Victor Montejo

David Unger

Luis Garay

Retells the stories from the mythology of the K'iche' Indians which were written down and preserved after the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. Reprint.

A Sacred Book of the Maya

Popol Vuh

A collection of Mayan folktales deals with themes of creation, nature, mutual respect, and ethnic relations and conflicts

And Other Mayan Fables

The Bird who Cleans the World

These Mayan fables and animal stories were collected and transcribed by the author from Jakaltek-Maya language, one of the 21 Mayan languages that are still spoken in Guatemala. The stories are firmly rooted in the world of nature, demonstrating and insisting on honesty, understanding and respect among people and their cultures.

Komam Q'anil, ya' k'uh Winaj

The legend of El Q'anil, the "Man of Lightning," stands alongside such classic Maya literary artifacts as Popol Vuh and Chilam Balam but has been preserved only through the oral tradition of the Jakaltek Maya. In this tale, the young man Xhuwan Q'anil brings lightning to his people in order to save them from destruction. He undertakes a journey of adventure, participates in a great war, and is subsequently immortalized. It is a story that all Jakaltek children learn, one that reinforces their identity by showing that their people have a hero who lives in each Jakaltek Maya today. Víctor Montejo, who was raised in Maya culture and knows its lore intimately, compiled several versions of the legend in Guatemala during the height of paramilitary operations in that country in the 1980s. His contemporary reconstruction lovingly preserves this legend and reflects concern for the survival of Maya culture in the face of oppression. Just as the Maya people of western Guatemala continue to pray for peace at the sanctuary of Q'anil, the legend of the Man of Lightning affirms a culture's enduring traditions. In this edition, the text is presented in English, Spanish, and Jakaltek Maya to secure its deserved place in world literature.

Man of Lightning

El Q'anil

El pájaro que limpia el mundo y otras fábulas Mayas

The legend of El Q'anil, the "Man of Lightning," stands alongside such classic Maya literary artifacts as Popol Vuh and Chilam Balam but has been preserved only through the oral tradition of the Jakaltek Maya. In this tale, the young man Xhuwan Q'anil brings lightning to his people in order to save them from destruction. He undertakes a journey of adventure, participates in a great war, and is subsequently immortalized. It is a story that all Jakaltek children learn, one that reinforces their identity by showing that their people have a hero who lives in each Jakaltek Maya today. VA-ctor Montejo, who was raised in Maya culture and knows its lore intimately, compiled several versions of the legend in Guatemala during the height of paramilitary operations in that country in the 1980s. His contemporary reconstruction lovingly preserves this legend and reflects concern for the survival of Maya culture in the face of oppression. Just as the Maya people of western Guatemala continue to pray for peace at the sanctuary of Q'anil, the legend of the Man of Lightning affirms a culture's enduring traditions. In this edition, the text is presented in English, Spanish, and Jakaltek Maya to secure its deserved place in world literature.

"Poems written between 1982-92 by the Guatemalan folklorist after leaving his country for the US. Themes include violence of war, exile, continuity with the past, and love for homeland. Lyrical, direct voice captured skillfully and movingly by translations. En face; no supporting material beyond short biographical paragraph and a few notes"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.

Piedras Labradas

Elilal, exile, is the condition of thousands of Mayas who have fled their homelands in Guatemala to escape repression and even death at the hands of their government. In this book, Victor Montejo, who is both a Maya expatriate and an anthropologist, gives voice to those who until now have struggled in silence--but who nevertheless have found ways to reaffirm and celebrate their Mayaness. Voices from Exile is the authentic story of one group of Mayas from the Kuchumatan highlands who fled into Mexico and sought refuge there. Montejo's combination of autobiography, history, political analysis, and testimonial narrative offers a profound exploration of state terror and its inescapable human cost.

Victor Montejo

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