Books on the Mayan Language of Yucatan, Mexico

On the following page there is a list of books dealing with the Mayan language spoken in Yucatan, Mexico. Of the various Mayan languages the Mayan language of Yucatan, often referred to as Yucatec Mayan, is the largest of the various Mayan languages. In fact, the people of Yucatan are the only people of this linguistic group which refer to themselves as “Maya”, and refer to their language as “Maya Than” (Mayan Language).

The first three books are available through the publisher Labyrinthos. A flier from this publisher in included which gives contact information.

The Grammar, written by my wife Alejandra and me, deals principally with the language as spoken today. However, because of the development of the language over the time it has been recorded using Latin script (i.e. since the 1570’s) it was useful to refer to older grammatical forms, and thus the grammar part of the book includes a look at the language as spoken or written since the late 1500’s. Included in the grammar is an extensive anthology of Mayan literature, starting with a hieroglyphic text and concluding with material collected in the 1980’s.

The Book of Chilam Balam of Na, for which I was the translator of the Mayan texts, gives Mayan texts and their translations. Ruth Gubler’s principal interest is in the field of native medicines, and this particular book is mainly a collection of medical recipes. However, there is also other material included in this book, which include calendrical material.

The book Post Conquest Mayan Literature is a collection of texts in Mayan which were based on pre-Columbian thought. There is no translation in this book. Its principal purpose is to make available to researchers in a convenient format the various texts of this nature.

Beginning with the publication of the Bocabulario de Maya Than in 1993 I was involved in helping René Acuña of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México get important published colonial texts and unpublished manuscripts dealing with the Yucatecan Mayan language ready for publication by Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. For people working on Mayan hieroglyphs and Mayan colonial history these works are quite valuable.

For further information please do not hesitate to contact me.

David Bolles

133 Castle Lane

Milford, CT 06460-7515

Tel: 203 882 9428

Books available from Labyrinthos Press:

Bolles, David D. and Alejandra K.

2001. A Grammar of the Yucatecan Mayan Language. Revised edition. Labyrinthos, Lancaster, CA. ISBN 0-911437-49-5

Gubler, Ruth and David Bolles

2000. The Book of Chilam Balam of Na: Facsimile, Translation, and Edited Text. Labyrinthos, Lancaster, CA. ISBN 0-911437-23-1

Bolles, David

2003 Post Conquest Mayan Literature Based on Pre – Columbian Sources; Compiled and edited by David Bolles With reference to the works of Alfredo Barrera Vasquez and Ralph L. Roys. Labyrinthos, Lancaster, CA. ISBN 0-911437-55-X

Books available from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México.

Acuña, René (editor)

1984. Calepino Maya de Motul. Edicion de Rene Acuña. Facsimile version by René Acuña. Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México. ISBN 968-837-117-3

1993. Bocabulario de Maya Than, Facsimile and edited version by René Acuña. Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México. ISBN 968-36-3097-9

1995. Devocionario de Nuestra Señora de Izamal y Conquista Espiritual de Yucatán. By Fray Bernardo de Lizana. Facsimile and critical edition by René Acuña. Fuentes para el Estudio de la Cultura Maya, 12. Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México. ISBN 968-36-4699-7

1996. Arte de la Lengua Maya. By Fr. Gabriel de San Buenaventura. Facsimile and edited version by René Acuña. Fuentes para el Estudio de la Cultura Maya, 13. Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México. ISBN 968-36-5419-3

1998. Arte en Lengua de Maya. By Juan Coronel. Critical edition by René Acuña. Fuentes para el Estudio de la Cultura Maya, 14. Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México. ISBN 968-36-6737-6

2001. Calepino Maya de Motul, Critical and annotated edition by René Acuña. Plaza y Valdés, México. ISBN 968-856-992-5

2002. Arte del Lengua Maya. By Pedro Beltrán. Critical edition by René Acuña. Fuentes para el Estudio de la Cultura Maya, 17. Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México. ISBN 970-32-0438-4

For further information and a catalogue of books published by Labyrinthos contact Frank Comparato.

Frank Comparato

Labyrinthos

3064 Holline Court

Lancaster, CA 93535-4910

Tel: 661 946 2726