Books of Chilam Balam

At a glance

History, context & interpretation

The text and its story

Manuscripts named after towns such as Chumayel, holding prophecies, the Maya calendar, medicine and history.

Traditional attribution

Prophecies of the jaguar priest Chilam Balam.

Historical scholarship

Compiled by Maya scribes in different towns, mixing old prophecy with colonial history.

Context and curiosity

'Balam' means jaguar in Yucatec Maya.

Chronology and transmission

This text belongs to The Americas (Colonial Yucatec Maya). The catalogue gives its approximate dating as c. 17th–18th century CE and original language or script as Yucatec Maya (Latin script). The dated manuscript witnesses and traditional claims may not refer to the same historical event.

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Sources and further reading

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilam_Balam

Historical descriptions are educational summaries. Religious traditions, scholarly interpretations and unverified claims are distinguished where possible; imagery may be illustrative rather than an artifact photograph.