Popol Vuh: Sacred Book of the Quiché Maya - Mesoweb

years prior to the Spanish conquest, the Maya developed a sophisticated hieroglyphic script
capable of recording complex literary compositions, both on folded screen codices made of
bark paper as well as texts incised on more durable stone or wood. The importance of
preserving written records was a hallmark of Maya culture as witnessed by the thousands of
known hieroglyphic inscriptions, many more of which are still being discovered in the jungles
of southern Mexico and northern Central America.
Being a phonetic script rather than a pictorial form of writing, Maya hieroglyphs were
capable of recording any idea that could be spoken. Ancient Maya scribes were among the
most honored members of creative society. They were often important representatives of the
royal family, and as such were believed to carry the seeds of divinity within their blood.
Among the titles given to artists and scribes in Classic period Maya inscriptions were itz’aat
(“sage”) and miyaatz (“wise one”). In an important royal tomb at Tikal (Burial 116), an
incised bone depicts a deified scribe’s hand emerging from the gullet of an open-mouthed
creature. In Classic Maya art, the open jaws represent a portal that leads from this world to
the world of the gods. In his or her hand is a calligraphic paintbrush used to both write and
illustrate the ancient Maya codex books. The message of this incised bone is that the
activities of the scribe come closest to those of the gods themselves, who paint the realities of
this world as divine artists.
The Spanish conquest of the Maya region in the sixteenth century resulted in the abrupt
destruction of indigenous political power as well as many of its cultural institutions.
Christianity was formally established in Guatemala in 1534 under Bishop Francisco
Marroquín, who sent out priests with portable altars to the various highland Maya towns
and villages in an effort to baptize the indigenous population and to destroy any remnants of
“idolatry” that they might find. Ancient temples, as well as the carved and painted images
which they contained, were systematically destroyed, their stones used to build Christian
churches. Missionaries singled out hieroglyphic codices for destruction in an effort to protect
10