The Popol Vuh
Arte de las tres lenguas kakchiquel,
quiche y tzutuhil [manuscript]
[between 1700 and 1703]
Ayer MS1515
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The Popol Vuh |
Thank you for your interest in the Newberry Library and our copy of the Popol Vuh. Due to an important conservation and digitization project to make the manuscript more widely available to the public, the Popul Vuh will be unavailable for study until late 2008. To better serve you during this time, here is a list of common questions and answers that might help your research on the Popol Vuh.
Q: What is the Popol Vuh?
A: The Popul Vuh, which has been translated as Book of the Council, Book of the Community, Book of the People, and The Sacred Book, is the creation account of the Quiché Mayan people. It contains stories of the cosmologies, origins, traditions and spiritual history of the Mayan people. It is considered by many Mayans as their equivalent to the Christian Bible and is held in deep reverence by them.
The Newberry Library’s manuscript of the Popol Vuh is one of the most widely known and possibly the earliest surviving copy. Quiché nobility probably wrote the original manuscript of the Popul Vuh in the mid 16th-century, in the Quiché language, using Latin orthography. The Newberry’s Popol Vuh was most likely copied from this original manuscript (now lost) in 1701-03, in the Guatemalan town of Chichicastenango, by Dominican Father Francisco Ximenez. His copy includes the Quiché text and a Spanish translation in side-by-side columns.
In addition to the Popul Vuh, the manuscript also contains a Cakchikel-Quiché-Tzutuhil grammar, Christian devotional instructions, and answers to doctrinal questions and other material by Ximenez.
For more information about the Popul Vuh, please consult the Newberry’s online catalog.
Q: Can anyone see the Popol Vuh manuscript? How do I make arrangements to do so?
A: The Popol Vuh manuscript is bound together with three other contemporary manuscripts, all of which are cataloged as Ayer MS 1515. Anyone 16 years or older may see the manuscript; however, please note that the document is under conservation until late 2008. Viewing the manuscript requires a Newberry Library Reader’s card that can be obtained by filling out a registration form and presenting a valid photo ID and proof of current address upon arrival at the Library. The Library also requires that all manuscript readers complete an “Application for the Use of Manuscript Collections.” For more information on using the Newberry Library's collections, please visit www.newberry.org/collections/researchers.html.
The Special Collections Reading Room staff will give readers of the Popol Vuh specific instructions about the special care to take when viewing the manuscript. Readers who intend to use the manuscript for an extended period of time are encouraged to use the facsimile copy available on the open shelf in the Special Collections Reading Room (Call Number: Ayer folio F 1465 .P84 1973). The Popul Vuh manuscript is also available on microfilm (Microfilm Ayer MS 1515).
The Newberry can also accommodate groups of up to 14 people (aged 16 years or older) who wish to see the Popol Vuh. Groups are required to schedule their visit a minimum of one month in advance. Only one group per month may make an appointment to see the Popol Vuh. Groups who are interested should contact reference@newberry.org for more information.
Q: Is the Popol Vuh available digitally?
A: Yes. A digital version of the Popol Vuh has recently been made available on the Ohio State University web site: library.osu.edu/sites/popolwuj/. In addition, BYU's Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Texts (formerly the Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts) produced a DVD-ROM of the Popol-Vuh. This DVD is available for use in the 3rd floor reference area. It is also for sale in the Newberry Bookstore.
Q: How is the Popol Vuh being conserved?
A: Conservation preparation and treatment are major components of the Popol Vuh digital projects mentioned above. With increased handling of the delicate manuscript during the filming and scanning process, it is absolutely critical to stabilize the paper and inks. A multi-disciplinary group of curators, librarians, conservators, and other experts reviewed the Popol Vuh’s condition and created the following procedure to provide appropriate conservation of the document.
The group decided that the binding, which is not original, will be removed and the ink checked under a microscope and stabilized. Then the imaging will take place. And, finally, the manuscript will be mended, page-by-page, and rebound to the highest conservation standards in a new binding sympathetic to the Popol Vuh’s history.
Removal of the binding includes: separation of the covers from the text, cleaning the glue and paper linings from the spine, cutting the sewing threads, and separating the pages. Nothing original will be removed during these steps. After this, the pages will lie flat safely for filming.
After filming, each page will be mended. Mending will rejoin tears and strengthen any weak areas of the page, such as loss from pests, moisture damage, or wear from use. After additional consultation, a new binding style will be chosen, and a custom fitted enclosure will be created to house the Popol Vuh.
The new electronic versions of the Popol Vuh will make the manuscript more accessible to a larger number of readers. And the physical handling of the actual sacred text will be reduced for its long-term preservation.