Manuscrito de Chichicastenango
Popol Buj
J. Antonio Villacorta C. & Flavio Rodas N.
Sánchez & de Guise · Guatemala · 1927 · First Edition
DIRECT TRANSLATION - K’iche’, p. 166, §§1–9
This is the telling of it, here: it is still silent, still calm; it is hushed, it is still at rest, still soundless, and the womb of the sky is empty.
This, then, is the first word, the first speech: there is not yet one person, one animal, bird, fish, crab, tree, stone, hollow, ravine, grassland, forest; only the sky alone exists.
The face of the earth is not yet clear; only the sea alone lies pooled, [and] all the womb of the sky.
There is not yet anything gathered together; [it is at rest]; not one thing stirs; … [it is made to be], [at rest it is made to be] in the sky.
There was nothing whatever that existed standing upright; only the pooled water, only the calm sea, only it alone lying pooled; there was nothing whatever that might exist.
It is only calm, only silent, in the darkness, in the night. Only Tzakol, Bitol, Tepeu, Gucumatz, the Alom, the Cajolom are in the water, [luminous].
There they are, covered in quetzal [feathers], in [cotinga feathers]; that is why the name is Gucumatz. They are great sages in their being. Thus indeed there is the sky, and there is also the Heart of Sky: this is the name of the god, as it is said.
Then his word came here; he arrived with them, Tepeu, Gucumatz, here in the darkness, in the night; he spoke with Tepeu, Gucumatz:
They spoke then; then they thought, then they pondered; they found one another; they gathered together their words, their thoughts.
THE CREATORS DELIBERATE
Before humanity came into existence, the gods gathered in darkness to discuss and plan the creation of the world.
DIRECT TRANSLATION - K’iche’, p. 168, §§10–19
Then it became clear [or: then they gave birth], then they pondered among themselves: beneath the light, then humankind too became clear [or: they gave birth to humankind]; then they conceived the generation, the coming-into-being of trees and vines, and the generation of life and of creation, in the darkness, in the night, by the Heart of Sky, Jurakán by name.
Cakuljá Jurakán (Thunderbolt Jurakán) is first; second is Chipí Cakuljá (Youngest Thunderbolt); third is Raxá Cakuljá (Green, Raw [or Sudden] Thunderbolt); these three are the Heart of Sky.
Then they came together with Tepeu and Gucumatz; then light and life were conceived: how it should be sown, how it should dawn, who should be provider, sustainer.
"Then be it so; be filled, or: take thought [or: you are conceived]. Let this water be taken away, let it be emptied out, so that the earth may come into being, [may it be gathered and become level]," they said; "then let it be sown, then let sky and earth dawn. But there can be no worship, no reverence of [or: given by] what we have framed, what we have shaped, until the framed human, the shaped human, comes into being."
So they said, and then the earth came into being through them.
Only their word brought about its coming-into-being; for the earth to come into being, "Earth!" they said, and at once it came into being.
Just like a cloud, like a mist, was its coming-into-being and [its forming]; then the mountains came forth [or: were called forth] from the water; straightaway they became great mountains.
Only their nagual [spirit essence], only their puz [miraculous power] brought about the conceiving of mountains and plains; straightaway there came into being with it the cypress groves and pine groves upon its face.
And so Gucumatz rejoiced: "It is good that you have come, you Heart of Sky, you Jurakán, and you too, Chipí Cakuljá, Raxá Cakuljá!"
"What we have framed, what we have shaped, will turn out well," they said.
THE CREATION IS CONCEIVED
Jurakán, Heart of Sky, and the creator beings bring the earth into existence through their knowledge and power. Their work begins in preparation for the humanity that will follow.
DIRECT TRANSLATION - K’iche’, p. 172, §§29–39
When all the deer and birds had been completed, the deer and birds were then told by Tzakol, Bitol, Alom, Cajolom (the Framer, the Shaper, the Bearer, the Begetter):
"Speak, call out; do not [moan], do not cry out; speak to one another, each according to its kind, each according to its group," the deer, birds, puma, jaguar and serpent were told.
