabe tzatz chivinac xevxic varal chuvach vleu
Cate cut qui quÿzic chic qui mayxic qui cutuxic puch xe camizax chic poy aham che ta xnohix quibutic rumal vqux cah nima butic xbanic xpe pa quivi ri e poy e aham che q,ite vtiohil ri achih, ta xahaxic, rumal tzacol bitol, ixoc zibac cut vtiohil ixoc. xrah oquic rumal tzacol bitol maui xenauic, ma pu xeqhauic chu vach cah tzac, cah bit banol que vinaquirizay quech quehe cut qui camizaxic xebutic xpe nima εol chila chicah. xe cotcovach vbi, xcotin vloc vbac qui vach, xepe camalotz xcupin vla quiholom, xpe cotzbalam. xtio quitiohil, xpe tucumbalam xtucuuic xquichouic quibaquil, quibochil xcahixic, xmuchulixic qui baquil, cahizabal qui vach; ru mal maui quinauic chuvach qui chuch, chuvach puch qui cahau, ri vqux cah, huracan vbi, cumal xquecumaric v vach vleu, xticaric quecal hab quihil hab, acabal hab xoc vla chuti chicop nima chicop xcut qui vach rumal che abah. xqhauic ronohel qui quebal
Folio 5, Recto and Verso (first 14 lines)
qui xot, qui lac, qui boh, qui tzi qui εaa, haruh pa la ronohel xcutu qui vach cax xiban chique, xohitio ixchi cut xquixcati chic xqha ri qui tzi cac chiquech. are cu ri εaa xohcoconic iuumal hu ta quih, hu ta quih, xquec zaquiric amaquel holi, holi, huqui, huqui ca vach ivumal are ta nabe capatan chivach, ixtana vinac vacamic cut xchitih ca chucab xchicaqueeh, xchicahoc puch i tiohil xqhari qui εaa chique. are curi qui tzi xqha chic ta xqhauic, na qui pa rumal maui chiya cava, xa cohmucunic xa pu cohicuxih vloc, coh izac pu vloc yacal vbi ca cheel ivumal ta quixvaic xere cohivuchaah vi maui cohqhauic mata cu mi xohcamic chiue hu pa cha maui mi xixnauic xixnau ta cut chiuih ta cut xohzach vi, vacamic cut xchitih cabac qo pa ca chi xquixcatio xeqha ri tzi chique ta xcut qui vach. are chicuri qui xot, qui boh xchau chic chique: cax, va xi ban chique xac ca chi, xac ca vach; amaquel oh tzacal chuuicac cohicato maui cax xcanao, xchitih cut xquix caporoh xcha ri qui boh ro nohel xcutu qui vach. are ri abah ri quixcub chitaninic chipe pa εaε taεal chi qui holom, cax xban chique. anilabic que mal malihab chic querah acanic chuvi ha xa chiu vlih ha quetzac vloc, querah acan chuvi che queqhaquix vloc ruma che querah oc pa hul xa chiyuch hul chi qui vach; quehe cut vcayohic vinac tzac vinac bit, etzixel, e tzalatzoxel chi vinac xmayxic, xcutuxic quichi qui vach conohel, xqha cut are retal ri qoy qo pa quechelah vacamic, are xqohe vi retal rumal xache quitiohil xcohic rumal ah tzac ahbit, are curi qoy queheri vinac chivachinic retal hule vinac tzac, vinac bit xa poy, xa pu ahamche.
from The Popol Vuh
Anonymous (Mayan)
In the Popol Vuh, (the sacred book of the Maya), the world comes to be through contemplation and conversation among the gods. They ponder, and they wonder. Then creation stems directly from the spoken word:
When it was time to make the earth:
it only took a word.
To make earth they said, "Earth"
and there it was: sudden
as a cloud or a mist unfolds
from the face of a mountain,
so earth was there.
Yet this green world, for all its lushness, is incomplete: what has been spoken into existence needs to return the favor. The gods crave their names to be named — they are fed by words. This is the Popol Vuh's test for whether people are truly people: the ability to speak words that make sense, and thus function as an intelligent mirror of one's origins.
In the featured excerpt, we are embarking upon another "draft," another attempt at making creatures that can speak. First came animals, who merely squawked and chittered and roared. Then came people molded from mud, who softened and crumbled. Their gaze was fixed, and when they spoke, "they made no sense."
These figures of wood are the third attempt. Hurricane, Sovereign and Quetzal Serpent call upon the Grandmother and Grandfather of Light for help, Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, and in the litany of names they invoke, they offer a model of how their creation might call upon them in return.
˚˚˚
This translation from the K'iché owes a profound debt to the writings of Dr. Allen Christenson, particularly his work on recapturing the poetic structure of the text from the solid columns of Ximenez's transcription, which has served as inspiration to this attempt to create a verse version in English.
When it was time to make the earth:
it only took a word.
To make earth they said, "Earth"
and there it was: sudden
as a cloud or a mist unfolds
from the face of a mountain,
so earth was there.
Yet this green world, for all its lushness, is incomplete: what has been spoken into existence needs to return the favor. The gods crave their names to be named — they are fed by words. This is the Popol Vuh's test for whether people are truly people: the ability to speak words that make sense, and thus function as an intelligent mirror of one's origins.
In the featured excerpt, we are embarking upon another "draft," another attempt at making creatures that can speak. First came animals, who merely squawked and chittered and roared. Then came people molded from mud, who softened and crumbled. Their gaze was fixed, and when they spoke, "they made no sense."
These figures of wood are the third attempt. Hurricane, Sovereign and Quetzal Serpent call upon the Grandmother and Grandfather of Light for help, Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, and in the litany of names they invoke, they offer a model of how their creation might call upon them in return.
˚˚˚
This translation from the K'iché owes a profound debt to the writings of Dr. Allen Christenson, particularly his work on recapturing the poetic structure of the text from the solid columns of Ximenez's transcription, which has served as inspiration to this attempt to create a verse version in English.
Michael Bazzett has had his poetry appear in West Branch, Beloit Poetry Journal, Best New Poets 2008, The Collagist, DIAGRAM, and Guernica, among others, and his work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Another excerpt from 'The Popol Vuh' is forthcoming in the Southern Humanities Review. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two children.