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Popol Vuh
Anonymous K'iche' Maya
The creation narrative of the K'iche' Maya, telling of the Hero Twins and multiple attempts by the gods to create humanity. The most important text of Mesoamerican mythology.
Notable Academic Translations
Delia Goetz & Sylvanus G. Morley (1950)Dennis Tedlock (1985)Allen J. Christenson (2007)
Recommended Reading Order
Read Parts II and III first for the gripping epic of the Hero Twins descending into Xibalba, then read Part I for the primordial creation of the universe and Part IV for the sacred origin of humanity from corn.
Canonical Figures in this Text
Key heroes and divinities who feature prominently across the chapters of this work
Deities & Immortals
Hunahpu and Xbalanque
Hunahpu and Xbalanque, miraculous twins who avenge their father and outwit the death-lords of Xibalba
Parts II-III
Hun Hunahpu
Father of the twins, defeated in Xibalba, whose severed head in the calabash tree conceived the twins with Xquic
Part II
Kukulkan
The Plumed Serpent (Gucumatz), sovereign creator god who speaks the cosmos into existence alongside Heart of Sky
Parts I, IV
Ah Puch
Skeletal death-sovereign representing the lords of the underworld (One Death and Seven Death)
Parts II-III
Camazotz
Monstrous death-bat of Xibalba who beheads Hunahpu during the trial of the Bat House
Part IIIKey Dramatic Scenes
Pivotal passages and mythological turning points recorded in this canon
- I
The Dawn of Creation and the Mud and Wood Races
(Part I)Heart of Sky and Plumed Serpent speak creation into existence; animals cannot praise them, mud people dissolve, and wooden mannequins lack hearts and minds and are destroyed in a flood of black pitch.
- II
The Trials of the Underworld Houses
(Part III)The Hero Twins survive the Dark House, Razor House, Cold House, Jaguar House, and Fire House through clever tricks, animal alliances, and illusion.
- III
The Decapitation in Bat House and the Ballgame
(Part III)Camazotz severs Hunahpu's head; Xbalanque carves a replacement gourd head, tricks the Xibalbans into using the real head as the ball, recovers it, and restores his brother.
- IV
Creation of the True Humans from Maize
(Part IV)The creators find yellow and white ears of corn at Paxil; Grandmother Xmucane grinds the maize into dough, creating the flesh and strength of the first four true men.
Source Passages and Editorial Notes
Direct quotations are distinguished from editorial paraphrases and records awaiting verification.
Ref: Prologue / Lines 1-12
Editorial paraphraseThis is the account of when all was in suspense, all calm, in silence; all motionless, quiet, and the expanse of the sky was empty, with only the sky and the sea existing in absolute stillness.
Translator: Adapted translation; not a direct shared translation of Tedlock and ChristensonEditorial adaptation from distinct Tedlock and Christenson editions
Featured in The Hero Twins and the Lords of Xibalba →Ref: Chapter 14
Original wording unverifiedThen the two boys ascended directly into the sky; the one became the sun, and the other became the moon. Light broke over the face of the sky, and the earth was illuminated.
Translator: Dennis TedlockDennis Tedlock, 1996; wording not checked
Featured in The Hero Twins and the Lords of Xibalba →Ref: Prologue / Lines 1-12
Editorial paraphraseThis is the account: there was darkness, the sky alone in suspense, quiet, still... only the Sovereign and the Quetzal Serpent (Q'ukumatz) were there in the waters wrapped in quetzal feathers.
Translator: Adapted translation; not a direct shared translation of Tedlock and ChristensonEditorial adaptation from distinct Tedlock and Christenson editions
Featured in Kukulkan →Stories Sourced from this Work
The Hero Twins and the Lords of Xibalba
The central narrative of the Maya Popol Vuh: the Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque descend to the underworld, outwit the lords of death, resurrect their father the Maize God, and ascend to become the sun and moon.
The Death and Rebirth of the Maize God
The Maya myth of the Maize God's death, burial, and resurrection - a sacred narrative that explains the agricultural cycle and the deep connection between human sacrifice, agriculture, and cosmic renewal.
The House of Bats
The Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque face the terrifying Camazotz in one of Xibalba's deadly trial houses.