"Say now our names, praise us, we your mother, we your father. Say this: Jurakán, Chipí Cakuljá, Raxá Cakuljá, Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth, Tzakol, Bitol, Alom, Cajolom. Speak, call upon us, worship us," they were told.
But they did not succeed in speaking like people; they only [squawked], [chattered] and [roared]. The face of their speech did not appear; each cried out differently.
When Tzakol and Bitol heard it, they said to one another: "It has not turned out, they have not spoken. The saying of our names has not been achieved by those whose framers and shapers we are. It is not good," said Alom and Cajolom to one another.
They were told: "You shall simply be changed [replaced], because it did not succeed, you did not speak. We have changed our word: your food, your sustenance, your sleeping places, your [resting places], what was yours, are now the ravines and forests; because our worship was not achieved, you did not call upon us.
[There will yet be, there may yet be,] a worshipper, [one who gives honor], whom we shall now make. Just accept your service: your flesh shall simply be chewed [eaten]. So be it.
This shall be your service." So they were told when they were instructed, the small animals and the great animals upon the face of the earth.
Then they wanted to try their day [their fate] again; they wanted to make another attempt, and they wanted to arrange [test] for worship again.
But they did not hear [understand] their speech among themselves; [it did not come out], and nothing was accomplished.
Thus their flesh was [brought low]; they rendered service: they were eaten, they were killed, the animals here upon the face of the earth.
THE FIRST CREATION FAILS
The creator beings judge their first living creations as unsuccessful because they cannot speak or properly acknowledge them. They decide to replace them with another creation that can obey and honor them.
DIRECT TRANSLATION - K’iche’, p. 174, §§40–49
So then came the trying again of the framed person, the shaped person, by Tzakol, Bitol, Alom, Cajolom.
"It must simply be tried again; the sowing, the dawning is already drawing near; let us make a provider for us, a sustainer for us.
How else may we be called upon and remembered on the face of the earth? We have already tried with our first framing, our shaping: our days were not kept, nor were we [glorified] by them. So now let us try to make [a giver of praise, a giver of respect], a provider, a sustainer."
So they said. Then came its framing and its making; of earth, of mud, they made its flesh.
They saw it was not good: it was just coming apart, just [crumbling], just [loosening] (or sodden), just [softening], just [disintegrating], and just dissolving. Its head would not turn; its face went off to one side only; its face was just [twisted (or hidden)]; it could not look behind it. It spoke at first, but had no mind. It dissolved at once in water; it was not strong.
Then Ajtzak, Ajbit said again: "[It seems to be dwindling away, so let it just dwindle.] It cannot walk and it cannot multiply, so let it be merely a thought," they said.
Then they undid it, they brought down again their framing, their shaping; and they said again: "How shall we make something that turns out well, that succeeds in keeping our days and calling on us?"
They said, as they took thought again: "Let us just tell Ixpiyacoc, Ixmucané, Junajup Guch, Junajup Utiu to try again its day-counting, its shaping." So Ajtzak and Ajbit said to one another; then they spoke to Ixpiyacoc, Ixmucané.
Then came the speaking to those who are the seers, Grandmother of Day, Grandmother of Light, as they are called by Tzakol, Bitol; these are the names of Ixpiyacoc, Ixmucané.
Then Jurakán spoke with Tepeu and Gucumatz, and they said to the daykeeper, the shaper, the seers: "[It is yet to be found, yet to be discovered], how we are to shape a person, frame a person again, a provider, a sustainer, so that we may be called upon and remembered."
THE FIRST HUMAN CREATION FAILS
The creators make a human from earth, but the result is unstable. It has limited perception and lacks understanding. They abandon it and plan another attempt to create humanity.
DIRECT TRANSLATION - K’iche’, p. 176, §§50–57
"Let it now be put into words, midwife, patriarch, our grandmother, our grandfather, Ixpiyacoc, Ixmucané. May it be sown, may it dawn, so that we are called upon, supported and remembered by the framed person, the shaped person, the effigy person, the moulded person. [Hearken], and let it be so."
