The Sacred Book of the Ancient Maya: The Popol Vuh

Record summary

Munro S. Edmonson’s 1965 translation and study of the Popol Vuh offered a major English-language presentation of the K’iche’ Maya narrative tradition. It is a distinct lead from earlier Recinos-based translations because wording, organization and interpretive framing can differ. Researchers can use it to examine how catastrophic creation episodes were rendered for comparative mythology and folklore audiences. The text’s colonial manuscript history, translation decisions and uncertain pre-Hispanic continuity make it unsuitable as straightforward eyewitness testimony or proof of a geological disaster.