Thank you for visiting. This article is one part of a series explaining the “original texts” of the world’s mythologies and religions, and is an index page gathering the original texts of “Maya mythology.”
Maya mythology is the mythology of the Maya civilization, which flourished from present-day southern Mexico through the Guatemala region. It is known for its distinctive worldview — the creation where humans are made from maize, the ball game in the underworld Xibalba, and the hero twins who became the sun and moon.
Happily, Maya mythology has a single gathered original text, the “Popol Vuh.” Whereas Aztec mythology had many manuscripts burned and is reconstructed from fragments, the Maya have a scripture that can be read through almost in full — this is a great strength in speaking of the original texts of Maya mythology.
The comprehensive index of the world’s mythology and religion original texts, including others besides Maya mythology, can be seen on the following page.
Maya Mythology’s Original Texts — the Scripture “Popol Vuh” and the Codices
The center of the original texts conveying Maya mythology is the “Popol Vuh (the Book of Council / the Book of the Community).” This is a sacred book transmitted among the people of one Maya group, the K’iche’ (K’iche’ Maya), recording from the creation of the world to the history of the royal house.
Its transmission has a curious course. The story, originally inherited orally, became letters in the mid-16th century (around 1550), when, after the Spanish conquest, the K’iche’ people wrote down their own language (K’iche’) in Latin letters. That manuscript was found, in the early 18th century (around 1701), by the friar Francisco Ximénez in the Guatemalan town of Chichicastenango, who copied it with the K’iche’ text and a Spanish translation side by side, by which it has come down to the present. It can be called an original text that miraculously slipped through the destruction of the conquest.
It is not only the “Popol Vuh.” The Maya civilization had its own writing (Maya glyphs), the only full-fledged writing system developed in the New World.
Listing the main original texts gives the following.
| Original text | Content |
|---|---|
| Popol Vuh | The K’iche’ Maya scripture. The most important original text, conveying the creation myth and the story of the hero twins |
| Maya codices (manuscripts) | Three surviving (Dresden, Madrid, Paris codices). Record the calendar, astronomy, and ritual |
| Stela and temple inscriptions | The deeds of kings and myths carved in Maya glyphs. Decipherment advanced in the latter 20th century |
| Books of Chilam Balam | Books of prophecy and history recorded in Latin letters by the Yucatec Maya after the conquest |
World Mythology for Beginners (illustrated)View on Amazon →
An Illustrated Introduction to the World’s 5 Great MythologiesView on Amazon →
Article 1: The Creation of the Popol Vuh — Humans of Maize
In the first installment, I explain the creation myth that the “Popol Vuh” tells.
I cover the creator gods talking together over the water, and, after piling up failures — animals → people of mud → people of wood — at last humans being made from maize.
Article 2: The Hero Twins and Xibalba
In the second installment, I explain the story of the flower of Maya mythology, the hero twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque.
I cover the slaying of the arrogant false sun Vucub Caquix, the desperate challenge to the underworld “Xibalba,” where their fathers were defeated, many ordeals, and, through death and rebirth, becoming the sun and moon.
Article 3: The Dawn and the Origin of the People — Tohil and the K’iche’ Royal Line
In the third installment, I explain what came after for humanity, and the dawn, which the latter half of the “Popol Vuh” tells.
I cover the first four receiving the guardian god Tohil at Tulan, taking on the law of blood sacrifice in exchange for fire, greeting the first sunrise with the morning star (the gods turn to stone), and in time building the K’iche’ royal line.
Article 4: The Maya Gods and the Calendar and Worldview
In the fourth installment (the final one), I explain the gods, and the precise calendar and worldview, that support Maya mythology.
I cover the old creator god Itzamna, the rain god Chaac, the feathered serpent Kukulkan and other diverse gods, the worldview of the world tree and the four directions, the 260-day and 365-day calendars, and the “Long Count,” which counts thousands of years.
Maya and Aztec — Siblings of Mesoamerica
What one should know in reading Maya mythology is its deep connection with Aztec mythology. Both the Maya and the Aztec were members of the same Mesoamerican civilization, making maize their staple food and having a culture of a precise calendar and human sacrifice.
Symbolic is the god of the feathered serpent. The god the Aztecs called Quetzalcoatl, the Maya (K’iche’) called “Kukulkan (Q’uq’umatz)” and made, like them, an important god governing creation and civilization. One of the creator gods of the “Popol Vuh,” Q’uq’umatz, is also this feathered serpent. On the other hand, the Maya, in the point that the scripture “Popol Vuh,” which can be read through, remained, have a richness different from the Aztec. Reading and comparing the two makes the Mesoamerican worldview appear even more three-dimensional.
To Learn More
Here are some related books. Reading them alongside this series lets you savor this world even more deeply.
An Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Myths and LegendsView on Amazon →
An Anatomical Illustrated Guide to the Myths That Make StoriesView on Amazon →
Conclusion
In this article, I introduced the whole picture of the original texts of Maya mythology and the content the 4 articles in the series cover. How was it?
A great feature of Maya mythology is that it has a gathered original text, the K’iche’ Maya scripture “Popol Vuh.” The individuality of this mythology appears in the creation where humans are born from maize, the hero twins who challenge the underworld Xibalba, and the precise calendar and worldview.
I also explain the original texts of other mythologies and religions. For the full list, please see the Summary of the World’s Mythology and Religion Original Texts.
For the strength of the gods and heroes, please also refer to this ranking article.
I hope you’ll read the next article too.
📚 Series: The Original Texts of Maya Mythology (1/5)