"Reveal your names: Junajup Guch (Possum), Junajup Utiu (Coyote), twice she who has borne children, twice he who has begotten sons, Great Peccary, Great Coati, jeweller, worker in precious stones, sculptor, woodworker, maker of the green/blue plate, maker of the green/blue bowl, incense (resin) maker, Toltec master craftsman, Grandmother of Day, Grandmother of Light. So you are called by what we frame and shape."
"Pass your hands over [cast] the maize kernels and the tz'ite seeds; let it just be done, let it just come out, whether [or: how] we are to carve and gouge out its mouth and face in wood" - so the daykeepers were told.
Then came the casting, the divination, the hand passed over maize and tz'ite, [the revelation of days and of shaping]. Then a grandmother and a grandfather spoke to them. The grandfather was the master of the tz'ite, Ixpiyacoc by name; the grandmother was the daykeeper, the shaper, Chirakán [she who is at the foot], Ixmucané by name.
They spoke then, as they began the day-count: "May it be found, may it be [discovered]. Say it! Our ear is listening. Speak, tell it! May the wood be found that is to be carved and gouged out by the Framer, the Shaper; if this is to be the provider, the nurturer, then may it be sown, may it dawn."
"You, maize; you, tz'ite; you, days; you, shaping: you are [called], you are summoned" - so it was said to the maize, the tz'ite, the days, the shaping. "Have shame [or: bring it to a conclusion], you, Heart of Sky; do not bring low [or: punish] the mouth, the face of Tepeu, Gucumatz."
Then they spoke and told it straight: "It is good that there be [these] effigies of carved wood; may they speak, may they talk [there] upon the face of the earth."
"So be it," they said then, when they spoke. At once the effigies of carved wood were made. They had the look of people and they spoke like people too; they peopled the face of the earth.
THE FIRST HUMANS ARE CREATED
After the first human creation failed, the creators sought counsel about how to make a replacement. Wood was selected, human figures were fashioned from it, and they became a new race of speaking people upon the earth.
DIRECT TRANSLATION - K’iche’, p. 178, §§58–66
They came to be, they multiplied, they had daughters, they had sons, the effigies, the carvings of wood; but they had no hearts and no minds; their Framer, their Shaper was not remembered; they walked without purpose, they crawled on hands and knees.
They no longer remembered the Heart of Sky, and so they [were weighed] there: they were only a trial, only a [demonstration] of people. They spoke at first, but their faces were dry; their legs and arms were not [filled out]; they had no blood, no [flow of blood]; they had no sweat, no [oil]; dry [cheeks, masks] were their faces; their legs and arms were [stiff], their bodies [rigid].
So they had no understanding before the Framer, the Shaper, who gave them birth, who gave them heart. They were the first numerous people who came to be here on the face of the earth.
Then came their end, their [ruin], and their [crushing] as well; the effigies carved of wood were killed.
Then their flood was planned by the Heart of Sky; a great flood was made, and it came down on the heads of the effigies, those carved of wood.
Of tzité was the body of the man when he was carved by the Framer, the Shaper; the woman: of zibak [reeds] was the body of the woman; [it was desired to go in] by the Framer, the Shaper.
They did not understand, nor did they speak before their Framer, their Shaper, their maker, their creator.
Thus their killing: they were flooded; a great resin came from there in the sky. The one named Xecotcoguach gouged out the seeds of their faces (their eyes); Camalotz came and cut off their heads; Cotzbalam came and ate their flesh; Tucumbalam came and [struck], and [smashed] their bones, their [tendons]; they were ground up, they were broken to pieces, a grinding of their faces [a punishment].
Because they had no understanding before their mother and before their father, the Heart of Sky, Jurakán by name; because of them the face of the earth was darkened, and a black rain began, rain by day, rain by night.
THE GREAT FLOOD
The wooden humans multiplied but lacked understanding and failed to remember their creators. Because they failed their creators’ purpose, they were destroyed by a great flood and black rain.
DIRECT TRANSLATION - K’iche’, p. 296, §§1–6
This, then, is the beginning of when the human being was thought out, and when what was to enter as human flesh was sought. Then spoke those named Alom, Cajolom, Tzakol, Bitol, Tepeu, Gucumatz:
"The dawn has drawn near; the work is [to be] brought to completion; the provider and sustainer is [to be] made manifest, the child of light, the son of light; humankind is [to be] made manifest, the people of the face of the earth," they said.
