Songs of Dzitbalche

The [Book of the] Songs of Dzitbalché ( _es. [El libro de] los cantares de Dzitbalché) is the source of almost all the ancient Mayan lyric poems that have survived, and is closely connected to the "Books of Chilam Balam", sacred books of the colonial Yucatec Maya. The sole surviving copy of the Songs of Dzitbalché was written in alphabetic Mayan in the 1700s. The author identifies himself as Ah Bam (“Mr. Jaguar”), an elder of the town of Dzitbalché. He appears to say that the book was originally written in the year 1440. Manuscripts of this era were often copies of copies of copies, so scholars have to look at internal evidence for clues to the original date of composition. Many of the poems appear to be much older than the manuscript, and contain ancient ceremonial and ritual material. Other poems are songs of love, philosophy, and spirituality. Many of them appear to have had a musical accompaniment. Originally titled "The Book of the Dances of the Ancients", the current title was given to it by its first translator.

References

: cite web |author=aut|Barrera, Lourdes |year=1999 |title=En el teatro prehispánico se funden dos mundos: la magia del color de las flores, de los animales, y la magia del perdón |url=http://www.cnca.gob.mx/cnca/nuevo/diarias/260299/alfilode.html |work=Sala de Prensa, Noticias del día (26 February 1999) |publisher=Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes |accessdate=2007-04-03 es icon : cite book |author=aut|Barrera Vásquez, Alfredo |coauthors=(Ed. and trans.) |authorlink=Alfredo Barrera Vásquez |year=1965 |title=El libro de los cantares de Dzitbalché |series=Serie de Investigaciones, 9. |publisher=Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia |location=México DF yua icones icon: cite book |author=aut|Barrera Vásquez, Alfredo |coauthors=(Ed. and trans.) |authorlink=Alfredo Barrera Vásquez |year=1979-81 |title=El libro de los cantares de Dzitbalché: Una traducción fiel de los Documentos |publisher=Ediciones del Ayuntamiento de Mérida, Yucatán |location=Mérida yua icon es icon: cite web |author=aut|Bolles, David |coauthors=and aut|Alejandra Bolles |year=2004 |title=A Grammar of the Yucatecan Mayan Language |publisher=The Foundation Research Department |work=Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. (FAMSI) |format=revised online edition, 1996 Lee, New Hampshire |url=http://www.famsi.org/research/bolles/grammar/index.html |accessdate=2007-04-03 : cite book |author=aut|Cocom Pech, Jorge Miguel |year=1999 |chapter=La literatura maya contemporánea en la Península de Yucatán |chapterurl=http://www.calkini.net/arte_y_cultura/maya.htm |editor=Lorraine A. Williams-Beck (ed.) |edition=online extract at calkini.net |title=Calkiní: Una historia compartida |location= Campeche |publisher=H. Ayuntamiento de Calkiní, Ediciones Nave de Papel |accessdate=2007-04-03 es icon: cite book |author=aut|Curl, John (Ed. and trans.) |year=2005 |title=Ancient American Poets [http://red-coral.net/Dzit.html The Songs of Dzitbalche] |location=Tempe AZ |publisher=Bilingual Review Press |isbn=1-931-01021-8: cite journal |author=aut|Edmonson, Munro S. |year=1982 |title=The Songs of Dzitbalche: A Literary Commentary |journal=Tlalocan |volume=9 |pages=pp.173–208 |issn=0185-0989: cite book |author=aut|Garza, Mercedes de la |coauthors=aut|Miguel León Portilla, and aut|Adrián Recinos (eds.) |year=1980 |title= Literatura maya |location=Caracas |publisher=Biblioteca Ayacucho |isbn=84-4991-302-0 es icon: cite web |author=aut|Tun Chuc, Jorge Jesús |year=2005 |title=Dzitbalché en la historia |url=http://www.calkini.net/municipio/dzitas11.htm |work=Municipio - Dzitbalché |publisher=calkini.net |accessdate=2007-04-03 es icon: cite journal |author=aut|Valencia Solanilla, César |year=2001 |title=Los cantares de Dzitbalché: Los rituales del amor y de la muerte |url=http://www.utp.edu.co/~chumanas/revistas/revistas/rev27/valencia.htm |journal=Revista de Ciencias Humanas |pages=pp.41–47 |volume=27 |issue=Nov. 2001 |issn=0121-9677 |accessdate=2007-04-03 es icon