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Notes on certain Maya and Mexican manuscripts

Calendar wheel from book of Chilan Balam
Notes on certain Maya and Mexican manuscripts

The books of [Chilam] Balam are Maya books of history, prophecy, religion and ritual, as well as medicine and astronomy. They were written in the Maya language in European script, and they include pre-Conquest accounts as well as accounts from the colonial period. A significant portion bear signs of the influence of European literature and culture.

Chilam, or chilan, means mouthpiece, and balam means jaguar; therefore the Books of Chilam Balam are the “Books of the Jaguar Priest.”

 
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