They gathered together, they arrived; their thought went on in the darkness, in the night. Then they searched and they sifted, and here they thought and they pondered.
And so their thought came out bright and clear: they found, and they [established], what entered as the flesh of the human being. It was only a little before the sun, moon and stars appeared above the heads of Tzakol and Bitol.
From Paxil, from Cayalá as it is named, came the yellow ears of maize, the white ears of maize.
These are the names of the animals who brought the food: fox (yak), coyote (utiu), parakeet (quel), raven or crow (joj). Four animals, then, told them the news of the yellow ears, the white ears. They come from there, from Paxil, and they showed the road to Paxil.
A NEW HUMANITY
After the destruction of the earlier wooden humanity, the creator beings again deliberate over the construction of humankind. They seek the substance from which human flesh will be made and identify yellow and white maize as the material for the new humanity.
HUMANITY KNOWS TOO MUCH
DIRECT TRANSLATION — K'ICHE', p. 300, §§14–21
“They came into being with life. They were able to speak and converse. They were able to see; they were able to know everything.
Their sight reached everywhere. They looked and saw beneath the sky, across the face of the earth.
There was nothing that they did not see. There was nothing hidden from them beneath the sky. From wherever they were, they could see.
Great was their knowledge. Their sight passed through the forests, over the stones, the lakes, the sea, the mountains and the valleys. Truly admirable were Balam Quitzé, Balam Akap, Mahucutaj, and Iqui Balam.
Then they were questioned by the Creator and the Maker: ‘What do you think of your condition? Do you not see? Do you not hear? Are not your speech and your walking good? Look, then! See beneath the sky; see the mountains and the valleys. Try now to see,’ they were told.
Then they looked and saw everything beneath the sky. Afterward they gave thanks to the Creator and the Maker: ‘Truly, we give thanks twice, three times! We have been created; we have been given mouths and faces; we speak, we hear, we think, we walk, we feel. We know well what is far and what is near.
We also see the great and the small throughout the sky and the earth. We were created; we were made human, O Creator, O Maker, our grandmother, our grandfather,’ they said as they gave thanks for their creation.
They came to know everything. They examined the four corners, the four points of the sky and the earth.
But the Creator and the Maker did not hear this with pleasure: ‘It is not good, what our creations, our works, say. They know everything, the great and the small,’ they said.”
The First Men — Humanity Knows Everything
The first four men are created with extraordinary sight and knowledge. They can see across the Earth and beneath the sky, and “know everything.”
DIRECT TRANSLATION — K'iche', p. 302, §§22–27
Then the Creator and Maker considered again: “What shall we do with them now? Let their sight reach only nearby; let them see only a little of the face of the earth.
What they say is not good. Are they not merely creatures, merely things that were made? Shall they perhaps become gods also?
Shall they become equal to us, their makers, who see far, who know everything?”
Thus spoke Heart of Heaven, Huracán, Chipi-Caculhá, Raxá-Caculhá, Tepeu, Gucumatz, the Creator and the Maker.
Then Heart of Heaven cast a mist upon their eyes. Their sight was clouded, as when breath is blown upon the face of a mirror. Their eyes were obscured; they could see only what was near, and only that was clear to them.
Thus the knowledge and wisdom of the four men were lost at their beginning. Thus were our first grandfathers and fathers created and formed by Heart of Heaven and Heart of Earth.
The First Men — Their Knowledge Is Lost
The creators decide that the first men know and see too much. Fearing they could become like the gods themselves, Heart of Heaven clouds their vision, leaving them only able to see what is near. Their former knowledge and wisdom are lost.
CONCEALED KNOWLEDGE
A similar theme appears in the Śatapatha-Brāhmaṇa, where the gods hide themselves and access to the heavenly realm. Here, the gods intentionally restrict human knowledge.
A similar restriction appears in Genesis, where access to divine knowledge and immortality is controlled. In 1 Enoch, the Watchers violate that boundary by revealing forbidden heavenly knowledge to humanity.
In the Masonic tradition, Moses also conceals the knowledge associated with immortality, preserving it rather than making it openly available.
