The Popol Vuh (lit. "words written on leaves") is the central religious text and creation myth of the Mayans of Central America. Most of the translations I've seen are specifically associated with the Quiche Maya, but I'm fairly certain that it's used in some form by all subgroups of Maya.

The Spanish attempted to destroy every existing copy of the Popol Vuh in the process of Catholicizing the Central American natives, but fortunately for scholars of religion, and the Maya themselves, they were unsuccessful. There are a few codices, mostly in Europe now, with the complete text in Mayan hieroglyphics, and a number of traditionally trained Mayans who have the entire text, as well as commentary and interpretation, committed to memory.

One of the most interesting aspects of the Popol Vuh to a Western student of comparative religion are the occurences of archetypical images and events which are normally associated with Western religious ideas. Two of the most striking examples are the destruction of the primal world by great flood which wipes clean most of the life on Earth, and the descent of two of the main heroes/demigods into the underworld to bargain with the god of death.

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