Note on Translations and Orthography

Mazariegos, Oswaldo Chinchilla

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Note on Translations and Orthography

Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos

Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya

Author

Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos

PublisherYale University Press

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00019.003

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-17869

Note on Translations and Orthography

To a large extent, my arguments depend on the accuracy of translations from numerous Mesoamerican languages. I employed the available editions of colonial texts and modern narratives, and whenever possible I contrasted translations of important passages. For the Popol Vuh, I used the modern English translations by Dennis Tedlock and Allen J. Christenson. Especially useful were Christenson’s and Munro Edmonson’s transcriptions with parallel translation, and Michela E. Craveri’s recent Spanish translation, which features abundant lexical notes. In this volume, I quoted passages from both Tedlock’s and Christenson’s translations, while providing alternate translations in the endnotes.

Following usual conventions used in Maya epigraphy, transliterations of hieroglyphic collocations appear in boldface, using lowercase for syllabic signs and uppercase for logograms. Transcriptions that approximate the reconstructed phonetic spelling of hieroglyphic terms appear in italics.

In general, I respected the orthography of indigenous words in the original sources, instead of opting for modern standardized orthographies. For example, I use the orthography of Francisco Ximénez’s manuscript for the names of characters from the Popol Vuh. Unless otherwise noted, I made all translations from Spanish to English.

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BOOKArt and Myth of the Ancient Maya

Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00019

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-17866

This nuanced account explores Maya mythology through the lens of art, text, and culture. It offers an important reexamination of the mid-16th-century Popol Vuh, long considered an authoritative text, which is better understood as one among many crucial sources for the interpretation of ancient Maya art and myth. Using materials gathered across Mesoamerica, Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos bridges the gap between written texts and artistic representations, identifying key mythical subjects and uncovering their variations in narratives and visual depictions. Central characters—including a secluded young goddess, a malevolent grandmother, a dead father, and the young gods who became the sun and the moon—are identified in pottery, sculpture, mural painting, and hieroglyphic inscriptions. Highlighting such previously overlooked topics as sexuality and generational struggles, this beautifully illustrated book paves the way for a new understanding of Maya myths and their lavish expression in ancient art.

Author

Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos

PublisherYale University Press

Print publication date April 2017 (in print)

Print ISBN 9780300207170

EISBN 9780300247008

Illustrations 152

Print Status in print

Publisher (in print)

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Google Books

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