Fergal Schmudlach
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The Classic Postclassic Maya: Hunahpu and Xbalanque in the Popol Vuh (Kʾicheʾ, 1550s)
🕑 Added 2024-07-26 08:23:55 +0000 UTCThe first half of the Popol Vuh as we have it from the Kʾicheʾ colonial tradition is a quintessentially Kingless epic, as the story revolves around pre-human gods, successive generations of hero twins, who must defeat a series of aggrandizer figures, including the lords of death in the underworld, in order to bring about the dawning of the human age. Although the same basic story can be found in earlier art and hieroglyphic inscriptions which since the 1990s are being deciphered at an exhilarating pace, recent research has pointed out that this anti-accumulative tendency of the story may be somewhat unique to the Popol Vuh as we have it, which, it is hypothesised, may represent a retelling slanted toward anti-colonial resistance. While I agree that this may also be the case, I (based on my limited understanding as an ignorant outsider) think it makes more sense to take this story, written down only some thirty years after first European contact, as faithfully reflecting older layers, though perhaps not of the somewhat exploitative and stratified Classic Maya (ca 250–950 CE) but rather of the socially creative, decentralized, and egalitarian Postclassic Maya (950–1539), which represents one of the great examples in world history of the deescalation of class struggle, when people came together to build the Kingless Generation.
Comments
Fergal Schmudlach
I always have to resist saying this on mic because you'd hear nothing but apologies even listening through old episodes, but I'm so sorry for the hiatus here! I had to write a challenging new syllabus this year so I'm doing more reading than usual for my day job, and I'm getting ready for our first post-COVID family trip, so I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed this year, but I'm really excited about this Maya material. I'm learning so much so quickly, I only hope this episode doesn't become too obsolete too quickly.
Jay
Yes! Stoked to listen to this
